Insufficient balance

  "Where is this place! My mouth is so dry!" Li Yunfei woke up in a daze, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He couldn't even be sure if he was in his own Qin Wang Fu or Cheng Yaojin's Lu Guo Gong Fu. As for what had happened after he drank wine yesterday, he didn't remember anything. Having no choice, he got up to ask the servants. "Xiao Lian! Xiao Lian! Xiao..." Although that's what he thought, Li Yunfei still habitually called out Xiao Lian's name. But before he could react, a young girl wearing red clothes came into the room. Li Yunfei was certain that this girl was not Xiao Lian!

  "Your Majesty, the King of Qin has awakened! I'll come to help you wash and dress!" The girl in red clothes said to Li Yunfei, her voice was very pleasant, just like a skylark's clear and crisp sound. However, Li Yunfei was only used to Xiaolian's service, and he really couldn't quite accept others' service.

  "No! I'll do it myself! Besides Xiaolian, I'm not used to anyone else!" Li Yunfei said bluntly, looking at the red-clothed girl, then took the water from her hand and started washing up. However, he didn't notice that when he lowered his head, the girl pouted with her small mouth, looking very cute, especially with a hint of "I'm very angry" in her sparkling big eyes.

  "Hmph! This guy is really too much, actually comparing me to a maid and saying I'm not even as good-looking as her! Just wait and see how I'll deal with you later! But that Xiaolian of his must be quite the beauty!" The red-clothed girl glared at Li Yan's back, thinking to herself that if it weren't for the fact that Li Yan had written that poem, this little chili pepper wouldn't have let things slide so easily. "That Xiaolian you mentioned must be really beautiful! You were calling out her name nonstop when you were drunk!"

  "This... this! Is it?" Li Yunfei's handsome face turned red, not expecting himself to be so out of control after getting drunk. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the red-clothed girl with a bit of embarrassment, saying: "Yes! She is very beautiful! Although she is just a maid, but she is the person who treats me best besides my father. Every day I spend with her from dawn till dusk, making her a part of my life. I really don't know how terrible my life would be if I lost her!"

  "Look at you, she must like you too!" The red-clothed girl said with a bit of envy. In fact, she was also the only daughter of Cheng Yaowen, and also the little chili pepper in the eyes of Cheng Jin and others. If they saw their own sister speaking so tenderly to a man, they would definitely pinch themselves hard to see if they were dreaming!

  "Hmm! That's a given, I'm a king among men, wherever I go, I'll make thousands of girls swoon, heh heh!" Li Yunfei felt very comfortable talking to Little Chili Pepper, it was quite unrestrained, as if he had returned to the 21st century. Looking at the girl in front of him, she seemed like a friend.

  "Haha! Haha! Haha! I didn't expect the great King of Qin to be so self-absorbed! But you're not exaggerating either!" Little Chili Pepper looked at Li Yunfei's comical expression and couldn't help but laugh. This prince isn't bad, he doesn't have any airs about him!

  "I said it! I will marry Xiaolian! Even if I can't make her my queen, I'll make her my legitimate wife!" Li Yunfei wiped the water from his face with silk and said firmly to Xiao La Jiao. This was also a vow he made to himself. If he couldn't marry Xiaolian, he would rather remain unmarried for life. Although it might be difficult for Xiaolian to marry him as a servant girl, but since Father Emperor loved him so much, this small request should be granted, right?

  "I really envy your love! Xiaolian is truly happy!" Originally, Xiao La Jiao was thinking of how to tease Li Yunfei, but after hearing Li Yunfei's feelings for Xiaolian, she was also moved. Now, she may not be as strict in her guidance towards girls, but a high and mighty prince like him being so deeply emotional towards a maid is something that Xiao La Jiao admires about Li Yunfei.

  "Hehe! I think she must be happy!" Li Yunfei said confidently. Seeing Li Yunfei's solemn expression, Xiao La Jiao couldn't help but feel a little dazed, but quickly covered it up, with only a hint of redness on her face. Li Yunfei didn't notice, "By the way! After talking for so long, I still don't know your name! A maid as bold as you is quite rare!"

  "That... that's it! You can just call me Xiao Jiao! Since His Majesty King Qin doesn't need me to attend to him, I'll take my leave first!" Little Chili Pepper looked at Li Yunfei who was smiling at her with a sly grin. She didn't know what was wrong with herself, but seeing Li Yunfei look at her like that made her feel shy, so she wanted to quickly leave the place, or else she wouldn't know what kind of state she would end up in.

  "Ah! ……… Don't go!" Li Yunfei saw Xiao La Jiao walking so quickly, and he touched his own nose in frustration. Was he really that scary? He had originally wanted to ask her where Cheng Yaojin was, but now Li Yunfei vowed that from now on, whenever he saw Cheng Zhijie, he would definitely take a detour.

  Li Yunfei sneaked around in the Lu Guogong Mansion, he wanted to slip out of here as soon as possible. Today, the Crown Prince and a group of high-ranking officials were coming to congratulate him on his new home. He had to hurry back, otherwise Xiaolian would not be able to cope, especially with him being absent.

  "Huh? Can't these people see me? Not one of them is stopping me?" Li Yunfei looked at the gatekeepers with some annoyance, why did he have to sneak around like this? Actually, how would he know that this was ordered by Cheng Yaojin, who allowed him to come and go freely in the Lu Guogong Mansion. Cheng Yaojin was delighted! Finally someone had written a poem for him, previously he was just an uncouth man, of course now he still was, although he had great military achievements and was a national duke, but he knew that those literati looked down on him from the bottom of their hearts, which is why he changed his name to Cheng Zhijie.

  Later, Cheng Yaojin discovered that he was simply wasting his time, because those literati were not likely to be truly friends with him. Although the Tang Dynasty valued both literature and martial arts, in peaceful times, literary figures were still more favored. So Cheng Yaojin wanted to make friends with them, having studied at a private school for several years himself. However, he later found them too hypocritical and gave up. Li Yunfei's performance made him very satisfied, as nowadays it was rare to find such talented juniors. He also wanted to befriend him well, not only because he didn't have the airs of royalty, but most importantly, he was so talented. What pleased him most was that Li Yunfei had even written a poem for him, although it mentioned Li Jing, which made him somewhat displeased. Nevertheless, overall, he was still very satisfied.

  Today, Cheng Yaojin got up early and had someone bring out the poem written by Li Jing about Li Yunfei. He wanted to show those self-righteous literati that he, old Cheng, also had people writing poems for him, especially ones that were even better than theirs and would be remembered for centuries. Cheng Yaojin felt like he was walking on air, carrying the poem with him wherever he went, eager to show it off, especially since it was a masterpiece by the great poet Li Bai. Soon, the poem spread far and wide among those who saw it, but when asked who wrote it, Cheng Yaojin remained tight-lipped, leaving everyone frustrated. However, people's attitude towards him became even more respectful, making Cheng Yaojin feel even more smug.