The Elegant Dancing Years By Huo Li (火狸) | BL

Chapter 23 | Nian Chen

Watching him storm past purposefully, all the palace attendants, servants, and consorts were stunned by his actions. They wondered what had happened for His Majesty to appear so furious and panicked? Ever since His Majesty took the throne, such a look had never appeared on his face. 

They saw him being followed by a group of guards as they hurried past the gates of various palaces. The chilling and violent murderous intent emanated by him made everyone avoid him like the plague, his expression made the people who came across him alarmed and apprehensive enough to immediately kneel down. As he passed by, the attendants and harem concubines along the road knelt on the ground. 

Looking at the figure of His Majesty far away, everyone shared a look. Wasn't that the direction of the Empress' residence? Thus, some people started speculating that, perhaps, the Empress' position might change soon.

The mesmerizing Luotong flowers outside Ranxin Pavilion still showed off their gorgeous colour and beauty, it was especially eye-catching in front of the quiet pavilion. Qi Xutian walked inside hastily and Chief Liu, who stood on the side, blocked what the maid wanted to report. His face showed a rare expression of worry as he shook his head slightly at her, then followed behind Qi Xutian.

There was a casual yet disorderly arrangement of various things inside the room, whether these items were ordinary or expensive, all were thrown around indiscriminately. The invaluable calligraphy scrolls, paintings, ink brushes and the guqin books were placed around casually; this room obviously wasn't treated as a hall for receiving guests, instead, it was arranged according to the preferences of the owner. But what actually attracted everyone's attention was not the furnishings in this room, but a bamboo couch by the window.

On the bamboo couch next to the window, the gentle breeze carrying the aroma of flowers blew inside. The figure of a sleeping young man was momentarily covered by a gauze curtain dancing in the wind, it was hazy and beautiful. A few strands of the young man's dark hair slid down due to the wind and fell on a woman wearing an apricot yellow-coloured dress.

At this moment, she was sitting on the side of the bamboo couch, leaning forward, and reaching for his neck while holding his robe open with her other hand. The sun shone through the folds of the gauze curtain and fell on the two people, creating an effect of mottled lights and shadows. The messy clothes of the teenager and the loose, long hair of the woman formed a moment of silent beauty on the bamboo couch.

Everyone held their breaths and looked at the teenager and the woman in the yellow dress. That should be His Second Highness and the Empress. Why do they seem so close and even a bit... They secretly glanced at His Majesty's ugly face and eased those offensive associations from their minds and shook their heads. His Second Highness had not reached adulthood yet and was just a child. Although he was tall and handsome, he would never have these strange ideas. But His Majesty... They shuddered and quickly bowed their heads, not daring to think any further.

Qi Xutian's entry into the room took an instant. Jiang Yao was looking into Qi Mingyue's undershirt with a strange look on her face, but before she could touch his white skin, there was a sudden pain in her wrist. She jerked away and fell on the ground, only to hear a dangerously cold voice speak, "I thought you were a smart person, Jiang Yao."  She looked up and saw a pair of cold eyes as he glared at her with bloodlust, "Don't let me have a reason to kill you." Even though there was a soft smile on his face, the hidden crazy violence raging through him convinced her that he had deliberately restrained his actions just now. If he hadn't, she would be dead.

Holding her hurt wrist, she looked at the man in front of her, "I don't know what I did wrong that angered Your Majesty. Your Majesty treated me this way, it was because of Ming---," As she said this, her eyes changed and she instantly switched, "---because of His Second Highness. I can assure you that he is safe and sound, he just felt tired and took a rest on my couch for a while. Is Your Majesty going to punish me for this?"