The moonlight is bright in the East Palace, the Zixiao Hall.

Linglong stood respectfully below and reported to Pei Yan everything about Zishuang sending the letter.

"The Crown Princess seemed to have reprimanded Zishuang. Zishuang's face turned ashen, as if she had tears in her eyes. After she came out of the palace, she went straight back to her room."

Pei Yan's expression was calm. "Watch the Crown Princess carefully to see if she will go out tomorrow."

Linglong nodded, thought for a moment, and added, "In my opinion, the Crown Princess... is not confused. The correspondence was mainly caused by Zishuang."

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes and slowly looked at Linglong, still smiling, but speaking in a very indifferent tone, "It seems that the Crown Princess treats you well? It's only been a few days, and you're already speaking for her."

Linglong was startled, and quickly knelt on one knee, lowered her head and said, "I am sorry for talking too much, I hope the master will forgive me."

Pei Yan stared at the calligraphy on the table for a long while before saying, "Get up. I don't blame you."

A breeze blew in from the window, and the scent of ink spread.

After giving a few more instructions, Pei Yan let Linglong leave.

"Pei Changzhou..."

Pei Yan picked up the brush and wrote these three words on the white rice paper. Then he took a red pen and circled the name. A cold murderous intent rose in his ink-like eyes.

After a moment, he casually threw the wolf-hair brush in his hand beside the table, leaned lazily against the back of the chair, and gently pinched his eyebrows with his slender fingers.

Will the little fox show up tomorrow? It really makes me curious.

——

The next day, Tao Ti slept until she woke up naturally.

I don't know when it started raining outside, creating a hazy mist.

In front of the dressing mirror, Linglong stood behind her with a comb in hand and asked, "Crown Princess, what kind of bun do you want to wear today?"

"Just do the same as yesterday. We don't have to go out anyway, so we can do whatever is convenient." Tao Ti answered lazily, supporting his chin with one hand, staring straight at the drizzle outside the window.

The drizzle in spring makes people feel peaceful. At this time, brew a cup of jasmine tea, add a delicious snack, lie on a bamboo chair and watch the rain. Just thinking about it is very pleasant.

When Linglong heard her say that she couldn't go out, she felt relieved and thought that she had not made a mistake.

After getting dressed, Tao Ti asked someone to prepare a bowl of shrimp wontons for lunch.

The skin is thin and translucent, the filling is thick, and a whole shrimp is wrapped in juicy minced meat. It is chewy, fresh and fragrant, light and refreshing. Paired with the fragrant chicken soup, it is so fresh that it makes your eyebrows fall off.

After eating and drinking, Tao Ti stood by the window to watch the rain, letting her mind clear.

But Zishuang was seen carrying a small bag, following the eunuch, looking back every few steps, with a sad and melancholy look in her eyes, as if Tao Ti was a scumbag who started with an affair and then abandoned her.

Tao Ti was not moved at all, and even secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she discovered this risk early. If she had kept her by her side, she might have caused trouble in the future.

Linglong saw the Crown Princess leaning against the window, her gaze wandering far away, as if she was thinking about something.

I couldn't help wondering, is the Crown Princess thinking about going to the appointment? That's impossible. If the Crown Princess really went, where would His Highness be?

Tao Ti was indeed thinking about Pei Changzhou, but she was praying that the rain would be heavier, so that Pei Changzhou would be soaked like a drowned dog, the more miserable the better!

Turning around and seeing Linglong, she whispered, "Has Zishuang been sent away?"

Linglong's expression was slightly depressed, and she walked forward slowly, "Yes, she has already boarded the carriage to leave the palace." After a pause, she asked, "Why did the Crown Princess suddenly send Zishuang back? Did she make some mistake?"

"Her personality is not suitable for staying in the palace." Tao Ti answered vaguely, and then said no more. She walked back to the couch, picked up the storybook and started reading.

Seeing that she had no intention of going out, Linglong felt relieved again, not realizing that she had begun to show some genuine concern for the Crown Princess without knowing when.

…

The gentle drizzle hit the tender green banana leaves, and even the air was filled with a damp and cold mist.

Beside the Moon Shadow Lake in the small garden, Pei Changzhou was dressed in white. From a distance he looked elegant, but up close his face was as black as charcoal.

"Hu Jin, what time is it now?" He frowned and asked the eunuch beside him.

"My Lord, it's three quarters past three in the afternoon..."

"Are you sure you delivered the letter to her?"

Hu Jin's heart sank, and he bent his back even lower. "As before, I will personally hand the letter to Zishuang, the maidservant beside the Crown Princess. It will definitely not be wrong."

"Where is that person? I've been waiting here for almost an hour, but how come I can't even see his shadow?" Pei Changzhou looked at the empty little garden and became more and more anxious. Whenever they met before, it was Tao Ti who waited for him. When did it become his turn to wait for someone else?

He wrote so many love words in the letter yesterday that he was confident that no woman would not be aroused after reading that letter, let alone Tao Ti, a silly woman who was totally devoted to him.

If she read the letter, she would definitely wish she could grow wings and fly over to see him...

Now that she has been missing for quite some time, there is only one possibility - she never received the letter.

Pei Changzhou stared at Hu Jin suspiciously with a stern face, and said unhappily, "Is Zishuang reliable? Will the letter be intercepted by someone?"

Hu Jin was on tenterhooks and answered cautiously, "It was always Zishuang who delivered the messages in the past. Besides, you gave her a lot of rewards, so she would have been eager to deliver more messages. How could she not have done so carefully? As for the letters being intercepted, that's unlikely... I was very discreet when I delivered the messages, and no one saw me."

Seeing Pei Changzhou's impatient expression, Hu Jin hurriedly added, "Perhaps the Crown Princess was delayed on the way because of the rain? Otherwise, Master, please wait and see."

Pei Changzhou clenched his fingers. Although he was dissatisfied, he had no other choice but to continue waiting.

Another hour passed while I waited.

As the rain got heavier, Pei Changzhou's face became even gloomier than the sky.

At this point, he would be a fool to wait any longer.

Thinking of Tao Ti's cold attitude yesterday... Did she not plan to come today? It's ridiculous!

Pei Changzhou stood up suddenly, and Hu Jin was startled. "Master?"

Pei Changzhou glanced at him coldly and said with gritted teeth, "Go back!"

———

"I don't know where the Third Prince got the mood from. On a rainy day, he ran to Moon Shadow Lake and blew in the cold wind for the whole afternoon...Haha, I heard that as soon as he returned home, he asked the kitchen to make a bowl of ginger tea. He must have caught a cold."

When Zhan Ping talked about this, he couldn't hide the schadenfreude in his tone.

He had always looked down on Pei Changzhou. Although they were both people who read the books of sages, his own prince was well-read and elegant, while Pei Changzhou was just a half-baked person who was not very knowledgeable about poetry, literature, etiquette and music. He preferred to pretend to be cultured and had a lot of poor and pedantic scholars as his aides. In the middle of winter, he still fanned himself with a broken fan and was not afraid of freezing.

But despite his behavior, he still attracts a lot of people to pursue him. Many noble ladies from aristocratic families have a secret crush on him. Even his own sister has become obsessed with him, calling him the Third Prince all the time. It really makes me angry!

Just like how women look at women, men look at men with the same accuracy. Every man knows exactly what kind of person Pei Changzhou is...well, except for Emperor Zhaokang, after all, he looks at Pei Changzhou through the filter of his biological father.

"Okay, let's not talk about him anymore." Pei Yan put down the book in his hand and looked out the window. "It's getting late. You should get off work."

Zhan Ping wanted to say that it was not too early and he could still chat with the prince. But before he could finish his words, he saw Pei Yan slowly standing up.

He was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, it's almost time for dinner, where are you going?"

Pei Yan said naturally, "I will go to Yaoguang Palace for dinner."

Zhan Ping stared, "Ah? It's still raining outside, it's very cold, your body..."

"I'm not made of paper. I won't melt if I get wet." Pei Yan said gently, "I haven't been to the Crown Princess for two days. It's not good to ignore her."

"...Your Highness is so kind to the Crown Princess."

Zhan Ping curled his lips and thought, even if that woman is a good cook, she is not worthy of a handsome man like His Highness.

The night was as dark as ink, and the wind and rain grew stronger.

When Pei Yan rushed to the Yaoguang Palace in the rain, the lights in the palace were on. As soon as he walked onto the corridor, he smelled an extremely delicious and tempting fragrance.

Fu Xirui put away his umbrella, brushed off the raindrops on Pei Yan's cloak, and said with a smile, "It seems that the Crown Princess has gone to the kitchen again."

Pei Yan was in a good mood and nodded softly.

The eunuch guarding the door saw the prince coming and hurriedly paid his respects.

Pei Yan motioned for them to stand up and asked, "The Crown Princess is in the kitchen?"

After getting a positive answer, he did not go to the main hall to rest, but went straight to the small kitchen.

When we reached the door of the kitchen, we saw steam rising from the neat stove. Tao Ti was wearing a cherry-colored robe with her wide sleeves rolled up. Her white hands were kneading the dough skillfully. After a while, she pulled out long, white noodles like magic.

She looked very focused, the warm yellow candlelight shining on her bright cheeks, and a strand of black hair hung by her ear, inexplicably adding a touch of tenderness to her appearance.

Pei Yanqing stood at the door with elegance and dignity, his black eyes moved slightly, and he stared for a long time.

It was not until the palace maid who helped in the kitchen noticed him and hurriedly bowed and greeted him that Tao Ti, who was sitting by the stove, belatedly looked towards the door.

There was still some white flour on her cheeks. When she saw him, her bright eyes curved and she smiled brilliantly, "Your Highness, you are here. Do you want some noodles? I'll make you another bowl."