binnovel Chapter 373 A Step-by-Step Thrill (7)
Chapter 373 A Step-by-Step Thrill (7)
"Sister Ruolan, why are you crying?" Wangyou was startled; she hadn't said anything.
"He's really still alive..." Ruolan cried uncontrollably, and the room fell silent except for her sobs.
Now, even the most oblivious person would realize that Ruolan must know Baka.
Qiaohui was shocked, but she quickly comforted Ruolan. After a while, Ruolan composed herself and then told her story with Baka.
Ruolan and Bakai have known each other since childhood. Ruolan in the past was not as quiet as she is now. She would laugh and make a fuss. Back then, she was a free-flying eagle. Bakai taught her horsemanship. The two can be said to be childhood sweethearts and mutually in love.
However, by chance, she was seen by the Eighth Prince when she was racing horses with Bakai. The Eighth Prince liked the bright and unrestrained Ruolan on horseback, so she was manipulated into being assigned to the Eighth Prince as a concubine during the selection of concubines.
Later, the Eighth Prince discovered that Ruolan was in love with Baka, which explained why Ruolan cried so much on her wedding night. As a result, Baka met with an accident on the battlefield.
She was already pregnant when she found out. After receiving the news of Baka's death, Ruolan was so grief-stricken that she lost the baby. Since then, she has devoted herself to Buddhism and her personality has become what it is today.
"I knew the royal family were all scoundrels. They think it's some great favor to have someone become their concubine? Bah!"
Ruoxi, who was listening from the side, was suddenly stunned. Why would she think that the Eighth Prince was so good? Does liking you mean making you a concubine? What's the difference between this and keeping a mistress in the 21st century?
"Forget-Me-Not Sister, he..."
"He's fine and works for me now. If Sister Ruolan wants to see him, I can arrange for you to meet him when he arrives in the capital."
"No need. I know he's alright, that's enough. Whether I see him or not is no longer important. Besides, my current status isn't suitable, so why add to his troubles?" Ruolan waved her hand in refusal. In her opinion, it was already a great blessing that Baka was alive.
Upon hearing this, Wangyou said nothing more, and after a while, she left.
After Wangyou left, Ruoxi helped Ruolan to sleep and then returned to her own room.
Thinking about the Eighth Prince's behavior over this period of time, she slapped herself. How could she think that the Eighth Prince was treating her well because of her sister? She was even advising her sister to get along well with the Eighth Prince. She deserved to die!
Wangyou is right. At his age, he actually seduced a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl. How shameless! Although this was common in ancient times, how could she, with a modern soul, find it normal?
That night, Ruoxi didn't sleep a wink. She carefully went through everything that happened when she woke up and came to a conclusion: she must have been assimilated by the ancient people. But Wangyou, this ancient person, was too amazing. It was such a worthwhile friend to have her.
From that day on, Ruoxi tried her best to spend time with Ruolan or play with Wangyou. If Wangyou was reading, she would also study alongside her.
Eighth Prince sent people to look for her several times, but they always missed her, and Eighth Prince was not very keen on going to the Xie residence to look for her.
Anyone with eyes can see that the Xie family girl only slightly likes the Tenth Prince; the other princes are simply not good enough for her.
Ruoxi discovered that as long as she was at the Xie residence, none of the princes dared to come looking for her, and they came even more frequently. Of course, they would occasionally run into her, but as long as she said she was going to see Wangyou, they wouldn't stop her.
"Ruoxi, the Emperor has specifically requested that you attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace," Ruolan said with some worry.
"What else did he say?"
"They said if you have any friends, you can invite them to come along too."
"Sister, I understand. It's exactly as Wangyou said. I'm going to find Sister Wangyou." Ruoxi smiled, not worried at all.
"Go!" Now that Ruolan knows that Baka is alive, most of her inner turmoil has subsided, but she still doesn't really welcome Eighth Master.
"Sister Wangyou, you guessed perfectly! Do you want to go?"
“Of course we have to go. I’m quite curious about your emperor, and besides, he’s gone through all this trouble. It wouldn’t be right not to satisfy their curiosity.” Wangyou smiled and put down the book in her hand. “Come here, let’s continue learning characters today.”
"Okay." Ruoxi smiled, sat down to the side, and continued to study diligently.
When Ruoxi got tired of writing, she would stare at Wangyou. She thought that this was probably what a true noble lady in ancient times was like. She didn't know how powerful the Xie family was, but the fact that even Emperor Kangxi was wary of them was quite remarkable.
She used to dream of time travel when she read books, but when she actually did, she realized that the stories about many handsome men loving only one person only existed in her imagination. If she hadn't met Wangyou, this stifling ancient life would have suffocated her sooner or later.
Ruoxi had this kind of intuition, so she trusted Wangyou and Xixuan a lot. However, she didn't usually have much contact with Xixuan, because Xixuan was only truly gentle when he was with Wangyou. To her, it was just a formality. So, she just needed to stick close to Wangyou.
Afterwards, Wangyou had Ruoxi practice calligraphy, while she went to discuss entering the palace with Xixuan.
“Sister, although the old emperor wants to see us, I reckon he’ll definitely give us a hard time,” Xi Xuan said after a moment of contemplation.
"That's normal. If he dares to give us a hard time, I'll give him a hard time back. Then we'll see who's embarrassed," Wangyou said with a smile.
As for fear, these two siblings don't even know how to write the word "fear".
"Sister, should we bring gifts when we go to the palace?"
"He's the emperor, he's seen all sorts of good things, why would he need our pittance?"
“Sister, etiquette cannot be disregarded; we still need to put on a show.” Xi Xuan knew his sister was up to no good, so he said in a serious tone.
At this moment, a heated discussion broke out in the Imperial Study about whether or not to give Wangyou and Xixuan a hard time.
Because Emperor Kangxi sent people to search for information about the Xie family among the common people, they eventually found the Xie family secrets hidden under the floorboards of the former residence of a deceased Confucian scholar.
It is said that every member of the Xie family is highly skilled in martial arts, capable of taking the head of an enemy from among ten thousand men, but they are very mysterious and only appear when the nation is in peril.
The people in this family seem to have mild tempers, but they never suffer losses. If anyone dares to make them look bad, they can expect revenge. However, they have a clear sense of right and wrong, and as long as you don't provoke them, they won't cause trouble.
After a heated discussion, Kangxi finally decided to save face for himself. If he could give them a show of force, that would be fine; if they didn't accept it, he would be the one who lost face.
Besides, ancient books also mention that the Xie family might possess elixirs that prolong life. If he could cultivate a good relationship with them, he could easily ask for them. After all, which emperor doesn't want to live forever?