...
...
A barrage of compliments rained down on Shu Zhan, making him practically beam with joy. He figured that if his mother knew about this, she wouldn't be angry with him anymore.
Prefect Qu looked at him in surprise and asked Lu Huai, "Why is this young man so happy? Is there some good news at home?"
Lu Huai glanced indifferently at Shu Zhan, who was grinning foolishly, and nodded without any guilt: "Your Excellency is absolutely right. He does indeed have good news and is secretly rejoicing."
Yes, it's good news. Shu Zhan is about to end his nineteen-year bachelorhood and begin his twentieth.
Prefect Qu nodded understandingly, without asking what the happy event was, and simply smiled and congratulated Shu Zhan, "Congratulations, young brother Chu, hahahaha."
Shu Zhan's smile froze instantly. He looked at Lu Huai with a puzzled expression, who raised an eyebrow slightly. Although he didn't quite understand what Lu Huai meant, Shu Zhan still cheerfully accepted the congratulations.
"Thank you, sir. Congratulations to you too!"
Hearing his words, Lu Huai couldn't help but turn his head away, suppressing the smile on his lips, only managing two restrained coughs, "Cough cough..."
Prefect Qu didn't dwell on the matter too much. Thinking that there weren't too many affairs in the government, he simply invited them to sit for a while longer, and the two gladly accepted.
"Here you go." He poured a few cups of tea and handed them to Lu Huai and Shu Zhan, who quickly accepted them with both hands as a sign of respect.
"The taste is excellent, fine tea." Prefect Qu took a sip of the hot tea and praised it generously. Then, looking at the two young men, he asked with a smile, "What did you two young gentlemen think of today's performance?"
Shu Zhan was about to speak when he seemed to remember something and hesitated, glancing at Lu Huai.
The latter shook his head honestly, "We don't understand. Neither of us are from Dongcheng, and it's already a struggle for us to understand what they're saying, let alone this joke."
Shu Zhan nodded in agreement, looking as if he was saying, "He's right about everything."
Prefect Qu chuckled and gently patted Shu Zhan's shoulder. "I can tell you're not locals. Where are you from?"
Lu Huai smiled and said, "It's just a small town in the north, no need to mention it."
"Oh, young man, you are mistaken."
Prefect Qu gave him a disapproving look. "As the saying goes, 'A child doesn't despise his mother for being ugly, and a dog doesn't despise his home for being poor.' Each place has its own unique people. Since this is your hometown, it must be an excellent place. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to raise such gentlemen."
Young man, please don't refuse any longer. Tell me, so I can broaden my horizons. If I happen to be passing through your residence on official business in the future, I can ask you for a drink of water."
Lu Huai's smile faded slightly, and even Shu Zhan noticed something was wrong.
Dongcheng is located in the northwest of Yu Kingdom, while the capital is in the far north. The two places not only have a large temperature difference, but also have completely different accents.
Logically, the prefect of Dongcheng should have realized they weren't from around here from the very beginning of their conversation. If he were truly curious, he should have asked them earlier why he waited until after the performance to specifically keep them behind for questioning.
Shu Zhan frowned with concern.
Lu Huai stroked the teacup in his hand, as if considering whether to tell Prefect Qu. Prefect Qu stared at him intently, his gaze oppressive, and the atmosphere in the private room instantly changed from relaxed to somewhat strange.
Lu Huai lowered his eyelids, and after a moment he raised his head to look at Prefect Qu, still with that same smirking expression.
He parted his thin lips slightly and spoke slowly to Prefect Qu: "Reporting to Your Excellency..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
