How to Survive As a Villain

Chapter 49: They may have been pseudo-seduced.
At the end of the banquet, they had a very good talk, Xiao Yu’an felt like his mind could rest at ease if it was Hong Xiu the one to take Xiao Pingyang and the rest of the envoy to visit the Imperial City of the Northern Kingdom.

There was still snow covering the Northern Kingdom, while in the Western Kingdom you aren’t able to see such a beautiful scenery wrapped in white at all. The group of girls were freezing and their cheeks were flushed red because of the cold, but that didn’t matter, they were still very excited.

Xiao Pingyang reached out and grabbed the snow on top of the branches, the snow gradually became transparent and melted in her hands, finally, only the cold water remained, these wonderful changes were unexpected and interesting to her. The architectural style of the Northern Kingdom was slightly different from that of the Western Shu Kingdom, the Palaces of the Northern Kingdom are even more magnificent, with nine dragons and golden crows carved everywhere.

These were also snowflakes flying around, which made Xiao Pingyang fascinated. She looked up and her eyes fell on a building.

Xiao Pingyang pointed to that place and asked: “What’s that?”

Hong Xiu looked down at her eyes and explained: “Ah, that’s the Yuhua1 tower, in a few days it will be the Emperor’s birthday, and he will feast with one hundred officials there.”

Xiao Pingyan was quite interested: “Since that’s the place where the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom will celebrate his birthday, is there anything special about it?”

Hong Xiu said: “There’s a lotus pond in the middle of the building.”

“Lotus pond? Wouldn’t that be just a scene of dead branches and fallen leaves in an icy and snowy day?”

Hong Xiu covered her lips and smiled lightly: “It’s not a real flower, but a lotus carved out of gold, it’s extremely delicate and lifelike, in the middle of the lotus pond, there’s a white jade platform. In this country, only Princess Yongning is allowed to dance on the white jade platform.”

Xiao Pingyang nodded and asked: “Can I go and have a look?”

Hong Xiu hesitated a little, but still led Xiao Pingyang and her companions towards the building.

Although it was only a few days before the birthday, the Yuhua Tower had already been decorated with lanterns and it looked extremely festive. Many servants were cleaning outside the pavilion, but the place was in complete silence.

A richly ornamented building, the pavilion was layered with precious burning incense, and the wooden beams and cornices were each more delicate and exquisite than the other.

The Golden Lotus and White Jade Platform was located at the fifth floor.

Hong Xiu then realized that the Pavilion was actually too quiet, it was something strange for sure, but it was already too late. The envoy just stepped inside the fifth floor, when a woman dressed in green clothes with a very large figure shouted: “Hey!”

The envoy were suddenly scared out of their wits, and when they turned around they saw that woman twisting her body and her face was blushing: “What are you doing?? Did no one told you that Princess Yongning is practising her dance here?? Disgraceful, leave quickly ???”

Hong Xiu quickly bowed down and apologized, leading the envoys of the Western Shu Kingdom to leave the Pavilion in a hurry.

But Xiao Pingyang didn’t seem to hear her at all, she looked at Cui’er and then fixed her eyes at the inside of the fifth floor.

On the jade platform, singing and dancing raising at the top of the platform, a woman wearing a plain white cloud skirt waved her sleeves. She looked at her and saw that she was smiling and dancing gracefully, dancing with a simple hand is the world’s best move.

Upon hearing the noise, Princess Yongning jumped off the white jade platform strangely, and walked a few steps with light steps like a swallow.

“Princess Yongning, this maidservant didn’t know that you were practicing your dancing here, I ask the Princess to forgive me.” Hong Xiu knelt on the ground.

“It doesn’t matter, you can get up.” Princess Yongning waved her sleeves and her eyes fell on Xiao Pingyang. She asked strangely: “Who are these sisters?”

“Answering to the Princess, they’re the envoy from the Western Shu Kingdom.” Hong Xiu said.

“Xiao Pingyang from the Western Shu Kingdom salutes Princess Yongning, the Princess of the Millennium.” Xiao Pingyang was, according to the etiquette, very attentive and courteous.

“Western Shu Kingdom?” Princess Yongning murmured, then she smiled cheerfully: “Are you also a Princess?”

Xiao Pingyang said: “Yes.”

“Are you visiting the Imperial City?”

“Yes.”

Princess Yongning suddenly grasped Xiao Pingyang’s hands and held them up in front of her chest. She wasn’t hiding her joy: “Let me show you around!”

Xiao Pingyang was stunned and asked softly: “Don’t you have to keep practicing the dance?”

“Ah, it’s alright. It’s a dance prepared specially for my Imperial Brother’s birthday, I’m already familiar with it.” Princess Yongning picked up her skirt and said: “I’ll go change my clothes, wait for me here.” After saying that, she trotted into the fifth floor.

The envoy from the Western Shu Kingdom looked at each other and someone whispered: “She’s a very warm Princess…”

Cui’er sighed: “You girls might not know, but there’s few women of the same age as the Princess in our Palace, so she actually lacks playmates, naturally, she’s very delighted to see you.”

Xiao Pingyang nodded, and deep in her eyes, there was a hint of tenderness.

Inside the Palace, the tributes of the Western Shu Kingdom were neatly arranged in two rows. Xiao Yu’an’s face showed a baby-like intrigued expression, he was looking at each box in that way with Yan Heqing standing behind him.

“Should this be the one?” Xiao Yu’an looked around the box filled with silks and satins and rare antiques.

Yan Heqing followed behind Xiao Yu’an and was a little confused, just when he was about to ask him what was he looking for, Xiao Yu’an stopped abruptly and rejoiced: “This is it!” In front of him was an ice basin2 completely sealed in wax, with cold handles.

Xiao Yu’an pushed the lid but realized that it won’t budge an inch, so he asked Yan Heqing: “Can you open it for me?”

Yan Heqing pulled out his sword and cut the wax seal, embedded the sword into the gap of the ice basin, and pushed it away with force. Inside the ice basin were sealed three layers of porcelain boxes, the bigger one was covering the smaller one and the gap between the third layer and the second layer was full of melted ice water, only the first layer had some floating ice.

Xiao Yu’an opened the innermost layer and his eyes were filled with a warm smile: “Ah, sure enough.”

Yan Heqing looked closely at the box and saw that there were many red fruits inside it, the scales were raised, it was quite strange: “What’s this?”

Xiao Yu’an picked up one, and after peeling it, that fruit showed it’s white flesh. Xiao Yu’an was about to put it in his mouth when Yan Heqing grasped his wrist and blocked this action.

“What?” Xiao Yu’an was confused.

“It could be poisonous.” Yan Heqing frowned.

“Pff—–” Xiao Yu’an sneered and handed the fruit to Yan Heqing: “Then will you test the poison for me?”

Yan Heqing was slightly shocked, and the fruit was then stuffed into his mouth, it’s taste was very sweet and cold.

“Delicious?” Xiao Yu’an asked, “Hey! don’t’ forget to spit out the pit!! The black one in the middle, spit it out!”

Yan Heqing spits out the black pit and hold his breath, after a while he said: “It shouldn’t be poisonous.”

Xiao Yu’an laughed out loud: “I already know that it isn’t poisonous, otherwise, how could I let you taste it? This is called Lychee fruit3 and it’s an speciality of the Western Shu Kingdom.”

It’s also one of the foods that Yan Heqing likes the most in the original book. In the original book, every time the lychee fruit matures, Yan Heqing will go to the Western Shu Kingdom and eat the lychee while holding a member of his harem, living the happy life.

Xiao Yu’an wondered if such a famous special product, the envoys of the Western Shu Kingdom, would regarded it as a tribute, fortunately, he was right.

“By the way, do you know this ancient poem?” Xiao Yu’an picked up a lychee and held it in his palm to rub and play with it. He looked at Yan Heqing, his smile was full of emotions: “One horseman in red dust approaches the gates making a concubine smile happily, no one else knows that it’s because the lychees have arrived4.”

Yan Heqing stared at Xiao Yu’an for a long while, and he suddenly pulled the corner of his mouth showing a very stiff smile.

Xiao Yu’an was dumbfounded and the lychee on his hand almost rolled to the ground, when he finally reacted, he stretched out his hand and pointed tremblingly at the ice basing: “They’re all yours!”

He was astonished!!

In order to be able to eat lychees, the stallion protagonist wouldn’t hesitate to show his true colors!!

The men and women shed silent tears!! The readers are crying !! The big and small wives are crying themselves blind !!! Don’t cry, it’s not this world’s protagonist fault!

Yan Heqing, actually, didn’t feel happy at all. He recovered his cold expression and with a light tone, he said: “It’s too much.”

“It’s alright, the weather in the Northland can keep them consumable, that is, just don’t eat too much a day or your stomach will get upset.” Xiao Yu’an was slightly scared while pushing the Ice Basin to Yan Heqing’a side.

Yan Heqing sighed: “Thank you.”

Xiao Yu’an patted Yan Heqing: “You’re welcome.” The male lead laughed, all of this just for a few lychees.

After the lychee situation was settled, Xiao Yu’an looked at the other gifts curiously. This time, the Western Shu Kingdom came with sincerity, so the tribute was dazzling. Xiao Yu’an’s eyes glanced over a box of jewelry and silk an abruptly stopped, he reached out and picked up a cinnabar red hairpin engraved with flowers and after looking at it for a while, he held it in his palm and put it away: “The rest will be sent to Yongning Palace.”