Female martial arts fanatics only love to fight, while men fight for their lives.

"You look good," Lou Xiao said bluntly, "very impressive."

Her straightforward answer without hesitation stunned him for a moment. It was not like he had not asked this question to others before, and he would either answer it without revealing anything so as not to offend anyone.

Or even if it was him who answered, one could easily detect the flattery in it, which was so fake and disgusting.

And she seemed to sincerely feel so, but she didn't say a word of praise, as if there was no need for explanation or doubt.

Xiao Zhengdu quickly adjusted himself, "The Duke of Zhenguo is so sweet, I almost believed it."

"Is it the same when facing Li Huaiqing? Did you fool him around? Or," he said with ill intent, "did you get fooled around by him?"

As soon as he came, he broke the comfortable atmosphere between her and her senior sister. He was also a little aggressive and his words were full of thorns. Lou Xiao was a little annoyed.

"Youshan King is really jealous. If you like Li Huaiqing, why don't you take the initiative to take practical actions? Why are you here to confront me?"

There is nothing between her and Li Huaiqing!

The Queen almost spit out the tea in her mouth, and Xiao Zhengdu's eyes widened, as if he was stunned by her words.

"When did I ever say... No, who likes Li Huaiqing?!" He was so angry that he looked like he had eaten a bitter melon seed and wanted to vomit.

"It's not me who mentions his name in every sentence." Lou Xiao remained calm and had the look of an experienced person, "Don't be so arrogant."

"Then who was the one who talked about history and the present with him, and was inspired to write poetry? Who was the one who went to Zuixianlou with him in a grand manner, and bought jewelry with him in a sweet and affectionate way?"

Xiao Zhengdu refused to give in, "Even I in the manor know about your affairs, don't even think about refuting it."

Lou Xiao looked at him like a fool. "Let's put it another way. The three words 'discussing the past and the present', 'poetry' and 'intimate' have nothing to do with me."

She did not forget to bring the Queen along, "If you don't believe me, ask His Majesty."

The empress lowered her head and opened the letter, indicating that she would not interfere.

All right, Lou Xiao had to face it alone. Now that she had no snacks at hand, she could only suppress her temper and sit down upright.

"If you don't have feelings for him, why are you paying so much attention to him?"

The dignitaries in this world have some strange habits, but Xiao Zhengdu is very upright!

"This king has been his sworn enemy for many years. Besides," King Youshan gritted his teeth, "there is no need to pay attention to it. The whole capital knows it!"

"Oh, I don't know." She squinted her eyes, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, like a lady in a painting, but unfortunately the words in her mouth were merciless.

"Even if he and I are real, why are you so anxious? I don't know you well."

So she concluded, "Then she must have impure thoughts about him."

Xiao Zhengdu was so angry that veins popped out on his forehead. He hated Li Huaiqing the most since he was a child, and this woman twisted his feelings for him into something improper, which made him unable to refute and extremely disgusted at the same time.

"My mortal enemy, don't you understand? The Duke of Zhenguo!" He hated Li Huaiqing's pretense. Everyone in the world said good things about him, but he just didn't like anything about him.

"Okay," Lou Xiao continued to tease, "I know you two have a deep friendship."

"You!" The tall man's hands were shaking. At this time, the queen, who had watched a good show, laughed and asked someone to bring fruit to calm the two of them.

Lou Xiao pinched a cherry, not knowing whether the cherry or her lips were redder.

King Youshan drank the whole bowl of tea angrily, but he couldn't suppress his anger. Fortunately, the queen came to his rescue in time.

"It's true that he and Li Huaiqing have been at odds with each other since childhood. This is not a lie." He said this to Lou Xiao.

"They are both unmarried, so why do you care what they do?" This was a reprimand to Xiao Zhengdu.

The two of them apologized reluctantly and were invited by the Queen to stay overnight. They were asked to accompany her for dinner and visit the Imperial Garden.

"The night-blooming cereus in the Zhaobao Hall is about to bloom. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go out for a night walk with candlelight?"

────

Lou Xiao didn’t understand her senior sister’s feelings. In ancient times when there was no light, it was pitch black at night. What could she see if she went to see the flowers with a broken lantern?

That’s not right. The palace lanterns are exquisite, and the palace servants holding them look very elegant.

Epiphyllum...well, she was just thinking, I seemed to have heard that it can be used to make soup?

He said what was in his mind without noticing. The empress smiled indulgently and ordered the palace servants to pick a basket and take it to the imperial kitchen to make soup for the Duke of Zhenguo.

Xiao Zhengdu continued to have that half-smile on his face, which made his features more three-dimensional in the night.

"The Duke of Zhenguo always has wonderful ideas."

"We just met for the first time today, where did you come from?" Lou Xiao was not the kind of person who liked to argue with people, but he just spoke to her in a rude way and she had no choice but to pay attention to him.

The more you look at a beauty under the lamp, the more beautiful she becomes.

Xiao Zhengdu was half a head taller than her. Seeing the figure not far from the Imperial Garden, he smiled knowingly and said, "I wonder which noble lord is going to be favored."

"What does it have to do with us? Your Majesty can be with whoever he wants."

They are all outsiders, why should they care about these things?

"What do you think of that noble man? Tell me quietly. I won't tell anyone."

As they got closer, the man who had been waiting in the Imperial Garden to meet the Empress showed up. He was tall and looked very scholarly.

This kind of bookish spirit is popular in the world.

Lou Xiao took a look, still thinking about the Epiphyllum Soup, "It looks good, but I just can't remember it."

It looks good again.

The man with a hint of blue in his eyes in the flickering candlelight asked the question he had doubted from the beginning, "You said I'm prettier than Li Huaiqing, but is that true?"

Under Lou Xiao's pointed gaze, he threatened in a low voice, "Don't say anything about the king and him..." Youqing.

He hoped she could understand the unfinished meaning of his words.

"You are prettier than him, and more special." Lou Xiao was very honest, "You have a face that people can remember at first sight."

Her praise was not really praise. Xiao Zhengdu figured it out a little bit, "You mean, you can't remember his face?"

This was not a good answer, so Lou Xiao ignored him.

The empress was led to the harem by the prince, and the so-called candlelight night tour ended early.

As soon as Lou Xiaofu entered the hall after washing up, he found someone in the bedroom. He waved his hand to let Jiubai retreat. He did not detect any murderous intention, but the other party was obviously a martial artist.

Is it a guard? Or is it the harem of my senior sister?

Who wants to harm himself?

Lou Xiao thought about the possibility of destroying the body.

Either possibility is not a good outcome.

She walked closer to the bed curtain and lifted it, just as she was about to knock the person out, but he blocked it with one hand, "It's me."

"...King Youshan, are you lost?" Lou Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. "It's almost midnight and you're still running around. Do you want to be beaten?"

"No," he was only wearing a snow-white satin nightgown, with the collar slightly open to reveal half of his collarbone and Adam's apple, his hair slightly messy, his eyes charming,

"You said I'm pretty, so I came here to verify it."

"Miss Lou, do you like it?"

Lou Xiao glanced at the bedding that had been messed up by him, wondering whether she should ask someone to change it, or just change the room to sleep in.

She was indeed a little sleepy, and said unhappily,

"What's wrong with you?"