Chapter 37

"It's not me anyway!" Weidao didn't say much, just threw down these words and flew onto the beam, leaving Luo Sanrong alone to ponder below.

Luo Sanrong recalled the situation when he had a fever that night, and thought of a person with a body shape similar to Wei Dao who could enter and leave the inner palace at will. He also thought of the wish that Li Yin blurted out during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the name was about to come out.

"Could it be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Luo Sanrong guessed secretly.

Weidao was dozing with his eyes closed on the beam.

Luo Sanrong lay on the bed, feeling sweet in her heart. If it was Li Yin, then she had really misunderstood him before.

Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze, he muttered, "Tail Blade, this is so unreal. I'm back here now, and I actually feel a sense of familiarity."

She continued, "You once said it! No one likes the palace. Only when they start to like the people in the palace do they find the palace barely acceptable to stay in."

Wei Dao sat on the beam and said, "I think I said something like this."

Luo Sanrong rolled over sideways, half of the quilt slipping off. She seemed lost in some kind of mood. Her voice was a bit confused, floating lightly in the tent: "Wei Dao, that's me! I seem to like the palace more and more! I'm getting more and more worried!"

*

The morning light of mid-spring slanted through the walls of the East Palace. Ji Zeming came galloping on his horse, his clothes blown up by the wind carrying the fragrance of magnolia.

The crabapple trees beside the road were in full bloom, and their pink and white petals fell on his shoulders, as if someone had secretly crushed their worries and scattered them on him.

When Ji Zeming heard that Luo Sanrong had returned safely to the Eastern Palace, he hurried to the Eastern Palace to see her. Although he was indeed the one who brought the envoy inspector there yesterday, it was not convenient for him to show up in front of Luo Sanrong directly, so he did not meet Luo Sanrong.

Ji Zeming was wearing a moon-white brocade robe, the corners of which rustled with his hurried footsteps.

The bluestone pavement of the palace was rapidly receding under his feet. He was breathing slightly, and the strands of hair on his forehead were soaked with sweat and stuck to his fair cheeks.

The sunlight filtered through the gaps between the palace eaves, casting golden rays of light and shadow. Ji Zeming shuttled between them, his heart filled with anxiety and anticipation.

He walked around pavilions and towers, and passed by the quiet lotus pond. The lotus leaves in the pond swayed slightly, as if they were curious about why he was in such a hurry.

At this moment, the only thing left in his mind was "Lord Luo is in the library." His steps became faster and faster, and he almost jogged forward.

Finally, he arrived at the door of the library and was about to knock on it, but suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, tried to calm his rapid breathing and frantic heartbeat, and then slowly raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Eunuch Luo?"

Luo Sanrong was arranging books in front of the bookshelf. Ever since she was transferred to the greenhouse and then the incident with the envoy happened, the library seemed like no one had ever sorted it out. The books were placed everywhere, and Luo Sanrong had to start arranging them all over again.

When she was halfway through tidying up, she suddenly heard someone calling her. She turned around and saw that it was Ji Zeming, who said, "Sir, why are you here?"

Ji Zeming calmed his breath and stared carefully at the man in front of him. He lowered his eyes to hide the dark tide surging in his eyes, and swallowed his thousands of emotions with his Adam's apple rolling. He said, "I have something urgent to confirm."

Luo Sanrong was unaware of what was happening. With a hint of doubt in her eyes, she tilted her head and asked, "What's going on?"

"You are not hurt, are you?" Ji Zeming asked with concern.

Luo Sanrong: "I'm not injured." Then, he jokingly said, "Are you worried about me?"

I didn't expect him to admit it directly, and the emotions in his eyes could no longer be hidden: "Yes, I am worried about you. You are special to me."

Luo Sanrong's heart beat faster. This was not the ending she expected. She expected Ji Zeming to say to her jokingly, "Who's worried about you!" Luo Sanrong didn't know what to say and had to remain silent.

Ji Zeming continued, "You are the only eunuch in the palace who can make me run."

Luo Sanrong couldn't hold it in any longer. He didn't dare to look Ji Zeming in the eye and said with an awkward smile, "Sir, seriously, are you kidding me?"

Ji Zeming took a step forward and was about to deny it, but unexpectedly Li Yin came.

As a subject, Ji Zeming couldn't ignore Li Yin. He could only swallow what he wanted to say to Luo Sanrong and bowed to Li Yin, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Yin stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said, "I've heard from Weidao that you played a significant role in yesterday's events. Beining temporarily changed his route back to the capital, thanks to you for telling him. Also, thank you for the envoy's inspection!"

Ji Zeming clasped his fists and saluted, saying sincerely: "It is also a very important matter to me, so I chose to do that!"

Li Yin: "Is it something important that requires you to go against your father's wishes?"

Luo Sanrong stood by and didn't understand what was going on.

Li Yin glanced at Luo Sanrong and continued, "You mean to say that you didn't do anything to help me yesterday, so I don't need to worry about it, right?"

Ji Zeming's expression remained unchanged as he admitted directly, "That's right, Your Highness!"

Li Yin's eyes dimmed slightly, and he pursed his lips, but he didn't utter another word.

He stood tall and straight yet revealed a sense of loneliness. He turned slowly, his clothes swaying gently with his movements, and passed by Ji Zeming.

Seeing that Li Yin had already left, Luo Sanying had no choice but to say goodbye to Ji Zeming and follow Li Yin.

Looking at Luo Sanrong's back, Ji Zeming clenched his hands at his sides quietly. When his knuckles turned white, he realized that he had lost his composure and quickly loosened his grip. The bitterness in his throat had not yet dissipated when he caught a glimpse of the eunuchs walking towards him from the end of the palace road. He quickly raised his hand to straighten his crooked bun and pressed the melancholy on his lips into a straight line.

"Where are you going, Master Ji?" When the eunuch bowed and greeted him, he put on his usual gentle smile and lightly touched the other's elbow with his fingertips. "It's been a long time since I came to pay my respects to the Queen. I was just about to go see my sister."

After saying that, he took out a brocade box from his sleeve and handed it over, "I'd like to ask you to present this string of South China Sea pearls I obtained a few days ago to Her Majesty first."

The eunuch smiled flatteringly and hurried in to pass on the message.

Eunuch Zhang told the queen the whole story of the prince's prisoner robbery. He thought the queen would be unhappy after hearing it, because the prince's behavior in this matter was indeed impeccable. Qi Pingguo could not find anything bad to say, and it also made Her Majesty look at the prince with admiration.

But the queen laughed heartily when she heard this.

Zhang Neiguan was a little puzzled and asked, "Your Majesty, I am very frightened. Why are you smiling so happily?"

The queen glanced at him sideways, then slowly raised her hand, picked up the teacup with her white fingertips, took a sip, and after the tea went down her throat, she slowly opened her lips and said, "Don't you think it's interesting?"

After she finished speaking, she placed the teacup back on the table with an elegant gesture and continued, "Why would he act so unbecomingly for an ordinary eunuch? When did the Crown Prince start caring so much for his eunuchs?"

Eunuch Zhang pondered for a moment and whispered, "So that's why there's been strange rumors in the palace lately, saying he's a homosexual?"

The queen was shocked for a moment when she heard the news. "What?"

Then she continued, "It's really disheartening!" With a mocking smile on her face, she stroked her belly with her hand. Why should such a prince compete with my child?

The queen seemed to have remembered something and asked, "What's the name of that eunuch?"

Eunuch Zhang responded in a low voice: "Luo Sanrong, it is said that she was adopted by a theatre troupe when she was young, and entered the palace by chance."

At this time, the eunuch came in and announced, "The eldest son has arrived!"

Ji Zelan didn't want to see her younger brother. She still remembered what happened at the envoy's palace banquet last time. Her younger brother chose to help outsiders and blamed her afterwards. But the eunuch presented her with a brocade box, and the beads inside were exactly the style she liked, so she let the eunuch lead him in.

"Your Majesty the Queen!" Ji Zeming bowed.

Ji Zelan was angry and didn't let him stand up. Ji Zeming didn't take it seriously and stood up on his own.

In fact, the two had a very good relationship when they were young, but since some time ago, Ji Zeming often lingered in brothels. His father had originally had high hopes for him, but now he is very disappointed with him. As for her, probably since she chose to marry His Majesty, he gradually disliked her.

She still remembered that when she decided to marry His Majesty, her brother thought that their father was forcing her to flee the Ji family. However, that night she said, "I just want to marry His Majesty and become the most honorable woman in Xia'an Country!"

Ji Zeming left disappointed, and since then, they have never been as close as before...