LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 52 - Brother, How Are You This Handsome!
Nightfall!
Bi Zhu prepared hot water for Xia Chen and then lingered beside the wooden tub.
“Young Master, let this servant wash you!”
A flicker of hope danced in Bi Zhu’s lively eyes—Xia Chen nodded after a mere second’s thought.
She was his personal maid now, and he was native to this world—no need to haul modern notions here or play the saint.
Unless one’s strength can reshape the world, there’s no point in clashing with it or striking out alone.
Her face flushed red, Bi Zhu drew close to Xia Chen’s side, unfastened his waistband, and carefully removed all his garments.
Instantly, a flawless frame—like a sculpted masterpiece—met her eyes.
Bi Zhu’s height reached only Xia Chen’s chest—their closeness bathed her in his radiant yang aura. Her gaze blurred, lost, until a splash snapped her back—Xia Chen had slipped into the tub.
Regaining herself, she hurried to the tub’s edge, dipping her soft, smooth hands into the water to scrub him.
But as she washed, her mind wandered.
“Young Master… so big!”
…
Late night!
Xia Chen doused the lamp and hit the bed—then, in the dark, a slight figure tiptoed from the side room linked to his main chamber.
His eyes pierced the night like day—he saw Bi Zhu, clad light in a purple silk undergarment…
“Bi Zhu!”
Xia Chen called soft—startling her in the gloom.
“What’s up? Something else?”
Silence stretched—then Bi Zhu’s mosquito-faint voice drifted over.
“The mistress said… tend to Young Master’s daily needs—warm your bed at night!”
Her whisper barely audible, her face in the dark glowed red enough to drip.
Xia Chen fell quiet—big clan custom. He’d dodged it before, unbreached at Eighth-Rank, body intact.
“I don’t need my bed warmed—take the side room tonight!”
Xia Chen sighed—he wasn’t a saint or a fake, nor bent on modern ways here, but he wasn’t desperate either.
Bi Zhu was his, sooner or later—she was young, no rush.
“Young Master… do you disdain me?”
Silence again—then Bi Zhu’s voice broke, teary.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Xia Chen winced at her pearled tears in the dark—headache brewing.
“Alright, come up then—but truly just to warm the bed!”
He lifted the quilt—a soft, cat-like form slipped into his arms…
In this feudal age, Xia Chen couldn’t shift it—so he flowed with it.
Strength could shatter a body, not a mind…
Dawn!
Xia Chen woke to train—the Lamplighters got Xia Qian’s leave notice.
Tomorrow, post-Yaoguang’s poetry bash, he’d tangle with them—show real fangs, teach them “kill the chicken, scare the monkeys.”
That tongue-lashing was just a starter.
Bi Zhu rose too, beaming with bliss—eyes adoring. Last night, he’d kept hands off, but their bond leapt—a night bridging “stranger” to “known.”
…
Day three!
Xia Chen’s clock ticked him awake—Bi Zhu, curled kitten-like in his arms, stirred too.
Rubbing sleepy eyes, she crawled from the covers—pale, fine skin bared under a thin shift.
“Young Master off to see the princess today?”
“Not quite—just the Literary Gathering!”
Xia Chen shook his head, ruffling her hair with a grin.
“Sleep more—I’ll manage!”
“No way—I’ll dress you! It’s at her mansion—you’ll meet her. Gotta look stunning, or she’ll look down on you!”
Bi Zhu hopped up, fussing over his attire.
…
A mutton soup stall along Central Avenue!
“Young Master, no rush?”
“Princess’s place is a few hundred meters off—we’ll eat first. What’s the hurry? Big shots show last, don’t they?”
Xia Chen sipped his bowl, unfazed, nodding at the fidgety Xia Qian.
Mmm—this soup hit right—authentic, his kind of taste!
Xia Qian sighed at Xia Chen’s rock-steady calm, then dug into his own.
Oddly, Xia Qian felt his Young Master lukewarm on the famed Second Princess—no spark.
Yet Xia Chen treated all—beggars included—with warm grace, flawless.
Xia Qian couldn’t figure it.
“Let’s go!”
Finishing slow, Xia Chen rose, waving Xia Qian along.
“Boss, how much?”
“No charge, sir!”
The owner crept up, head low, grinning—Xia Chen’s looks and air screamed elite. A small-timer with no backing, he wouldn’t dare.
“Here—my Young Master always pays!”
Xia Qian dropped a silver crumb on the table—no words—leaving a tall shadow.
“Which house’s young master is this—so particular? It’s my first time seeing such a thing…”
Li, the old vendor, muttered, dazed—never guessing this was Xia Chen, the capital’s hot-topic Imperial Son-in-Law…
Princess Yaoguang’s Mansion!
Carriages and sedans clogged the gate—traffic churned.
Scholars in robes, nobles in silks flashed invites, beaming as they entered.
“Look—that woman’s gorgeous! Never seen such beauty!”
“Which house’s fine lady—such poise!”
“That purple-clad one’s big—Princess Yaoguang’s shadow maid!”
“No way—just a maid? Outshining other houses’ misses—fit for the princess’s side!”
…
As the crowd gathered before the princess’s mansion awaiting entry, they caught sight of a beautiful, refined woman in purple on the far side of the gate—chatter broke out at once.
Bold young lords stepped up to flirt—
All rebuffed by Zi Yue’s icy glare.
“What’s Zi Yue waiting for?”
“Who’s worth her standing there so long?”
“Not Princess Pingyang today—or the Crown Prince, Third Prince? Only they’d warrant the princess sending her maid to wait!”
…
Murmurs hummed—then Zi Yue’s calm eyes lit up.
Following her gaze, they saw a man approach.
Ink-dark brows swept to his temples; long, deep eyes gleamed black with starry hints—holding endless wit and soul.
Skin white as snow, face jade-carved. A teal robe draped his pine-straight frame—every move warm as jade, a dust-walking immortal, impossible to look away.
Zi Yue’s eyes sparked at this polished Xia Chen—locked, unblinking.
Jealous glances hit him—Brother, how are you this handsome? How do we even live?
The crowd swapped looks, pressure crushing—before the Literary Gathering began, they’d lost ground.
They’d primped too—but why this gap between men?
Hearts sank—then sank deeper as Zi Yue, their dream, stepped toward him!
“Greetings, Imperial Son-in-Law!”