Murong Yan's fever wasn't too high. After returning home, she took some fever-reducing medicine and slept for a while, and then she felt much better.
When she woke up, Chunxing, who was watching over her, knelt by the bed and cried, "Master, you scared me to death!"
Recalling that scene in the rain, Murong Yan felt a warmth in her heart. She said, "It's all my fault for making you worry."
yes!
There are still people in this world who care about her. Even if it's just for the sake of those around her who are so devoted to her, she can't give up.
Chunxing was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and couldn't help but raise her hand to touch Murong Yan's forehead, murmuring, "The fever has gone down..."
This was the first time Murong Yan had admitted her mistake, and she was being treated as if she were delirious from the fever. Her pretty face immediately turned red with anger, and she reached out to pinch her arm. "You brat, are you asking for a beating? Get me some food!"
Chunxing laughed and dodged, "Yes, yes, yes, this servant will go get it right away~"
Murong Yan was eating when Jinse came in, looking tired; she must have been the one who kept watch last night.
"master……"
"Has the painting been delivered yet?" Murong Yan quickly asked, trying to divert her attention.
Jinse's nagging was cut off, and she said, "What has my servant failed to do in accordance with the master's orders? Yesterday, when the rain subsided a little, I delivered the painting over."
He added, "The two fairies really like Master's picture album."
"That's good."
After finishing her meal, Murong Yan got up to draw a few more pages when suddenly someone knocked on the window.
Jinse went to open the window and saw a stunningly beautiful woman standing outside. She was stunned by her beauty.
"Fairy Yaochen, what brings you here?" Upon seeing the person, Murong Yan immediately walked quickly to the window.
Ye Chen didn't go inside, but said to her from outside the window, "In the stories you draw, why are there only men and women in love?"
Murong Yan and everyone in the room were stunned.
Murong Yan was secretly alarmed as she thought about the close relationship between the two fairies. Had she discovered some incredible secret?
"Stories between women also exist, if the two fairies would like to hear them..."
Ye Chen shook his head, "I want to see men with men."
boom!
a bolt from the blue!
Murong Yan, no, everyone in the room was stunned!
Although there are many stories of male homosexuality, she was a young lady from a noble family, and a royal princess at that. Even hearing about it was a big taboo, let alone drawing it.
Seeing the troubled look on Murong Yan's face, Ye Chen said, "If you don't have one, then forget it."
"Yes, yes!" Murong Yan stammered.
"However, my father does not allow me to draw those. You two fairies can look at them yourselves, but please do not spread them out or tell anyone that I drew them."
Ye Chen nodded, "Okay, don't worry, we won't show it to anyone else, just Lian Ye and I."
(Lianyao: Thank you!)
"Then... please wait a few days, Fairy Yaochen, I will personally deliver the painting to Qingju Garden once it is finished."
"good!"
After Ye Chen finished speaking, he vanished in a flash.
Murong Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, everyone in the room was a reliable person; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret.
Since you've agreed...
"Jinse, you, you go and ask someone to help you buy some folk tales, the kind of stories that are written in the folk tradition. Well, you can't buy all of those. Just say you want to read some folk tales, and ask someone to buy all kinds and send them over together."
Jinse blushed as well. "Yes, Master."
After leaving the house, Jinse stomped her foot in embarrassment.
These fairies are so strange; they actually enjoy watching... the story of two men.
Three days later, Murong Yan revised and polished the story based on the script, drew the illustrations, put them in a box, and carried them to Qingju Garden in the back mountain.
Murong Yan swore that she had never been this nervous since birth!
She was like a thief, walking cautiously the whole way, afraid of bumping into someone.
Strangely enough, on ordinary days, you can't even see a cat on this road to Qingju Garden, but today, it's as if everyone had planned it together and all rushed to Qingju Garden.
At first, Murong Yan only encountered a few senior palace maids from various palaces who came to curry favor with her. Later, as she walked, she actually saw several of her sisters.
She was about to turn around and leave, intending to deliver it the next day, when the Third Princess stopped her.
"Stop." The Third Princess approached with a swarm of people, and Murong Yan nervously gripped the handle of the wooden box in her hand.
The Third Princess said, "Seventh Sister, what are you doing here, sneaking around like that?"
"Did they steal something?"
"After all, she grew up in the cold palace, so she's used to stealing chickens and dogs!"
"Just like her mother..."
The last woman who made a sarcastic remark was silenced after Murong Yan glared at her fiercely.
The Third Princess said unhappily, "What are you glaring at me for? I'm asking you a question!"
The Third Princess's mother was Consort Xian, a woman of high status. So, not long after her birth, the Emperor bestowed upon her a title, a mansion, and a fiefdom, allowing her to refer to herself as "this palace."
"It's hot, so I made some ice bowls to send to the two fairies."
As she spoke, Murong Yan placed the wooden box on the ground and opened the lid herself.
On the first layer of the wooden box are two glass bowls, each filled with a mixture of watermelon, honeydew melon, and translucent jelly with crushed ice. The colors are perfectly matched to create a beautiful effect, and a spoonful of osmanthus honey is drizzled on top, making it a feast for the eyes and a tempting sight.
"Hmph, as expected, these are all low-class items. What kind of rubbish are they sending? They've disgraced the royal family." The Third Princess said, kicking the box over, shattering two ice bowls on the ground.
Two lines of tears welled up in Murong Yan's eyes as she looked at the Third Princess, "Third Sister, why did you break the ice bowl I was going to give to the fairy? I'm going to tell Her Majesty!"
After saying that, Murong Yan picked up the empty box and ran away crying.
"Go ahead and tell her! You really think you have a mother just because you've curried favor with the Imperial Concubine? She wouldn't go against my mother for a lowly girl like you!" the Third Princess shouted arrogantly from behind her.
Murong Yan took a shortcut and jogged along. As she rounded a rockery, she suddenly bumped into someone.
She felt as if she had crashed into a wall, cried out and fell backward, dropping the box in her hand and scattering its contents all over the floor.
She closed her eyes in fear, then suddenly felt a tightness around her waist, spun around, and was pulled into a hard embrace.
Murong Yan opened her eyes and met those familiar eyes.
"Your Highness, please stand firm. This humble servant is about to release you," Zhang Tian said, looking at her.
Murong Yan blushed, gave a soft "hmm," and straightened up.
After she stood still, Zhang Tian immediately released his arm from her waist, bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, "Greetings, Your Highness. I acted hastily just now and was rude to Your Highness."
"No, it's alright, you can get up." Murong Yan gestured for him to stand up.
After Zhang Tian stood up, he looked at the scattered picture books on the ground, squatted down to tidy them up, and said, "This humble servant will help Your Highness tidy up."
Murong Yan suddenly came to her senses, remembered the contents of those picture books, and quickly said, "No!"
But it was too late. Zhang Tian had already picked up a picture book that was spread out on the ground. His gaze first fell on the elegant and dignified words on it, which read, "...On our wedding night, the red candles are lit to illuminate your face..."
At first, Zhang Tian thought she had mistakenly written "卿" as "君", but when he glanced at the accompanying picture, he froze on the spot.
"Ahhh! Don't look!"
Murong Yan threw herself to the ground without any regard for her image, covering the picture books with her body.
She only regretted that there wasn't a ditch on the ground where she could squeeze her body in.
That's so embarrassing!
Why does he always see me in such a disheveled state?
Looking at Murong Yan lying on the ground like an ostrich, Zhang Tian couldn't help but laugh. "Your Highness, rest assured, this humble servant will definitely not tell anyone."
"Really?" Murong Yan turned her head to look at him.
"This humble servant is willing to stake his life on it..."
He was halfway through making his oath when Murong Yan sat up and covered his mouth, saying, "Why are you making such a terrible oath!"
Zhang Tian stared blankly at her.
Murong Yan then realized that she had actually covered his mouth!
Like a startled rabbit, she quickly let go of his hand, piled the picture books on the ground into a heap, hugged them to her chest, and said, "I'm going back now."
After saying that, she ran away.
The speed was so fast, it was as if a ghost was chasing her from behind.
Zhang Tian looked at the spot where she had disappeared and suddenly couldn't help but laugh, "The Seventh Princess is quite cute."
"Your heartbeat is a little abnormal, kid. You've fallen for her, haven't you?" d031's voice echoed in his mind.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Tian didn't feel embarrassed at all, and instead generously admitted, "It's hard not to love it."
"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn't inexplicably made me do some kind of Heavenly Dog mission, I wouldn't have known that the Seventh Princess, who had always been unknown in the palace, was actually such a treasure of a woman."
"So what are your plans for the future?" d031 asked.
“Continue to accumulate military merits and ask His Majesty for the hand of the Seventh Princess,” Zhang Tian said.
"Then good luck!"
Thank you.
After returning home, Murong Yan wrapped herself in the blanket.
He won't think I have any weird fetishes, will he?
Ugh! Why did I just run away?
You should have explained things to him before leaving!
How is she going to face him after this?!
While she was feeling shy, someone knocked on the window again.
Murong Yan got out of bed, went to open the window, and saw the culprit who had caused her death.
"Fairy Yaochen!"
Ye Chen said, "I heard you finished drawing it."
Murong Yan was taken aback, then remembered that the Third Princess and her group had gone to Qingju Garden. She had made a fool of herself on the way, so it would be strange if they didn't belittle her in front of the two fairies.
He replied, "Yes."
She turned around and took out the several picture books wrapped in oilcloth from the box in the room, and handed them to Yaochen.
Ye Chen took it.
“Lian… Ye said that someone helped me, and I want to thank him. Here, take this as a thank-you gift.”
Ye Chen placed a bright green leaf with golden veins in Murong Yan's hand.
The leaf was so beautiful, and it carried a special, mysterious aura. Murong Yan was about to refuse when she looked up and found that Ye Chen had already left.
Murong Yan took out a small purse from her dressing case, put the leaf inside, hung it around her neck, and hid it inside her clothes.
She stayed in the summer palace for two months, during which time she miscarried again, and several concubines fell from grace while others regained favor.
Regardless of the circumstances, Consort Qi's position remained as secure as ever.
With Consort Qi's position secure, Murong Yan, who was dependent on her, naturally didn't fare too badly.
Zhang Tian continued to patrol to Wenzhu Garden, where Murong Yan lived, every day.
However, Murong Yan could no longer face Zhang Tian with ease, and most of the time, she would avoid his gaze.
On this day, Zhang Tian took a risk and cornered Murong Yan, who had been avoiding him, on a side road, and confessed his feelings.
Murong Yan did not respond to him, but blushed and plucked three strands of her hair from her head and wrapped them around the hilt of his sword.
I offer you my black hair as a token of my affection.
Three roots, three years.
She will wait for him for three years.
You are like a long sword, and I am like silk. A sword is strong but easily broken. I hope you will not forget me and will think twice before acting.
Zhang Tian understood.
He bowed solemnly, saying, "I will certainly not let the Seventh Princess down."
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