The sun was shining brightly, and the golden rays, like melting honey, made the glazed tiles of the Jade Palace sparkle.

Gu Zhixing gripped the vermilion palace wall with both hands, his chin resting lazily on the back of his clasped hands.

He had been lying there for almost half an incense stick's time, but he didn't feel tired at all, his eyes fixed on the crimson figure in the courtyard.

The crabapple blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom, their pink and white petals falling in the wind like a gentle rain of flowers.

Under the flowering trees, Shen Jintang held a jade ruyi scepter and demonstrated etiquette to the palace women who were about to participate in the wedding ceremony.

Today she wore a crimson gauze dress with silver thread embroidery on the hem. As she walked, the tiny silver threads shimmered in the sunlight, as if stars had been sewn onto the dress.

"This is how you should hold a Ruyi (a symbol of good fortune)."

Shen Jintang slightly raised her wrist, her fingertips lightly supporting the jade, revealing a section of her snow-white wrist.

Her voice was much gentler than when she taught Gu Zhixing to recite, and the boy on the wall unconsciously moved his fingers along with her.

The young palace maids who followed behind were in a flurry of activity. One round-faced maid was so nervous that her hands trembled, and she almost dropped the ruyi on the ground. She was so frightened that she shrank her neck.

Shen Jintang did not scold Gu Zhixing with a stern face, but instead walked up to the girl.

Gu Zhixing noticed that her eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes when she lowered her head. As he reached out to help her adjust her hand gestures, her crimson wide sleeves slipped down, revealing a jade bracelet on her wrist that jingled softly.

"You should keep your fingers together like this."

She demonstrated patiently, her voice as soft as a spring breeze in April.

Gu Zhixing pursed his lips, thinking to himself that this female official had never been so gentle with him before.

Last time he missed a sentence while reciting the Analects, she made him copy it ten times.

But looking at her gentle profile in the sunlight, he couldn't get angry. He just felt something gently scratching his chest, itchy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

A breeze swept through the courtyard, scattering a few crabapple petals.

A petal happened to fall on Shen Jintang's shoulder; its rouge color contrasted with her crimson dress, like a red plum blossom fallen in the snow.

Gu Zhixing stared at the petal and suddenly remembered how she stood in the crowd carrying a lotus lantern during last year's Lantern Festival.

At that moment, thousands of lights cascaded like a galaxy, but his eyes seemed to be drawn to her, and he spotted her at a glance.

"Hello."

Gu Zhixing was so startled by a sudden tap on his shoulder that he almost slipped off the wall.

Turning his head, he saw that Gu Yanqing had also climbed onto the wall at some point and was looking at him with a half-smile.

“You’ve been clinging to this wall for almost half an incense stick’s time.” Gu Yanqing mimicked him, leaning against the wall, but his gaze fell on Gu Zhixing’s slightly reddened ear tips.

Gu Zhixing hurriedly looked away, pretending to be calm as he straightened his sleeves: "None of your business."

Gu Yanqing waited for a while, and seeing that he was still staring at the courtyard without moving, she finally couldn't help but wave her hand in front of his eyes: "Are you dumbfounded?"

Gu Zhixing then snapped out of his daze and slapped his hand away, saying, "Don't block me."

"What are you blocking?" Gu Yanqing raised an eyebrow, glanced into the courtyard following his gaze, and said knowingly, "Oh, so you're blocking your view of Chen Jintang."

"Who...who was looking at her?" Gu Zhixing's ears burned, and his voice involuntarily rose eight octaves before he quickly lowered it again. "I was watching...watching them practice court etiquette!"

"Didn't you see her?" Gu Yanqing scoffed. "Then who were you watching? It couldn't be that little palace maid whose hands were trembling like a leaf, could it?"

Gu Zhixing was speechless and simply didn't answer, but his gaze still involuntarily followed Shen Jintang's figure.

She was bending down to adjust the skirt of a palace maid, her profile softened by the sunlight, even her hair shimmering with golden light.

The golden begonia hairpin in her hair swayed gently with her movements, casting dappled light on the side of her neck, making Gu Zhixing's heart itch.

He suddenly wondered what she would look like in a wedding dress.

The moment the thought popped into his head, he was startled and quickly shook his head, but the idea seemed to be rooted in his mind and he couldn't shake it off.

"You climbed over the wall just to peek at the Shen family's daughter?"

Gu Yanqing spoke abruptly, his voice carrying a mischievous chuckle.

"How did you know it was her?" Gu Zhixing blurted out, immediately regretting it as soon as the words left his mouth. His ears burned instantly, and even his neck began to feel hot.

Gu Yanqing scoffed lightly and slowly adjusted his cuffs: "Your eyes are practically glued to him."

He gestured with his chin toward the courtyard, "Besides, among all the people in this courtyard, Shen Jintang is the most eye-catching; it's hard not to see him."

That's true.

Gu Zhixing silently admitted it to himself.

Even among a group of palace maids dressed in brightly colored palace attire, Shen Jintang stood out like a blooming begonia, captivating all who looked at her.

He still remembered the time he saw her. She was wearing an elegant blue dress and standing in front of the palace, holding a book in her hands. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves and fell on her. In the dappled light and shadow, her gentle smile made him freeze in place. He didn't even hear his mother's question and was scolded for it.

"Tsk, what a disappointment." Gu Yanqing glanced at his appearance and couldn't help but shake her head. "If you really like him, why don't you ask Father to arrange the marriage?"

Arranged marriage?

Gu Zhixing frowned and actually began to consider the feasibility of this idea.

Who's there?

Shen Jintang's clear and sharp voice suddenly came, startling Gu Zhixing.

He subconsciously looked up and met her gaze, which was slightly furrowed.

Those peach blossom eyes, clear as two pools of spring water in the sunlight, were now gazing at the top of the wall with a hint of doubt.

Gu Zhixing panicked and frantically tried to back away, but he missed a step—

"Bang!"

He crashed heavily onto the bluestone slab beneath the wall, the impact on his back aggravating the arrow wound from the previous day, causing him to gasp in pain.

The fall was so loud that several glazed tiles on the wall tumbled down with a crash.

"What happened?"

"It seems to be His Highness the Crown Prince..."

"Oh my god, that was quite a fall..."

A chorus of exclamations erupted from the courtyard.

Gu Zhixing lay on the ground, grimacing, when he heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching from afar.

The first thing that catches the eye is the crimson hem of the skirt embroidered with silver crabapple blossoms, followed by Shen Jintang's worried face.

"Young Master?" She crouched down, the gold hairpin in her hair swaying gently with her movement. "Where did you fall?"

Gu Zhixing's ears were burning red.

He tried to get up by bracing himself on his elbows, but a sharp pain pulled him back down.

This was even more embarrassing; he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"without……"

Gu Zhixing's voice sounded somewhat muffled.

Shen Jintang then noticed that a crowd had gathered around her, and even Lin Tingwan had rushed over from the side hall, lifting her skirt.

She frowned and reached out to help Gu Zhixing up.

"What happened?" Lin Tingwan rushed over from inside the hall.

Upon seeing Lin Tingwan, Shen Jintang coughed lightly and withdrew her hand, only to find that Gu Zhixing was still tightly gripping her wrist.