Seeing his tone turn serious, Li Chang'an sighed and said, "What does the Regent like about me, and why is he making things so difficult for me?"
"What do I like about you?" Feng Beichuan smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. He looked away and said indifferently, "Very well, then I will take my leave now, so as not to disturb Your Highness's relaxation."
Having said that, he turned to leave. The moonlight, as white as frost, shone on the man, making him appear somewhat cold and lonely.
Looking at him, Li Chang'an couldn't bear it any longer, so he called out to Feng Beichuan, "Regent, please wait!"
She calmly said to the man's astonished gaze, "Since we're already here, and the banquet hall is rather boring, why don't you have a chat with me, Your Highness?"
Feng Beichuan, having been eager for this opportunity, readily agreed.
The two chatted casually, but found they got along quite well. Li Chang'an finally couldn't help but ask, "Actually, from the first time we met, I felt that the Regent seemed to know me very well. Have we met before?"
Her tone was extremely serious, but Feng Beichuan laughed. He seemed to have reverted to his usual carefree demeanor, saying, "Does the princess really think so? I'm flattered. I did hope to get to know the princess sooner, but we just weren't meant to be. If I could have grown up with the princess, perhaps..."
He leaned close to Li Chang'an and whispered, "Perhaps, the princess would have married me back then."
Seeing that he was acting inappropriately again, Li Chang'an was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore and simply turned around and went back to the banquet hall.
"Are you going back already? Princess, wait for me!"
Feng Beichuan laughed, but seeing Li Chang'an leave without looking back, he suddenly stopped smiling and followed after him in two steps.
The two returned to the banquet hall one after the other.
Li Chang'an had just reached his seat and hadn't even sat down when Liu Furong approached him with a beaming smile, saying, "Why were you out for so long? And why did the Regent go out with you? You two..."
She smiled slyly and said, "You two...you wouldn't happen to be having an affair, would you?"
Li Chang'an rolled his eyes at her, annoyed, and said indifferently, "Watch your words. What illicit affair? We're not acquainted!"
"Forget it, judging from the Regent's infatuated look towards you, he's definitely interested in you. It's just that you've always been so cold to him, it's really baffling..."
Liu Furong kept talking, and Li Chang'an simply stopped responding. The two soon started chatting about other things.
After returning to the banquet hall, Feng Beichuan was absent-minded, staring blankly at a plate of rabbit-shaped pastries on the table. No one knew what he was thinking, only that there was a strange light flashing in his eyes.
The banquet was more than halfway through, and everyone was getting a little bored, so they suggested composing a poem.
Just then, a young man in a blue robe stood up and walked to Li Chang'an, gazing at her with a smile in his eyes. Holding a folding fan, he leisurely said, "Lighting a lamp at the bottom of a well deeply illuminates her; let us walk together, my love, and not play chess. The exquisite dice are inlaid with red beans; do you know how deep my longing for you is?"
While he was reciting poetry, Liu Furong told Li Chang'an that the man was the second son of the Vice Minister of Rites. He was only seventeen or eighteen years old this year, but he was obsessed with romantic and frivolous things. He was unambitious and very unruly, and was not someone one could entrust one's life to.
Li Chang'an didn't take it to heart. She just stared at the handsome young man in front of her, who was even younger than herself, with delicate eyebrows and bright eyes, and inexplicably wanted to laugh.
She is like that, but others don't think so.
Zhao Ruyue was the first to speak: "What a fine poem! What a perfect match! Your Majesty, you see, the son of Minister Liang and Yong'an are a very good couple!"
As she spoke, Zhao Ruyue glanced meaningfully at Li Chang'an, who remained calm and composed.
"Yes, Young Master Liang just recited a poem expressing his admiration; his feelings couldn't be clearer!"
Just then, a young lady from some unknown family spoke up with a smile.
Emperor Xingchang echoed, "Indeed, Minister Liang, your son is truly talented and a good match for Yong'an."
Vice Minister Liang chuckled and said some modest words—he knew that his second son was not as steady as his eldest son, but rather quite unruly, and he had no desire to let him marry someone like Princess Yong'an, so he was naturally quite helpless.
"Young Master Liang's poem is indeed excellent, but have you ever heard the line, 'The fallen flowers yearn to follow the flowing water, but the flowing water has no heart to love the fallen flowers'?"
Li Chang'an listened silently for a long time, but could no longer pretend not to hear, so he politely declined.
Young Master Liang, after all, had his pride. Hearing Li Chang'an's words, he couldn't press the matter further, so he said, "Since that's the case, then it seems I'm destined to be unfulfilled with the princess! The falling flower longs for her love, but the flowing water is heartless..."
As he spoke, he made a show of regret, which really annoyed Li Chang'an.
Although Li Chang'an didn't say anything on the surface, he thought to himself: Who has any affinity with you? Even if you're just trying to be cultured, you don't have to be so pretentious!
Liu Furong bluntly voiced Li Chang'an's thoughts: "This Liang Xuanjing is such a hypocrite! Everyone knows he doesn't do anything productive all day, spending his time partying with a bunch of scoundrels. What's with this pretense of deep affection!"
Feng Beichuan was also furious. He gritted his teeth and stared at Liang Xuanjing, his chilling gaze sending shivers down the spines of everyone around him.
Zhao Ruyue, however, seemed oblivious to all of this, continuing to say to herself, "Yong'an is still young, how can she remain a widow for the rest of her life? She should find a good husband and remarry as soon as possible. If you don't like the Second Young Master Liang, I think the Third Young Master Wu is not bad either..."
She emphasized the words "widow" to make sure everyone understood that Li Chang'an was a widow.
Before she could finish speaking, Li Chang'an interrupted her: "I appreciate the Imperial Noble Consort's kindness, but I am stationed on the frontier and devoted to the country. I no longer care about those petty romances. Please do not worry about this matter any longer."
Her words were so straightforward that no one could refute them. In addition, Emperor Xingchang also held an ambiguous attitude, so Zhao Ruyue could not say anything more, and the matter was considered closed.
As for Liang Xuanjing, who was the catalyst for this incident, he did not receive a pleasant reception after returning to his post. The Vice Minister Liang was so angry with him that he only glanced at him before looking away, unwilling to see his son again.
Liang Xuanjing didn't care, since his father had disliked him for a long time anyway.
But when he turned his head, he met Feng Beichuan's gaze. Seeing the other's furious expression and then looking at Li Chang'an beside him, Liang Xuanjing felt as if he understood something.
So it turns out the Regent also had feelings for Princess Yong'an.
Liang Xuanjing smiled, finding the situation even more interesting now.
"Judging from the Regent's demeanor, it doesn't seem like he wants to marry the princess for military power. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to marry her. What kind of woman can't the Regent have? Could it be... that he really likes Princess Yong'an?"
Liang Xuanjing silently muttered to himself, and the way he looked at Feng Beichuan changed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
