My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Chapter 30 Southern Border Girl

At this time of year, darkness falls quickly, and lanterns are gradually hung along both sides of the road.

Perhaps because of the legend of the Flower Fairy, many lovers walk together on the street, hoping that they can find a true love like the Emperor Taizu and his wife, and that their love will last forever.

Peach Fairy strolled around holding a lotus lantern, turning down countless men who wanted to invite her to go out together.

She was idly contemplating whether to go back and continue verifying her medical theories when suddenly a soft body bumped into her arms.

She was a pretty young girl. She was petite, with her soft hair braided into two slightly messy braids, adorned with many small, blooming flowers.

She was wearing a very familiar dress, and the silver ornaments under the dress jingled as she moved.

The girl buried her head in Tao Xian's shoulder, pointed behind her with her hand, and said in a tone of shame and anger, "Sister, help me! That old man keeps following me."

“I told him I had someone I liked, but he still insisted that I go drinking with him.”

The girl's voice was loud and attracted the attention of passersby.

Tao Xian looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a man who looked to be over fifty years old covering his face with his sleeve, awkwardly avoiding the gaze of the crowd.

"What kind of person is he? He could be someone's daughter's father and he's still so shameless!"

"Pah! Going to drink again? What a filthy thought, you disgusting scum!"

Amidst the pointing fingers of the crowd, the man awkwardly ran away.

With a flick of her two fingers, Tao Xian sent a pebble hurtling past unnoticed, striking the fleeing man hard in the calf.

He fell flat on his face in a sorry state, and two of his front teeth flew out.

Amidst the uproarious laughter, Tao Xian noticed a peculiar little insect land on the man who was scrambling away.

After the crowd dispersed, the girl looked up with a bright smile and said, "Thank you for helping me, sister."

Tao Xian placed her hand on her shoulder, lowered her head, and said thoughtfully, "You don't seem to need my help. If I'm not mistaken, you are the Gu Master that Young Master Xie invited, right?"

The girl was even happier upon hearing this, and she tightened her grip on Tao Xian's arm. "Sister has good taste."

"What kind of Gu is that?"

The girl tilted her head, her amber eyes darting around, looking rather innocent, but what she said was anything but innocent: "Oh, that's a Gu that can kill someone instantly."

It is rumored that the people of the Southern Frontier have never been favored by martial arts practitioners. This is because they act very arbitrarily, and very few of them possess worldly moral concepts of good and evil, which often causes unrest in the Central Plains.

In retrospect, this statement is indeed true.

Tao Xian frowned almost imperceptibly. They had been keeping a low profile the whole time. If someone suddenly died in the city now, the investigation would inevitably implicate them.

But the girl immediately laughed out loud: "I was just kidding. I was just giving that old man a little punishment. I used a Gu that makes people incredibly itchy all over."

Tao Xian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and then asked her, "How did you know I knew Young Master Xie?"

The girl tugged at her braid and looked at her, gently sniffing, "Because you smell like Brother Xie."

You can smell that?

Tao Xian suddenly thought, rather inappropriately, that the prince's scent should be stronger than hers, right?

"Can you take me to him? I've missed him so much, it's been so long."

Tao Xian keenly sensed something and asked hesitantly, "You and Young Master Xie..."

A sly glint flashed in the girl's eyes, and she giggled, "So Brother Xie didn't tell you that he has a fiancée?"

Tao Xian's usually cold face showed a rare hint of surprise: "...What??"

Xie Yan sneezed for no apparent reason.

Chu Ling glanced at him, leaned closer and smiled, "Are you cold? Want to snuggle into my arms to warm up?"

Xie Yan smiled politely and pushed him away. "Thank you, Your Highness. You truly care for your people. But I'm not cold. You can go and warm others. I see Xuanfeng is dressed quite lightly."

The two of them turned around and looked at Xuanfeng.

Xuanfeng paused for a moment under their gazes, then said dryly, "Ah, I'm so hot."

After saying this, as if afraid the two wouldn't believe him, he turned around and jumped into the river to "cool down."

The two: ...No need.

Xie Yan turned his head and touched his nose. He had a feeling that Chu Ling had figured something out and was always teasing him intentionally or unintentionally.

Logically speaking, after so many years, Chu Ling should have forgotten it by now.

Chu Ling shrugged and leaned back in his seat.

The three of them are currently waiting on a small flower boat to see who will be chosen as the Flower Goddess.

The river surface shimmered and rippled continuously. The small boats around it were already full of people, all craning their necks to look at the large platform in the middle of the river.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the musicians took their positions, and the surrounding noise immediately ceased.

The music of the zither and sheng began to play slowly, and the sheng and xiao joined in, their lingering sounds echoing on the river.

A moment later, several dancers escorted the person in the middle, who was holding an umbrella, into the arena, and began to dance gracefully as the music played.

As the dance reached its climax, a shower of flowers fell from the sky. The person in the center slowly removed the flower umbrella, revealing an exceptionally beautiful face.

The courtesan swayed her waist slightly, and a smile as she turned her head drew cheers from the crowd.

Xie Yan tapped the table with an appreciative expression, following the rhythm of the music.

He looked around and saw that most of the flower boats were moored along the riverbank to avoid blocking the waterway. But two small boats stood out, very close to the stage.

Xie Yan's attention immediately focused on the two boats.

Seeing that his head was almost sticking out of the boat, Chu Ling suddenly blurted out, "Is it that good-looking?"

Xie Yan replied without turning her head, "I can't see it."

Chu Ling: ? I think it's pretty clear?

"I'm curious who's on those two ships," Xie Yan said, pointing.

It turns out we weren't there to see the courtesan.

Chu Ling also looked over, and just then, it seemed that a conflict had broken out between the people on the two small boats.

Suddenly, one boat collided with another, and a disheveled young man climbed out from the bow of the first boat, pointing at the other side and saying something.

After a long while, one person finally emerged from the rammed boat.

Judging from his attire, he was none other than the painter from Shida University whom they had met that afternoon.

Shi Hanxi's clothes were covered in blue and purple paint from head to toe, and even her face was not spared. It was clear that this was caused by the collision just now.

Although they were far from the crowd, it was not hard to see that the great painter Shi was extremely angry and had started arguing with the young master of the boat.

"Oh, it starts again."

Someone on the nearby boat sighed and started gossiping.

"Master Shi is really unlucky to have run into such a scoundrel."

"Who can argue with that? This young master Tang, after failing to win the hand of Lady Hua Ran, harbored a grudge against Master Shi, whom Lady Hua Ran admired, and has been causing trouble for him every day."