As they were boating, he turned and looked back: "You want to stand by my side..."
Qin Weixi looked at him, her mind obeying her commands, but her mouth wouldn't. She blurted out, "Are you going to stand up for me?"
She regretted saying it so easily.
Is it the lingering resentment from ten years of relentless effort, or the unspoken, deeply hidden past she kept secret?
She walked past him hurriedly toward the Lotus Viewing Courtyard, saying, "If anyone in this world insists on bullying me, I will stand tall and fight to the end. Fourth Brother, will you still stand up for me?"
That damn mouth!
She suddenly stopped, stared at him, and this time kept her mouth shut.
A myriad of emotions flashed across Chu Yening's eyes in an instant, then he bent down slightly, his dark pupils scrutinizing her intently. He said with a half-smile, "Crushing her bones to ashes isn't out of the question."
Qin Weixi suddenly smiled slightly and said in a relaxed tone, "Eighth Sister is timid and was just joking with Fourth Brother." She added at the end, "It's just a plum vase for flower arranging, so it's not a big deal."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yening looked toward the Bright Moon Pavilion.
She said, "That waterside pavilion has been uninhabited for a long time."
Light footsteps suddenly came from behind the artificial hill in the distance, followed by the soft laughter of two or three palace maids. The path passed by the small peach orchard; perhaps the group had just returned from picking flowers and were on their way to Wansong Pavilion to report.
"...That young Marquis Jingning was handsome from a young age. The northwest winds haven't turned him into a rough young man; when I saw him yesterday, he was truly exceptionally handsome. Yesterday, after the young masters had eaten hot pot, I went to inform His Highness and the Princess's palace to send some lychees. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the young marquis suddenly look at me, and I almost lost my composure in front of the young masters and fell into the icy, bone-chilling Xia Guang Lake!" The palace maid, Jia, with a bamboo basket slung over one arm, spoke with a flushed face, clearly very excited.
The palace maid Yi chuckled, "How do you know that the young Marquis of Jingning was looking at you, and not someone else? Yesterday, there were also two young masters who were as beautiful as delicate flowers who climbed to the top of Xiaguang Peak."
Bing Gong'e suddenly said, "Lord Jingning is noble and imposing. His Highness the Crown Prince is the most honored in our Great Xia, unparalleled in the world. The two young masters, Tao and Luo, are also first-rate handsome gentlemen. None of them are worthy of our attention. Now that Miss Luo has returned to the capital from the south, you should see if she will..." She stopped there and remained silent.
The palace maid, however, pressed on with curiosity, asking, "What? Tell me quickly!"
Bing Gong'e said, "I have only heard about it, so I don't take it seriously. You should treat this person of the highest rank well."
The palace maid, however, said dismissively, "If we're talking about the most noble of noble, the queen of flowers, who can compare to the young lady of the Qin family from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion back then? Alas, the beauty has vanished without a trace. Even our precious Princess Zhenhui was outshone by this young lady. Once, when the princess and she came to Mingyue Pavilion for a temporary stay, several young masters followed shortly after. The old matriarch even set up a stage for the performance, with the two noble ladies standing together."
"Guess what? A newly arrived maid from the palace timidly came up to me and asked, 'Which one is Princess Zhenhui?' I almost fainted from fright." She patted her chest lightly, still feeling a chill when she recalled that day. She lowered her eyes and haphazardly fiddled with the peach branches in the bamboo basket: "But speaking of which, there was also that heir of the Duke of Dingguo, so handsome and refined. How could he have been so foolish as to become a traitor overnight?"
"I'll use Eunuch Ding's animal hair whisk to slap your mouth!"
"Be careful what you say!" Bing and Yi immediately shouted.
The three spoke freely and without restraint. Perhaps they thought that no one paid them any attention on ordinary days, and that the Empress Dowager had strictly forbidden them from setting foot in Mingyue Pavilion at will. In just a few words, they had already made a judgment about these people.
As the palace maids, with their high-swept hair and dark blue palace attire, were about to approach around the stone, Qin Weixi gave a cold smile and turned to leave.
Just then, the person beside her suddenly grabbed her wrist and headed towards the stone arch bridge behind her.
Qin Weixi only felt a purple shadow suddenly fly past her eyes, and then she saw the black cloak covering his purple robe, a dark color fluttering in the wind and swaying in front of her. It was like a lone leaf swaying in the wind outside Tingyu Pavilion, carrying her away to who knows where.
"Go boating together?" Chu Yening paused for a moment, then added, "For a short while."
Without waiting for her reply, he reached out and gripped her shoulder, then lightly leaped, gently carrying her down onto the deck of a deserted boat under the bridge.
The girl in the pale yellow brocade dress in his arms gazed at him with her clear eyes, her gaze fixed on him amidst the captivating spring breeze. The lake reflected the trees, and the two stood quietly on the deck, yet ten years had passed, through spring, summer, autumn, winter, wind, frost, rain, and snow.
Suddenly, the palace maid A said, "Last night I saw the young master of the Marquis of Chengyi looking into the lake with a telescope. Could it be that those black geese have given birth to goslings again?" After saying that, she handed the bamboo basket full of peach blossom branches to the palace maid B and ran to the shore.
Two palace maids hurriedly stopped her from behind: "The young ladies are about to have their meal. The matriarch is waiting for the fragrance of flowers to dispel the medicinal smell in Ningning Palace!"
Qin Weixi's eyelashes trembled slightly on the deck, but she didn't think much of it. Suddenly, Chu Yening, who was beside her, took off his dark black cloak and draped it over her from head to toe.
Qin Weixi suddenly raised her head and saw the black cloak fall down in an instant. Then all was dark before her eyes, and in an instant, a faint fragrance quietly entered her nose.
She lowered her eyes, and all she could see was a pair of black boots embroidered with gold cloud patterns.
Achoo!
The palace maids on the shore were startled by the sound, then opened their eyes wide to look at Chu Yening standing on the withered boat and the "mysterious person" whose face was completely obscured.
Those dark eyes still held a smile, but it was faint. She opened them a little wider, but sensed a hidden sharpness, like a knife, within that smile.
"Get lost—" He parted his thin lips slightly, his tall figure standing on the deck with his hands behind his back, his eyelids slightly raised. The words he spoke were as lazy and languid as those of the unruly young man he once was.
Qin Weixi felt a tremor in his heart despite being in the darkness.
The lapse in judgment she had made last night suddenly came back together. The palace maid felt a sharp pain in her chest, her heart pounding as if it were leaping into her throat.
However, what he said was quite unrefined, and he never followed her lead in changing his mind.
The palace maid chuckled dryly, "Your Excellency is truly splendid. A beautiful woman meets a deserted boat beneath the stone bridge..."
The two palace maids who followed behind quickly pulled the first palace maid behind her, lowered their heads and repeatedly apologized.
The sound of footsteps fading into the distance reached her ears, and then the person beside her fell silent. Qin Weixi removed the black cloak covering her body, only to find that her inner clothes were soaked through.
As early summer approached in May, many people had already switched to light spring clothes, and she was no exception. But the person in front of her was covered in a heavy cloak.
Is he cold?
"You?" She handed him the black cloak.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she quickly swallowed them back. When she spoke again, she asked with a smile, "Fourth Brother, what is the reason for this?"
He turned around and looked back: "Do you want to stand beside me?"
Ding Wei suddenly arrived from the direction of Wansong Pavilion with a group of eunuchs.
"So this is where Young Master Marquis is!" Ding Wei smiled kindly and respectfully, then quickly glanced at the brocade-clad girl beside him. "The friendship between childhood sweethearts is truly wonderful. The old matriarch has often reminisced about the amusing stories of the young masters in their childhood. However, this boat is no longer suitable for boating on the lake. The young masters haven't stayed here often these days, and the old matriarch certainly doesn't go boating on the lake anymore. If Young Master Marquis wishes to go boating on the lake another day, I will have someone prepare a large boat that can be used for resting and free movement."
Seeing that the young man in purple robes on the deck did not answer, and then seeing the bright-eyed, white-toothed girl in brocade dress curtsy to him, he quickly stepped aside to avoid her.
Ding Wei said respectfully, "Lunch has been prepared at Wansong Pavilion. The matriarch is waiting for the Marquis and the young lady. I will take my leave first."
Only then did Chu Yening nod slightly.
Qin Weixi tilted her head slightly, pondering how to reach the stone arch bridge above. If only she had learned archery skill back then, and been as adept at swordsmanship as her brother, acquiring considerable martial arts prowess...
But for her now, being able to protect herself is enough.
She subconsciously reached for the flower hairpin in her hair, only to see the man quietly walk past her. Then, the small boat rocked gently, and the man leisurely rowed away.
It was a wrecked boat that could no longer move, yet it glided effortlessly in his hands. And the gently rippling lake surface that the boat passed over seemed to faintly indicate that they had been there before.
The spring breeze and the sound of babbling water surrounded her, and the scenery around her was the most memorable from her childhood.
The distant mountains were like dark eyebrows, and the lake shimmered. She handed him the black cloak again.
However, Chu Yening said, "No need. The spring breeze is also biting, you can keep it."
She tried to walk towards him again, but he smiled mischievously: "Hold on tight! Be careful your fourth brother doesn't lose his balance and we both fall into the lake. Would people see us soaking wet? Or would we be having a romantic time in the Xia Guang Cave?" He chuckled mysteriously, then focused on rowing the boat and said nothing more.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the small boat smoothly docked. Chu Yening first stepped onto the stone steps by the shore, then made sure the boat was firmly close to the edge of the steps.
Qin Weixi also got up at this moment and followed him to the shore. Suddenly, he stretched out a hand in front of his lowered eyes, palm facing up.
She understood.
"If you have to do everything, what's the point of having your fourth brother?" He smiled mockingly, and without saying a word, he moved his palm an inch closer to hers and beckoned with his finger.
She immediately placed her hand on top of it, no longer hesitant. She then involuntarily clenched her fist, as if making some kind of decision.
Their eyes met, their gazes mingling.
The aroma of food wafting from Wansong Pavilion brought back memories of their childhood when they used to eat at Kunning Palace.
His palms were as cold as the chilling glow of the sunset lake. Her palms were as warm and soft as the approaching cicada song of midsummer.
Qin Weixi stepped onto the stone steps on the shore, only to be met with a tight grip from someone else.
Or perhaps it's a kind of resolve, a decision, that's been made amidst undercurrents, a determination that has traversed mountains and valleys...
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