Chapter 231 Old Friends

The prince moved too quickly, and the other girls, besides Bai Mingluan, were chattering and looking at the lanterns, completely unaware of what was happening.

Qi Minying frowned as she looked at Bai Mingluan, who had suddenly appeared beside her.

Her arms won't get a rest again tonight.

As the name suggests, lantern festivals feature lanterns the most.

Hundreds of different styles of lanterns, made of paper, bamboo, glass, and wood, were displayed in front of the vendors' stalls. The group was almost dazzled by the sight.

Upon arriving at Xuande Tower, they saw a brightly lit mountain of 30,000 lanterns. Before they could even be surprised, elaborately dressed actors, holding mechanical puppets of fish and dragons, leaped into the air. The scales reflected the iridescent colors of Persian glass, drawing cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Amidst the dazzling array of sights, Bai Mingluan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"The lantern festival in the capital is so lively! I have seen lantern festivals in Sichuan before, but they are not nearly as bustling and beautiful as this one."

Qi Minying nodded in agreement. She had been kidnapped before, and it was a blessing if she could even get enough to eat, let alone come out to see the lantern festival. This was her first time coming out to see the lanterns.

Bai Mingluan then turned her head and asked, "Princess Chang Le has grown up in the capital since childhood, so this must be more than the first time you've seen lanterns like this, right? How do these lanterns compare to those from previous years?"

Qi Yuxuan pursed her lips.

What is Bai Mingluan always doing to her?

Besides, although this wasn't the first time I'd seen it, it was definitely the first time in my life.

A year ago at this time, she was still washing clothes and cooking at the Ye family's house. How could she have the leisure to come out and watch the lanterns? Even if she wanted to come out, her adoptive parents would never agree. They said that because she was pretty, if she came out, there would be prostitutes who would kidnap her and send her to brothels to sleep with men... Their threats were too frightening. Qi Yuxuan didn't want to come out at all, nor did she dare to. At most, she would chat with Ren Ze next door and learn to read.

Before she could speak, Zheng Yanling spoke first:

"The people of Qi live in peace and prosperity, so the Lantern Festival is naturally becoming more and more lively every year. Surely Miss Bai doesn't think the Lantern Festival is getting worse every year?"

Everyone present knew that Qi Yuxuan had lived in an ordinary family before the age of fourteen, and her life was just average. Otherwise, she wouldn't have learned embroidery at such a young age to embroider for others to earn money. As for the lantern festival... she probably could come and visit but couldn't afford to buy anything.

As soon as Zheng Yanling finished speaking, Bai Mingluan panicked for a moment.

“That’s not what I meant… Miss Zheng, you’ve misunderstood me. Perhaps we’ve never met before, and you don’t understand my personality. Actually, I’m just a bit blunt; I didn’t mean any harm.”

She looked at him with tears welling up in her eyes, and Zheng Yanling finally understood where that strange sense of familiarity in her heart came from.

That innocent and aggrieved look after sowing discord—it's not someone I know, but it has the air of someone I know.

Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out from not far away.

"You've come too?"

Everyone turned to look and saw Qi Wenyue standing next to a well-dressed man. He was tall and strong, and even though he was dressed in a scholar's robe, he could not hide his warrior's temperament.

"This is my fiancé, Zhou Lang."

Qi Wenyue glanced at the man beside her with little interest, gave him a brief introduction, but did not continue to introduce Qi Yuxuan and her group.

Poor Zhou Wei blushed, but before he could hear anything more, he saw that the group of people were all rich and noble, and were acquaintances of the princess. Their family background and status must be above his own, so he could only bow with his hands clasped.

Seeing his pitiful appearance, Qi Minying said with some sympathy, "Young Master Zhou, there's no need for such formality. We've come out incognito and don't want to attract attention."

Zhou Wei's body trembled. The moment the words "incognito" were uttered, he immediately understood the identities of the people in front of him. Looking at the leading man, he saw that he was no ordinary person with a noble and dignified appearance and an imposing presence.

Zhou Wei was so frightened that he tried to kneel down, but Qi Wenyue pulled him up with a look of exasperation.

"I told you not to attract attention, are you deaf?!"

She haughtily cursed, and both Qi Yuxuan and Qi Minying frowned.

The marriage arranged by Prince Duan for his daughter is probably a marriage of descent, which is why Young Master Zhou is so timid in front of his fiancée. But even so, at least in terms of appearance and character, there is nothing wrong with her. Why should Qi Wenyue humiliate her in public like this?

"Alright, who are you trying to impress with that pitiful look? Coming out with you is a downer. You should go back now, I'll just go shopping with them."

If her father hadn't forced her to come out and stroll through the lantern festival with Zhou Wei, she would never have agreed to go out with such a blockhead. They happened to run into the Crown Prince and his entourage, giving her a reason to chase him away.

Qi Minying was about to speak when Qi Yuxuan stopped her.

She knew what Minying was going to say; it was simply that they shouldn't disturb the engaged couple at the lantern festival and didn't need Qi Wenyue to accompany them.

But since she's already brought it up, given her personality, she'll definitely not give up until she gets what she wants. No matter how much they say, it'll only create trouble for Qi Wenyue to cause trouble for them later. It's better to pretend she doesn't exist and mind your own business.

Zhou Wei left, swallowing his anger.

Qi Wenyue took the initiative to stand beside Bai Mingluan. At least among this group, Qi Yuxuan and Zheng Yanling had been offended, and the Crown Prince and Qi Minying would only side with Qi Yuxuan and be picky. Only Bai Mingluan seemed to be a newcomer and easy to manipulate.

It was too crowded for six people to stand in a row, so Qi Yuxuan stood with Qi Minying and Zheng Yanling on her left and right, respectively. Qi Wenyue and Bai Mingluan stood in a row at the back, and Qi Jun stood two steps behind at the very end.

Thus, the group of six was neat and orderly, each one more beautiful and elegant than the last, attracting the attention of the people wherever they went.

"The lanterns over there are beautiful! Let's go take a look!"

Qi Wenyue pulled Bai Mingluan toward one end of the fork in the road, but Qi Yuxuan was drawn to a fleeting figure.

"Sister Yuxuan?" Qi Minying noticed that she was looking in the other direction and tilted her head in confusion.

"Yu Xuan, what did you see?"

Zheng Yanling noticed that her expression was off, so she looked in the direction she was looking, but there were only identical stalls over there, nothing different.

"Wait for me, I think I saw someone I know. I'll go say hello and be right back."

Qi Yuxuan's heart was pounding. If she wasn't mistaken, the person who had just passed by was clearly Xiao Yuyao!

But didn't Xiao Yuyao lose an arm and live in seclusion in Jiangnan with her family to observe the mourning period?

Why did it appear at the Lantern Festival in Beijing?

What is she plotting now? What is she planning?!

The fear of being dominated by her in her past life once again gripped Qi Yuxuan's heart. She could not pretend not to see it and sit and wait for her death. She had to chase after her to see if that person was Xiao Yuyao!

"Hey—"

The two little girls, who were standing there, hurriedly tried to ask, but only managed to grab the sleeve of Qi Yuxuan as she hurriedly left.

Qi Jun's gaze followed her into the distance, and he gestured with his hand behind his back, signaling the Qilin Guards in the crowd to follow.