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Under the bright sunshine, a gentle breeze lifted his flowing robes and high-tied hair. From afar, his gaze passed through the crowd and landed directly on her, where he raised an eyebrow at her with an air of arrogance.
Qin Sang felt as if the warm sun was shining on her face, warm and comforting.
I couldn't help but laugh. It's been so many years since I've felt this way, that special feeling of choosing only one from a vast ocean of water...
So long ago, she had long forgotten when it happened; after all, she couldn't even remember her own age.
Just then, a chestnut horse appeared out of nowhere and ran in front of her, its hooves raised high and its nostrils puffing out hot air.
The man on horseback stared at her with a grin for a moment, then said, "Indeed, a beautiful young lady. Which family are you from? How come I've never seen you before?" He raised his chin and asked condescendingly.
"Hmm?" Qin Sang paused in her hand holding the fan.
"Hey, I don't understand. Never mind," the Seventh Prince spurred his horse, "I'll talk to you after the game, don't go anywhere!" With that, he rode off.
Qin Sang was still wondering who this person was, unaware that many eyes were currently fixed on her.
Xie Wu grabbed her wrist and looked at her with eager eyes.
Qin Sang subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
Xie Wu reached out and tidied the stray hairs by her temples, looking inscrutable: "It's alright, it's fine, just like this, it's fine."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Sang heard a gasp in her ear, followed by something hitting her. Through the thin fabric, she felt a dampness quickly seep into her clothes.
It's hot.
Qin Sang stepped aside, then looked up and saw a woman adorned with flowers and hairpins, dressed elegantly, extending a silk handkerchief towards her chest, insincerely saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry, so sorry, someone bumped into me..."
Before Qin Sang could speak, Xie Wu had already stepped forward aggressively. He had just uttered the word "you" when he stopped, and his tone was no longer so rational and confident: "You...you guys be careful."
Qin Sang glanced at Xie Wu's suddenly timid expression and tone, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. There's another woman who can make Xie Wu cower like that? Besides the princess, which family could it be?
The woman had a round face and gentle eyes. She immediately beckoned to a maid: "Go, take this young lady to change her clothes." Then she turned to Qin Sang, "Did you bring any change of clothes, sister?"
Qin Sang: "..."
Xie Wu whispered in her ear, "The granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue, Grandpa has a favor to ask of her family."
Qin Sang understood; the Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the national treasury's finances.
The woman had already instructed the maid beside her: "Go, bring out a set of clothes I brought and give them to this young lady to change into."
"..." Qin Sang was speechless and changed her clothes again.
What terrible rule did she break by dressing like that today?
She lifted her eyelids to look at the woman opposite her. The woman seemed delicate yet not delicate, with misty eyes, looking pitiful and weak.
Never mind, it's just a misunderstanding, let's not hold it against her for now.
The tea splashed right onto her chest, leaving a damp patch that looked rather unsightly. It seemed she would have to change it this time.
Xie Wu wanted to go with her, but Qin Sang said it wasn't necessary; Ling Ding was enough to accompany her.
So the two of them followed the woman's maid to the inner courtyard. When they arrived at a side hall that could be used by guests, the maid told them to wait a moment while she went to get her clothes.
“They did that cup of tea on purpose,” Lingding said.
Qin Sang gently fanned himself, recalling Xie Sui'an's smile at him from afar, and curved his lips into a smile: "It's because your wife is too outstanding, which easily attracts jealousy. Let's go, it's good to avoid the limelight."
Lingding smiled helplessly.
The two waited quietly at the entrance of the side hall for a while, but the maidservant did not come.
Just as Lingding was about to say something, Qin Sang suddenly stepped aside.
Qin Sang has excellent hearing; she could hear what sounded like crickets fighting in the neighboring garden!
Adhering to the principle that it's better to look than to stand, she gracefully walked over, fanning herself, and stepped through an arched gate. Sure enough, a group of people were standing by a stone table under the pine trees on her left.
Two young men were lying on the stone table, engrossed in a fierce fight: "Jin Chanzi, bite, bite, bite him to death!"
Qin Sang walked silently and gestured to the servant beside her not to make a sound. She walked to the stone table and peeked out.
Sure enough, inside the short-mouthed porcelain bowl, there were two large, glossy crickets fighting, their thin arms and legs spread wide, biting each other fiercely.
One of them, though larger, had half of its whiskers bitten off, and its white belly was exposed after being bitten and flipped over.
Everyone was so engrossed in watching that the crickets themselves forgot to chirp and focused on biting.
Seeing the larger one being repeatedly thrown over, Qin Sang couldn't help but say, "The bigger one is going to lose."
Neither of the two cricket fighters looked up.
One way is "nature".
One person said, "Get out of here."
The person who said "naturally" was probably the owner of the small cricket, and said with amusement, "Why are you cursing? Can't you accept defeat?"
The man who had told him to "get lost" finally looked up, but was taken aback when he saw Qin Sang: "Who are you?"
Upon hearing this, the man who had spoken earlier also looked up, his eyes lighting up when he saw Qin Sang: "Wow! A beauty!"
As they were talking, the larger one finally escaped, panting heavily to the side. Its owner, seeing this, angrily cursed, "Useless thing!" and then ordered his servant to put the creature away before turning and walking away.
The young man who won was handsome with refined features and dimples when he smiled. He said to the man's back, "Hey, Sixth Prince, you still owe me a hundred taels!"
Qin Sang turned her head to look at the departing figure again. The Sixth Prince?
"Who are you from? Are you lost? How did you end up here?" The dimpled young man's words pulled Qin Sang back to reality.
Qin Sang looked at him cautiously and said, "I am from the Xie family. May I ask how I should address you?"
"From the Xie family?" The young man frowned in thought. "How come I've never seen you before? Are you a guest of his household?"
Qin Sang: "I guess so."
"What do you mean 'considered'... Hey, your clothes are dirty?" The young man's gaze suddenly fell on Qin Sang's chest. After looking for a moment, he realized something was wrong, his face slightly flushed, and he stared at Qin Sang's face, saying, "Aren't you... going to change?"
Qin Sang had been waiting here for so long without seeing anyone come, and she realized that she had obviously been tricked again, so she had no choice but to honestly say, "I didn't bring any extra clothes."
The dimpled young man frowned and thought for a moment, then instructed the servant beside him, "Go and bring this lady a set of Yuan'er's clothes."
The servant hesitated for a moment, but went anyway.
Qin Sang's eyelashes fluttered slightly, her eyes sharp and quick-witted, and she immediately recognized the person in front of her: "Young Master Xiahou Ye of the Marquis of Du Nan's residence?"
“That’s right,” Xiahou Ye nodded. “You recognize me?”
Qin Sang smiled gently: "I have certainly heard of your esteemed name, young master."
"Oh? What have you heard about me?"
Qin Sang had been racking her brains to flatter him, but Xiahou Ye interrupted her. He lifted his robe and sat down, propping his chin up with his hand, looking somewhat troubled and childish: "Everyone outside says I'm the number one playboy, a good-for-nothing who spends his days doing nothing. It's amazing that you can come up with so many nice words to praise me."
Qin Sang thought to herself, "You're quite self-aware."
After meeting Xiahou Yuan and his wife, Qin Sang had been looking forward to meeting Xiahou Ye, thinking that he should be a reasonable, tolerant, lively and generous person. Now that she had met him, he was indeed like that, but she just felt that he was too childish.
If I were to marry someone like that in the future, it would be like raising a child right next to me, which is... hard to describe.
She was too lazy to pretend to be a lady in front of him anymore. She smiled and sat down on the stone bench, fanning herself with her fan: "Young master, there's no need to say that. Didn't you just fight the crickets very well, winning against a much larger one? That shows your skill."
Xiahou Ye's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at Qin Sang: "You call this competence? My mother said it's just being ignorant and incompetent!"
Qin Sang continued to flatter him: "That's a woman's view. If it weren't for your good eye, the crickets you chose were good to raise and train, how could these little creatures have the demeanor of a great general? What else could it be but the ability to command troops?"
Xiahou Ye had never heard such unconventional praise before, and immediately felt like he had met a kindred spirit: "Right?! Raising this little thing takes a lot of effort, I, for one..."
Just then, the servant arrived with the clothes, and Xiahou Ye hurriedly said, "Quickly, give these to this lady to change into."
At first glance, you can tell that the fabric of this garment is of high quality, and the color is also very elegant and rare. I have never seen this style in the ready-made clothing stores in Kyoto before.
Qin Sang thought to herself, "This must be Xiahou Yuan's favorite dress. How could she let her unreliable brother give it to a beauty? If people find out, wouldn't it be another messy lawsuit?"
She hesitated for a moment, but Xiahou Ye urged, "Hurry up, aren't you uncomfortable with your clothes so wet?"
Qin Sang: "But how do I return it after I've traveled through time?"
Xiahou Ye waved his hand: "No need to return them. My sister has plenty of clothes. I'll send her two new outfits another day. Go ahead and exchange them without worry!"
Since he had said so, Qin Sang no longer declined, thanked him with a smile, and took Lingding to the side hall to change.
This outfit was indeed much better than the clothes Tan Wuyan had sent before. The lotus-colored short blouse was paired with a sky-blue pleated skirt, and a sky-blue gauze scarf was draped over her arm. The whole person instantly became bright and lively, making Lingding stare in admiration.
"What's wrong?" Qin Sang asked upon seeing this.
Lingding frowned: "I'm afraid that if you go out like this, you'll attract even more jealousy."
Qin Sang picked up her fan again: "It's alright, I'm here to attract jealousy anyway. Let's go."
As Qin Sang opened the door and stepped over the threshold, she saw a figure in white walking towards them from afar.
He still had blue cloth strips tied around his wrists and in his hair bun. He was tall and slender, but slightly thin. He looked less elegant than when he wore wide-sleeved robes, and more youthful.
He had just raised his eyes when his gaze met Qin Sang's.
But his gaze didn't linger on Qin Sang's face for even a moment, and his expression remained unchanged. He simply walked over with his head down, expressionless.
Qin Sang thought he would turn at the next intersection and head towards the direction where Xiahou Ye and the others had been fighting crickets, but to her surprise, he walked straight up to her.
Qin Sang assumed he was also going into the side hall to change clothes, so she moved aside.
Bai Yiqing also moved a step, blocking her way again.
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