Chapter 852 - 851: Where Does the Aroma of Tea Drift From

Mu Qiu almost burst out laughing.

Li Yang didn’t even have time to eat his popsicle. He snorted twice, then asked, "But didn’t that bunch of maids just say the Emperor granted marriage to Miss Zhang?"

"And isn’t that Miss Bai His Highness’s, you know, that unreachable crush or whatever?"

Miss Bai looked faintly displeased. "Everyone, stop teasing me. Miss Zhang from the Zhang Family is the Emperor-bestowed Crown Princess Consort. I’m just a Concubine. As for His Highness’s beloved... heh, you’re talking about my elder sister, right?"

Mu Qiu raised her eyebrows and looked at Cheng Zhirang. "Nice, Brother Cheng. The show’s automatically patched-in storyline for you is this intense? First scene and you’re already dragging the whole family into a Battlefield."

"Still, the role they gave Brother Cheng is pretty solid," Shu Ran nodded at Song Weili. "He’s also a Prince, but the only people chasing him around are eunuchs, and the person he likes dresses in weird old-man shirts."

Song Weili, having been called out, gave a little "ah," then followed up, "Maybe I’m a not-so-favored Prince?"

Li Yang: "We can tell. Also a Prince with zero ambition."

Guan Yu immediately chimed in to back him up. "What’s the big deal, this is just manually adding some love-triangle drama. Piece of cake. Later we’ll give him a ’someone he likes but can’t have’ role too, or maybe a substitute. I can reluctantly be the stand-in for some beauty."

"What, your face is just something you throw on the ground like trash?" Shu Ran said breezily.

Guan Yu almost had a heart attack.

Mu Qiu, on the other hand, asked that "Miss Bai" a question, her expression a bit odd.

"Excuse me, Miss Bai, what’s your sister’s name?"

Miss Bai didn’t seem to want to talk to her. She squeezed out a few stiff words. "My sister is called Bai Yueguang."

Song Weili immediately choked. "Cough, cough, cough! Pff—hahahahahaha! Called what?! Bai Yueguang?!"

Mu Qiu thought, she knew it would be that name, and couldn’t help laughing along.

"Miss, that’s a great name."

Miss Bai was a bit angry. She took a step forward and glared at Mu Qiu with disgust. "Miss Mu, stop being so mocking. I’m standing right in front of you, and you’re still pretending nothing happened! You clearly know His Highness is about to be married, yet you still cling to him and go out with him, and even dare to be this intimate in front of everyone!"

"Can’t help it, the Crown Prince forced me. I can’t exactly rather die than submit, right?" she said as she continued eating her popsicle.

Cheng Zhirang glanced at her again.

Miss Bai was shaking with rage. "Shameless!"

"Oh, please. You all getting into the Eastern Palace is still up in the air. Don’t shout in my face. He just likes me, what am I supposed to do about it? Otherwise, want me to demonstrate for you?"

This whole long line came out of her mouth without any forethought. By the end, she finished the last bite of her popsicle, tossed the stick into the trash can beside her, and walked a few steps closer to Miss Bai.

No one had any idea what she was going to do. Her sudden move caught everyone off guard, but Li Yang and the others still happily stepped aside to watch.

Mu Qiu walked up to the pretty girl and quietly said, "Sorry, can you pretend to fall back a little?" Then, within controllable range, she directly gave her a push.

This NPC’s acting was pretty good. She let out a startled cry, stepped back twice, and landed on the ground with a thump.

At the same time, Mu Qiu also let herself fall backward. Cheng Zhirang saw she actually looked like she might really fall, so he immediately strode forward to catch her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her into him.

She fell straight into Cheng Zhirang’s arms, then casually spread her hands at the Miss Bai sitting on the ground and said, "See? He just likes me."

Miss Bai: "..."

Cheng Zhirang: "..."

The others: "..."

Guan Yu: "Where is this tea fragrance coming from? It’s so strong, so choking."

Miss Bai almost broke character and burst out laughing, but in the end she still managed to control her expression. She stared at Mu Qiu in shock. "You... you, you’re shameless!"

Then she looked to Cheng Zhirang with hope. "Your Highness, she’s clearly just using you to show off."

Cheng Zhirang had no idea what expression he should be making, but it definitely wasn’t the one she wanted. In that silence, she suffered a huge blow. Tears welled up, and she scrambled to her feet, wiping her eyes as she ran off.

Mu Qiu stood up, patted off her skirt, and met everyone’s gazes with total composure.

"Well? Isn’t that pretty original?"

Shu Ran’s expression was complicated. "You’re just one drama away from becoming that super-annoying supporting actress on TV."

Li Yang’s popsicle had already melted; he didn’t even have time to lick it. He stared at her in utter shock. "How did you even come up with that? Even the actress playing her got stunned by you."

Guan Yu: "Still the same two words: good tea."

Xu Jihua looked around and laughed. "With acting and improv like that, why are you playing the one being forcefully taken? Clearly you’re the one forcefully taking Brother Cheng."

Cheng Zhirang thought this wasn’t exactly wrong.

Mu Qiu chuckled twice. "You flatter me, you flatter me. Come on, let’s go get noodles."

Right in front of the noodle stall there were exactly three tables, enough to seat all nine of them. The vendor, standing behind the boiling pot, asked with a big grin, "What would you like to eat, honored guests?"

The immersive experience was pretty nice. Behind them, another fan was hidden, blowing cool air their way, so comfortable it made you want to nap.

The menu was placed on the table, and several heads leaned in to look.

"They really have all kinds of noodles. I want beef noodles!"

"Two bowls of bone broth noodles with fried egg, and five scallop steamed dumplings."

"I want cold noodles. Xu Jihua, you’re getting this too, right? Then two cold noodles."

"One three-shreds veggie noodle!"

"Three bowls of fatty-intestine rice noodles!"

Ordering itself was a kind of joy. Mu Qiu was in a great mood this episode. She quietly said to Cheng Zhirang, "You might not get full on just noodles. I’ll give you half of mine, and I’ll give you two of the steamed dumplings; I’ll eat three. How’s that?"

Cheng Zhirang was still replaying her deliberately falling into his arms just now. Hearing that, he nodded. "Okay. Whatever you decide is fine."

With him being this obedient, Mu Qiu felt very pleased. She lifted her arm, letting the wind blow into her wide sleeves, so comfy she almost dozed off.

"Don’t keep it blowing straight in," Cheng Zhirang reached out his long arm and pressed down the sleeve on her other side a little, then looked at her hair. "Isn’t it hot with your hair down?"

"It is pretty hot."

"Then tie it up."

He stood up, his head almost brushing the awning, and walked behind Mu Qiu. Calmly gathering her hair, he took a black hair tie from under the bracelet on his wrist and, a bit clumsily, tied it up.

Mu Qiu let out an "ay" and turned her head, trying to look at him.

From behind, he said, "Don’t move. Almost done."

"...Oh."

The group waiting for their noodles at the side practically couldn’t bear to watch.

Guan Yu: "What did I do in a past life to deserve being seated next to them?"

Li Yang: "Noted, noted. When I get a girlfriend someday, I’m doing this too."

"I strongly suspect this episode is just for them to show off their couple routine. We’re the NPCs; they’re the real leads," Shu Ran said, sipping her tea.

An Zhou raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn’t be surprised."

Amid their teasing, Mu Qiu’s hair was tied up. Cheng Zhirang came back to sit beside her. His black robe hem laid over her white robe hem on the shared bench, the two indistinguishable.

Mu Qiu coughed, lowered her head, and fell silent, a bit embarrassed.