Chapter 8 - Emperor QiLing (1/2)

Chapter 8: Emperor QiLing

Yan Luan wondered if her ears would decay if she continued to eavesdrop, leaving this filthy place hurriedly with her old servant, reaching a surprisingly beautiful pond. Yan Luan sat down beside the pond and, ignoring her servant’s panicked expressions, removed her shoes and socks before placing her pale tiny legs into the cooling pond.

“WengZhu, you shouldn’t do this, what if someone sees you…”

“Do not worry, my legs are sore from all the walking and I wish to rest them,” Yan Luan replied gently as she moved her legs playfully, splashing the pond water everywhere while she frowned deeply as she considered the issue about Yan Fei.

“This old servant will surely report the issue today to the elder imperial princess,” The old handmaiden, noticing Yan Luan’s concerns, complained in rage, “Not only is she not grateful that she was allowed to stay alive, she even continuously plot against WengZhu, how dare she!”

Elder Imperial Princess was the current title bestowed upon Princess Yong Kang. Her father was Emperor Ming, and when he passed away, Princess Yong Kang’s own brother, Emperor Shun, took the throne, but when her brother, too, passed away, Emperor Shun’s legitimate prince, Emperor Qi Ling, took the throne, which made her the current emperor’s legitimate aunt, hence earning the title “Elder Imperial Princess”.(TNote: Emperor Ming, Shun and QiLing were not the surnames of the emperors, they are the emperor title used by the respective emperors)(TNote 2: And my bad on the confusion about Princess Yong Kang’s role in the whole royal family as they had described it only now, so apparently she’s the royal aunt of the current emperor, not the sister.)

Yan Luan was not confident in her abilities in dealing with the scheming Yan Fei, hence the best option was to leave it to her mother. She nodded silently at her decision before moving her legs lazily through the water.

“The wind here sure is cold…” Yan Luan shivered slightly at the sudden cold wind.

“Please wait a moment, WengZhu, this old servant will be back quickly,” The old handmaiden replied immediately, intending to collect her coat from the carriage nearby.

“Thank you, MeMe!”

As she waited for the MeMe’s return, she glanced around silently as she admired the beautiful and clean scenery which was filled with peace, birds chirped cheerfully and the soft scent of flowers flowed through the breeze freely. There were no pollution at all and the sky was bright, not like the present world at all.

She laid comfortably on the grass, enjoying the occasional cooling breeze on her cheeks, and without noticing it, she had fallen into a light slumber. In her drowsy state, she could feel something itchy on her cheeks and a familiar scent lingered nearby, without hesitation, she snapped opened her eyes in a panic.

Her face paled when she realized she had been sleeping in the arms of Yan Dao! “S…second brother! Why are you here… no… Why am I… Please release me.” She stuttered nervously as she squirmed, trying to escape from his hug.

Though this was not the first time she had fallen asleep in his arms, this time it was unusually terrifying as she her gaze landed on his ice cold expression and the warm hands that were gripping her tightly around the waist.

It was too ambiguous, even for siblings.

“Stop squirming around, how could you soak your feet into the cold pond under such hot weather.” Yan Dao said coldly as his eyes narrowed at her pale feet which were still in pond. Frowning slightly, he grabbed her feet firmly in his huge hands before taking them out from the pond.

“Ah! Second brother what are you doing?” She cried out in alarm at her second brother’s sudden actions as he wiped her dripping feet silently with a clean handkerchief, with movements so gentle you would think that he was wiping down a fragile and precious object.

“Second brother, they are already plenty dry, you can stop now!” She whimpered nervously, trying to wake him up from his crazed state.