Chapter 248 Weakest Moment
paniment from the outside door.When she saw Hao Ren, she disdainfully "hmpfed." Naturally, Hao Ren didn't give her any favorable looks either."Ah Zi, don’t make that face. The error was caused by you,...Chapter 248: Weakest Moment
"Mm, I know Hao Ren has already dealt with that great cultivator. I hope Su Han can rest assured and recuperate now, so let's not mention these matters for the time being."
"There's nothing else."
Su Han looked at him coldly.
“Alright,” Hao Ren felt awkward and stood up. Su Han’s chilliness was truly bone-chilling.
He walked out of the room, seeing Star Moon Elder boiling medicine for Su Han in the courtyard. He greeted her before heading back to the front veranda.
"How is it How's Sister Su" Zhao Yanzi hurriedly asked when she saw Hao Ren walk out.
“It’s nothing serious, but she needs to recuperate at the Dragon Palace,” Hao Ren said. Suddenly, he felt like a doctor who had just come out of an operating room.
"Alright," Zhao Guang nodded and turned to Xia Chengxiang, "Take good care of Su Han. If Star Moon Elder requires any materials or medicinal pills, provide them in a timely manner."
“Understood,” Xia Chengxiang bowed in agreement.
Zhao Yanzi was slightly relieved when she saw that Su Han was fine. She then curiously asked Hao Ren, “What did Sister Su tell you”
"I won't tell you," Hao Ren looked at her with a closed mouth.
This made Zhao Yanzi’s nose twitch in anger; as the princess of Dragon Palace, Hao Ren actually dared to treat her like this!
“Mom! Look, he's bullying me!” She turned and whined to Zhao Hongyu.
Zhao Hongyu smiled helplessly, “This is Su Han and Ah Ren’s private conversation. Why do you want to know”
"I… I…" Zhao Yanzi was speechless for a moment.
“Actually there's nothing much. Su Han just asked me to temporarily take charge of the Inspectorate affairs in Donghai City,” Hao Ren told Zhao Hongyu. He could occasionally "bully" Zhao Yanzi, but he still needed to show some respect to her parents.
Zhao Guang didn't want to get involved with their bickering and turned to Lu Qing: “This time our losses in Donghai were not significant; it's fortunate. We should thoroughly investigate the casualties of other Dragon Clan members, especially those from Xihai.”
"Understood!" Lu Qing slightly bowed.
Zhao Guang thought for a moment and said: “With such an incident happening, there might be chaos on land. For safety reasons, everyone should stay at the Dragon Palace today. Elder Lu, assist Chancellor Xia in reorganizing the assets of the Dragon Palace. Elder Zhao spent a lot of resources during his tribulation, so we need to redistribute the remaining resources.”
Speaking about Zhao Kuo’s tribulation, Zhao Guang’s expression revealed regret; one-third of Donghai Dragon Palace's financial and material resources were consumed for Zhao Kuo’s tribulation, but it ultimately failed.
"Dad, when will Uncle Three return" Zhao Yanzi asked Zhao Guang.
“He’s training outside. When he wants to come back, he'll naturally return,” Zhao Guang answered.
Hmph! Zhao Yanzi pouted seemingly unsatisfied with this answer.
Zhao Guang was very strict with her requirements; although Zhao Hongyu loved her deeply, she also had principles. Only Zhao Kuo spoiled her and fulfilled all of her requests, so Zhao Yanzi missed him while worrying about his safety.
"Chancellor Xia, lead Ah Ren and Ah Zi to the rear hall to rest, then summon the core elders for a meeting in the main hall," Zhao Guang said.
Therefore, Chancellor Xia bowed slightly to Zhao Yanzi and Hao Ren and led them to the Dragon Palace's rear hall.
The so-called rear palace is actually the harem, but Zhao Guang is diligent in his duties and usually stays on land. Only Zhao Yingzhu, a wife since her youth, remains here. Therefore, most of the rooms in this harem are empty.
Passing through this desolate harem area, Xia Zhouxiang led Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi to a grand little palace.
The palace has gardens both front and back, creating an extremely elegant environment.
Along the way, Zhao Yanzi kept her face stern and didn't say anything. Hao Ren also remained silent without addressing her. Xia Gongxiang sensed that something was amiss but dared not interfere in matters between the prince consort and princess.
Leading them into a rest room, Xia Zhouxiang cautiously asked, "Princess, should the Prince Consort..."
"Of course it's one bed!" Zhao Yanzi, who had been keeping her face stern throughout the journey, blushed furiously upon hearing this question from the Minister.
Xia Zhouxiang hesitated, "Then is it one room or—"
He was the grand steward of the dragon palace and, although it might involve some trivial matters, he had to clarify these details.
"Of course two rooms!" Zhao Yanzi hesitantly answered this question after a few seconds' pause.
"Alright then. Princess, please rest in this room; Prince Consort, follow me," said Xia Chengxiang.
As Hao Ren followed Xia Chengxiang out of the room and turned to look back at Zhao Yanzi, she deliberately kept a stern face but blushed even more intensely.
At that very moment when Hao Ren stepped out of the room, Zhao Yanzi couldn't help calling out again, "Come back!"
Screwing up her courage and blushing furiously, she looked at Xia Chengxiang, "Arrange him in this room but move the bed farther apart."
Xia Chengxiang dared not delay and immediately agreed to her request. Faced with the princess's orders, he could only comply.
Hao Ren glanced at Zhao Yanzi and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly—knowing that she would likely be afraid sleeping alone in such a large room. Moreover, since she seldom stayed in the dragon palace, she was even more uncomfortable with it.
The "bedroom" of this small rear palace is rather luxurious; there are indeed two beds inside, but logically speaking, the smaller bed should belong to a maid.
Considering Hao Ren's status as being lower than Zhao Yanzi in the dragon palace hierarchy, and since he was accommodating her wishes, she would naturally sleep on the larger bed while he would reluctantly make do with the small one.
These palaces are regularly cleaned; even if they're usually uninhabited, they remain spotless. Xia Chengxiang led them into the room, seeing their wary glances at each other, realizing that it wasn't appropriate for him to linger and quietly left the rear palace.
Hao Ren went to arrange his small bed and found that all materials were crafted from fragrant wood—truly antiques far more precious than those Ming or Qing furniture pieces.
Zhao Yanzi, accustomed to sleeping on a spring mattress, felt rather uncomfortable in this room with an entirely ancient style. If she had to sleep alone here for one night, it would be strange if she managed to fall asleep!
"Prince Consort and Princess, please take your meal!" Two ladies' voices rang out outside the room.
Hao Ren walked over and opened the door to find two neatly dressed maids holding trays with exquisite sandalwood food boxes on them.
"Alright," Hao Ren took both trays. Seeing that they still remained outside, he waved his hand dismissively, "You may go back."
He returned inside and passed one tray to Zhao Yanzi.
Zhao Yanzi hadn't eaten lunch when she was fetched from school by Zhao Guang and had since been busy in the dragon palace; now, she genuinely felt hungry. She harrumphed softly before taking the tray from Hao Ren's hand.
The meals and snacks inside were all made in ancient style—Zhao Yanzi, used to eating KFC and McDonald’s food, found these items rather unpalatable. Yet she picked out several snacks that suited her taste to fill her stomach.
Hao Ren felt that these dishes were very distinctive and knew that such delicacies would be impossible to find on land. Thus, he chewed slowly and finished everything, which earned him a few white glares from Zhao Yanzi who had no appetite.
"Give me your share too," Hao Ren said to her as he saw her sitting beside the food box, unable to continue eating anymore.
"Are you a pig" Zhao Yanzi immediately asked.
"I'm not a pig, but I do have one," Hao Ren replied.
Upon hearing what Hao Ren said, Zhao Yanzi pursed her lips. "You're calling me a pig!"
"How could I dare to curse the princess" Hao Ren smiled at her and took out Xiao Bai from his dimensional space.
Xiao Bai just landed, cautiously observing its surroundings. Upon finding no danger, it immediately started rolling around on the floor as if putting up a performance.
“Damn it, next time I’ll send you to the circus!” Hao Ren kicked Xiao Bai’s butt with his toe and then put Zhao Yanzi's food box down onto the floor.
Xiao Bai smelled the aroma of the dishes and didn't hesitate to rush over to gobble everything up in a frenzy.
Seeing that Hao Ren was referring to Xiao Bai rather than her, Zhao Yanzi felt embarrassed but still gave him two more white glares.
Huff! Huff! Xiao Bai ate like a pig, devouring the fancy dinner clean in just seconds!
Zhao Yanzi wouldn't eat it, so it would be wasteful to leave it there. It was better to let Xiao Bai finish it off!
After slightly filling its stomach, Xiao Bai became lively again while Zhao Yanzi smiled genuinely as she clapped her hands toward him, "Xiao Bai! Come here!"
No matter how sternly she might look, she was still a young girl. And for girls, Xiao Bai's appearance had immense charm!
Xiao Bai leaped high and rushed into Zhao Yanzi’s arms.
Zhao Yanzi chuckled loudly as she grabbed its two little paws to play with it, nearly ignoring Hao Ren altogether.
"Hey, when are you going to give me a makeup class" Zhao Yanzi suddenly asked Hao Ren.
"You still want a makeup class" Hao Ren asked her in return.
Zhao Yanzi pouted. "There's so much stuff I don’t understand."
"How about we resume your classes tomorrow How does that sound" Hao Ren suggested to her.
“Okay,” unexpectedly, Zhao Yanzi readily nodded in agreement.
This brat… Does she really love learning now Hao Ren looked at her in surprise, as if he had seen Xiao Bai with flames on all four of its paws!
"Let's go. She’s been cooped up inside for too long,"
She was angry because Hao Ren ignored her earlier when she asked him about the food and also because he hadn't contacted her during this period of time, but if she thought about it carefully, she would have felt annoyed if Hao Ren had continued contacting her.
Xiao Bai hopped around cheerfully in front, leading the way. Where was there any trace of a lion's majesty
Since they publicized Zhao Kuo’s successful tribulation crossing last time, Dragon Palace was decorated with lanterns and banners and still retained its festive atmosphere. After two weeks of adjustment, Zhao Yanzi wasn’t as melancholic anymore. Seeing the lively scene at Dragon Palace now made her expression gradually turn joyful.
Xiao Bai ran ahead, going from one place to another and touching anything that looked curious with its paws.
The tradition in the Dragon Palace during festivals is to set up a simulated market on the east side of the palace, with maids and family members of elders, as well as some off-duty soldiers, playing various roles of vendors.
Others become consumers of this temporary market. This is both fun and a way to alleviate boredom, since there's no real free market in East Sea Dragon Palace now that resources are abundant. Many people in the palace can't leave for land at will, so over time they get bored.
Zhao Yanzi brought Xiaobai to this temporary market, as Zhao Yanzi is not usually around in the Dragon Palace and many here don't recognize her, only assuming she's a family member of some elder.
This temporary street hangs with strings of lanterns and each shop and stall looks quite realistic. This setup is just like anime fans' cosplay on land!
Zhao Yanzi quickly blends into the environment and runs up to an uncle wearing tattered clothes, asking, "How much for a sugar-coated hawthorn skewer"
"Three cash coins per stick!" The uncle answers Zhao Yanzi decisively.
Even though he wears rags, from his muscular build and decisive answer, He Ren concludes that his real identity must be a palace guard. But low-ranking guards haven't seen Zhao Yanzi before, so it's normal they wouldn't know the one in front of them is a princess of the Dragon Palace.
"But I don't have any money," Zhao Yanzi looks at him pitifully.
"Haha, no charge." Seeing the little girl whine, this guard uncle softens and picks down a skewer from his rice stalk stick, handing it to Zhao Yanzi.
Their 'business' is not for profit but just for fun. All transactions here are merely formalities; if you like something, take it directly!
"Thank you uncle!" Zhao Yanzi says happily.
"Hehe," the uncle smiles kindly, then calls out loudly again, "selling sugar-coated hawthorn skewers!"
His shout is clear and decisive like a command.
Completely unaware that he just pleased a princess, his eyes follow Zhao Yanzi's back before turning to attend to another little boy of about seven or eight years old. Red lanterns are hung in long rows along the street, shops around them bustling with activity. In the black backdrop, lights and voices blend together, making it feel like being right in ancient Lantern Festival!
Compared to land today, where do traditional festival feelings remain
Zhao Yanzi nibbles on her sugar-coated hawthorn skewer, her steps light as she tiptoes. Xiaobai watches with envious eyes and circles around her ankles.
"Haha, here's one for you!" In great spirits, Zhao Yanzi plucks the last skewer from her stick and tosses it to Xiaobai.
Xiaobai leaps high to catch the skewer in its mouth before landing on the ground, wagging its tail with joy. It seems even happier than after eating Qi Nourishing Pills!
The stalls along this street sell food and small handicrafts—truly made by family members of Dragon Palace elders themselves. Each item is beautiful and uses precious pearls and agates.
Zhao Yanzi picks carefully, using her pleading to get two sticks without payment. Actually, she could take anything here with her status as a princess, but that would be no fun at all.
He Ren follows her along, occasionally trying street snacks or leading Zhao Yanzi and Xiaobai to fabric stores, taverns, teahouses, pawn shops for a quick tour.
Though it's a temporary "ancient commercial street," the authenticity here far surpasses any cultural street on land.
The unconditionally accompanying He Ren sees Zhao Yanzi's face filled with joy and her pulling him to see this and that, knowing her little mood won't last long.
...
All of a sudden, the whole Dragon Palace starts trembling while everyone is immersed in joyful atmosphere.
"Enemy attack!" A guard holding a sugar-coated hawthorn skewer shouts loudly.
I wanted to post another chapter yesterday but something came up unexpectedly... Sigh.o focus solely on being an ordinary person and pursuing his business path.The conversation with Xie Ming made him feel that Xie Ming was a very astute businessman, not only intelligent but also highly...