Chapter 74 - Too Early To Be Drunk
Chapter 74 – Too Early To Be Drunk
After what happened inside the palace and the death of Song Lin, the Rabbit Moon festival was not as lively as before. The commoners were happy to celebrate the festival with the little blessings they got from plowing the fields and other menial jobs. However, they still couldn't shake off the tension that lay in the air as soldiers patrolled in the street.
No one had a clue why there were soldiers dispatched like they were pursuing a criminal and they didn't dare raise their questions as the more one know something, the more trouble will come in their way.
Thus, even if they were hesitating and fear was inside their hearts, the common people did a great job in hiding their worries and anxious hearts to themselves as they convinced their minds that the emperor dispatched the soldiers in order to secure their safety.
With these thoughts, they felt their bodies easing up.
Inside her room, Lin Xiaofei had just woken up and felt sleepy after lying too much on her bed.
After they got home safely inside the Lin residence yesterday, the first thing she did was to close her eyes and slept throughout the day till late morning came.
Stifling a yawn that wanted to escape from her mouth, Lin Xiaofei stretched her arms and toes like a cat and felt like she didn't want to get out of her bed..
Seeing this scene before her, Bai Lu couldn't stifle her laughter. She was folding the newly washed clothes that were delivered to their courtyard and smiled, "Young miss, don't worry. The general isn't home and went out to take care of some matters outside. Young miss can go back to sleep more. I will inform everyone in the courtyard that no one is to disturb young miss' rest."
Lin Xiaofei didn't refuse and let the maid leave to tell others that she will be resting for the whole day. She didn't know why she was feeling lethargic today but it didn't seem to be such a bad thing for her after such a long day.
In the past, because she was preoccupied with her thoughts and schemes to help Yu Fangzhu rise and have a wider connection with the court officials, she was unable to take a rest and with the constant battles that she had to face inside the inner courtyard where Yu Fangzhu's other women lived, Xiaofei didn't have the luxury to leisurely use her time for herself.
Day by day, she had to defend herself off from the other wives of Yu Fangzhu. And she couldn't even do as she pleased without ruining her image and putting dirt on her husband's name.
Thinking of the times she would foolishly do whatever Yu Fangzhu asked, Lin Xiaofei wondered how did she fall for such a vain man. She had her eyes and heart on him but the man only has eyes to see the throne in front of him. He used her love for him to his benefit and saw that she could be of use to him and kept her.
And just as how fast he was to use her, the moment she became useless to him, Yu Fangzhu immediately captured her and made her suffer for months.
Closing her eyes, Lin Xiaofei let sleep take over her.
Probably because she was feeling differently that day, Lin Xiaofei didn't sense the person who came down from the room without a sound. The person opened the door to her room and silently entered it without alarming the maids outside nor wake up the sleeping figure inside.
The person walked slowly towards the bed that seemed to have someone lying on it and was deep in sleep. The woman in the bed looked extremely beautiful that it made his heart skip a beat as he continued to stare at her resting face.
He reached forward and was unrestrained when he boldly touched the overly long lashes of the young woman. He then looked around and saw that the boy he saw last time was nowhere to be found.
Qu Xing Xu somehow felt glad that the boy was nowhere near the young woman and didn't stay inside her room. Even though the young woman and the boy's age have a huge gap, he wasn't willing to take the risk of letting her slip by and let other men approach her so easily.
As Qu Xing Xu continued to stare at her, he didn't notice that after his action of touching her face, the young woman finally woke up but didn't open her eyes. She still looked like she was sleeping peacefully on the surface but deep inside, she felt the turmoil boiling inside her. She wondered how she should continue faking her sleep.
Again. She felt frustrated for not noticing his presence until he was so close to her and touched her hair. She was about to dive into her dream when he suddenly touched her hair and the laziness she was feeling vanished.
She suddenly felt that his hand started to fiddle and braid her hair. What was he trying to do? Lin Xiaofei badly wanted to know the answer to her question. The man still continued to braid her long black hair and wasn't even satisfied with that, he even bent down and sat near her head!
On the other hand, Qu Xing Xu was fascinated at how soft and smooth the feeling of her hair in his hand that he couldn't help but keep on touching it and braid it. If only the female sleeping on the bed wasn't a tigress, he would have already kissed her hair.
Irritated that her sleep was disturbed and that someone boldly let himself inside her room as if it was his own room, Lin Xiaofei opened her eyes and wanted to jab the hairpin in her hand at him.
But who knew that by the time she pulled out the hairpin under her pillow, his hands were quick enough to take a hold of her wrists and slammed it against the surface of the bed.
Qu Xing Xu moved his hands accordingly to how his body should react to danger. When he felt danger from the woman under him as she pulled out something with the intention of stabbing him, his body moved before he could register it in his mind and pinned her down.
The two of them were astounded at their actions and looked at each other. They could see the raw emotions flashing through their eyes. One had a look of surprise while the other had a murderous look.
"You scared me, Xiaofei. If you're awake, you should have said something." Qu Xing Xu finally said after a prolonged silence. He didn't get off her nor did he let go of her wrists as he said that. The murderous aura that cloaked his body was thick and made her swallow.
The way he called her name was too casual and yet, there was a hint of familiarity like how a couple would call each other.
"Your Grace, isn't it a little bit too early to be drunk for you to mistake my room as yours?" Lin Xiaofei glared at him.
Qu Xing Xu frowned at how she called him 'Your Grace' instead of his name. He brought his face closer to her own, making her press her head down to widen the space between them.
Unfortunately, her attempt to get more space failed as there was no way she could find space underneath her with the bed behind her back.
"Duke Qu Xing Xu, don't go too far…" Lin Xiaofei said with warnings. She tried to push him away but the hands that were holding her wrists grew even tighter, "Let me go–"
Lin Xiaofei stopped talking as she saw the dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Don't call me that…" He said while staring at her soft red lips that were slightly parted before looking at her eyes, "Didn't we agree that we will call each other by our names?"
Lin Xiaofei frowned. Why does he sound so angry when she called him out. She was only calling him the way everyone does in the empire. There was no need for him to be so angry at her for not calling him by his name.
Besides, she was only coerced to call his name since it was pretty convenient for her. The only problem was Qu Xing Xu, who wanted to hear her call his name.
On another note, how can Lin Xiaofei obediently follow his words when he invited himself inside her room without permission and even stared at her while she was asleep.
And thinking about the fact that he overheard her conversation with Liu Shishi, she couldn't help but feel the shame coming back to her and bit her lips.
However, her little actions were all seen by Qu Xing Xu, and with their close proximity that made one misunderstand their relationship, it was becoming hard for him to contain himself and not tease her.