Even though Xiaoyuzi's plan was good, a decision could not be made easily. If she wasn't Liu Zhongtian's concubine, wouldn't he have offended the Third Duke? After all Liu Zhongtian still had a certain amount of power in his hands, his force in the imperial court couldn't be reckoned.
The Emperor stood under the colorful lights melancholy. He looked at the crowds pushing and pulling at each other. These are all his Great Han citizens, living such a comfortable life, making him feel somewhat heartened. Soon, a wave of happy music attracted him. He didn't think that there would be such moving music amongst the common people, coupled with the moving dancing.
The Great Han Emperor casted his gaze on the lights tower. It was at this moment that he was stunned by what he saw. His expression almost stiffened. That dancer whose moves were superb, was exactly like the blue-clothed lady he saw in the imperial garden! That figure, clothes, was almost exactly the same. She was wearing a face cloth though. Why was it a face cloth again?
That was her! That beauty, the Great Han Emperor was sure he didn't recognize wrongly. His impression of that lady was too deep. As long as she took down her face cloth, he could confirm whether she was that woman. He wanted to have a look at that beauty and dissolve the pining he had in his heart.
The Great Han Emperor started to laugh out loud. It really was a case of expending effort to look everywhere to find nothing, however it was not all for naught in the end. No matter where you ran, you would not be able to hide from the Emperor's hands and the Great Han lands. At this moment, hadn’t she appear?
The Great Han Emperor shouted at the royal guards, "Bring over the blue-clothed lady at the lights tower! You must catch her!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" A dozen of the guards received the order and quickly ran through the crowd and rushed for the lights tower.
Liu Zhongtian was admiring Wei Qiqi's dance postures and involuntarily laughed. In the future when he was bored, he could let his Royal Concubine entertain him. She really was a lovable person.
Liu Zhongtian was admiring Qiqi's dance postures. However, all of a sudden, there were figures rushing ahead of him towards the lights tower. Each of them had extraordinary movements. He felt that something was wrong. Why were there so many experts?
There was chaos underneath the lights tower. A dozen over bulky men rushed towards the lights tower. Their target was obvious, it was his Royal Concubine Wei Qiqi.
Just what was the problem? In such a bustling Chang-an main street, these men didn't put the others in their eyes. Liu Zhongtian didn't have time to consider all these. His heart was on Qiqi. He jumped up in the air, traversed through the crowd and ran towards the lights tower. His movements were extraordinarily nimble, like an eagle soaring in the skies.
The Great Han Emperor beneath the lights tower also noticed Third Duke rushing up and seemed to have understood everything. Needless to say, the truth was laid out for all to see. The blue-clothed lady on top was Wei Qiqi, the Royal Concubine whom was granted to Liu Zhongtian. That was why he was so anxious to rush up and save her.
Liu Zhongtian! What audacity, to actually cheat the Emperor. As for that top-cla.s.s beauty, she was the ugly Wei Qiqi? Granting a royal decree of marriage was to make things difficult for him. However from the looks of it, it seemed to have an opposite effect.
It was a mess underneath the tower. People didn't know what was happening. On top, the songs and dance stopped. The women were frantic and scramming everywhere. Wei Qiqi looked at the dozen over burly men and knew that they were after her. Even if Qiqi's martial arts were trained to perfection, she would be unable to deal with all of them at the same time. How could she escape this predicament? Very quickly, she was apprehended by two of the men. She was somewhat shocked. Just what was happening?
Just when she was trying to make clear of the situation, the tall Liu Zhongtian had leapt up. He furiously kicked away one of the guards and flipped his hand to repel the other man holding onto Wei Qiqi.
"Qiqi, quickly leave!" Liu Zhongtian grabbed Qiqi's waist and lifted her up. He wanted to rush down the tower, but was stopped by one person. That person had both of his hands at his back, coldly staring at Liu Zhongtian. Liu Zhongtian steadied his vision and was instantly stunned. Wasn't this the Emperor? Could all these men be the royal guards?
However, why did the Emperor appear here and wanted to apprehend Wei Qiqi at all cost? The two brothers faced off at each other. The Emperor suddenly shifted his gaze towards Wei Qiqi's eyes that were exposed.
He wanted to confirm one thing, which was whether Liu Zhongtian's concubine was that top-cla.s.s beauty.
Wei Qiqi also recognized the Emperor. She was frantic, quickly drooping her head and hiding behind Liu Zhongtian. She hoped that she wouldn't get noticed by the Emperor. Why was she so unlucky to b.u.mp into him again.
"Liu Zhongtian, today, I must take this woman away!" The Emperor didn't dare to reveal his ident.i.ty, hence he suppressed his voice while looking angrily at Liu Zhongtian.
"No, she is Zhongtian's concubine. Your Majesty decreed it personally to me, how can you eat on your words." Liu Zhongtian's heart was full of doubt. His hand held tighter.
The Emperor didn't seem to be too surprised. He laughed coldly, "Take down her face cloth. This Emperor wants to confirm if I granted to you an ugly woman!"
Ugly woman? The Qiqi now obviously wasn't one, however how could she explain it to the Emperor? At this moment the Emperor's motives didn't seem to be that simple. Liu Zhongtian had a trace of worry, hence he lied, "Qiqi's face has red spots all over, she can't be exposed to the wind. Pardon Zhongtian for not obeying!"
"Could it be that you are resisting my order?"
"Now we are not in the palace. This is a family matter among the Lius. Emperor-Brother, if there isn't anything else, Zhongtian is going to bring Qiqi back to the manor." Liu Zhongtian grabbed onto Wei Qiqi's hands and turned around to leave. Wei Qiqi hid her face and followed behind.
"Take down Wei Qiqi's face cloth!" The Emperor ordered in a loud voice. The dozen over royal guards surrounded Liu Zhongtian and Wei Qiqi.
Wei Qiqi's hands tightly held onto the face cloth and evaded them repeatedly.
Wei Qiqi's heart was in turmoil. This d.a.m.ned Emperor, if Qiqi wasn't an ugly woman now, would he make things difficult for Third Duke? Would he punish her with a crime of cheating the ruler, would he behead her?
The most important thing, which was what Qiqi was most worried about, was that she punched the Emperor in the imperial garden. He was the supreme ruler, how could he be hit by anyone? She was really unlucky, why was she so rash back then? Now how would she resolve this tricky situation?
"Emperor-Brother, don't push things too far. Today Zhongtian is capable of dealing with all of you, if Your Majesty wishes to try this…" Liu Zhongtian clenched his fists and stared at the Emperor.
"You wish to rebel?"
"Your Majesty wants to rob my concubine, it is you who's pushing me to rebel!"
Liu Zhongtian's words were abnormally icy. When that word was said, the two brothers suddenly quietened down. The Emperor frowned, not believing that Liu Zhongtian actually spoke those words. At this time, the Emperor slowly cooled down. He was somewhat impulsive to act in such a manner at this time and place. If he did things in a brutish manner, he would arouse the misunderstanding of the citizens. He needed to plan for the long term.
"Liu Zhongtian!" The Emperor tightly clenched his fists. He looked coldly at Wei Qiqi, just that little bit more and he could see that woman's face. A pity…Liu Zhongtian appeared…
"Let them leave!" The Emperor shouted angrily, waving his sleeves and left. The guards opened a path for Liu Zhongtian. He hurriedly pulled Wei Qiqi and left the lights tower.
"Wei Qiqi…" The Emperor gazed at the back figure of the blue-clothed lady. Her figure was superb, her skin white and smooth. She was almost like that woman he saw that day, apart from that face cloth.
The Great Han Emperor didn't dare to confirm that Wei Qiqi was that woman. How could an ugly woman turn into a beauty? Could it be that he was thinking too much about that woman, hence he had l.u.s.tful thoughts towards Liu Zhongtian's concubine? If the woman behind the face cloth was an incomparably ugly woman, would he be greatly disappointed?
However the Great Han Emperor dared to confirm one thing. Liu Zhongtian was very protective of that woman, to the point of being extremely nervous.
Hence if he wanted to see Wei Qiqi's face. he needed to think of other ideas, just like what Xiaoyuzi said.
Wei Qiqi was pulled all the way back into the manor. Liu Zhongtian kicked open the room and pushed Qiqi inside. He closed the door shut. No matter how he thought, he couldn't understand why the Emperor appeared at the lights festival, even aiming for Qiqi. It seemed as if he had seen Wei Qiqi before. Just what exactly happened?
"Come over!" Liu Zhongtian quickly walked to the desk and sat down. He looked at Wei Qiqi who was stuck at one spot and was still shocked in her spirit. It seems like the scene previously had scared the reckless Wei Qiqi. That wasn't easy, she actually had times when she was afraid.
"I can speak standing here…" Qiqi murmured in a soft voice. Her head was drooping, only showing her jet black hair.
"This Duke is asking you to come over." Liu Zhongtian sounded a bit annoyed.
"I'll go over then, what need is there for you to be fierce?"
Qiqi raised her head and angrily walked to Liu Zhongtian's front. However when she thought about what happened just now, her spirit deflated and she calmed down. She didn't know how to explain. Now that she had recovered her looks, why was there so much trouble?
Liu Zhongtian extended his hands and pulled down Wei Qiqi's face cloth, revealing her stunning looks and grieving eyes. When he saw Qiqi's pitiful look, Liu Zhongtian felt somewhat unbearable. His att.i.tude softened.
"Speak, why did the Emperor come for you today. Has he seen you before, what did you do exactly?"
"Duke…" Wei Qiqi curled her lips, she didn't dare to be reckless, hence she could only nod, "We met before!"
Liu Zhongtian furrowed his brows, how could they meet? "Where did you all meet? When was that?"