Xuan Yuanhao hurriedly walked out, and Liu Li looked at Yu Xin and said in a low voice, "Yu Xin, you did a good job."
Yu Xin chuckled and said smugly, "Thank you for the compliment, Miss."
"Tch." Ge Yiyuan, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand Yu Xin's smug look. He glanced at Yu Xin and then turned to make a face at her.
Enraged, Yu Xin raised her hand to strike him.
Ge Yiyuan reacted quickly, standing up and nimbly dodging the attack. Yu Xin glanced at him, snorted coldly, and let him go, showing no intention of chasing after him.
After dodging, Ge Yiyuan simply wandered around the hall, touching the furnishings and examining the patterns on the pillars. Before he knew it, he had walked to Xuan Yuanhao's painting desk and looked curiously at a painting that had just been completed.
"Hey, could this painting depict a young woman?" Ge Yiyuan picked up the Xuan paper from the table. The painting depicted a bustling long street lined with various stalls. People in front of the stalls, mostly carrying lanterns, chatted and laughed in small groups. In the very center of the painting was a stall covered with lanterns, where a woman in white stood sideways, smiling broadly as she spoke to a man in brocade robes.
Although it was only a side profile, Ge Yiyuan quickly recognized that the woman in the painting was Liuli, and the man was Xuanyuan Hao in his youth.
Liu Li looked up but remained silent. Yu Xin, on the other hand, stood up and walked over curiously. She took the painting from Ge Yiyuan's hand and looked at it for a while. She first focused her attention on the man in brocade robes in the middle of the painting and then clicked her tongue in admiration, "What a gentle and refined young man."
"You big flower-obsessed fool!" Ge Yiyuan pointed at the woman in white in the painting and said with a sneer, "Where are you looking? I told you to look at the woman in the painting, isn't she the girl?"
Yu Xin then turned her gaze to the woman in white in the painting. A look of confusion appeared on her face as she hesitated and said, "She looks...like me, but..."
After looking at it for a while, Yu Xin hurriedly walked over to Liuli, handed the painting to her, and asked, "Miss, is this you in the painting?"
Liuli lowered her eyes to look at the painting. She still vaguely remembered the scene in the painting. It was the only Lantern Festival she had spent in Yingyang City. In front of the lantern riddle stall, she and Xuanyuan Hao guessed lantern riddles together, chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was very warm.
After a long while, Liuli looked up at Yu Xin and nodded, saying, "Yes."
Yu Xin was greatly surprised. She turned the painting around and looked closely at the woman in it. She saw that the woman's eyes were smiling like crescent moons on her profile. Her expression was both cute and lively, and she looked mischievous and cunning, completely different from Liuli now.
As she looked at it, Yu Xin suddenly remembered the glass that Shi Chan had told her about in the past. Wasn't this exactly what it looked like?
After watching for a while, Yu Xin sighed deeply.
After a moment, Yu Xin looked at the man in brocade robes in the painting and asked, "Miss, what about this man? He looks just like the Human Emperor. Could he be the Human Emperor in his youth?"
Liuli nodded and said calmly, "Yes."
Yu Xin was filled with amazement and shook her head in admiration, saying, "Truly, you are a peerless gentleman, a jade-like figure among men. What a pity, what a pity that you have grown old now."
Liuli remained silent, not uttering a single word.
Yu Xin tossed the painting to Ge Yiyuan, who had just walked over, and then sat down in the chair next to Liuli. She crossed her arms over the armrest, rested her chin on her arm, and looked at Liuli curiously, asking, "Miss, does the Emperor like you?"
With a pale expression, Liuli said in a low voice, "To me, Xuanyuan Hao is... a friend."
Yu Xin disagreed, saying, "I think the Emperor doesn't just see you as a friend; he definitely likes you!"
Liuli shook her head and fell silent, saying nothing more.
Feeling bored, Yu Xin reached out and picked up a piece of pastry from the small table, stuffing it into her mouth.
Ge Yiyuan, who was standing next to him, looked at the painting carefully for a while, then went over and put it back in its original place. He walked around the hall a few times, then went back to the chair he had been sitting on and sat down, bored and lost in thought.
When Xuanyuan Hao returned, half an hour had passed. He carefully wrote a letter and selected a dozen or so skilled guards, instructing them to deliver the letter and a token symbolizing imperial power to the Yuandao Sect's mortal gate, so that the disciples of the Yuandao Sect could hand it over to their sect leader.
After doing all this, he finally felt a little relieved and returned to the Tranquil Heart Palace to chat with Liuli, who responded to him in a casual manner.
As night fell, Liuli, Yu Xin, Ge Yiyuan, and the others enjoyed a sumptuous dinner with Xuanyuan Hao at the Moon-Viewing Terrace. After admiring the beautiful scenery from the terrace, they finally left late at night.
When Liuli and the others returned to Mingshan, it was nearly midnight. The west wing of the Yiqing Palace was brightly lit and the doors were wide open.
This west annex has always been the residence of Liuli, Yu Xin, and Ge Yiyuan. Since they are not here, the main hall of this hall should not be lit.
Liuli stood on the small bridge in the backyard, looking at the dim candlelight in the main hall of the west wing. After standing quietly for a moment, she slowly walked forward, saying softly as she went, "It's getting late, Yu Xin, Ge Yiyuan, you should both go and rest."
"Yes." The two responded and followed Liuli to the main hall of the west wing. They separated and went to the east and west side pavilions respectively, while Liuli went straight into the main hall.
The dim candlelight flickered in the hall, casting long shadows on Li Molin's face. At that moment, Li Molin sat upright in the main seat, his elbows resting on the armrests of the chair, his hand supporting his forehead, his eyes closed, looking utterly exhausted.
Liuli's footsteps startled Li Molin. He looked up, his eyes hazy and weary.
Upon seeing Liuli, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his lips, and he said softly, "You're back, Liuli?"
"Hmm." Liuli nodded, walked to the chair next to him and sat down, asking, "It's getting late, why aren't you resting yet?"
Li Molin said with a smile, "I led the Xuanjia Army to destroy a Dao Sect. When I came back, I found that you were not there. I asked many people, but no one knew where you went. So I thought I would wait for you here. I didn't expect to wait until now."
Liuli turned to look at him, and asked in confusion, "You've been waiting for me for so long, is there something you need?"
Li Molin smiled and shook his head, his voice gentle as he whispered, "It's nothing, I just wanted to see you one last time before I went to sleep."
Liuli was taken aback, a complex emotion quietly passing through her heart. She knew that although he spoke lightly, destroying a Dao Sect was still a difficult task, and he had returned after all that hardship, waiting until late at night just to see her, even though she might not come back at all.
Liuli remained silent for a long time, unsure how to respond to his long wait. After a long while, she said softly, "I took Ge Yiyuan and Yu Xin to the palace."
Li Molin turned to look at her and asked, "What are you going to the palace for?"
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