Chapter 40040 Her heart was pounding wildly...
The lights were on full display, and the crowds were dense.
Lin Wan carried the Jade Rabbit Lantern with the Moon and slowly walked towards the stone arch bridge.
Despite the crowded throng, Lin Wan recognized the two people on the bridge as Xie Huaiyuan and Princess Zhaoyi.
The Mid-Autumn Festival lantern festival was extremely lively, with many people coming and going on the streets, and many of them were carrying lanterns. Among the couples, Lin Wan, who had been separated from Su Furong, stood out as a unique individual.
Lin Wan's pupils were very dark, and at this moment, the beautiful figure on the bridge was reflected in her eyes. She was puzzled as to why the person who said he was busy had turned around and appeared here.
She looked closely, trying to discern the person in the distance, but overlooked the uneven stone paving road beneath her feet.
As Lin Wan approached the stone steps of the arched bridge, she was caught off guard and was pushed and knocked down by people who suddenly squeezed in from behind and rushed onto the bridge. She fell straight down into the river below the arched bridge.
In the moment of crisis, someone suddenly grabbed her.
Under the lamplight, Lin Wan recognized the person in front of her and was surprised to find that it was Gu Qinghe, whom she hadn't seen for many days.
Gu Qinghe: "It was done in a moment of panic, I hope Miss Lin will not take offense."
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I probably would have fallen into the river."
"Why are you all alone, Miss Lin?" Gu Qinghe looked carefully around her but couldn't find any companions.
Lin Wan smiled helplessly: "I went out with Furong just now, but there were too many people admiring the lanterns on the street, and we got separated. I'll go back and see if I can find her later."
The night sky was lit up again, fireworks burst forth, and the brilliant light instantly fell on everyone, including Lin Wan, making her smile appear even warmer. Gu Qinghe was slightly taken aback.
As the bright night sky returned to calm, Lin Wan realized that she had twisted her ankle. She lifted her foot to step onto the stone arch bridge and felt a slight pain in her sprained ankle.
Lin Wan scratched her head, looking rather embarrassed, and said softly to Gu Qinghe, "I sprained my ankle, and I'm afraid I can't continue to see the lanterns. Could you please help me, Mr. Gu?"
She originally wanted to continue walking forward, to keep up with Xie Huaiyuan's pace, and to see why he was here with Princess Zhaoyi.
But the pain from her sprained ankle jolted her awake. That man was the Crown Prince, the dream husband of countless young ladies in the capital, not to mention the Princess Zhaoyi who was rumored to be involved with him. And what was her own status?
Lin Wan's earlier anger dissipated considerably, but she was not disappointed. She said, "Could you please lead the way, Young Master Gu, to the carriage parked at the Su residence, which is at the intersection of Lantern Street?"
Gu Qinghe noticed the discomfort in her feet, frowned slightly, and hesitantly reached out his hand: "The road is crowded. If Miss Lin doesn't mind, you can hold onto my hand and slowly walk back to the carriage."
Although she hadn't had much contact with Gu Qinghe before, the few times she did interact with him all happened when she was in trouble. Even the incident at the palace a few days ago was because she met him first. However, later...
Lin Wan didn't think about it any further. She smiled and said, "Thank you."
Gu Qinghe couldn't help but feel a little more pity for such a well-behaved girl, especially after his brief encounter at the palace banquet. When he returned later, he didn't see Lin Wan. It wasn't until a few days later that he learned from Su Xuanhuai that Lin Wan had encountered some trouble, but he had no way of knowing the details. Su Xuanhuai didn't say anything more.
Several days have passed, and today he met him again, as if a moment of light had briefly appeared in his dim sky.
Gu Qinghe didn't say much. He lowered his eyes and carefully looked at the stone bricks under his feet. He then carefully led Lin Wan to turn around and slowly walk towards the street corner.
at the same time.
On the other side of the stone arch bridge, Xie Huaiyuan, in the crowd, looked over as if by telepathy. He saw Gu Qinghe helping Lin Wan walk forward. Through the gaps in the surging crowd, he could clearly see the lantern in Lin Wan's hand. The lit moon-accompanying jade rabbit lantern made her stand out in the crowd.
Xie Huaiyuan lowered his eyes to look at the lantern in his hand. It was also a moon-accompanying jade rabbit lantern, and a subtle smile flashed between his cold eyes.
"Brother Prince, I see they're having a lantern riddle guessing game over there. It looks so lively! Do you want to go and take a look?"
Princess Zhaoyi stood gracefully beside him, noticing his gaze falling on the crowd on the other side of the stone arch bridge. She followed his gaze, wanting to find out what was going on.
Xie Huaiyuan's cool voice rang in her ears: "Let's go."
The figures in the crowd seemed to appear briefly in his field of vision before disappearing in an instant.
Regardless, Princess Zhaoyi was still very happy today, even though the methods she used were somewhat dishonorable.
We admired the lanterns and solved the riddles.
When Princess Zhaoyi gently expressed her desire to go on the cruise ship to watch the fireworks again, Xie Huaiyuan coldly refused.
Xie Huaiyuan: "You have fulfilled your first promise and returned the jade pendant."
It turns out that Princess Zhaoyi was seriously injured when she saved Xie Huaiyuan. Xie Huaiyuan had promised to keep three promises to her. The reason she was able to enjoy the lanterns with him tonight was because of the servants' incompetence, which allowed him to secretly find that Lin Wan's jade pendant was in his hand.
She had seen that jade pendant many years ago in the hands of the late old prince. It was left to Xie Huaiyuan by the old prince and was a symbol of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion. It also showed that the old prince had allowed Xie Huaiyuan to be his daughter-in-law.
But such a jade pendant was actually on Lin Wan!
She was so angry that she almost smashed the jade pendant she had just received. The person she had been waiting for for so long had ended up with an unknown woman.
However, to her surprise, Xie Huaiyuan came straight to her because of this. Seeing Xie Huaiyuan's cold and unfriendly expression, Princess Zhaoyi had no choice but to promise to accompany her to the Lantern Festival in exchange for the jade pendant.
Princess Zhaoyi's long eyelashes fell, casting a shadow of gloom: "Brother Crown Prince, are you really in such a hurry to leave?"
The dazzling fireworks illuminated Xie Huaiyuan's cold face. His dark, abyss-like eyes glanced at him and said, "It's late. Princess, you should return to the palace soon."
After saying this, Xie Huaiyuan put the jade pendant into his pocket, turned around and walked back into the crowded throng without looking back, quickly disappearing from sight.
Princess Zhaoyi was helpless and could only say softly, "Alright, take care, Your Highness."
But secretly, her hands clenched into fists hidden in the sleeves of her gorgeous clothes, ignoring the fact that her nails dug into her palms, and a fierce look emanated from her bright eyes.
-
Despite the discomfort in her feet, Lin Wan finally found the carriage with the "Su" mansion sign at the street corner, though it looked slightly different from the one she had seen earlier.
The coachman, seeing Lin Wan in the distance, hurriedly placed a footstool on the ground and said with a smile, "The Second Miss has already returned home on business and specifically ordered me to wait here for you to return, Miss Lin."
Lin Wan recognized the man; he was indeed the coachman from the Su family, which dispelled her doubts.
She nodded as instructed, not paying too much attention to it.
After all, Su Furong's decision was made on a whim, and perhaps she really had something urgent to attend to that caused her to rush back to the mansion.
"Thank you very much, Young Master Gu. I will definitely prepare a gift to express my gratitude another day."
After Lin Wan was settled, the carriage slowly drove out of the bustling street and onto a quieter one.
The wheels rolled over the stone-paved road, making a clattering sound.
Lin Wan raised her hand and lifted the curtain, watching the carriage rushing past in the night.
Even though she had already left Lantern Street, the other streets were still more lively than usual. She saw talented men and beautiful women walking slowly on the streets carrying lanterns.
The scene of Xie Huaiyuan and Princess Zhaoyi flashed by in the changing light and shadow.
For a moment, I just felt that those couples were so glaringly conspicuous.
Lin Wan angrily slammed the curtain down, leaned against the soft cushion in the carriage, and, perhaps from exhaustion, slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
No one knows how much time has passed, but the carriage is still moving hurriedly.
Suddenly, due to a moment of carelessness, the carriage wheel ran over a gravel, causing a slight jolt that startled Lin Wan awake. She then discovered that the carriage was still moving.
But in my memory, it's only three or four blocks from the Su residence to Lantern Street, so how come it's taken so long to get there by carriage?
My heart pounded. Could it be that I've been unlucky enough to run into criminals again?
After quite a while, the carriage finally came to a stop.
A voice came from outside the carriage: "We've arrived. Please alight from the carriage, Miss Lin."
Regardless, Lin Wan wanted to see what was going on.
She removed the pearl hairpin from her hair, held it firmly in her hand, hid it in her sleeve, took a deep breath, and then slowly lifted the carriage curtain.
As she looked around, she realized that this was not a street where high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital usually lived. Even though it was dark at night, she could tell that the houses around her were not large, but extremely elegant.
The surroundings were quiet. At the end of the street, there was only this one house. Several people were guarding the gate, and it seemed that if she didn't obediently go in, they would forcefully take her inside.
Lin Wan tightened her grip on the hairpin hidden in her sleeve, lifted her skirt, climbed the steps, and stepped into the mansion.
Perhaps because she had rested in the carriage for a while, the external injury on her foot had faded a lot. Now, as she walked slowly, she didn't feel much pain. She was more concerned about where she was.
Passing through the courtyard, one is greeted by a lush pear orchard, with branches and leaves crowding together on the branches. The night breeze is cool and gentle, carrying a light fragrance.
After turning through the long corridor, you will reach the main courtyard.
The most eye-catching thing in the night is a jade rabbit lantern hanging on the wall, symbolizing companionship to the moon.
Lin Wan paused, wondering if she had left her lantern on the carriage and not taken it down, but there was an identical lantern here.
From afar, the lit lanterns and the full moon in the sky complement each other, a perfect pair.
Just then, footsteps approached from behind, but stopped when they got close.
Lin Wan turned around abruptly, looked up and followed the sound, and saw the person who had just walked over and was standing behind her.
The man, dressed in a dark brocade robe, stood with his hands behind his back, his phoenix eyes slightly raised, and unexpectedly met her gaze.
Lin Wan's heart suddenly raced, but she pretended to casually look away.
The hairpin she was gripping tightly in her sleeve involuntarily loosened.
It was Xie Huaiyuan!
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