Chapter 84: Cruise
The boat continued traveling on the lake. Everything was still as before, harmonious and pleasant.
However, those who knew the situation were aware that this was only on the surface.
Hua Qianzi thought that everything was within her control while Xiao Susu was thinking hard about counter strategies. She didn"t want to lose everything she had right now and she also didn"t want to implicate the Xiao family.
Hence, right now she was suffering a little.
Xiao En also noticed but he didn"t know what to say. He wasn"t a hotheaded person, so he planned to head back and discuss this incident with Old Madame Xiao.
On the other hand, Xu Weiran was accompanying a group of beauties and admiring the lotus flowers.
From time to time, he would glance over towards where Xiao Susu was sitting. He wanted to find a chance to talk to her a little, but he couldn"t get free from these women. If it weren"t for the fact that Hua Qianye was present, he wouldn"t have bothered continuing to maintain his fake manner.
But not only was Hua Qianye present, Xiao Susu was as well.
He naturally couldn"t destroy his sage-like image that he had maintained for so many years, so he could only continue to accompany these beauties patiently.
Actually, the feeling of being surrounded by so many flowers wasn"t bad.
Some people who wanted to experience this wouldn"t even have the chance to.
And it must be known that the women of Hundred Flowers Nation were not simply pretty flowers. Here, even the most idiotic woman had way more talent than the women of the other nations.
After all, this was a society where women were in power.
Hua Qianye got free from the crowd to sit down next to Xiao Susu. His harmless smile made his facial features seem slightly gentle and even a hint feminine. It was well worth a second look.
His looks fit the standard of Hundred Flowers Nation"s ideal man very closely.
"Young Miss Xiao, you"re very skilled at the guqin. Why don"t you perform a song?" Hua Qianye"s tone was very aimable.
His gaze was even softer as he looked towards Xiao Susu with obvious antic.i.p.ation.
In reality, based on his ident.i.ty, even if he was a man, there was still no need for him to treat Xiao Susu this way.
However, he didn"t want Xiao Susu to feel that he was very aloof, which was why he purposefully humbled himself.
He knew that Hua Qianzi had, through some method, already successfully blackmailed or bribed Xiao Susu, so right now he was a step late.
Although he didn"t care about this, he also didn"t want to let this continue to develop.
So of course he had to use some tricks.
When Xiao Susu saw Hua Qianye"s att.i.tude, she couldn"t very well refuse. However, she glanced toward Hua Qianzi.
Her hatred of this woman hadn"t faded, and with how she threatened her just now, Xiao Susu found her even more of a thorn in her side.
"Rumors say that Princess is also a famous talent in great Yan. Wonder if Princes is willing to collaborate with this humble girl for one song?" Xiao Susu couldn"t reject Hua Qianye since she didn"t want to offend everyone in the imperial household right now.
If she did, the Xiao family would be backed even more into a corner.
"Collaborate how?" Hua Qianzi"s arrogance once again appeared on her face. Although great Yan had Su Mengru so she couldn"t even rank, she had always been unwilling to accept conceding defeat to that woman.
It was just a pity there was no compet.i.tion like the Jasper Flower Banquet in great Yan.
"This humble girl shall play a song and Princess can dance in accompaniment." Xiao Susu lifted her chin slightly.
Her eyes were calm without any trace of emotion.
"Alright! I"m sure Imperial Younger Sister"s dancing is the best in Hundred Flowers Nation." Hua Qianye inserted a sentence right in time with a tone of finality.
Originally Hua Qianzi had wanted to have Xiao Susu dance while she played the guqin. After all, offering a dance in front of these children of n.o.bility insulted her status.
She hadn"t expected that Hua Qianye would join in.
She inwardly gritted her teeth. Right now, she still didn"t dare to openly offend this imperial older brother, so she could only nod with a fake smile. "Imperial Older Brother is overflattering this one."
She also shot Xiao Susu a glare filled with warning like "just wait."
She slowly got up and smoothed out her clothing.
She seemed completely unruffled.
As of now, Xiao En finally smiled for real as he shared a glance with Xiao Susu.
Xiao Susu smiled naughtily and stuck out her tongue mischievously.
She was naturally not someone who was willing to suffer losses.
She wanted Hua Qianzi to be embarra.s.sed.
Fortunately, this Hua Qianye was very good with interpersonal relationships. If he wanted to rope her in, he had to show his sincerity. What he did just now was perfect.
Xiao Susu took the guqin that Hua Qianye"s subordinate pa.s.sed her and stroked it lightly. Her eyes brightened. With her understanding of guqins, she instantly knew that this guqin was of top quality.
She actually liked it so much she couldn"t really bear to part with it.
In her past lifetime, she hadn"t even cared about Mo Wenchen"s Jiao Wei this much.
As Xiao Susu"s fingers stroked the guqin, it attracted the attentions of the beauties that were surrounding Xu Weiran. Xu Weiran looked over and frowned slightly.
As music arose, Hua Qianzi also started stepping into graceful dance.
In Hundred Flowers Nation, there was no precedent of women performing dance. Hence, even at the Jasper Flower Banquet, there was no compet.i.tion in dance.
So now that an imperial princess was personally performing a dance, it was naturally a shocking sight.
Right now, everyone was staring blankly at Hua Qianzi who was dancing gracefully. It was to the point that they completely overlooked the sound of Xiao Susu playing. No matter how sonorous and resounding the music was, it couldn"t attract anyone"s attention.
Of course, Hua Qianye and Xu Weiran were still very calm.
They just watch quietly. There was no change in their expressions, nor any shock.
Music accompanied this solo dance as the boat continue onwards.
The sound of the guqin drifted very far, so all the other tourists looked over.
When they saw that it was a boat of the imperial family, they immediately look away to avoid attracting trouble.
However, there was one boat that didn"t move away and instead gradually started moving closer.
Until the sound of the guqin was right by their ears.
The two people on the boat shared a smile.
It was Baili Mo and Nangong Mo.
These two hadn"t returned to their nations either and had been staying in Hundred Flowers Nation under the pretext of going on a scenic tour. However, everyone was well aware of their actual objectives in staying here.
Today"s Hundred Flowers Gathering had already attracted Xu Weiran.
So Baili Mo and Nangong Mo"s appearances were also within calculations.
"Wonderful playing! Wonderful dancing!"
After the song ended, Hua Qianzi returned to her seat, her facial color ashen. Xiao Susu faced the audience with a smile.
Abruptly, these four words came from the opposite side, loud and clear.
Everyone looked towards the sound.
When they saw Baili Mo, both Xiao Susu and Hua Qianzi"s facial colors changed.
They both looked towards Hua Qianye, only to see that he seemed completely at ease. They couldn"t say a thing.
It was only now that they realized that this Hundred Flowers Gathering had been a scheme from the outset.
Even Xiao En realized. It seemed that his younger sister had become bait. She had simply been bait for Hua Qianye to hook his fish.
When Xu Weiran saw Baili Mo, he also tensed up and hastily looked towards his own boat. He Yitian was hiding there with a large batch of a.s.sa.s.sins.
It was just in case.
However, right now, the distance between the two boats seem to have been purposefully increased. The two boats were so far apart that even if he sent a secret signal, he wouldn"t be able to get help in time.
Baili Mo"s expression was also very guarded as he stepped onto the boat. He knew that he had already fallen into a trap, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and step onto the boat.
Nangong Mo"s hand didn"t leave his long sword for an instant. His eyes were completely cold.
"So it"s Unyielding Clouds Nation"s crown prince, what a coincidence!" This time, it was Hua Qianye who approached. "Brother Baili, you came just in time. Ahead is Clear Creek Plains, so we should go together."
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira"s Corner]
Enjoy~