Chapter 494 - At a Loss (1/2)
“What kind of nonsense are you saying! You’re going to misguide the child!!” Yu Xiaocao flushed bright red and she reached out to twist Zhu Junyang’s arm. There were so many people on the streets, so how could it be good if other people heard this? This fellow’s skin was truly too thick in that he wasn’t afraid of other people laughing at him!
“The news is true! Zhenxiu Restaurant has ice lanterns in the front! Quickly go find a good place!!” Someone sped past Yu Xiaocao and almost touched her arm. She was startled by this sudden appearance but immediately her waist tightened. By the time she realized what had happened, she had already been drawn into that warm chest.
She raised her head and met a pair of dark phoenix eyes that seemed to glitter like the stars. It was as if they were two deep pools that could draw one’s soul into them. Yu Xiaocao was about to be bewitched by them when a snowflake leisurely floated down and coincidentally landed on her nose. She unconsciously looked at that pure white snowflake and wasn’t aware that, in another person’s eyes, she had a silly look on her face while being cross-eyed.
She felt that person’s chest rumble and a large hand gently brushed the snowflake off of her nose. Only then did Yu Xiaocao realize just how funny she looked earlier. She firmly glared at Zhu Junyang, who was suppressing his laughter, and forcefully pushed him away. He was blatantly hugging her in such a public place. How scandalous! She didn’t want to admit anything so she became angry out of humiliation!
Zhu Junyang raised the hood on her cloak to cover her head and brushed off all of the snow that had fallen onto her shoulders. His smile seemed to be as bright as the lights around them and it had an alluring quality to it. The young ladies and matrons around who saw him all revealed a bashful smile and their eyes lingered on him.
“Attracting all of the bees and butterflies!” Yu Xiaocao snorted grumpily. Zhu Junyang hurriedly stopped smiling and reverted to a grim expression and starkly cold eyes. The young women around them, who had been surreptitiously looking at him, suddenly felt like they had seen a demon. Their faces immediately turned white and they all retreated one after another…
“Are you satisfied by this now?” When Zhu Junyang lowered his head to look at Xiaocao, he couldn’t help but unconsciously soften his expression. The loving gentleness in his eyes was enough to make someone intoxicated.
“Older Sister...it’s so scary!” Fang Haolin, who was gnawing on the sugar painting, had been scared by Zhu Junyang’s earlier expression. He pouted his lips and sobbed as if he had been wronged.
Yu Xiaocao found this hilarious yet a bit too much. She picked up Little Linlin, who had been begging for a hug, and said, “Why are you telling him this? Can’t you see he hasn’t even reached the age of two yet? It’d be surprising if he could understand what you’re saying!”
“Older Sister, when Linlin gets older, I’ll become a big general and I’ll fight bad people to protect you!” When he said the term ‘bad people’, Fang Haolin surreptitiously glanced at Zhu Junyang and it was clear how the little fellow categorized the prince in his mind.
How could Zhu Junyang allow Xiaocao to carry the little fatty? The little lass had such slim arms and legs, so what if she became tired? He looked at Fang Haolin with contempt and said, “What kind of big general is this cowardly? When the bad people come, you’re going to be crying instead. How can you protect your older sister?”
“Linlin is very brave!!” Fang Haolin was very upset by this and was no longer cowed by the prince’s glares. He puffed up his cheeks and stared intently at Zhu Junyang as if by doing this he wouldn’t be scared anymore.
“How do you prove you’re brave? As soon as I look a bit gloomy, you want to cry. Is that a sign that you’re brave?” Zhu Junyang had an expression that stated he didn't believe the little boy as he secretly observed the little kid’s reactions.
Fang Haolin scrunched up his little face for a long time before he finally stretched out his hand in an effort to prove he wasn’t scared as he stated, “Linlin is not crying. Linlin is brave. In the future, Linlin will become a great general and fight bad people!!”
“That’s the spirit!” Zhu Junyang took the little boy back into his arms and lowered his head to talk to Xiaocao, who was hiding a smile, “It looks like your parents are walking toward the direction of Zhenxiu Restaurant to go look at the ice lanterns. Should we follow them too? I heard that Zhenxiu Restaurant is selling late night snacks. After walking around, it’s easy to get hungry and tired so we can also stop at the building and rest our feet while eating some food.”
Before Xiaocao could reply, he lifted up Little Haolin in his left arm and grasped Yu Xiaocao’s hand in his right. They followed the stream of people headed towards Zhenxiu Restaurant. Beautiful lights lit up the criss-crossing streets, producing an image of a flourishing land. On the two sides of the street, different varieties of lanterns lit the way and the bright glow of the candles inside of them flickered and swayed...
The unique ice lanterns in front of Zhenxiu Restaurant were actually Yu Xiaocao’s idea! In her previous life, the thing she regretted the most was that she had never traveled to Harbin in the winter to admire their ice sculptures and lanterns. Winter in the capital this year was quite cold, which was why she casually spouted this thought. However, she didn’t expect Third Young Master Zhou to take it to heart and actually follow through.
By the time they got close to Zhenxiu Restaurant, there was already a giant crowd, that had to be at least three shoulders deep, surrounding the building. It was obvious just how popular these ice lanterns were! In front of Zhenxiu Restaurant were two large ice sculptures that had been shaped into lions and they resembled the guardian stone lions in front of temples. Inside them were giant red candles, which lit them up from within. It made them look festive and pure. Nearby, there were all sorts of finely sculpted ice lanterns, such as pavilions, buildings, bridges, animals, humans, and court ladies...it was truly a beautiful and fascinating sight to behold. It was as if they had entered a fairyland that was made entirely out of ice!
Third Young Master Zhou was currently at one of the nearby buildings, looking down on the crowd below. He suddenly spotted a familiar figure within the people and hurried down the building. He managed to squeeze through the crowd with difficulty and finally arrived in front of Yu Xiaocao and Royal Prince Yang, “Why are you guys stuck in the crowd? Be careful to not get stepped on! Come, go into the building with me. I especially reserved a room upstairs where you can see all of the ice lanterns from above. The view is quite spectacular up there!”