Extra Chapter: Facing a zither, a pot of wine, and a stream of clouds.
In Pingjing, the capital of the Zhou Kingdom, it was the annual Lantern Festival. Every passerby on the street had a smile on their face and chatted with their companions about their plans and expectations for the coming year.
"Your Highness...Young Master, Third Young Master, please wait for this old servant!"
A slightly aged-looking man, dressed in fine clothes, struggled to keep up with the person in front of him. However, he was old and couldn't keep up with the pace of the teenager in front of him. He was about to lose sight of his master in the crowd and hurriedly called out, but his slightly shrill voice was quickly swallowed up by the passing crowd. The person in front of him didn't hear him at all and disappeared completely from the man's sight in the blink of an eye.
"Third Young Master, Third Young Master!"
The young master he spoke of was a handsome young man dressed in a noble purple robe, with his hair neatly tied back, his jet-black hair cascading down like a waterfall. He exuded an air of nobility, clearly a pampered rich kid.
"Ignore him, let him play."
Beside the man was an equally handsome young man. He bore a striking resemblance to the purple-clad youth from before, but the mole at the corner of his eye was like the finishing touch, making his entire face more beautiful. Even his white robes couldn't suppress his striking beauty; only the coldness between his brows managed to completely conceal it.
"This... Second Young Master, what if the Third Young Master gets lost?"
The man was in a difficult position; he was merely a servant, and he couldn't bear the responsibility if any of his masters were in trouble.
"At your age, it would be a laughing stock if you got lost."
The young man in white said coldly.
It's no wonder that the purple-clad boy was so lively. He was in poor health and had always been kept in the deep palace by his father and mother. Every year, the Lantern Festival was a boring palace banquet where dancers would come up and dance around. He couldn't understand the fun of it and only knew that it was very boring. He would fall asleep every time and then be woken up by his mother pinching his nose.
As for the boy in white, he was the second prince, whom he had forcibly dragged out of the palace. The second prince was born of the same mother, but because he had taken away his nutrients in the womb, his health was worse than his. However, unlike him, the second prince was not active. The second prince could even sit in the room with a book in his hand all day.
At a restaurant on the street.
A handsome young man dressed in black sat on the second-floor railing, with a pot of fine wine beside him. Drinking it brought him boundless joy and endless aftertaste. Standing next to him was a young man dressed in red. The two were close in age, but their auras were different. One was ruthless, and the other was unrestrained.
"Xie Xingzhou, your outfit today is really ugly."
The young man in black robes spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on the bustling street below.
Xie Xingzhou was somewhat unconvinced upon hearing this. His handsome features, combined with his red clothes, made him even more flamboyant. He replied, "You're always talking nonsense. Everyone says I look good in this." Then he added, "But you, it's the Lantern Festival, why are you still dressed in black? Aren't you afraid of being chased and beaten by Wen Niang?"
The Lantern Festival has many traditions, such as staying up all night, giving red envelopes, and the belief that red is auspicious and black is inauspicious.
Thinking of his mother, the boy in black robes also felt a headache coming on: "That's why I ran away here."
"Ha! I'll tell Wenniang to come and arrest you!" Xie Xingzhou laughed.
Everyone in Zhou knew that the young general of the Wen family had been stationed on the frontier with his father and grandfather since he was only ten years old. He was only brought back from the frontier this year for the Lantern Festival, and incidentally, he also settled his marriage. Many daughters of officials had secretly admired this handsome young general, but perhaps because he had been in the army for too long, he was completely oblivious to their feelings and went nowhere except for the family's training ground and restaurant.
Wen Su scoffed, "Go ahead and say it."
Xie Xingzhou would never betray his friend. His gaze was drawn to a lively purple figure on the street, and he asked in confusion, "Huh? Why is Ahe out of the palace?"
"who?"
Wen Su, who had been away from Beijing for several years, did not know who A He, whom Xie Xingzhou was talking about, was.
"Don't you know? The Third Prince, Zhou Qinghe, I call him Ahe."
Xie Xingzhou spoke with an air of familiarity, which was understandable, as he had grown up with Zhou Qinghe since childhood.
"Oh," Wen Su replied lazily, glancing in the direction Xie Xingzhou pointed before looking away. He disliked the noisy, boisterous boy and had no interest in him.
Xie Xingzhou didn't notice his friend's perfunctory tone. His gaze was drawn to another person, and he exclaimed "Eh!" again.
"What's wrong now? Don't tell me the Crown Prince came out too."
"No, no," Xie Xingzhou shook his head. "It's strange today; the Second Prince came out with us too."
"And who is the Second Prince?"
Wen Su frowned.
"The Second Prince, Zhou Ziqiu, is a famously cold beauty. I don't like him; he's too cold."
Upon hearing this, Wen Su became slightly interested. He preferred quiet and had a slight liking for people who were also quiet. He looked in the direction Xie Xingzhou pointed, but was immediately stunned.
As if by fate, the person he was looking at seemed to sense something and looked up at him. Although the two were far apart, Wen Su seemed to be able to see his own stunned self in the other's dark eyes.
Suddenly, an out-of-control carriage rushed out onto the street. People scrambled to avoid it in a panic, but Zhou Ziqiu, who was looking up, didn't notice. The carriage was about to hit him—
Wen Su suddenly grabbed the railing and leaped down from the second floor, scooping Zhou Ziqiu into his arms. Then, as light as a swallow, he flew back to the second floor of Baoque Tower, stepping on the rooftops of the vendors' stalls.
The crowd gasped, cheered, and applauded.
The man beside Zhou Ziqiu was extremely anxious. He was old and had been terrified when the carriage nearly hit the precious second prince of the royal family. Then, a man in black suddenly appeared and saved his second prince, but, but the prince was taken away by the young prince!
He looked up in the direction the man in black had left and saw him standing on the second floor of the restaurant. Zhou Gonggong's still sharp eyes recognized the man as the young general of the Wen family. He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he knew him, that was fine. Everyone said that the young general of the Wen family was a man of true character, so he probably wouldn't do anything to his young prince.
Thinking this, he immediately composed himself and went to look for the Third Prince, who was alone in the crowd.
Before Zhou Ziqiu could understand what was happening, he fell into the arms of a handsome young man who was a head taller than him. In his arms, Zhou Ziqiu could only see the prominent Adam's apple on the man's neck. There was also a scent of incense emanating from the man, a scent that Zhou Ziqiu liked.
Who are you?
As soon as Zhou Ziqiu spoke, he saw the man's Adam's apple move slightly: "Your Highness."
"Wh...who?"
Zhou Ziqiu was puzzled and frowned slightly. His gaze followed the person's neck upwards, only to meet the person's eyes and see who it was.
"General Wen?"
Wen Su smiled as he looked at Zhou Ziqiu in his arms. He respectfully placed him on the ground, knelt on one knee, and placed his right hand on his left shoulder, bowing to Zhou Ziqiu: "Your subject Wen Su greets the Second Prince. May the Second Prince be well."
Xie Xingzhou, who was standing to the side, also bowed to Zhou Ziqiu: "Your subject Xie Xingzhou greets the Second Prince. May the Second Prince be well."
Zhou Ziqiu said, "Get up."
The two stood up.
"General Wen has rendered meritorious service in protecting the Emperor, and the Royal Family will present him with a gift later." Zhou Ziqiu's tone was calm, and his manners and posture were impeccable.
"This is my duty."
Wen Su bowed respectfully once again.
At the same time, a man's slightly shrill voice came from the doorway: "Your Highness, Second Prince!"
"here."
Zhou Ziqiu replied.
The man rushed over upon hearing the commotion, accompanied by Zhou Qinghe. He glanced at the two men standing behind Zhou Ziqiu and bowed, saying, "General Wen, Young Master Xie, I'll take His Highness away first."
Xie Xingzhou nodded to his father-in-law, then winked at Zhou Qinghe, who stuck out his tongue at him in return. Wen Su remained silent.
Now that they had found the Second Prince, the eunuch left with Zhou Ziqiu and Zhou Qinghe. Xie Xingzhou saw that Wen Su was still standing there after Zhou Ziqiu left, so he went up and nudged Wen Su's shoulder: "Wake up, he's gone."
Wen Su blinked, then suddenly turned to ask his best friend a question that left the friend speechless.
"What do you think are my chances of successfully marrying the Second Prince?"
"You're insane!"
18:59:08
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