Chapter 187: "This... Are You Sure This Is a Person?

"Your Majesty, what do we do now?"

We’ve lost the trail. Now that the mastermind was lurking in Liangzhou City, Ye Shao felt it was best for the Little Emperor to leave at once. They should return directly to the Capital City before anyone noticed.

He mentally reviewed his network of contacts. As long as he didn’t expose the Little Emperor’s identity, getting her back to the Capital City would be no problem at all.

SWISH!

Xiao Yang snapped open a folding fan, the picture of debonair grace. "What’s the rush? It’s not every day we get to be here. Shouldn’t we have a little fun?"

Ye Shao was at a loss. How could the dignified Emperor be such a Demon Child?

’There’s a war on the front lines, and the court is waiting for her to take charge. And here she is, thinking about sightseeing.’

’With the empire in the hands of someone like this, aren’t we all doomed?’

Xiao Yang glanced back at him. "We don’t need you as a guard. If you’re bored out of your mind, why don’t you go find that mastermind of yours?"

Ye Shao frowned. "I must protect you."

Xiao Yang laughed at his words, mocking him bluntly. "Oh, give me a break. You look as guilty as a thief. You might as well have the four words ’I’m up to something’ written across your face. You’re not protecting me; you’re practically screaming to the world that we’re suspicious."

Ye Shao touched his own face. He took a couple of steps forward and saw the two of them enter a bookstore together. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned and left.

’Perhaps the Emperor simply found him annoying, but she wasn’t wrong.’

’Instead of following her around on high alert, it would be better to deal with the mastermind. That’s the only way to ensure the Emperor’s safety.’

SMACK!

Xiao Yang held up her hands, looking at the young girl before her with an innocent expression. "I didn’t do anything."

’All she did was walk in the door like a normal person. Suddenly, someone slammed into her, bounced off, and landed right on their butt, dropping whatever they were holding.’

’This has to be a setup!’

Still, the girl seemed to have taken a genuine tumble. Xiao Yang reached out a hand to help her up. "Are you all right?"

The girl looked to be about fifteen. She had a cute face with chubby cheeks that hadn’t lost their childish softness. But the moment she opened her mouth, all that cuteness vanished.

"Are you blind? Don’t you watch where you’re going?"

The cute little cherub was actually a porcupine. Xiao Yang immediately retracted her hand.

After her angry outburst, the little girl turned to pick up her things. Inside a long box was a painting. The box had opened, and the scroll had fallen out.

She bent to pick it up, but her hand trembled and she only managed to grab the cord, which instantly caused the scroll to unfurl.

The scroll rolled open, stopping right in front of Xiao Yang and giving her a perfectly clear view of its contents.

It was a portrait of a person, though it was rather crudely drawn, with many blurry and indistinct parts. Judging by the clothes and accessories, the subject was a noble. But when her eyes moved to the face, Xiao Yang had to wonder if she was seeing things. ’What in the world is this?’

The person’s face was shaped like a long sunflower seed, with a chin as sharp as a drill bit. The eyebrows were thin and long, and the eyes were exceptionally narrow, with the outer corners stretching nearly to the temples. The pupils, however, were just tiny dots in the center—the eyes of a malevolent snake.

The nose was pointier than average, but that was the most relatively normal-looking feature on the face.

And the mouth... it was twisted to one side in what might have been a smile, but it was a look that was three parts coldness, three parts cruelty, and four parts nonchalance.

Xiao Yang was so shocked she completely forgot the girl had just insulted her. She voiced a genuine question, "Is this... supposed to be a person?"

’How could anyone look so bizarre? Did human evolution just skip this person?’

The little girl furiously rolled up the scroll and shot Xiao Yang a contemptuous glare. "You ignorant fool. You don’t even recognize the Empress."

CRACK!

Xiao Yang felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. ’Who?’

"You’re saying this is the Empress?"

Xiao Yang hadn’t planned on arguing, but now she had to set the record straight. "Take a look at that painting yourself! The thing drawn on it isn’t even human—it looks like some kind of demon. How could that possibly be the Empress?"

’Does she have even a shred of resemblance to that portrait?’

’This is more malicious than posting an unflattering, unedited picture of someone on social media.’

The little girl rolled her eyes, looking at Xiao Yang as if she were an idiot. "You’ve never seen the Empress, so how would you know she doesn’t look like this? This portrait came from the Capital City—do you think it’s a fake? Have you even been to the Capital City?"

Xiao Yang said, "This isn’t about the Capital City. The point is, it doesn’t even look human!"

The little girl wanted to curse, but was rendered speechless by this brand of sincere idiocy.

"Can the Emperor be like a common person? She’s a woman with the face of a man—sinister, vicious, and cruel! If she didn’t look like this, what should she look like? A fool like you?"

Xiao Yang: "..."

She wanted to say something, but was stunned into silence and couldn’t get a single word out.

"You... have a point." She surrendered. ’Arguing with a little girl really does make me look like an idiot.’

"Yan’er."

A clear, mellow voice called out as a slender man dressed in white walked in. He had a refined, scholarly air about him.

He looked to be in his early twenties, in the prime of his youth, with handsome, well-defined features and a faint, gentle smile.

Xiao Yang didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but the moment he entered, everything around him seemed to dim. It was as if he were the only thing in the room that was glowing.

’???? What normal person glows?’

’If he had some kind of otherworldly beauty that came with its own filter, that would be one thing. But this guy is only on par with Ye Shao, not as handsome as Xiao Lv, and definitely not in the same league as Rong Yin. What’s he got to be glowing about?’

"Yan’er, what happened?"

the man asked in a gentle voice.

The little girl named Yan’er saw him, and her eyes instantly lit up. Her scowl and foul mood vanished as she ran over to him eagerly, clutching the box. "Young Master, I ran into an idiot! She saw the Empress’s portrait and insisted it wasn’t real, calling it a demon!"

She made no effort to hide her disgust for the "idiot."

The man glanced at Xiao Yang, then at Ling Ji beside her. It seemed to be a casual, plain look, but something about his gaze made Xiao Yang feel uneasy.

"Yan’er, be polite."

He feigned a scolding tone before turning to Xiao Yang with a polite, cupped-fist salute. "My apologies, little brother. This maid of mine is blunt and outspoken. I apologize on her behalf for any offense she may have caused."

Yan’er protested, "But she was the one who wasn’t looking and knocked me down!"

"Yan’er," the man said, his tone sharp.

Yan’er reluctantly fell silent.

Xiao Yang watched this exchange with a thoughtful expression, offering a perfunctory cupped-fist salute. "It’s a trivial matter. You are too polite, sir."

The man extended an invitation. "The teahouse across the street is mine. Since fate has brought us together, might I, Su, have the honor of inviting you for a cup of tea, little brother?"

Xiao Yang was indeed curious about this "glowing" man. She feigned hesitation for a moment before smiling. "As it happens, I am at leisure. I would be glad to impose."

The man immediately gestured. "Please."

Yan’er couldn’t believe her young master was actually inviting that idiot for tea. She stomped her foot in frustration but said nothing, following them across the street. On the way, she shot a glare back at Ling Ji. "What are you looking at? Don’t even think about trying to seduce my young master."

Ling Ji: "?"