"Xiao An!" Xiao Yan embraced Ye An openly. Both Xiao Yan's affectionate action and the familiar way that she was calling the emperor made Ah Lin, Sze Chang, and Prince Adlai freeze. Xi Chen only stood to the side as he tried to quell the unnamed bitterness lurking in the depths of his chest.
"Oh. I see that the light-footed blacksmith is with you again." Xiao Yan commented, unimpressed when she saw Xi Chen. "Are you play dressing as a nobleman today, light-footed blacksmith?"
Ah Lin snickered. "Light-footed blacksmith?"
"And you are?" Xiao Yan finally turned her attention to the rest of the group.
"Ah Lin. Pleased to meet you. Xiao Yan, isn't it?" Ah Lin replied as he pulled a flower from behind Xiao Yan's ears and presented it to her. Xiao Yan didn't even bother to hide her disdain for the trick and rolled her eyes.
Sze Chang, on the other hand, was fascinated by Ah Lin's magic trick. "Where in the world did you pull that flower from?"
"A master never tells his secrets." Ah Lin said secretively but turned to the young Prince Adlai to continue. "But I'll let you in on the secret if you ever want to learn from me, my apprentice."
Xi Chen had his gaze fixed on Xiao Yan as he answered her. "If I remember correctly, I didn't admit nor deny your assumption of me being a blacksmith. Who's to say I'm not a nobleman play dressing as a blacksmith during our last meeting?"
Xiao Yan narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Xi Chen before dropping the subject completely. "Ah, well. It doesn't matter to me." She was making it obvious that she didn't think that Xi Chen was worth her time.
"Xiao An~" Xiao Yan said as she hooked Ye An's arm affectionately and pulled Ye An towards her. "You didn't visit me for the longest time. I've missed you so much."
"Oh. Um, I've been busy." Ye An answered guiltily. "What are you doing here? I thought you never leave the brothel?"
At the word 'brothel', Ah Lin quickly covered Prince Adlai's young ears as Sze Chang cleared his throat and pretended like he didn't hear anything.
"The madam said that she's thinking of opening a branch out here and decided to put me in charge. So I've been here on and off for the past few weeks to set things up." Xiao Yan said as she continued to linger around Ye An while clearly ignoring the rest of the group.
"Oh, well. Do you want to join us?" Ye An invited out of courtesy, thinking that Xiao Yan would reject the invitation since she was here for business.
But Ye An's guess was way off since Xiao Yan gave a chirpy reply, "Sure!"
*******
"Uh.. So how did you know of er.. Xiao An?" Ah Lin asked Xiao Yan uncertainly as they walked as a group, figuring out that this Xiao Yan person probably didn't know of the emperor's true identity. Surely, she wouldn't have acted the way she did if she knew that she was in the presence of the emperor. Even Ah Lin who was basically an ambassador of not following proper protocols thought that Xiao Yan's actions were a little bit much.
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THE NIGHT EMPEROR: 夜安王 【The Night Emperor Book 1】| ✔️
Historical Fiction☑ COMPLETED "There are enough bad things in life, hold on to whatever it is that gives you joy." For the past 22 years, the Empress Mother has held onto the Dragon Throne that was rightfully Ye An's. Now, Ye An has finally ascended to the throne. Bu...
