"It's okay if you don't say anything." Wei Huaichong had a pair of affectionate eyes, and his smile always contained shimmering water.
He then asked, "Do you like your elder brother because of his status, or simply because of him?"
Qingying tried her best to conceal the coldness in her eyes, maintaining a gentle smile on her face. "And in what capacity is Your Highness asking this question? Is it the Seventh Prince Wei Huaichong, or the Crown Prince's brother?"
"That's a question that has stumped me." Wei Huaichong pondered for a moment, seemingly serious, and then said, "Miss Liu, do you think... you're qualified to ask this as an admirer?"
Qingying's smile froze for a moment.
Before she could answer, a man's voice came from behind her: "Seventh Prince, instead of going to find your Miss Chu, you're making things difficult for my Jiaojiao here?"
Qingying turned her head and saw that the man had already walked behind her. Her ears burned with embarrassment.
When Wei Huaichong saw him arrive, his expression didn't change much. He still smiled charmingly, but with a hint of regret: "Your Majesty has arrived a bit early, otherwise I might have been able to pry a few words of truth out of Miss Liu."
"I won't trouble Seventh Brother with my affairs." His protective attitude was quite obvious.
Wei Huaichong clicked his tongue and waved his hand, "Fine, fine, fine, I was ungrateful for being in your way. I'll leave, I'll leave, okay?"
He then turned and left, giving Qingying a meaningful smile before he left.
Qingying felt completely bewildered.
Wei Huaixu stared at his back, frowned, and narrowed his eyes slightly. After a moment, he watched him walk away before saying, "Stay away from him from now on."
"Okay." Qingying didn't ask why.
She took a few steps forward, leaned against the open window and looked out. Just as Wei Huaichong had said, the view from here overlooked the Thousand Moon Pavilion, a vast expanse before her eyes.
Why did you suddenly bring me pastries?
“Because Wei Huaichong gave it to me.” He held Qingying’s hand, pursed his lips, and said, “I knew he was deliberately testing me, but I still went along with it. Jiaojiao, I can’t express my feelings for you yet, but I still can’t stand others coveting you even a little bit.”
Qingying felt as if she had been filled with honey, her heart filled with sweetness.
"So you came to play polo because of me?"
"Hmm." He was quite frank: "Someone told me that Lu Jingyan has feelings for you, but I won't allow it. Jiaojiao, you can only be my Crown Princess from now on."
It's strange, if anyone else had said these words to her, she might have felt they were frivolous, but coming from Wei Huaixu, they sounded very sincere to her.
She sighed helplessly, "I've finally experienced what it means to be blinded by lust."
"Um?"
"It's nothing." She touched her nose and changed the subject: "Grandma said a while ago that Father would be back soon, but he was delayed on the way and we don't know when he will be able to return to Pandu."
"It'll be soon, don't worry," Wei Huaixu reassured him. "Father said they just encountered bandits on the way and took the opportunity to wipe them out."
"Those bandits are stupid. They didn't even do their research before taking action. This time, they've probably wiped out their stronghold."
"Yes, incredibly stupid."
They talked for a while longer, and when they saw that it was almost time, they left Baoyue Pavilion one after the other.
They didn't notice as they left that a person slowly emerged from behind a tree not far away; she had been watching their movements the whole time.
...
The men's polo match ended, and Wei Huaixu's team, Team Two, surprisingly defeated Team Three, who was favored by everyone, to win the championship.
Qingying was undoubtedly the biggest winner today, because apart from her and Lu Xingli, almost no one placed bets on Team Two.
Xie Jiaoying said with a mournful face, "I've lost everything! My money has gone in and there's been no return!"
Where there is sorrow, there is joy. Qingying smiled smugly, "I told you my intuition is incredibly accurate, but you didn't believe me. Now you're convinced, aren't you?"
"I'm impressed."
While Lu Xingli on the other side also won by a small margin, she also lost by a significant amount, which was practically equivalent to not throwing at all.
Xie Jiaoying glanced at her expression and exclaimed in surprise, "No way, Xingxing, you at least made a little money, how come you look even more bitter and resentful than me who lost everything?"
"I'm not feeling well, I'll head back now." After saying that, Lu Xingli stood up and left, not even bothering to give them a second glance.
"What's wrong with her?" Xie Jiaoying muttered softly.
Qingying calmly took a sip of tea. "She just said she wasn't feeling well."
"Your complexion is a bit pale, but it's so rosy. You don't look sick at all. You actually believe this lame excuse?"
"You can't stop someone from leaving if they want to."
“That’s true.” Xie Jiaoying picked up her teacup and took a sip.
The weather was unbearably hot, and Princess Yu, unable to bear it any longer, ordered the women's polo match to be postponed. While some of the girls were disappointed, most genuinely didn't want to endure the scorching sun, so they offered no objections.
The crowd dispersed.
Seeing that it was still early, Qingying, who had won money today, invited Xie Jiaoying to go to see a play.
The two sat down, and a waiter came to serve tea. Qingying casually asked, "What opera is being performed today?"
"Sir, it is 'The Injustice to Dou E'."
Xie Jiaoying clicked her tongue and said, "I saw the same thing when I came here last time. It's nothing new."
Qingying had only read this story in storybooks and had never seen it performed on stage, so she was quite interested in it.
"Haven't you seen it, Sister Liu?"
"No, I'll have to trouble Sister Xie to watch it with me again."
She waved her hand, "It's alright, I've forgotten most of it anyway, it'll look about 80% new."
No one but Xie Jiaoying could come up with such a metaphor.
The play soon began, and the actress playing Dou E, with her graceful figure and melodious voice, captivated Qingying.
"This is so pitiful, these bean sprouts are so sad, sob sob sob..."
The sound of Xie Jiaoying crying came from the side. Qingying originally thought that she was just putting on an act, but when she turned her head, she was really shocked - she was actually crying with tears streaming down her face, and her nose was red from crying.
Qingying's eye twitched involuntarily. "Haven't you already seen it all?"
"Waaaah... Watching it before won't stop me from being moved again..."
She took a handkerchief from her clothes and handed it to her, saying, "Sister Xie is truly... a person of deep feeling."
Xie Jiaoying took the handkerchief and wiped her tears, sobbing as she said, "Why is this bean sprout's life so miserable? Those Zhang father and son are really too wicked, no wonder even God can't stand it!"
"Uh... although... but her name doesn't seem to be Bean Sprout..."
"ah?"
Her name was Dou E.
...
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