Chapter 89 Tangled
Lu Qian strode forward, "Where are you going, you little bitch—"
Before he could finish his words, the crimson figure passed by him, jumped in front of the old lady, hugged her arm and acted coquettishly.
Lu Qian's face darkened, his tongue pressed against his cheek, and he felt very uncomfortable.
But on second thought, she felt much better because at least she didn't throw herself into Pei Zhao's arms.
"Lingyi, where did you go just now?" Wang asked softly.
"After the lion dance performance, the streets were crowded and separated me and my brother Jianzhi. I got lost and walked to another street. It took me a long time to find my way here..." Song Lingyi made up an excuse.
The elders from both families surrounded Song Lingyi to comfort her. Pei Zhao watched silently from the side. He was just blaming himself for not keeping a good eye on her when he heard the girl call out softly, "Brother Jianzhi."
Song Lingyi forced a comforting smile and said, "It's my fault. I should have waited for you right here. I made you worry."
"I'm glad you're okay." Pei Zhao's eyebrows curved slightly, his handsome face filled with self-blame. "It was your first time at the Lantern Festival, and I didn't take good care of you. I don't blame you."
Seeing him so gentle and considerate, Song Lingyi felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, and became more determined not to get entangled with Xiao Mingyi anymore.
She glanced at the teahouse not far away and said with a gloomy look, "Grandma, I'm a little tired."
The old lady patted her hands, thinking she was just tired after getting lost. "We've almost finished our visit to the Lantern Festival. Since you're tired, let's go home."
Song Lingyi hummed softly, turned to look at the elders of the Pei family, and said apologetically, "It's still early, and the Lantern Festival has just begun. Uncle Pei and Aunt Pei don't have to let me spoil your fun. There are still acrobatic performances ahead, so you can continue to explore."
Pei Tingyou waved his hand and said with a smile, "We are all family, so why bother with all those polite words? This Lantern Festival is the same every year, and there is nothing much to see. A Ling is quiet, and without you and A Yu in such a lively occasion, she would feel restrained."
Upon hearing this, Xiang's face showed an unrecognizable emotion, and a hint of obscurity flashed across her eyes.
Pei Ling liked quietness and seldom came to the Lantern Festival. She naturally had no objection to her mother saying she wanted to go back home, but she caught a glimpse of her mother's expression and felt a little worried.
"Mother?"
Xiang looked at her and said with a faint smile, "Since your father has said so, let's go back. Lingyi is frail and needs more care."
Pei Ling didn't say anything. She had a feeling that her mother was in a bad mood, but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.
After the two families said goodbye, they each got on their carriages.
After leaving the Lantern Festival, the streets became even more deserted and quiet.
The carriage rumbled along the flat bluestone road, and Song Lingyi's uneasy mood slowly calmed down. She rested her forehead against the wall of the compartment and let out a light breath.
"What's wrong with you, cousin?" Lu Yu held her chin.
After my cousin got lost, her mood became inexplicably strange, as if she had no interest in anything.
There were only two sisters in the carriage, and the atmosphere was extremely quiet.
Song Lingyi sighed and said, "Nothing much, just a little trouble."
Whenever she thought of what Xiao Mingyi said in the teahouse and his determined attitude, she felt upset.
What was this guy thinking? He didn't want to marry her at first, but just because she ran away for a few months, he felt guilty and wanted to marry her?
Why?
She is not a pet that can be summoned and dismissed at will.
So what if he is the crown prince? So what if he is the emperor? Could it be that he wants to do the banditry of forcing women?
ridiculous!
Maybe what he said in the teahouse was just a trick to trick her into breaking off the engagement out of temporary novelty.
She won't be fooled!
"What's the matter?" Lu Yu asked with her head tilted.
Song Lingyi fell into thought, hesitated for a moment, and said with a faint smile: "I just feel that my affairs have disturbed everyone's interest tonight. The Lantern Festival is so lively, and we haven't had a good time yet."
"It's no big deal. There are plenty of opportunities to watch the Lantern Festival. My grandmother is old and had a serious illness at the beginning of the year. My parents are worried about her health. It's useless to accompany her all night in fear. It's better to go home early." Lu Yu held the incense spoon and casually fiddled with the ashes in the incense burner on the side table.
In another carriage.
Lu Qian closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, the scene of Song Lingyi holding Pei Zhao's hand and running happily on the street unconsciously emerged in his mind.
Seeing her standing next to another man, her beautiful smile was like a poisonous arrow piercing his heart. Dark emotions continued to grow in his heart, surging like a tide and beating against his reason.
In these seventeen years of smooth sailing, he had never experienced such strong emotions.
"...Since you are so close to her, it would be better to marry her and strengthen the relationship..."
'It is a good thing for a cousin whose parents have both passed away to marry a cousin who knows her family well.'
"Speaking of which, wasn't our late emperor's first empress his cousin..."
The words of those young masters kept echoing in Lu Qian's ears.
He suddenly opened his eyes as if waking up from a nightmare, and in the dim light, his auspicious phoenix eyes shone brightly.
…
At night, lights were lit everywhere in the imperial city.
When Xiao Mingyi returned to the East Palace from Xuande Gate, the lights were on in the palace and the palace servants were waiting outside with their heads nodded and brows lowered.
After a round of greetings, Feng Tong came out of the hall and walked quickly to Xiao Mingyi.
"Your Highness, the Queen is here."
Xiao Mingyi lowered his eyes, hesitated for two breaths, and walked towards the main hall.
There are no concubines in the Eastern Palace. Only the Crown Prince lives in this huge palace, which makes it a little deserted.
White smoke curled from the gilded animal-head incense burner, and the celadon candlesticks glowed brightly. Queen Shen, dressed in gorgeous palace attire, sat upright on a soft couch, a scroll in her hands, reading intently. She raised her eyelids slightly at the sound of steady footsteps within the hall.
"Are you going to the Lantern Festival?"
Xiao Mingyi bowed respectfully like a scholar and said, "I heard that the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival was going to be lively, so I left the palace to wander around for a while."
Queen Shen put down the scroll and said calmly, "Do we need to bring Jinyiwei with us when we visit the Lantern Festival?"
Xiao Mingyi remained calm as he walked to the Huanghuali armchair and sat down in a leisurely manner.
"Just taking care of some things on the way."
A moment of silence swept the hall.
Queen Shen sighed briefly, rubbing her brows and saying, "I came here today to discuss an important matter with the Crown Prince."
"Mother, please speak."
"Has the girl been found?" asked Queen Shen.
Across from him, Xiao Mingyi paused as he fiddled with the eagle-head jade ring. He slowly raised his eyes and said, "Why is your Majesty asking this?"
"I see you care about this girl very much. If you find her, you can make her a concubine. But you can't just keep this one girl. You should also consider holding a beauty pageant to fill the East Palace."
Queen Shen knew that the prince would be upset if the topic of the selection was brought up, but if she didn't urge him, the prince would never take it to heart.
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