Jiang Tian noticed he was thinking and cautiously said, "Then, Your Highness, I'll head back first. Why don't you come here tonight, and I'll treat you to dinner?"
Murong Lie pulled himself out of his thoughts.
He looked at Jiang Tian and said, "I can't give you freedom. My father, the Emperor, is still in charge of the palace, not me. Besides, you're already registered. In other people's eyes, you're my woman, and the Empress won't let you leave the palace."
Reality is just that cruel.
Once she's labeled by someone, she might never be able to escape that label until she dies.
Murong Lie vaguely sensed something, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He put aside his chaotic thoughts and looked at Jiang Tian.
After hearing his words, a sense of desolation appeared on Jiang Tian's face.
This person is usually like a block of wood, but today his expressions are so vivid and varied.
Murong Lie suddenly felt a little uneasy.
He had a sudden inspiration and asked her, "Do you want to go out for a stroll? I can't give you freedom. If you escape from the city on your own, I might beat you into a runaway slave. But I can take you out for a stroll, at least to see the capital."
Perhaps the old emperor went too far, because he specially commissioned the drafting of laws that severely punished runaway servants.
Murong Lie didn't want anything to happen to Jiang Tian, but he could still take her sightseeing.
Jiang Tian's eyes suddenly lit up: "Your Highness, are you telling the truth? Can you really take me out for a walk?"
Murong Lie deliberately made it seem like he was reluctant.
"If it weren't for your birthday today, I wouldn't have taken people out so easily. Come on, pack your things. We'll eat out, you pay for it. Can you afford it?"
Jiang Tian nodded frantically, and this time she didn't say anything about not getting a monthly allowance.
A certain vitality finally returned to her face.
Murong Lie hadn't bothered to dress up or bring too many people along, as he was just taking her out for fun.
As long as his personal bodyguard can protect him and Jiang Tian at any time, what's the point of bringing so many people in a grand procession?
It seems there's a lantern festival today; everyone coming and going is a smiling face.
Murong Lie felt a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.
These people are jubilant here today. Don't they know that the emperor is actually not a good emperor?
No.
They simply live one day at a time.
It is precisely because of this uncertainty that we can only live in the present.
Murong Lie's sense of responsibility for the throne fluctuated, and when he saw these people, he felt a pang of pity.
Ultimately, Murong Lie wasn't that bad, nor that good.
He considers himself to be a very ordinary person.
"Your Highness, is this hairpin pretty?"
Murong Lie was lost in thought when Jiang Tian suddenly called out to him.
There were only the two of them. Was this woman out of her mind? And she still called him "Crown Prince."
Murong Lie glared at her.
Jiang Tian then realized that she had said the wrong thing.
Fortunately, Jiang Tian only pointed and did not lean closer to look. She speaks softly to begin with, and her voice becomes even softer outside, making it difficult for others to hear her.
"You better remember this well: call me Young Master outside. If you call me that wrong again, I'll take you back right now."
Jiang Tian quickly waved her hand: "No, it really won't happen this time. I was just too happy."
Murong Lie was somewhat disheartened.
What's the point of talking so much to this woman?
Hasn't she always been like this? He can only keep an eye on her.
"The hairpin is quite pretty, but it costs five taels of silver. Do you have the money to buy it?"
He teased her on purpose.
To his surprise, Jiang Tian nodded seriously: "Yes."
"How do you have so much silver? Haven't you always said you were poor?"
Murong Lie asked her instinctively.
Jiang Tian seemed a little embarrassed: "I've been in the palace for so many years, and I've saved up some money. I have nowhere to spend it. Today I finally got to come out, and this may be the only time in my life that I can come out, so naturally I'm going to spend all the money."
She said that with quite a bold statement.
Murong Lie was starting to look at her with new respect.
"You really are living for today, never waiting until tomorrow."
Jiang Tian suddenly looked up at him and said, "Because I don't know if I'll have a tomorrow, why not finish today's work today?"
Murong Lie was taken aback for a moment, realizing he couldn't win the argument.
There was a certain sadness hidden in her words.
Jiang Tian ignored him and stepped forward, generously taking out five taels of silver to buy the hairpin.
When she returned to Murong Lie's side, the hairpin was already in her hair.
"Is it beautiful, young master?"
Murong Lie paused for a moment, then said casually, "It's alright."
Jiang Tian smiled and said, "I think it looks pretty good."
Murong Lie remained silent.
The lantern festival includes a lantern-releasing segment, and everyone eagerly crowds around, creating a very lively scene.
Jiang Tian also released a lantern, but she didn't write anything.
"If the wish I make can't come true, then I might as well not write it down."
Jiang Tian said this.
Murong Lie always sensed a melancholy about her.
Is freedom that important? Perhaps it really is, but he can't have it.
After releasing the lanterns, Jiang Tian looked up at Murong Lie and said, "Young Master, let me treat you to a meal. Which restaurant would you like to eat at? I still have several dozen taels of silver on me, which should be enough to treat you to a meal."
Murong Lie opened his fan and waved it: "I don't want to eat, let's walk around some more."
"Okay, I'm not very hungry either."
Jiang Tian beamed with joy.
The two strolled down the street, neither of them speaking for a moment.
Jiang Tian was originally a quiet person, but she became a little more lively today.
In the past, she would keep quiet as much as possible.
Murong Lie was used to her quietness, but also found her liveliness today quite novel.
The two of them strolled around and eventually got away from the crowd.
Murong Lie looked at the woman beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Why do I always feel that you have a sense of sadness about you? You are not usually a sentimental person."
Jiang Tian looked up at him and winked: "I'm not sad, you're overthinking it."
Murong Lie sneered: "If I can't tell what state you're in, then I've truly lived in vain."
Jiang Tian remained silent for a while before saying, "Okay, I'm just not in a good mood today, so I'm trying to cheer myself up."
"Why are you in a bad mood? Is it because you can't leave the palace?"
Murong Lie got straight to the point in one sentence.
Jiang Tian did not deny it.
The two walked and walked until they came to a secluded place.
Jiang Tian said, "Your Highness, I'm a little tired. Let's rest for a while before continuing."
Murong Lie didn't care; he let her do as she pleased.
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