As the state banquet was prepared to celebrate the victorious war, Yan Rong and Yan Jing were the main stars of the banquet. Luckily for Yan Luan, many visitors began coming forth towards their table to congratulate the men of House Yan, hence Yan Jing had no other choice but to release his strong grip on her hands. Yan Luan rubbed her painful hands softly before placing them on the table carefully, refusing to place them under the table.
A royal decree arrived for Yan Rong halfway through the banquet, announcing his rank up from Duwei to Shangshu, henceforth placing him in a high ranked position right underneath the prime minister and allowing him the honor of attending court.(TNote: apparently as the princess's consort, he wasn't allowed to attend court previously.)
Right after that, the royal eunuch announced the rewards earned by the Noble House HuaiYin, they were bestowed many different treasures of the country.
The list of rewards was extremely long and unending, and before long, Yan Luan began looking around in boredom, finally landing her gaze on the northern continent's princess.
The princess was one year older than her and dressed up in formal attire while her hair decorated in gems and pieces of jewelry while her face looked young and adorable, if not for the fact that she was currently kneeling right in front of the guests and glaring weakly at Emperor QiLing.
Noticing that Jiang FuYuan was, too, staring at the sobbing princess, recognizing her after recalling the gossiping she had heard from her hand-maiden this afternoon. This was the most pampered princess from the northern continents, sent here to be apart of Emperor QiLing's concubines.
Yan Luan sighed in relief when the banquet was finally over, awfully glad that Yan Jing hadn't proceeded further with his horrible molesting before leaving quickly with her mother, in case anything happens.
"Mother, the city has been hot recently, can I take a holiday at the mountain villa?" Suddenly remembering her friend's request, Yan Luan shook her mother's arm softly before asking.
"Go ahead, that villa would be yours in the future anyway, in the meantime, I will search for more places and build you more villas that you can visit." Prince YongKang smiled gracefully, patting the head of her recently-recovered ill daughter.
"Thank you, mother!" Yan Luan grinned sweetly in respond.
After receiving Princess YongKang's approval, Yan Luan rushed into her room and began listing down the items she plans to bring. There was a lot of preparations needed because she intended to stay there with her best friend until autumn comes.
The next morning was a somewhat cool and chilly day, and after she finished preparing herself in the morning and checking the items on her carriage, she proceeded to the entrance of her residence, only to be stopped by her mother's personal hand-maiden.
"WengZhu, slow down, The Princess is asking for you."
Yan Luan had no other choice but to follow her mother's MoMo, but her face dropped immediately when she saw her elder brother standing beside Princess YongKang while grinning at her slyly like an old fox.
"Ah Luan, you're here, you brother had suffered a lot during his times at war, please allow him to accompany you to the villa. You're all allowed to stay there as long as you want to, just remember to enjoy yourselves there!" Princess YongKang said gently as she grinned lovingly at her children while hoping that they get along after years of separation.
"Ah…" Yan Luan's excitement disappeared in a sudden poof while she took a step towards her mother, intending to reject her good intentions.
But before she could voice out her opinions, Yan Jing's deep voice sounded out clearly, "Do not worry, mother. I will take good care of sister."
Noticing Yan Luan's hesitation, Princess YongKang sighed deeply, "Ah Luan, remember to be a good girl and listen to your brother, do not assume that you can ignore mother's words just because I'm not there at the villa, as your brother has the authority to discipline you in my place if you've been bad, alright?"
"Yes mother…" She groaned unhappily before turning her head towards her elder brother.
Yan Jing was dressed in an elegant white attire filled with streaks of pale green bamboo, while the sleeves were sewn with silver dragons. His dark and long hair were held up handsomely by a jade hairpin, giving him the image of a gentle and studious young man.
"Big brother, can we stop by Jiang Guo Gong's residence later? I would like to bring Miss Jiang alon…"
Yan Jing chuckled softly before even allowing her to finish her words, "Ah Luan, mother only told me to bring you along, let's go quickly, aren't you in a rush to visit the villa?"
In a rush to go? Yan Luan thought about her panic and rush yesterday night while making preparations, shuddering as she realized that Yan Jing had probably realized her true intentions, and right now, it felt like she was an innocent goat entering a lion's cave.
Princess's YongKang's personal villa on the southern mountains was built on the orders of her father's orders and gifted to her on her wedding day. The entire place was exquisite to the brim, filled with pavilions, ponds, and canopies lined with foreign flowers, as expected of a villa built by the late emperor.
As soon as they entered the villa, Yan Jing immediately chose the east building while Yan Luan chose the center building. Right after that, they proceeded to have their lunch together, but Yan Luan was unable to calm herself down, hence she had gobbled down her food in a rush before running off into the distance, leaving behind a table full of food and a smiling Yan Jing.
An enormous pool was built in the backyard of the center building while a huge wooden canopy was built on top of the pond, lined with flowers and coated with half-translucent silk that fluttered in the air. Yan Luan sighed at the beautiful scenery before kneeling down beside the pond, placing her hand in and grabbing a fistful of the fallen petals which floated peacefully on the pond.
The water temperature was perfect, not too hot and not too chilling. With a nod of satisfaction, Yan Luan stripped off her complicated dress swiftly before entering the pond gracefully, sighing in bliss as the water cooled down the burning heat.
"WengZhu should spend more time in the water even though it's not a hot spring, as this pool is filled with expensive herbs that is perfect for a young lady like you and it'll keep your skin beautiful."
Yan Luan nodded slowly as she played around with the floating petals around her, she could smell the sweet scent of flowers in the air and she sighed once again at the relaxing atmosphere, enjoying the fluttering of the silk and the rustling of the flowers due to the gentle wind.
"Leave me be," She commanded the little girl who was squatting nearby, as a modern woman, she was still not used to having her naked body viewed by another person, regardless of gender.
Water flowed endlessly from the golden dragon head on the wall, as if it was a mini waterfall, soothing Yan Luan's tension and hiding the soft footsteps that were moving slowly towards her.
When she finally heard the heart-stopping footsteps and turned her head around in horror, Yan Jing was already standing and grinning behind her back while gazing at her fooling around with the water.
"Ah! Y…you! How did you enter this place?! Go out!" Yan Luan screamed in shock as she sank herself into the pool, glaring in rage at her brother while trying to hide herself from his invasive gaze.
Ignoring her desperate screams, Yan Jing settled down beside the pool before grinning at her slyly, sighing in content at her alluring screams before slowly landing his gaze on her neck and at her torso which was hidden beneath the floating petals.
But still, her wary eyes somewhat upsets him.
"Why are you sitting there? Leave! O… otherwise I'll scream for help!" Yan Luan cried out in rage at her elder brother as his lustful eyes were still glued to her naked body and it filled her with discomfort.
He stood up slowly upon hearing her screams, but to her dismay, he began untying his belt as he slowly undressed himself right in front of her eyes.
"Y…you! What are you doing!?" A sharp shriek escaped her lips as she jumped in panic at his sudden actions, "Help! Someone! Momo!"
Yan Jing grinned in amusement at her cries for help, before entering the pool while slowly stripping off his pants. Yan Luan stared at him in shock before rushing off into the other direction, intending to swim over to the other side and leave the pool quickly.
If I don't escape now, I will surely be laid by this crazy man after he's done undressing!
"Somebody, help!!"
Characters list:
Yan Luan – Title "Mi Yang Weng Zhu", the daughter of the imperial princessYan Jing – Eldest brother of Yan LuanYan Dao – Second brother of Yan LuanImperial Princess – Title "Princess YongKang", favorite sister of the current emperorYan Rong – consort of Princess YongKang, father of Yan Luan, Yan Jing, Yan Dao and Yan Fei.Lord Chu – Title "Guo Jiu", brother of the current Queen Dowager(TNote: Guo Jiu means "uncle of the country", usually bestowed to the emperor's uncle.)Lady Chu – Legitimate wife of Lord Chu after his previous legitimate wife passed awayChu YanShang – Title "Xian Zhu", daughter of Lord Chu, pampered and loved by the queen dowagerJiang FuYuan – the other girl who had drowned together with Yan Luan on the day of the feast.Lord and Lady Jiang – House Jiang was bestowed the title "Heng Guo Gong". It is a title of nobility and authority. (TNote: From what I've seen, there are usually 4 of these Guo Gong in each country, the position is pretty high, I think it's right under the Wang title if I'm not mistaken…)