Chapter 73 073 Luo Fu: "He is him and I am me, this matter is my..."

The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

Kang Ping was somewhat annoyed that he had just told Luo Fu that Luo Song looked like a dog when he ran to her side, and that Luo Song was a virgin. Luo Fu, on the other hand, couldn't imagine her brother acting like a "dog" in front of the princess, and that he had even become one of the princess's lovers.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Kang Ping smiled awkwardly: "Well, I didn't know he was your brother, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen him."

Kangping married at the age of seventeen, and her husband died on the battlefield when her father, the emperor, was eighteen. Because they had only been husband and wife for less than a year, Kangping did not have much affection for her husband. She soon found a handsome and strong bodyguard by her side and began to live a carefree life, changing bodyguards and male favorites every two or three years, a year and a half, three to five months, or even three to five days. The length of time each male favorite was favored depended entirely on their own abilities—including their skills in serving the emperor and whether their temperament was pleasing.

Rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows because the grass grows slowly, but it's too easy for her to choose her personal guards. So Kangping loves to eat the grass near his burrow because it saves time, effort, and worry.

Kangping would never keep any of her personal guards who had been favored but then abandoned by her. She would usually give them two choices: if they were afraid of getting hurt or dying and didn't want to join the army anymore, she would give them a sum of money so they could return to their hometowns and live a wealthy and peaceful life; if they wanted a future, she would ask her father, the emperor, for a centurion position in the border army. But Kangping only cared about this much; whether her former favorites could secure the position of centurion depended on their own abilities.

In addition, Kangping had another condition for choosing male concubines: he only selected those from commoner backgrounds, preferably from outside the capital. This was because such men were easy to get rid of after being rejected. Kangping found it troublesome to even select sons of powerful nobles or officials in the capital to be his personal guards, let alone male concubines.

The day she met Luo Song, it happened to be a moment when Kang Ping had just dismissed one of his personal guards and was still looking for a new one. At the time, she only thought that Luo Song was handsome and strong enough, and he immediately suited her taste. On a whim, Kang Ping beckoned to Luo Song.

If they were guards from the princess's residence, they could all guess what it meant to be looked at like that by the princess. Luo Song, however, did not know. He thought that the noble princess had given him instructions. In addition, the princess was elegant, noble and beautiful. Luo Song, who was so close to a noble person for the first time, was so nervous that his face turned red, which aroused Kang Ping's interest even more.

Kang Ping only asked him two questions.

"Are you from the capital?"

"No, no, I'm from out of town..."

"Hmm, so are you married?"

Luo Song shook his head blankly.

Kangping took him directly back to the princess's residence. First, she had the physician examine Luo Song to make sure he was healthy. Then, she had him bathed and changed. When Luo Song was brought to her bedchamber and realized what she was about to do, the foolish man tried to run away, but Kangping's simple "Wait!" froze him in place…

After that one encounter, she spent over a hundred nights with him over the next few months. Luo Song was taciturn and never mentioned having a younger sister named Luo Fu. Kang Ping, however, only admired Luo Song's looks and never showed any interest in his family, including her other male concubines. For someone as noble as her to receive the favor of Luo Fu, who came from a humble background, was a blessing. Even with Luo Fu, Kang Ping only knew that her parents had moved to some town outside the city and that she had an older brother who seemed to have joined either the Western or Eastern Camp.

Luo Fu wouldn't be so boring as to introduce her family in detail. What Kang Ping liked most about Luo Fu was her tactfulness; she knew what he liked and disliked to hear.

Kangping never intended to be on equal footing with Luo Fu, much less become the kind of close friend who would listen to and comfort Luo Fu whenever she had any troubles. Kangping's way of being good to Luo Fu was to give her the Western Region horses, silks, satins, delicacies, and fine wines that she no longer needed, and to take her to places that ordinary officials' wives never had the opportunity to go.

In short, Kangping still valued Luo Fu highly, so much so that she would never use the same tactics she used on male lovers on Luo Fu's brother. She had used other male lovers but had given them benefits, but with Luo Fu's brother, Kangping felt a sense of guilt, as if she had inadvertently ruined a decent, honest man. Or rather, she felt like a rabbit who only ate the grass near its own burrow had suddenly gone and eaten the grass from the neighbor's burrow.

Luo Fu could tell that the princess hadn't intentionally taken her brother in; her long silence was entirely due to shock. She quickly explained, "Princess, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean to blame you. I... I just can't understand why you would take a liking to my brother. He... he's not particularly handsome, and he's so dark-skinned. He's not very clever either; to put it bluntly, he's a bit dim-witted..."

Kang Ping: "..."

Could she say that she liked strong, muscular men like Luo Song who looked powerful and would be great in bed? Xiao Yu was fair-skinned and exceptionally handsome, like an immortal, but she didn't like him. Besides, scholars and those who became officials were all aiming for a bright future in the officialdom. Kang Ping didn't want to hinder scholars, and she was also afraid that scholars would speak ill of her.

Luo Fu guessed the answer from the princess's silence, and the thought that her brother had gained the princess's favor through such means made Luo Fu even more embarrassed.

Kang Ping cut to the chase and said, "Alright, I'll make things clear to him next time he comes over and cut ties with him completely. From now on, we'll act like nothing ever happened, and we'll continue to get along as usual."

Lov is a clever person. The princess can sever ties with her brother because she is tired of him, but she cannot be forced to give up her current favorite male lover because of her. Anyway, her brother is not married yet, and given how quickly the princess gets bored with the new, she will probably abandon him in about six months.

"No, it's my brother's good fortune to catch the princess's eye. The princess can just separate us siblings. He is him and I am me. I will pretend I don't know anything about this and won't tell anyone. I will even continue to pretend I don't know about my brother. If the princess likes him, she can pamper him for a while longer. If she doesn't like him anymore, she can get rid of him at any time. Do whatever makes you happy."

Luo Fu became more and more relaxed as she spoke.

Kang Ping was quite surprised: "You, you really don't mind me treating your brother as a gigolo?"

She made it very clear that Luo Song was just a gigolo to her, and she could not elevate Luo Song to be her legitimate husband just because of Luo Fu.

Luo Fu thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "The princess didn't force my brother, did she?"

If her brother was forced, Luo Fu would rather offend the princess than let him suffer the misery of being oppressed by nobles.

Kang Ping: "...Let me tell you how hard your brother worked when he served me in bed..."

"I won't listen! I won't listen!" Luo Fu covered her ears and ran towards the door.

Kang Ping laughed and chased after him: "Be careful! If you fall, I'm afraid your Imperial Censor Xiao will come and settle scores with me!"

.

In the evening, Xiao Yu returned from the Censorate, changed into his everyday clothes, and went to the central courtyard to find his wife. He saw her sitting at one end of the long couch in the side room, facing the setting sun through the glass window, unconsciously touching her lower abdomen with one hand, her eyes lowered as if deep in thought.

Xiao Yu took off his shoes, sat down on the couch next to his wife, took her hand in his, and asked with concern, "Is something on your mind?"

Luo Fu shook her head and smiled at him: "It's nothing serious. The princess invited me to admire the flowers today, but now that she knows I'm pregnant, she probably won't invite me as often in the future. I'm afraid that during this time she will get to know some lady who is more to her liking than me, and she won't think of me anymore when there are delicious or fun things to do."

Luo Fu wouldn't tell anyone about her brother's secret with the princess, not even Xiao Yu, who was known for his tight-lipped nature. She also never revealed the princess's keeping of male lovers to anyone around her. Once, her sister heard about it from someone else and, purely out of curiosity, secretly sought her out to confirm. Luo Fu's only reply was, "The princess never told me, and I never saw it when I was a guest at the princess's residence."

This was Ralph's way of repaying the princess's favor, however insignificant, and although the princess might not need her help to conceal the truth.

Xiao Yu raised Madam Gao's hand and kissed it: "This child has been a burden to you. However, the princess may meet other ladies who are more pleasing to her than you, but to me, Madam will always be the most lovable girl in the world, and the best lady."

Luo Fu's gaze fell on his lips, which were not as dark as hers but were very beautiful, and she scoffed, "You're so good at saying nice things."

Xiao Yu was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "In this world, probably only Madam would praise me for speaking so eloquently."

Luo Fu was completely amused by him, hooked her arm around Xiao Yu's neck, and kissed him on the lips.

Under Xiao Yu's initiative, a light touch gradually turned into a deep kiss, until Luo Fu leaned against Xiao Yu's chest, Xiao Yu's chin resting on the top of her head, and the couple's breathing became disordered, some deep and some shallow.

Luo Fu mischievously reached down to Xiao Yu's belt.

Xiao Yu grabbed his wife's hand.

Luo Fu tilted her head back and bit his neck: "It's all your fault. You knew it was impossible, but you still provoked me."

Xiao Yu was forced to look up, enduring the punishment from his wife while apologizing: "It was my fault. I will make amends to my wife next year when she has recovered."

.

Two days later, on the afternoon of September 14th, Luo Song, who had deliberately sought out his superiors to select him to patrol the area around the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence that day, slipped into the residence when he had a spare moment.

According to etiquette, Luo Song first went to pay his respects to Madam Deng. When Madam Deng learned that he had come to visit his pregnant sister, she smiled and arranged for a maid to lead him to Shensi Hall.

Luo Fu guessed that her brother had probably learned from the princess that she already knew, and that she had met with her brother alone in the front hall.

When the brother and sister met, one sat with a straight face and the other stood with a red face, and they remained silent for a long time.

Luo Fu: "...Since you have nothing to say to me, brother, hurry up and get to work."

Luo Song then walked to his younger sister's side and stammered, "This, this, sister, please don't tell our parents or our eldest sister about this, okay?"

Luo Fu gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "I won't say anything more for the sake of the princess's reputation, so you can rest assured."

Luo Song breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave.

Luo Fu called out to the man, asking her tall brother, who was over eight feet tall, to squat down so she could look at him and speak: "Over there, they still want to keep you?"

Luo Song lowered his head in acquiescence, his ears turning bright red.

The princess originally intended to break up with him, but when he shed tears, she changed her mind.

Luo Fu didn't want to inquire about the specifics of her brother's and the princess's discussion. She only reminded her brother, "You're probably willing now, but one day they'll kick you out. They're straightforward people there. I hope you can prepare in advance, don't dwell on things you shouldn't, and leave gracefully in the future. Don't anger them, and don't cause them any trouble."

Luo Song knew that he wasn't thinking about anything else; he just couldn't bear to be separated from such a wonderful princess. As long as he could stay by her side, he was willing to be her male consort for life, without seeking any official title.

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Author's Note: This chapter will only briefly introduce how the princess and her older brother ended up sleeping together. Their relationship will be briefly touched upon later as needed for the plot. Those who like them can look forward to the side stories. The next chapter will return to the main storyline. 100 little red envelopes! See you tonight for the second update!

P.S.: The princess won't become love-struck because of Luo Song, and Luo Fu won't use her brother's connections to ask the princess for favors. You can rest assured about that; all emotional changes will be logical.