Great Zhou World

Three days later, dusk tinted the palace walls a deep purple, while the white marble imperial path leading to the East Palace's main hall was illuminated by glazed palace lanterns, transforming it into a flowing river of broken gold. Red-hued carriages and canopies filled the air, and the rich aromas of incense, cosmetics, and wine and food hung in the air, silently announcing the grandeur and undercurrent of the Crown Prince's birthday.

Ning Yangyang held onto Nangong Xi's wrist as she stepped out of the carriage. Her palace dress, embroidered in red and golden brocade, was dazzling, and the golden phoenix in her hair held a pearl, shimmering with brilliance. Yet, deep within her eyes, a sense of alienation, at odds with the grandeur of the scene, was hidden. Nangong Xi followed closely behind, dressed in a pale blue palace maid's garb, her head lowered like a shadow. Only her clenched hands and the sharp gaze that scanned the palace's confines betrayed her tense heart.

Entering the main hall, extravagance and oppression washed over me like a heat wave. Hundreds of glazed palace lanterns cast a dazzling brilliance on the coiled dragons and golden beams. The Persian carpets absorbed all the noise, leaving only the soft, gentle sounds of stringed instruments emanating from behind the gauze curtains. The air was thick with the aroma of ambergris, imperial wine, and exquisite delicacies, so thick it was almost impossible to dissolve.

Atop the lofty golden throne, Xiao Wufan, clad in a bright yellow dragon robe, his face ashen and sunken under his twelve-tasseled crown, gazed blankly, his bony fingers barely grasping the golden cup of eternal life. A heavy air of decadence and weakness permeated his entire being. Only a month had passed since his loss, yet he feigned joy to celebrate his legitimate son's birthday. This was Xiao Wufan's utmost sincerity.

Just below the emperor, slightly to the side, Crown Prince Xiao Yuhuan, in a bright yellow python robe and a golden crown, accepted the emperor's congratulations with a smile that was gentle but mask-like. Beside him, on another slightly lower phoenix chair, Yang Guifei, in a purple palace dress with gold embroidered phoenixes, was resplendent in jewels and jade, dominating the atmosphere in the palace. She leaned towards the emperor, her soft and charming voice clearly rang out: "His Majesty said that today is Huan'er's birthday. You don't have to be so formal, just enjoy yourself." Her fingers painted with bright red nail polish rested on the back of the emperor's hand, intimate and powerful. Her eyes, with scrutiny and competition, swept down to the emperor below.

Xiao Ziyi sat at the head of the table below the Crown Prince. His dark-colored official robes were adorned with a dormant, cold glow, adorned with golden dragons. His features were stern, their lines as sharp as a knife. He didn't glance at the Imperial Concubine, only occasionally raising his glass with extreme restraint toward the throne or the Crown Prince, his gestures conveying a sense of distance and aloofness. His very presence, like a piece of ice dropped into a warm pond, made the air around him stagnate. His eyelids drooped slightly, his slender fingers unconsciously caressing the rim of the cold glass cup, as if oblivious to the clamor within the palace.

Today, Xia Min wore a royal blue, floral satin jacket and skirt, adorned with jewels. Beneath her reserved smile, her gaze, like a probe, scanned the women's clothing. She glanced at Ning Yangyang with a measured eye, and when her gaze met the regent's cold figure, her smile froze for a moment before she turned even more eagerly toward the imperial concubine.

Ning Yangyang took her seat, Nangong Xi standing by her side like a shadow. She lifted the cool, gilded glass cup and sipped the warm wine. Her eyes swept across the bustling atmosphere of the hall: clinking glasses, boisterous laughter; dancers in gossamer tulle swirling on a carpet of flower petals; golden plates and jade cups laden with rare treasures like bear paws and camel humps, an extravagant display.

However, this clamor of gold and jade was like a layer of ice in her eyes. This group of people who looked like a family were so utterly deceptive, and Ning Yangyang really didn't feel like staying any longer.

Ning Yangyang's gaze briefly caught sight of Nangong Xi behind her. Nangong Xi's eyelashes drooped ever so slightly. Within her sleeve, the soft, white jade waist badge, damp from the light sweat of her palm, pressed against her wrist, burning hot.

The time is ripe.

Ning Yangyang set down the almost untouched glass cup and tapped the bottom of it lightly on the table. She gracefully covered her mouth with her sleeve, leaned toward Nangong Xi, and uttered a soft, delicate voice, "I'm so stuffy. Let's go out for some fresh air." Her tone was filled with just the right amount of delicate impatience.

Nangong Xi bowed: "Yes, Miss."

Ning Yangyang stood up, a perfectly balanced blush spreading across her face. With an apologetic smile, she nodded slightly to the noblewoman beside her, conversing with Xia Min. Her red dress shone with a streak of light, and like a swimming fish, she glided lightly behind the heavy brocade curtains of the side hall and vanished in an instant.

Nangong Xi stood with her head bowed, like the most silent shadow. Her drooping eyelashes hid the sharp, piercing starlight blazing beneath her eyes. The sharp edges of the jade token in her sleeve pierced her palm, and the slightly cool touch felt like the spark that lit a fuse.

This was Ning Yangyang's first time at the palace, and after leaving, she didn't stray too far, simply finding a high attic to enjoy the cool breeze. From this place, with its wide view, she could see Nangong Xi hunched over as he headed towards the Imperial Hospital, and she could also see Xiao Yuhuan, who had hurried over after noticing her departure. He wasn't in a hurry, but he was still a step behind.

“Swish—whoosh—!!!”

Several crimson flames, like ferocious beasts breaking free from their cages, charged into the deep night with shrieks that tore through the air! They exploded with a bang at great heights!

“Bang! Wow!!!!”

In an instant, the sky seemed to be on fire!

It wasn't just one or two flowers, but an overwhelming mass of light! A surging and surging force! An endless stream of brilliant light!

Without warning, waterfalls of golden and silver light poured down from the sky, dense as a rainstorm, instantly engulfing the inky black sky and transforming the entire night sky into a flowing, blazing sea of gold and silver! The light was so blazing that it seemed to completely rip apart and melt the darkness!

The blessings rang out almost simultaneously, drowned out by the noise of the fireworks, but clearly reached each other's ears.

System: "Host? Is today your birthday?"

Ning Yangyang responded in her heart: "Of course, I'm already 25 years old." There was a subtle complexity in her voice.

System: "So you prepared this for yourself?"

Ning Yangyang's lips curled up subtly, her gaze following a large golden chrysanthemum. "What's wrong? You didn't get hurt again, did you? Hand over Xiao Yuhuan. Firstly, Xiao Ziyi will have peace and quiet without a follower, and secondly...it's not bad to do him a favor in the end. People like him... 'left-behind children' are especially susceptible to this kind of affectionate offensive."

As the last massive firework burst into full bloom in the night sky, transforming into a stream of shimmering stardust that slowly fell, the clamor faded into silence, darkness enveloped the earth once again, leaving only the faint scent of gunpowder smoke. Ning Yangyang had unknowingly quietly stood beside Xiao Yuhuan, not too far away, just close enough to clearly see his silhouette illuminated by the remaining sparks.

"Hey," her voice was filled with a hint of teasing, breaking the brief silence, "You were so pious just now, did you really make an incredible wish to God?" She tilted her head to look at him, trying to catch the pure, almost childlike longing on his face that had not completely faded under the illumination of the fireworks.

Xiao Yuhuan didn't answer immediately. He turned his face slightly to avoid her probing gaze, but subconsciously clasped his hands in front of him, fingertips touching, forming a small, wish-protecting gesture. He closed his eyes, and his thick eyelashes cast a faint shadow in the remaining light, as if to deeply seal the wish at that moment. Starlight gently fell on his straight nose and the corners of his slightly pursed lips, reflecting a strange tranquility. "Wish," he whispered softly, his voice low and firm, with an unquestionable sense of mystery, "it won't work if you say it out loud."

"Tsk," Ning Yangyang scoffed, as if seeing through his pretentiousness. A sly glint flashed in her eyes. She suddenly reached out from her wide sleeves, her fingertips clasped around a bracelet of dark, oily, round bodhi seeds. The pristine color cast a warm glow in the dim light. "Isn't it just that you want to grow old with your beloved, and see each other year after year?" She shook the bracelet, and the bodhi seeds gently clashed, making a subtle, crisp sound. "I don't know who it is, using some 'real-name prayer system' to hang their little secret in red on the top of that tall marriage tree. Tsk, what a pity they met someone like me with good eyesight and even better martial arts skills." She spoke briskly, with a hint of pride, as if exposing him was the ultimate pleasure.

Xiao Yuhuan opened his eyes abruptly, looking in surprise at the familiar bodhi tree string in her hand. He then raised his eyes to meet her mischievous smile, his ears slightly warmed in the darkness. "Are you born in the year of the monkey? You can jump ten meters high!" He feigned annoyance and muttered, but then that hint of annoyance transformed into a barely perceptible, almost gentle curve at the corner of his lips. His gaze locked with hers. "But... you're right, my wish," he paused, his voice suddenly lowered with a strange sense of satisfaction and a hint of subtle bitterness, "is already halfway accomplished."

Ning Yangyang was stunned for a moment, then as if she thought of something, her eyes subconsciously swept across his temples, and she chuckled, with undisguised ridicule: "Oh? Indeed, look carefully, Young Master Xiao has gray hair early!" She stretched out a slender white finger and lightly touched his temples, her fingertips almost touching the strands of black hair that were shining silver in the moonlight.

Just as her playful fingertips were about to withdraw, Xiao Yuhuan suddenly raised his hand, not to brush her fingers away, but to grasp her wrist, which was suspended in mid-air. His palm was warm and strong, with an unbreakable grip. Ning Yangyang's smile froze instantly.

The air around them seemed frozen, leaving only the rustling of leaves in the night wind. Xiao Yuhuan's gaze was like a deep pool, locked firmly in her stunned eyes, where the sparse stars in the sky and his own persistent reflection were clearly reflected. His Adam's apple rolled, and he spoke clearly and slowly, enunciating the words that had been swirling in his mind countless times, solemnly delivering them to the silent night and her:

"I like you, Yangyang."

The night breeze seemed to hold its breath.

The astonishment in Ning Yangyang's eyes was like the ripples of a stone dropped into a lake, eventually settling into a bottomless calm. She flicked her wrist slightly, the force not strong, but with an unmistakable sense of distance, easily freeing herself from his grasp. She took a half step back, reestablishing the polite yet distant distance, as if the brief contact of skin had never happened.

The moonlight poured down gently upon her like water, yet it only made her expression seem even colder. She lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes casting a small, fan-shaped shadow beneath them, obscuring all the surging emotions within them. When she raised her eyes again, only a near-compassionate clarity remained in those beautiful eyes, like thin ice frozen in early winter, clean yet chilling.

"Xiao Yuhuan," she began. Her voice was soft, yet like the sound of jade colliding, it pierced the silence of the night with a cold yet resolute force. Every word was crystal clear. "I'm different from you." She paused, her gaze calmly meeting the shock and hurt churning in his eyes without the slightest evasion. "So, don't like me."

What's the point of liking someone you've only met a few times? They're just paper figures.

After she finished speaking, she didn't look at the instantly drained color from his face or the shattered light in his eyes. She simply, naturally, as if adjusting her sleeves ruffled by the night wind, gently tucked the warm bodhi bracelet back into them. Then, she turned swiftly, her skirt tracing a light yet decisive arc through the night, like a leaf blown down by the wind, melting into the deeper darkness without a lingering thought, leaving behind only a faint cold fragrance and those icy words, echoing repeatedly in Xiao Yuhuan's frozen world.