Shen Qingzhuo called out to the young palace maid passing by: “Come in—yes, you.”
The young maid didn’t understand what was going on. Her face was filled with confusion and a hint of shyness. She walked into the hall with small steps and bowed. “What does Young Master need?”
Shen Qingzhuo looked her up and down and asked, “Are there any taller maids in our palace?”
“Ah?” The young maid was stunned for a moment. “How tall?”
Shen Qingzhuo pointed to his little disciple beside him and said, “It will be fine if they are about the same height as the Seventh Prince, or a little shorter than him.”
The young palace girl thought about it carefully and replied uncertainly, “There should be…”
“Very good.” Shen Qingzhuo nodded slightly and ordered, “Go get a set of the palace maid’s dress immediately.”
The confusion on the young palace maid’s face became more and more profound, but she still responded respectfully.
“What does Master want the palace dress for? Who do you want to wear it for?” Xiao Shen asked curiously. Before his master could answer, he had already imagined what his master would look like wearing women’s clothes.
A pink palace dress that looks like gauze will definitely make his master’s skin more white and beautiful. If he were to untie the jade belt around his waist and get into the open skirt…
“What do you think?” Shen Qingzhuo raised his lips with ill intentions and asked, “Who do you think it’s for?”
The nosebleed that was about to flow out stopped instantly, and a bad thought vaguely emerged in Xiao Shen’s mind: “It can’t be… It’s…”
“That’s right!” Shen Qingzhuo snapped his fingers and looked at his little disciple with smiling eyes. “Of course, for you to wear.”
For the first time, Xiao Shen took a half-step back on his own initiative. His pretty face wrinkled into a bun, full of resistance. “No! I don’t want to wear women’s clothes!”
The last time he went to kill that bastard, Pan Chong, he had to wear the palace clothes and has fully experienced how inconvenient it is. What’s more, he is a tough guy and will never wear women’s clothes again!
Shen Qingzhuo slowly said, “Then you can choose it yourself. If you want to go out of the palace with me, you have to wear it. If you want to stay in the palace, you don’t have to.”
Xiao Shen shouted angrily, “Master!”
“Alright, just wear it this time.” Shen Qingzhuo’s eyes were full of expectation and encouragement. “Master really wants to see you in palace dress, it must be very beautiful.”
For a boy of fifteen or sixteen, the male features have not yet fully developed. Except for his somewhat unusual height, he should look very beautiful in women’s clothing, which would also satisfy a small wish deep in his heart.
When his little disciple was still a dumpling, he occasionally had such thoughts, but in the end he did not dare to act because he was afraid of hurting the dumpling’s sensitive heart.
Isn’t this a godsend opportunity right now?
Xiao Shen asked in doubt: “Rea-really?”
“Realer than real gold!” Shen Qingzhuo nodded without hesitation. “Don’t worry, the secret guard will definitely disguise you properly and make sure no one can recognize your original appearance, right, secret guard?”
The secret guard: “Yes, Master.”
It’s not him who disguised himself as a woman anyway.
Just like that, under the coaxing of his master, Xiao Shen reluctantly changed into women’s clothes and then sat in front of the dressing mirror, allowing the secret guard to change his appearance.
The incident happened suddenly, and the secret guard did not have the special materials needed for disguise. He could only use rouge and powder commonly used by palace ladies to change his makeup, which was far from achieving the effect of a complete makeover.
But when the final looks came out, Shen Qingzhuo still took a breath.
“Is it ugly?” Xiao Shen looked at his reflection in the bronze mirror, then turned to look at his master. “I’ve already said—”
“Don’t say anything!” Shen Qingzhuo interrupted his little disciple and praised him without hesitation, “Too beautiful… Xiao Qi, Master was right. You are really suitable for dressing up as a woman.”
Xiao Shen frowned. “Why do I feel so strange…”
The one who is suitable for women’s clothing is obviously his master!
“Nonsense!” Shen Qingzhuo tried to seek support from his allies. “It’s really beautiful, what do you think, secret guard?”
The secret guard said expressionlessly, “His Highness is naturally beautiful.”
Xiao Shen: “……”
Shen Qingzhuo didn’t give him a chance to regret. He took his little disciple’s hand and walked towards the door. “The agreed time is almost here. Let’s go and meet Kong Qianhu.”
The moment his hand was held, his whole body felt numb as if an electricity was connected. Xiao Shen immediately put aside his hesitation and unhappiness and followed his master out in a daze.
Until this moment, looking at Kong Qianhu’s shocked and horrified expression, Shen Qingzhuo finally couldn’t hold back his laughter and laughing until he couldn’t straighten his back.
Xiao Shen was reluctant to lose his temper with his master, so he turned to Kong Qianhu with a sullen face and said, “What are you standing there for? Still not leaving?”
Kong Shang’s tongue was tied. “I, I, I, I… I’ll leave right away!”
“Alright, alright…” Shen Qingzhuo wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Stop making trouble, let’s go.”
***
The carriage left the imperial city unimpeded and headed straight for Zuixiang Fang.
Arriving at the familiar alley, Kong Qianhu was the first to jump off the carriage and say, “My Lord, it’s time to get off.”
Shen Qingzhuo opened the curtain, and with the help of Kong Qianhu, he lifted his robe and got off the carriage smoothly.
“Xiao Qi, come down.” After landing, he turned around and called.
Xiao Shen leaned out of the carriage and was about to jump out, but was stopped in time by his master.
“Women’s palace dress is not as good as the formal dress. You’d better be careful.” Shen Qingzhuo took a step closer, stretched out his slender jade-like hand, and motioned his little disciple to help him down.
Xiao Shen didn’t take it seriously but still held his master’s palm obediently. Unexpectedly, he almost fell when he landed on the ground.
“Be careful!” Shen Qingzhuo quickly grabbed the person into his arms.
When their eyes met, the surrounding noise faded away in an instant, and the tender and swollen emotions in the youth’s heart quietly surged, and he wished that this moment could last forever.
Kong Shang said with a stiff face, “Young Master, it’s time for us to leave…”
Shen Qingzhuo suddenly came back to his senses and let go of his disciple’s waist. “Let’s go.”
After thinking for a while, he pulled out a white gauze from his sleeve and covered his disciple’s lower half of his face. He clapped his hands in satisfaction and said, “This way, everything will be safe.”
A group of three people walked to the gate of Zuixiang Fang.
When the guards at the gate saw the elegant Young Master Shen, they immediately remembered and let him pass without saying a word.
“Thank you, two brothers.” Shen Qingzhuo bowed and stepped into the door.
Thanks to Young Master Shen, Kong Shang was able to enter smoothly, but Xiao Shen, who was dressed as a woman, was stopped outside the door.
“Young lady, please stay.” The guard on the left said, “Zuixiang Fang does not accept female guests. Nanfeng Pavilion is on another street. If the young lady doesn’t know the way, you can ask someone to take you there.”
Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but feel amused. The service at Zuixiang Fang was quite thoughtful. They even directed the female guest to Nanfeng Pavilion.
“Little brother, you may not know that this young lady has heard of Zuixiang Fang’s reputation for a long time, and she came here today to broaden her horizons.” Shen Qingzhuo glanced at Kong Qianhu, “Please, brothers, do us a favor.”
After receiving the hint, Kong Qianhu immediately took out a silver coin from his pocket and stuffed it into the guard’s hand. “My Young Master has spoken. Please give us some convenience.”
The guard hesitated: “This…”
“My Young Master is very familiar with your proprietress, so there won’t be any problem.” Kong Shang struck while the iron was hot and continued his lobbying.
The two guards looked at each other and let them go in silence.
As expected, Shen Qingzhuo caused another commotion as soon as he entered Zuixiang Fang. However, the girls discovered that this time, Young Master Shen was accompanied by a tall and beautiful woman.
The girls in Zuixiang Fang had all seen mostly everything, and although it was rare to take a woman to a brothel, it was not unheard of. A girl in green bravely took the lead, swinging a willow branch as she walked towards Young Master Shen.
Shen Qingzhuo frowned slightly and simply grabbed his little disciple and pulled him into his arms.
Xiao Shen, who was walking with his head down, was not paying attention for a moment and stumbled into his master’s arms.
A rich and cold fragrance filled his nose, and his heart suddenly jumped to his throat. He called out in a low voice, “Master…”
“Hush… call me Young Master.” Shen Qingzhuo hugged his disciple’s shoulders and whispered, “It’s just right, the young lady can be this young master’s shield.”
The young lady blushed but did not struggle. He even bent his knees obediently and lowered his body to make it more comfortable for Young Master Shen to hold him.
Kong Qianhu, who was standing behind the two of them, looked at the Seventh Prince’s “big bird-like” appearance, and his pupils trembled violently twice.
He didn’t understand. He really couldn’t understand this master and disciple pair at all.
With the young lady as a shield, the passionate girls in Zuixiang Fang had no place to use their skills and could only watch Young Master Shen go away with their eyes rolled.
Soon, Shen Qingzhuo went up to the second floor and went straight to Miss Xiang Lin’s room based on his memory.
Kong Shang knocked on the door and shouted, “Miss Xiang Lin, Miss Xiang Lun, are you there?”
There was no response from the door, so he knocked a few more times, “Miss Xiang Lin, open the door quickly!”
“Coming, coming, are you calling for my soul?” The door was opened from the inside, and Xiang Lian rolled her eyes almost to the sky. “If I were receiving customers right now, they would be scared by you to death—”
The voice stopped abruptly, Xiang Lin’s eyes lit up, and her tone rose: “Master Kong?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Xiang Lian, we were inconsiderate.” Shen Qingzhuo smiled apologetically, “I hope we didn’t disturb you.”
Xiang Lian turned her gaze towards him, her eyes widened in surprise. “Young Master Shen? You have such a beautiful girl in your arms, and why are you looking for the servant?”
Shen Qingzhuo then realized that he was still hugging his little disciple and immediately let go of his hand, saying with a smile, “Miss Xiang Lin, please look carefully, this is not the girl from your Zuixiang Fang.”
Xiang Lian looked at the woman carefully and replied, “It is definitely not.”
“Let’s go in first.” Shen Qingzhuo raised his chin slightly and said, “I’m going to bother Miss Xiang Lian again.”
For safety reasons, Young Master Shen did not go directly to Ying Luo’s room to question her but asked Xiang Lian to act as an intermediary and deliver a secret letter for him.
Xiang Lian was naturally willing to be a messenger with the silver in hand. Young Master Shen also ordered Kong Shang to pretend to be a guard of Zuixiang Fang and go to Jiang Xuexuan with her to prevent any accidents on the way.
“Whoosh… I’m dying of suffocation.” With no one else in the room, Xiao Shen was finally able to speak. He couldn’t help but complain, “Women are really not something that ordinary people can do.”
As soon as the young lady opened his mouth, his beautiful and serene temperament was completely destroyed. Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t bear to look at him and said, “Aiya, just be patient for a moment and don’t say anything.”
Xiao Shen frowned. “How long should I endure this?”
Shen Qingzhuo opened his folding fan and said, “If you can pinch your throat and imitate a young lady’s speech, Master will allow you to speak.”
Xiao Shen: “……”
He raised his hand angrily to pour tea, but the hand touching the teapot was hit by the fan.
Shen Qingzhuo scolded: “You didn’t learn your lesson from the last incident, and you still dare to drink things?”
Xiao Shen rolled his eyes and deliberately asked, “Master, what happened last time? Why don’t I remember it?”
Shen Qingzhuo blurted out: “You were drugged and unconscious, you dare—”
“Dare what?” Xiao Shen asked anxiously, “What did I do after taking the drug?”
Shen Qingzhuo swallowed the rest of his words, shielded his face with his folding fan, and spoke in a rare casual tone: “Nothing, you just fell asleep after being drugged…”
How could he recount that chaotic scene to his little disciple?
However, Xiao Shen took in all the changes in his master, including the earlobe that instantly turned red, which was half-covered and made him even more itchy…
About an incense stick’s time later, Xiang Lin and Kong Qianhu returned with two secret letters.
Shen Qingzhuo took the reply, read it carefully, and then burned the two letters to ashes.
Xiang Lian leaned on the couch and looked at Young Master Shen lovingly: “Now that the work is finished, will Young Master stay tonight?”
Shen Qingzhuo glanced at his little disciple and replied with a smile: “Let’s not. If I stay overnight, where should the young lady stay?”
Hearing this, Xiao Shen opened his eyelids and looked at his master with an ambiguous look.
Xiang Lian held the handkerchief tightly, her eyes flickering as she couldn’t help but gossip, “Young Master, what is your relationship with this young lady?”
Shen Qingzhuo was in a playful mood and asked with a smile, “What does Miss Xiang Lian think?”
Xiang Lian frowned and answered irrelevantly: “The servant can’t guess, but if Young Master has an unusual relationship with someone else, wouldn’t the Seventh Young Master be jealous?”
Xiao Shen’s back stiffened, and he subconsciously lowered his long, thick eyelashes to cover the expression in his eyes.
“Jealous?” Shen Qingzhuo raised his eyebrows slightly, with a puzzled tone, “Jealous of what?”
Xiang Lian shrugged and said clearly, “It’s what Young Master understands ah.”
“Ah, then Miss Xiang Lian may have misunderstood something.” Shen Qingzhuo shook his jade fan and said nonchalantly, “This young master and Young Master Xiao Qi have a proper master-disciple relationship. If I accept other disciples, Young Master Xiao Qi may be jealous, but not the kind of jealousy that the young lady thinks.”
Xiang Lian shook her head in disapproval. She grew up in Zuixiang Fang and had seen countless people. She had a keen eye, and she believed that she would not make a mistake.
The innocent and cute-looking Young Master Xiao Qi had an extremely strong possessiveness towards Young Master Shen. If anyone looked at the young master for a second longer, he would want to pounce on that person and bite them to death.
He is not a simple and harmless dog, but a wolf that eats people without leaving any bones. However, this wolf has not grown up yet.
Thinking of this, she sat up and kindly reminded: “Young Master Shen, don’t think of your little disciple as—”
“Miss Xiang Lian.” At this time, the young lady, who had been silent, suddenly turned her head, and her gloomy and cold eyes went straight into Xiang Lian’s eyes.
In an instant, Xiang Lian felt as if a cold, poisonous snake was crawling across his back. She shuddered and became silent immediately.
“Hahahahaha…” When the atmosphere was tense, Shen Qingzhuo was amused by the sound made by his little disciple pinching his throat. He laughed so hard that he fell on the table. “The young lady… is too cute, haha…”
Too cute! How could there be such a well-behaved little disciple? He wears women’s clothes and speaks like a woman when told to. He is so well behaved that his heart softens.
Xiao Shen withdrew his gaze and looked at his master helplessly.
Although Kong Shang, who was waiting on the side, didn’t understand what his lord was laughing at, but he still laughed along to show his support.
Xiang Lian struggled to break away from that terrifying look and forced herself to raise the corners of her lips.
The author has something to say:
Kong Shang: Where exactly is cute?
Xiang Lian: The kind that can take someone’s life…
The Wolf Cub: What did you say? Louder?