HMIME Chapter 8: You ancient people

Bai Lu intentionally chose a less crowded path, yet he still encountered scattered palace maids or eunuchs along the way. They seemed not to recognize Bai Lu. As they passed by, they merely nodded slightly, probably mistaking him for a a minor official like a palace musician or a medical apprentice.

As he walked, Bai Lu lost track of where he was going. After passing through a spacious white jade square, the surrounding buildings suddenly became solemn and majestic. The palace gate also became very tall, and the four-corners were particularly exquisite and gorgeous.

It’s just that the atmosphere is a bit depressing, as if it were a very serious place. Not to mention speaking loudly, even exhaling seemed forbidden, and footsteps had to be light, as if making any noise would lead to dire consequences.

Bai Lu cautiously walked up the tall and long white jade stone steps. Looking up, he saw a magnificent palace in front of him, adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, dragon pillars, and flying eaves. It was splendid and solemn, shining brightly in the dazzling sunlight.

There is a huge plaque hanging in the center of the main hall, with three characters in flying phoenixes on it: “Qingya Palace”.

It sounded somewhat familiar, Bai Lu vaguely remembered Chu Ya mentioning this word yesterday, but couldn’t recall the context.

Bai Lu was not one to listen to others much. If he wasn’t interested, whatever was said would go in one ear and out the other, without even bothering to pass through his brain.

In front of the towering gates of Qingya Palace and on both sides of the central steps, many armed guards stood, sixty to seventy in total. Bai Lu didn’t want to cause trouble, so he turned around and planned to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, a long black knife suddenly appeared in front of him. Bai Lu looked up and saw an expressionless man’s face.

The guard said coldly: “The court is an important place, and no one else can enter without permission.”

Bai Lu replied, “So I’m leaving, right?”

The guard seemed to search for any fault to pick on and added, “In the important place of the court, you are not allowed to be disheveled.”

Bai Lu chuckled inwardly. He spread his arms, looking at his attire. “I’m dressed normally, aren’t I? My arms and legs are covered. If I wear a vest and underpants? Would you throw me into a fire pit then, you ancient people?”

The guard glanced at him. “Belts aren’t worn like that.”

Bai Lu was stunned, and when he lowered his head, he saw that his belt was just casually tied with a knot on the side of his waist, so he just tied it up. Is it possible that he, a tall and thick man, still had to tie it with a bow?

Bai Lu felt inexplicably irritated and opened his mouth to retort: ​​”I like to tie it like this, what’s the matter? I do it however I like, it’s none of your business even if I tie the belt around my neck!”

The guard shook his head seriously. “Not allowed. You’ll suffocate, and it looks ugly.”

“???” Bai Lu breathed out and his voice became much louder, “You are sick. Who would really tie a belt around their neck and hang themselves? Can’t you hear that I was mocking you just now? !”

The guard’s thick eyebrows frowned and he reprimanded again: “Don’t make loud noises in the important place like the court.”

Bai Lu couldn’t stand being ordered around like this. The more he was reprimanded, the more he wanted to argue. He deliberately raised his voice, “How was I making loud noise? What counts as loud? Like this? Or like this?! Or maybe like this?!”

In short, each tune was higher and louder than the last. He kept raising his voice, and all the guards nearby could hear him clearly. Even those who were far away, possibly the ministers discussing state affairs inside Qingya Palace, were likely to hear most of it, wondering why there was background music during the morning court session.

The guard’s face turned pale, and he immediately reached out to cover Bai Lu’s mouth.

Bai Lu slapped his hand away, “If you have something to say, speak. Don’t touch me.”

As he was talking, he suddenly heard a small noise at the entrance of the palace. Bai Lu turned around and saw that it was Chu Ya coming out.

The guards immediately knelt down in unison, bowing their heads respectfully, “Long live Your Majesty.”

The guard next to Bai Lu also knelt on one knee on the ground, but Bai Lu did not move. He stood there motionless like a chicken, and his vigilant eyes met Chu Ya’s eyes from a distance of more than ten meters.

Though resentful, Bai Lu had to admit that Chu Ya’s possessed body was too perfect. Regardless of his appearance, just his physique alone was enough to make Bai Lu jealous.

Even in loose black palace attire, it couldn’t hide his broad shoulders, narrow waist, well-proportioned powerful legs, and the muscular lines Bai Lu had witnessed last night, along with the astonishing strength he had experienced. Bai Lu couldn’t break free from his grasp, as if his fingers were made of iron.

Bai Lu, who could barely keep up with Chu Ya in his past life, now might barely match one of Chu Ya’s fingers…

Combined with Chu Ya’s current appearance resembling his past self to some extent, and sharing the same name, Bai Lu couldn’t help but suspect: perhaps this man was one of Chu Ya’s ancestors!

Although Bai Lu usually curses people and occasionally uses civilized greetings such as ‘damn your ancestors’, but now it seems that it is actually Bai Lu who was poked by Chu Ya, and he also wants to be poked by Chu Ya’s ancestors. Is there anything else? Is it justified? !

Just thinking about it in his own mind made Bai Lu angry, and his anger was rising. Seeing Chu Ya walking towards him step by step, he immediately became alert, staring at him fiercely like a wild wolf hiding in the bushes.

The guard beside Bai Lu saw him standing still and quickly stood up, pressing down on his shoulder, urgently saying, “Disrespectful! Kneel down!”

Bai Lu, already furious, pushed him away with a shove, “Don’t touch me!”

The guard’s face remained unchanged, but he exerted a little force, directly pushing Bai Lu down.

Bai Lu’s legs went weak, forced to kneel on the ground. As soon as his knees touched the ground, he erupted in anger, “Are you crazy?! What are you doing?!”

He struggled to stand up, but the guard’s strength was immense. His hand felt as heavy as a thousand kilograms, pressing firmly on Bai Lu’s shoulder.

Not long after, Chu Ya had already walked up to him. Bai Lu was forced to look up at him, while Chu Ya also looked down at him condescendingly.

At this moment, Bai Lu suddenly realized the vast difference in their status. Chu Ya was high above, wielding immense power, while Bai Lu couldn’t even control his own fate.

This humble and submissive posture made him very uncomfortable, and he felt a bit timid, so his eyes became fierce, but there was a hint of cowardice in his expression.

Chu Ya knew that he was unhappy and signaled the guards to let him go with his eyes.

As soon as the guard released him, Bai Lu immediately stood up, patting the dirt off his knees and kicking the guard beside him, “If you like kneeling, do it yourself. What right do you have to drag others down?!”

Chu Ya sighed helplessly, “Alright, don’t be angry. I heard your voice from inside. Why are you here? To find me?”

“Who has the time to come find you? Your palace is so big, and there are no signs. I just walked and ended up here.”

Bai Lu didn’t want to waste his breath arguing with him and turned to leave.

Chu Ya grabbed his arm gently, saying softly, “Since you’re here, come in and spend some time with me. There’s still half an hour before the morning court session ends. We can have lunch together afterward.”

Bai Lu looked at him suspiciously, then looked at the Qingya Palace and the heavily guarded guards not far away, “Can I enter that place casually?”

Chu Ya smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. The sun is too hot outside. Come in and rest for a while.”

So in the solemn Qingya Hall, Bai Lu sat casually on the beauty couch next to the dragon chair, leaning against a soft gold embroidered pillow, while boringly flipping through his storybook and cracking melon seeds.

But their beloved Majesty was not annoyed at all, as if he did not see his disrespectful behavior, and calmly discussed national affairs with the ministers.

The ministers were dumbfounded, restless – in short, they were shocked and stunned. If this dynasty had glasses…