Zhan Yunshu smiled without saying a word when he caught the look of disdain on his little sister's face.
The man dressed in red insisted on going up to the ice orchid tree, but Zhan Yunshu stopped him. "Lord Lu, one moment, please. Even though the ice orchid tree is a grand sight to behold, we can only admire it from a distance. We are already very close to it. In less than ten minutes, you will feel giddy and nauseous. Even people in my family are incapable of staying near it for more than ten minutes."
"Really now? That's strange." The man dressed in red halted in his steps and looked at Zhan Yunge in disbelief.
When Zhan Yunshu greeted the man, Zhan Yunge figured out his identity. His name was Lu Qingye. He was Princess Jingya's only son.
The emperor and Princess Jingya were the empress dowager's biological children. When Lu Qingye was two years old, Princess Jingya's husband passed away while he was out fighting a war against the Jialuo Kingdom. The emperor felt sorry that his sister became a widow at such a young age, so he made Lu Qingye a second rank prince when he was only two years old.
Zhan Yunge was the youngest crown princess in the history of the Shengyu Empire, while Lu Qingye was the youngest prince of the second rank.
Princess Jingya could have remarried. There were no customs in Shengyu Empire preventing widows from remarrying. Moreover, she was the emperor's biological younger sister, so a lot of men were willing to marry her.
However, since she was deeply in love with her dead husband, she vowed never to remarry. Instead, she gave all her attention to her only son and loved him dearly. Lu Qingye grew up into a headstrong young man. Since the emperor and empress dowager were protective of Lu Qingye, he was able to get away with anything.
Zhan Yunge was acquainted with Lu Qingye since she had lived in the capital for five years. When she was there, she had caused a fair share of trouble by bullying all the other children from powerful families.
Lu Qingye was naturally one of the subjects of her incessant bullying. She recalled he used to be a chubby little boy. Back in the day, she kept chasing him all the way back to the Princess' residence.
Princess Jingya came to visit the Zhan residence with her son in tow demanding an explanation. When she got there, she looked at Zhan Yunge's big beautiful innocent eyes before looking at her son. She felt embarrassed since her son was eight and Zhan Yunge was only five.
Zhan Yunge was a five year old girl without cultivation skills but her son was unable to fight her and came home crying. What could she possibly say about Zhan Yunge? It was simply embarrassing.
For the first time in her life, Princess Jingya reprimanded her son. "You are already eight years old, but you were unable to defeat a five-year-old girl without any cultivation skills. How dare you come home crying?"
Lu Qingye's mother had never said a harsh word to him in his life, so he was deeply traumatized. Zhan Yunge kept sticking her tongue out and poking out her cheeks. Lu Qingye was a boy, but he could not fight her and went home crying to his mother, demanding Princess Jingya to get back at her. He was simply an embarrassment.
Lu Qingye's face instantly flushed crimson. It finally dawned on him that it was a mistake to beg his mother to stand up for him.
Ever since this traumatic incident, Lu Qingye kept making trouble for Zhan Yunge. Even though he always plotted against her, his ruses kept backfiring on him. In all the time she resided in the capital, he did not defeat her once.
Zhan Yunge could not help thinking about the past while looking at the young man dressed in red robes. Lu Qingye used to be a chubby cry baby, but now he was a handsome young man. For a moment, Zhan Yunge could not recognize him.
She had to admit he was rather good-looking now.
Zhan Yunge veered her eyes away and continued reading her medical book.
"Everyone in Shengyu Empire knows about this. I would never lie to you," said Zhan Yunshu. He was dressed in light blue robes and resembled Zhan Yunge a lot. He stood with his hands behind his back in complete composure. He had an ethereal aura and looked gorgeous.
"Then what about her? She has been hanging around the tree for some time as well, but I don't see her leaving," said Lu Qingye pointing at Zhan Yunge.
"Didn't you call her a flower sprite? If she is a flower sprite, she has nothing to fear." Zhan Yunshu gestured to Lu Qingye to leave.
It was Lu Qingye's first time at the Zhan residence. They were doing him a great honor by allowing him to view the ice orchid tree. They were mostly doing it on account of his cousin. Even though he was a spoiled brat, he was not an entire fool. Judging from Zhan Yunshu's patronizing attitude, it was clear Zhan Yunshu did not want Lu Qingye to interact with the girl. Was she his fiancée? In that case, why did he not know about his engagement?
Lu Qingye kept looking back as they left. When they were halfway down the mountain, he asked Zhan Yunshu, "Where is your sister?"
Zhan Yunshu smiled mildly. "Lord Lu, when she was just five, you were not her match even though you were on your turf. Now that you are at the Zhan residence, I suggest you keep a safe distance from her. Everyone loves her, so if you get into trouble with her, no one is going to help you."
Lu Qingye could not help looking sheepish. It was an unforgettable embarrassment. However, times had changed. He was a grown-up now and his cultivation skills were among the best. Zhan Yunge could not cultivate at all, so how could she be his match?
"She can't cultivate, but I have practiced cultivation for 13 years. How could she surpass me?"
"Lord Lu, do you plan on touching her while you are on our territory?"
Zhan Yunshu halted in his steps. He raised an eyebrow while looking at Lu Qingye. Was Lu Qingye dumb? How could he talk about bullying Zhan Yunshu's biological sister to his face?
Lu Qingye instantly said, "I would never dare to do that with the crown prince around. If I touched his fiancée right in front of his eyes, he might not kill me on account of my mother, but I am sure he won't think twice about beating me up to the point that I am confined to a bed."
"Even without the crown prince, my little sister is capable of making you run home crying." Zhan Yunshu assured Lu Qingye.
Lu Qingye felt annoyed. "Can you stop talking about it? I am your guest. Aren't you being rude?"
"I am glad you realize you are a guest, Lord Lu."
Zhan Yunshu smiled mildly. Would any self-respecting guest blatantly scheme to bully the family's pet the moment they visited? Shouldn't guests have basic manners?
Lu Qingye caught Zhan Yunshu's drift. People often commented that Zhan Yunshu was as wily as a fox. In the past, Lu Qingye did not take this seriously. Now that Lu Qingye had seen Zhan Yunshu work his magic, he had to admit he was cornered.
Lu Qingye sighed. It was no wonder Zhan Yunge grew up unrestrained. Her biological older brother was absolutely cunning. Not to mention, she had 12 other older cousins. Every single one of them loved her dearly, so she was fearless.
"Where is the crown prince?" Lu Qingye quickly changed the subject.
He had made an excuse saying he wanted to see the crown prince. In reality, his real objective was to view the ice orchid tree. He had been dying to see the ice orchid tree. It had been eight years since he last saw Zhan Yunge and he wondered what Zhan Yunge was like these days? Was she still the same rebellious girl he once knew?
"His Highness is resting. I have already sent word you are here. When he wakes up, his men will report it to him," said Zhan Yunshu unhurriedly.
"I can go and stay with him then," said Lu Qingye.
"It is inconvenient," said Zhan Yunshu mildly.
Nangong Xuan had always resided in Zhan Yunge's quarters and it was open knowledge in the family. Even though his little sister did not care about reputation, there was no sense in letting outsiders know.
Zhan Yunshu was against letting Nangong Xuan take up residence in Zhan Yunge's compound. However, Old Master Zhan felt there was no harm in letting them get to know each other better; besides, they were engaged. All these years Nangong Xuan had gotten away with staying with Zhan Yunge.
Nangong Xuan was Zhan Yunshu's future brother-in-law. Who did Lu Qingye think he was? He had no right to enter his little sister's quarters.
"What is the problem? I have even spent the night at Qinglong Palace," said Lu Qingye with displeasure.
"What can I say? When you are in a city, do as the citizens do. Lord Lu, here is the guest room. My compound is 100 meters east of here. If you need me, you know where to find me. Since I just got home, I need to pay my respects to my mother and grandmother." Zhan Yunshu reminded Lu Qingye of his place.
"I also want to pay respects to Old Madam Zhan." Lu Qingye had basic manners. Since he could not get what he wanted, he quickly decided to give in. After all, this was not his turf.
Zhan Yunshu had no objections. The two of them made their way to Old Madam Zhan's compound at Yangxin Garden.
It was starting to get dark. Zhan Yunge stretched lazily. She closed her book, jumped off the ice orchid tree, and landed on the ground firmly. She had already told Wan Yu she would be back for dinner, so she had to make her way back.