Long Yue had none of "Xue Qinghe's" good temper. He strode up and slapped the two young men's hands aside, his nose tilted toward the heavens:
"I'm from the Divine Realm Empire People. This is how trendy clothing is on the Spirit Ice Continent."
If you're that ignorant, don't work as doormen. You'll only make yourselves a laughingstock and disgrace the owner of Moonlight Pavilion."
Long Yue's clothes simply did not conform to the customs of the Douluo Continent. They were certainly not the disheveled attire of a slob, and the fabric was high-end, the sort worn only by the wealthy or powerful.
These two doormen actually dared to bar his way. Were their eyes just for decoration?
"...You!" The two young men's faces flushed red.
Although they worked as doormen, spending their days in a place where "no common rabble came and went, and every laughing conversation was with nobility" had convinced them they stood a cut above ordinary folk. When had anyone ever spoken to them like this?
Long Yue's burly frame barged straight through the two young doormen. "You don't even have Soul Power. What are you putting on airs for? You think being a noble's watchdog makes you upper-class too? You've forgotten your roots!"
"Brother Long..."
A wave of satisfaction washed through Qian Renxue.
She thought his scolding was simply perfect. Over the years, she had swallowed far too much anger to play Xue Qinghe convincingly and maintain a good image before Heaven Dou's nobles and citizens.
How wonderful, Long Yue. Living so freely, so joyfully-that must be what it means to truly be yourself.
Long Yue was still railing at them:
"You act as watchdogs for the nobles, snarling like demons at commoners and beaming the moment you see an aristocrat.
Hmph.
In the nobles' eyes, you two pieces of trash are still just watchdogs!"
Boss Long, the hat-factory wholesaler, slapped tall, pointed white hats onto both young men.
"Brother Long, let it go." Xue Qinghe stopped Long Yue, then addressed the two young men. "Sorry for the trouble, but please fetch Pavilion Mistress Yuehua. Tell her Xue Qinghe has brought a friend to see her."
One young man turned and ran inside. The other no longer dared to block their way, meekly allowing His Highness Prince Xue Qinghe to lead Long Yue in.
Only then did Long Yue ask Xue Qinghe, "Why don't they recognize you? Does the First Prince command that little respect?"
"They're probably new."
Xue Qinghe spoke calmly, without any visible anger:
"I've already graduated, so it's perfectly normal that they haven't seen me. Not every noble knows what the First Prince looks like, either. That's especially true of people like them, stuck somewhere in between."
People at the top, such as Prince Xue Xing and the owner of Moonlight Pavilion, certainly knew what the princes looked like. Ordinary commoners were unlikely to recognize Prince Xue Qinghe.
-The Douluo Continent had no visual-media Soul Tools to show the royal family's faces to the common people.
The two doormen were in the most awkward position of all.
They fell short of those above them, yet thought themselves superior to those below. In the end, they had never truly entered noble circles and did not even know what the First Prince, who had already graduated from Moonlight Pavilion, looked like.
A spirit screen stood just inside the entrance to Moonlight Pavilion's first floor, carved from fine boxwood and giving off a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Long Yue followed Xue Qinghe around the screen into a spacious hall with square tiles covering the floor.
"Your Highness Qinghe." Several delicate-looking girls behind the reception desk hurried forward in delight when they saw Xue Qinghe. "You're here! Madam will be so pleased."
"Sorry for the trouble, but please let Aunt Yuehua know." Xue Qinghe was clearly familiar with the girls. After they exchanged a few pleasantries, one tall girl jogged upstairs.
Xue Qinghe put on no princely airs, treating even the girls at the reception desk as equals, as an ordinary person would.
In fact, the form of address "Your Highness Qinghe" had been Xue Qinghe's own request.
At first, they had called him "Your Highness." Xue Qinghe had asked them to call him "Qinghe," but they had not dared to overstep the bounds of propriety. In the end, they compromised on "Your Highness Qinghe."
It was still a little warmer than "Your Highness" or "Your Highness the Prince."
"Your Highness Qinghe, this gentleman is...?" The reception girls clustered around Xue Qinghe. Not one dared stand near Long Yue.
Although Long Yue was handsome, his good looks were decidedly masculine. They preferred a softer sort of beauty.
What frightened them even more was his burly build and powerful muscles. He was a man who looked like an iron tower.
Standing inside Moonlight Pavilion, Long Yue resembled a massive, rugged mountain planted amid exquisite, elegant pavilions and terraces. The two styles really did not fit together.
"This is Long Yue, from the Divine Realm Empire People." Xue Qinghe introduced him with a smile in his eyes. "He may look big and rough, but he's actually a very nice person."
You're the one who's big and rough!
Long Yue cursed inwardly.
"Hello, hello!"
Long Yue waved at the girls.
A social menace like him would never grow timid just because he was surrounded by girls. He was not some Xiao Chunan, blushing whenever he spoke to one.
"Just call me Brother Long. You girls are so pretty~ If I could marry you, I'd even be willing to live in a castle and drive a luxury car."
Qian Renxue's smile froze on her face. Shameless Long Yue really wanted to eat his fill and take the leftovers home, too.
"Oh, that won't do. If you marry them all, there'll be no one left in my Moonlight Pavilion." A warm, gentle voice drifted down from upstairs, carrying a smile.
Xue Qinghe and Long Yue both looked toward the staircase.
A beautiful, poised woman slowly descended, her silver court gown lending her an air of elegance and refinement.
"Aunt Yuehua! Now that I've seen you, I'd even be willing to stay here and work at Moonlight Pavilion."
Xue Qinghe had just been about to speak when Long Yue beat him to it, calling out to Tang Yuehua with astonishing familiarity.
"..." Qian Renxue was speechless.
Long Yue, you're utterly shameless! Is everyone among the Divine Realm Empire People like this?
"Aunt Yuehua."
Xue Qinghe was nowhere near as much of a "social menace" as Long Yue. Maintaining princely decorum, he bowed to Tang Yuehua before introducing him:
"This is Long Yue, a friend of mine."
"Your Highness Qinghe." Tang Yuehua nodded with a faint smile, her movements graceful. Then she turned to Long Yue. "A friend who has traveled far from the Divine Realm Empire. Welcome."
"Sister Yuehua, just call me Long Yue."
Long Yue nodded politely, with none of his earlier devil-may-care expression:
"As the most elegant woman in the Heaven Dou Empire, I'm certain you'll one day have the Divine Realm Empire People falling at your feet."
"..." Qian Renxue was speechless.
Sister Yuehua... Sister?!
"Hehe." Long Yue's words made Tang Yuehua laugh. She knew it was flattery, but it still put her in a good mood. She invited Xue Qinghe and Long Yue upstairs. "Come with me."
Moonlight Pavilion's top floor was an enormous hall, furnished in a comfortable, elegant style.
Every furnishing was made of agarwood worth its weight in gold. Simply stepping inside refreshed the mind and lifted the spirits.
"Little Brother Long Yue, I hear you're attending the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ball tonight?"
Tang Yuehua invited them to sit, and maids promptly served tea and pastries.
"That's right."
Long Yue swallowed a pastry in one great mouthful. "Sister Yuehua, is there anything you can teach me? I may be powerful, but I'm not a noble, after all. I don't know etiquette."
Tang Yuehua was amused once again. "You really aren't modest, are you?"
Long Yue continued devouring the pastries without a care. "When it comes to my strength, I've never been modest."
Tang Yuehua appeared to deliberate, while inwardly she was already considering her own plan.
Just as the intelligence reports had said, Long Yue was straightforward, without much guile. He did not conceal his thoughts at all.
Compared with Sima Lanxiao, the Divine Realm Empire's foreign minister, he would be a far easier source of information.
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