Chapter 123: Free of Charge (III)

Translator: Storm in a Teacup

The two of them began to chat happily.

For the first time, Long found that s.h.i.+ could be so talkative!

If Long wasn’t there, if he wasn’t sure that that man was indeed his empress, Long wouldn’t believe that that was really s.h.i.+ Qingzhou!

Looking at s.h.i.+ who was talking and laughing with others, Long felt very surprised, and also a little… strange.

s.h.i.+ seemed to have forgotten Long and kept talking with Zou. Looking at s.h.i.+’s profile, Long fell silent.

Long couldn’t help thinking of that novel, which said that s.h.i.+ gradually controlled the entire world.

s.h.i.+ was so capable in that novel, so he must also be very powerful in real life, right?

In that novel, Long was very popular in all parts of the world. If he didn’t have the ability to talk with different people wisely, how would he be so successful?

In that novel, s.h.i.+ ascended the throne… If he wasn’t smart and didn’t use some means, how could he become an emperor?

In the past, however, s.h.i.+ only behaved like a gentleman in front of Long…

Was that the real s.h.i.+ Qingzhou?

Or was it that he had been hiding his true nature?

Was he behaving like his true self now? Was this man the real s.h.i.+ Qingzhou?

Unconsciously thinking about those things, Long felt that his head was aching.

Long found that he couldn’t even tell.

The s.h.i.+ Qingzhou in the imperial palace and the one in Tianji Sect… seemed to be two totally different people.

While thinking of this, Long didn’t even notice that s.h.i.+ and Zou had stopping talking in the room.

Naturally, he also didn’t notice that they were going outside.

After taking several steps, s.h.i.+ found that Long didn’t follow up, so he stopped and called, “Yuan.”

Long didn’t hear that. The Shadow Guardian behind Long gently touched his elbow, which made Long come to his sense at once.

Then, Long naturally saw that s.h.i.+ was going out.

So, Long quickly followed up.

Zou seemed to have just noticed Long’s presence. He glanced at Long and asked with a smile. “Qingzhou, this is…”

s.h.i.+ smiled. “A friend.”

Seeing that s.h.i.+ didn’t want to explain more, Zou immediately understood and laughed. “Well, Qingzhou’s friend is also my friend. This way, please.”

Long didn’t speak and just smiled. s.h.i.+ looked at Long with doubt, but Long just blinked and said nothing.

Since Long said nothing, it was not convenient for s.h.i.+ to ask him anything at that moment. So, s.h.i.+ just followed behind Zou and went outside.

s.h.i.+ and Long went out together, followed by the Shadow Guardians.

Zou took them to another room, where there were a lot of books.

Long walked in, but he didn’t know why they went there.

In fact, he didn’t listen to what s.h.i.+ and Zou were talking about earlier, so he naturally didn’t know what they were doing there…

Zou walked in and went straight to a bookshelf, and then he took a stack of bamboo slips from it.

In that room, bamboo slips and books were half and half.

Then, Long saw s.h.i.+ take out a painting from his pocket.

Long recognized at a glance that in the painting, it was the jade pendant Fang Shuoyang brought from the Tianyin post.

When did s.h.i.+ paint this jade pendant? Long was very curious.

After thinking for a moment, Long came to the conclusion that s.h.i.+ must’ve painted it when he went to attend the morning meeting.

It was indeed painted by s.h.i.+ when Long went to attend the meeting this morning.

With the bamboo slips in his hands, Zou took s.h.i.+’s painting… After a moment, he went to the bookshelf on the other side.

Zou was apparently looking for something. After about a quarter of an hour, Zou said, “Please wait for me here for a while.”

“Okay, take your time, Qingyuan.” s.h.i.+ smiled.

Zou laughed heartily and then left.

After Zou left, s.h.i.+ immediately turned his eyes to Long.

Long blinked. “Hmm? Qingzhou?”

s.h.i.+ puckered his lips. “What are you thinking, Yuan?”

It seemed to be the second time or the third time that Long heard his empress call him like that.

Long didn’t expect that s.h.i.+ would call him that pet name in such a place.

Long felt… it was a little bit unpleasant.

But Long wasn’t angry. After hearing s.h.i.+’s question, Long said, “I didn’t think about anything. What’s wrong?”

“I found you are absent-minded,” s.h.i.+ said.

“Uh…” Long blinked. “No…”

s.h.i.+ puckered his lips and said, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Long let out a long breath. “Okay, let’s talk later.”

While s.h.i.+ and Long were waiting, Long stood up and went to the bookshelf.

s.h.i.+ blinked, but he didn’t tell Long not to walk around.

Long didn’t want to see other people’s secrets, either. He went to the bookshelf, but didn’t reach out to take the books or the bamboo slips.

Long seemed to be just interested in the bookshelf.

After Long observed the bookshelf for a long time, Zou finally came in.

“Qingzhou, I got something.”

s.h.i.+’s eyes brightened slightly. “Oh? Qingyuan, that’s so fast. Who is the owner of this jade pendant?”

Zou didn’t behave like earlier when he was quite casual. Instead, he carefully closed the door and glanced at Long significantly.

s.h.i.+ understood what Zou meant and immediately said, “Qingyuan, just say it. It doesn’t matter.”

Zou nodded. “That being the case, I will just tell you. This jade pendant belongs to the royal family of Eastern Darkness.”

The royal family of Eastern Darkness? Long and s.h.i.+’s eyes widened sharply.

Zou nodded seriously. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure. This is from the royal family of that country.”

s.h.i.+ and Long looked at each other.

Then, s.h.i.+ smiled. “Qingyuan, thank you for your information. We have to go. As for the payment, let’s do it according to the old rules, shall we?”

Zou shook his head. “I won’t take your money this time.”

“Hmm?” s.h.i.+ raised his eyebrows, as he was puzzled. “Why not?”