Chapter 38: The Alluring Zhao Yuan

But he never expected that his father would cause such an uproar.

Huo Rong, who received the same news, was also taken aback.

What unrequited love? With his father’s domineering and proud personality, how could he have unrequited love?

Who would believe that? It must be a false rumor.

In the Peony Pavilion, Zhao Yuan lay lazily on a beauty couch, sipping from a wine cup as he listened to his subordinate’s report.

Hmm? The rumors about Father? It must be his father who ordered the rumors to be spread.

“Pass down the word: if anyone comes to inquire about women related to the Regent Prince, give them some misleading information and let them investigate on their own.”

“Yes.”

“Lord, the young master of Tianji Mountain wants to see you.”

Zhao Yuan finished his drink and raised an eyebrow, looking invitingly charming.

“I’m not seeing anyone tonight.”

“Yes.”

Inside the Peony Pavilion, a crowd was clamoring to spend lavishly just to get a glimpse of the pavilion’s master.

“The master has said that he won’t see anyone tonight,” the attendant announced loudly.

“When will the master come out to see us? Just once is enough.”

“Yeah, the master hasn’t shown his face for half a month.”

“As long as the master sees me once, I’m willing to give anything.”

The attendant continued to smile and repeat, “The master will not see anyone tonight.”

Zhao Yuan continued to lounge on the beauty couch, drinking wine, while his slender, fair hand played with a beautiful peony flower.

His lips glistened with moisture, and his alluring eyes seemed casual.

Suddenly, Zhao Yuan seemed to sense something and drew a sword from the couch to stab forward.

With a clang, a handsome young man in white stood frozen, staring at Zhao Yuan.

In his eyes flashed a hint of infatuation; indeed, the master of the Peony Pavilion was as rumored, able to captivate hearts with just a glance.

Zhao Yuan’s eyes flickered with disdain; yet another person drawn to his appearance.

With a twist of his sword, he aimed it threateningly at the intruder’s head.

The young man in white quickly retreated to block.

“Master, I am the young master of Tianji Pavilion, here to pay my respects.”

“I hope for your understanding.”

“Get out.” Zhao Yuan spoke harshly.

“Don’t! I’ll offer a thousand gold just for the chance to share a drink with you.” Mu Bai pleaded.

Zhao Yuan chuckled lightly.

“This master doesn’t lack money.”

Mu Bai was tempted by Zhao Yuan’s smile.

“Two thousand gold.”

“I only ask for a moment of your time.”

Zhao Yuan ignored him, stepping barefoot onto the carpet and turning to leave.

“Three thousand gold!” Mu Bai called out in a rush.

Zhao Yuan paused and glanced back at him.

That look seemed to regard him as a fool.

Why not earn easy money?

“Then show me the gold.” Zhao Yuan extended his hand, lifting the gem-studded golden wine jug, gazing at Mu Bai with a smile.

Mu Bai quickly presented a bag of gold with both hands to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan took it, while Mu Bai’s gaze lingered on his fair wrist.

Zhao Yuan poured the gold onto the floor; the coins clinked as they fell onto the rug, glimmering faintly, and Zhao Yuan stepped on them.

“Young master, hold your wine cup steady.” Zhao Yuan handed a golden wine cup to Mu Bai.

Mu Bai dazedly accepted it, and Zhao Yuan poured wine for him.

Mu Bai stared fixedly at Zhao Yuan’s face, which seemed to have a deadly attraction.

Zhao Yuan gently clinked his cup against Mu Bai’s.

Then he tilted his head back and drank the wine.

Mu Bai followed suit, drinking as well.

“Now leave.” After finishing his drink, Zhao Yuan wasted no time in dismissing him.

Mu Bai was expelled from the room, staring blankly at the closed door for a while before leaving.

Zhao Yuan continued to leisurely eat grapes.

In the palace, the emperor also received the news and looked at the subordinate who brought the message with a sinister expression.

“Is the news true?”

“The subordinate has already checked; Feng Xiaohan indeed had a connection with a woman when he was seventeen, and they were entangled for a long time, even having a daughter.”

“Whatever the cost, we must find this woman and bring her back.” The emperor smiled coldly.

Feng Xiaohan thought he had no one to care about; little did he know how deeply he had hidden it.

“Yes.”

“What’s the situation with his daughter?”

“The subordinate has only found out that the daughter is not favored by Feng Xiaohan and has been raised in secret. I will investigate further.”

“If the daughter is not favored, then there’s no need to investigate further; Feng Xiaohan wouldn’t care,” the emperor instructed.

If the daughter were indeed favored, given Feng Xiaohan’s arrogant nature, he would have proclaimed it to the world long ago.

“Yes.”

After giving his orders, the emperor sipped his tea in a good mood.

“Feng Xiaohan, you can’t outmaneuver me.”

With that, he chuckled softly, seemingly envisioning the scene of Feng Xiaohan being defeated by him.

As the rumors spread, various factions began to look for the woman who had become the object of Feng Xiaohan’s unrequited love.

Meanwhile, Feng Xiaohan leisurely sipped tea and basked in the sun.

The weather had finally cleared up.

“Qing’an, remove the lotus root fritters from tonight’s dinner,” Feng Xiaohan instructed.

“Huh? But the little princess loves to eat them,” Qing’an replied, confused as to why the dish the little princess enjoyed would be taken off the menu.

“Autumn is inherently prone to causing internal heat, and the fried lotus root fritters are crispy, which can easily lead to overheating,” he said, recalling how his daughter would want to eat two at a time. If that continued, she would surely develop a cough from the heat.

“Let’s serve that dish again in three days.”

“Yes.”

Feng Xiaohan seemed to think of something and turned to Qing’an.

“Prepare a dish of Eight Treasures Roasted Chicken.” This dish was also one that his daughter loved.

Without the fritters, his daughter would likely be unhappy, so he needed to use the roasted chicken to cheer her up.

“Yes.” Qing’an replied.

The prince truly cared for the little princess; he worried about her eating too many fritters and getting overheated, and he was also concerned that she might feel sad if she couldn’t have her favorite dish, so he planned to use another dish to make her happy.

After finishing her work in the town, Yu Yu went to check on her brother.

When she arrived at her brother’s place, she found that he was not home.

Yu Yu placed the candy she had bought on the table and left a note for her brother.

“Brother, this is orange candy; it’s very delicious. I hope you’ll be happy!”

After doing this, Yu Yu returned home with the flowers.

“Father, I’m back! Is there dinner?”

Yu Yu put down the flowers and looked around.

Huh? Father isn’t here.

She set the flowers down and hurriedly went out to find her father.

Feng Xiaohan enjoyed peace and quiet; besides the scheduled cleaning times when servants came in to tidy up, no one was allowed in Wangchuan Courtyard at other times.

Yu Yu found her father basking in the sun by the lake.

“Father!” Yu Yu joyfully ran over and hugged her father’s hand.

Feng Xiaohan gently patted his daughter’s little head and then picked her up.

Yu Yu reached out to grab some pastries to eat.

“How much did you earn today?” Feng Xiaohan asked weakly.

“I earned three taels of silver.” She hadn’t had many jobs today, so her earnings were low.

“Not bad.”

After eating a couple of pastries, Yu Yu thought that she would have dinner later, and if she finished all the pastries, she wouldn’t have room for dinner.

So, she stuffed the remaining pastries into her father’s mouth.

“Father, this pastry is delicious!”

Feng Xiaohan opened his mouth and bit into the pastry.

The afternoon sun cast a warm glow on the father and daughter, creating a halo that blurred their features.

Yu Yu played with the fishing rod her father used to fish.

“Father, when Yu Yu catches a big fish, we’ll eat fish for dinner.”

Father loves to eat fish.

“Sure.”

Yu Yu focused on the calm surface of the lake.

She waited and waited, but when it was time for dinner, no fish had bitten.

With a hint of disappointment, Yu Yu announced that she would have to try again next time to catch fish for her father.

Returning to Wangchuan Courtyard, Yu Yu glanced at the dishes on the table.

There were no lotus root fritters.

“Father, there are no fritters!”

“The vendor selling lotus roots didn’t come today, so there are no fritters,” Feng Xiaohan explained to his daughter.

“Really?”

“Whether there will be some tomorrow is uncertain, but come eat chicken legs instead.” After washing his hands, Feng Xiaohan tore into a chicken leg and then offered some of the meat to his daughter.