After resolving Si Chengfeng's emotional knot, Hua Qingcheng was in a good mood the entire afternoon when she returned to the Imperial College to study.
That evening, after finishing her homework and bathing, Hua Rumeng once again headed for Xicuiyuan, carrying her zither. This time, the person Hua Qingcheng was going to see was Pei Zijun, a man she had met several times before.
At four o'clock in the evening, outside Pei Zijun's room in Xicuiyuan.
"Greetings to Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess!"
Pei Zijun knew that Hua Qingcheng would come tonight, so he had already brought his personal servant out to greet her at the door.
"Stand up."
Hua Qingcheng, holding a pipa harp in her arms, raised her hand to support the man kneeling on the ground.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Pei Zijun lowered his eyebrows and eyes, looking very submissive, and seemed to be a little cautious and uneasy.
The woman he originally thought was his fiancée had turned out to be the princess of Laifeng Kingdom, and he was directly appointed to the Eastern Palace as the princess serving the king. Pei Zijun felt that his mind was still confused.
Glancing at the dumbfounded Pei Zijun, Hua Qingcheng said slowly, "It's cold outside, let's talk inside."
"Yes, Your Highness." Pei Zijun, who had come back to his senses from his daze, responded a little embarrassedly.
Hua Qingcheng, holding the Yaoqin, didn't care about Pei Zijun's reaction. She walked into the room on her own, sat down in front of the Bailing platform in the room, and gently placed the Yaoqin on it.
Hua Qingcheng raised her hand and touched the strings of the Yaoqin, wondering secretly in her heart whether she would need it tonight...
After Hua Qingcheng and Pei Zijun entered the room, Pei Zijun's personal servant tactfully withdrew and closed the door.
"I heard that whenever Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess favors the Emperor, she always carries her harp in her hand, and when she's in a good mood, she even plays a few tunes..." Pei Zijun's eyes seemed to be filled with envy as he spoke.
Hua Qingcheng: ...
(Hua Qingcheng: If you want it too, it’s not impossible…)
"That's right." Hua Qingcheng nodded slightly.
"Your Highness, Zijun has a question in his mind that he would like to ask you. I wonder if I should ask you."
Pei Zijun, who was sitting opposite Hua Qingcheng, first glanced at Hua Qingcheng secretly, then lowered his head slightly with a smile on his face, looking a little shy and embarrassed.
Hua Qingcheng: ...
(Hua Qingcheng: I don’t know whether I should tell you or not, so why are you asking?)
"Just say it." Hua Qingcheng responded patiently.
Hua Qingcheng, frustrated by having to fawn over the men of Xicuiyuan every day lately, missed them immensely. Mu Daigua, Situ Leng, Han Yaonie, Si Xiaotian, Si Huli, Hua Heshang—any one of them would be fine if she could just hug them...
(Except for "Han Yaonie" and "Hua Heshang" which were given by Hua Qingcheng, the "father of naming" of the other four is Han Yichen.)
堪堪须臾间，花倾城的意识已经神游太空去了：丰神俊朗的沐离歌，高大伟岸的司徒烨，魅惑妖娆的韩亦辰，纯真可爱的于小天，温文尔雅的司乘风，还有那个十分抗揍的无尘……
"Does Your Highness still remember the Yunlai Inn at the junction of Chaoyang Province, Wanzhan Province, and Qiandeng Province?" Pei Zijun asked tentatively.
Hua Qingcheng, who was using her mind to flirt with several men, was suddenly brought back to consciousness by Pei Zijun's question.
"Of course it is unforgettable." Hua Qingcheng said solemnly.
When she first went to the capital, on her way back to Huaqiao Village, she was chased by the Luosha Sect at the Yunlai Inn and was held hostage by Gui Cangwu, the eldest disciple of the Guimei Sect.
Recalling that she had been licked on the face by the man with wavy hair and a snake mark on his left eyebrow, Hua Qingcheng suddenly felt a chill and her whole body exuded a cold aura.
Pei Zijun: ...
(Pei Zijun: Did our encounter there make you feel awkward?)
"Your Highness, Zijun and you first met at the Yunlai Inn." Pei Zijun said a little embarrassedly.
“Uh…yes!”
"Back in the backyard of the inn, you bumped into me and knocked one of my jade pendants off."
After Pei Zijun's reminder, Hua Qingcheng remembered how she met Pei Zijun.
"Your Highness, I wonder... I wonder where the jade pendant is now?" Pei Zijun couldn't help but lower his head even more.
"Of course I put it somewhere no one can get to it, but why are you asking?" Hua Qingcheng looked at Pei Zijun suspiciously. Wasn't this guy being too nosy?
"Your Highness, could you tell me, Zijun, how did you get this jade pendant?" Pei Zijun asked a little nervously.
Hua Qingcheng looked at Pei Zijun with a look of scrutiny upon hearing this. This guy kept talking about "jade pendants". Could it be that...
As if she had thought of something, Hua Qingcheng took advantage of the cover of her clothes and pretended to take out the jade pendant that Situ Ye had "earned" from Duan Yunfei from her arms (actually from the space).
When she carefully looked at the eye-catching word "Pei" engraved on the Ruyi jade pendant again, Hua Qingcheng's pair of clear eyes suddenly widened slightly, and then she looked at Pei Zijun in disbelief.
"Pei Zijun, don't tell me that the 'Pei' on this Ruyi jade pendant is the same 'Pei' as in your 'Pei Zijun'..."
"To be honest, Your Highness, this jade pendant is actually an heirloom of the Pei family. My father once told me that Zijun had a legitimate brother who was three years older than him, but unfortunately, he died young. That legitimate brother had a fiancée who had been arranged for him since childhood. In order to keep her promise to her old friend, my mother instructed before her death that this marriage be arranged for Zijun, a bastard son."
"So... this jade pendant now belongs to Zijun's fiancée."
This time, Pei Zijun almost buried his head in his chest, and two suspicious red clouds quickly appeared on his fair and handsome face.
"Mute~mute~mute~"
Hua Rumeng, who was petrified on the spot, suddenly felt a flock of crows flying over her head.
so……
The jade pendant she had always treasured turned out to be someone else's engagement token?!
Hua Qingcheng suddenly felt sick. This was a huge misunderstanding! No wonder she had always felt that Pei Zijun always looked at her in a strange way. It turned out that this was the problem...
"Pei Zijun, this jade pendant is actually...it's a long story..."
Hua Qingcheng first cursed Duan Yunfei, the scoundrel, in her heart a hundred and eight times for mortgaging the engagement token. Then she recounted the entire story of how she had obtained the jade pendant.
"Pei Zijun, this is what happened. This Ruyi jade pendant actually belonged to Duan Yunfei, the head constable of the Six Gates. She originally pawned it to my second husband, who is now my concubine, Situ."
Hua Qingcheng told Pei Zijun everything truthfully except not mentioning Feng Lingyan.
"Mortgage?!"
Pei Zijun couldn't describe his feelings with the word "shock" after hearing this.
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