Chapter 279: Two People Alone (3)
“When can I leave?” Shen Miao asked.
"Everyone is watching us outside. Going out now will cause controversy. Besides, if you stay with me, you will inevitably blame me." Xie Jingxing's words were still infuriating. "So for the sake of my innocence, when the boat docks, I will take you to the Princess's Mansion. The people from the Princess's Mansion will take you back."
Shen Miao was slightly startled: “Princess’s Mansion?”
"Princess Rongxin," Xie Jingxing fiddled with the charcoal, "She will help."
Princess Rongxin was also born to the late emperor's concubines. Although not as favored as Princess Yuqing, she was also deeply loved by the late emperor. Among the late emperor's children, Princess Yuqing and Princess Rongxin shared a close sisterly bond. Princess Yuqing married the Marquis of Lin'an, while Princess Rongxin married the reigning number one scholar. Sadly, the scholar died of illness a few years later. Princess Rongxin did not change her marriage and moved back to the Princess Palace, remaining a widow for many years.
I think given the friendship between Princess Yuqing and Princess Rongxin, they would also help Xie Jingxing.
Shen Miao raised her eyes and glanced at Xie Jingxing. He was thinking long-term. If they managed to get the Shen family to come over now, seeing them alone and disheveled, they would inevitably overthink things. Given the relationship between the Shen and Xie families, who knew if it would get even more complicated later. Having Princess Rongxin step in was not a bad idea.
The sound of fireworks could be heard overhead. Shen Miao was leaning against the window of the boat, and upon hearing the sound, she looked out the window. Under the night sky of Dingjing City, the colorful fireworks were a dazzling display. As Bailu and Shuangjiang had said, the fireworks would not stop tonight. Watching them just now amidst the surging crowds of people, her mood was completely different from watching them now from the quiet surface of the lake.
"You like watching these?" Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t like it.” Shen Miao replied.
The Mingqi royal family held their annual banquet, where the emperor and his concubines enjoyed themselves together and countless fireworks were set off in the imperial garden. At that time, she had just returned from the Qin Kingdom, and there was suddenly a new lady, Madam Mei, in the palace who continued to enjoy the emperor's favor. On the night of the banquet, Madam Mei and Fu Xiuyi drank and had fun in the imperial garden. She sat in Kunning Palace, accompanied by Wanyu and Fu Ming, and watched the fireworks go off and disappear by herself. It was the coldest fireworks display she had ever seen, and from then on, she no longer liked these things.
"What's so good about something that's fleeting? It's just a showpiece that looks good but is useless." There was a hint of anger in her tone, but her eyes seemed a little sad.
Xie Jingxing looked at her in surprise, thought for a moment, then stood up and took something out of the cabinet at one end. He walked over to Shen Miao and handed the thing in his hand to her.
"I don't know how long we'll have to wait for the boat to dock. Since today is the Jade Rabbit Festival, why don't you make a lantern too?" Xie Jingxing said.
Shen Miao looked at the lantern in her hand. It was probably left behind by someone who had been having fun on the boat. It hadn't yet been lit with candles, and was neatly folded. Looking out the window, the surface of Wanli Lake was covered in layers of lanterns. Their boat was weaving through the dazzling light, like a ferry across the beautiful Milky Way.
Without waiting for Shen Miao to answer, Xie Jingxing made one himself. After he finished making the lantern, he casually dropped it into the lake. Shen Miao saw this and asked, "Why don't you write a note?"
A note should be placed in the lantern, with the wish of the person making the lantern written on it, so that the gods can hear people's prayers and bless the person who makes the lantern to have his wishes come true in the coming year.
"I don't believe in God." Xie Jingxing said lazily, "It's better not to write."
Shen Miao thought about it, but she couldn't imagine what it would be like for Xie Jingxing, with his arrogant and unruly personality, to seriously pray for the gods' blessing. She folded the two lanterns, but didn't write a note or put a candle inside. Instead, she lit the flower on the top of the lantern with a tinder and put her hand into the lake.
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