Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Chapter 110 Moon Festival

It was almost two o'clock in the morning when the banquet at Huaxi Villa ended. Tang Ling drank some wine, not much, but felt very tired. Although it was a private banquet and all the guests were from Zhou country, not everyone in the delegation was as respectful to Tang Ling as Huang Zexian.

Huang Zexian was a Privy Councilor, a subordinate of Marquis Xun'an, and had watched Tang Ling grow up, so he naturally had a close relationship with her. However, the majority of the envoys were pro-peace, constantly arguing with the military at court, blaming Marquis Xun'an and the military for all the domestic problems of the past few years, and they were both opposed and fearful.

Tang Ling was sent to Chen as a hostage. On the one hand, these people were delighted, as if Chen had slapped Xun Anhou in the face on their behalf. On the other hand, they were also afraid that Xun Anhou might reach some ulterior motive with Chenhou and resort to external forces to rebel. Thus, their feelings towards Tang Ling were quite complicated.

When you drink too much, there's bound to be some drunken madness, or some pretending to be mad, saying something unkind to sting Tang Ling, especially since Tang Ling and Qi Xiao have been so close lately. Dealing with these things isn't a hassle, just tiring.

Tang Ling pushed open the door of the room and saw Qi Xiao teasing the little white snake in the room. The gloom on her face immediately disappeared and she smiled.

"Are you back?" It was finally Qi Xiao's turn to ask this question.

Tang Ling nodded, turned around and closed the door. The next moment, she was in Qi Xiao's arms: "Waiting is really a drudgery."

Tang Ling turned around and hugged Qi Xiao. "Waited long? There should be a private banquet at the Dali Temple tonight. I didn't think you would come back so early."

"Didn't you tell me to go early and come back early this morning?"

"So..."

Qi Xiao kissed Tang Ling, swallowing up the second half of his sentence. Tang Ling reeked of alcohol, which was intoxicating. Qi Xiao was like a drunkard, unwilling to let go of even a drop of it, and entangled with her eagerly but gently.

Tang Ling's breathing became more and more rapid, and she felt like she was about to suffocate, but she held Qi Xiao even tighter.

Qi Xiao hadn't eaten anything in the evening and was already very hungry. Tang Ling was so beautiful that she was perfect for eating.

Tang Ling felt that she was really drunk, and was dizzy from Qi Xiao's kiss. He was like a small boat floating on the Taihua River. The wind and waves were too high and violent. He could not bear it at all. He would be smashed and sink to the bottom of the river at any time. But he was not afraid. He even felt the incomparable excitement and enjoyed indescribable pleasure in the wind and waves. The overlapping waves were like carnival music, driving people crazy.

When the wind and waves subside and the river becomes calm, the heavy night slowly falls and turns into a beautiful dream.

Qi Xiao's fingers gently brushed the corners of Tang Ling's eyes, and there was some distress hidden in his satisfaction. Was he too reckless?

Only when there was no movement in the house did Ye Huai dare to let Qing Lan into the yard. Qing Lan glared at Ye Huai fiercely, gritting his teeth in anger. He had been beating his chest and stamping his feet at the gate for an hour, and his anger not only did not subside, but it became more and more intense.

Ye Huai couldn't help but say, "You must remember what the master said."

"I know! I just want to beat that bastard to death, but I have to be able to beat him!"

"...I'm afraid you'll poison him."

Qing Lan gritted her teeth and said, "If he dares to do anything bad to you, I won't let him go!"

Ye Huai sighed and shook his head.

Qing Lan took a deep breath and gently knocked on Tang Ling's door: "Master, the bath water is ready."

It was Qi Xiao who answered the door, holding the sleeping Tang Ling in his arms: "Thank you."

Qinglan couldn't bear to watch it, he was about to cry again, so he had to turn around and lead Qi Xiao.

When Tang Ling woke up, she was still soaking in the bathtub, held by Qi Xiao. "Hmm?"

"Get some more sleep."

The water temperature was slightly hot, and Qi Xiao's body felt even hotter, warm and comfortable. Tang Ling hummed.

Qi Xiao sighed. Bai Xiqiao was right. He was really crazy.

Qi Xiao left a light on by the bed. He was reluctant to go to sleep as he just wanted to stare at Tang Ling intently, watching him sleep peacefully, like the Epiphyllum in the Baiyan Mountain forest. It was so beautiful just in bud that it made people unable to take their eyes off it. He just wanted to watch it quietly, blooming only in front of Qi Xiao's eyes in the middle of the night.

Qi Xiao traced Tang Ling's eyebrows with his fingertips, as if he could see his gentle smile; then he brushed his lips, his fingertips touched his soft kiss; then he caressed his cheek, as if even under the dim light he could still see that gorgeous crimson; brushed his jaw and down his fair neck, Qi Xiao wanted to brand it into Tang Ling's body, to carve his name on it...

"Hmm..." Tang Ling seemed to have noticed something and woke up. She opened her eyes slightly, then closed them gently and changed her posture. As soon as she moved, her whole body stiffened. She felt sore and swollen all over, and even her toes seemed to cramp. She finally rested her head on Qi Xiao's shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief.

Qi Xiao frowned slightly when he saw him.

Tang Ling shook her head: "What time is it?"

"It's four o'clock."

"Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I want to watch it for a while longer. I don't want to go to sleep."

Tang Ling couldn't help but laugh at Qi Xiao's nonsense. She hugged him gently and said, "It's not too late to read it after you wake up."

Qi Xiao shook his head: "From Yongcheng to Yuanjing, I missed a lot of time looking at you carefully, and I want to make up for it."

"You missed a full twenty-one years before this. How do you want to make up for it?" Tang Ling reached out and poked Qi Xiao's forehead. In her heart, she even liked his unreasonableness.

Qi Xiao turned over and pressed Tang Ling in his arms, kissing her: "Little by little, slowly, make up for it."

Tang Ling was completely awake at this moment, and hurriedly pushed Qi Xiao away. He couldn't stand Qi Xiao's teasing anymore: "I was wrong, I was wrong, please let me go tonight."

Seeing Tang Ling blushing with panic, Qi Xiao couldn't help laughing. He held her in his arms and kissed her gently.

"..." Tang Ling didn't say anything, but leaned silently on Qi Xiao's shoulder, hiding her smile.

After a while, Qi Xiao said, "Are you awake? Are you still sleeping?"

"what happened?"

"I came here tonight because I wanted to tell you something, but I waited so long for you to come, and I couldn't help myself..."

"What's the matter?" Tang Ling propped herself up and sat up. It shouldn't be a big deal to delay anything in the middle of the night, but Qi Xiao was telling her this now, which was obviously not unimportant.

Qi Xiao reached out and pulled Tang Ling back. Right now, nothing was as important as having Tang Ling close to his heart.

"Today...yesterday, I was supposed to go to the Dali Temple, but the Ministry of Rites summoned me to the Sitianjian Linxiantai. His Majesty ordered me to participate in the lunar sacrifice and asked the Imperial Preceptor Ning Wanxiao to personally teach me the ritual."

"Moon Festival..."

"The Ministry of Rites also handed you the letter and regulations."

Qi Xiao's words were so confident that he knew everything and wasn't just guessing. This made Tang Ling even more confused: "Do you know what this is all about?"

"It's not entirely true that I know. Ning Wanxiao told me the reason, but I don't know whether I should believe it or not." Qi Xiao told Tang Ling everything Ning Wanxiao said. "How much do you know about Ning Wanxiao?"

Before Tang Ling came to the State of Chen, she read through all the materials from the court, clans and other places in the past ten years. An ordinary person would not be able to finish reading them, let alone remember them all. However, Tang Ling was not only talented but also had a photographic memory. In addition, the Xingluo Guard had been scheming for many years. In the entire Yuanjing City, apart from Ning Wanxiao himself and the people closest to him, Tang Ling was probably the one who knew him best.

"What do you want to know?"

"all."