Chapter 2
Gong Yuchen had returned to the mansion, staring absentmindedly at the book in his hands. Since returning from the government office, he had felt a ridiculous sense of reluctance to leave. Reluctance? They were not even related, and they had only spent an hour together? There was no reason to be reluctant to leave her!
"Your Highness."
"Come in."
"What is it?"
"Liu Wen from the government office, Lord Liu is here to visit with a little girl."
"Liu Wen? Little girl?" What happened again?
"Let them in."
"yes."
His brows were almost knotted with worry. Could it be that he couldn't find her parents?
As soon as he stood up and walked to the door, he was hugged tightly by the little figure rushing in from outside. His pair of bright eyes seemed to be accusing him of abandonment.
"Yue'er?"
"Yue'er is so hungry!"
"Your Highness Gongyu, long time no see. I'm sorry to bother you," the man who came in with the guard Liefeng saluted Gong Yuchen.
"Long time no see? Who was that person I was drinking with five days ago?"
"It feels like three years since we last met. It's been quite a while now." Gong Yuchen's good friend Liu Wen said nonchalantly.
Yue'er was placed in front of the table, the snacks and fruits were pushed in front of her, and a glass of water was poured for her.
"Have some cakes first."
"Okay." Miss Yue'er drank tea and ate snacks obediently beside them.
"Please sit down! May I ask, Master Liu Wen, why did you bring this child to me again?"
"To be honest, Your Highness, no one in my government office can understand what this child said, so they had to inform me to handle it."
"don't know?"
"To be honest, I don't understand it either, but I heard that the child's accent sounds like you Western Yi people, so I brought him here."
"Xiyi!" Wait, had Yue'er been speaking to him in Xiyi this whole time? No, she was speaking Yi, with a pure royal accent.
"Since the person was sent by Your Highness, and Your Highness is from the Western Yi, I have no choice but to come and trouble Your Highness. I wonder if Your Highness could ask about this little girl on my behalf."
Looking at Xiaoyue'er, whose cheeks were stuffed into little meat buns.
"Yue'er, where are you from?"
Her smile was as beautiful as a flower, but she didn't answer a word.
"Yue'er, where are you from?" I tried to ask again in Western Yi language.
"Yue'er is from Yi country."
It's really the Western Yi language! Could she really be from the Western Yi? And from the capital of the Western Yi?
"Yue'er, why don't you speak to the people in the government office in a language they can understand? I remember you were speaking the local language before."
"I don't want to say." Her sweet smile made it clear that I'm unhappy and there's nothing you can do to me.
"If you don't tell them, how can they help you find your parents?" Is this kid here to cause trouble for him?
"Do I really have to tell you?"
"right."
"Uh… sure?"
"Yue'er!"
"Okay, okay. Sir, please ask." He mumbled reluctantly, and finally said something that Lord Liu could understand.
"Little sister, tell me your name dearly." Lord Liu's expression changed, and he looked as kind as an amiable uncle.
"Yue'er."
"Yue'er? What a lovely name. What's your last name, Yue'er?"
"Just like father... and daddy."
"So what's your father's name?"
"Gong Yuchen."
Gong Yuchen was startled. Wait, what's going on? Does her father have the same name as him? But Gongyu isn't a surname that anyone can use. She looked at Liu Wen and Liefeng's inquiring gazes.
"Yue'er, how old are you this year?"
"Yue'er is almost eight years old."
"My Lordship is twenty-two years old this year, and she is only seven." He breathed a sigh of relief, and he didn't know why he had to explain.
"Almost eight years old." Yue'er corrected him unhappily.
"Xiao Yue'er, do you remember Daddy's birthday?"
"Remember, it's the tenth day of the sixth month of the Yi Si year in the Yi calendar."
"The tenth day of the sixth month of the Yi Si year in the Yi calendar!" Gong Yuchen was speechless, staring at the smiling little troublemaker in front of him.
The other two grown men present looked at each other in bewilderment. It was June 10th of the Yi Si year in the Yi calendar, and they were exactly 22 years old this year.
"Your Highness, isn't this your birthday?" Gong Yuchen's personal guard Liefeng looked shocked.
"I did pick her up on the street. Besides, her age alone doesn't make sense!" He quickly defended himself to others.
"For a boy of fourteen or fifteen, it's not a big problem."
"Liu Wen, Lord Liu! Have you forgotten the ten months of pregnancy a woman needs?" Gong Yuchen glared at Liu Wen unhappily.
"Yue'er, when is your mother's birthday?" Liu Wen asked curiously.
"September 6th."
"What year?"
"Mother didn't say."
"What's your mother's name?"
"I can't say, but daddy said mommy is Da Yue'er and I am Xiao Yue'er. Mommy said Xiao Yue'er looks especially like daddy." After saying this, she glanced at Gong Yuchen.
"Master Liu, don't tell me, her facial features really do look a bit like Your Highness."
"Liefeng! When did you see me marrying a wife or a concubine? I am not married, so how could I have a child?" Gong Yuchen said in a crazy tone.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. Liefeng made a mistake."
But they really look alike, Liefeng muttered secretly in his heart.
"Yue'er, where are your parents? Do you know?" Lord Liu looked at Yue'er kindly again.
"have no idea."
"So where are you from?"
"have no idea."
"Who did you come with?"
"It's just me."
How can I even ask that? There's not a single useful clue.
"Uncle, Yue'er is so sleepy."
Looking at Yue'er rubbing her eyes, Gong Yuchen looked at Liu Wen helplessly.
"Think of a way."
"Generally, if a lost child has no parents who come forward to claim her, we will send her to the Ci'an Hall and find someone to adopt her. However..."
"What do you want to say? Say it." Looking at Yue'er who was sleeping soundly on the table.
"If she is not your daughter, why does she know so much about you?"
"She's not me..."
"I understand, I understand. Then she probably approached Your Highness with some ulterior motive. Apart from anything else, judging by her attire, speech, and demeanor, she clearly comes from a wealthy family and has received a good education. What purpose could she have in approaching Your Highness with a child like this?"
......
"How about leaving her with Your Highness until we find her parents? No matter what her intentions are, it's safer to keep her under your watchful eye. Of course, it would be even better if we could find out who's behind her scheme. What do you think, Your Highness?"
It seemed that he saw Gong Yuchen's dilemma.
"This..." He didn't particularly like children, and even thought they were quite annoying sometimes, but when he thought about Yue'er being sent to Ci'an Hall, he felt very reluctant.
"Also, I think there's a high possibility that this child is from the Western Yi people."
"What do you mean? Just because she can speak Western language?" Liefeng, who rarely heard the local accent and had already developed a liking for Yue'er, asked.
"Children from wealthy families in Yidu rarely learn the dialects of other four barbarians." Liu Wen smiled awkwardly.
"That's right. After all, they are all dialects from remote areas. They are indeed not suitable for these nobles in Yidu." These people who think they are the chosen ones of heaven look down on the people from the other four barbarians.
"Liefeng, go find two maids."
"yes."
"Just put her in my side hall."
"I'll make the arrangements right away."
"Your Highness, we're almost at the capital. Should we go straight back to the Princess's Mansion?"
"No, tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the lunar month. I will go to the Four Gods Temple to pray for my mother first."
"yes."
"Let Master Li Fei pick me up later."
"Yes, Your Highness."
She reached out and lifted the curtain of the carriage, looking at the scenery on the road. The August autumn heat was raging on the earth. She stretched out her hand, and the sunlight shone through her fingers onto her beautiful face.
She hadn't been back to the capital for six years. She preferred the freedom of the other palaces to the imperial palace. But she was, after all, the legitimate princess of Yi Country, and had responsibilities and obligations to fulfill. So, despite her reluctance, she would still follow her father's secret orders. After all, her father's original intention was to protect her in the future.
Her impression of her two brothers remained stuck in her childhood, and she couldn't say she had a deep affection for them. However, since she was secretly assessing the selection for the crown prince, she had inquired about the public's opinions of her two brothers along the way. Although she had already made some decisions, she still wanted to spend more time with them after returning to the capital.
"Ah!" The moving carriage suddenly shook and tilted slightly to one side.
"Whoa!" The driver immediately tightened the reins, and when the horse stopped, the guards beside the carriage hurried forward to check.
"Your Highness, the wheel is broken."
Yi Luoyue got off the carriage and looked at the guard who was checking the wheels.
"Can it be fixed?"
"Princess, please forgive me, but I'm afraid that's not possible. I will go to the royal city and fetch a carriage. Please wait here, Your Highness."
"This..." This time, she had returned to the capital in secret, dressed simply, without many guards. Besides the coachman, she and her maid were the only five people accompanying her. Her concern wasn't safety, but rather the fact that the guards going to the capital to shun the carriage would inevitably reveal her whereabouts.
"Your Highness, there seems to be a problem with a carriage ahead, blocking the official road." Liefeng looked at Gong Yuchen beside him.
"Go over and take a look."
"yes."
"Is there something wrong with your car?"
"Sir, please forgive me. My carriage broke down. I'm sorry to be blocking the road. We'll move it out of the way right away."
"Do you need help?"
"Liefeng, what's wrong?" Gong Yuchen followed on horseback.
"Sir, their car broke down."
"Go help them get out of the car."
"yes."
Yi Luoyue looked carefully at the tall man in green clothes who was riding a horse in front of her. He didn't look much older than her, with a heroic appearance, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, but why did he look so kind?
It was him! Prince Gong Yuchen of Xiyi! Why was he here? Could it be... he was here for her?
The look in his eyes now wasn't the dazzled or flattering one she was used to seeing, but rather... indifferent? Didn't he recognize her? But then again, why did this man still have such a sour face? Although she had been young when she left, and Gong Yuchen was already a teenager, not as robust and capable as he was now, she could still recognize him at a glance.
After all, she had always been pampered, cared for, and praised since she was a child. He had only seen her with this sour face twice.
Looking at their attire and the carriage following behind them, Yi Luoyue whispered to the maid.
"Go ask them if they can give us a ride."
"yes."
"Sir, our car can't be repaired for a while. Could you give us a ride?"
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