In that moment when his hand touched the door, Lou Zheng stopped and retracted his hand to speak quietly to the person behind him. After that, he stood quietly by the door, looking up at the azure sky, wondering what he was thinking.
About a stick of incense later, the door to the room was opened from inside, and Chu Wei walked out dressed neatly.
He ignored the expressionless Lou Zheng at the door and looked at the servant beside him and said, "The prince needs to bathe."
The words had barely been spoken when Lou Zheng on the side spoke up and said, "I have already arranged for hot water."
Chu Wei turned back to look at Lou Zheng, his eyes fierce as a blade: "You needn't feign kindness."
"Here is not Xiliang, and you should not challenge my patience," Lou Zheng also looked at him, eyes killing intent unmasked.
"Is it A Zheng who has arrived?" The gentle voice of Lou Xi came from inside the room, breaking the tense atmosphere between the two.
Lou Zheng retracted his gaze and spoke softly: "My sister, it is me. The palace banquet is about to start, I thought of coming to fetch you for the banquet, but unexpectedly you are resting."
His tone was very normal, with no embarrassment of finding out that Lou Si had a secret meeting with someone.
Lou Si had known he was there all along, and seeing that he hadn't mentioned the incident just now, she raised an amazed smile at the corner of her lips.
She leaned against the bed, her voice carrying a hint of fatigue: "The weather is too hot, I have sweated a lot. Wait for me for a moment, after I bathe and change, let's go together with you."
Lou Zheng's face turned colder, but his voice remained soft: "No hurry, take your time and get ready."
He turned his head to glance at Zhao Xian behind him, who understood and quickly led people with buckets of hot water into the room. However, when they reached the door, they were halted by someone.
Lou Zheng looked at Chu Wei with a cold, angry gaze: "Get out."
"she doesn't like others except me to touch her." Chu Wei repeated the words from before, took the water from the eunuch and had his own people carry water and wooden barrels into it.
Soon, the people all came out and closed the door, leaving the room once again with only Lou Xi and Chu Wei inside.
Hearing the sound of water in the room and the tightly closed door, Lou Zheng's eyes narrowed dangerously.
It took about half a stick of incense time before the door was opened from inside.
Lou Xi was still wearing a flaming red dress, but it was clearly not the same one she had worn when she came.
"Have you waited for a long time?"
She looked at Lou Zheng with a soft smile, just like the older sister who, years ago, used to cajole him into eating snacks.
"No, let's go." Lou Zheng ignored the presence of Chu Wei behind her and walked over to her side, naturally holding her hand.
Lou Si did not refuse, nor did she unconsciously squeeze his fingers, walking side by side with him towards the banquet.
This palace banquet was specially organized by Lou Zheng as a welcome banquet for her, so almost all the court officials attended with their families.
Lou Yao and Xiao Ren sat together, with difficult faces, but immediately changed to a sweet smile when facing Xiao Ren.
But she couldn't help but occasionally recall that Lou Xi was going to live in the General's Manor.
It's not that she doesn't believe in Xiao Ren; it's just that Xiao Ren truly loved Lou Xi in the past. If Lou Xi were to live in the General's Manor and be with Xiao Ren day and night, there's a chance their old feelings might reignite...
Lou Yao bit her lip tightly, determined that such a thing wouldn't happen.
She swept her gaze over the crowd, finally focusing on the nearby Jing'an King. She rolled her eyes in her mind, already having a plan.
Just as Lou Yao had quietly given instructions to her maid, the loud shout of an eunuch echoed from outside.
"The Emperor has arrived, the Princess has arrived."
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly stood up and greeted: "Greeting the emperor, the princess."
Lou Zheng smiled and signaled for them to rise, leading Lou Xi to the seat of honor. Zhao Xian had arranged for Lou Xi to sit to his left, but he himself brought the red-clad Lou Xi and sat her at the top seat.
"The Emperor and my sister have not seen each other for many years. Let's sit together, so we can talk as siblings."
Lou Xi responded, and as she sat down, her gaze swept over everyone in the crowd, finally resting on a youth dressed in luxurious silk and brocade.
The young man was also looking at her, and upon meeting her gaze, he quickly shifted his eyes elsewhere.
Lou Xi raised a mocking smile, as Ying'an King, the son of the former Prime Minister, was now the first non-royal nobleman in Lingjiang to be granted a title, Xu Jingxuan, and also one of her few childhood friends and good friends.
However, that was in the past. She pulled her gaze back and smiled as she took the snack from Lou Zheng.
Today, she was in an unexpectedly good mood, perhaps because she had returned to her homeland, or perhaps because she had killed the brute who had tormented her for so many years, or maybe because she saw a person she thought she would never see again.
Looking at Xiao Ren who was gently adding dishes for Lou Yao with a smile on his face, Lou Xi's smile deepened even more. She pulled her gaze and drank the wine in her cup in one gulp.
Some officials noticed Lou Zheng's concern for Lou Xi and approached her to toast her wine, praising her for slaying the emperor of Xiliang and presenting the defense plan of Xiliang as a great contributor to Lingjiang.
Lou Xi laughed and said, as the Princess of Lingjiang, these were her duties. She then finished the wine in one drink.
Someone started, and the others followed suit, with everyone accepting the offerings and drinking cup after cup. Lou Xi drank them all without hesitation.
By the time she reached the last person, her lips curved slightly: "Jingxuan, I heard that you were granted a title as a king. I haven't congratulated you yet."
Xu Jingxuan avoided her gaze and smiled, "It's all the emperor's favor."
Lou Xi held the wine bowl and looked at him, "I wonder what you want to offer me?"
Xu Jingxuan held the wine in silence for a moment and said, "I respectfully offer my respects to Princess Niang for her safe return to the capital, hoping that the rest of her life will be peaceful and prosperous, with no troubles."
"Peace and prosperity, all worries at ease." Lou Xi repeated the words, her smile growing even more tender.
"May your words come true." As she finished her sentence, she drank the last drop of wine in her cup.
After the toast, the performances began.
Looking at the dancers in the dance hall with their slender waists exposed, Lou Xi tightened her grip on the wine cup. Then, she put down the cup and looked at Lou Zheng in a low voice, "A Zhong, I'm a bit drunk. I want to go out for a walk to sober up."
"Let me accompany you." Lou Zheng put down his cup.
Lou Xi shook her head: "No need. Stay here."
Before she could finish speaking, a minister stood up to offer a toast to Lou Zheng, who, unable to refuse, had to remind her to be careful.
Lou Xi agreed, leaving the table with Chu Wei silently.
Lou Zheng stared at it for a while before finally looking away and drinking the wine from the official's toast in one gulp.
After coming out, Lou Xi's expression immediately turned dark. When she saw the dancer, her mind was filled with memories of the years when she had been humiliated by the Crown Prince when she first arrived in Xiliang.
Seeing that she was tightly gripping her wrist and her nails were deeply embedded in the flesh, Chu Wei was afraid she would hurt herself, so he reached out and held her hand.
As soon as his hand touched Lou Xi's, her cold and frosty voice echoed.
"Get away."
Chu Wei's hand froze in mid-air, and his face turned white as paper instantly.
Lou Xi had no patience to comfort him at this moment; she took a step and walked past him.
Chu Wei was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed her.
She wasn't aware of how she had arrived at the entrance of the Buddhist hall, which was specifically built for the country's master to pray for blessings. Perhaps it was because she had drunk too much wine or because of the memories that had been locked away in her mind for years.
Listening to the sound of the wooden fish being struck inside, she tilted her lips into a playful smile, leaving Chu Wei waiting outside, and went inside alone.
Walking all the way to the inner part, Lou Xi saw a man kneeling in front of the Buddha statue. She walked up to him and smiled.
"Master Wu You, or rather, Master of the State."
She smirked, her voice pleasant and melodic: "Long time no see, Master of the State. I wonder if you've missed me."
