latelenovela Chapter 397 Kiss You
Chapter 397 Kiss You
Nianyao returned to the Xue residence, while Luo An followed Xu Sheng to the palace.
The carriage stopped at the palace gate, where only regular guards were conducting routine checks; there were no other special arrangements.
Xu Sheng left Hu Zi and the Si Jie brothers behind, and took Luo An alone into the palace, ostensibly to avoid making a scene.
From the Taiji Hall square to the steps and then to the inside of the Taiji Hall, there were two rows of officials. When they saw Xu Sheng and Luo An, they all bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"
Isn't it supposed to be a non-discriminatory event? Even the Dongyang Heaven Worship Ceremony didn't have such a grand spectacle; even lowly officials of the ninth rank were all present.
Xu Sheng explained, "Taiji Hall has a back door that leads directly to Ciming Palace, saving you from having to take a detour."
Luo Anxin became suspicious, paused slightly, and fell a step behind Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng immediately took a step back and walked alongside him, whispering, "I wonder which sycophant arranged so many officials. We need to thoroughly investigate this matter and prevent it from encouraging such unhealthy practices."
The two crossed the Taiji Hall square, went up the steps, and entered the Taiji Hall.
Outside the Taiji Hall, the officials were mostly young, while those inside were much older. The arrangement of officials was based on rank, and apart from a few young geniuses, most had to wait until they were old enough to qualify.
The two people standing at the front were Xiang Ru, the elder and tutor of the civil officials, and Xue Longpan, the head of the military officials and general in charge of maintaining peace.
The steps of the Taiji Hall were empty, with only two eunuchs standing on either side. Luo An had never presided over court affairs in the main hall, but he knew that the place for holding court should have a dragon throne.
The main hall had been deliberately rearranged, and the officials had been arranged intentionally as well. Everything was deliberate.
A voice kept popping up in Luo An's mind: There's still a chance if you turn around now, but if you continue forward, there won't be one!
Luo An asked himself, "What opportunity?" The voice didn't answer. But he truly felt what it meant to be caught in a dilemma!
Continuing forward leads to the highest place where the emperor presides over state affairs; turning back, in front of all the civil and military officials—no, a thousand officials—Luo An cannot do such a cowardly thing.
Luo An took each step steadily, the first step, the second step, the third step... He saw the back door that Xu Sheng had mentioned, right behind the dragon pillar, just past the eunuch on the left.
The door was closed; such doors, reserved for the emperor, should not be locked. He walked over and pushed the door open, thus escaping the gaze of so many eyes and the council hall where civil and military officials were gathered.
As Luo An climbed the last step, his steps became somewhat hurried. Xu Sheng, half a step behind him, placed his hand on Luo An's shoulder and gently pulled him back.
Luo An, his eyes fixed on the door, was only focused on walking and didn't anticipate Xu Sheng's sudden attack. He was forced to turn around, shifting his position to face Xu Sheng, and ended up facing the entire hall of officials.
Xu Sheng kept his hand on Luo An's shoulder, standing next to him in a very intimate manner. Only Luo An knew that Xu Sheng's fingers were pressing on his Jianjing acupoint, and his upper body was sore and numb.
If Xu Sheng is ruthless, don't expect him to be righteous. If he dares to deceive you to this extent, don't blame him for being disrespectful. This court doesn't belong to him.
Luo An sneered and was about to kick Xu Sheng when Xu Sheng suddenly turned his head and whispered in his ear, "If you dare to touch me, I'll kiss you."
Xu Sheng leaned in so close that his warm breath filled Luo An's ear as he spoke, and his lips seemed to touch Luo An's earlobe. Xu Sheng blew a breath, and the warm breath brushed past Luo An's lips.
The historian casually noted: The twin sons of the former emperor of Nanyue kissed in front of all the civil and military officials in the Taiji Hall!
For thousands of years to come, what has been passed down through generations is their outrageous behavior, their heinous acts, their violation of ethics and morality, and their infamy...
Not to mention now, under the public eye, what kind of infamy will be hurled at him, the late emperor, and Nianyao?
Luo An instinctively recalled that Xu Sheng had once visited his room in the middle of the night and said he didn't mind him. But at that time, he was alone and no one else was around, so he thought Xu Sheng was joking.
This time, Xu Sheng was not joking at all; even his eyes were very serious. This was the most serious version of Xu Sheng that Luo An had ever seen.
Luo An's hair stood on end, and he stood stiffly, not daring to make any move, for fear that Xu Sheng would deviate from the norm in front of all the officials.
The once bustling hall was now so quiet you couldn't even hear a breath. Everyone stared at the two of them, even the two eunuchs beside them had their eyes wide open.