"Where do you want to go today?" Ning Chunan sat in front of the dressing table and asked the maid to tie her hair in a bun, but her eyes stayed on Luo Qingqing in the mirror.
"This is not a matter that your subordinates should consider." Luo Qingqing replied calmly, "Your Highness can go wherever he wants. Your subordinates are just magic guards and have no right to interfere with your thoughts."
This person is the child born to Luo Yufei and the fourth son of the current emperor. He has just turned sixteen this year. He should have been sent to the army for training, but because he had a high fever when he was a child, his physical condition is far inferior to that of his brothers and sisters, so the training has been postponed.
Ning Chunan inherited a large part of his appearance from his mother, with crescent-shaped eyebrows and cicada-like bags under his eyes. Due to his physical weakness, he looked a bit younger than his actual age.
But Luo Qingqing would never treat him as a child.
After all, he was also the fourth prince who was born in the imperial palace and had the blood of the emperor.
"Want to go to the theater or to enjoy the flowers?" Ning Chunan seemed to have not heard her answer, "By the way, you are an alchemist, and your preferences may be different from those of ordinary women... How about we go for a drink."
"Guards are not allowed to drink."
"It doesn't matter if you have a drink once in a while."
"Your Highness—" Just when Luo Qingqing was about to refuse, Ning Chunan suddenly let out a cry of pain.
"Ah... it hurts me so much!" He stood up suddenly and knocked the maid to the ground with one hand, "You stupid maid, what on earth did you do?"
The latter's face turned pale with fright. She held the hairpin and looked at a loss, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I don't know..."
"Don't know? You stabbed me in the head!"
"Yes, I'm sorry!" the maid quickly knelt down and said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
"Get up." Ning Chunan said coldly, "I have to prick you too."
He picked up another hairpin on the stage and twirled it in his hand, "But my head is different from yours, so... let's use your eyes instead."
The maid suddenly began to tremble. She trembled and tried to hide back, but her body froze in place as if she could not control it.
"Your Highness." Luo Qingqing had to say, "Why is this necessary?"
"Why, she did something wrong, can't I punish her?" Ning Chunan frowned.
"But the punishment should be appropriate."
"If you hurt the royal family, the punishment will be more severe according to the law." He pointed the hairpin at the maid without mercy. "I'm just acting within the rules. You are a guard, so you shouldn't have the right to interfere with my thoughts, right?"
The latter probably realized that Luo Qingqing was his only chance of being rescued, so he turned around and begged her loudly, "Sir, please spare my life!"
"Your Highness." Luo repeated with an emphasis, "Go and listen to the show."
Ning Chunan's hand stopped, "Listen to the show first, then drink. The day is just right, what do you think?"
“… You can go wherever you want.”
"But you want a drink."
"Guards can't—"
She was interrupted by the fourth prince mid-sentence, "According to the rules, this maid must also accept punishment."
Luo Qingqing was silent for a long time, then slowly nodded and said, "Just one cup."
"Actually, if you stay with me for a long time, you will naturally understand the joy of drinking." Ning Chunan casually pulled the maid up, then wiped her face, "You don't think I really want to prick your eyes, do you? , be careful next time and go down."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your forgiveness! Thank you, Your Highness, for your forgiveness!" The maid bowed repeatedly, walked backwards and quickly walked out of the room.
"So, when I ask you questions in the future, don't use the excuse that you have no right to interfere to frustrate me." Ning Chunan inserted the hairpin into her hair as if nothing had happened. People, deep down, you look down on ordinary people, right? You have special powers, you are all strong and healthy, and you hardly get sick. You can even be said to be a different kind of people."
"You are not an ordinary person, and my subordinates have never thought so -"
"Identity is just something external. I can feel the contempt from the bottom of my heart when I am in front of my second brother." Ning Chunan stared at the person in the mirror and said, "If you weren't like this, why did you refuse the things I gave you? "
"... I think the two are not the same thing."
"Okay, I'm not that careless person. But I hope you can understand that I can distinguish between perfunctory and fooling. When I treat you sincerely, I also hope that you can respond to me sincerely - no matter what the response is." Ning Chunan showed a gentle smile, "After all, apart from my mother, there are few people in this palace that I can talk to."
After that, he turned to the door, "Then let's go?"
Luo Qingqing suddenly felt an emotion welling up in her heart. She couldn't tell what it was, she just felt a little confused and helpless.
Is this the responsibility that magic inner guards should assume
The most important thing is that she doesn't know who is wrong.
The fourth prince is the heir of the Holy Emperor, so he can naturally punish the maids as he likes. This is the power given to him by the palace regulations.
So did she do something wrong by saying something to stop her
This problem is far more difficult than thinking about alchemy.
However, she is the alchemist of the Privy Council, and she should put her responsibilities first at all times. As long as she endures for two more years, she can do what she wants after she is promoted to trial leader - Luo Qingqing suppressed the distracting thoughts and discomfort in her heart and followed the fourth prince out of the courtyard.
…
Watching operas and listening to music are Ning Chunan's favorite entertainment activities. He not only listens to them alone, but also brings together a group of like-minded senior officials' children to join in the fun.
In the evening, there will be a Huazhou cocktail party. Sometimes someone will be asked to recite poems and then let the piano girl play and sing them on the spot.
As far as hobbies are concerned, these people are not out of the ordinary. What they do most is spend huge sums of money to make themselves the center of attention.
But in Luo Qingqing's eyes, all this is just a waste of time and willpower.
She should be fighting evil spirits, not just standing here as a decoration.
That glass of wine was not avoided after all.
Drinking itself was not a problem. She also admired the deeds of bold poets who drank and wrote poems in history books, but she did not want to drink a glass of wine that she had to drink in front of the public and in the commotion.
The drinks provided on Huazhou were all high-quality wines with high prices, but Luo Qingqing didn't taste a trace of it, only feeling that it was bitter and irritating.
The fourth prince also wanted to take the opportunity to hand over a second cup.
In the end, she used her cold eyes to make the other party give up the idea.
After the group of people started to make a fuss, Luo walked out of the room gently and stood guard by the ship's side aisle.
She would rather feel the cold evening breeze than go back into the house.
This was the busiest moment on the canal. There were at least a dozen brightly lit flower boats, and various small boats carrying guests shuttled between the big boats, all of which highlighted the prosperity of Shangyuan City.
Suddenly, Luo Qingqing saw a rather familiar figure in the crowd.
The other party flashed by and quickly disappeared under the light.
Because he was wearing black clothes and a bamboo hat, she didn't see the other person's face, but from the back, he looked a bit like his senior brother.