Chapter Fifty-Three: The Flower in Her Heart Blooms

  Princess Taiping saw shock, admiration and a fleeting daze in Yang Fan's eyes, she smiled, waiting for the expected surprise and gratitude, but his gaze changed to clarity in an instant, like the clear water of the Luo River under the riverbank.

  "Everyone has their own aspirations, how can you force it? I'm a free-spirited person who's used to being carefree and unrestrained. It's really hard for me to bear the constraints of rules and regulations. Thank you for your kind intentions, sir."

  Yang Fan didn't reveal her identity, she just lifted the waist card and returned it respectfully. The three women were all somewhat surprised, and the old woman suddenly realized, laughing: "You young man, I think you can't read characters, haha, do you know that the person in front of you is..."

  Yang Fan didn't let her continue, but instead bowed deeply and interrupted her words: "Please return the horse ball to the noble one, I dare not disturb the noble's pleasure."

  The old woman slightly choked, and her expression was somewhat annoyed. Taiping Princess unexpectedly couldn't help but glance at him with some interest, just now her gaze was on Yang Fan's body, in fact, she didn't take Yang Fan seriously, the men who could make her take a second look were indeed few.

  At this time, careful observation revealed some differences. Yang Fan's appearance was very handsome, too delicate to the point of being somewhat like a big girl. But Taiping Princess discerned in one glance some flavors that ordinary people could not detect. The angle between his nose and tightly closed lips, his slightly thin but solemn and spirited facial bones...

  Princess Taiping couldn't help but think of a man, the only man she had ever loved.

  I remember the first time I met him, he was wearing a short jacket with arrow sleeves, walking down from the kickball court, chatting and laughing, with a sunny face. At that time, he was about this age, with this appearance.

  That man just starved to death in the Ministry of Justice's prison last year.

  Princess Taiping felt a pang in her heart, she gazed deeply at Yang Fan, raised her hand and threw the red ball back.

  The red ball flew through the air in a perfect arc, landing accurately in Yang Fan's hands. Yang Fan took three steps back, bowed with his fist clenched, and turned to leave.

  "Wait!"

  Princess Taiping suddenly spoke again and stopped him. Yang Fan halted his steps, turned around, and asked respectfully: "I don't know if Your Highness has any further instructions?"

  Princess Taiping gently picked up a lacquered golden wooden cup filled with grape wine and slowly placed it into the Luoshui River beside her. The cup floated along the winding river water, drifting all the way to Yang Fan's side. This was a kind of drinking game popular at that time, where people would sit by the river, enjoy the scenery, dig a hole in the ground as a pool, lead the river into it, and then put the wine cup into the water, letting it float to someone's face, who would then drink a cup.

  Princess Taiping smiled and said: "Let's have a drink."

  Yang Fan bowed his hands to her, picked up the wooden cup, drank a full cup of wine, and made a fist: "Thanks for the wine!"

  His smile was refreshing and radiant, as bright and clear as the sunlight shining on the Luo River.

  The old woman looked at the departing Yang Fan, then looked at Princess Taiping who was still gazing at his back, covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled softly: "Did Lord Moon match you with that young gentleman?"

  This action was originally extremely elegant and charming, if a young and beautiful woman did it, she would definitely be captivating, but this old woman is really too old, and still wants to act like a little girl, it's inevitable that there's a bit of an awkward feeling.

  Princess Taiping didn't look at her, her gaze was fixed on the distant young man, and she said lightly: "Every year in the polo match, although many teams from my Tang Dynasty participate, the result is always won by the Western barbarians. This year's Lantern Festival will still have a ball game, if this young man is well-trained, he might be able to help my Tang Dynasty win first place."

  The old woman wouldn't believe it, thinking she was being deceitful, and slightly lowered her eyes, secretly plotting in her heart.

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  Yang Fan returned to the court when a good show had already begun.

  The maids and servant girls formed a circle, craning their necks to watch the commotion. The noblewomen who accompanied Mrs. Yao on her outing wore expressions that seemed to be smiling but not quite, with an air of schadenfreude that was unmistakable no matter how one looked at it.

  Yang Fan hastily parted the crowd and walked forward. Those servants and underlings, seeing that the stadium star had returned, were very polite and let him through. As Yang Fan entered the crowd, he saw Tian Ai Nu and Mrs. Yao standing facing each other. Mrs. Yao was like a fighting rooster, her hair disheveled and her crown askew with rage, while Tian Ai Nu was smiling cleverly, her face calm and serene.

  Liu Junwen was like a hen squeezed between the two women, his face swollen purple, muttering but not saying anything, actually he didn't say a word.

  "Madam Yao furiously scolded: 'You this shameless little wench, how dare you deceive me like this? Do you know that his food and clothing, all sorts of expenses, are all provided by me?!'"

  "Xiahou Xuan said: 'Liu Lang's character is outstanding, his talent and learning are exceptional. As long as he dedicates himself to reading books, he will definitely achieve great things in the future. From now on, with my help, there is no need for him to look at your face again.'"

  "Madam Yao sneered: 'I'll use the leftover cold soup to scald you, if you like it, just take it away. This kind of trash, I've long been disgusted with this useless waste, but you regard it as a treasure, huh? Barbarian slaves are indeed all unrefined.'"

  "Xiahou Ying" said calmly: "You don't need to provoke me with words, this young lady won't bother to see you in the same light, in my eyes, you are no different from that trial marriage slave girl, why bother to be angry with you."

  Madam Yao's face turned red with anger, it turned out that at that time the big families in the Western Regions would not immediately marry after choosing a man, they usually sent three or two female slaves from their family to sleep with him first, and only after proving that he had no hidden diseases would they give their daughter to him.

  Mrs. Yao said that Liu Junwan was her leftover cold dish, and Xia Houying retorted that she was a female slave who tried marriage for herself. This made Mrs. Yao, who had always been proud of herself, very annoyed. Seeing Xia Houying go to pull Liu Junwan away, Mrs. Yao immediately shouted at Liu Junwan: "Liu Junwan, you beggar, dog killer, if you follow her today, don't come to my door again."

  Liu Junfan was wavering in his heart. If "Xia Houying" had clearly expressed her willingness to marry him, he would have followed her without hesitation. However, at the moment, he still felt uncertain. If he were to completely break with Madam Yao on this side and Xia Houying refused to marry him, wouldn't that be a loss on both ends?

  He secretly worried, "Xia Houying" proudly said: "With me, Liu Lang will be as rich and noble as a king in the future, why should he rely on others?"

  Madam Yao flew into a rage: "You little slut! You're really going to be the death of me, Wang Er, Fan Qi, slap her in the mouth for me!"

  Wang Rufeng and Fan Bin, two powerful slaves, immediately rolled up their sleeves and were about to rush forward. Chu Kuangge and his men rushed up together, frowning and saying: "Who has eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, daring to be rude to our young mistress?"

  Wang Rufeng, Fan Bin and others already knew the ferocity of Chu Kuang's song, and seeing that the unpredictable Ball God had also returned in time, they immediately felt a sense of fear. Although Mrs. Yao brought many slaves, there were actually not many strong and capable ones among them. On the other hand, Xia Houying's side was composed of sturdy and robust individuals, except for that maid with a wooden nature, Ke'er. Comparing the two sides, it was clear who was superior, so what was the point of continuing to fight?

  Seeing her subordinates hesitate and not dare to come forward, Mrs. Yao was so angry that she wanted to go crazy, scolding loudly: "First raise a white-eyed wolf like Liu Junwan, and then raise a group of useless pigs and dogs! I, the lady, raising you bunch of trash, is really no better than raising a beast! Xiao Bei, bite her for me!"

  Mrs. Yao pointed at Xiahou Xuan, and the lynx that had been leaning against her leg immediately stood up its hair, bared its sharp teeth, and let out a thunderous roar from its throat, as if it was about to pounce on Xiahou Xuan.

  "Xiahou Xing" let out a sharp whistle, and from the nearby tent came a terrifying roar. A pale yellow shadow darted out of the tent, shooting towards Xiahou Xing like an arrow. It stood on its hind legs, raised its head high, opened its mouth to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth, and let out a massive roar.

  Its roar stirred up a huge gust of air, bellowing so that the lynx's fur all stood on end and quivered, while Madame Yao and several maidservants standing behind it were blown backward with their hair streaming behind them and their clothes fluttering.

  In a panic, several maids and slaves scattered in all directions. Mrs. Yao stumbled two steps forward, one foot stepping on her own skirt hem, and fell flat on her back with her limbs splayed out in all directions.

  That civet cat named Xiaobei let out a frightened whimper, turned its head and ran away in a cloud of smoke, dashing blindly towards the tent of Princess Taiping.

  It was then that everyone saw clearly that in front of Xia Hou Xiang stood a hunting leopard.

  The scene of a nobleman riding an eagle and leading a dog out of the city to hunt, is often seen by the people of Dongdu, but those who can afford to raise hunting leopards are truly wealthy and noble families, and there are not many among them. Occasionally seeing one from afar, they never got so close. Now such a big mountain cat is right in front of their eyes, everyone is shocked and changed color, so that no one goes to help Mrs. Yao.

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