1.15: Under the cherry blossom rain

The banquet went on despite the earlier awkwardness and everyone quickly forgot about it. Many beautiful dancers dressed in almost transparent floaty dresses were called in to further the merriment.

Bai Yu wasn't as busy as the main protagonist of this banquet but occasionally, some guests would come to toast to him and try to sound him out discreetly. Knowing their real intentions, he would just give them perfect yet vague answers from which no one could find any flaw in them. They would then awkwardly bid him farewell and walk away in defeat.

It was fun doing that once or twice but anymore than that only made him feel bored. He secretly admired how the general could handle all of that for so long without even breaking a sweat.

Glancing towards the honored seat, his eyes coincidentally met with the man's which surprised him a little. He didn't know why but he had a strange feeling that the man had been looking at him for quite a while and that it wasn't just a coincidence that their eyes met whenever he looked at him(QF).

Shaking off that odd feeling from his mind, he raised his wine cup and nodded towards Qin Feng then drank it.

But from Qin Feng's point of view, his slightly tilted head and his exposed fair neck that contrasted with his black robe looked very alluring from the way his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed the wine. It was as if someone had pressed a slow motion button as it kept on replaying the scene slowly in his head over and over even after he(BY) had already set down his cup and turned around to speak to someone else.

Finding himself in a daze, Qin Feng felt very strange all over. He couldn't help but be shocked at his own absurd thoughts that just popped out of nowhere.

How could he possibly find a man's neck alluring? How could he get attracted to a man like himself?!

Maybe I had too much wine so I thought of something so weird...He scoffed at himself.

'But...he is indeed quite attractive for a man. Maybe it isn't as weird to find him beautiful...?' such thoughts suddenly came in his mind and a weird feeling bubbled up in his chest. But when he turned to look at the man again, he was nowhere to be seen and his seat was left empty.

'Where did he go?' Qin Feng raised his brow doubtfully as he searched around the hall with his eyes but couldn't find the person anywhere. He suddenly felt lost and panic rose in his heart.

'Did he already go back home?'

He thought with a slight trace of undetectable sadness in his eyes. But then they quickly brightened up when he saw a familiar figure walking out of the hall from the side door that led to the garden.

He quickly rose from his seat and with an excuse of going out for fresh air, he walked away without saying anything more as he chased after the silhouette that quickly disappeared from his sight.

....

Bai Yu leisurely strolled in the garden and silently sighed in relief.

It was too stuffy and noisy inside the hall and he also had too much wine so he came out for a walk to chase away the slight tipsiness with the cold air. He had wanted to ask Ji Rui to go for a walk together as well but he suddenly had an upset tummy so he went to the washroom, leaving him with no choice but to go alone.

Feeling the cool breeze brushing against his skin, he closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air. He could feel his mind clearing up and the tipsiness fading away by a little.

The imperial palace had many gardens and the one near the banquet hall was quite spacious with pavilions built in every intersections of the pathways that led around the garden and lush green bushes and rare exquisite flowers lined up in both sides. There were also fake mountains and small lotus ponds built around which made the garden look like a place out of a fairy-tale.

There was no soul other than himself to be seen in the garden as all the guests were inside the banquet hall and the servants usually took the other entrances to run their errands so it was especially quiet and peaceful here. With no annoying crowd and noises, he could finally relax a bit.

The stone-paved path under his feet led him to a pavilion right beside a lotus pond. He thought for a bit then decided to rest there until the banquet ended. He didn't want to deal with the people anymore for tonight and his purpose for his visit was only to get a hint for the hidden mission and check out on his potential allies in the passing.

Actually, he could very well just take the throne even without anyone else's help by killing off any potential threat and leaving them with no choice but to have him ascend the throne but it was too crude and also quite troublesome as people might suspect him for their death and kill him off for treason. So it was better to be safe.

It was really great that he had a system like Little Star with him to do most of the tasks. He just needed to form a plan and then perform the last step to complete the task. It was truly quite simple.

The night sky was dotted with stars and the moonlight lit up the darkness with its milky hue. It was a very relaxing and beautiful scene. But amidst the quietness of the scenery, the steady sounds of footsteps suddenly blended together which actually didn't feel out-of-place and even had a certain rhythm to it.

Bai Yu listened to the footsteps that were nearing him but didn't react and quietly waited for the person to reach the pavilion.

Then he heard a deep husky voice of a man from behind.

"What is your highness doing in such a secluded place in the middle of a banquet?"

It was a very pleasing voice with a bit of sexiness hidden in the masculinity which made anyone's ears itch when they heard it. Just this voice was enough to make countless maidens fall for him.

Bai Yu's ears twitched subconsciously. He recognised the owner of the voice as he had heard it earlier in the banquet. He was quite surprised to find someone else in the garden.

And it was even the star of tonight's banquet at that.

Slowly turning his head, he returned the question back, "May I ask the same to your excellency, general Zhong Yong? What might the star of the banquet be doing coming to this secluded place instead of enjoying the wine and keeping his majesty company?"

Qin Feng stared at him then chuckled softly. He entered the pavilion then walked closer to his seat and only stopped when he was three steps away.

"Your highness seems to be quite different from the rumours. Really, seeing is believing."

"Only ignorant people would believe in baseless rumours. But even what you see may not be real."

Qin Feng slightly raised his lips into a smile. "Your highness really says quite some interesting words. Indeed, what your eyes see can really sometimes be more deceiving than the rumours."

Bai Yu calmly looked at him.

This man was so young yet was able to achieve so much. He was clearly not a normal person. Ambition...there is some but it wasn't just that. He seems to be the type of person who treats those he acknowledged sincerely while he dealt with his enemies ruthlessly. A very dangerous man.

But he wasn't scared of acquainting himself with such a man. What he was more worried of was whether he would really acknowledge him as his 'ally'.

"So what brings the general to this secluded place? You couldn't possibly be feeling tired of the crowd so wanted to have some fresh air?" He asked in a seemingly nonchalant way.

Qin Feng laughed and said, "Your highness really is great. You almost guessed it right."

Seeing his unmoved expression, Qin Feng chuckled again then said, "Jokes aside, it really is true that I came here because I was getting bored being surrounded by all those old foxes and wanted to get away from them. Coincidentally, I bumped into the scene of your highness walking around the garden by yourself so I thought that you might like some company."

"So that's how it is. I could never tell from how calmly you dealt with the guests back in the hall." Bai Yu showed a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"How about you, your highness? Did you feel unwell inside the hall so came out to take a breather? I heard that you have been sick since small so I cannot help but be worried about your health."

Bai Yu secretly raised a brow at him. Oh? He can also speak quite well...

"Thank you for you concern, general. I have been recuperating in my manor all this time so my body is alot better. I assure you that I can live quite long without any worries."

Now it was Qin Feng's turn to raise a brow.

He smiled and said, "Then that's very good to hear. I'm glad that my cousin brother is doing well."

Bai Yu paused for a moment as he processed his words in his mind.

Cousin?

Wait, did he just call me his cousin brother?

We were actually relatives? How come he didn't know?

Seeing his shocked look, Qin Feng widened his eyes a bit and asked,"Your highness, could it be that you didn't know?"

His question brought Bai Yu back from his thoughts. He nodded in reply.

"Hm...well, it is quite understandable as we are related from your mother, the late empress' side. She was my mother's blood related eldest sister. When my mother was still alive, I remember meeting you when we were children but I soon became busy with different matters so I never had other chances to meet you again."

"You were too young at that time so it is normal that you forgot about it." Qin Feng tactfully didn't talk more about the late empress and changed the topic.

"So since we are both relatives, what do you think about calling each other cousins?"

Bai Yu was still thinking about the sudden twist where he found that he was actually somehow related to the person whom he was thinking of pulling to his side and they were even maternal cousins! In the memories of Long Ji Wei, there was no mention of it whatsoever nor did he hear about it from anyone before.

He had already asked Little Star to look at the people that were related to Long Ji Wei even by a little but he never told him that he was actually related to the general as well!

When he returned home later, he must seriously think over whether Little Star was slacking off on his work or not. If he was...

"A-achoo!" Little Star who had finally come back home after finishing his work for the day rubbed his nose in frustration.

"Did I catch a cold from overworking? But I am a system..."