Li Tiao, who had initially been somewhat uninterested, suddenly brightened up when she saw the roller skates in Hongye's hand. "Where did you get them?"
Taking the ice skates from Hongye, Li Tiaozai examined them closely and exclaimed excitedly, "Hongye, I never would have guessed you were so capable! I almost believed you couldn't get them."
Hongye smiled awkwardly and didn't say anything.
Li Tiao didn't notice Hongye's expression. She changed out of her ice skates and tried them on, and they fit perfectly.
She impulsively opened the door to leave, but after taking two steps, remembering her words of comfort to Hongye, Li Tiao returned.
"Going there during the day would be too conspicuous," this wasn't just a consolation for Hongye, but the truth.
Although Kangxi's attitude is currently ambiguous, it also gives people a very clear feeling. His attitude during the ice skating that day was even more unpredictable.
If, as the Fourth Prince later sarcastically remarked, this was to give Li Tiao a legitimate status, then... Li Tiao now needs to keep a low profile even more.
"Master, aren't you going out?"
"Let's wait until it gets dark."
"But didn't you say that it was dark and you couldn't see anything?"
Li Tiao paused for a moment: "Hongye, you seem quite smart, so why can't you understand now? The reason I said that before was probably because I saw you couldn't find your ice skates and I was worried you'd be upset..."
Halfway through her explanation, Li Tiao realized something and, looking at Hongye again, finally noticed Hongye's unease.
Looking down at the ice skates again, although they were the same style as the ones I wore when I was ice skating that day, they exuded a kind of understated luxury compared to those skates.
After a long silence, Li Tiao asked, "This... roller skates... where did you get them?"
Thinking about how Hongye was asking around everywhere, what if the master in the palace found out, and then it reached... Kangxi or the Eighth Prince's ears...
If that's the case, then these shoes are a bit too tight.
"Master, since you already have ice skates, you can just wear them to skate. How you got them seems alright..."
"Foolish, Hongye, you know my current situation. I can't accept just anyone's things, so this is the Emperor's..."
"No, no... Your Majesty, you flatter me too much. How could I possibly know the Emperor?"
Li Tiaomo: "That is..."
"It's Master..."
The "master" Hongye mentioned was the Fourth Prince. Li Tiao suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and that indescribable feeling returned.
“Master, it wasn’t me who sought you out, it was someone who contacted me. He told me not to inquire around the palace, that he would help me find it. I was thinking of telling you, but then I saw that you were in a low mood, and before I could even get a chance to say anything, the ice skates arrived…”
"But my lord, I truly didn't mean to hide it from you."
Li Tiao naturally knew Hongye, but her emotions were very complicated. Perhaps she was trying to hide some truth from Master Kang by saying too much, mixing truth and falsehood.
So now, facing such an ordinary pair of ice skates, Li Tiao felt a surge of emotion welling up inside her.
She quickly shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to banish the feeling.
"Hongye, find some materials. Let's find something to do before it gets dark."
"What are you looking for materials for?" Hongye asked.
"Make an outfit for skating, you can't just wear a qipao, can you?"
"But you looked great when you were ice skating in a qipao that day."
Li Tiao shook her head. It was still not quite right. Clothes at this time couldn't be too extravagant, but she felt that she should also have a short skirt that would flutter when she twirled.
Although Hongye felt it wasn't necessary, seeing that Li Tiao's mood was noticeably better than before, she started looking for things and busied herself with her.
In the winter month, it gets dark early, so Li Tiao naturally couldn't finish the clothes she thought looked good, but that didn't stop her from going ice skating.
As darkness fell, the vast palace seemed to fall silent all at once. The palace maids and eunuchs that were usually everywhere were now deserted.
Li Tiao led Hongye to the lake where they could ice skate, gazing at the ice surface that shone in the moonlight.
She recalled a saying: "The bigger your heart, the bigger your stage."
She couldn't wait to skate onto the ice and ride freely...
"Master, it's getting dark, please be careful..."
As soon as Hongye finished speaking, she noticed the reflection on the ice out of the corner of her eye. She nervously turned around and glanced back. "Master, this servant greets you..."
The Fourth Prince kept his gaze fixed on Li Tiao on the ice and waved to Hongye.
Hongye, being sensible, waited beside Su Peisheng.
Watching Li Tiao gallop across the ice, the Fourth Prince thought of the feeling of riding a horse across the grasslands when he went hunting. The speed and the unrestrained freedom were something he longed for.
However, the Fourth Prince knew clearly what his deepest desires were, so the so-called freedom did not hold much appeal for him.
But he slowly approached Li Tiao in the middle of the ice.
Li Tiao was engrossed in her daydream of "the stage is as big as my heart" and didn't notice the Fourth Prince. When she turned around and skated over, she was about to bump into him. She quickly tried to dodge, but her fluctuating emotions still affected her technique.
Just as she was about to fall, the Fourth Prince reached out and grabbed her.
Although the Fourth Prince wasn't wearing ice skates, the ice was still very slippery, and he almost lost his footing.
Li Tiao thought to herself, "Isn't it going to be a melodramatic situation where neither of us could stand properly and we both fell down, with me falling on top of him?"
Heaven seemed to have heard Li Tiao's prayers. Although the two of them did stumble a bit at first, they were fortunate enough to regain their footing in the end.
Li Tiao broke the silence first: "Why is the Fourth Prince here? Haven't you left the palace yet at this hour?"
The Fourth Prince, who has already moved out of the Princes' quarters, now has a residence outside the palace. After dark, he is not allowed to move around the palace freely.
The Fourth Prince remained silent, but kept his eyes fixed on Li Tiao.
Li Tiao felt quite uncomfortable under his gaze. Even though his deep eyes were indeed attractive, she really didn't want to engage in any ambiguous relationship like "May I be like a star and you like the moon, shining brightly together every night."
Realizing that the Fourth Prince was still holding her hand, Li Tiao quickly tried to shake him off and slide away, but not only did she not shake him off, the Fourth Prince held her hand even tighter.
Do you still want to leave?
"What?" Li Tiao thought she was hallucinating.
"Do you still want to leave?" The Fourth Prince repeated his words: "If you are willing to leave everything here and give up any possible wealth and glory, I will find a way to help you leave."
The surprise came too suddenly and unexpectedly. Li Tiao wanted to scream, but seeing the Fourth Prince's cold gaze, she didn't dare to be too "outrageous." However, Li Tiao still couldn't help but ask again, "Really?"
However, before the Fourth Prince could answer, Li Tiao caught a glimpse of someone behind a tree not far from the lake, their bright yellow robes—the emperor's—so dazzling…
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