Chapter 26 Chapter 26 "What are your highness and Princess Zong doing? ...
"Since the Northern Divine King has already gifted Your Highness so many pairs of Birds of Paradise for dyeing, why would Immortal Lord Zhu Yan do this?"
Yingluo had a signature smile on her face, but Jiuzhao sensitively noticed a subtle change in her voice.
She attributed this change to Yingluo's inability to accept that she was more popular than her.
He chose to conceal the truth that Zhu Yan had sent the Bird of Paradise on orders from the Northern Divine King. He raised his chin slightly, his expression rather proud, "I am the crown prince of the Three Pure Heavens. The Northern Territory now depends on the Father's favor, but in the future, it will depend on me. Zhu Yan is smarter than the others. He caught the Bird of Paradise first to curry favor with me. Isn't that okay?"
"If he only wants to curry favor with the future Divine Emperor of Sanqing Heaven by posing as a subordinate, then that's not a big deal. What I'm worried about is..."
Yingluo's pretty face became serious for no reason, and at the end of her words, her attitude seemed to be hesitant.
Although he was clearly jealous, he had to pretend to be considerate of others.
Jiu Zhao found it amusing and interrupted her: "You're worried, what does it have to do with you? What do you have to worry about?"
With Zhu Yan as a hidden danger, Ying Luo couldn't keep her mouth shut as Jiu Zhao wished.
She took a step forward, sat down beside Jiu Zhao, and spoke to her heartfeltly, "The Northern God Princess's family is prominent, and she is also arrogant and jealous. For ten thousand years, most of her illegitimate children have never grown up under her control.
"For Immortal Zhu Yan, a bastard born to a humble mother and possessing talent far superior to that of Crown Prince Meng Chu, to have survived safely to this day and enjoyed a certain reputation within the Three Pure Heavens, one can see that he is quite cunning and calculating. Your Highness, please exercise caution when interacting with him."
"Oh, what else?"
The rustling sound of fabric rubbing against fabric could be heard. Jiu Zhao looked at Ying Luo who was unconsciously approaching him and asked indifferently.
Concern can cloud one's mind, so Ying Luo assumed she had taken the advice to heart and continued earnestly, "Your Highness is kindhearted and sincere by nature, always treating those with ulterior motives as friends. I only wish to remind Your Highness that you must be wary of others and should observe Zhu Yan more closely."
The woman in front of him opened and closed her lips, looking full of love and sincerity.
Jiu Zhao thought of the past that she recalled through the illusion of her inner demons - yes, the reason why she and Ying Luo drifted apart was because Ying Luo was always like this, taking every opportunity to speak ill of everyone close to her, from her peers in the academy to her adoptive brother Lan Qi.
Even after Jiu Zhao had avoided her for many years, Ying Luo still made a special trip to Chang Xi Palace on the eve of her marriage to Fu Xu. She held her hand and told her that her father had intended to marry Fu Xu. She asked Fu Xu for his opinion, and the other party neither agreed nor refused.
Yingluo's implication was that Fuxu only cared about his identity as his wife.
Jiuzhao's birth is more noble than hers, so he gave up the marriage with Xihai and chose Jiuzhao instead.
She repeatedly emphasized Jiuzhao's identity as a queen, and stressed that those who cared about Jiuzhao and accompanied Jiuzhao had bad intentions.
As close friends, Jiu Zhao initially thought that Ying Luo was genuinely doing it for her own good. Later, after seeing Ying Luo chatting and laughing with those whom she called "disloyal" people more than once, Jiu Zhao realized that Ying Luo just couldn't bear to see her doing well.
Because they can't stand seeing me doing well, they try to sow discord again and again.
He sowed discord to the point that she was almost the only friend left around him.
What’s funny is that after suffering countless losses, Jiu Zhao finally saw through her true nature, but others never saw through it.
She is so beautiful, intelligent and decent despite being covered in disguise all year round.
In the words of her fans, Ying Luo acts generously and knows when to advance and retreat, and is far more like the daughter of the God Emperor than Jiu Zhao.
Jiu Zhao was overwhelmed by many lonely past events that he tried to forget but was forced to recall.
She thought she would be angry, and would grab Ying Luo's clothes and ask her for an explanation when she tried the same trick again.
But she listened quietly to Yingluo's fabrication of Zhu Yan's words, her lips curled up in a cold, sarcastic smile, "Isn't this an example of someone who considers someone with ulterior motives as a friend right before my eyes? Is Princess Yingluo acting out her same-sex repulsion right now?"
Yingluo paused.
Her face was a mixture of red and white, and her slender and soft eyes revealed a pitiful grievance.
Jiu Zhao didn't understand why Ying Luo was feeling wronged.
Her hands resting on her knees were suddenly clenched tightly by her.
Jiu Zhao's body reflexively stepped back, but behind her was the railing of the corridor, and she had nowhere to retreat.
"Your Highness, do you really not understand my feelings?"
Ying Luosu's pale face pressed forward, her lips opening and closing, her breath as sweet as orchid, as she said earnestly, "For so many years, your servant—"
"What are your Highness and Princess Zong doing?"
Yingluo was interrupted for the second time.
However, Jiu Zhao didn't want the person who interrupted her this time to appear at this moment.
A tall figure came out from the corner of the corridor fork, and Fuxu, who had ended his retreat early for some reason, caught the eyes of the two men.
Jiu Zhao was very sure that Fuxu should not come out of the side hall until she sent Yingluo away.
Half an hour ago, Jiu Zhao received the news that Ying Luo came to visit and was waiting at the entrance of the Lihentian barrier.
She didn't want the two old lovers to meet, so she left Ying Luo alone and turned around to urge Fuxu, who had not meditated to heal his injuries today.
After confirming that Fuxu had truly entered a state of seclusion, she ordered Jiangyu to open the barrier and let the person in.
Fuxu ended so quickly and so impatiently.
There is only one possibility.
When he thought of that possibility, the panic caused by Ying Luo's relentless pressure was instantly replaced by dissatisfaction.
Jiu Zhao's heart was filled with a sour and swollen feeling. She didn't bother pushing Ying Luo away. Instead, she stared at Fu Xu with her beautiful eyes and asked with a half-questioning, half-threatening smile, "Why did you come out? Weren't you meditating in seclusion?"
Fuxu replied, "It ended early. I was planning to go to the garden to get some fresh air, but I didn't expect His Highness and Princess Zong were both here."
The young man's voice responded to Jiu Zhao, but his eyes were on Ying Luo who was pressing her down.
While Jiu Zhao turned his head away and wasn't paying attention to her, Ying Luo took advantage of the situation and moved her face even closer, so that it fell in the shadow of the eaves and she smiled faintly at Fu Xu.
This silent yet intense exchange of glances didn't catch Jiu Zhao's attention. She muttered to herself sourly, "Oh, doesn't he usually come out around lunchtime? Today the sun really came out from the west. I'm afraid there must be some other reason."
Fuxu's eyes moved, and he ignored her words and looked at Yingluo: "Junior Zong, why don't you get off my wife?"
This is too direct.
Assuming Yingluo is a man, the questioning would be no different from catching someone cheating in bed.
Yingluo nonchalantly reached out to touch Jiuzhao's raven hair. Ignoring her dodging attempts, she stroked it for a moment, then plucked out a half-pink petal from the hairline. "A stray peach blossom had fallen onto Her Highness's bun, and I simply wanted to remove it for her. High God Fuxu, please don't take it too seriously."
She smiled softly again, adjusted the hem of her aqua blue skirt, and stood up from Jiu Zhao's side.
…
With Fuxu's arrival, the benches in the corridor were obviously not enough.
The three of them moved their position to the stone table in the pavilion. Jiangyu and Xiangbi served tea and snacks, filling the table with a dazzling array of delicacies.
From the moment they sat down, Fuxu and Yingluo's eyes intertwined from time to time. They paid attention to each other's behavior, which made Jiuzhao, who was sitting on the stone bench in a triangle, sometimes feel uncomfortable being sandwiched in the middle, and sometimes think that she seemed very redundant in the relationship between the three.
After a brief chat about the Immortal Examination, Yingluo learned that Jiuzhao was also going to participate. She immediately wished her the best with a sincere look on her face.
Jiu Zhao curled up the corners of his mouth as a smile, and went on to drink tea and eat snacks.
Seeing this, Yingluo didn't say much.
She changed the subject with ease and told Fuxu the whole story about the invitation to attend the birthday party at Xihai.
When she opened her storage ring with a smile and searched for the invitation she was going to give to Fuxu, she let out another "Oops!" and spread her hands, apologizing innocently, "It's all my fault. When I came here, I was so focused on giving the invitation to His Highness Jiuzhao that I forgot that Fuxu now resides in Lihentian. I didn't bring his invitation with me. Please don't blame me, God."
"That's all right." Fu Xu stood still, his attitude magnanimous. "It's still a long time before the birthday banquet. Zong Ji will be staying in Erqingtian to prepare for the immortal examination. There will be many opportunities for us to meet in the future. Just bring the invitation next time."
Ying Luo's eyelashes twitched, and her distinct black and white eyes held a hint of inquiry. "Will the High God accompany His Highness Jiu Zhao to the banquet?"
Fuxu was about to nod when Jiuzhao picked up a piece of soft and sticky rose cake and stuffed it into his mouth. "You just came out of seclusion and talked to Yingluo for so long. You must be hungry. Come on, try some snacks!"
Jiu Zhao turned his face away and looked at Fu Xu as if he would strangle him to death if he shook his head and said he was not hungry.
The moment the soft cake entered the mouth, the aroma similar to Jiu Zhao's lip balm quickly filled the tip of the nose and the teeth.
Delicate, soft, with a lingering sweetness.
Fuxu's pupils dodged slightly as he looked straight ahead, and under Jiuzhao's gaze, his lower eyelids suddenly became hot.
He chewed passively, the sweetness seeping into his mouth, but what he lingered in his mind was a different taste.
Just as he was about to swallow the soft cake, Jiu Zhao's artificial yet sweet voice continued to rang out: "A Xu, what are you daydreaming about?"
Her slender fingertips twirled a handkerchief she had pulled out from somewhere, brought it to his lips, and wiped away the icing crumbs that had fallen from the rose cake. "Yingluo said it's getting late and she needs to go back to continue practicing magic. Would you mind seeing her off for me?"
Before Fuxu could say anything, Yingluo stood up and said sympathetically, "Don't bother the gods to see me off. I'll leave now."
Before leaving, she once again looked deeply at Jiu Zhao, and said with a bow, "Since the Immortal Examination has Your Highness as its opponent, I will definitely redouble my efforts."
"No."
…
After a while, Yingluo Niaona's figure disappeared in the front yard. Jiu Zhao was quite satisfied that Fuxu did not see her off.
She turned her head, her eyes wandering over the plates of pastries, and asked Fuxu happily, "Is the rose cake delicious? Do you want more?"
"cough."
Fu Xu cleared his throat. When talking about rose soft cake, Jiu Zhao's red and tender lips always appeared in his mind.
He couldn't look at Jiu Zhao, nor anywhere else. He simply fixed his gaze on the direction leading to the front hall, pondering Ying Luo's intention in hosting a birthday banquet. He said softly, "...It tastes good, but a bit too sweet. I'll just try one piece and that's enough."
"Okay, if you don't eat it, I will."
Jiu Zhao pouted in boredom and was about to take a piece to eat when she saw Fu Xu staring at the direction where Ying Luo left, refusing to turn away for a moment. Her pretty face immediately turned sour, "Have you seen enough? You are so reluctant to part with your old lover. It's not too late to chase him now——"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com