TSFLIP Chapter 63

“Your Highness…”

“Miss Xia, there’s no need to be so formal.” Feng Guang was about to stand and salute, but Qi Mu stopped her and said, “Since you are a guest today, there’s no need to be so courteous.”

Feng Guang smiled politely, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

“The fragrance of this tea… Is it a tribute bestowed by His Majesty?” Qi Mu took the teacup from the table in front of her and drank the warm tea in one gulp. His movements were swift but still retained a sense of elegance. “I happened to be thirsty. Hmm, the taste isn’t bad.”

Ever since Qi Mu arrived, Princess Xiao lost the calm composure she had when dealing with Feng Guang earlier. She looked at her son with a mixture of unspeakable worry and fear in her eyes. “Mu’er…”

“Mother.” Princess Xiao had just spoken two words when Qi Mu interrupted her with a smile, “Let’s end the flower viewing here. There is another place I’d like to take Miss Xia to visit.”

Princess Xiao opened her mouth but made no sound.

“Shall we go, Miss Xia?”

Feng Guang glanced at Princess Xiao. At this moment, both the atmosphere and Princess Xiao’s expression seemed a bit strange. However, Feng Guang didn’t have time to dwell on it and quickly followed Qi Mu.

“Your Highness…” Nanny Guo whispered.

Princess Xiao couldn’t hold back her tears anymore and said painfully, “Nanny, could I have been wrong in the past? How could he think… how could he think I would want to poison Xia Feng Guang? I am his mother!”

Nanny Guo wanted to console her, but couldn’t find the right words. She could only sigh deeply, full of emotion.

Feng Guang followed Qi Mu, who was walking so quickly that she almost had to jog to keep up. She wanted to ask where he was taking her, but when she looked up at his sharp profile, exuding indifference, she didn’t dare ask.

Finally, Qi Mu stopped in front of a door. “Miss Xia, I don’t like unnecessary people following us.”

Feng Guang hesitated for a moment, then said to the maids, “Wait for me outside.”

“Yes.” Yun’er and the other two maids replied together.

Only then did Qi Mu open the door. “Please come in.”

Feng Guang walked into the room with a sense of confusion. But when she saw the interior, she was stunned.

He closed the door and smiled, saying, “Miss Xia, welcome to my world.”

It seemed like a study, but there were no books on the shelves. Instead, there were butterflies with vibrant wings, doves with their wings spread, rabbits with soft white fur, a fawn with its front hooves raised, a gray wolf crouched in a ready stance, and a tiger with its mouth wide open, about to roar. All the animals in the room were frozen in their most beautiful poses, as though they were still alive. But they were all taxidermy specimens.

His smile was flawless, and the lifelike specimens formed his backdrop, making him seem like the ruler of all living things.

Feng Guang was momentarily dazed. “Your Highness, why…”

“Don’t you find it fascinating?” he said. “Every creature in this room was considered the most perfect of its kind, and I made it so they could be preserved forever in their most beautiful state.”

She quickly regained her composure. “Is that all there is to it?”

“Of course not.” He walked over to a wooden cabinet, stroking the soft fur of the rabbit. If it weren’t for the knowledge that these animals were long dead, one might mistake him for a gentle young man who cherished animals. “Miss Xia, you know I can’t see these things. But when so many people tell you how beautiful something is, it’s hard not to be curious. Perhaps, by keeping them near me and ‘seeing’ them every day, I can somehow understand what they are like.”