Chapter 205: The Empress Gets Flustered, The Dowager Gets Wrecked, and Someone Hits the Jackpot (1)
The cool and commanding beauty gave her a glance, then silently turned her head away.
Faced with her mother's obvious attempt to stir up trouble, what else could she do but endure it?
"Daughter, why are you ignoring me now? Is it because I interrupted something good?"
"Sigh~ If I'd known, I would've let you two go out alone and saved myself the trouble of being a third wheel."
Su Mengxi let out a sigh and turned around dramatically as if she were about to leave, looking all hurt.
"Mother, what are you trying to do exactly?"
The imperial beauty had no choice but to grab her hand and ask.
"Daughter, don't blame your mother for being naggy. I've been watching you two this whole way and I just can't take it anymore."
"You two are just sightseeing and not doing anything else?"
Su Mengxi's tone was full of frustration.
"What do you want me to do? We just came out to stroll around, there wasn't any other plan, right?"
The imperial beauty looked at her mother in confusion, not understanding why she was saying all this.
"Oh my dear Qinglan, even if there are three of us, this is still a date!"
"You two are on a date, and I'm just watching from the side—it's making me anxious!"
Su Mengxi's voice was full of exasperation.
The sunlight was perfect today, the temperature just right—what a great opportunity to mess with her daughter!
Usually, she didn't even get a chance like this!
"Mother, w-what nonsense are you talking about?! How can this even be considered a date!"
The imperial beauty's eyes widened, a hint of panic flashing in them.
She had never thought about it that way. There were three people with them—shouldn't a date be just two?
"Of course it counts. A couple going shopping while the mother watches on approvingly—what's more normal than that?"
"This is called family harmony, this is called the joy of kinship!"
Su Mengxi argued her case seriously, just to lock this down completely.
She was all too happy to tear down her daughter's superior and lofty image.
Always living up on her high horse—it was too easy to lose touch with normal human emotions.
Yes, that was her noble, righteous reason—she had absolutely no interest in stirring the pot for fun!
"You're barely older than me. What kind of family harmony are you even talking about?!"
"Quit joking. I would never do something like that. He's just my younger brother!"
Naturally, the imperial beauty wasn't about to agree to this. She shook her head and spoke with a proud tone.
No matter what she truly felt, she had to keep up appearances!
Her flawless face was full of disdain, as if she couldn't be less interested in this kind of thing.
"If you won't do it, then I'll just take your place."
Su Mengxi flashed a wicked smile.
Well, then don't blame her for abusing her authority for personal gain!
"Go ahead."
The imperial beauty coolly said those two words, as if she really didn't care.
But in reality, her heart was racing, and her body tensed up slightly.
From the start of this outing, the Empress had been composed and relaxed, thinking nothing of it.
Just a little trip to observe the people—that's all it was, right?
But once Su Mengxi started talking like that, she suddenly felt totally on edge.
Even worse, the looks from the people around them were starting to get under her skin.
What were they thinking about her and him?
The more she thought about it, the more flustered she felt, so much so that when Su Qing returned, she instinctively took a step back.
"Qinglan sis, what's wrong?"
Su Qing looked confused.
He just went to buy something, and now the Empress looked like she didn't even dare meet his eyes?
Was he imagining things…? Something was definitely off.
But he'd only been gone for a few minutes. What could've possibly happened?
"Nothing."
The imperial beauty, of course, didn't reveal what she was really feeling. She calmly accepted the snack.
What she didn't realize was that the tips of her ears had turned red, making her look incredibly alluring.
Su Qing stared at her for a moment, then shot a questioning look at the Dowager.
His gut told him this whole thing had a lot to do with her.
"Let's go, Little Qing. From now on, follow my lead. Wherever I say we're going, that's where we go!"
Su Mengxi didn't explain anything. She naturally reached out and wrapped her arm around Su Qing's.
Her massive boobs pressed into his arm, instantly smothering all his questions.
"Fine, where do you want to go?"
Su Qing could feel the soft, full sensation against his arm and asked.
He knew there was no point in pushing for answers, so he gave up.
Besides… being dragged around by a hot older woman like this actually felt pretty damn good.
If only there were one more person on the other side, it would be perfect.
But he knew that while the idea was great, the chances of it happening were about as good as flying to the moon.
The Empress was way too proud to lower herself for something like that.
"First stop—I want to pick out a good fishing rod!"
The mature beauty swayed her hips slightly and spoke in a teasing tone.
"Huh? Mother, didn't you already have a rod in mind? Why do we need to go shopping for one?"
Su Qing sounded a bit helpless at the request.
Was this some kind of fisher's obsession?
Honestly, it was kind of ruining the subtle, ambiguous vibe they had going on.
"Little Qing, that's not quite right. Picking it myself and having someone else pick it for me is totally different, okay?"
"All these years of bad luck must be because I never had a fishing rod that truly fit me!"
"The maids never chose well. I need a professional to handle it personally!"
"Please? I really really want to go~!"
By the end, Su Mengxi had naturally slipped into a sweet, coaxing tone.
Even with the bustling street crowd, she didn't care one bit. She acted entirely on her own whims.
Other people couldn't help but watch as she pouted and clung to him. And yes, many were a little jealous.
Jealous of what?
Of the young man being treated like that, obviously!
At this moment, Su Qing really did look like a pretty boy being pampered by a rich older woman.
Some people were envious. Others—not so much.