The Men at Her Feet

Princess QingLuan was exhausted, she could barely move. She leaned against the hot spring rock next to her, resting herself as she felt his gaze land on her, she immediately looked up, right into his eyes.

A gentle breeze swayed the sleeves on Pei JingZhi’s clean and unwrinkled gown. It blew against Princess QingLuan’s hair, messing it up even further than before. She reached out her limped arm to tuck her hair behind her ear. All three men stared at her dreamily, recalling the events that happened just moments ago.

She leaped, before anyone could react, grabbed her gown and ran into the forest beside the hot spring like a little rabbit running away from wolves.

Fu SiNian, who was in a daze while remembering her body, You HanGuang, who was still lying on the floor (TNote: JingZhi stroke his acupuncture point and temporarily paralyzed him, not sure how I missed that...) and Pei JingZhi, who was standing handsomely in the wind, all paused and stared blankly at the forest where the princess ran towards.

Immediately after that, footsteps could be heard.

Xie Lang (title: An Wang**) and Gu QingChen (position: Prime Minister)’s laughter could be heard. Xie Lang noticed the three men immediately upon reaching the hot spring.

(**TNote: In ancient china, whenever a prince comes of age, the king would usually give them a title and bestow land and building to them, so they can move out of the palace. The first word will be their title, while “Wang” means prince.)

“Lord Fu, Young Lord You and Mr Pei, look what I brought!” Xie Lang laughed heartily while waving his hand, commanding his attendant to bring out the alcohol. “These were imported from the western region, we can all enjoy it by the hot springs here, alcohol is made to be enjoyed under the moon.”

Pei JingZhi silently walked towards You HanGuang, releasing him from the paralyzing strike and gently pulled him up. You HanGuang, on the other hand, while standing up, quickly grab on to the item that was hidden underneath him all these while.

Both men then walked towards the drunk and unsteady Fu SiNian to hold him, preventing him from falling. (TNote: He was pretending to be drunk, tsk.)

“We thank An Wang and the Prime Minister for the generosity, but Lord Fu is already intoxicated, we will be sending him back home, let us drink together another time,” Pei JingZhi explained calmly, nodding his head slightly as apology.

On the other hand, Princess QingLuan, who had escaped into the forest, finished changing into her gown and was staring at the pond facing her living quarters. She silently thank the gods and her little brother (the newly appointed king) as they used to play in the forest and had found many shortcuts throughout the palace.

She could hear loud noises nearby, it seems that people were already looking for her. Without hesitation, she jumped into the pond and began swimming back to her living quarters.

“Look there! The princess is there, playing in the water!” A handmaiden noticed her and cried out in alarm.

When Princess QingLuan reached the shore, her personal handmaiden, Zhu Er, ran towards her with a towel in hand. “My dear princess, you’re already the king’s elder sister, can you quit being so playful?” Zhu Er, who was drying her hair, mumbled worriedly, “The pond is freezing, what if you caught a cold??”

Princess QingLuan, upon seeing Zhu Er alive and well, smiled warmly, “I know, I know, now go and get me some water, a quick hot shower will fix anything eh?” She shooed. Zhu Er giggled while running towards the kitchen to retrieve some hot water for her princess.

Princess QingLuan held onto the towel Zhu Er gaved her and sat beside her bed, staring at the bright moon outside her window and sighed.

I wished that the gods would give me sufficient time to resolve this big mess and hostility. If I had to grow up and be vicious, so be it. She sighed again, as she spent her whole night staring at the moon, so beautiful, so pure, unlike her.

It was also a long sleepless night for the three men. All three of them stared at the moon from the carriage, thinking about the princess.

They recalled the way she swayed her body, the way her body responded to each of them. So alluring that they could get drunk and just die from it.

It’s unforgettable, it pops into my head even when I’m not thinking about it. The three men thought in unison.