"Really?" At the chance to see her mother again, A'ke was both shocked and delighted.
Song Qingshu smiled and nodded. "Why else would I have made a special trip into the palace to tell you? Was I joking around?"
After her initial excitement faded, A'ke finally calmed down somewhat. "If you bring my mother into the palace, won't it be dangerous? She's so strikingly beautiful—what if someone recognizes her?"
Song Qingshu explained, "Don't worry. Before bringing her in, I'll disguise her. I guarantee no one will recognize her."
"Brother Song, you're amazing!" A'ke finally turned from worry to joy. She skipped over and threw her arms around him, rising onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Only afterward did she seem to realize what she had done. She hurriedly blurted out, "I'm going back first," then ran off with a flushed face.
Song Qingshu touched the spot on his face where she had kissed him, momentarily dazed. It seemed A'ke had been driven too hard by the dull, stifling life in the palace. Otherwise, a young girl like her would not have been so bold and forward.
Thinking of his relationship with Chen Yuanyuan, Song Qingshu felt his heart stir. He had never claimed to be Liu Xiahui. As a man, he had not never entertained that thrilling, audacious thought, but he was not a beast after all. In the end, reason made him suppress that tempting yet dark desire.
"I wonder how I'll explain this to A'ke in the future." Knowing that A'ke would sooner or later learn of his relationship with Chen Yuanyuan gave Song Qingshu a terrible headache.
Just as he stood there lost in thought, his heart suddenly tightened. Song Qingshu whirled around, only to find a black-cloaked figure appearing out of nowhere atop a nearby