Chapter 262: One Drop Knockout
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation.
Xie Yu Zhou panicked.
Lu Chao Chao’s cheeks were flushed red, her eyes dazed, and her lips stretched into a foolish grin. The sight of her like this nearly scared his soul out of his body.
She had just beaten him up not long ago!
“How can you be knocked out with just one drop? You’re so powerful! How can you collapse from just one drop?! This doesn’t suit your status at all!” Xie Yu Zhou felt his scalp go numb.
He was truly terrified of being beaten again—this time in a mixed style.
“Don’t shake me… Chao Chao feels like throwing up…” Lu Chao Chao’s little face scrunched up like a bitter melon.
“Shhh, keep your voice down! If Father Emperor finds out, he’ll beat me to death…” The Sixth Prince was equally afraid. He had only tasted a single drop, finding it spicy yet delicious, but the effect on Lu Chao Chao was overwhelming.
“So noisy, so noisy! Are they fighting? So noisy!” Lu Chao Chao covered her ears with both hands.
“I want to go out and stop them!” she declared, about to march out.
Xie Yu Zhou hurriedly blocked her—no, no, no! If she went out, he would surely die.
“What do we do? What do we do?!” Xie Yu Zhou spun around in panic.
“Will drinking more water help? Here, have some water, or some milk to sober up?” He was still just a half-grown child and had no idea what a proper sobering remedy was.
He simply assumed drinking lots of milk or water could ease intoxication.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. She downed a few mouthfuls, yet still giggled foolishly, mumbling about how she was going to bash in the Emperor and Chief Minister Yuan’s heads.
“Those heartless dogs! Making me study every day… I’m gonna smash their heads!”
Xie Yu Zhou covered his forehead. “Ancestor, please have some mercy on my head first.”
“Look, look! This is a head! It’s not a melon…”
“Hehe, melon, melon…”
“Big melon!” Lu Chao Chao grinned idiotically.
“It’s over, it’s over… We absolutely cannot let her go outside.” The Sixth Prince clutched Lu Chao Chao tightly, afraid she might slip away.
Suddenly, Lu Chao Chao fell silent.
She tilted her head as if concentrating intently on something.
“Someone’s calling me…” she suddenly said seriously.
“You’re hearing things. It’s so noisy outside—who would be calling you?” Xie Yu Zhou lay under the table, straining to listen, but no one was calling her.
“I didn’t hear anything either. Who’s calling you?” The Sixth Prince shook his head.
Lu Chao Chao puffed out her cheeks, her red face making her look unbearably cute.
Xie Yu Zhou’s hands itched, and he secretly pinched her cheek.
Wow, soft and squishy—so cute.
“Someone is definitely calling me, telling me to come… Listen, listen! They’re calling me!”
“No, I have to go out. I need to see who it is!” Lu Chao Chao began crawling forward.
“Hey, hey, hey! Ancestor, I beg you! Let me take you out the other way, okay?” Xie Yu Zhou wouldn’t dare let her crawl out like this.
He lifted a corner of the tablecloth. The maids dared not stand too close to the Emperor, keeping a few meters away.
“Keep your head down, don’t say a word.” He held Lu Chao Chao’s hand and led her out from under the table.
“Those three little troublemakers—fighting fiercely one moment, now they’re as close as thieves.” The Empress Dowager chuckled.
“Children’s friendships come and go quickly. You’ll see, they’ll be at odds again in no time,” the Empress frowned, worried as she glanced at her younger brother.
She was very close to Lu Yan Shu and knew he was a man of principle—he wouldn’t settle for less.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained unmarried at thirty-five.
Yet if he and Rong Che were to wed, one of them would have to step back.
Holding both civil and military power, how could the aristocracy tolerate it?
The Emperor, however, was amused. He wasn’t bothered, but the old officials sure were.
He would rather tie himself completely to Lu Chao Chao.
As Lu Chao Chao emerged, the entire court fell silent.
The once noisy banquet hushed in an instant.
The Protectorate Duke remained neutral.
Chief Minister Yuan, though devoid of any master-disciple sentiment toward Lu Yan Shu, had undeniably mentored him. Moreover, Lu Chao Chao was his last disciple, so he simply kept his silence.
Xie Yu Nan, the Emperor’s uncle, played with his wine cup, saying nothing, taking no sides, remaining neutral.
Official Chen tried to rise, but the Eldest Princess shot him a cold look and pinched his waist sharply.
Official Chen winced in pain and had no choice but to remain seated in silent frustration.
The Eldest Princess shoved her two children into his arms.
Hmph! Lu Chao Chao had bestowed her these children; she would never allow her husband to stand against her.
She was just a woman—not one of those rigid old scholars.
Opposing Lu Yan Shu was a faction of civil and military officials.
At the forefront were Official Zhou and Official Fang, both of whom shivered as their heads instinctively shrank.
Minister of Personnel, Official Zhou, was the father-in-law of Rong Zhen Zhen and thus connected to the Rong family by marriage.
Moreover, Lu Chao Chao knew about his crossdressing habits. Official Zhou’s face turned ghostly pale.
Minister of Rites, Official Fang, owed her a debt—Lu Chao Chao had helped him find his lost daughter.
But gratitude was gratitude.
The nation was the nation.
Personal favors aside, if the Rong and Lu families united, who could stand against them in the future?
The Emperor might trust Lu Chao Chao, but the civil and military officials did not. With such a looming giant above them, they would never be able to rise. Their vested interests were at stake.
And beyond them, countless court officials lurked in the shadows.
Lu Chao Chao rubbed her eyes. Drunk and hazy, she barely registered the tension in the hall.
Xie Yu Zhou’s scalp tingled as he tightly gripped her chubby little hand. “Grandmother, Sister Chao Chao wants some fresh air. I’ll take her for a stroll…”
He cast a subtle glance at the gathering.
“Before she gets upset.” The officials were bullying her family.
Everyone stood against Lu Yan Shu, unwilling to let him get any closer to the Crown Prince.
Madam Xu was already wiping her tears.
The Empress Dowager sighed. “Be careful. Take some attendants with you.”
No one noticed Lu Chao Chao’s flushed cheeks or her dazed expression.
Xie Yu Zhou and the Sixth Prince carefully led her out of the hall.
“Don’t come too close. We need to have a secret talk… This is our little secret,” Xie Yu Zhou instructed the servants.
“Yes, don’t come too close,” the Sixth Prince echoed, waving off the attendants.
Still, they dared not stray far. Yu Shu, Yu Qin, and the others trailed from a distance, ensuring they remained within sight.
The Sixth Prince secretly sighed in relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. “Finally got her out of the hall. I was so scared she’d blurt something outrageous…”
Xie Yu Zhou nodded.
“How do we sober her up?”
“I heard boy’s urine is a miracle cure. Should we try giving her some?” The Sixth Prince had overheard palace attendants saying it was effective.
Though he wasn’t sure why, he figured stuffing all good things into her mouth might work.
Just in case.
Xie Yu Zhou hesitated. “Boy’s urine? Seriously?”
Lu Chao Chao occasionally touched her ears, occasionally tilted her head in confusion, staring ahead.
“Chao Chao, will you drink boy’s urine?” the Sixth Prince whispered.
Lu Chao Chao blinked her misty eyes. “Brother, do you believe I can drown you in poop?”
Even drunk, she knew waste wasn’t something to consume.
The Sixth Prince drooped his head. “Oh…”
“Forget it. She really would drown me in poop. She’d totally do it…”
She would do it while sober—let alone drunk.
“Over there, someone is calling me…” Lu Chao Chao pointed toward the towering Nine-Level Pagoda.
She lifted her head, gazing at the faint glow atop the tower.
That presence felt so familiar.
It was calling her.
Wait I thought Minister Chen was Madam Qin’s husband.
Then again I had him down as minister of rites and that’s clearly not true now…