juniors
After leaving the workshop, I was in a great mood and lay down on the rocking chair for a nap. When I woke up again, I found Ah Shi fanning me with a fan. I was speechless: "Me, a skeleton, do I need a fan? I went in here and came out there?"
Ah Shi stared blankly, only uttering an "Oh," before unconsciously fiddling with the fan in his hand. Was he... troubled? I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Aunt, I saw the Crown Prince today."
"The Crown Prince frequently comes and goes in the palace, so isn't it quite normal to see him?"
“But…” Ah Shi hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
I clicked my tongue: "Just say what you have to say. What's so hard to say to me?"
“I always felt…” Ah Shi frowned and paused, “The Crown Prince is somewhat different…”
Different? I sat up abruptly: "What's different? Has it been tainted by malevolence?"
Ah Shi shook his head: "I didn't see any hostility around him, but I just felt that his temper and personality were a little different..."
"What's different?"
"Hmm..." Ah Shi thought for a moment before saying, "The Crown Prince doesn't like the Crown Princess. He used to ignore her, but today I saw him holding her hand very intimately as they strolled in the Imperial Garden. It looked particularly incongruous..."
The Crown Princess? Given my brother's character, he would definitely choose a consort for the Crown Prince because of the powerful forces behind him. It's normal that the Crown Prince doesn't like her.
"Hmm... what if the Crown Prince has come to his senses and intends to cooperate well with the Crown Princess before his ascension to the throne? After all, the Crown Princess should be of some help to the Crown Prince."
"But they don't seem like the type to act! I've seen them looking at each other the whole time, no matter the scene... Can people really change so much overnight?"
"Could he have suffered some kind of blow?" I thought for a moment and asked Ah Shi, "Has someone appeared who could threaten his position?"
"No!" Ah Shiyi said matter-of-factly, "He's already the Crown Prince, nothing can threaten him anymore."
"The Crown Prince involves the royal family, so we can't act rashly. Besides, what if the couple suddenly become harmonious? It's not that unusual. Let's hold back and observe first."
“Okay,” Ah Shi nodded.
However, practitioners are naturally intuitive, and there might really be something fishy about this. To be on the safe side, I still went to see Muli.
When I barged into Muli's resting place in the palace, he was probably just about to rest, his belt already undone... He seemed a little surprised to see me come in: "Xu Yi?" Then he looked at the belt in his hand, probably debating whether to tie it back up, and when he looked up and saw my expressionless face, he casually tossed the belt onto the edge of the bed. The metallic belt of the Imperial Guard made a crisp sound as it hit the edge of the bed, and the thin silk ribbon at the end of the belt slid down to the bedside, fluttering in a soft arc with the breeze...
I suddenly felt something was wrong. How could I just barge into someone else's dorm room? I think I suddenly remembered that I'm a woman.
I strongly suspected my face was a little red, so I looked away, said, "I'll wait for you outside," and went out.
After I left, I realized that I had been too awkward. He was practically my grandson, and I was his grandmother. How could we still have such a gender distinction?
Just as I was finding my behavior amusing, I heard Muli call out to me, "Xu Yi? What's wrong?"
I turned my head and found that he was only wearing a dark blue lining under his armor. Although it covered him up completely, without the armor to cover him, it felt very 'exposed'... But his clothes were neatly arranged, and I couldn't find anything wrong with them.
I tilted my head slightly and suggested, "Why don't you... change into another set?"
"Hmm? Is there something wrong with my outfit?"
"I think you should get a different outfit."
“Okay,” Muli nodded, “I’ll change it, you wait a moment.”
Muli went back inside to change his clothes. I paced outside, somewhat surprised by my own behavior. Why did I insist that he change? What he wears has nothing to do with me, an outsider. His clothes are his to wear, and they have absolutely no bearing on me.
When Muli changed her clothes and stood in front of me again, I felt uneasy again...
He wore a bamboo-green casual outfit, covered by a blue-gray gauze overlay. This allowed the green of the bamboo leaves to be clearly seen, yet the blue-gray covering made them appear less vibrant and conspicuous, even subtly revealing a composed demeanor...
The clothes were tailored to fit him perfectly, making his figure appear very slender... and the soft gauze draped over him rose and fell gently with the surrounding breeze... making him look both handsome and elegant... In short, he looked very good.
Then I felt even more uneasy, and even thought he could change into another set...
Seeing that I didn't react for a while, he raised his eyebrows and looked at me with a questioning tone... The raised eyebrows caused him to nod his head slightly, his eyes looking up slightly, his dark eyes following his upward gaze to my face, making me inexplicably feel a bit of allure...
Uh... what was I trying to say?
Seeing that I still didn't react, he tilted his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips: "Xu Yi?"
"Ah!" I looked down and rubbed my temples helplessly. "Um... well, Ah Shi saw the Crown Prince today..." Getting to the point made me more alert, but when I looked up and saw his handsome eyes smiling at me, I suddenly stammered again...
His eyes widened slightly, and he tilted his head to the other side again, as if trying to hear my voice clearly: "So?"
“Uh…” I looked down and rubbed my temples again: “Well, so, so he saw the Crown Prince and Crown Princess being very intimate…”
“Oh,” he nodded in agreement, “and then?”
"Hmm," I said, trying to appear calm, and turned my gaze back to his face. "Well... oh, Ah Shi said that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have never gotten along well, so he found this rather unusual..."
“Yes, indeed,” Mu Li nodded. “The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have always disliked each other, so A Shi felt that this was a bit unusual. But the Crown Prince is involved in the court, and you are worried that he might be corrupted by his violent tendencies, but you also guess that A Shi is just overthinking things, so you want me to take a look at the Crown Prince for you, right?”
"Yes, that's right," I nodded, having finished what I wanted to say so easily. "That's exactly what you said."
"Alright, I understand." His gaze shifted to the side, as if considering something. "It has indeed been a long time since I left the palace to pay my respects to the Crown Prince. Shall I go and see him, and then come back to find you after I return to the palace?"
"Looking for me?" Oh right, they have to tell me what they've found, right? I nodded: "Okay, then, I'll leave it to you."
"No need to be polite, Xu Yi." After saying that, he looked at me again.
I was a little stunned. Was there something he hadn't finished saying? "What's wrong?"
He chuckled: "That's all. I just wanted to know if you had anything else to say."
"No," I quickly shook my head, "It's nothing." He probably still needs to rest, I should leave first: "Then I'll go first." After saying that, I walked out.
Then I heard him call out to me: "Xu Yi!"
"Hmm?" I turned around. "What's wrong?"
He walked a few steps to my side, smiled, and said, "I was just about to leave the palace anyway. Since you don't have anything else to do right now, why don't you see me out of the palace?"
"Would you like me to leave the palace?" That would take about 35 or 45 minutes... But I just asked someone for help, so I couldn't refuse now: "Okay, I'll take you."
The palace path was long and silent. When we finally reached the palace gates, I heard Mu Li ask me, "Xu Yi, I overheard you telling the Imperial Concubine by the well that you were Princess Changling?"
"Yes," I nodded, straightening my skirt.
"You are..." He turned his head to look at me, "Were you trying to scare them on purpose?"
"No?" I looked at him calmly. "I really am the eldest princess!"
"But...but Princess Changling has been gone for many years, hasn't she?"
“Yes!” I nodded emphatically: “I am a ghost now.”
"But you have a physical form, don't you?"
“Yes! I’m just a skeleton now.” I tilted my head, as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “You can also call me Little White Bone.”
At this point, Muli stopped, his eyes turning to my gloves: "May I... take a look?"
"Look at a skeleton? Forget it, you'll have nightmares if you do," I refused outright. "It's better not to look at it."
He lowered his head, let out a sigh of relief, and then looked up at me again: "Xu Yi... Grandfather, to me, Grandfather is just a strict elder. I don't know much about the entanglement between you, but in general, he has let you down. I apologize to you on his behalf."
Huh? This kid even went to find out about what happened between me and Mu Qi? "You... asked your grandfather?"
“I…asked my grandmother.”
“Hmm…it’s all in the past,” I nodded. “No need to worry about it, it’s all over now.”
"But... but if Grandfather hadn't let you down, you wouldn't have died on the way to a marriage alliance..."
“Then there wouldn’t be the me I am today!” I patted him on the shoulder to comfort him: “Why are you, a junior, holding onto these old stories? Those things are all in the past. The present is what you should be concerned about.”
"I am not a junior."
"Why aren't you? According to the timeline, you should be calling me grandmother!"
“You didn’t marry your grandfather, so there’s no such connection between us.”
"But I'm from your grandmother's generation too! How come you're not considered a junior?"
“I am not,” he said firmly, taking a step closer and repeating, “I am not, junior.”
Okay, all the younger generation wants to grow up, so I nodded perfunctorily: "Alright, alright, you're not a younger generation anymore, okay?"
“Yes,” he nodded, his tone firm: “You must remember.”
Hmm? What's wrong with this kid? Oh well, kids need to be coaxed. I nodded, "Okay, I'll remember."
"Then I'm leaving."
Go!
Muli glanced back at the palace gate not far away: "We haven't even reached the palace gate yet!"
The implication is that I haven't delivered it properly yet?
“Okay,” I nodded, “I’ll take you.”
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