Then you'll get a really bad beating, the boy silently added to himself.
Zhao Yang, unaware of his thoughts, brightened when she heard him speak. Then, she smiled sweetly at Lu Huai, "I remember, thank you, brother~"
Lu Huai snorted, reached out and touched her hair, wiping all the mud off his hands onto her head before withdrawing his hand in satisfaction.
However, when he saw Zhaoyang's face turn blush, he was somewhat puzzled. "Are you hot?"
"I……"
Before Zhao Yang could say anything, a voice rang out, "Chang Jue! Time to go home!"
Zhao Yang looked over and saw the newcomer walk over and bow to her: "Your humble servant Lu Feng greets Your Highness the Princess."
Zhao Yang didn't recognize him, but from his self-designation, she knew he was a subject of Emperor Yuming. So she waved her hand and said sweetly in a childlike voice, "Lord Lu, no need for formalities~"
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Minister Lu straightened up and looked at the dirty Lu Huai beside him, frowning deeply. "What have you been doing again? You can't even behave yourself in the palace! If I wasn't worried that you would disturb your elder brother's studies, I wouldn't have brought you along!"
Lu Huai pursed his lips and remained silent.
Although Minister Lu was stern, he still took his hand and said, "Come back with me quickly. You're all wet. If you catch a cold, I won't take care of you."
"Okay," Lu Huai said, pouting.
Seeing that they were about to leave, Zhao Yang quickly ran up to them and blocked their way with his arms outstretched.
"Brother, will you come again tomorrow?" she asked, blinking her eyes.
“Uh…” Upon receiving Minister Lu’s questioning gaze, Lu Huai scratched his head, then remembered that his hands were still dirty, so he put them on Zhao Yang’s head and ruffled them haphazardly.
"We'll find out tomorrow."
These were his last words before he left. Zhao Yang blushed and thought for a long, long time before remembering Zhao Xuanyang waiting for her next door. So she asked a eunuch to fetch her kite and ran back quickly.
"On a day of playing with plum blossoms and riding bamboo, we first met at the gate. I was not shy but charming and innocent, and stood in the wind with my hair down, which accentuated my fair skin."
Lately, glimpses of you leave me speechless, only your brows seem furrowed. I wonder when this sorrow began; I recall that time beneath the flowers, I lowered my head.
That first encounter by the lotus pond stirred the girl's heartstrings, and in the days that followed, wherever he was, her gaze never fell upon anyone else.
...
...
Qin Xi always felt that she had a certain understanding of Princess Zhaoyang, but when she led Qin Xi away from the secret passage, she seemed to be different from the Princess Zhaoyang she had known before.
In her memory, Princess Zhaoyang's eyes were always bright and sparkling, as if they contained many scattered stars, dazzling and radiant. Even when she jumped off the wall after the palace gates were breached, her eyes still shone as she looked in Lu Huai's direction.
The palace walls are stained with dust, the powder no longer fragrant; in dreams of life and death, only Zhaoyang Palace remains.
Qin Xi thought those were truly the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in her life. Later, no matter where she went or how many friends she made, no one could compare to the deceased Princess Zhaoyang.
————
Zhao Xuanqing's side story, the end.
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