The Dragon's Flower

XH 106

With the most beautiful woman as her mother, Long Lian was naturally beautiful. But with her currently rosy cheeks with dreamy eyes, that sight easily trembles any men's heart. Not even Yang Ling, the bow fanatic, could protect his heart from the beautiful sight.

Long Lian was so lost in her mind that she was no longer aware of Xiao Hua's frantic calling or the gentle shake on her shoulders.

She was reduced to this state of utopia when Yang Ling told her that the Third Prince will have Xiao Hua adopted so that he could marry her. All this time, she had assumed that her third brother would wait until Xiao Hua grows older before making his move to court her.

Her third brother was never one that's interested in little girls and despite what he believed, Long Lian actually knew about the hidden guest in the Autumn Courtyard. That older woman was nothing 'little' about her at all. Long Lian felt inferior when compared to that older woman and she had to admit that her third brother has a good taste.

However, after her third brother choosing Xiao Hua as his personal maid, Long Lian no longer approved of her brother keeping a secret woman, especially when she saw how he treated Xiao Hua. Not even Father Emperor had treated Mother Empress or Concubine He that way.

She had gone to confront him, and to her surprise, her third brother denied any illicit relationship with the beautiful woman in red.

"She is my senior martial sister. It's my teacher's wish to keep his identity a secret, even Father Emperor and Mother Empress does not know about my teacher."

"That does not explain why you keep her a secret. You could introduce her as your senior martial sister without revealing who's your teacher," Long Lian argued.

"Her identity is not simple. If anyone found out about our relationship, it will bring trouble. I trust that you will keep silent on this or do I have to seal your tongue?"

At that moment, Long Lian admitted she was a bit scared of her third brother. That was one of the rare moments where he was not as gentle and kind as he portrayed himself to be.

She gave her word to be kept it a secret and she was honestly relieved that he accepted her promise. That means he trusted her. It was a great honour to her from her full-blooded brother.

"Hey~ Miss Xiao Hua, come closer so that I don't have to talk loudly," Yang Ling said. He could not approach them for the bodyguards were still blocking his way. Seeing that the Princess was back to her senses, he called out, "Hey Princess~ Are you turning back against your promise?"

"Of course not!" Long Lian stared at him, feeling insulted. "The two of you, let him pass. I will explain to the third brother about this. But you have my permission to restrain him if he makes any threatening move towards Xiao Hua."

"I won't hurt her! I just want to talk to Miss Xiao Hua! Talking is not dangerous at all!"

"Words do not worth much without action," Long Lian pointed out.

"I promise I won't do anything to harm Miss Xiao Hua! If I ever harm her, the thunder will strike me a hundred times!"

Long Lian hid her smile as she waved Duan Xi Ying and Da Bei to let Yang Ling pass, who quickly stepped closer to them.

"Miss Xiao Hua, I will promise you anything if you manage to get back my bow! Long Zhu is a bastard! He took away my darling bow just because I didn't get the first place! At least I get second place! Did he think because he's a prince, he can just take people's belongings? He's a tyrant!"

"I thought that bow is originally the Third Prince's?" Xiao Hua blinked when everyone stared at her silently, their eyes judging her. "...Did I say something wrong?"

"Heaven, they are the same!" Yang Ling hissed. "No wonder Long Zhu likes you!"

Xiao Hua blushed shyly. "T-Thank you."

"I'm not praising you!"

Xiao Hua knew that but she just wanted to tease him. "I'm sure the Third Prince will return the bow to you, but since Lord Yang Ling had asked, I will inquire about your bow."

"I will count on you, Miss Xiao Hua! I promise to do whatever you ask me!"

Xiao Hua laughed awkwardly. "There's no need for that."

"Taking your bow away is actually a good punishment," Long Lian mumbled in disagreement, her fingers busy cracking peanut's shell. "You had let that slut won."

"I accidentally missed the final target! It's not as if I purposely let that girl win! Surely letting her win is not that bad? Did she do anything to offend the Third Prince other than being the Second Prince's fiancée?"

"Lord Yang Ling had fallen for Miss Liu Chu Chu?" Xiao Hua was unable to hold back in asking that question. Even if the Third Prince reassured her that this guy preferred a cold, non-living object, his admiration towards the heroine’s archery skills was very well known in the novel.

Yang Ling stared at Xiao Hua in horror. "No way! Why would I like that arrogant girl!"

"Arrogant?"

Long Lian snorted, the pile of cracked peanut shells on the table grows bigger. "She might look innocent, but she's far from it. So what if her father is a merchant that helps Guilin's economy? She's just a concubine born that only knows how to seduce men."

Xiao Hua: (⊙_⊙)?!

Why does Ah Lian seem to hate the heroine even more than usual? Did something happen when I'm gone?

"Did she think she pleased Father Emperor with just that unworthy skill? The third brother is way better than her!"

"Yeah!" Yang Ling cheered. "Although that third prince is a nasty person, I can't deny that he is talented in archery. But that idiot refused to show off his skills and now his own father believes that girl is the best archer in Guilin! He even gifted that 'Purple haze bow' to her when she asked for it!"

"That shameless hussy!" Long Lian slammed a palm on the table and the peanut shells flew everywhere. "The more I think of it, the angrier I get!"

"Calm down, Ah Lian. Look, your hand will turn red from it." Xiao Hua lifted Long Lian's palm that she had used to smack the table.

"Something like this is not painful at all!" Long Lian boasted, but her heart soared in happiness from Xiao Hua's worry towards her.

"Still, don't randomly hit hard objects." Xiao Hua let go of Long Lian's hand when she saw there's no injury from it.

Long Lian smiled. "I won't." But her smile soon disappeared. "Father Emperor easily agreed to give her that bow... isn't it just because he favours the second brother?"

"Long Lian is not happy for your second brother's good fortune?"

Yang Ling snorted and without them knowing, he had taken a seat and his mouth enthusiastically munching on peanuts. "That prince is as greedy as the Crown Prince when it comes to treasure and throne. Both of them had their eyes on the 'Purple haze bow' for a long time. It's pretty funny how red the Crown Prince's face becomes when he saw the bow went to the Liu Chu Chu's hand."

"Lord Yang Ling, I will overlook your rudeness to the royal family this once," Long Lian said warningly.

"I apologize." Yang Ling quickly said. "But princess, you don't seem to be angry when I badmouth the Third Prince?"

"Third brother is not angry and that means I do not have the right to be angry for him."

Xiao Hua: '...' Really? I get angry for my mom when the neighbourhood shrew scolded mom for stealing her dog!

That crazy shrew treated her dog badly and then blamed her mom when the dog disliked her? Fortunately, the shrew neighbour moved away not long after that! Le Xiao Ting swears the dog and her mom was crying when the dog was forced to leave with its owner. 

"I have to applause the third prince for daring to miss the Emperor's birthday celebration. The Empress must be angry but her face showed none of it and from the start to the end of the celebration, she just smiled! The Emperor sulked quite a bit, but cheered up when he received his presents and entertained himself with the competition."

"The...The Emperor's birthday?" Xiao Hua gasped in shock. "When was that?"

"When you and third brother went to the Xuanwu Kingdom," Long Lian answered. "Father Emperor likes seeing new talents and competition, so he combined his birthday celebration and the annual competition on the same day."

And the Third Prince just went on a trip and misses his father's birthday celebration?! ∑(O_O;)

Xiao Hua suddenly wondered if the purpose of traveling in incognito mode was to actually escape from the guards that would drag him back to attend the Emperor's birthday party.