CH 49.2

Chapter 49.2 – He’s Here For Me (2)

In a rare moment of nervousness, Qi Yang grabbed Lu Qipei’s hand under the table several times. The latter calmed down and held Qi Yang’s hand, patting it gently. She talked to her with a calm expression to appease her.

As expected, they soon heard someone muttering, “These two people are so alike, are they brothers?”

The one who spoke was the Third Prince who had finally been released from his house arrest. He glanced at Qi Yang who was behind the Crown Prince, his tone full of gloating. His voice was not very low, enough for everyone around him to hear.

The Third Prince’s original intention was to frame Lu Qipei for colluding with Rong State, even making her to be a spy that they planted, then suppress Qi Yang who had been enjoying herself lately. It would be even better if he could also pull down the Crown Prince on the way. As for Lu Qipei herself, he didn’t really care.

But who would’ve thought that before Lu Qipei could defend herself, the youth on the other side already complained, “Who is his brother!? I just saw that he looked like me and I didn’t like it.”

The youth had sharp eyes and ears, and he obviously heard what the Third Prince had said. When he retorted, his eyebrows contained arrogance, and there was obvious disgust in his tone. His gaze at Lu Qipei was full of undisguised provocation, which made it obvious that he wasn’t pretending.

In fact, few people actually believed the Third Prince’s words. Even if they had some doubts, they would forget it after thinking for a bit. After all, if Lu Qipei was really Rong State’s spy, it would be too late to keep a low profile under these circumstances.

The people of Rong State weren’t stupid; would they have pointed out their own spy? It couldn’t have been easy to slip in a future Prince Consort of Liang.

As for personal feelings, they would also have to be set side in front of national interests… The chief envoy’s identity might not be as big as Xie Hongyi, but his authority in the envoy group was unquestionable. He wouldn’t have tolerated the youth running too wild.

The small interlude was over, but the two people’s excessively similar appearance still remained in everyone’s mind.

Only now did Lu Qipei responded, saying lightly, “That’s what I wanted as well, I just didn’t dare voice it.”

The two people’s gaze met again, one full of provocation and the other full of calm, as if there was some kind of tacit understanding between these two youths with similar faces. The other people didn’t know about it and only looked at the two with questioning gazes.

Qi Yang inexplicably felt uneasy and frowned slightly. She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Lu Qipei’s hand under the table.

Lu Qipei noticed it and turned around to give her a comforting smile. It was a light and gentle smile that gave the feeling of a spring breeze. While it calmed Qi Yang’s uneasiness, it also gave a surprise to the prying eyes of everyone there.

Of course, Xie Hongyi at the opposite side also saw it. He was not dazed by Lu Qipei’s smile; instead, he frowned tightly when he saw this scene. He picked up the wine cup in front of him and drank a mouthful, disregarding his young age. Then he murmured with a voice no one else could her, “What a useless person, just relying on looks!”

Since even the people around him could not hear it, Lu Qipei in the back row opposite of him obviously couldn’t hear his murmurs. But even if she heard it, she probably would have just smiled. After all, what the youth said was true. Didn’t she rely on this look to attract Qi Yang’s attention, both in her past life and on this present life?

Lu Qipei, who was named by Xie Hongyi, naturally joined the competition’s list of participants. In addition to her, Liang State also selected five other people to participate in the competition. What everyone meant was to separate the Six Arts, and have people who specialized in each one compete with Rong State. But the Rong people were crafty, and the chief envoy pushed Xie Hongyi forward directly, indicating that he would compete alone.

What else could everyone say now? Having a youth only thirteen to fourteen years old compete in the competition already made them feel like bullying. Were they still going to deal with him with a rotating roster? Not only would the victory feel unfair, it would even feel shameless!

The people of Liang State became more and more dissatisfied, but they still had to deal with the situation cautiously. In the end, they ignored Xie Hongyi’s provocation and decided to have the people they selected compete in a small contest first, to choose the best one to compete with Rong State.

However, this selection competition didn’t have to be held in front of the Rong people – it had to be held after the banquet. After all, the time needed to compete in the Six Arts was not short, and they could not be done in the palace banquet. So, they had to choose a different time.

After the competition was finalized, the banquet gradually returned to calm. The song and dance started again, and the atmosphere even became more harmonious than before.

Qi Yang was the only one worried; she pulled Lu Qipei over and whispered in her ear, “What is Xie Hongyi planning? He deliberately called you out, and the current situation seemed to be designed specifically to compete with you… Does he really have something to do with you?”

Qi Yang asked her straightforwardly, because she knew that Lu Qipei would not hide anything from her.

Lu Qipei smiled bitterly; she did not hide anything from Qi Yang, but she didn’t quite understand it herself. “Maybe he really does, I don’t know.” After a pause, she whispered again, “I always felt that he’s here for me.”

After hearing this, Qi Yang looked at the youth in her opposite direction, then lowered her eyes to cover the darkness that suddenly appeared in her eyes.