Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three lights—red, blue and white, rapidly streaked through the skies.
The trio arrived at the capital of Nanli in the afternoon. The climate was warmer here compared to Beiming, and aside from the lush vegetation that could be seen everywhere, the streets here were much livelier.
Be that as it may, Liu Rushuang suddenly felt chills all over despite the warmth. Her instincts told her that something bad was going to happen, and so she frowned slightly and looked around.
The streets were lively and there were many stalls all around, and she could see all sorts of people.
As she pondered on why she felt the chills, Han Moze’s image suddenly appeared in her mind.
She smiled despite herself—she was thinking about her already after just being half a day apart.
What was he doing, she wondered?
Usually, she would be playing a tune for him, sitting behind her string piano while Ze lay at the lying bench, staring at her passionately.
They might even be playing chess, though she would be the one losing all the time… that tyrant would never lose willingly, and if he did…
That thought left Liu Rushuang’s ears red, and she looked rather uncomfortable.
“Milady, let’s take a look over there.” Little White Flower pulled her by the hand to a nearby stall, which had an assortment of hairpins, hairclips, earrings, and necklace neatly arranged on display…
Little White Flower took a red hairclip and pinned it on her hair, smiling as she asked, “Does this look good?”
She always tied her hair behind her head with a white band. It turned green beneath the sun, and the red hairclip in the middle stood out a lot.
Liu Rushuang grinned, and picked a few other ornaments as well, and had the vendor pack it up.
“That’s one Liang and five Wen, lady.”
Liu Rushuang shot Nangong Ba a look, before pulling Little White Flower along and walking away.
“Lady, you have not…”
Nangong Ba whipped out a bank note and silenced the vendor.
“S-Sir, t-that’s too much!”
The vendor’s hands were shaking as he held up the hundred-Liang note.
Even so, Nangong Ba had already gone far, and only his stylish back could be seen.
After that, the trio went to the Drunken Cloud Pavilion—the domain of the Blood Feast.
***
In front of a dressing table, Liu Rushuang used her rather clumsy technique to tie up Little White Flower’s hair bun.
Starting with a parting down the middle, she tied up a green hair bun over each ear, and decorated them with some white flower pins.
Smiling in satisfaction, Liu Rushuang reached out to pinch Little White Flower’s cheeks.
Holding up a mirror to check both her right and left profile, Little White Flower touched the hairpins and smiled happily, “The flower looks so nice, milady.”
“You look much nicer than the flower, Little White Flower.” Liu Rushuang said sincerely.
Little White Flower giggled, appearing to be very pleased.
Liu Rushuang could not help sighing.
This must be true innocence, and she was long since past that age.
Meanwhile, Nangong Ba stood at a balcony to see whatever his gaze could reach, a trace of loneliness hidden in the depths of his eyes. In the end, there was a piece of his heart missing, and there was no telling when he could fill it.
His eyes had lit up when Liu Rushuang suddenly appeared to him, but the most profound of loneliness was left when he came to his senses.
“This is where I first met Ze.” Liu Rushuang said coolly, remembering the scene from a year ago, where the fire-element inner breath within her body erupted.
That tyrant must have found her easy on the eyes at the time, and insisted on her going with her. She managed to escape at first, only to run into him again at the palace gala, and it turns out that he was the prince she was matched with.
At the time, she felt the tyrant’s burning gaze on herself and instinctively felt resistant towards him. That is why she would give him the cold shoulder, hoping that those eyes wouldn’t keep burning her since she hated being tied down.
Regardless, when Drunken Cloud Pavilion had been seized by that tyrant, she had voluntarily walked into his elegant cage.
