According to custom, the banquet was held in the Linde Hall.

It was already evening when Yaoying entered the palace.

There are dots of cold stars floating in the sky, and the vast sky in the west is filled with sunset clouds, casting a series of blazing hot rays of light. The pavilions and towers towering over the pool are bathed in a dazzling golden glow, casting a magnificent silhouette, and the corridors and pavilions are surrounded by arches.

A breeze blows by, bringing a hint of coolness.

Standing at the bottom of the long stairs, one can vaguely see the lively banquet in the palace. The hall is crowded with people, with laughter and joy. Behind the half-rolled pearl curtains of the high-rise balcony, there are pearl beads and jade ornaments, and the fragrance of clothes and hair.

Below the stage, a group of musicians holding pipa, 筚篠, 箜侯, huqin, 羯鼓, ivory boards and golden bells sat on a felt carpet on the west side of the stage, singing and playing.

On the stage, dancers in colorful costumes danced to the music.

Yaoying got off the carriage, stood on the steps, looked up at the pavilion standing on the high platform, her clothes fluttering and her face shining brightly.

The young man who had been waiting on the platform for a long time stared at her in a daze. It took him a while to come to his senses. He rushed down the long stairs and stood in front of her, panting, his face pale and looking embarrassed.

Yao Ying smiled and said, "Sanlang."

Zheng Jing looked at her in silence, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist: "Princess... come with me."

Yao Ying was stunned.

Zheng Jing blushed all the way to his neck and stammered, "There is something I haven't mentioned to the princess... The reason why the Zheng family proposed marriage to the King of Qin was not because my father valued family background, but because... because I admired the princess."

After he said this, his face turned even redder, his head drooped, his whole body felt hot, and wisps of smoke almost came out of his head.

"Before the Zheng family proposed marriage...before the proposal, I...I met...met the princess."

The Seventh Princess may have forgotten it long ago, but Zheng Jing has it engraved in his heart.

The first time I saw the Seventh Princess was in the spring when peaches and plums were in full bloom. The young men and ladies of Wei County agreed to go out of the city to enjoy the spring. Zheng Jing and his eldest brother, born out of wedlock, got angry and fell off their horses, covered in mud.

His brothers and sisters sat on horseback, looking down at him and laughing at his uselessness.

Zheng Jing was covered in mud, his legs tangled in the reins, and he couldn't get up. His elder brother was watching from a distance, waiting for him to call for help, but he felt humiliated and didn't want to speak.

Several young dandies rode their horses around him, deliberately lifting their robes and belts, pretending to humiliate him.

Suddenly, the sound of a whip came from the sky. The Seventh Princess, who had her hair in twin spiral buns and was wearing a silver-red shirt and a pomegranate skirt, rode her horse down the hillside and beat back the leading dandy boy with a whip.

The young men were furious and were about to tease the Seventh Princess, but when they saw Li Zhongqian reining in his horse and looking nonchalantly in their direction, they were so frightened that they trembled and immediately dispersed.

The Seventh Princess raised her whip and gently freed Zheng Jing's entangled right leg. She left a servant to take care of him, turned her horse around, and ran towards Li Zhongqian.

Zheng Jing fell into a pool of mud, looked up, and watched the girl go away.

The smile on her face made the lush apricot forest pale in comparison.

Later, Zheng Jing met the famous daughter of the Li family again at a private banquet of the Li family and found that she was very different from the girl he met for the first time. She was quiet and gentle, with dignified manners, not at all like the girl who was riding a whip in the spring breeze.

The third time Zheng Jing met the Seventh Princess was in the autumn when the ginkgo trees were turning golden.

That night, Li Zhongqian held a banquet at the palace, and he was invited to attend. During the banquet, he was teased by his eldest brother's friends, drank too much, and mistakenly entered the backyard of the palace.

He walked to a pavilion and, in his drunken state, he vaguely heard the gentle laughter of a woman. He knew he had been tricked and hurriedly hid among the peonies at the bottom of the stairs.

In the pavilion, the gauze curtains were rolled up, colorful candles were shining brightly, and on the food table were colorful bowls and plates filled with delicacies from land and sea. A dozen concubines from the palace, heavily made up and with hair covered in pearls and jade, were sitting, lying, or standing, watching with smiles on their faces a woman dancing in the courtyard.

After a while, the music stopped, and the woman bowed to the main seat with a smile. The concubines laughed and said, "A Liu's dance is not as good as Qi Niang's!"

Liu refused, and the concubines urged Qi Niang to compete with her.

A charming young girl with twin spiral buns stepped out confidently, took off her shoes, stood on the round carpet, raised the golden bell in her hand, looked around with a smile, and slowly twisted her waist. Her silk gown fluttered, and her snow-white skin was faintly visible under the light.

Zheng Jing's face turned red and his heart beat fast. He didn't dare to look at her any longer, but he was too stunned to look away.

He had never seen such a beautiful dance in his life, so charming and graceful, yet soft and strong.

Her waist sways like a willow in the wind, and the waves are like spring water.

When the girl was halfway through her jump, Zheng Jing was pulled out of the peony bush by a tall guard and was punched several times in the face.

The noble lady in the pavilion scolded him as a lecher, and he stammered to explain.

The girl walked to the eaves of the corridor, sweating profusely, her flesh as white as snow under her silk shirt. She glanced at Zheng Jing and said to the guard with a smile, "Ah Qing, he is my brother's guest. He probably got drunk and barged in by mistake. Send him out."

The guard agreed and escorted Zheng Jing back to his seat. After confirming that he was the third son of the Zheng family, he let him go.

After Zheng Jing sobered up, he quietly inquired and learned that Li Yaoying had danced the Tuozhi dance that night.

The fourth time he met the Seventh Princess was when he was watching the Hu Ji perform the Tuozhi Dance in Pingkangfang.

Every time it's extremely fierce.

It was during these encounters with Lang Bin that Zheng Jing realized that the Seventh Princess was not the aloof and detached noblewoman described by the young dandy boys in Chang'an.

She is so beautiful, so bright, and yet so vivid and real.

She would generously rescue a boy who was being ridiculed and humiliated, playfully act coquettishly with her brother, proudly dance with the concubines in the palace, coldly drive away the dandy boy, and deal with the ladies of the aristocratic family obediently.

She will also be afraid and feel confused and helpless.

The sunset glows fiercely, and the long steps are filled with brilliant evening light.

Zheng Jing held Yao Ying's hand, raised his head, his face still flushed, and said solemnly: "I admire the princess, this heart is clear as day and night. The King of Qin is gone, I will take good care of the princess and respect the princess like the King of Qin did. The princess can ride a horse if she wants to, and dance if she wants to..."

He paused for a long time. "I really can't bear to see the princess step onto the platform."

If the Seventh Princess goes there, she will be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth!

Yao Ying looked at Zheng Jing, a faint smile slowly appeared on her face: "Sanlang, thank you."

The boy's love is sincere, reserved and shy. Even if it may be just his momentary impulse, it deserves to be treated kindly and respected.

"My brother has never liked scholars. I was wondering why he chose you..." Yao Ying smiled and said, "He was right. Sanlang, you are someone worth entrusting your life to."

Zheng Jing's throat trembled a few times, and he said in shame: "I am really incompetent. I can't protect the princess, nor can I save the King of Qin... I..."

Yao Ying interrupted him: "You have helped me a lot, I will always remember it."

"Princess, please come with me..." Zheng Jing murmured.

Yao Ying shook her head. "Sanlang, when I was five years old, I was left on the battlefield. Everyone said I was dead. My brother ignored the obstruction of his loyal servants and went across the battlefield to save me. The war was still going on. My brother dug among the dead for several days before finding me. The rebels had not gone far yet. We could not expose our identity as the daughter of the Li family. My brother took me to flee north. I couldn't walk, so my brother held me and carried me on his back..."

…

Li Zhongqian was only eleven years old at the time, and he hid from place to place with Yao Ying on his back.

With no food, Li Zhongqian dug up grass roots, caught snakes and rats in caves, begged for food with shameless attitude, and snatched any food that could fill his stomach from other refugees.

Since she had no shoes to wear, Li Zhongqian tore off his clothes to wrap her feet, and he himself climbed over the mountains barefoot, his soles were worn out.

When they encountered a riot of burning, looting and robbery, Li Zhongqian carried Yao Ying on his back and fled for his life. He had not practiced martial arts for several years and was still a child, so his body was not as strong as it would be later. He could not run fast and was almost caught up several times.

Once Yao Ying fell off his back.

The sound of horse hooves rang right beside her ears, but Yaoying lay on the grass without making a sound.

Li Zhongqian soon realized that she was missing while fleeing. Turning back, he saw her surrounded by the rebel army, and his eyes were filled with blood.

The other refugees who were fleeing together shouted at Li Zhongqian: "You fool! Run! Run!"

Yaoying lay on the ground, shouting in her heart: Run, brother, run!

Li Zhongqian did not run away.

Without even a moment's hesitation, he resolutely turned around and ran towards her, ignoring the gleaming spears, and pounced on her, protecting her firmly under his body.

Fortunately, they escaped and Li Zhongqian only suffered minor injuries.

The refugees scolded Li Zhongqian for being stupid: "You are lucky this time. You will die sooner or later if you carry this sick child on your back!"

Li Zhongqian kept silent and held Yaoying in his arms, feeding her the only piece of cake he had.

Yaoying refused to eat. She knew she was a burden to her brother, who had not eaten for several days.

Li Zhongqian's face was gloomy. He opened Yaoying's mouth, broke the biscuit into pieces and fed it into her mouth: "Xiaoqi, be good. Brother will not abandon you."

Yaoying cried and shook her head.

Li Zhongqian pinched her chin, staring at her with his narrow eyes, his eyes sinister: "Xiao Qi, listen carefully, you are not a burden to me, I will definitely take you home. If you are alive, I will take you back, and if you die, I will also carry you back. So you have to live well, do you understand?"

The five-year-old Yaoying was moved and a little scared. She wiped her tears, ate a few bites of the biscuit, and pushed the remaining half to Li Zhongqian: "Brother, have some too."

Li Zhongqian took the cake, but didn't eat it. He hid it in his sleeve.

In the end, the small piece of cake was left for Yaoying to eat.

…

After many years, Yao Ying's eyes still tear up when she recalls what happened when she was escaping.

"Sanlang, if you had a brother who treated you like this, would you sacrifice yourself to save him when he was in danger?"

Zheng Jing's eyes turned slightly red and he nodded.

Yao Ying smiled: "Back then, my brother wanted to take me and my mother away... But he was only eleven years old, and my mother needed careful care. I was also sick a lot. During the days of wandering outside, I ran out of medicine, so I couldn't go out. Every time my brother passed by a market, he would ask a doctor to treat me. We had no money for treatment and couldn't afford medicine, so those people naturally wouldn't treat me. My brother felt very guilty..."

At the age of eleven, Li Zhongqian understood that he alone could not provide Yao Ying with a stable life.

Just as Li De's staff said after they returned to Wei County: Erlang, only by staying in Wei County can the madam and the young lady live safely in the troubled times and have an endless supply of expensive medicinal herbs to nourish their bodies.

Yao Ying lowered her head and gently pulled Zheng Jing's hand away: "My brother was afraid that he could not protect me and my mother, so he did not dare to hide his talents and put on his armor to lead the troops to fight. However, his identity was taboo for the emperor, and he could not show his talents as easily as other princes. He was neither advancing nor retreating, so he simply let himself go with the flow. Even so, he still let my mother and I live comfortably these years."

She was not Li De's favorite princess, but who in the capital dared to bully her?

Yao Ying raised her head, her eyes determined: "My brother is in trouble now, I want to save him, no matter what the cost is."

"I'm not going with you."

Zheng Jing was speechless and dropped his hands in disappointment.

After a while, he raised his trembling hands and said, "I will take the princess to the balcony."

Yao Ying smiled at him and shook her head: "No, I will go this way by myself."

Zheng Jing opened his mouth but said nothing. He stood there and watched the woman he loved walk up the stairs. Her graceful figure gradually disappeared into the endless twilight.

On the high pavilion on the balcony, people were toasting each other and laughing loudly.

As dusk fell, hundreds of candles were already lit in the attic. The lights were scattered all over the place, and the candlelight was brilliant, like a sky full of stars falling to the ground and the Milky Way shining brightly.

However, when Yao Ying, with her hair tied up in a high bun and dressed in gorgeous clothes, walked into the curtained pavilion, the shining candlelight in the room was instantly dimmed.

Everyone at the table stopped talking at the same time and stared at her blankly.

The leader of the Zhuhu tribe, who was sitting next to the main table, knocked over his wine bowl and was stunned.

Yao Ying faced the countless lines of sight that were rushing towards her like a tide, her eyes calm as she walked step by step to the main seat.