Chapter 42

Zixiu put his hand behind his back instinctively. However, in spite of his speed, he was caught in the act by Nangong Du.

“What’s in your hand?” Nangong Du asked immediately after he stepped into the chamber. He then walked to the chair and sat down expressionlessly, looking incredibly domineering.

In a panic, Zixiu tried to avoid his gaze. He wanted to flee but had no guts to do so, so he just stood where he was and couldn’t help but blame the guard secretly. “That ‘Senior Brother’ is really unreliable! Leaving me alone here, he ran away even faster than a rabbit did! If Nangong Du sees the ointment, I’m done!”

“Darling, what’s in your hand?” Nangong Du repeated, sounding a little unpleasant.

“It’s a… box…. of rouge!” It suddenly came to Zixiu that the porcelain box was quite similar to a box containing rouge, so he told a lie in haste.

However, Nangong Du wasn’t that easy to fool around.

“Let me have a look!” he said, reaching out for it.

“No way! I wouldn’t give it to you anyway!” Needless to say, Zixiu could only cry out inwardly. He was clear that it would be in vain to protest, so he handed the porcelain box over to Nangong Du with butterflies in his stomach.

It turned out to be a wise choice, which saved him a lot of trouble.

The reason was quite simple. Though Nanggong Du always spent his days among women and he had already married a few consorts, as a straight man, he knew nothing about the cosmetics came in bottles and boxes of all shapes and sizes. What’s more, as the ointment was made of the herbs of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, it had a faint floral fragrance.

Nangong Du opened the box and put it back on the table after a quick glance. “Has your bruise subsided?” he asked coolly, looking up at Zixiu.

“… Hm!” After hesitating for a while, Zixiu answered in a low voice. “Thank God! It seems he won’t probe further.” Zixiu had thought that he was doomed this time, but to his surprise, Nangong Du suddenly shifted the topic.

When Zixiu was secretly felicitating his narrow escape, he suddenly felt a grip around his waist. Before he could react, he had fallen into that pervert’s arms, which made him grow tense in an instant.

“Are you trying to lie to me?” Nangong Du pinched his chin and asked, staring at him.

“… No, I’m not!” Caught off guard, Zixiu went stiff and his face turned pale as a result of horror while spitting out the words with difficulty.

“I don’t trust you!” With that, Nangong Du suddenly reached out the other hand and began to rub his face. “You tried to cover up the bruise with rouge, didn’t you?”

“Huh? It turns out that this psycho only wants to know if I’ve powdered my face!” Zixiu was surprised at his words and he suddenly felt his tension much relieved. “Seems I thought too much!”

“Your Highness, I… no, your humble consort has no powder on his face, so it’s useless to rub it,” he mustered his courage and protested.

After checking it up in person, Nangong Du could tell Zixiu wasn’t lying and as if annoyed by his own poor judgment, he suddenly shoveled him aside. Next, it occurred to him that Zixiu seemed to be talking to someone when he was about to enter the chamber just now.

“What were you yelling for with the box in your hand?”

“Er… Your humble consort was hungry, so he wanted to ask the maidservant to bring him some food, and after he only cried a word out, you walked in.” Feeling a little bit relaxed, Zixiu suddenly found his lying skills had improved a lot.