Chapter 125: The Clear and Elegant Maiden

  Li Xiuxian was finally satisfied with a smile, and continued to undo her buttons. His hands were very good-looking, and unbuttoning her clothes was a kind of beauty.

  But Han Caiwei didn't have the time to appreciate this beauty, she grasped Li Xiuzhen's hand and stared at him: "I already agreed to let you paint another one, why are you still doing this?"

  Li Xiuxian hooked a smile on her lips: "When did I say that you would stop doing it if you promised me? Have you forgotten what I said to you before?"

  His eyes were wanton and enchanting, slightly narrowed as he gazed at her, with a hint of deep and mysterious darkness flashing in the depths of his pupils.

  Han Caiwei was taken aback and looked at his smile, suddenly remembering what he had said in the carriage on their way here.

  You'd better be prepared, because from now on, I won't tolerate it anymore. If you can escape, then go ahead, but if you can't, we'll continue what we didn't finish earlier.

  Han Caiwei's heart suddenly felt a chill, what is this man always thinking about? OV72.

  "He's still on the horse carriage?" He shouldn't be thinking of doing it here, should he?

  "Looking at you, I suppose you've remembered what I said," Li Xiuzhen saw through Han Caiwei's thoughts with a glance and smiled lightly: "What about the carriage? It's soundproof, you don't have to worry."

  Looking at Han Chae-yi's flustered and angry expression, Li Xiuzhe couldn't help but want to laugh. He wasn't really going to do it, he just wanted to tease her a bit. He liked seeing her like this, with that look on her face as if she wanted to bare her teeth at him but didn't dare.

  Han Caiwei was in a state of utmost entanglement when the horse carriage stopped, and Ah Fu's voice rang out again: "Prince, we've arrived."

  Li Xiuxian hooked his lips into a faint smile as he glanced at Han Caiwei: "Get off the carriage." After saying that, he got off the horse-drawn carriage first.

  Han Caiwei frowned at his back, and had no choice but to re-button her own buttons herself before jumping down from the carriage.

  "Third brother is here, I was eagerly waiting for third brother to come! Didn't expect that just as we were talking, Liu Quan came in and said third brother had arrived, so I hurried out! I heard that third brother came from the training grounds?"

  Han Caiwei had just gotten off the horse carriage when she heard a man's laughter, and upon following the sound, she saw that Li Yuchen, the fifth prince, was standing facing her direction with a smile on his face.

  Li Yucheng and Li Xiuzhen were born to the same mother, with similar appearances, but Li Yucheng had a pair of peach blossom-shaped eyes that couldn't compare to Li Xiuzhen's stability. The corners of his mouth were curved, and there was a hint of playful smile in his eyes when he looked at anyone, giving off a mischievous vibe.

  Li Xiuxian just smiled lightly: "Fifth brother invites me, how can I not come? It's just that I don't know what kind of surprise fifth brother will give to his older brother?" He also started dancing.

  Li Yu burst out laughing: "Third Brother, come on in!"

  Li Xiuzhen and Li Yucheng walked in together, with Han Caiwei following behind. This Li Yucheng didn't look at anyone from start to finish, not even when Ah Fu greeted him did he give more than a glance, without saying a word. In the end, it was only because of Li Xiuzhen's hint that she and Ah Fu got up.

  It was considered a family banquet at the Wang Mansion, but since there was no "female" host in the Fifth Prince's mansion, Li Yucheng took charge of everything himself and then let the steward Liu Quan handle it. Without a woman, they didn't need to worry about so many things. Looking at these geishas and dancers invited from outside, all of them were heavily made up and revealingly dressed, filling the whole room with the smell of rouge. Han Caibi stood behind Li Xiuzhen, if not for Li Yucheng being there, she really wanted to cover her nose and escape.

  Han Caiwei stood behind Li Xiuzhen with her hands hanging down, Ah Fu was waiting outside, she was so hungry that she couldn't bear it. When she saw Li Yucheng busy going to toast the dancer who came forward, she took a step forward, pulled Li Xiuzhen's sleeve and said in a low voice: "I'm starving!"

  Li Xiuzhen's mouth corners suddenly hooked up a hint of smile, in front of her, moved a plate of pastries over, just about to hand it to her, but heard Li Yucheng say: "Third brother has never been interested in these songs and dances, now he is willing to accompany me here for so long, it's really rare!"

  Han Caiwei raised her eyes and saw that Li Yucheng had pushed away the dancing girl on his lap, with his clothes open, hooking a pair of peach blossom-like eyes at Li Xiuzhen, smiling, but those eyes were as charming as if they were looking at their own lover.

  She frowned in disgust, this Li Yu Cheng seemed to know how charming he looked, and would flirt with anyone he met, and even smiled at his own brother like that, it was simply impossible to understand what this man was thinking.

  Li Xiuzhen just smiled lightly: "Singing and dancing to amuse oneself is fine, but Fifth Brother shouldn't be too indulgent in it either. After all, you'll be getting married next year, and it wouldn't be good for the future queen to know about this."

  "Hmph, I'm not like Third Brother who's so 'romantic', cold and taciturn. Even if she were my queen, how could she interfere with my affairs?" Li Yu Cheng's eyes rolled over, and he smiled at Li Xiuzhen with a hooked smile, "However, I recently heard that Third Brother has taken a liking to one of the small concubines in the mansion. That little concubine has some connections with Shen Fei Bai from the Shen family... Could it be that Third Brother's 'romantic' nature has changed and he even fancies women like her?"

  Li Xiuzhen took a sip of clear wine from the cup, and his eyes were still faintly: "Fifth brother is now also 'grown' up, after getting married, Father Emperor will hand over the affairs, Fifth brother should also leave some heart in the court politics, why instead of being so interested in those market rumors?"

  "Third brother is saying these things again! With third brother around, I will naturally be reminded of this! I originally didn't like to get involved in court politics and mundane affairs, and Father Emperor doesn't know about it either!" Li Yu Cheng was somewhat impatient, and with a push, he opened the dancer who was pouring wine for him. As a result, his wide sleeves slid across the dishes on the table, spilling wine all over his clothes. The dancer hastily knelt down to apologize, and subsequently, all the songstresses and dancers also knelt down together to apologize. The room was in some disarray, but Li Yu Cheng hooked up the corners of his mouth and smiled, "Get up, it's not worth anything, just throw it away!"

  Everyone then got up and sang again.

  Han Caiwei listened and secretly clicked her tongue. She could tell that the light blue garment on Li Yu's body was a rare water-patterned fabric, which shimmered like waves in the water as he moved. It was said to be worth more than 10,000 gold coins in the capital city. However, after getting stained with wine, he casually said to throw it away, revealing that he was indeed an ignorant young master who didn't know the hardships of common people!

  Li Xiuren furrowed his brow, intending to speak, but still didn't say anything. He took another sip of wine and heard Li Yucheng laugh and say: "I almost forgot the main reason. I invited Third Brother over today to give him a gift that I've been searching for a long time to get. I don't dare keep it for myself, so I must present it to Third Brother."

  "It doesn't matter if you take a look." Li Xiuzhen smiled faintly.

  Li Yu Cheng lightly slapped his palm, and the lights in the house went out instantly. A very soft and gentle voice sang: "Cutting ice gauze, lightly stacked multiple times, faintly applying rouge. New makeup style, 'beauty' overflowing fragrance fusion, killing the hibiscus palace 'girl'"

  Han Caiwei could hear that this was a description of a beautiful and delicate girl, and the voice was extremely gentle, singing to her heart's content, not to mention men.

  A lantern lit up, and in the center of the room stood a long-haired "girl" with only a simple wooden hairpin on her head. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her yellow skirt trailed to the ground as she sang and danced. As the dance reached its climax, the girl's movements became increasingly gentle, and Han Caiwei didn't even dare breathe loudly, fearing that she would scare away this dream-like song and dance.

  She has a delicate and beautiful appearance, typical of the girls from Jiangnan water town, as if she had walked out of an ink painting.

  A song of clear singing, a dance to the end, and everyone is still as if in a dream.

  Han Caiwei was the first to come back to her senses, and her first reaction was to look at Li Xiuzhen. After looking, she thought to herself, it's good, it's good, he hasn't been "mesmerized" yet, and his eyes happened to turn towards Han Caiwei. The two people's gazes collided, and Han Caiwei immediately lowered her head pretending nothing was wrong. However, the smile in Li Xiuzhen's eyes became even more profound.

  Li Yucheng originally wanted to see Li Xiuzhen's reaction, but he himself was drawn in and only came back to his senses afterwards. When he looked over again, he happened to catch the smile on Li Xiuzhen's face. His heart skipped a beat with joy, but his expression remained calm as he smiled at the "girl" standing in the center of the room: "Qingzi Miss, this is the Third Prince."

  The woman named Qingzi then curtsied slightly towards Li Xiucheng and said softly, "Qingzi pays her respects to Your Highness."

  This woman, no matter what she does, is as smooth and natural as floating clouds or flowing water. She's light and subtle, like a cloud or a pool of water, yet it's hard to look away from her. Truly a rare beauty in this world.

  "Get up."

  Li Yu Cheng smiled and said, "Third brother, I know your difficulties. Your house doesn't have anything good either. As brothers, I'm helping you pick something out. Don't blame me for being nosy! - Look at this gift, are you satisfied with it?"

  Li Xiuzhen didn't even give him a clear look, and with a hint of coldness in his eyes, he stared at Li Yucheng: "Fifth brother, are you joking with me?"

  Li Yu burst out laughing: "Third brother, why be so serious? Qingzi girl has admired you for a long time, she doesn't ask to enter the house as a concubine, just being able to serve you is enough. She doesn't seek anything else and won't take up space in your mansion. All she asks is that you accept her! For your sake, she's been a courtesan for several years already! Third brother, this deep affection, does the birth mother of your eldest son have it? I also heard that recently she ran off with Shen Feibai! Why bother to favor such a woman? It's better to find someone like Qingzi girl, who can bring you joy every day!"

  Li Xiuzhen had been silent for a long time, and Li Yu's words were all hitting the nail on the head. Even though they had become so intimate, he still hadn't heard her say anything she liked. She had never expressed her thoughts, and at this moment, he wasn't wavering - he just couldn't understand why she was hesitating, or what she was hesitating about.

  Li Xiuzhen thought of this, raised his eyes and looked at the elegant girl for a moment. Perhaps, he could use this elegant girl to probe Han Caiwei's intentions, who knows?