CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 56: ESPECIALLY UGLY! (4K)

Zhao Yi: "..."

Ouch, my friend, that hurts!

Zhao Yi couldn’t explain that he had been controlled before, passively going along with the plot.

If he had a bit of sense,

there’s no way he’d do something as brainless as groveling!

Glancing at the time, Zhao Yi shifted the topic: "General Zuo Luo should be entering the city soon, let’s go welcome her."

General Zuo Luo was returning to the capital to be conferred the title of Grand General of Beijiang.

According to protocol, Zhao Yi, as the Crown Prince, should go outside the city to greet her.

However, even though the edict appointing Zhao Yi as Crown Prince had been issued, the old emperor in the Imperial Palace had disappeared, and the grand ceremony for the Crown Prince had never taken place.

So, Zhao Yi had the role of the Crown Prince but not the title.

Therefore, it was the Eldest Prince Zhao Mian who went out of the city to welcome General Zuo Luo.

When Zhao Yi and Miaoyin arrived at the North City Gate, they just happened to see Prince Zhao Mian’s carriage returning from outside the city.

Zhao Mian sat upright, expression rigid.

Despite the bumpiness of the carriage, he didn’t sway a bit.

His demeanor was solemn.

As stiff as an old scholar!

Zhao Yi had an unrestrained nature and feared Zhao Mian’s rigidity the most.

Especially after Zhao Mian’s achievement in the "Mad Dragon Technique."

He gradually went crazy.

His demands for etiquette and demeanor became increasingly extreme!

Sensing Zhao Yi’s gaze, Zhao Mian lifted his eyes and saw Zhao Yi leaning lazily against the wall, causing his brows to furrow.

Zhao Yi instantly straightened up as if electrified.

His eyes looking at the nose, the nose at the mouth, the mouth at the heart.

No sorrow or joy, with an air of someone who had transcended worldly matters, unmoved by honor or disgrace.

Zhao Mian glanced at him expressionlessly and then looked at Miaoyin.

Miaoyin was holding a roasted chicken, enjoying it thoroughly.

Seeing Zhao Mian looking over, she even waved the chicken at him in greeting.

Seeing this, Zhao Mian’s handsome sword-shaped eyebrows immediately knitted together into a "川" shape.

Zhao Yi, seeing him uncomfortable, showed a look of enjoying the spectacle.

He had endured these two for a long time.

If they started fighting here, Zhao Yi would set off fireworks in celebration!

But Zhao Yi was disappointed.

Instead of confronting Miaoyin, Zhao Mian merely turned his head,

out of sight, out of mind.

Seeing this, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

He thought the eldest really had gone mad.

Turns out he’s quite a coward.

Miaoyin hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Zhao Mian.

She nudged Zhao Yi with her shoulder and asked, "What do you think of General Zuo Luo?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi followed her gaze.

Behind the carriage of the Eldest Prince Zhao Mian, the Personal Guard Camp of General Zuo Luo was entering the city.

Leading them was a massive "flesh mountain!"

The woman was at least eight feet tall, stout and muscular, her arms thicker than Zhao Yi’s thigh!

Her head was large as a dustpan, with all her hair shaved except a tuft of dry yellow braided on top.

But her most notable feature was her face.

Her long face was covered with yellow spots.

Triangular eyes, a bulbous nose, protruding ears, buck teeth, cleft lip, and no eyebrows.

At first glance, she was frighteningly shocking.

Upon a second look, still shocking.

Wherever the Vanguard Battalion passed, the streets cleared immediately.

The naughtiest children of usual days were too scared to come out!

Hearing Miaoyin’s words, Zhao Yi solemnly said, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Miaoyin, intrigued, responded, "What’s the lie, and what’s the truth?"

Zhao Yi: "The lie is: Ugly, but in a very special way, meaning especially ugly! The truth is: What I just called a lie is actually the truth."

Miaoyin realized: "Did you already know General Zuo Luo was ugly, and that’s why you refused the Empress’s arranged marriage?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yi looked at her as if looking at a fool, then turned and walked inside the city.

Miaoyin asked from behind, "Where are you going? Since you’re here, aren’t you going to say hello to General Zuo Luo?"

Zhao Yi replied without turning his head: "If you want to fight, go ahead. I have no interest in greeting a barbarian."

Miaoyin Zhenren’s figure flickered, and she appeared directly beside Zhao Yi.

She looked at Zhao Yi and curiously asked, "How did you recognize she’s not General Zuo Luo?"

Zhao Yi replied irritably, "White Tiger Festival Staff!"

"General Zuo Luo is the General of Beijiang. Wherever she goes, she must carry the White Tiger Festival Staff!"

"I just checked; there’s no White Tiger Festival Staff in the convoy, and the woman on the war beast has obvious barbarian traits!"

"Even if I were more foolish, I wouldn’t mistake a barbarian for the Grand General of the North of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

Miaoyin Zhenren was surprised to hear this: "Not only do you know about the White Tiger Festival Staff, but you also recognize barbarians?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi couldn’t help but roll his eyes: "You don’t really think I’m just a fool who grovels to women, do you?"

Miaoyin Zhenren raised an eyebrow: "Isn’t that so?"

Zhao Yi’s fists clenched immediately.

He now somewhat understood how his elder brother Zhao Mian felt earlier.

So frustrating!

If he could beat her, he really wanted to give her a good thrashing!

Zhao Yi took a deep breath and turned to walk in the opposite direction of the Personal Guard Camp.

Miaoyin Zhenren leisurely followed beside him.

Seeing Zhao Yi heading to the Outer City, she curiously asked, "Where are you going?"

"Four Seas Restaurant."

Zhao Yi explained: "Many people come and go at Four Seas Restaurant, making it the best place to gather information."

"Since General Zuo Luo didn’t stay with the Personal Guard Camp, she must have entered the city ahead of time."

"Shengjing City isn’t too small, but it’s not too big either."

"If an unfamiliar-looking woman suddenly appeared in the city, someone would definitely notice."

"Just a trip to Four Seas Restaurant and we can easily find her trail!"

Four Seas Restaurant?

Miaoyin Zhenren’s eyes lit up: "I’ve heard that the food and drink at Four Seas Restaurant are the best in the world. Since the female shopkeeper is your lover, can she make us some special dishes to try?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi stumbled and nearly fell.

He looked at Miaoyin Zhenren and said wide-eyed, "Who told you that the female shopkeeper was my lover?"

"The Second Prince said so." Miaoyin Zhenren clicked her tongue twice, "He took a jar of rouge from your residence, got drunk, and said it in his drunken talk, and then everyone knew!"

Miaoyin Zhenren pursed her lips: "After the Empress heard about this, she’s been praising you, saying you’ve grown up and finally know how to ruin a maiden!"

Zhao Yi: "..."

Dear brother!

Dear mother!

His reputation was already bad, and now it’s utterly unsalvageable!

Miaoyin Zhenren guessed his thoughts and consoled him: "Actually, you don’t have to be embarrassed. When you were trying so hard to please Su Qianqian, you had already lost face!"

Zhao Yi: "..."

Thanks, I feel comforted.

Zhao Yi stopped talking and walked forward with his head down.

Miaoyin Zhenren laughed heartily, took down a wine flask from her waist, and followed while drinking.

As they neared Four Seas Restaurant, Miaoyin Zhenren suddenly paused.

Huh?

She let out a soft exclamation, put down the wine gourd she was drinking from, and looked toward the second-floor windowsill.

Sitting at the edge of the windowsill was a delicate, youthful girl in her twenties.

The girl wore a long pink dress, had a wooden hairpin in her hair, and her exquisite, refined face bore no makeup, looking fresh and pleasing like a classical beauty.

Miaoyin Zhenren noticed that when she saw Zuo Xiaoluo, Zuo Xiaoluo also noticed her.

Zuo Xiaoluo’s gaze swept over Miaoyin Zhenren without lingering, instead looking at Zhao Yi, who was walking ahead.

Zuo Xiaoluo looked surprised at first, then her eyes lit up.

She looked at Zhao Yi with delight, staring at him infatuatedly, her eyes full of smiles, turning into crescent moons.

Zhao Yi didn’t notice anything unusual upstairs.

Seeing Miaoyin Zhenren stop, he looked back at her, puzzled, and asked, "Why did you stop?"

Miaoyin Zhenren withdrew her gaze from the upstairs, shook her head, took a sip of wine, and sighed.

"Comparing with others just drives you mad!"

Miaoyin Zhenren suddenly became very angry, complaining: "Are you heaven’s favorite? Otherwise, how could you have such luck? A girl like that could fall for you. It’s simply against all reason!"

Zhao Yi, baffled by her accusations, was left scratching his head in confusion.

"Have you gone mad too?"

ps: Please collect, please catch up!

pps: Apologies to all bosses. My condition hasn’t been good today, coughing incessantly, almost coughing up my lungs. Both Chapters only reached four thousand words. The next Chapter will be before midnight.