Chapter 61
Luo Sanrong staggered back to the eunuch hall. As soon as she entered the room, she leaned weakly against the door, breathing heavily, her eyes full of surprise and complexity.
Inside, candlelight flickered, its dim glow casting a shadow on the new dress in the corner. Luo Sanrong slowly approached, her hands trembling as she lifted it. It was the dress Ji Zeming had given her. Her fingertips gently brushed the hem of the dress, and memories of the past flooded back into her mind.
At that time, she was still an innocent girl, and she asked her mother with doubts, "When can I wear women's clothes again and become a girl again?" Her mother just gently touched her head, but there was unspeakable sadness and helplessness in her eyes. She said softly, "Wait until the time comes, my daughter."
Now, her mother was gone, and she was now disguised as a man, struggling to survive in the turbulent world of the palace. She clutched her clothes tightly, tears welling up in her eyes as she muttered to herself, "Mother, when will the time you spoke of come?"
Recalling the moments she had spent with His Highness, his care and smile had been like the warm spring sun, warming her icy heart. But now, the disparity in status and the palace's rules were like a chasm between them.
Luo Sanrong hugged her clothes tightly, as if she could hold onto the lost beauty. She cried out in her heart: "I really want to be myself again, I really want to stand by his side with dignity, but is all this still possible?"
She just wanted to show her beloved what she looked like in women's clothes, just once.
Finally she decided to wear the dress.
The warm light of spring gently falls on the courtyard, the breeze blows, and the branches of flowers sway, as if adding a bit of beauty to this encounter.
Luo Sanying, wearing a light pink dress, emerged gracefully from behind the flowers.
The dress was made of fine Shu brocade, fitting her figure softly. The hem of the skirt was embroidered with fine rose patterns, which appeared and disappeared with her steps. The neckline and cuffs were outlined with exquisite cloud patterns with silver thread, which gleamed in the sunlight like flowing clouds on the horizon.
Her long hair was as black as ink, loosely tied up with a white jade hairpin inserted diagonally into it. A few strands of hair fell on her fair neck, making her face look even more beautiful and her skin whiter than snow.
Her cheeks were flushed with nervousness and shyness, like peach blossoms blooming on a branch in spring. Her eyes were full, like a clear spring, and her timid and delicate look was revealed in her glance.
Li Yin was originally standing in the pavilion, gently waving a folding fan in his hand, with a somewhat nonchalant look on his face.
But when that pale pink figure came into view, his movements froze instantly, and the fan fell to the ground with a "clack". His eyes widened, staring straight at Luo Sanrong, as if he had been cast under a spell, unable to move.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment. Li Yin felt that everything around him blurred into the background, and the only thing in the world was the woman in the pink dress.
He couldn't help but lift his feet and walked towards Luo Sanying step by step. The stone road under his feet seemed as soft as clouds, and every step he took was like a dream.
Walking in front of her, he raised his hand and pinched his arm fiercely. The piercing pain came, but he seemed not to feel it. He just stared at her infatuatedly and muttered to himself: "This is not a dream, it really is not a dream..."
Luo Sanrong saw his actions and burst out laughing.
Looking at Luo Sanrong's smile, Li Yin also started smiling.
Li Yin walked up to Luo Sanrong, his Adam's apple rolling slightly. The heat from his previous outburst had not yet faded. He asked softly, "What should I call you?"
Luo Sanrong was brought back to her senses by the question, her fingertips subconsciously twisting the rose embroidery on the hem of her skirt. The determination that had just forced her to take that step now transformed into a beating drum in her heart. She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito: "Luo Rong..."
"Luo Er." He called again, deliberately softening his tone, as if savoring the two words on his tongue. "What a nice name."
When Luo Sanrong heard him softly call out her name, the tension in her heart suddenly relaxed a little. She raised her eyes slightly, and the sunlight fell right into her eyes, spreading a layer of fine light, as if it were rubbed with stars.
"Luo Er..." she repeated softly, her fingertips no longer twisting the hem of her skirt. Instead, she gently stroked the half-opened rose on her lapel. Her voice was filled with the tenderness of memories. "That's right. Mother said that the most precious thing in the world is freedom and joy. Father gave me this name, hoping that my life would be three parts smooth and seven parts happy, which would make it perfect."
When she mentioned the word "mother," the corners of her eyes reddened slightly, but she didn't cry. Instead, she looked up at Li Yin with a clear gaze: "Before, I always dressed as a man, which seemed to be a betrayal of the meaning of this name."
The wind blew the loose strands of hair from her temples, bringing with it the fragrance of flowers from the courtyard. Li Yin looked at the relieved smile on her face and suddenly understood - the awkwardness and toughness hidden under the men's clothing was actually a pure expectation.
His throat moved slightly, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he just bent down to pick up the folding fan that had just fallen, gently dusted it off, and whispered, "This name suits you perfectly."
The next day, Luo Sanrong changed back into men's clothes and delivered clothes to Li Yin as usual.
After passing the corridor and arriving at the inner hall of the East Palace, Eunuch Ma was about to knock on the door to remind His Highness that it was time. Unexpectedly, Luo Sanying got there first, which was usually what Eunuch Ma did.
Strangely, after hearing this, His Highness did not blame anyone, but just said calmly: "Come in!"
"Strange, really strange, everything is so strange!" Eunuch Ma thought.
It was even stranger after entering the palace. His Highness had actually dismissed everyone and only left Luo Sanrong.
After seeing the palace servants around him leave, Li Yin no longer had to keep a straight face. He leaned over and said jokingly to Luo Sanrong, who was adjusting his court robes, "How's the weather outside, Luo Rong?"
Luo Sanrong's men kept moving and he casually replied, "The weather is nice and the sun is scorching hot."
If it were someone else with such a casual attitude, Li Yin would have sent him away long ago, but when it came out of Luo Sanrong's mouth, she actually felt surprisingly cute.
Li Yin continued to ask, "Really? Are all the things for court prepared, Luo Ye?"
The belt was finally straightened. Luo Sanrong raised her head and looked directly at Li Yin, a smile glittering in her eyes. She said in a helpless yet doting tone, "Yes, but are you going to keep calling me that?"
Li Yin said coquettishly: "I want to keep calling you like this, what's wrong?"
Luo Sanrong said worriedly, "What if someone hears us?"
Li Yin moved forward another half an inch, and the distance between them instantly shrank to an extremely close distance, so close that he could see the delicate hairs on the tips of her ears and smell the faint scent of soapberries in her hair.
He suddenly leaned forward, his warm breath curling around her ear like a vine, his voice deliberately subdued. "Luo Er," the words seemed to roll across her tongue before being softly uttered, scorching with warmth. "That's what I call you when we're just the two of us."
Luo Sanrong felt her earlobes suddenly burning, and the heat spread along her neck all the way to her heart, burning her so much that her breathing became irregular.
Li Yin's gaze fell on the reddened side of her neck, his pupils darkening, but he didn't move closer. When he stood up, a hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips, but the light in his eyes was surprisingly bright, as if hiding two dancing flames.
Looking at Luo Sanrong's red ears, he called out again in an ambiguous tone: "Luo Sanrong, I want to make up for what I didn't call out before."
"Okay, whatever you want."
The three words fell as lightly as feathers, yet they carried a kind of indulgence that she herself hadn't noticed. As soon as the words fell, she felt the heat in her ears rise a few degrees. She quickly turned her head to help Li Yin smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes.
Li Yin looked at her like this and couldn't help but let out a low laugh from his throat, with unconcealable joy in that laugh.
Seeing Luo Sanrong pretending to be busy, Li Yin did not expose her. However, when Luo Sanrong turned around to pick up the hair crown for Li Yin, Li Yin suddenly hugged her waist from behind.
"As a love expert," his voice came from above his head, with a hint of teasing, his warm breath landing on the top of his head, "Tell me, is falling in love with the prince every woman's dream?"
She lowered her eyes, avoiding his scorching gaze, and pinched the jewel-inlaid hair crown with her fingertips, carefully gathering his scattered hair.
The cool edge of the jade crown touched his warm forehead, and Li Yin lowered his head slightly to facilitate her movements. Her fingertips occasionally brushed against his earlobe, causing the lines on his neck to move slightly, and her own fingertips were already warm.
She carefully fastened the jade buckles on both sides, her movements smooth and precise, yet her fingertips trembled slightly. Once every last strand of hair was securely tucked into the crown, she let go and took a half step back.
When she looked up, she met Li Yin's gaze, which was filled with a deep smile and a hint of teasing. Luo Sanrong's cheeks felt hot again, and she simply turned her face away, pouting slightly.
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