Chapter 29

For most people, especially those who were brought up in remote mountains and had never been in town, having the chance to attend royal banquets would be a great honor. However, Zixiu didn’t feel this way and he showed no sign of excitement. It was not only because Nangong Du had threatened him that spilling the beans at the banquet would only lead him to death’s door, but also because Zixiu himself lacked a basic understanding of the majesty of imperial power and he had never thought of princes any nobler than ordinary people. Now what he needed to do was stay calm and keep his mouth shut. As the old saying goes, ‘Out of the mouth comes evil’, the more one spoke, the greater the chance of making mistakes, so it was wise to say as little as possible on this occasion.

Nangong Ao, the emperor of the Nan Kingdom, had specially arranged the banquet to make up for the death of the Wen delegation member of whom, to everyone’s surprise, the murder was an unknown thief determined to silence the witness after being caught in the act. Some people suspected that he was just a scapegoat and things couldn’t have been that simple. However, as it was Zhang Mingqi, the governor and the expert detective in the capital city of the Nan Kingdom, who was known for his integrity, probity and concern for his people as well as his 100% record of solving crimes, in charge of this case, they didn’t dare to say anything. What’s more, the case was heard in public and closed on solid evidence and a confession, so no one had any reasons to challenge the verdict.

Though the party hadn’t started yet, the brightly-lit imperial garden was already packed with people and filled with laughter. Sensing many people’s peeping at him from time to time, Zixiu felt his heart pounding and he really wished there were a tunnel through which he could flee at once. He thought he must have aroused other people’s suspicion, but the fact was everyone was looking at him out of curiosity, surprise and even admiration after they had witnessed or heard of what remarkable achievements ‘Princess Liuxu’ had made in taming ‘her’ husband. Needless to say, there were also some people who were so amazed at the ‘princess’s’ beauty that they couldn’t help but glance at ‘her’ a few more times.

“What are you doing?” With a frown, Nangong Du stopped him in a low voice when Zixiu suddenly linked his arm through Nangong’s. No matter how uninhibited he was, Prince Mu wouldn’t allow himself to appear too intimate with his ‘wife’ in the presence of so many people in the imperial palace!

Zixiu was stunned and it wasn’t until he looked down that he realized he was unconsciously holding this pervert’s arm. “Huh? Isn’t it usually the lady who takes the man’s arm at such a banquet?”

Seeing Zixiu still hesitating, Nangong Du urged impatiently in a low voice, “Let go of me!”

“Eh-hem!” Hardly had his voice faded away, they suddenly heard someone coughing slightly.

Being taken aback, the two separated in an instant. Zixiu raised his head and saw a strong middle-aged man in a gray silk robe followed by a gorgeously dressed, graceful woman, who looked like a couple.

“Prince Mu, Princess Liuxu, my respects to both of you!” The man bowed to them with his hands cupped while the woman lowered her head respectfully as well.

Nobody had ever greeted him this way, so Zixiu kind of panicked. He turned to look at Nangong Du and saw the latter nodding with a faint smile as if he had been used to this kind of ceremonious salutation. “Uncle, Auntie, please don’t stand on ceremony!” he said coolly.

“Uncle, Auntie?” Zixiu widened his eyes in surprise. Xingyi had never told him anything about Nangong Du’s family members, and all he knew was this pervert called the dowager empress ‘mother’.

“To show respect for seniority, you should curtsy to the elders.” Zixiu suddenly recalled what Xingyi said during the emergency training in etiquette an hour before he left for the imperial palace. Without giving a second thought of his current identity, he hurried over and curtsied. “Greetings, Uncle, Auntie!”

Xue Shili, Mrs. Xue, and even Nangong Du were stupefied on the spot at his words.

A few seconds later, Nangong Du came back to his senses and immediately pulled Zixiu up. “Princess Liuxu, you don’t have to be so courteous!” Though he was in rage, he still smiled gently as he spoke.

“Your Highness, I have no idea, as a humble official, what I’ve done to deserve your curtsy!” After realizing what was happening, Xue Shili and Mrs. Xue immediately went down on their knees in return. As he was Xue Ding’s adoptive son, Prince Mu should call him uncle. However, even if he were the birth son of General Xue, he dared not accept the princess’s curtsy. Moreover, the way Zixiu had paid respect just now was only intended for greeting the emperor and the dowager empress!

Instead of calling him ‘Darling’, Nangong Du addressed him as ‘Princess Liuxu’ for the first time. From this asshole’s abnormal attitude and words, Zixiu could tell he had made some mistakes. With his mind spinning, he immediately came up with a remedy. “Humble consort Liuxu is not familiar with the etiquette in the Nan Kingdom, so please pardon my graceless manner!”

As the saying goes, ‘Loose lips sink ships’.

The moment he heard the two words “humble consort” running out of Zixiu’s lips, Nangong Du widened his eyes to the extremeas he couldn’t hold back his anger anymore. Disregarding Xue Shili and his wife, who were still in the middle of prostration, as well as people around them ‘inadvertently’ staring at them with strange looks, he wrapped his arms around Zixiu’s waist with his brows knitted as if full of concern. “Darling, you look tired. Let me lead you to the inner palace for some rest!”

“Huh?” Zixiu looked at him blankly. However, before he could figure out what this pervert meant, he was taken away forcibly.