Chapter 64: Fragrance Wafts

  The glazed tiles of the Daming Palace reflect a resplendent golden and jade-like color, adding a touch of grandeur to this magnificent imperial palace.

  In the rear garden of Penglai Palace, several palace maids were fanning themselves with palace fans in the pavilion, occasionally covering their mouths to stifle giggles.

  This Qin Mu Bai is really good at talking nonsense. This afternoon, both the King of Jin and Princess Jin Yang listened to his stories and didn't cry or make a fuss, but they've never been so quiet before. Who knows how this guy's brain works, he can come up with so many strange and weird stories. Like "The Little Tadpole Looks for His Mother", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"... He even talked about "喜洋洋与灰太狼" (a Chinese cartoon). Haha, can wolves and sheep really talk like that? It's so funny! These stories are enjoyable even for us adults.

  The palace maids around her were also deeply attracted, often fixing their eyes on Qin Mu Bai's face, occasionally revealing a very standard flower-like smile.

  No wonder. The entire harem, except for the emperor, basically had no men. Occasionally, some soldiers would come to guard, but these palace girls simply couldn't interact with them, even if they wanted to in their hearts. The attraction between opposite sexes is a natural law, let alone someone like Qin Mu Bai, a man who was born with a fatal attraction to women. Now, they not only could get close to this man but also openly listen to him tell stories.

  For these palace maids whose emotional and entertaining lives were almost a complete blank, it was simply a sumptuous feast of enjoyment.

  Daring or not is one thing, but no one can bind another's thoughts, and thinking is never a crime. So at that moment, who knows how many spring hearts were secretly surging?

  Qin Mubai was used to seeing such women, and as soon as he saw their infatuated expressions and eyes, he understood more than half of it. He thought to himself, I'm now thoroughly one foot into the flower cluster, even if I want to keep myself clean and not get stained by dust, these lonely women probably can't control their own hearts either.

  I don't want to be an emperor wearing a green hat, but I hope these women are all timid and dare not act rashly, otherwise... it's going to be big trouble. Alas, am I really destined to be a peach blossom offender? Such things happen everywhere!

  Li Zhi and Li Mingda were obviously deeply attracted to Qin Mubai's novel and refreshing stories. In the past, those timid and fearful nannies, apart from taking care of their daily lives, had no one to talk to them about anything else. Those old scholars who were invited to teach, with their mouths full of moral maxims and articles, were either dull or uninteresting.

  Li Zhi and Li Mingda were still children after all, how could they resist the temptation of this fairy tale. So in a blink of an eye, two hours had passed, and it was already noon.

  "Your Highnesses, General Qin, it's time for lunch. After lunch, the Prince and Princess should take a nap before going to their teacher for lessons." The nanny carefully came forward to ask for instructions.

  "No way!" Ten-year-old Li Zhi waved his arm, "I want to hear General Qin tell stories! This is much more interesting than what the teacher says!"

  "I won't! I won't!" Even the usually obedient Li Mingda pouted and shouted, "I'm just like Ninth Brother, I want to hear a story too!"

  "This is not good..." The wet nurse shook her head in distress, looking at Qin Mu Bai with a hint of blame, implying that Qin Mu Bai had disrupted the normal lives of the two princes and made them even more disobedient.

  Qin Mubai chuckled and said with a smile, holding the hands of the two princes on either side: "The two young masters still want to hear stories, right?"

  "Right! General Qin, you'd better say it quickly and tell us more about the story of Pleasant Goat and Grey Wolf!" The two little guys shouted together.

  "This is perfectly fine." Qin Mu Bai smiled and said, "However, if I don't eat or sleep, where will I get the energy to tell stories? Who knows, while telling stories, I might even faint! The two young masters, listening for so long, must be starving too!"

  "Hehe, let's go eat quickly, Ninth Brother! After we eat, we can come back and listen to General Qin tell stories!" Li Mingda clapped his small hands excitedly and laughed.

  "Alright, alright! General Qin, why don't you come and have dinner with us? We can chat while we eat, okay?" Li Zhi looked at Qin Mu Bai with eager eyes, entreating him.

  "Alright." Qin Muru responded briskly, "However, after lunch I'm going to take a nap. You guys should give me some time off and let me rest for a bit. Otherwise, how will I have the energy to tell stories later?"

  "Alright! Let's go eat first!" The two little guys jumped down from the chair, each pulling one of Qin Mu Bai's arms, and ran towards the dining room. Qin Mu Bai chuckled, looking just like a kindergarten auntie.

  Those wet nurses and palace maids nodded in unison: This guy is really something! He's truly a talented person!

  Since Empress Zhangsun's death over a year ago, apart from Emperor Taizong of Tang, Qin is the first person to have dinner with two young princes.

  Two little guys, eating together is really a sorry sight. The biggest and most unified feature is that they will all stick many rice grains and oil on their faces, and the dinner table is also a mess. Today when eating, they were even more distracted, from time to time urging Qin Mu Bai to tell stories while eating. Often with a mouthful of food at the edge of their mouths, they would stop for a long time until Qin Mu Bai intentionally stopped telling the story, indicating that they should eat first before continuing, only then would they put it in their mouths.

  A meal of coaxing and deceiving, finally got the two little guys to eat it up. As a result, the wet nurses were extremely happy, saying that the two little princes had never eaten so much unknowingly like today!

  After dinner, Qin Mubai had to help the nanny, coaxing the two little ones to sleep. By their bedside, she told stories to lull them into slumber.

  It's finally over. Qin Mubai let out a long sigh - dealing with these two kids was more difficult than dealing with an entire battalion of soldiers!

  There was no place for Qin Mubai to take a nap in the Penglai Palace, so he could only wander into the Imperial Garden and doze off in the pavilion. He was sleeping soundly when his subconscious suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis, and he quickly woke up, almost reflexively jumping up and drawing his sword!

  "Ahhh!" A shrill cry rang out, and Qin Mu Bai suddenly saw the person in front of him clearly, and was shocked to see that it was Gao Yang Gong Zhu, who had been frightened into a daze.

  The Princess Gaoyang stared at the knife tip aimed at her brow, her bright and lively eyes turned into beady eyes, her whole body trembling uncontrollably like a sieve.

  Just at this moment, Qin Mubai made a killer move. If he hadn't quickly withdrawn his hand, Princess Gaoyang would have been killed by now - such an overbearing and ruthless killing intent instantly shocked Princess Gaoyang to the core.

  With a "clang", Qin Mubai's sword returned to its scabbard, and Princess Gaoyang shook her head dazedly before coming back to her senses.

  "You bandit, you stinky man, how dare you draw your sword and point it at me, do you want to assassinate me?" Princess Gaoyang shouted furiously, completely losing face.

  With no one else around, Qin Mu Bai didn't bother with those empty formalities and lazily sat back down, leaning against the pillar of the pavilion. "Your Highness," he said, "weren't you just thinking of launching a sneak attack on me and kicking me off from here? This is my natural reaction to dealing with assassins; otherwise, how can I protect the Emperor?"

  "You, you didn't fall asleep, and yet you can see this?" Princess Gao Yang was shocked. "You must be a monster!"

  "Hmph—" Qin Mubai smiled slightly and didn't respond. With his hands clasped in front of his chest, he leaned against the corridor pillar and continued to doze off.

  Seeing Qin Mubai like this, Princess Gaoyang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, and called out: "Hey!"

  Qin Mubai didn't make a sound and didn't move.

  "Hey——" Princess Gaoyang stamped her foot and called out in a discontented long voice.

  Qin Mubai remained silent and still. He thought to himself, "No one comes to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason. This little girl must have come to me with a purpose, and she didn't even bring any maidservants with her. It seems it's something important and private. Since she has come seeking my help, I must put on a show of dignity, otherwise, it would seem that I'm worthless!"

  "Hey! Hey!" Princess Gao Yang was getting impatient, calling out several times as she walked forward to remove the red tassel from Qin Mu Bai's helmet.

  "I've been waiting for you to say something, what's wrong with you?" Qin Mu Bai opened his eyes, and Gao Yang Gong Zhu quickly withdrew her hand, giggling awkwardly.

  "Well, in that case, I'll say it," Princess Gao Yang looked around cautiously and lowered her voice, "I'll ask you two questions, can you answer me?"

  "It depends on what kind of problem it is," Qin Mubai said. "Some can be answered, some cannot."

  "No way, you must answer me." Princess Gao Yang furrowed her eyebrows and huffed.

  Qin Mubai didn't say a word and closed his eyes, using silence as resistance.

  "What a hard and smelly big stone, not soft or hard to eat!" Princess Gaoyang scolded in her heart, and indeed had some trouble dealing with this unusual guy Qin Mubai. She bit her lip and softened her tone, "Okay, fine. But I really hope you can help me out!"

  "I've always been happy to help others, especially beautiful princesses." Qin Mu Bai smiled and opened his eyes again, "Speak!"

  "Hehe!"

  A thousand layers of brocade and silk are pierced through, but the horse's fart is not. Princess Gaoyang was amused by this. She said: "I'd like to ask... does Father Emperor dislike me?"

  "I'm not clear about this," said Qin Mu Bai. "It's hard to guess what you're thinking, and this is the princess's family matter, how could an outsider like me know more than you?"

  "Why then... did he have you punish my four maids?" Princess Gao Yang furrowed her brow and asked, "In the past, Father Emperor never did such a thing."

  "Is this the second question?"

  "......" Princess Gaoyang was speechless for a moment, and nodded heavily with some annoyance: "Alright then!"

  "This... I'm not too clear about it either." Qin Mu Bai replied.

  "Hey, you rascal! You clearly didn't answer me at all!" Princess Gaoyang asked angrily, her pretty face filled with indignation.

  Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled at Princess Gaoyang.

  "What are you looking at me for? Why the strange smile?" The princess's face flushed unconsciously.

  "Your Highness, you're usually so clever and quick-witted. You should know that when I don't answer, it actually means I've answered everything, doesn't it?" Qin Mu Bai said.

  "Huh?" Princess Gao Yang was so clever, her two sparkling eyes rolled around and she nodded to herself, muttering: "Oh... you mean I guessed it all right? So, Father Emperor really did intend to teach me a lesson. He's indeed a bit fed up with me like this? But he didn't have the heart to scold me directly, so he used disciplining those four maidservants of mine to give me a warning, is that right?"

  Qin Mubai didn't say another word, closing his eyes with a look of relishing an afternoon nap. Trouble comes from the mouth, he didn't want to be caught by this clever and cunning Princess Gao Yang.

  Princess Gaoyang saw Qin Mubai's calm and self-satisfied expression, thinking he was gloating over her misfortune. She got annoyed and waved her small fist at him but didn't dare to hit him, then walked away with quick steps.

  Qin Mubai slightly opened his eyes and looked at Gao Yang princess, couldn't help but curve up the corners of his mouth: Little girl, quite clever. No wonder she's so liked by Li Shimin... It's only natural that intelligent people like clever children.