Chapter 159 - 159: The Dragon’s Head Breaks

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Don’t worry, my Imperial Brother won’t mind.”

Upon seeing Jiang Peihuan’s expression, Xiao Nanye understood her thoughts. As he peeled a lotus pod, he spoke.

Hearing this, Jiang Peihuan subconsciously wanted to respond, but just as she prepared to speak, a hearty voice sounded near her ear. “You brat, how do you know that 1 won’t mind?”

Upon hearing this voice, Jiang Peihuan instinctively turned her head.

A flash of bright yellow entered her vision. Jiang Peihuan recognized that it was Emperor Qi Ming. She quickly knelt and bowed, “Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty.”

“Greetings, my Imperial Brother.”

Seeing Emperor Qi Ming, Xiao Nanye calmly paid his respects.

Without waiting for Emperor Qi Ming to respond, he helped Jiang Peihuan to her feet.

“Imperial brother, if you scare Huan Er, 1 will empty your private treasury later.”

“You brat, you still dare to threaten me?”

Hearing Xiao Nanye’s words, Emperor Qi Ming snorted coldly, but there was no trace of anger in his eyes.

Emperor Qi Ming directly sat down on a stone bench to the side. Then, he turned to Jiang Peihuan, who was standing nearby. After giving her a casual glance, he spoke in a low voice, “You are Jiang Hong’s eldest daughter?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, your servant girl is Jiang Peihuan.”

Jiang Peihuan did not meet Emperor Qi Ming’s gaze directly, yet she did not avoid it either.

Seeing this, Emperor Qi Ming’s eyes showed a hint of admiration. “You do bear some resemblance to your father’s temperament.”

“Do you like lotus seeds?”

Seeing the lotus pod in Jiang Peihuan’s hand, Emperor Qi Ming continued to ask.

Jiang Peihuan nodded, then spoke softly, “When I was young, 1 liked to stay at my maternal grandmother’s house. Qingzhou is known for its lotus seeds, which are very sweet, so I’ve liked them since I was a child.”

“However, the soil and water in Jingdou are not suitable for growing lotus seeds, so the yield is quite low. When I saw this lotus pod just now, I was quite pleased.”

“If you like them, I will gift you all the lotus pods in the river. Later, I will have them delivered to the General’s Mansion.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Hearing Emperor Qi Ming’s words, Jiang Peihuan hurriedly knelt down and bowed.

“Get up.”

Once Jiang Peihuan stood up, Xiao Nanye handed her the peeled lotus seeds. In front of Emperor Qi Ming, Jiang Peihuan didn’t reach out to accept them, but warned him with a glance.

However, Xiao Nanye appeared oblivious and directly took her hand, placing the snow-white lotus seeds in her palm.

Seeing this, Emperor Qi Ming showed a touch of dissatisfaction in his gaze towards Xiao Nanye. “What’s this, you only have eyes for your future queen, and fail to notice your own imperial brother?”

“Wang Kun, didn’t you hear that my imperial brother wants lotus seeds? Get to preparing them immediately.”

Hearing Emperor Qi Ming’s words, Xiao Nanye responded without even lifting his head.

When Wang Kun, who was standing beside Emperor Qi Ming, heard this, he only smiled and did not say anything.

However, Emperor Qi Ming gave Xiao Nanye a stern look. Just as he was about to speak, he heard, “Your son pays his respects to Your Majesty, my Imperial Father, and greets my Imperial Uncle.”

When Jiang Peihuan heard the voice, she also turned around and bowed.

It was Xiao Junhao, along with the other princes Xiao Junmo and Xiao Junye.

At first glance, Xiao Junhao saw Jiang Peihuan. Upon seeing her, his eyes revealed a complicated emotion. Although he quickly returned to his usual demeanor, Jiang Peihuan clearly noticed the fleeting shadow in his eyes.

Shifting his gaze from Jiang Peihuan, Xiao Junhao turned to Emperor Qi Ming and said, “Imperial Father, this palace has been refurbished. How about I accompany you on a tour, and you can check if there are any deficiencies?”

“Good.”

The primary reason for Emperor Qi Ming’s visit today was to inspect the refurbishment of the palace. Hearing Xiao Junhao’s words, he nodded in agreement.

However, just as he was about to proceed, the emperor suddenly halted and turned towards Xiao Nanye, “Nanye, you come along too. Oh, bring your future queen as well.”

“Understood.”

Hearing Emperor Qi Ming’s words, Xiao Nanye casually responded.

Other than Xiao JunMo, the other princes had complicated expressions in their eyes when they saw this scene.

There was admiration, as well as jealousy.

Jiang Peihuan had always known that Emperor Qi Ming doted on Xiao Nanye, but she didn’t know that he would be so fond of him.

As the group moved forward, Jiang Peihuan was walking at the back, and Xiao Nanye was also standing behind her.

Xiao Nanye kept passing lotus seeds to Jiang Peihuan as they walked forward.

Seeing this, Prince An, standing beside them, couldn’t help but tug at Xiao Nanye’s sleeve, “Uncle, can you also give me some?”

“No, if you want to eat it, go pick it yourself.”

Hearing Prince An’s words, Xiao Nanye didn’t even raise his head and said directly.

Xiao Junmo watched as Xiao Nanye passed lotus seeds to Jiang Peihuan again, his eyes filled with a hint of sadness.

At this moment, Xiao Junhao’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears, “Imperial Father, this Mingqing Hall has just been refurbished. Does it meet your expectations?”

Upon hearing the words ‘Mingqing Hall,’ Jiang Peihuan couldn’t help but look up.

Before her was a grand main hall, its roof adorned with eight five-clawed golden dragons sculpted from stone.

At first glance, it was incredibly majestic and imposing.

Emperor Qi Ming examined the Mingqing Hall in front of him carefully, with evident satisfaction in his eyes.

“Hao Er, you’ve done an excellent job.”

Xiao Junhao had been under Emperor Qi Ming’s criticism for some time, so hearing this sudden praise, his eyes were filled with surprise.

After bowing to Emperor Qi Ming, he said excitedly, “Thank you, Imperial

Father, for your praise. This is my duty, I…”

“Imperial Father, watch out!”

Before Xiao Junhao could finish speaking, everyone heard a loud bang.

Xiao Junmo, standing next to Emperor Qi Ming, quickly pulled him aside upon hearing the sound.

A large stone had fallen from where Emperor Qi Ming was standing. Upon closer inspection, it was the head of the dragon on the roof.

It didn’t stop there; several loud noises echoed again, and everyone retreated as the heads of the golden dragons on the Mingqing Hall broke off.

Seeing this, Jiang Peihuan’s eyes revealed surprise.

She knew her elder brother might set up something in the Mingqing Hall, but she didn’t expect him to be so ruthless. Nevertheless, Jiang Peihuan was quite delighted in her heart.

Now, she was curious about how Xiao Junhao would solve this crisis.

“What… what’s happening?”

Emperor Qi Ming looked at the dragon head that nearly hit him, his face pale.

Xiao Junhao looked at the scene in front of him, his eyes filled with shock. For some reason, he felt that this incident was somehow related to Jiang Peihuan.

Meeting Xiao Junhao’s gaze, Jiang Peihuan looked clueless.

At this moment, Emperor Qi Ming glared at Xiao Junhao with anger, “Prince Qing, is this the result of your refurbishment?”