Chapter 182: A Stir in the Courtyard
As she expected, Xiao Qi's back stiffened. He refused sternly, "Absolutely not!"
Sun Jiaojiao stepped closer to him. "Why not? Are you saying you don't want to repay your debt?"
Her fragrance was especially strong, so strong it almost made Xiao Qi unable to bear it. He desperately dodged Sun Jiaojiao's intentional and unintentional physical provocations, saying seriously, "Everyone has their own ambitions! While I, Xiao Qi, may not be some great hero, I am absolutely not a vulgar petty man. In this life, I will absolutely not use my body to repay a debt! Absolutely not!"
Sun Jiaojiao chuckled. "So certain?"
Xiao Qi: "Certain!"
Sun Jiaojiao: "How ambitious... It feels good to make an oath now, but it'll be a rude awakening when you're proven wrong. When that time comes, don't you dare say it hurts..."
Xiao Qi couldn't understand the profound meaning in Sun Jiaojiao's gaze.
This "rude awakening" (lit: face-slapping) didn't sound right to him.
He was truly afraid of this notoriously wanton Crown Princess. Never mind questioning her, he was afraid to even get a fraction closer to her. He felt as if Sun Jiaojiao were a beautiful snake flickering her tongue, ready to swallow him whole at any second.
Fortunately, Sun Jiaojiao just smiled as she passed him, flicking her sleeves. She was gone in a flash, leaving only the scent of her robes lingering around Xiao Qi.
Xiao Qi shivered. He watched Sun Jiaojiao's swaying back disappear from view and shook his head, trying hard to clear it. Then he straightened his back once more and continued to stand guard...
Two days later, the perpetually lazy Xiao Ba couldn't be bothered to stand guard duty at night, so he went to beg his good brother Xiao Qi to cover for him for one night. In any case, everyone in the guard team knew that ever since Xiao Qi's name was cleared and he returned, he had become obsessed with guarding the courtyard, almost to the point of madness.
Although Xiao Qi readily agreed, as his brother, he also understood Xiao Ba very well. Xiao Ba was blessed with good looks, a pair of flirtatious "peach blossom" eyes, and a pair of thin, heartless lips. He was practically a male Daji, a scourge upon the nation. If a woman was accidentally grazed by his peach-blossom gaze, she was guaranteed to give him her whole heart, willing to die for him without hesitation.
"You, you know you attract trouble. You should flirt less in front of those maidservants. The Crown Prince's Residence is not the Minister's Residence. If you really stir up some trouble, you'll have more than you can handle!" Xiao Qi frowned, reprimanding him.
But Xiao Ba was unconcerned. "You wrong me... I never go and flirt with the maids. They're the ones who get ideas and come bother me."
"Then why are you slacking off?"
"On such a beautiful moonlit night, one must drink, of course! I've made plans with Ninth Brother to drink together!" Xiao Ba said with a cheeky grin. "Seventh Brother, you don't touch wine, so you don't know what good stuff it is."
"Alright, alright." Xiao Qi looked disgusted. "Hurry up and go!"
"Thanks, Seventh Brother!"
Having gotten Xiao Qi's approval, Xiao Ba knew he would definitely stand guard and cover his post properly. He slipped away to find Xiao Jiu for drinks.
If you had to say who in the residence had the most flirtatious looks, it was Xiao Ba. But the one with the most flirtatious personality was Xiao Jiu, who "couldn't get drunk even after a thousand cups." The two amorous guards were pure drinking buddies. It wasn't uncommon for them to grab a few jars of good wine, drink and sing under the moon, and drink straight through the night.
Soon, Xiao Ba found Xiao Jiu in their designated spot, up in a large tree. Xiao Jiu had clearly been drinking by himself for a while. Several empty wine jars were scattered haphazardly beneath the tree, obviously Xiao Jiu's handiwork.
"Ninth Brother, you didn't even wait for me..." Xiao Ba grumbled as he opened a jar of wine. "Ah, the aroma. This is truly good wine!"
He casually tossed the wine stopper into the distance. Unexpectedly, he heard an "Aiya!" from the darkness. It seemed he had hit someone.
Xiao Ba was so scared he immediately tumbled down from the tree and ran in the direction of the sound.
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