Chapter 126: The Entwined Hairpin
The side hall is quiet and cold, and is not too far away from the Xuanhe Hall.
The palace maid pushed open the carved wooden door, walked to the closet with ease, took out the women's dresses hanging inside, arranged them neatly on a wooden tray, and then handed them to Song Lingyi.
"Miss, please change your clothes. I will wait for you outside the hall."
"Thank you very much."
When the palace maid left the side hall, she closed the carved wooden door, blocking out the cold night wind and all sounds, making the empty and spacious side hall even quieter.
The lights are bright.
Song Lingyi carried the wooden tray to the eight-foot-high screen and casually draped her wet skirt over it.
The hall was not airtight. A gust of cold wind squeezed in from the window at the back, and the chill hit Song Lingyi's back.
The surroundings were silent, with only the flickering of candlelight.
Song Lingyi couldn't help but shudder, and her mind involuntarily thought of the legend of ghosts appearing on the walls of the Forbidden City. She put on her clothes faster and faster, but the faster she did, the more messy it became.
After she put on her coat and tied her belt, she realized she was missing a jacket underneath, and she was torn between her conscience and her conscience.
If she didn't wear it, she would be cold; if she wore it, she would waste time. Song Lingyi took a deep breath and put on her clothes as quickly as possible.
When she opened the carved wooden door again, she found that there was no one outside the hall.
The moonlight in the sky was half cut off by dark clouds, the corridors were empty, and the candlelight was dimly lit.
There was music and dancing in the Xuanhe Hall.
A eunuch stepped up to the platform and delivered a message to Feng Tong, the chief eunuch standing beside the crown prince.
"I understand. You go down first."
Feng Tong's expression remained unchanged. He bowed and whispered a few words to the prince.
Xiao Mingyi held a small wine glass between his slender fingers, turning it nonchalantly. He slowly withdrew his gaze from the stage and glanced at Feng Tong out of the corner of his eye. "She's looking for me?"
"That's what the eunuch who delivered the message said."
Xiao Mingyi lowered his eyes, his expression indifferent, with no expression on his face. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
The sound of the piano in the hall was melodious. After a song was played, the dancing beauties stopped dancing cleanly.
Feng Tong saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was looking deeply at the group of musicians and dancers, as if he was sizing them up, but also as if he wasn't looking.
After a while, a cold and thin voice sounded: "Where is she?"
"The eunuch said he's waiting for you in the side hall."
Xiao Mingyi seemed to be lost in thought. He placed the small wine glass held between his slender fingers on the table, then stood up and left.
Under the high platform, Lu Qian half-closed his eyelashes and breathed a sigh of relief.
About half a cup of tea later, a eunuch went to the Pei family's seat and whispered something in Pei Zhao's ear. Pei Zhao then stood up and left the hall with the eunuch.
…
Song Lingyi didn't understand why the palace maid who was supposed to wait outside the palace suddenly left. She was not familiar with the way, so she could only walk along the long and winding corridor towards the direction where the music came from.
The rustling cold wind rushed into the corridor, blowing out several wall lamps, and the view instantly became dark.
Song Lingyi came to a white marble terrace, looked around, and frowned.
It seemed like I had never been here before.
Just when she was at a loss, she saw an extremely tall black shadow appear like a ghost, leaning towards her from behind. The thick black shadow cast by the faint light slowly covered her shadow completely.
Song Lingyi's heart was pounding, and she was so frightened that she even forgot to scream.
“Ah…”
As soon as the person behind her spoke, she screamed "Ah" and took several steps back. It was not until a familiar and deep gaze swept over her that Song Lingyi gradually calmed down and slowly exhaled.
It turned out to be him.
Seeing the panicked look on the girl's face, Xiao Mingyi curled his lips in amusement: "You're so scared, yet you still dare to run around alone?"
"What do you mean by running around alone? After I came out of the side hall, there was no one in sight." Song Lingyi was angry, her eyes flickering at Xiao Mingyi's face.
"Why did His Highness come out too?"
The moonlight was hazy. Xiao Mingyi lowered his eyes to look at Song Lingyi. He was not at all surprised by her question. He smiled and whispered, "You are allowed to leave, but I am not allowed to come out for some fresh air?"
“…”That’s not the case.
There was no one around, and she was afraid that this was deliberately arranged by Xiao Mingyi. If the Pei family or the Lu family caught her meeting with the prince alone, she would have no way to explain herself.
"Since Your Highness wants to take a break, I won't disturb you. Please show me the way back to Xuanhe Palace." Song Lingyi suppressed the panic in her heart.
Seeing the girl so eager to distance herself from the matter, Xiao Mingyi sneered in his heart and stepped closer.
A strong sense of oppression came over her, Song Lingyi felt confused and slowly stepped back.
"Your Highness..."
Only when her back was pressed against the giant redwood pillar, with no room for retreat, did Xiao Mingyi stop at half an arm's length away and snorted coldly, "Why are you hiding so hastily? Do you think I can still eat you?"
"Your Highness, be careful with your words."
Song Lingyi lowered her eyebrows, and suddenly felt a touch of coolness and moisture on the tip of her nose. She looked up in surprise, and the scattered snowflakes fell into her black eyes as transparent as glass, and instantly melted into shimmering water light.
“It’s snowing!”
A cold wind blew, and the first belated snow fell in Kyoto.
The night was dark, and the endless snow swept down, and was coated into a dazzling gold by the star-like firelight in various parts of the imperial city.
Song Lingyi stood at the edge of the corridor, reaching out to catch the broken snow. Feeling the wetness in her palm, her dark eyes curved, her light shining like stars.
"Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest. This year will definitely be a good year with good weather and good harvests." The same is true for her life.
Xiao Mingyi looked at the girl in red clothes with a bright smile, his eyes wandering over her beautiful face, and felt that she was even more beautiful than the snow in the moon at this moment.
Those narrow, long phoenix eyes gradually blurred with a touch of gorgeousness, burning with passion. He suddenly chuckled, "Do you like watching the snow?"
The broken snow quickly formed a layer of white on the ground, and the layers of green tiles were also covered with white snow.
"I've never seen snow before, so of course I like it."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyi's eyes flashed with surprise. Huaizhou City was adjacent to Danyang County, and while snow rarely fell in winter, it wasn't unheard of.
The person next to her suddenly fell silent. Song Lingyi looked up and saw him gazing quietly at the white marble terrace, his eyelashes half-closed, casting a faint shadow on his eyelids, making his nose stand out even more sharply and his lips thin. His narrow-sleeved, python-patterned robe cast a cold, gloomy look in the candlelight, as if covered in a thousand years of frost and snow.
Lonely and stingy?
When this thought popped into her mind, she was suddenly startled. How could this word be associated with the prince who was above everyone else? It must be her illusion.
"There is something I have wanted to give you for a long time." Xiao Mingyi said.
"What?"
Their eyes met.
Song Lingyi's heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and without seeing him move, she saw a very familiar hairpin appear in his hand.
"How... could it be..." Song Lingyi just felt incredible.
How could he have bought the twisted hairpin that I hadn't bought at that time...
Under the girl's surprised gaze, Xiao Mingyi took a half step forward and inserted the twisted hairpin into her hair. He said in a coaxing voice, "I wanted to give it to you before I came to Beijing, but I never had the chance. So I'll just consider it a New Year's gift for you."
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