I gave a faint smile. "Sure!"
Then I glanced at the menu and started reeling off the names of dishes. "Steamed Eight-Treasure Soup, Mapo Tofu, Sugar-Glazed Water Chestnuts, Stir-Fried Spring Greens, Sour Cabbage, Braised Lotus Seeds, Braised White Fungus, Braised Radishes, Assorted Hot Pot..."
The waiter scribbled away beside me, but my brother and Yu Chi Cheng suddenly jumped up. "Stop!" One snatched the menu from my hand while the other covered my mouth.
I was stunned for a second. Then Yu Chi Cheng and my brother both flipped open the menu and started ordering meat dishes right and left. They didn't bicker anymore. I looked at them in bewilderment. Recalling the dishes I had ordered, I finally realized that they disliked the fact that all the dishes I had chosen were vegetarian...
After a silent battle, we finally finished ordering. The waiter staggered out. My brother and Yu Chi Cheng couldn't stand each other. They both snorted and turned their heads away from each other, which made me, sitting between them, feel rather sad.
"I said, is it really necessary to act like this when we're having a meal together?" I asked helplessly.
My brother turned to me and said, "Xi He, you mustn't be deceived by this guy's temporary hypocrisy. We don't even know how he got out of the palace, yet we're just following him around. Maybe he's just getting close to us to spy on Dayong's national situation. Otherwise, why would a proper prince of Beihan come to our imperial city for no reason!"
"You're spitting blood!" Yu Chi Cheng suddenly frowned, which startled both my brother and me.
Seeing this, I quickly tried to smooth things over. "Alright, let's not make a fuss today. Later, we'll take a stroll on the street and then meet up with the guards and go back." In this situation, it was better not to cause trouble.
Thankfully, the restaurant served the dishes quickly. With delicious food in front of us, all grudges were reduced to ashes in the face of our growling stomachs. When we walked out of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant fully satiated, the sky had darkened a bit.
"Where shall we go now?" my brother asked me.
I said, "I want to take a look at some small trinkets..."
My brother put his arm around me and walked forward. "Fine, then let's just take a casual stroll on the street and digest our food by the way."
Yu Chi Cheng raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure it's safe for us to walk on the street now?"
My brother said, "It's okay. Big Brother Yu Chi is highly skilled in martial arts. He will definitely be able to protect my sister and me. I'm not worried, not at all!"
After saying that, my brother walked forward. Yu Chi Cheng's mouth twitched involuntarily. I covered my mouth and snickered, then went to catch up with my brother. Yu Chi Cheng seemed to sigh behind us and finally followed.
On the bustling street, my brother and Yu Chi Cheng walked in front and behind me respectively, protecting me so that I wasn't squeezed much. However, from time to time, there were all kinds of infatuated looks staring at us from around, which made even me, a girl, feel a bit shy.
Just as we stopped at a small stall, I saw a string of bead flowers and was about to pick them up when a fair hand stretched out at the same time. I looked up and saw the girl suddenly lower her head. Then she covered her mouth with a fan and said softly, "If the young master likes them, I'll let the young master have them."
I was stunned for a second. Then the girl left coyly with her maid. Only then did I remember that I was dressed in men's clothes.
Seeing this, my brother teased me. "Oh, our Xi He can also make women shy. It seems that this outfit of mine is really good!"
Yu Chi Cheng also nodded. "Xi He is a remarkable person. You're popular with both men and women. Very good, very good..."
I thought that I had only attracted the attention of one girl in this outfit. When had I ever attracted the attention of men? So I looked up at Yu Chi Cheng curiously. Seeing the mockery in his eyes, I immediately understood that he was mocking me for being the one who had been flirted with by Young Master Liu before, which made me extremely angry.
I snorted at him and then continued walking towards another small stall. I thought that I shouldn't look at women's things anymore, so I started looking at the jade stones that were suitable for both men and women. The jade stones in the folk were naturally not as good as those in the palace. However, the jade stones in the palace had complicated patterns and similar styles, while the jade stones in the folk were fresh, various, and natural without any particular rules.
When I came to a small stall, I happened to see a jade stone on which half of a woman's face was drawn with smooth curves. Although it was simple, it had a unique charm. I couldn't help but pick it up. Unexpectedly, at the same time, another beautiful hand reached out to pick it up too. I looked up, thinking that it was another girl who would let go of the hand as soon as I looked at her. However, when I looked up, I saw the extremely beautiful man in red with a straw hat that I had met before. At this moment, he was looking at me through the veil.
I felt my face flush hot. I immediately withdrew my hand and put down the jade pendant. Unexpectedly, he also let go of his hand at this moment. So with a clear sound, the jade fell back onto the stall.
The stall owner let out a groan and looked extremely pained.
My brother and Yu Chi Cheng both looked at us curiously. I quickly put on a smile and said, "A gentleman doesn't compete. I'll let the young master have this jade."
Only then did the man in red smile and say softly, "Since the young master is so kind, I'll take this jade. Yan Zhe, pay the money."
His voice was even clearer than the jade before. It rang in my ears.
The black-clothed man behind him took out a silver ingot from his money bag and gave the jade to the man in red. The man in red gave me and my brother a meaningful look and then turned around and left.
The veil couldn't stop people from imagining his appearance. I stood there in a daze even after he had walked a long way.
It wasn't until my brother waved his hand in front of my eyes for a long time and said, "Hey, come back to your senses! The fox spirit has already left!"
I looked back at my heartless brother and Yu Chi Cheng with a bad complexion. Then I covered my eyes and shouted, "My goodness, my eyes have been burned by that man!"
My brother suddenly knocked on my head and said, "Come on, just admit that you were looking at a handsome man. Don't pretend. Mother has already said that we should have an appreciative eye for beauty."
I quietly moved one finger away and saw my brother being impassioned through the gap between my fingers. Knowing that he didn't notice, I heaved a big sigh of relief. However, I didn't notice that Yu Chi Cheng's face had turned even darker...
This little episode came to an end because I ignored Yu Chi Cheng.
I pulled my brother around all kinds of stalls, but I couldn't find another jade stone with the same charm as the beauty on the previous one.
After walking around for a while, the sky gradually darkened. I looked at the dark clouds in the sky and decided to go back to the palace. By this time, the guard must be going crazy waiting for us.
When we came to the place where we had parked the carriage before, sure enough, we saw the guard waiting for us anxiously. As soon as he saw us, he immediately stepped forward and called out, "My lord! You're finally here."
My brother waved his hand to stop him from speaking and asked instead, "Didn't you say that you would never lose sight of us? What's going on today? I looked for you at the carriage for a long time but couldn't find you."
The guard immediately knelt on one knee and said anxiously, "Your subordinate is guilty. Your subordinate wasn't beside the carriage because I was looking for you in the crowd all the time."
"Did you find us?" my brother asked.
The guard was silent for a moment and then said, "Please punish your subordinate."
My brother looked at me and couldn't help but snicker. Seeing Yu Chi Cheng frowning at him, he quickly put on a serious face again. "Forget it. This is something that neither you nor I could have predicted. I'll forgive you this time. However, when we get back, if Father and Mother ask, you must say that you followed us closely. Do you understand?"
As soon as the guard heard that my brother was willing to let him off, he quickly expressed his gratitude. I pulled my brother to signal him to stop making trouble. My brother then helped the guard up. Yu Chi Cheng looked at my brother's actions with a deep look in his eyes.