There was a tacit understanding between the two, and even without words, a sense of quiet permeated the painted boat.
Lu Feibo's face was pale, and a gentle ripple flickered across his brows, but his handsome features were too ashen, exuding a sickly aura.
Ye Luan watched closely.
Lu Feibo glanced over, coughed lightly, and chuckled, "Am I handsome?"
"Your Highness's demeanor is like jade, as if you were a celestial being."
Lu Feibo smiled faintly and offered the peeled orange. "I am of average appearance. Ah Luan flatters me."
He had actually noticed her liking for oranges.
Ye Luan took the orange and licked her lips. She found peeling troublesome and was too lazy to bother, so she had only looked at them a few times, and he had noticed.
This person's heart was truly delicate.
She thought of his illness and was about to ask.
Suddenly, with a bang, the painted boat was hit, and all the tea on the table spilled onto the floor.
The people swayed, almost losing their footing.
Ye Luan quickly supported Lu Feibo, who was about to fall, and said anxiously, "Your Highness, are you alright."
She could feel that his illness was very serious, and she was afraid he had been hit somewhere.
A flicker of self-loathing crossed Lu Feibo's eyes. It would be better if this dilapidated body had died long ago.
"Thank you, Ah Luan."
His voice was weak, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Ye Luan frowned, it was so severe.
Lu Feibo wiped the blood with a handkerchief and smiled to comfort her, "It's nothing, don't worry."
The two exited the boat, and the gently flowing river was illuminated by a brilliant glow.
Several elaborately decorated painted boats had stopped to watch the show.
People on the boats stood or sat, dressed in fine silks and furs, scholars and beauties composing elegant poetry, creating a lively scene. More daringly, some sailed closer to observe the commotion.
On the painted boat opposite, several tall figures emerged.
The man leading them had red eyes and white hair, his thin, tightly pressed lips exuding a sickly murderous intent, his ferocity in his eyes unmasked.
Xiao Chi Zhan?!
Ye Luan's face paled in shock and she tugged at Lu Feibo's sleeve, "Let the steward handle it, let's go inside."
Lu Feibo had long heard of the entanglement between the two.
He held Ye Luan's hand and patted it gently.
"Mm."
"Young Master Lu, why are you turning away when you see us?"
Tantai Ye's arrogant and abrasive voice rang out across the river, drawing the attention of the crowd.
A chill ran down Ye Luan's spine.
She could clearly feel Xiao Chi Zhan looking at her.
A pair of red pupils seemed to burn with the fires of hell.
Terrifying, sinister.
She subtly withdrew her hand, reducing her presence.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Lu Feibo bowed weakly, then said, "General, you are too harsh. My body is weak and cold, and I cannot bear the wind."
Li Qiong Yu laughed, "Haha, Your Highness is meeting a beauty, isn't he? The painted boat is damaged, why don't you come over and join us."
Lu Feibo sensed the resistance from the person behind him and gently refused.
"What? Do you look down on us?"
Ye Luan frowned, clearly the people opposite were looking for trouble.
No.
More precisely, they were looking for her.
She glanced worriedly at the gravely ill Lu Feibo, and Xiao Chi Zhan, catching her gaze, his expression became strangely terrifying. "Bring them over!"
"Yes."
They were forcefully brought to the painted boat opposite.
Inside the boat, there was music and dancing.
As soon as they arrived, Lu Feibo suddenly vomited a large mouthful of blood, his white cloak stained with fresh blood.
Ye Luan was alarmed and wanted to go forward, but Xiao Chi Zhan kept staring at her, so she dared not show concern and maintained a calm expression.
"Heh, someone who is about to die still has the mood to admire the lanterns."
Xiao Chi Zhan's ruthless words struck Lu Feibo, and everyone present watched as if it were a joke.
Lu Feibo, seated in his wheelchair, showed no change in his expression, his face terrifyingly weak and pale.
Ye Luan felt angry in her heart but said coldly, "Your Highness is unwell, let him disembark."
Xiao Chi Zhan would not let her go, and she could not disembark.
But Lu Feibo's body could not withstand their mockery.
"Oh?" Xiao Chi Zhan, seated high in the main seat, smiled maliciously. "Does Your Highness wish to disembark?"
"Ah Luan, I am fine."
The burning incense within the boat filled Lu Feibo's nostrils. Before long, he felt difficulty breathing and great pain.
Ye Luan looked at these people enjoying themselves and her eyes turned cold.
"Ye Luan, come here."
From his high seat, Xiao Chi Zhan beckoned her with a casual, hooked smile.
Xiao Chi Zhan was blatantly humiliating Lu Feibo.
She, a woman with an engagement, sitting next to the current prince, what would that look like?
Ye Luan lowered her eyes and bowed, "This commoner suddenly feels unwell and will go to the rear chamber to rest for a while."
After speaking, without regard for the expressions of those in the boat, she left.
She waited and waited in the corridor.
Before long, Xiao Chi Zhan arrived.
He casually pushed open a door and shoved her inside, a hot breath engulfing her.
He pressed her tightly against the wall, pinning her hands above her head, and bit her, biting her lips until they bled.
"What are you doing? It hurts."
Ye Luan, in pain, licked the blood from her lips and, in anger, stomped on him hard.
Xiao Chi Zhan gripped her cheeks, his voice deep and cold, "Are you deliberately trying to anger me?"
Crazy!
"Did you not grant me this marriage? What is this now?"
"Heh, you know exactly what I mean, you're doing this on purpose."
Xiao Chi Zhan grasped her chin and lifted it, "It doesn't matter. The Lu family is colluding with the enemy, and their entire clan will be exterminated. I'll see how long you can last."
Ye Luan lowered her eyes, remembering Lu Feibo's illness, and suppressed the anger in her heart.
She extended her fair, jade-like arm to hook around Xiao Chi Zhan's neck and bit her lip, saying, "Let him disembark."
"Are you begging me for him?"
Seeing her silence, Xiao Chi Zhan directly blocked her lips and impatiently reached inside.
Ye Luan felt the pain from her lips.
Numb, swollen.
She was furious, but under Xiao Chi Zhan's oppressive power, she could only whimper softly.
The surroundings were eerily silent. His breath enveloped her tightly. Lips and teeth interlocked, and Ye Luan's legs involuntarily weakened.
She quickly pulled his hand, her fox-like eyes misting over, and her voice deliberately softened, "Chi Zhan哥哥."
Xiao Chi Zhan looked down and sneered, "As soon as there's something you need me for, you put on an act."
Ye Luan, having been seen through, cursed him in her heart but showed no outward emotion, proactively kissing his lips.
"He is very ill, a dying man. Doing this will cause historians to criticize you and harm your reputation. I am thinking for your sake."
If Xiao Chi Zhan didn't know she was good at deceiving, he might have believed her nonsense.
"Can reputation be eaten?"
Immovable.
Ye Luan leaned into his embrace, her slender jade hands drawing circles on his chest, her voice soft and charming.
"Let him disembark, and I will stay on the boat to accompany you, alright?"
She was actually willing to offer herself for Lu Feibo!
Xiao Chi Zhan's crimson eyes darkened.
He threw her over his shoulder, flung her onto the bed, and began to untie his belt.
"Whether you stay or not is not up to you!"