Ne vous appuyez pas contre la rambarde ouest pour profiter pleinement de l'automne clair - Chapitre 76
Squinting at Rong Yue's phoenix eyes, Tuoba Jie scrutinized her closely, and suddenly realized—it was him...
Realizing that her unusually excited words and actions would only arouse more suspicion, Rongyue angrily cursed herself for being an idiot. Pulling up the chair she had just kicked aside, Rongyue slowly sat down, stealing a glance at Tuoba Jie, who was squinting and seemingly lost in thought: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I just..."
"Warning?" Tuoba Jie tapped the table with one hand, smiling meaningfully: "You dare to threaten the current prime minister? Kid, you're still as arrogant as ever!"
"Prime Minister..."
"Alright, I'm not a petty person. It's inevitable to slip up when you're drunk! How about this, as compensation for your slip of the tongue, you can finish reciting the poem you just recited! If I'm not mistaken, you probably only recited half of the poem! To be honest, I really want to hear the second half of this numerical poem."
Will he really not hold it against her? Or is he holding a grudge and planning to make things difficult for her later?
Exhaling, Rongyue softly murmured: "A thousand words cannot express my feelings, a hundred times I lean on the railing in utter boredom... Peach blossoms in March drift away with the flowing water, falling and scattering; kite strings break in February. Alas! My love, I wish in the next life you would be my concubine and I my lover!"
A mocking voice, its tone sharp and laced with sarcasm, drifted from outside the curtain: "What refined taste you two have! Reciting love poems in broad daylight, under the clear sky! Anyone unaware of the situation would think you're two lovers drinking together!" With that, a blue figure lifted the curtain and strode towards the two seated figures. A closer look revealed it to be none other than Tuoba Chen.
From Tuoba Chen's extremely sarcastic words, Rongyue could easily sense the immense anger hidden within. Although she didn't know what had upset the prince this time, Rongyue couldn't help but firmly believe that his anger was related to her and Tuoba Jie's drinking session here.
He hurriedly stood up from the wooden chair and cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Your Highness the Second Prince."
"So you still recognize me? That's quite a surprise! I was just thinking that you couldn't see anyone else but this peerless Prime Minister!"
That's... really strange...
Confused, Rongyue looked up and met Tuoba Chen's glaring eyes! She quickly looked away, avoiding his fiery gaze. Rongyue's heart tightened, a deep unease washing over her: Why did she see jealousy in his eyes? Jealousy?! She couldn't be mistaken, because she had seen a similar look in Chu Xuyao's eyes before! Heavens, could he… he's gay?
Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines, Chapter Thirteen: Tuoba Chen's Jealousy (Part Two)
She chuckled twice, breaking the awkward silence, and moved a chair to the left, placing it behind Tuoba Chen. "Your Highness is terrified! Please, Your Highness, stop teasing me! Come, Your Highness, sit down and rest, have a little wine... Oh, right! We haven't prepared any bowls and chopsticks for Your Highness yet! Well, Your Highness, please wait here for a moment, and I'll give the order to bring another pair..."
He grabbed Rongyue, who was trying to run away, and pulled her onto the carved wooden chair: "Sit down! Your little tricks can't escape my eyes! Trying to slip away? Humph! You little mistress, you're too bold, daring to play tricks under my nose!"
"Your Highness, I'm innocent! How could I possibly have such a disrespectful and absurd thought?" This guy seems to read her mind like a worm! She'd barely even entertained this idea when he already got the information?
"You know what disrespect is? You know what absurdity is?" Using his toe to hook one of the wooden chairs placed around the wooden table, Tuoba Chen angrily sat down, glaring at Rong Yue: "From what I can tell, that's not what you really think! The moment I arrived, you couldn't wait to slip away! You little mistress, do you really dislike me that much?!"
"Your Highness, what are you saying..."
"Don't try to deny it! You little mistress, although I haven't known you for long, I've already figured out your true nature!"
No way? He's that good??
"How dare you doubt me, Your Highness?"
"Ah? How dare I, how dare I!"
"Hmph! Believe it or not, the moment your eyes rolled, I knew what kind of wicked scheme you were plotting!"
"Is that so...? Oh my god, does that mean he's become a demigod?"
...
Twirling his wine glass, Tuoba Jie watched the furious Second Prince before him with keen interest. Seeing the usually wise and astute prince so unusually flustered, Tuoba Jie's mind raced. Back in Yangcheng, he had sensed something amiss between them, and now, judging from this situation, the Second Prince's feelings for this young man were far from ordinary!
Seemingly noticing Tuoba Jie's frequent glances, Tuoba Chen's face darkened with displeasure, and he glared at him coldly. Seeing the wicked smile that Tuoba Jie hadn't yet managed to conceal, Tuoba Chen felt a surge of annoyance and blurted out, "Tuoba Jie, what are you laughing at!"
Tuoba Jie lazily poured himself a cup of wine, his smile undiminished: "Does even a smile need a reason? Your Highness the Second Prince really knows how to make things difficult."
Tuoba Chen was so angry that he choked. With a stern face, he snatched the wine pot from Tuoba Jie's hand, picked up another empty cup on the table, and angrily poured himself a cup of wine.
Seeing that Tuoba Chen was about to raise his cup to drink, Rongyue quickly grabbed his left hand holding the cup and hurriedly reminded him, "Your Highness, please wait. This wine cup has already been used by me. It has been tainted by my vulgarity, and I fear it would be an insult to Your Highness's royal dignity. Therefore, Your Highness should ask the waiter to prepare another cup and saucer."
Her starry eyes brightened. Tuoba Chen brushed away Rong Yue's hand that was blocking his way, and waved his hand impatiently: "What nonsense are you spouting! Do you think I'm such a delicate person! Tch!" After saying that, he tilted his head back and swallowed the whole cup of wine in one gulp.
Her breathing became steady, her face instantly stiffened, and Rongyue secretly gripped the armrests of the chair with both hands. She shifted her weight to her feet, subtly raised her hips, and moved the chair inch by inch, trying to get away from Tuoba Chen...
"Hey, where are you trying to move to, mistress?" Tuoba Chen's sinister voice drifted into Rong Yue's ears from beside her. Rong Yue was startled and her hand holding the chair jerked violently, causing the wooden chair, which was a few inches off the ground, to crash to the ground with a loud thud!
Pulling on the back of the chair, Tuoba Chen pulled Rongyue, chair and all, back together. This time, Rongyue was even closer to him.
Tuoba Chen glanced at the stiff Rong Yue, then snorted and turned his gaze to Tuoba Jie opposite him, asking, "I wonder what business the Prime Minister has with Xiao San here?"
"Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just colleagues catching up, chatting, and catching up on each other's feelings." With his elbow resting on the armrest, Tuoba Jie casually glanced at Tuoba Chen, whose expression was unfriendly. When he said the word 'feelings,' he deliberately emphasized it, and unsurprisingly, Tuoba Chen's face turned green instantly.
"Two men huddled together in a room, trying to build rapport?!" Tuoba Chen spat out each word through gritted teeth.
"Is there something wrong with this?" Tuoba Jie shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, it's not like we're a lone man and woman, so what's the big deal!"
His knuckles cracked from being squeezed. Tuoba Chen's face was cold, and a flash of cold light appeared in his narrowed starry eyes.
Touching his chin, Tuoba Jie propped his head up with one hand and tapped the table with the other, reciting in rhythm: "Since parting, we've been separated by distance, only saying it would be three or four months, but who knew it would be five or six years! The seven-stringed zither is played without heart, the eight-line letter cannot be sent, the nine-linked rings are broken, and the ten-mile pavilion is gazed upon until the eyes are weary. What a fine poem! What a fine poem! Graceful and delicate, ingeniously conceived, using numbers to expose the depth and weight of resentment without reservation, moving every listener!" He sighed, shook his head, and feigned regret: "Alas, why isn't the Imperial Censor a woman? What a pity, what a lament! Alas, San'er, why couldn't you have chosen the right direction when you were reincarnated? Look, a man with a woman's appearance, clearly suited to be a daughter, yet... Alas, it has left me with regrets in this life! Perhaps I should grant you a next life! Just like in your poem, 'My love, my love, I wish you would be my concubine and I my lover in the next life...'"
With a bang, filled with rage, Tuoba Chen jumped up and swept the table full of food and wine all over the floor!
With overwhelming force, Tuoba Chen scooped Rongyue up from the chair like a whirlwind, pulling her tightly into his arms, as if he wouldn't allow anyone else to covet her even a little bit!
His eyes, blazing with rage, were filled with a phosphorescent light. Tuoba Chen roared hoarsely at Tuoba Jie, "Tuoba Jie, don't even think about it! Let me tell you, Xiao San belongs to me! He belongs to me alone!! In this life and in the next! No one can take even a fraction of him away!!"
Clatter! The wine glass slipped from Tuoba Jie's hand, shattering and spilling wine, splashing a patch of grassy green liquid...
This situation far exceeded his expectations...
...
From that day on, Rongyue and Tuoba Chen began playing a game of cat and mouse.
As soon as court was over, Rongyue turned and fled without a word, while Tuoba Chen gave chase with all his might. Once inside her home, Rongyue locked the main gate and side doors as if guarding against a thief, while Tuoba Chen relentlessly scaled the walls and broke in through windows. Before leaving, Rongyue would go to great lengths to find out Tuoba Chen's whereabouts to avoid running into him, while Tuoba Chen would painstakingly figure out when and where Rongyue would leave, and then intercept her at the places she was supposed to pass through…
That day, when Rongyue was successfully intercepted by Tuoba Chen for the seventeenth time, she slumped her shoulders in despair and wearily cried out to the radiant Tuoba Chen before her, "Second Prince, I beg you, please have mercy and let me go! If this continues, I'll be exhausted to death! Please, have mercy, I will repay your great kindness in my next life—"