The tall man squatting on the ground tilted his head slightly, very self-aware, and didn’t open his mouth to speak.
However, the shorter man, who was about the sa height as the tall man when squatting, answered He Lienuo’s question: "If the most beautiful woman in the world says it, then it must be true."
Smack!
The ink jade bone fan in He Lienuo’s hand rcilessly struck the shorter man’s head. Shooting him a sideways glance, He Lienuo snorted and said, "Most beautiful woman in the world? She’s just an ugly girl! From now on, call her ’ugly girl’ for !"
The shorter man scratched his head, but he couldn’t agree with He Lienuo at all. He certainly didn’t want to marry a fat pig.
"Let’s go. It’s still early. Let’s take a stroll around this Dayong Palace!"
With a crisp snap, the ink jade bone fan unfurled. He Lienuo took the lead, casually choosing a direction to walk forward.
"Are we there yet? Oh, co on, what kind of place is this? Why so secretive?"
With her eyes covered by a handkerchief, Lin Yuan’s arms were both resting on Xia Zheng’s arms. Carefully moving forward, she couldn’t help but laugh as she asked him.
"Almost there, almost! Just ten steps... eight steps..."
Xia Zheng gently held Lin Yuan’s hand, his face filled with excitent. Truthfully, there wasn’t much interesting about the palace, but this place was special. It was sothing he stumbled upon while playing hide-and-seek with Little White Rabbit during his childhood—a hidden paradise.
Here, you could see anything you wanted to see.
Of course, saying "anything" was a bit exaggerated, but to young Xia Zheng, this place held all his cherished childhood mories.
"We’re here, we’re here! Let take this off for you!"
As the handkerchief was removed, Lin Yuan blinked a little to adjust her vision. However, when she opened her eyes, she realized there was no need to adapt—their surroundings weren’t bathed in sunlight at all.
It was an almost enclosed small space. "Small" only relative to the outside of the palace; compared to Lin Yuan’s bedroom, this place wasn’t exactly tiny—it was about half the size of her room!
Although the place was small, with just a little sunlight seeping in, she could vaguely make out the scenery inside the cave.
Looking down, there was a pool of water. Reaching out to touch the walls, they were slightly damp.
Lin Yuan guessed that this spot should be sowhere near Carp Lake in the Imperial Garden. Judging by the dampness and coolness she’d felt earlier, they seed to be inside the belly of an artificial hill by the lakeside.
Judging by the hollowed-out size, this artificial hill wasn’t small either.
No wonder she had slled the scent of water earlier and felt the damp coolness—it turned out they were near the lakeside’s hill.
While pondering, a soft glow suddenly lit up behind her. Lin Yuan turned around sharply, only to see Xia Zheng holding a Luminous Pearl, emitting its gentle radiance.
She didn’t believe Xia Zheng carried such a large Luminous Pearl purely for decoration—it was clearly all preditated!
"Co, let show you sothing nice!"
Raising the Luminous Pearl in one hand and holding Lin Yuan’s hand in the other, Xia Zheng led her cautiously forward a few steps.
The farther they went, the more slippery the ground beca. Yet one rare feature of this space was the flatness of the ground—completely devoid of uneven surfaces or bumps.
"Look quickly!"
Xia Zheng’s steps beca lighter, and even his voice dropped to a whisper. This side of Xia Zheng was very unlike his usual self; Lin Yuan, puzzled and curious, leaned in for a closer look.
Oh, my!
What did she see!
In that small puddle of water, there was a dense gathering of more than a dozen brightly colored koi fish. Bathed in the light of the Luminous Pearl, their scales sparkled with dazzling hues—a sight to behold.
"Why are there so many fish?"
Before her exclamation was fully ford, Xia Zheng swiftly covered her mouth, shushing her as he said, "Lower your voice! This place rarely sees visitors, and these fish have grown comfortable here. If you’re too loud, you’ll scare them away."
It would be such a waste to scare off so many beautiful koi fish. Lin Yuan nodded and quickly lowered her voice, asking the sa question again.
Seeing Lin Yuan deliberately quiet down yet still visibly excited, Xia Zheng chuckled, curling his lips slightly in amusent as he explained, "The water here is connected to the Carp pond in the Imperial Garden, so these fish naturally co from there. It’s much noisier outside, so it seems they inadvertently found this tranquil space to enjoy themselves!"
Lin Yuan burst into laughter, covering her mouth. Fish worried about outside noise? It was clearly Second Young Master Xia who found the outside noisy.
Pointing at the neatly clustered koi in the water, Xia Zheng added, "This place doesn’t just have koi fish—you’ll find other creatures here, like little turtles."
Sure enough, following Xia Zheng’s gesture, Lin Yuan spotted several small footprints near the water puddle, still faintly visible.
These footprints were undoubtedly not human—they belonged to so kind of creature.
Unlike koi fish, little turtles were more wary and intelligent. The mont Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng approached, those turtles playing around on the ground imdiately scurried into the water to hide.
The turtles’ bodies were dark, and with the brightly colored koi fish above them in the water, it was naturally hard to spot them.
"This place is truly wonderful. Hills, water, fish, turtles—it’s scenic and secluded," Lin Yuan reflected.
Xia Zheng naturally accepted her complint, raising his brows as he comnted with a sly tone, "If you were to do sothing... intimate here, no one would ever discover it!"
As for what "intimate" referred to, Xia Zheng didn’t need to spell it out. His mischievous expression made it all too clear.
"Ugh!"
Lin Yuan spat in disgust. But just as she was about to open her mouth to scold him, soone else beat her to it.
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