Chapter 259: Plans in Motion

At the doorway, Shang Qinghua leaned against the doorframe while looking at Yue Mingxuan with a half-smile that was more than a little unsettling.

Yue Mingxuan rolled his eyes and went back inside.

“Why are you here again… Didn’t you just leave…”

“Have you taken your medicine tonight?” he asked while glancing at the bowl on the table.

Inside was still a pool of dark bitter liquid.

He shot Yue Mingxuan a look and the latter resigned himself to sitting down.

One of his hand idly playing with the bowl while the other propped up his head.

“We already agreed on this, why do I still have to drink medicine? Besides, I want to go out and have some fun!” Yue Mingxuan shouted while slapping both hands on the table so hard that the medicine sloshed and spilled.

Shang Qinghua pulled over a chair and sat down.

“I’ve thought of something.”

“Thought of what?”

Shang Qinghua’s eyes curved with amusement. “I can’t stop Xueyin from marrying Rong Zishen, so the only thing I can do is stop Rong Zishen from marrying anyone else.”

After saying that, he smiled and it was an especially sly smile that sent a chill through Yue Mingxuan.

So this was what people meant by a sister complex.

Back in his modern days, Yue Mingxuan had never quite understood the term, because everywhere he looked there had only been older brothers… or younger brothers, but not a single sister.

There had been no one to dote on even if he wanted to.

Now that he had finally seen a living example, Yue Mingxuan let out a sigh.

He truly had not expected that Shang Qinghua would turn out like this…

“Why do you keep sighing? It was Gongsun Xing who said you’re not allowed to go out. If you want to argue, go find him, not me,” Shang Qinghua said simply.

Yue Mingxuan closed his eyes, gathering his breath, then suddenly shouted.

“But you’re the one blocking the door! You’re the one who dragged me down from the roof! You’re the one who set people to watch me! Moonless Cicada, get down here!”

There had just been a faint noise from the roof.

Yue Mingxuan’s vigilance had returned and he sensed it immediately.

As he spoke, he lifted his head and shouted toward the roof.

It seemed Moonless Cicada might have slipped and losing his footing for a moment, there came a clatter of tiles rolling and knocking against each other, and finally Moonless Cicada pushed the door open.

He shot Yue Mingxuan a dark look and his expression far from friendly.

“Do you think it’s easy keeping watch for you all these days? And you still try to scare me! I only reported it when you were about to sneak out—was that really so terrible? Honestly, after being worn out for so long I haven’t even gotten a sip of water. The brothers from the Midnight Blades help look after the Flying Opera Group and they get tea and snacks! I—”

He had not even finished before he was glared into silence.

“No wonder when I went to the Midnight Blades, Brother Lu was always looking behind me, so you’ve been there the whole time! I thought you only showed up by coincidence when I went to the back hill tombs! Since you were already there, why didn’t you come out sooner? You let me walk in by myself! Are you even a man?”

It felt as though Yue Mingxuan had been bottling up his frustration for days and now it all burst out at once.

Moonless Cicada was left speechless.

At the time, it had been because Shang Qinghua told him to follow quietly and not let Yue Mingxuan notice.

When Yue Mingxuan entered the back hill tombs, he had originally intended to reveal himself, but then he remembered Shang Qinghua’s instructions.

Of course, he had also genuinely wanted to see whether Yue Mingxuan would be afraid, so he kept his distance, neither too near nor too far.

Who would have thought that Yue Mingxuan would truly dare to walk inside alone and later even stand still, letting others strike at him?

Only then did Moonless Cicada step in.

Otherwise, Yue Mingxuan might never have known he was being followed.

After venting his temper, Yue Mingxuan felt much better.

Perhaps it was a side effect of the medicine, he always felt a fire pent up inside and constantly wanting to lash out but finding no target.

This time, Shang Qinghua and Moonless Cicada had become the unfortunate victims.

“Alright, go on then and tell me. How exactly are you going to stop Rong Zishen from marrying anyone else? The third leg’s that was attached to him… Can you really control that?”

Moonless Cicada and Shang Qinghua: “…”

Who on earth had taught him to talk like that?

“My sister must never be a concubine. If she marries Rong Zishen, she must be his principal wife,” Shang Qinghua said only this much.

After that, Yue Mingxuan had no idea what he was thinking, but in any case, he seemed to be in an excellent mood.

Over the next few days, Shang Qinghua was seen frequently entering and leaving the imperial study while holding private discussions with the Emperor.

At the same time, Concubine Keshun remained in high spirits as she selected potential brides for her son, hoping to find someone as perfect as a celestial maiden.

Still, everything ultimately depended on the Emperor’s decision.

She had taken a liking to several promising candidates and Rong Zishen had no particular objections, after all, he felt nothing either way; it made no difference whom he married.

He even thought it would not matter if he married that princess from Xieshang Kingdom.

But Concubine Keshun was certainly unwilling.

…

Princess Xueyin received Shang Qinghua’s carrier pigeon letter at the inn.

She studied it for quite a while.

When they were children, this had been their favorite cipher game.

She used to carry a book everywhere she went and later Shang Qinghua learned to use numbers to indicate the page and line in that book.

From there, she could piece together the message and no one else had ever managed to decipher it.

Shang Qinghua told her to wait for the right moment and cooperate with him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep