Chapter 152: Waiting for a Long Time

Returning all the way to Dongnuan Pavilion, the journey was uneventful.

But the moment Xu Ping’an stepped through the courtyard gate, the two women inside simultaneously fixed their gazes on him.

The intensity of their stares sent a shiver through him, his heart skipping a beat.

“Uh~ Why are you both looking at me like that?”

Xu Ping’an instinctively glanced down at himself, but saw nothing amiss.

Before he could say anything, a breeze brushed past him, and with a sharp “bang,” the courtyard gate behind him slammed shut.

Then, like a ghost appearing without a sound, Pei Qingxuan’s figure suddenly materialized.

“You… where have you been?”

Staring at his expressionless wife, Xu Ping’an couldn’t shake the vague unease stirring in his chest.

“Ah~ well… I…”

Before Xu Ping’an could finish, Pei Qingxuan suddenly leaned in and sniffed around him from head to toe.

“You smell like another woman.”

Huh?

Since when did Pei Qingxuan develop such a keen sense of smell?

“Well, Master, Princess Yuanle is still watching—”

Xu Ping’an instinctively took a step back, unsure why, but his instincts told him he needed to divert Pei Qingxuan’s attention now.

“It’s fine, she already knows.”

Pei Qingxuan stepped closer without hesitation, wrapping her arms firmly around Xu Ping’an’s neck.

“Husband, you went to see her?”

How did she even smell it?

Noticing the surprise flickering in Xu Ping’an’s eyes, his wife pouted, clearly unhappy.

“You smell like her rouge.

Your nose is to blame.

Ahem~ Did I just start singing again?

Isn’t the focus supposed to be on what happens next?”

“And, husband, besides her, who else did you meet?”

“Ah?”

“Besides Li Yuer, who else?”

Ah, this can all be sniffed out?

Looks like I’ll have to be more cautious in the future, or else…

Wait!

I’m not a thief, is this really necessary?

Besides, I didn’t actually do anything wrong.

Instinctively, he wanted to come up with an excuse, but when he saw those eyes shimmering with tears, all the excuses that had formed in his mind vanished instantly.

“I went to a Qinglou.”

At those words, Pei Qingxuan’s eyes widened, and the tears streaming down her cheeks became unstoppable.

Seeing this, Xu Ping’an’s heart ached with regret.

He hurriedly pulled Pei Qingxuan into his arms.

“Alright, alright, husband was wrong, don’t cry.

I really didn’t do anything, I just went and sat for a bit and came back.

Look, I even brought you a gift.”

Watching Pei Qingxuan sobbing in Xu Ping’an’s embrace, Li Zhi’er hesitated slightly before retreating to her room.

Of course, she didn’t not care—after all, Xu Ping’an was already her husband in her heart.

But Li Zhi’er’s personality wouldn’t allow her to cry openly in front of him; more likely, she would quietly wipe away tears alone in the corner of her room.

Watching Li Zhi’er’s retreating figure, Xu Ping’an could only smile wryly to himself.

Had he known it would be like this, he might as well not have gone.

Not only did he lack worldly experience, but he also ended up making his wife cry.

When the wife cried, the little girl cried too.

Now he was completely stuck.

After much coaxing and bluffing, he finally got his wife to stop crying.

“Husband… please don’t go to places like that again, okay?”

“Alright, I swear I’ll never go again.

I’d rather die, jump off the rooftop even, than ever go there again!”

Having finally soothed his wife, Xu Ping’an turned to the other room to comfort Li Zhi’er, who was still quietly wiping away tears by the bedside.

After more gifts and promises, the little girl’s mood finally brightened.

That entire night, Xu Ping’an was too restless to do anything else.

He shut his eyes early and, at dawn, planned to go straight to the Duke of the Southern Border’s Residence.

It wasn’t for any other reason.

Yesterday he went to the Qinglou, and since both Pei Qingxuan and Li Zhi’er knew about it, it was impossible that Li Yuer didn’t.

So today he steeled himself to go and apologize.

But as the carriage left the Palace and arrived in South City, it came to a stop.

When Xu Ping’an lifted the curtain, the three large characters before him immediately caught his eye:

Ruanhong Pavilion.

Why did we end up here again?

Last night, it had taken so much effort to calm both his wife and Li Zhi’er.

If this happened again, he didn’t dare imagine what might happen.

“Xiao Hengzi, didn’t you say we were going to the Duke of the Southern Border’s Residence?

Why are we here?

What’s going on?”

Xiao Hengzi no longer responded and his face lost the earlier ingratiating smile.

He got off the carriage, turned to face Xu Ping’an, and respectfully bowed.

“Mister, my master requests your presence.”

Xu Ping’an was momentarily stunned and instinctively asked,

“Not pretending anymore?”

A bitter smile appeared on Xiao Hengzi’s lips.

“Mister, you really figured it out.

When my master told me yesterday, I didn’t dare believe it.

But as it turns out…”

He shook his head and then raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

“Mister, please come in.

My master is waiting inside.”

“So I can’t avoid it after all?”

Xu Ping’an stepped off the carriage.

Xiao Hengzi smiled faintly.

“Mister, please.”

There was clearly no way to dodge it.

Since that was the case, he might as well see with his own eyes if it was, as he had suspected, the Crown Prince.

He strode into the courtyard.

The scenery was the same as the day before, but the corners were different.

Not cats or dogs, but several powerful martial cultivators, presumably the master’s guards.

Xu Ping’an didn’t expose anything nor did he speak unnecessarily.

He simply walked toward the main hall.

By then, Chen Wan Hong had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing Xu Ping’an approach, she smiled and offered a deep bow.

“Mister, please this way.”

With that, she led him along in silence.

They reached the rear courtyard and entered a side room, but it was empty.

Then Chen Wan Hong moved toward a folding screen and triggered some mechanism.

Accompanied by the sound of gears turning, a secret door slowly opened from the floor.

“Mister, my master awaits within.”

“Your master’s identity is truly mysterious.

Meeting him is such a hassle.”

Xu Ping’an shook his head, but… since he was here, he might as well see what kind of treatment this all-powerful figure planned for him.

He stepped down the stairs.

Though it was a secret passage, it was wide enough to suggest a significant construction effort.

At the bottom, he expected a stone chamber, but instead saw a long corridor stretching out before him.

A few minutes passed as he walked down the passage.

A faint light glimmered in the distance.

When Xu Ping’an finally reached the glow, he was startled to realize it wasn’t a sealed chamber, but an exit.

As he pondered this, a man’s voice came from outside.

“Mister, I have been waiting here for a long time.”