Scent Of Time

Chapter 32

Since we had already locked eyes, there was no way for me to pretend that I didn’t see him. I raised my steps towards him, and only then did Hua Rongzhou loosen his grip on my hand.

“Emperor …… Young Master Zhong is here as well?” I spoke first, purposely switching the title.

He looked at me and said, “You stayed in King Jin’s Mansion for a month. Why did you suddenly run out today?”

I couldn’t help but frown, “Has the Emperor planted eyes in King Jin’s Mansion? How come you know my every move so well?”

“What do you think?” Zhong Xiwu raised his eyebrows and continued.

Whatever, the current me doesn’t have the heart to care about him. Before I could reply, I heard him say, “Since I found you, let’s go.”

“Hmm?” I spoke confusedly, “What are you looking for me for?”

“To take you to a place.” Zhong Xiwu waved his head, signaling me to follow.

Standing underneath a tall building, I rubbed my sore neck from looking up and spoke, “What place is this?”

“Star Selection Terrace.” Zhong Xiwu replied. “It’s where the Imperial Astronomical Bureau runs their office.”

Then what am I doing here?

“Let’s go up.” Zhong Xiwu raised his foot and started walking without waiting for me to answer.

I carefully followed behind and spoke, “Walk …… up there?”

Zhong Xiwu looked at me in surprise: “How else can we go up?”

I ‘heh heh’ dry laugh a few times and clasped my fists, saying: “Goodbye.”
I turned around and ran, but he grabbed me back.

He did not waver in pulling me step by step on the stairs. I struggled for a long time but failed to free my arm, so I had to speak, “How many floors are there in this Star Selection Terrace?”

“20th.”

“Which floor are we going to?”

“20th.”

I almost spat out a mouthful of blood and asked shakily, “Does the Emperor think I can climb to the twentieth floor?”

“You can rest if you get tired in the middle.” Zhong Xiwu cracked a mouthful of big white teeth and smiled, blinding me. After that, no matter how I pouted and pestered him, he kept pulling me to the top floor, even dragging Qian Zhi and Hua Rongzhou to follow silently behind him to climb the stairs.

After reaching the top floor, Qian Zhi and Hua Rongzhou waited at the stairway while I almost crawled to the place inside. With my butt squatting on the ground, I was as tired as a dog, while Zhong Xiwu did not blush or gasp.

“Come here.” He stood at the railing and waved at me.

“I’m too tired to move.” I refused without hesitation.

“I’ll show you something nice.”

“What’s there to see in darkness?” I angrily didn’t move a muscle.

This Jerk Emperor, what is he doing dragging me here on a whim?

“It seems you’re not afraid of me now.” Zhong Xiwu narrowed his eyes at me.

I still looked like a dead pig, not moving a muscle. It turned out that exhausted people couldn’t even care about their lives.

“Do you want me to pull you over?” Zhong Xiwu asked when he saw that I didn’t move.

“Emperor, are you very free every day ……,” I muttered in dissatisfaction but still moved over one step at a time.

Standing beside him, I looked down and felt a wave of dizziness. First, I have a mild fear of heights. Second, I saw the streets and alleys of the capital connected like a fire dragon hovering over the main road because of the brightly illuminated lanterns. It was like a golden-colored dragon coiled beneath my feet when I looked at it from such a high distance.

Zhong Xiwu’s voice came from the side: “It was hard for me to squeeze out the time.”

Looking at my stunned look, he spoke again, “Looking down from here, is there a feeling of trampling everything underfoot and having all three thousand threads of worry dissipate?”

I crouched on the railing without moving and spoke, “Worries won’t be gone just because you stand tall. The taller you stand, the less you can see.”

Zhong Xiwu reached out and heavily knocked on my head. I glared at him in annoyance, but I heard him say, “That would still require you to come up and see it with your own eyes to understand it. If you didn’t spend so much effort to climb the stairs up today, how would you know the view others talk about?”

My hand rubbing my head paused, and I asked in surprise, “Can it be that you brought me here just to see the scenery?”

“Seeing that you even refused Mother’s invitation, I was kind enough to share a scenic sanctuary that ordinary people can’t see.” Zhong Xiwu admitted frankly and openly.

I was confused, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Zhong Xiwu didn’t expect me to ask this and froze for a moment before speaking, “Shouldn’t allies …… help each other?”

I turned my head. Help each other? Did he hold the same purpose as the male third Wu Shuomo, wanting me to snatch away Zhong Yelan so he could get the beauty?

The night scene under my eyes still diverted my attention. I couldn’t help but poke my body outward some more. My legs were weak due to the wariness of heights, but this self-abuse made my heart relax for a moment, so I couldn’t help but poke my body outward again. However, this time, as soon as my body moved, a strong force arrived at my waist.

Zhong Xiwu unexpectedly pulled me back by the waist. Meeting his angry eyes, he said, “What do you want to do?”

I only want to see the scenery. Without waiting for me to answer, Zhong Xiwu added, “I didn’t bring you here to let you kill yourself.”

“Pfft…” I laughed out loud. Does this person deem that I am fragile?

Zhong Xiwu’s face seemed to darken when he saw my uncontrollable laughter.

I spoke up this time, “Emperor, your demeanor is a bit out of order, isn’t it?” I pointed at his left arm that was still encircling my waist, and Zhong Xiwu loosened his hand as if nothing had happened, saying, “What are you afraid of? The Star Selection Terrace is full of my people during the night, without any strangers.”

I tilted my head to look at him suspiciously, “Emperor, are you encouraging me to leave my marriage?”

Zhong Xiwu glared at me fiercely, and I hurriedly silenced myself.

So they stood in silence at the railing for a long time. There was a night breeze, and the lantern overhead swayed slightly, shifting the shadow. The wind also ruffled my hair, making me birthed an illusion. I turned my head to look at him and asked, “Do you like ……”

Against his gaze, my brain suddenly sober, turning the words at the edge of my mouth, “She has already married. You still miss her?”

Zhong Xiwu looked at me with his gentle eyes, making me almost feel like I was Mu Yao. He said: “Yes.”

“How lucky ……” Meeting Zhong Xiwu’s puzzled gaze, I smiled and turned my head. Mu Yao is so lucky because so many people love her.

Zhong Xiwu didn’t ask any more questions and turned towards the inner room. After a while, he returned with a jug.

“Want some?” Zhong Xiwu shook the jug.

“What’s that?”

“Moon Dew Nectar. One said it can relieve unhappiness. You can only find it in this Star Selection Terrace.” Zhong Xiwu explained.

Relieve unhappiness? How could it be that easy?

I still reached out and took the jug, pulled the cork, and took a big sip. It was sweet with a bit of spiciness. It just so happened that I was a little thirsty from climbing the stairs, so I drank most of the bottle in one gulp.

Meeting Zhong Xiwu’s widened eyes, I said, “You won’t be so stingy, won’t you? Didn’t you give it all to me?”

Zhong Xiwu seemed shocked, “Do you know what Moon Dew Nectar is?”

“Didn’t you say that it relieves unhappiness?” I shook the jug and spoke.

Zhong Xiwu seemed to want to laugh but held back and said, “That is the strongest wine in this world.”

My hand shaking the bottle froze, “Wine? The strongest?”

“En.” Zhong Xiwu solemnly nodded but was unable to hide the gloating.

I — why didn’t you say it earlier?

After hurriedly stuffing the jug into his hand, I said, “I’ll go first.”

Suddenly stuffed with a jug, Zhong Xiwu was too late to react, and I ran away. He shouted, “Why are you in a hurry? I’ll send you down.”

“No need, I have a maid,” I said without looking back.

I ran to the stairway and saw Qian Zhi and Hua Rongzhou. My head was already dizzy, desperately suppressing while walking over and speaking, “Let’s go back.”

However, my feet had softened. Thinking that there were still 20 floors of stairs, I pulled Hua Rongzhou and jumped onto his back. I spoke, “This time, I’ll trouble you. Quick, carry me down.”

Hua Rongzhou seemed overwhelmed and stiff for a long time before moving. He used the back of his hand to support my body and quickly descended the stairs.

It’s not that I am in a hurry, but I am really a person with poor alcohol tolerance. Once I drink too much, I will act crazy, and if I say and do something that I shouldn’t, it will be embarrassing.

After Hua Rongzhou arrived downstairs, he was also a bit out of breath.

After putting me down, I held his arm tightly to support myself. Qian Zhi saw this and hurriedly went to the front intersection to look for the carriage. Even though my mind was still clear, I couldn’t control my body – this was a common problem for people who drank too much and felt like they were sober.

After following Hua Rongzhou for a few steps, I don’t know if I tripped over a stone or if I was no longer conscious, but my legs went weak, and I was about to kneel on the ground. Then, it seemed I fell into a hot embrace. I looked up and saw two sparkling brown gems. I reached out to touch them, but the gems suddenly disappeared.

I heard a stuttering voice: “Princess Consort, no …… don’t poke me …… eyes.”

I didn’t get the brown gemstones, but my hand touched an extraordinarily soft thing. I opened my eyes but only saw a white piece. I pinched it twice, and it felt good, like cotton candy. I seemed to have not eaten cotton candy for a long time. So I raised my hands to grab the cotton candy, tiptoed, and bit it.

Then I heard that cotton candy hissed. Is this cotton candy a demon? I let go of my mouth and smacked my lips. This cotton candy was not sweet at all. That was the last realization before I passed out.