The princess consort clenched her handkerchief tightly.
Xiao Liulang settled the bill and left with Gu Jiao.
Even though she appeared unfazed and didn’t show any signs of drunkenness, Xiao Liulang could see she was genuinely drunk.
She... just put on a serious act.
Xiao Liulang held her soft, slightly calloused hand and stepped out of the restaurant.
Watching them leave arm in arm, oblivious to the surrounding stares, the princess consort felt an unfamiliar feeling stirring in her heart.
Despite her rational self reminding her that he wasn’t Ahen, but just a lowly born illegitimate child, she couldn’t help but wonder, if Ahen were still alive, would he have grown into such a charming man?
It wasn’t that Xiao Hen wasn’t handsome, but the Xiao Hen of her memories was still youthful and exuded a child’s handsomeness. Even though he was stunning for his age, his beauty didn’t stir any romantic thoughts in the heart.
On the other hand, Xiao Liulang, owning a unique aura that lay between youth and manhood, bewitched women with his handsome features, his aura, and also his aloofness that seemed to maintain a distance from everyone else.
He was taller than the prince, while Xiao Hen was shorter than the prince before his death.
"Linlang?" the prince called her.
The princess consort’s eyelashes twitched slightly: "My handkerchief is dirty. I’m going to the carriage to get a new one."
With that, she got up and left.
Instead of boarding the carriage, she followed Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao.
The pair turned into the alley, and Gu Jiao suddenly stopped and squatted on the ground, doodling circles in the dirt.
Xiao Liulang watched her amusedly: "Why did you stop walking?"
Gu-san sui (three years old): "I can’t go on."
Xiao Liulang: "What should we do then?"
Gu-san sui: "I need a kiss before I can go on."
Xiao Liulang squatted down, looked deeply into her eyes, and asked: "Are you sure?"
Gu-san sui nodded vigorously.
Xiao Liulang gently kissed her forehead.
She was far away, so she couldn’t see clearly, but the ambiguous atmosphere was like a stressful flame filling her chest... freewēbnoveℓ.com
"I..." The princess consort stumbled over her words, her mind was in a mess.
The prince frowned: "Is it because of Xiao Liulang? You’ve been out of it since you saw him, did seeing him remind you of Ahen? You still haven’t forgotten Ahen!"
The princess consort cast her eyes downward: "Your Highness, calm down. Just now, I wasn’t thinking about him, but about the girl next to him."
"That ugly woman with a birthmark on her face?" The prince was still skeptical.
In order to deflect the suspicions that she was thinking about Ahen, the princess consort forcefully changed the subject to Gu Jiao: "Does Your Highness know who she is?"
"Who?" the prince asked offhandedly.
The princess consort said: "Doesn’t it pique the prince’s curiosity who the woman Xiao Xiuzhuan is with?"
The prince said nonchalantly: "She’s either his wife or one of his concubines, or just a floozy. I’ve seen such things often, there’s nothing strange. I’m curious as to why the newly crowned champion would choose such an unattractive woman."
"She’s the daughter of the Marquis Residence." The princess consort revealed.
The prince was taken aback: "Miss Gu? I’ve seen Miss Gu, she doesn’t look like that!"
The princess consort gently said: "Your Highness, you met the second miss of the Gu family, a country girl who was mistakenly brought up from a young age. The one you just saw is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Residence."
"Oh," the prince suddenly realized, "I remember now. I had indeed heard about such a thing."
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