kvmb Chapter 362 Younger Brother
Chapter 362 Younger Brother
A welcome dinner? A wedding and settling down? What a ridiculous joke!
Xu Sheng's tone remained sincere: "We're all family, no need to be so polite. I've made plans with my brother to go for drinks at Wenxianglou tonight."
Before entering Yishou Palace, he called An Liangchen "Brother Luo"; inside Yishou Palace, he recognized An Liangchen as his elder brother; after leaving Yishou Palace, he called An Liangchen "Brother".
Xu Sheng only called An Liangchen "brother" in front of him after they had acknowledged each other as family, which was considered a way of protecting him in front of An Liangchen. Judging from Xu Sheng's confident demeanor, it was clearly not a sudden idea, but rather something he had planned beforehand.
Xu Sheng's protection did not reassure Luo An; instead, it sent a chill down his spine. He began to question his place in the power struggle between Dongyang and Nanyue.
Just as An Liangchen was about to suggest going together, Dexi hurried over and whispered in his ear, "Prince Ming has returned and is kneeling in the Imperial Study waiting for you. Consort Yu is pulling the Crown Princess and crying very sadly."
Prince Ming had been imprisoned in Nanyue since being captured. Yu Shuxian had come to see him several times, but he had always made excuses to avoid her. But at this critical juncture, Prince Ming had returned?
An Liangchen's eyes instantly turned cold, and he beckoned Xiaoman and Dongzhi: "You two escort the young master and the prince back to Xizhai."
An Liangchen took a few steps, then stopped and looked back at Luo An. Luo An was looking at the plum blossoms with an indifferent expression, as if nothing concerned him. An Liangchen hesitated for a moment, then finally left.
A group of men stood in front of Xi Zhai's gate, their "Chang" escort flags fluttering in the wind. Luo An had just been thinking he should make a trip to Shunchang Escort Agency when they unexpectedly came to him.
Guan Xin jogged up to greet him: "Young Master, Chief Escort Chu of Shunchang Escort Agency has arrived with a team of escorts. He says he has something important that he must personally deliver to you. I have already escorted Chief Escort Chu to the main hall to wait for him."
A woman claiming to be your senior sister came looking for you, and I welcomed her into the warm pavilion to wait for her. The madam and the young master Hailuo were in the garden, and for some reason they almost got into an argument…”
Xi Zhai is usually quiet, but today so many people have come and so much is happening, all looking for Luo An. Guan Xin was full of questions and was about to tell them that Luo An was out without asking.
The eldest sister said, "Luo An has already returned and is currently in the palace. He is expected to be back soon."
Guan Xin had no choice but to have the maid serve them tea while she waited at the door. The waiting time felt especially long; Guan Xin paced back and forth at the door until her feet ached.
Could that so-called senior sister be a fraud? Guan Xin was about to go in in despair, but she turned back for one last look and saw Luo An's figure.
"A day apart feels like three autumns," Guan Xin truly felt at that moment. She couldn't wait to greet him and hurriedly reported to Luo An.
As Guan Xin spoke, her eyes reddened, and her voice sounded strained, as if she were about to cry. She thought: Luckily, I had a lot to do today, otherwise I wouldn't know how to meet and talk to Luo An confidently.
Luo An assumed Guan Xin was about to cry and said gently, "It's alright, I'll go check on her."
A simple sentence instantly soothed Guan Xin's anxiety and other inexplicable emotions. She followed behind Luo An with her head down, her eyes fixed on the hem of Luo An's moon-white robe. She was somewhat distracted as she descended the steps and almost fell.
Xiaoman followed behind and quickly grabbed her arm, saying, "Be careful!"
In that brief moment, Luo An had already turned the corner and disappeared. Guan Xin took a step to chase after him, when she heard Xu Sheng say something.
Guan Xin thought he had been distracted and hadn't heard clearly, and apologized profusely: "Young Master, what did you just say?"
Xu Sheng smiled broadly: "My name is Xu Sheng, and I'm your young master's twin brother. I need to use the restroom, where's it?"
"Young master, you gained a younger brother after just one trip?" Xu Sheng spoke with such certainty that he didn't seem to be lying at all, so Guan Xin didn't know what to say: "Young master, please come with me."
As they walked, Xu Sheng chatted: "Your son and I are twins, born of the same mother. He took his father's surname in Bianjing, and I took my mother's surname in Nanyue. Now that our parents are gone, I am his only blood relative in this world. He came out to look for me this time. Alas, these years have not been easy for me!"
Xiaoman, who was following behind, couldn't stand it anymore: "Your Highness?!"
Xu Sheng lowered his voice and said to Guan Xin, "The Crown Prince was afraid of losing favor with your young master, so he sent these two to monitor me. But I'm not afraid. If you're upright and honest, you have nothing to fear."
One person goes to the outhouse, and three people wait outside—what a spectacle! Xiaoman stares at the sky with a dark face, while Guan Xin, not understanding the reason, refrains from saying anything.
Mr. Xu was busy, so after leaving the outhouse, he went to the hot spring room to soak in the bath.
Guan Xin hesitated for a moment: "Young Master Xu, please wait a moment. I will send someone to inform you."
As Xu Sheng shook his clothes, he said, "I'm his younger brother, why should I be polite to him? We came back from Penglai covered in dust, look, look, we're all covered in dust; you can smell me, I smell bad."
When Guan Xin saw Xu Sheng leaning in to let her smell him, she quickly took two steps back. Suddenly, she felt nauseous and gagged twice, clutching her chest, unable to recover for a moment.
Xiaoman retorted angrily, "You just came out of the outhouse, don't you know how smelly it is?"
Xu Sheng turned his head and sniffed his neck: "Yeah, it smells so bad, then I need to take a bath."
Xu Sheng strode towards the hot spring room, and Guan Xin followed for a couple of steps before giving up: "Young Master Xu, I'll go prepare some clothes, and I'll have someone deliver them to your room later."
Xu Sheng's voice drifted over from afar: "Thank you, young lady."
Xiaoman cursed, "How shameless! They don't even consider themselves guests!"
Dongzhi pulled Xiaoman back, saying, "Forget about it, let's go to the garden and see how the ladies' argument is going."
Chief镖师 Chu waited for a while without showing the slightest impatience, and respectfully presented a small box: "This is a shipment from Qin Chuanbao. He instructed us to personally deliver it to you, young master, and please inspect it."
The box, crafted from fine Phoebe zhennan wood, felt heavy in the hand, its surface smooth as silk, without a single flaw. The small box had two seals: one bearing the seal of the Shunchang Escort Agency, and the other in Qin Jiu's handwriting: "To be opened by Luo An personally," stamped with Qin Jiu's private seal.
Luo An walked to the head seat and sat down, placing the small box on the low table beside him: "Chief Escort Chu, please sit down. I have a few questions to ask you."
Chief镖师 Chu held a charcoal pencil in one hand and an insurance policy in the other: "If the young master finds nothing wrong with the inspection, please sign the insurance policy."
Luo An stared at him without speaking, and Chief Escort Chu felt a chill run down his spine. He avoided Luo An's gaze, took a few steps back, and sat down at the lower end of the table: "Please speak, young master. I will certainly tell you everything I know."
Luo An asked, "When did Chief Escort Chu join the Shunchang Escort Agency?"
Why did Luo An ask about his personal affairs instead of the goods? Although Chief Escort Chu didn't understand, he still answered seriously: "I joined Shunchang Escort Agency when I was thirteen years old, and I've been here for thirty-three years now."
Luo An nodded: "More than twenty years ago, my father, who was the Prime Minister Luo at the time, entrusted the Shunchang Escort Agency to transport a child to the Luo residence. Is Chief Escort Chu aware of this matter?"