eavesdropping on conversations
Sui Zhixu thought that Sui Chengyu would give up, but to her surprise, Sui Chengyu became even more attached to her.
"cousin……"
"cousin!"
"Cousin, please!"
Sui Zhixu covered her ears and said sternly, "Enough, come up here."
After half a month of torment, Sui Zhixu gave up struggling. Sui Chengyu couldn't get rid of him no matter what she said, and he wouldn't listen to anything good or bad. He just wanted to stick to her.
Sui Chengyu immediately took a quilt from the cabinet, climbed onto the bed in two or three steps, and sat next to Sui Zhixu.
She grabbed Sui Zhixu's arm, her eyes lingering on Sui Zhixu's face, and whispered in her sweet voice, "Cousin, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Let's go to the lantern fair together tonight. I'm really good at this; I've won the Lantern King title at Yunlai Tower every year. I'll bring it back for you this year, okay? Please~"
Sui Zhixu has been having the same dream from that day recently, and the chaotic dream has kept her up all night.
In addition, she has been spending all her days in the library, surrounded by lessons on moon-level subjects, which has made her even more miserable.
He was already half asleep as soon as he touched the bed and didn't hear what Sui Chengyu said at all, only subconsciously grunting in response.
"My cousin is so nice." Sui Chengyu snuggled up to Sui Zhixu and nestled in her arms, gradually drifting off to sleep.
The following evening, Sui Zhixu rested her chin on her hand and flipped through the Spring and Autumn Annals, the chaotic sound of turning the pages inexplicably confirming her irritability.
She was required to memorize her birthdates and all the texts from the classics, even though she wasn't taking the imperial examinations.
"I see you're trying to be another naive fool. Why can't you impress me?"
Sui Zhixu slumped on the table, her expressionless face deathly still. She buried her head in her arms, rubbing it in frustration.
When Sui Chengyu told her about the lantern festival, Sui Zhixu looked up in disbelief, "When did I agree to that?"
"Last night."
Sui Zhixu closed her eyes and took a breath. She remembered that she seemed to have promised Sui Chengyu something in her drowsy state last night. She originally disliked Sui Chengyu for her constant chatter, but when she heard Sui Chengyu ask if it was okay, she casually agreed.
"Cousin, have you forgotten?" Sui Chengyu held Sui Zhixu's hand, her eyes welling up with tears.
Sui Zhixu rubbed her temples; it was indeed she who had agreed.
She spoke with difficulty, "How could I forget? I promised you last night, let's go."
"Okay, okay!" Sui Chengyu rushed towards Sui Zhixu, grabbed Sui Zhixu's hand, and walked outside.
"Quickly, Danhong, prepare the carriage. My cousin and I will go now."
Dan Hong bowed with a pout, and soon a carriage arrived.
On the Lantern Festival, as night fell, the lanterns of Yunlai Tower were lit, their brilliant lights standing out prominently on the streets of Chang'an.
People entered Yunlai Tower together, laughing and chatting.
Sui Zhixu was accompanied by Dan Hong and Liu Lü, as well as Sui Chengyu, whom she couldn't shake off, and Sui Chufeng, who was protecting them.
The hall was filled with shouts and guessing games. Sui Zhixu decisively threw Sui Chufeng and Sui Chengyu over, along with Dan Hong, whose eyes were burning with desire, and packed them all up and took them out.
"Isn't my cousin coming?" Sui Chengyu blinked, her eyes filled with innocence and confusion.
Xu shook his head, coldly refusing.
"Are you really not coming?" Sui Chengyu tugged at the corner of Sui Zhixu's sleeve. Her pale pink dress intertwined with Sui Zhixu's shawl, the two colors matching each other, making them indistinguishable from each other from a distance.
"No, I'm not interested. I'll just watch you." Sui Zhixu walked to a corner of the hall, where she could see Sui Chengyu and Sui Chufeng.
Sui Chengyu pouted, "Alright, then my cousin and I are leaving. Cousin, you must keep an eye on Chengyu."
Sui Zhixu propped his arm up on his hand and nodded perfunctorily.
Sui Zhixu was always expressionless. When Sui Chengyu saw that she agreed, she pulled Sui Chufeng into the crowd to guess the riddles. "Let's take down the King of Lanterns and let my cousin see my strength."
Sui Chufeng was equally excited. He cheered and quickly led Sui Chengyu through the crowd to the riddle-solving area.
His knuckles tapped rhythmically on the table. Even on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, Cong Lan was still very busy, accompanying the Emperor to make friends with envoys from various countries and handling local government affairs. He knew Xu hadn't noticed anything amiss; where exactly was the Prince of Xuanping planning to begin?
Regarding the Nuo opera on New Year's Eve, she wrote a letter to Fan Lingzhang, asking him to pay attention to the winds blowing in Chang'an, but the Prince of Xuanping made no move.
That's really good at enduring things.
The rhythm of the tapping gradually became chaotic. Sui Zhixu looked up to search for the two figures, but Sui Chufeng and Sui Chengyu had long been lost in the crowd and could not be distinguished.
As Xu Zhixu leaned against the railing upstairs, he had a wide view above him. He saw Sui Chengyu patting Sui Chufeng's arm, his brows furrowed, and muttering to himself.
Sui Zhixu's lips curled up slightly. Nearly two months after returning home, everything was going quite well.
Not far away, she heard sparse sounds coming from the private room. She glanced around and saw that it was the same room as that day. She gestured to Liu Lü, turned around and nimbly entered the private room next door. Following Fan Lingzhang's steps, she placed the wooden board aside.
It must be said that Fan Lingzhang did a good job.
He then approached and listened attentively.
"Fan Lang has been making headlines lately."
"You flatter me, Your Highness. I never expected that such a small matter would reach your ears. My servants are truly ignorant and have caused you so much trouble." It was Fan Lingzhang's voice.
Sui Zhixu's eyes lit up. "Wang?"
The voice sounded familiar, and the king was related to Fan Lingzhang—wasn't that the Prince of Xuanping?
They were referring to the commotion caused by Cong Lan's visit to express her gratitude, which had occurred nearly twenty days earlier, and now the Prince of Xuanping was finally coming to question her.
"I know you resent me, Ah Ling back then..." His gentle voice carried a hint of regret and sorrow.
“Ah Ling died of illness, how can you blame the king? If anyone should be blamed, it should be me. I failed to take good care of her and let the king down.”
Fan Lingzhang's voice choked with emotion: "A-Ling has been married to me for two years. Is our fate as husband and wife too shallow, or is someone deliberately framing her? A-Ling has always been in good health. How could she suddenly be afflicted with a serious illness? Doesn't Your Majesty find this strange?"
"You mean...?" Prince Xuanping paused for a moment, "that she was murdered?!"
"That's right! It must be Cong Xiang and his group. A Ling is your niece, Your Majesty. Who else but Cong Xiang has been so determined to oppose you all these years? Three years ago, he stirred up trouble in the court and pinned those so-called remnants of the previous dynasty on Your Majesty. At that time, A Ling had only been gone for a short time. Your Majesty always cherished A Ling. You were no less heartbroken than I was when A Ling passed away. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cong Xiang framed you."
Prince Xuanping was stunned, seemingly never having considered what Fan Lingzhang had said.
As Xu clenched his fist, Fan Lingzhang still wanted to please both sides? Each side had a different story; typical businessman.
"So you were testing Cong Lan the other day?"
“That’s right, Your Majesty. Think about it carefully. Didn’t A-Ling do something wrong three years ago?”
Prince Xuanping hesitated.
Fan Lingzhang then asked, "Both A-Ling and the county princess are extremely important to you, so why are you specifically targeting A-Ling?"
Following Fan Lingzhang's train of thought, Prince Xuanping said, "It's you, Fan Lang."
“That’s right. Although I do not hold an official position, I do have some assets. Three years ago, a hidden force took advantage of my grief and cut off many of my businesses. I suspect it was someone from the Sui family. The Sui family has many strategists. Cong Xiang was just one of the men chosen as my husband back then, which is why he was brought into the open. It doesn’t mean that the Sui family’s hidden people have disappeared.”
Prince Xuanping: "What you said makes some sense. I'm sorry to have troubled you. Alas, Ah Ling in heaven must feel your affection. I will send someone to investigate."
"Thank you for your understanding, Wang."
“Hey, why call me Wang? It’s too formal. Even though A-Ling is gone, you are still my nephew-in-law. Call me Uncle.”
Fan Lingzhang mumbled, "Uncle."
“Good lad, I know you have deep feelings for A-Ling, but don’t act rashly.”
Hearing the patting sound, he realized it might be the Prince of Xuanping patting Fan Lingzhang on the shoulder.
"I know."
Prince Xuanping kept his mouth shut, not revealing a single piece of information. Meanwhile, Su Zhixu's hand unconsciously twirled the tassel of the jade pendant as he pondered the matter.
"By the way, has Anniang been coming to your residence a lot lately?"
Fan Lingzhang: "The day of the A Ling Festival is approaching. The county princess visits the old house of the Lady every year at this time. You know that, Your Majesty."
Sui Zhixu hooked the thread with his fingernail, pulled out a few emerald green tassels, and tried to shake the thread off by shaking his hand. After shaking it twice, it didn't come off. Sui Zhixu thought it was annoying and had no choice but to take it off manually.
She silently added information about the Xuanping Prince's faction to her mind, and that the Princess of Jing'an and Lady Lu had a good relationship.
“This year is different from previous years. She is sixteen years old this year, and it’s time for her to make an appearance.”
"Does Your Majesty have someone in mind?" Fan Lingzhang laughed heartily and joked.
"It's hard to say, but Anniang is stubborn. As her brother-in-law, you should try to persuade her. I've told her to stay home, but she just won't listen. When I tell her to stay home, she always goes out. In short, she does everything against me."
Prince Xuanping sighed repeatedly, and Fan Lingzhang pretended to comfort him, "Don't worry, I will try to persuade her more when the county princess comes to visit."
"She admires Ah Ling, even more than a father."
The meaning of these words was unclear, and although Xu knew they sounded strange, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Downstairs, Sui Chengyu cheered and jumped for joy, grabbing Sui Chufeng's sleeve and shouting, "Cousin! I got it! I got this year's Lantern King!"
The sound was so loud that Xu could hear it inside the house, just as the two people next door finished their conversation.
Laughter and banter came from next door, but there was no useful information. So Xu picked up the wooden board and put it back. At that moment, the wooden door creaked.
In an instant, Xu drew his hidden arrow and pointed it at the door.
With a creak, the wooden door opened, followed by a low voice saying, "It's me."
The arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released. With a flick of his wrist, Xu Zhixu sent the arrow whistling through the air past Fan Lingzhang's lotus-white sleeve and nailing it to the wooden frame.
The arrow's fletching trembled slightly, and Fan Lingzhang's heart trembled involuntarily.
His eyelashes fluttered as he looked up at Sui Zhixu's deep, inky eyes, unable to look away.
With tears blurring his vision, Fan Lingzhang clenched his fists, as if nothing had happened, and put on a hearty laugh, "Madam Sui came with her sisters today. I just saw that Second Madam Sui won the Lantern King again this year and is waiting for you now. Why don't you go down and take a look?"
Sui Zhixu rolled out of bed. "How did you know it was me?"
Fan Lingzhang smiled and tapped the closed door. "I saw your maidservant."
"I'm going down now." Sui Zhixu brushed past Fan Lingzhang and left.
A flowing, pale pink shawl swept across Fan Lingzhang's lotus-white robe, sending a tingling sensation through his heart.
Fan Lingzhang reached out to try to grab it, but the shawl slipped through his fingers. His greedy gaze lingered on it inch by inch. Suddenly, he closed his eyes, his heart aching terribly.
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