Chapter 113 - 112: Scrambling Madly! The Biggest Victim is Pei Xuan
Chapter 113: Chapter 112: Scrambling Madly! The Biggest Victim is Pei Xuan
Seeing an outfit identical to her own disguise for going out, Qingyuan froze for a moment.
A fellow celebrity?
Xie Qingshi hadn’t expected someone else to be in the private room with Shi Changying, but he recognized the second person. It was the popular actress, Lu Qingyuan. To be precise, they didn’t exactly know each other, as they had never interacted or collaborated. Lu Qingyuan was undeniably beautiful with exceptional acting skills. He had heard that she studied traditional opera during her student days.
But these facts weren’t what made her memorable to Xie Qingshi; it was the name "Qingyuan."
Led by Pei Jiang, the Twelve Master of Mingjing were also known as the Twelve Red Faces, simply because all twelve were female heroes. Since they all had different duties, he hadn’t interacted much with the Twelve Master of Mingjing. Instead, he had worked with that Qu Xian Qing Yuan seven or eight times, all concerning rites, music, and ceremonies. However, Xie Qingshi had never bothered to verify whether Lu Qingyuan was actually Qu Xian Qing Yuan.
Yet at this moment, this massively popular superstar was sitting incredibly obediently beside Shi Changying.
In a flash of realization, Xie Qingshi thought of a reality he was least willing to accept—aside from him and Pei Xuan, other colleagues had indeed transmigrated four hundred years into the future. That wasn’t important. What mattered was that he could no longer be alone with Her Majesty.
The joy he previously felt was thoroughly extinguished by the cold water that was Qingyuan’s presence. Xie Qingshi’s expression cooled slightly as he took off his hat, sunglasses, and mask one by one, then untied his scarf, exposing his face to the air.
Qingyuan also saw his face, her gaze pausing. "Mr. Xie... Lin?"
She and Xie Lin had actually met before at a music event, but they had merely brushed past each other.
"A Yuan, it’s not Xie Lin, it’s Xie Qingshi," Shi Changying said lazily. "We’re all on the same side. There’s no need to be formal."
Qingyuan’s gaze suddenly froze, turning sharp in the next instant.
Xie Qingshi sighed inwardly and thought, "Just as I suspected." However, he remained impassive and nodded in greeting. "Lord Qingyuan."
"To think it’s Lord Xie." Qingyuan revealed an apologetic smile. "I’m truly blind for not recognizing you."
Xie Qingshi offered a faint smile. "I failed to recognize you as well. It’s my fault."
The two exchanged a look, both seeing the clear rejection in each other’s eyes.
Xie Qingshi naturally took the seat to Shi Changying’s left. He placed an exquisite box in front of her. "Your Majesty, it was an oversight on my part. I hadn’t expected Lord Qingyuan to be here as well, so I only prepared a gift for you."
"Yes, I only planned to treat Sister Ying to a meal, but I didn’t expect Lord Xie to come too," Qingyuan spoke casually. "I’m just afraid this restaurant might not suit Lord Xie’s tastes."
Xie Qingshi remained perfectly composed. "Being able to dine with Your Majesty is enough to completely satisfy me."
Qingyuan let out an "Ah" of surprise. "Could this be the first time Lord Xie is dining with Your Majesty in this life? Two weeks ago, when Your Majesty was in the hospital, I even spoon-fed her."
Xie Qingshi’s brow twitched. He had only reunited with Shi Changying in the past couple of days. But Qingyuan... The position of being the first to reunite actually wasn’t his?
Xie Qingshi raised a hand to massage his temples, unable to describe the complex feeling in his heart. Having beaten Pei Xuan by a step, he thought he had secured a total victory. He never expected someone else to be ahead of him.
Qingyuan let out a soft hmph. Regardless of anything else, she was the first person from their past to reunite with Shi Changying. No matter how much the latecomers fought for favor, she could still make them mad with jealousy!
"It’s actually not the first time," Xie Qingshi suddenly looked up and said flatly. "Over half a month ago, I had the honor of meeting Your Majesty on Thirteen Street and treated her to a late-night snack."
"Over half a month ago..." Qingyuan pondered for a moment before laughing. "Then it seems Lord Xie met Sister Ying earlier than I did. But it appears you didn’t recognize her at the time."
Xie Qingshi sounded full of regret. "Indeed, it’s a great pity. How could I have met Your Majesty so early, yet failed to recognize her in this life because I was blind in my past life?"
Their gazes clashed once more, as if sparks were already flying between them.
Shi Changying stared intently at the menu, her ears only catching words related to food, so she said, "I eat a lot. You two can treat me to a meal together."
She proceeded to order every single dish on the menu, totaling over a hundred items.
"Sister Ying, there’s no need," Qingyuan immediately said. "I have some savings. I’m not so broke that I can’t even afford to buy you a meal."
Xie Qingshi smiled faintly. "Such a trivial matter of spending money for Your Majesty should just be left to me."
Qingyuan spoke faintly, "A loyal subject who refuses to call her ’Sister’ must be harboring some wild ambitions."
Xie Qingshi was speechless. He felt as though he had never heard such a saying before.
Xie Qingshi smiled calmly. "Don’t tell me that when Lord Ye sees Your Majesty, he’ll be expected to address her like that too?"
Qingyuan knew he was naturally referring to Ye Yu, the Grand Secretary and head of the civil servants. She said slowly, "Lord Ye is Sister Ying’s teacher and is four years older than her. How can you compare yourself to Lord Ye?"
Their official ranks were roughly at the Third Rank, whereas Ye Yu was at the First Grade. The only people equal to his rank were Zhuge Mingyue and the Great General.
Xie Qingshi suddenly remembered something that Pei Xuan had been absolutely unwilling to bring up. He looked at Shi Changying. "Your Majesty, I wish to ask you about something."
"Granted," Shi Changying replied.
"If I may be so bold to ask, on the day of your coronation, Pei Xuan stayed overnight in the palace." Xie Qingshi paused before asking, "Did you summon him?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Changying’s face became deadpan.
Xie Qingshi was taken aback. "Was it not Your Majesty who summoned him?"
Shi Changying said coldly, "Of course not."
"Hahahaha! To think Lord Xie actually didn’t know the inside story!" Qingyuan laughed so hard she rocked back and forth, almost shedding tears of mirth. "Don’t tell me you all genuinely thought Sister Ying kept him in the palace to treat him like an honored guest?"
Shi Changying said lightly, "That night, Pei Xuan came specifically to assassinate me. Naturally, it was impossible for me to let him sleep in a bed."
This truth was clearly entirely out of Xie Qingshi’s expectations. He was slightly startled. "He went to assassinate you?"
Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "However, he overestimated his own martial prowess."
"It’s a pity I didn’t see what happened with my own eyes that night," Qingyuan sounded regretful. "But I heard from Lord Zhuge that Lord Pei couldn’t even block a single strike from Your Majesty’s sword."
The tension in Xie Qingshi’s brows and eyes finally relaxed. "So that’s how it was."
No wonder Pei Xuan kept his mouth shut about it. He knew that telling the truth would cause him to lose face. He finally had another piece of blackmail against Pei Xuan in his hands.
Just then, a knock sounded at the private room’s door. It was a waiter asking if they needed to select a fish. Shi Changying opened the door and walked out. She was going to pick the biggest fish.
With only Qingyuan and Xie Qingshi left in the private room, the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing. Qingyuan took out a mirror, completely ignoring the person next to her.
Xie Qingshi suddenly spoke. "Qingyuan, Pei Xuan has also returned."