The Princess And The Lord



When they arrived at Hamilton Manor, Lilly was waiting for Lory and she immediately opened her arms to welcome Lory and inevitably Zhao Li Xin as well "Welcome back Raven! Hey, what do you think about the car? Do you like it, Is it good?" Lilly rained Lory with a question while grinning from ear to ear with anticipation.

"It's great, Thank you for lending me your car!" Lory handed Lilly the car keys gratefully.

"It's nothing," Lilly happily said but then noticed Zhao Li Xin's presence, she didn't want to be rude so Lilly greeted him with a polite nod, "Good evening, Mr. Zhao"

Because Zhao Li Xin often heard those words from hearing people greet each other, Zhao Li Xin understood the meaning of that sentence.

Zhao Li Xin then nodded in response in a fairly simple manner, "Good…evening" he answered with a bit of an accent which only made him look more mysterious than already was.

Lilly of course didn't know the slightest thing about Zhao Li Xin, Heck, if it wasn't for Lory she would rather avoid Zhao Li Xin like the plague but she couldn't deny she felt flattered when Zhao Li Xin returned her greeting.

Lilly then turned her attention back to Lory "If you like that car I can give you the car, a new one of course!" Lilly really wanted to give Lory something after everything she had done for her.

Lory understands Lilly's intention but Lory plans to buy a Jeep or wagon considering that their journey will be far and long so she robust type of car.

"Thanks, Lilly, but I think I want something else," Lory said kindly.

"Oh tell me what you want I will send it for you" Lilly clasped her hands together in front of her chest and her brown eyes twinkled with expectation.

It turns out Lilly was more stubborn than Lory thought and it was clear if Lory rejected her Lilly would think of something else to gift Lory with something else and so thus Lory finally relented "Fine, I tell you what type of car I want...and thank you beforehand"

Lilly's entire face lit up and she exclaimed excitedly, "Really, that's great, You can't take it back, okay!"

Lilly's sweet infectious smile made Lory chuckle "I won't, I like free stuff anyway" Lory shook her head and then pulled Lilly's arms "Let's go, we cannot let your grandfather wait any longer!"

"I know - I know, I'll walk you to his office!" Lilly held Lory's hand and his walking hand.

Zhao Li Xin saw Lory and Lilly walking hand in hand and a faint smile appeared on her beautiful face. Despite his indifferent nature, Zhao Li Xin is very observant and sensitive in seeing a person's character.

This was probably because Zhao Lu Xin lived in an imperial harem, it's a place filled with arrogant, selfish, and ambitious women and they all fought each other like crazy rabid dogs in order to gain the Emperor's favor.

Oh, don't forget there is also an opportunity and cunning eunuch, a stupid servant who is willing to do anything for their master to add the murky water of the imperial palace courtyard.

It was in that place that Zhao Li Xin grew up watching them take advantage of each other, so it wasn't difficult for Zhao Li to see what was behind their friendly personalities.

Based on his assessment so far, Zhao Li Xin sees Lilly's character as quite pure, meaning she is very kind, straightforward and puts her emotions on her sleeve thus making her not good at scheming, In short, Lilly is gullible and naive which mean she will not be treat for Lory.

The difference between Lory and Zhao Li Xin is, that Lory sees people for what they could be and brings out that potential in them so that they can thrive, like she did to Yang Xi Ying and Ming Yue Yin.

Whereas Zhao Li Xin saw people as they were and made them accept themselves whether it was good, bad, or worse. Zhao Li Xin would force them to reflect on it and then embrace it because in his opinion only then one can surpass their limitation, just like he did to the Mong brothers and the four Palace Kings.

The realization made the smile on Zhao Li Xin's face deepen, Even though they had the same purpose their implementation was different yet they were willing to compromise in order to be together after all, marriage is not like walking in the park even for two prominent figures like them. 

Lilly opened the door and inside Hugo had examined the painting scroll with pure admiration as if he would lick it at any moment, Lilly rolled her eyes feeling slightly embarrassed and annoyed that her grandfather was engrossed in a painting that she was unaware of. arrival.

Lory turned his gaze to the spacious office room which was mostly made of wooden furniture and the walls were decorated with wood paneling decorated with simple dark gold wallpaper so it wasn't too flashy and white accents on the wall trim to make the room not overwhelming and brighter.

Several tall bookshelves were placed in the corner of the room, but each side of the wall was filled with ink paintings of various types and sizes. It was clear without saying what this eccentric old man's hobby was.

"Grandpa, Mr. Zhao, and Raven are here!" Lilly's voice broke the silence in the room causing Hugo startled.

Hugo gasped in amazement at the painting, then his wrinkled eyes shone like stars as he looked at Zhao Li Xin. Lory was used to seeing women looking at her beautiful husband with that kind of gaze, but this was the first time it coming from the old man.

Hugo carefully placed the scroll on his wooden table like a precious treasure then he circled the table with long strides then walked towards Zhao Li Xin in haste while opening his arms and exclaiming excitedly [Marvelous – Marvelous – It's utterly MARVELOUS!]

The more he talked, the closer he got toward Zhao Li Xin until no gap between them, then Hugo suddenly clasped Zhao Li Xin's hand with both his old wrinkled hands [You are an amazing painter, I'm so lucky to meet you, if only I found you sooner, how great it would be!]

'Oh no, Grandpa is cheating on Grandma!'

Even though it sounds like Hugo is declaring his love, however, what Hugo really means is that he hopes that his beloved wife, who is also a master ink painter, will have time to see and enjoy Zhao Li Xin's paintings before she dies if only they meet sooner.

Hugo also realizes there is something wrong with how his words came out.

[Your face is too close] Zhao Li Xin didn't care instead he answered in a flat and indifferent tone while 'courteously' shoving Hugo's chest away to maintain the distance between them.

[Oh, sorry - sorry!] Hugo only realized his face was too close to Zhao Li Xin despite the difference in their height, that because the old man unconsciously tiptoed in front of Zhao i Xin just like a passionate young maiden confessing her love, a moment later the old man blush.

"...."

"...."

Lory and Lilly watched from the sidelines with conflicted expressions. This reminded them of a romantic scene in the movie where the beautiful female lead confessed her passionate love to the gentle and affectionate male lead, The reality is the young girl was an old man and the supposedly gentle young man looked at the old man as if he was going to kill him, something very wrong here!

Hugo Rub his cheeks then sheepishly said "Sorry, I was just so moved by your painting" 

Hugo rubbed his cheek then shyly said, "Sorry, I was really touched by your painting, even though I knew you were very talented but I didn't expect..."

Lory and Lilly exchanged curious glances then quietly stepped towards the table where the painting was, once their eyes widened.

Lilly never expected someone to be as cold and distant as Zhao Li

Every stroke on the painting is so firm but very soft. Lilly could feel a sense of loneliness, longing, and yearning just by looking at the painting, What was clear was that the object of this painting must be someone she really loved, Zhao Li The back doesn't look like Lory then who is this woman?

Lilly nervously glanced at Lory, She was worried about Lory's reaction after seeing the painting but what Lilly saw was not Lory's hurt expression, but a faint nostalgic smile.

Lilly doesn't know but Lory knows this woman. This is a painting of herself when she was still using the form of Luo Ri Yi and the place in this painting is the forest where Zhao Li Xin finally found her among the field of bluebells flower.

Lory turned her gaze at Zhao Li Xin soon after the memory from the time she was in the cultivation world poured down like a heavy rain hence, one by one the faces of the people that she left behind in that world consecutively flashed in her mind.

Humans are greedy creatures, When she was in the cultivator's world she missed Verrion but now that he was here she missed the previous world, Unfortunately, she could only choose one of the two places, and it doesn't matter if she considered both places equally important in her heart, In the end, the decision is never in her hands.

Zhao Li Xin felt Lory's gaze, he then turned his eyes on her when their gaze locked at each other Zhao Li Xin immediately recognized what those eyes meant.

The longing in Lory's eyes was prevalent and deep like a cold night she spent watching the dark night in silence only the difference is this time Zhao Li Xin more or less could understand her feeling

Hugo cupped his hands behind his back soon a smile of relief and satisfaction spread on his wrinkled face. "This is enough to attract the attention of all lovers of ancient paintings."

"Grandpa?" Lilly tilted his head with confusion.

Hugo then smiled broadly, "I will use Mr. Zhao's paintings to hold a grand exhibition at the Azalea art gallery in Lixandra" There was a gleam of excitement and anticipation in the old man's eyes.