Chapter 56 He could even kiss himself, kiss him...
"Master, Hua Chao has returned to Qinghe Courtyard with four jugs of wine."
The brushstrokes on the folded document paused for a moment, leaving a large ink stain. Fu Huaiqing lifted his eyelids, glanced thoughtfully at Cheng Jin, and without saying a word, finished his unfinished instructions.
Cheng Jin couldn't figure out what he meant, exchanged a glance with Jiang Yue, and then stepped back.
As night deepened, the candlelight in the study was finally extinguished just before midnight.
During the morning court session, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies mentioned the visit of the Western Lan Kingdom. As soon as he finished speaking, the huge court hall was filled with whispers. The Western Lan Kingdom's visit to pay homage was now a foregone conclusion, but some court officials, mostly military officers, still held different opinions.
Some of them had clashed with the Xilan Kingdom before, while others had never met them. However, they all believed that given the Xilan Kingdom's wild nature, they would definitely keep a close watch on the Xilan prince and princess's trip to the capital. One reason was to prevent them from causing trouble in the capital and slandering the Li Dynasty, and the other was that they still felt that the Xilan prince and princess must have a purpose in coming here, otherwise they would not have come at this time.
Fu Huaiqing listened to their back-and-forth, remaining silent for a long time, letting them argue.
For a moment, the imperial court was like a bustling marketplace, with people arguing heatedly.
Some court officials did not participate in the discussion. Fu Huaiqing's gaze swept over Zhang Yan, who was silent with his eyes down. After only a moment, he turned his gaze to Lin Yiqing, the head of all officials, and tapped the armrest of his chair with his well-defined knuckles.
In an instant, the officials in the high hall, whose eyes had been fixed on him, suddenly stopped speaking, lowered their eyes, and dared not say another word.
Having already made a decision, Fu Huaiqing didn't want to say anything more. Letting them argue until they were red in the face was just to see their stance.
Su Ci stepped forward at the opportune moment to report on the upcoming imperial examinations.
"Why are you still arguing so fiercely about something that's already been decided?" Cheng Jin, standing outside the hall, rubbed his ears and whispered to Jiang Yue beside him.
"Everyone is vying to state their position." Jiang Yue glanced at the court officials in the hall. The officials who could sit firmly in the court, even the military generals, were very astute. They could see the undercurrents beneath the calm surface and did not want to get involved. Some were eager to express their opinions, while others stayed out of it. In short, none of them had the idea of supporting the government.
He calculated, "They'll arrive in less than ten days."
"Just now, a guard reported that Her Highness the Princess set off for the capital three days ago," Cheng Jin said. "She will arrive in the capital in two days."
Upon learning that Duan Hui had already set off to return to the capital, Fu Huaiqing, who had been walking briskly down the steps, slowed his pace slightly. His younger sister had always been unconventional and had been traveling outside the capital for nearly three years, not returning except for New Year's Eve. When she left again this year, she mentioned that she would only return to the capital near the end of the year. Now that she had suddenly turned back halfway, she must have heard something.
Cheng Jin: "The princess has learned of the Xilan Kingdom's intention to arrange a marriage alliance."
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing turned around and glanced at Fu Mingzhan, who was silently following behind him after the court session.
Fu Mingzhan: "..."
He hadn't expected his elder sister to act so quickly. The letter should have just been delivered to her when she had already packed her bags and returned to the capital without the slightest hesitation.
Fu Huaiqing was naturally aware of the correspondence between the two of them. "Have you mentioned anything else?"
"That's all I've said," Fu Mingzhan said. He had considered whether to tell his elder sister about what happened at the Prince Su's residence that day, but felt it was inappropriate. The young lady seemed to be quite hostile towards her brother, and telling her would only cause her trouble. "I haven't mentioned the young lady I met that day to my elder sister."
Fu Huaiqing hummed in agreement, then quickly turned away and left.
Seeing that he didn't intend for him to return to the palace, Fu Mingzhan quickly jogged to catch up.
Lately, he has been frequently absent from the palace, returning to the Prince Su's residence after court every day. Fu Mingzhan had never seen him like this before, and the guards around him were tight-lipped, unable to get any information out of him.
After much deliberation last night, Fu Mingzhan decided to go out of the palace with them.
He was prepared to throw a tantrum and act like a rogue if he was rejected, but to his surprise, it went very smoothly. He got into the Prince's carriage without even having to say a word, as if his brother had planned to take him back to the Prince's residence all along.
Fu Mingzhan followed his elder brother to the Prince Su's residence. As soon as he stepped into the residence, he saw his elder brother walking towards the backyard. After a moment of confusion, he was about to follow when he heard his elder brother instructing Cheng Jin to take him back to the study.
Fu Huaiqing went to Qinghe Courtyard.
At midday, Qinghe Courtyard was quiet and boundless.
Biezhi, who was sipping the clear spring water to soothe her throat, heard footsteps and looked in the direction of the sound with a long face. Suddenly, a tall figure came into view.
Seeing her face contorted in pain, Fu Huaiqing thought of the four jugs of Drunken Flower Wine he had sent to Qinghe Courtyard the night before, which appeared to be completely empty. He frowned and asked, "Have you had any hangover soup?"
Biezhi stopped him from ordering Jiang Yue to go to the kitchen to get some hangover soup, muttering, "It tastes awful, I'm going to throw up if I drink any more."
I tried forcing him to drink alcohol, but he didn't vomit. He even drank hangover soup, but he almost threw up.
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing couldn't help but chuckle and glanced back at her, feigning ignorance as he asked, "You didn't seem to have drunk much last night?"
"I don't know," Biezhi blinked and pouted, "I don't remember drinking much either."
She counted on her fingers, and said with a hint of doubt, "It seems to be less than ten."
Fu Huaiqing fell silent.
He stared silently at Biezhi, whose eyes were growing increasingly puzzled, his expression darkening slightly: "Have you forgotten what happened last night?"
"What happened last night?" Biezhi paused, then asked him blankly, "What happened last night?"
Fu Huaiqing, who had already anticipated this scene, slightly curled his thin lips and said, "About you and me."
Beyoji: "...?"
Her expression showed a mixture of surprise, confusion, and belated unease as she vehemently denied it, saying, "Anything about being drunk doesn't count."
Fu Huaiqing glanced at her but remained silent.
Then he took out a piece of paper that he always carried with him from his sleeve, spread it out in front of her, and said, "You wrote this last night."
-I don't want to kiss you at all, it's you who wants to kiss me.
-Don't try to tempt me anymore, I don't want to kiss you!
-Okay, okay, you are indeed good-looking, and you do look a little friendly.
-Let's just assume you're Jiran for now, but we can't hold you accountable later.
-It's such a pity I can't kiss him.
- Okay, I'll kiss you next time! A sneaky kiss!
Looking at the familiar, flowing handwriting on the huge sheet of paper, Biezhi's eyes widened little by little. She looked at Fu Huaiqing in astonishment, then at her own scribbles, and suddenly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Aaaaaaahhhhh!
What to do, what to do!
My master only said that drinking would lead to mistakes, but he never said that drinking would leave behind unacceptable consequences!
Fu Huaiqing saw the girl's increasingly panicked expression in his eyes, and pressed down on her hand that was about to destroy the paper. "It's good that you recognize it."
Biezhi: "..."
She hesitated, looking at the man whose expression was gradually becoming more pleased. After a long pause, she said, "It was written while I was drunk, so it doesn't count."
"Truth comes out when one is drunk." Fu Huaiqing, who had already guessed that she would act shamelessly, chuckled and glanced at the unfolded Xuan paper, asking, "When do you plan to secretly kiss me? I'll be able to make preparations."
Biezhi took a deep breath, her earlobes turning bright red.
The man's deep, dark eyes looked at me with a half-smile, as if he were asking a very serious question and wanted to know the answer.
After a brief moment of eye contact, she looked away and muttered softly, "I never said I wanted to kiss you."
The voice, neither too loud nor too soft, was just loud enough to reach Fu Huaiqing's ears. In an instant, the smile in his eyes faded slightly. "If it wasn't me, who else would you like to kiss?"
Biezhi didn't know who she wanted to kiss, nor did she know what she was thinking when she wrote last night. She must have been drunk and confused to write such outrageous words.
She thought that what she wrote was merely a promise to treat him as Ji Ran for the time being.
"Anyway, it's not you."
Fu Huaiqing laughed in anger.
A barely perceptible chill crept into his expression as he nodded: "That's fine too."
The man's indifferent yet pleasant voice carried a hint of chill, causing Biezhi to shiver and instinctively take a half-step back.
His tense voice turned cold as he said, "Kiss one, kill one."
Biezhi felt, rather inappropriately, that he was actually a nice person.
He waited until he kissed her before killing her, instead of preventing her from kissing him.
She pursed her lips slightly: "Kill anyone who kisses you?"
Fu Huaiqing didn't expect her to actually take advantage of the situation, but upon closer reflection, she realized that it was indeed something she was capable of doing. If she didn't take advantage of the situation, she wouldn't be a different branch.
He glanced at her coolly and said, "Hmm."
Biezhi nodded thoughtfully.
She pondered for a moment, took two steps forward, and without hesitation wrapped her arms around Fu Huaiqing's neck, pressing down a few inches to kiss the corner of his mouth. She only stayed there for half a breath before letting go and quickly retreating before he could react.
"Kill them." Biezhi raised an eyebrow.
Fu Huaiqing's cold pupils suddenly contracted as he stared intently at the girl with a slightly provocative smile on her face, clearly determined not to admit defeat.
His eyes darkened. "You—"
"It's just a kiss, it won't hurt you." Biezhi deliberately misinterpreted his words. Did he think she was allowed to threaten him, but not allowed to fight back?
And if he can kiss himself, what's wrong with kissing him back?
One for one, that's fair.
Heaven knows how much Biezhi wanted to knock herself unconscious and fall back asleep the moment she got up early in the morning.
Before her thoughts could return to normal, the first thing that rushed into her mind was the image of their lips touching last night. Everything was exceptionally clear, like a series of pictures flashing before her eyes.
She couldn't remember anything else, except for the last scene.
It left a deep impression.
Even the smallest details were not forgotten.
"Please wait, gentlemen."
The sudden sound broke Biezhi's thoughts. She subconsciously tilted her head slightly, her gaze passing over Fu Huaiqing's figure and following the sound. Her eyes met the man's gradually surprised eyes, and then she silently withdrew them.
Fu Huaiqing glanced sideways at Qin Xiao, whose expression had hardened, then swept his gaze over Su Ci, who looked astonished. He then casually looked away, only to see Bie Zhi dash away in a flash.
Staring intently at her figure, Qin Xiao frowned deeply, his heart filled with surprise. He subconsciously took half a step forward, but the guards outside Qinghe Courtyard immediately raised their hands to stop him. He stopped, a mix of surprise, confusion, and other emotions flashing through his mind, almost tearing him in two.
Su Ci hadn't expected to see Bie Zhi here. She glanced at Qin Xiao, whose expression was getting increasingly strange, and then at Fu Huaiqing, who remained calm. She sighed.
Fu Huaiqing walked past with a calm expression and without looking to the side.
Jiang Yue and Cheng Jin, standing to one side, were sweating profusely. They hadn't expected Su Ci and Qin Xiao to come to Qinghe Courtyard. They didn't care about anything else and hurriedly followed their master.
In an instant, Qinghe Courtyard was completely empty.
Qin Xiao, whose gaze had fallen upon Qinghe Courtyard, suddenly snapped out of his daze and quickly followed.
As Fu Mingzhan waited in the study, his elder brother's figure suddenly came into view. Before he could even walk up to him, he saw his brother's indifferent and stern gaze and moved to the side, trying to disappear from his sight.
Qin Xiao and Su Ci followed closely behind. Fu Mingzhan was taken aback, wondering if something serious had happened.
His elder brother, in particular, showed absolutely no emotion.
Fu Mingzhan wasn't afraid of his cold face or his angry expression; what he feared most was his expressionless face.
The moment their eyes met, Fu Mingzhan swallowed hard and said, "I'll walk around a bit." Then, without waiting for him to speak, he decisively walked out of the study.
Qin Xiao and Su Ci, who had rushed over, bumped into the young emperor who was running out, and abruptly stopped to greet him.
As Fu Mingzhan ran outside, he gestured for them to get up.
After thinking for a moment, he took a few steps back and carefully examined Qin Xiao's expression, feeling that his expression also seemed a bit off.
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