That night, Su Li ordered the Head Commander of the Shadow Guards to give the night-s.h.i.+ft off to the rest of his subordinates on duty. She had even wanted to send him away but the person in question had been adamant that he would follow her along, no matter what.
Seeing that he wouldn"t be able to rest easy even if he was left behind and would most probably follow her in secret, she grumpily agreed to take him along with the others for the outing.
Since both of them didn"t seem to come to an agreement, they compromised somewhat. She would allow him to accompany her but only if he also dressed in plain clothes like the others and would join the three of them as a friend and not as a bodyguard.
The Head Commander didn"t have the guts to sit and eat with the monarch on the same table.
It would be a breach in the rules of etiquette he had followed religiously and rigorously since young but when he looked at the stubborn glint in the monarch"s eyes, he finally bowed his head and acquiesced.
As the sun went down and the Imperial Capital was bathed in hues of Red and Orange, the Head Commander informed the monarch that Ning Fu and Zhou Sheng had already arrived and were waiting for her.
She follows after the Head Commander and soon reaches the already agreed upon place.
The first person to come into her view is Zhou Sheng who has forgone the usual style of his clothing and has worn a purple-coloured robe that is inlaid with gold thread work.
It makes Zhou Sheng look older than his current age in this body and brings out the sharpness in his eyes.
For a second, Su Li is transported back to modern times and sees the Second Young Master Li Rong and can"t help but think that in both loves, Li Tong has been blessed with good looks.
He truly cuts a fine figure.
When he is about to now to her, she waves her hand, "Remember, we are young masters who have come to see the sights of the Imperial Capital, so you cannot keep bowing to me as if I am of a higher status."
As soon as her words have land, she hears a pleasant voice, "Young Master, hope we will have a good time tonight."
When she turns towards the direction of that voice, she sees Ning Fu.
He is dressed in a blood-red robe which is very simple with no additional embellishments but it looks good on him.
Even though he is out of the armour he usually wears, he still has that domineering air around him, though it is restrained, it can be seen and felt at first glance.
Meanwhile, Ning Fu also noticed the monarch" attire.
The emperor was wearing white-coloured robes that had a few embellishments in dark blue thread around the collars and entwined like ivy-leaves around the wide sleeves.
He looked like a young master who had lived a sheltered life up to now and as if it was his first-time having fun outside, without being subjected to the eye of his elders.
Ning Fu tried to dislodge his thoughts but then thinking about it a bit, it seemed to be true.
After all, with the life the monarch had lived until now, where would he have found the time to partic.i.p.ate in such frivolous activities.
Su Li couldn"t help but give Ning Fu a second glance and said in jest, "Interesting choice of colour, Young Master"
Ning Fu laughed at those words and replied, "Well, I have bathed in this colour for so long that it feels more natural than anything else and moreover since the streets might just be painted with it in the near future, so why not?."
All of them understood the underlying meaning and didn"t comment upon it.
Soon enough they started walking around the streets of the capital.
As the sky darkened and the seedy drinking establishments opened their doors to customers, their party of four decided to go to the "Drunken Flower".
The Head Commander huffed and puffed to himself when he heard where they were going.
As they stood on the street that led to the said establishment, Su Li turned towards Zhou Sheng and asked, "Did you ever go to such places before?"
Zhou Sheng froze where he stood - his face showing his incredulous expression at the question.
Both of them knew that she was asking this question in regards to their previous life but Ning Fu felt that the monarch was being hard on his brother.
He tried to help Zhou Sheng, "Young Master, he is so young. This is his first-time visiting as well."
However, that didn"t seem to pacify Su Li because she still gave Zhou Sheng a hard stare – without blinking her eyes.
In the end, exasperated by her behaviour Zhou Sheng flicked her on the forehead and replied, "What nonsense are you thinking? Do you really think I would go to those sort of places?"
At his words, Su Li shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "One never knows. You might have had to even if you didn"t want to. After all, many people like to mix business and pleasure."
Zhou Sheng rolled his eyes at her words and answered, "Not me."
However, before they could enter, he abruptly turned to her and questioned, "But why are you so interested in knowing?"
He waggled his eyebrows like a lecherous young master and with a roguish grin on his face, asked, "You like me? Is that it? Are you worried I would attract bees and b.u.t.terflies outside?"
Su Li snorted at his words, "You wish. I am just worried that you will get infected with those unmentionable diseases and then come crying to me."
Her words spoiled the ambiguous atmosphere Zhou Sheng had been trying to create.
He looked at her in exaggerated pain and continued the light-hearted banter.
"Oh! How your words hurt me. Do you really think so less of me? I would never do something like that." Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
At Su Li"s faked questioning expression, he relented, "Even if I did, I would make sure I used all the precautions. So, Young Master, please don"t worry your pretty little head about it."
Ning Fu heard the entire exchange and could see the real camaraderie between the two.
He could also see that the monarch was truly happy to shed off his golden robes to enjoy himself with Zhou Sheng outside of the Palace walls for some time, he didn"t interrupt their conversation and simply enjoyed the easy-going atmosphere.