Chapter 79
Bai Yu shook her head. Xu Luanle sighed.
“Heh” Xu Peipei sneered.
“Miss, please ride in the carriage.”
“It’ll take too long that way.”
Xu Luanle had requested only five days from the elder Furen. Two days for the trip there, two for the trip back, and one for shopping. Actually, it should have taken longer to travel to Donghai, but her friend had told her that he knew a faster means of transportation...But Bai Yu did not expect it to be riding!
She had thought he would have a more magical method like riding a cloud or something. Bai Yu felt sorry for herself for having expected that something more fantastical than magic existed in this world.
“Return that horse to the stable. You’ll ride with me.”
Today she changed from a fine fabric dress into commoner clothes similar to Xu Peipei’s. Over her dress was a large dark blue coat. Fortunately, she did not wear black, otherwise, she would be burnt into crisps by sunlight.
.....
After completing their preparations, Bai Yu, Xu Luanle, and Xu Peipei went to say farewell to the elder Furen. They chose to leave by the side gate to avoid being seen. The three would be traveling on their own without escorts or guards since the Xu siblings had used the same route so many times that they were used to it and felt that it was safe enough. Their high level of magic and martial arts further guaranteed their security.
Bai Yu sat on the horse with Xu Luanle behind her, holding therein. Any other women in this position would possibly feel her heart skip a beat, but not Bai Yu. Not even when she and Xu Luanle were being the topic of gossip right now.
“You two look so much like lovers who have eloped,” Xu Peipei spoke. Currently, she was wearing a thin veil over her face like Bai Yu. “Come to think of it, that rumor that you’re being jealous of my brother is actually a good thing. Now Qin Wang won’t care about you anymore.”
“You aren’t worried about me anymore, little sis?” Xu Luanle teased.
“Brother! I’m not ‘little sis’!”
“But we’re in the same clique. You’ll have to be little sis,” Bai Yu immediately added.
“You’re crazy! Both of you!” Having said that, the little sis rode her horse forward. Bai Yu and Xu Luanle laughed at her, not caring the eyes of the surrounding people that saw them as giggling lovers.
“Isn’t that general Yue?”
Bai Yu squinted and saw her grandfather and uncle riding their horses behind a man. The three were in full formal attire. It seemed that they were returning from the palace and heading toward the Yue family mansion.
“Crap!”
The man riding in the front was Ouyang Feilong who did not wear a mask. And as if the situation could not get any worse, Bai Yu saw the fourth person in the group. Big brother Bai He!
“Wait!”
Before Bai Yu and Xu Luanle’s horse could go past them, the familiar gentle voice sharply ordered. Bai Yu instantly tensed up, while Xu Luanle laughed low in his throat. What’re you laughing at!
“Master Xu, where are you taking that guniang to?” Bai He said with a friendly smile that did not match with the coldness in his tone and gaze at Xu Luanle at all. But when he turned to Bai Yu, his gaze immediately became softer.
She did not tell her brother about her trip this time, since she was certain that he would not allow it. But now she was caught, red-handed before she could even step a foot outside the capital while riding with Xu Luanle who she was rumored with.
No matter how much Bai He wanted to physically separate the two from each other, he could not do so in the middle of the street. He could not even say his sister’s name in order to protect her reputation.
“There are various kinds of fabric at Donghai. This guniang wants to see them with her own eyes.”
“Your grandmother already informed me of this,” Yue Chen whispered to his grandson. He knew who Master Xu was, but he did not care about the rumors. He wanted to let his granddaughter travel and see the world, to live fully unlike her mother.
“If grandfather doesn’t object, then I have nothing else to say.” No matter how unwilling he was, Bai He had no choice but to yield.
“If you’re worried, then why don’t you go with them?” Bai He wanted to immediately say ‘I’ll go!’.
But when he glanced at the man riding in the front, he had to suppress his protectiveness. There were many missions to take care of before the black dragon returned to his territory.
“There are still missions that I have to assist commander-general.”
“Then let her go.”
“Yes, grandfather,” Bai He could only say so before turning to talk to Xu Luanle as if he was no longer concerned about that guniang.
Ouyang Feilong sat still on his white horse. Though they talked in low voices, his high level of magic allowed him to hear every word of exchange between the grandfather and grandson. He had to admit that he was surprised by its conclusion. Actually, he had already noticed that little fool from afar. He could remember her dark eyes no matter the distance. But he kept silent, even though he was in the front of the group. He assumed the strict general Yue would take care of the matter. He never expected that his master who was always stern and uptight would let the fool travel alone with a man. And so Bai He could only begrudgingly accept his grandfather’s judgment.
He controlled his horse to walk forward, ignoring the pair that bowed to him. A person of Ouyang Feilong would naturally have eyes and ears everywhere. He knew the truth behind the rumor, yet he still felt irritated that Bai Yu continued to act close to the man she told him was only a friend.
He had even asked for an audience with the Emperor to ask for guidance on her magic, even though this black dragon general had never mentioned a woman when talking to his brother, Ouyang Hongxian, before. And so Ouyang Feilong was teased he was interested in the Bai family’s first miss. His brother even had the idea that he would give a royal decree for her to marry into Rui Wang palace.
In the end, he was given a special technique along with a deal that he would stop wearing his mask in exchange for the Emperor not bestowing a royal marriage between him and Bai Yu. His older brother had always liked to tease him by adding more and more concubines to his palace, together with an implication that Ouyang Hongxian never could say how these women would be of help to him.
Though now he did not allow them to serve him at night, they still kept offering to help take care of his daily life from the moment he woke up. Ouyang Feilong might be indifferent to everything around him, he still had to be respectful toward the Emperor’s good intention, so he would sometimes let them help him bathe or dress.
Ouyang Feilong imagined that if that little fool was one of them, she would be a headache for him everyday. But it seemed his worry was for naught, she was not anxious about her power at all. She even had enough free time to go out and play with her close friend. What about your reputation? Are you going to throw it away now, little fool?