Don’t even think about touching her
Ye Youqing barely came to her senses, only to find that the noisy and lively ladies had already disappeared from her sight, concealed by Ci Ke’s half-shrouded body.
The embroidered silk was exquisitely smooth and adhering, slipping down her fragrant shoulder with a slight movement. A lapis lazuli earring fell from her tender earlobe, rolling onto her shoulder, reflecting the colorful lanterns in the air.
“Not enjoyable.” Ye Youqing shifted her gaze away and lightly remarked, then furrowed her brows and grasped her arm, “Why are you dressed like this?”
“If I don’t dress like this, how can I sneak in?” Ci Ke seemed a bit annoyed, throwing the leftover melon back onto the table.
“Ye Youqing, are you really going to obey the order and marry this man?” Ci Ke’s words were accompanied by pursed red lips, revealing her delicate and pearly white teeth.
“So you’re here to remind me?” Ye Youqing was somewhat surprised, she glanced at Wei Yanei, who was pushing away the women, but as a weak and scholarly gentleman, he was overwhelmed by the beauties surrounding him.
Ci Ke slightly leaned back, her cheek falling into the shadow, concealing the blush on her face.
“You’ve helped me a lot, I can’t just stand by and watch you jump out of the dragon’s pond and into a tiger’s den. This man is notorious for his debauchery, look at these women, they are his frequent companions on the pleasure boat.”
“So you brought them here to prove something to me?” Ye Youqing suddenly found it very amusing, speaking with a hint of a smile.
Ci Ke remained silent, bowing her head to wipe off the melon soup that stuck to her fingertips.
Ye Youqing took out a handkerchief from her pocket and reached over to wipe her hand clean. She felt a little awkward at first, but found the woman who was, in her heart, kind, to be quite lovely, making it difficult for her to suppress her smile.
“Why are you smiling?” Ci Ke bit her lip, lifting her eyes to look at her through her long eyelashes. “If you don’t appreciate it, then forget it.”
With that, she stood up to leave, but Ye Youqing still held onto her hand, causing her to sit back down in her original spot.
“Don’t worry, I know his character,” Ye Youqing whispered to her, “But how can I defy the Emperor’s order? Rest assured, I won’t marry him.”
At that moment, Wei Yanei on the other side, unable to explain himself clearly, finally lost his temper and forcefully pushed a woman beside him to the ground, shouting sternly, “Get lost!”
Several women, seeing that Wei Yanei was truly angry, were momentarily stunned on the spot, looking at each other in confusion, each helping one another to stand up.
Wei Yanei straightened his already crooked crown, frantically smoothing out the creased robe. “You’ve got the wrong person, now hurry up and get lost!”
“But the young master said to invite us here today,” the woman who had been pushed to the ground tearfully replied, as she was helped up.
“Who knows you? My future wife, who I haven’t yet married, is here. What are a few worldly women causing trouble for? Be careful, I will have you brought before the authorities!” Wei Yanei’s face turned red as he threw a wine jug from the table to the ground, shattering it with a crisp sound.
The commotion on this side disturbed the townspeople watching the lanterns on the shore, and in the distance, the crowd of lights swarmed closer.
Wei Yanei was forced to lower his voice, “Tell me, who spread false rumors in my name!”
Several women were frightened into silence, and Wei Yanei scanned the cabin, his gaze landing on Ci Ke.
“This woman looks familiar…” he approached in large strides, reaching out to grab Ci Ke’s shoulder, but his path was intercepted by another hand.
When he looked up again, Ci Ke was already firmly shielded behind Ye Youqing, not even a strand of her hair visible.
“Wei Yanei, is this farce over?” Ye Youqing stared directly at him, speaking coolly.
“Qingqing, this is a misunderstanding. Someone must be trying to frame me using my name…”
“Oh, a misunderstanding,” Ye Youqing nodded, tilting her head slightly to one side. “But I see they seem quite familiar with Yanei. Even if this is a misunderstanding, they must have often enjoyed themselves together in the past, right?”
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Wei Yanei was left speechless by her words, scratching his head and cheeks in embarrassment before finally saying, “Qingqing, you can rest assured. I will only marry you in this lifetime, don’t be angry because of this…”
Ye Youqing was momentarily speechless. How could this man be so confident, thinking she was angry because of other women?
“According to the laws of the Qi Kingdom, no matter how many concubines you can take, you can only have one wife,” Ye Youqing said calmly, then smiled slightly, “I’m not opposed to it, just wanted to thank Yanei. Thanks to you, I had the pleasure of witnessing such a scene, which is the only bit of entertainment I’ve had tonight.”
“It’s getting late, you all continue. I’ll take my leave.” Ye Youqing smiled, then brushed off a bit of dust from her clothes before turning and walking out of the cabin.
Before stepping off the boat, she didn’t look back, just reached out her hand. After a moment, a warm palm slipped into hers, walking beside her, ignoring the anger of Wei Yanei behind them, and left together.
The two mingled into the crowd enjoying the lanterns at night, the chill by the river quickly dissipating as they were surrounded by the warm glow of the lanterns, causing a thin layer of sweat to form.
“Aren’t you afraid that Wei Yanei will take his anger out on you?” Ye Youqing sighed. Her hand was still tightly holding onto hers, following behind her. Ye Youqing, however, didn’t reject it in the slightest.
But there was a slight impulse to get even closer.
“As long as you’re here, he won’t dare to do anything.” Ci Ke’s voice was elusive, carefully avoiding the crowd.
These words filled Ye Youqing with a strange sense of joy. She turned to look at Ci Ke, only to find Ci Ke had been staring at her the whole time.
Those eyes were bright and bewitching, incredibly captivating.
Perhaps Ci Ke’s attire was too eye-catching, as passersby would occasionally glance back. Their gaze seemed to linger on Ci Ke, making Ye Youqing quite displeased.
Ye Youqing pursed her lips and glanced around, then reached into the crowd, towards a peddler’s cart.
“What would the lady like?” The peddler, surely having made a good profit, asked with a cheerful smile.
“This.” Ye Youqing immediately spotted a snow-white fur cape and bought it with silver, then draped it over Ci Ke.
The woman’s face, flushed under the lamplight, revealed a look of allowing herself to be dressed up. Pointing into the distance, she said, “Ye Youqing, look.”
Raising her head, they saw clusters of sky lanterns rising, perhaps the final wave of the night, resembling falling stars, creating a sky full of galaxies.
Lowering her head again, the woman’s gentle smile was enchanting, making everything else pale in comparison.
Ye Youqing had never seen Ci Ke’s genuine smile like this before, filled with the liveliness and vigor that belonged to her age, exuding a unique and pure beauty like that of an elf.
In such a way, it was truly stirring.
“Ye Youqing, legend has it that when you make a wish during the sky lanterns tonight, the heavenly gods will hear it,” amidst the noisy celebration, Ci Ke cupped her hands like a listening horn and spoke into Ye Youqing’s ear.
“Do you believe in the heavenly gods?” Ye Youqing asked softly, with gentleness in her heart.
“No,” Ci Ke subconsciously replied, then found herself lost in gazing at Ye Youqing.
“I do,” she said again.
The charcoal of winter, the rain in a drought, that is what heavenly gods are known for.
Her heavenly god.
“What about it?” Ye Youqing listened as she changed the topic, amused.
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“Do you make a wish?” Ci Ke steered the conversation.
Ye Youqing shook her head.
“Then I’ll do it.” Ci Ke clasped her hands together, brought them to her nose, closed her eyes, and softly recited.
“What did you wish for?” Ye Youqing was curious, looking up at the sky lanterns.
“How can I reveal that?” Ci Ke turned her head away, brushed past the crowd, and headed toward the city.
“Just a little hint.”
“I’m hungry.”
The sky lanterns and the stars stood side by side, gradually moving further away, accompanying the falling meteors, landing on the ground like those enchanting wishes.
“May I be like a star and you like the moon.”
“Night after night, our radiance shining brightly.”
As the moon passed over the willow tips, the lights gradually dimmed. The lively night came to an end, the crowds gradually dispersed, and finally, everything returned to tranquility.
On the Imperial Street, only a few scattered peddlers and vendors were left, tidying up the mess of carts and horses.
Some leftover fruit pits littered the ground, indicating the liveliness of the night.
In the moonlight, the sound of light footsteps could be heard. It was a woman, slender in stature, wrapped in a long cloak that covered her face. She walked briskly along the long street, navigated through narrow alleys, and entered the bustling territory of the capital’s busiest tile houses.
Compared to most places that had quieted down in the late night, this area was still brightly lit. There were nightly revelries, but it was not a place favored by the wealthy and powerful.
The lively drinking games rang in her ears continuously as the woman navigated familiarly through a few short streets and turned into a deeper area. Here, it was not quieter than outside; instead, every street was adorned with red lanterns, various colorful gauze curtains swayed in the wind, and the sounds of music and laughter occasionally overflowed through closed windows, causing those who heard to blush.
The woman stopped in front of the largest door and waited for a while. Soon, a person slipped out from the door, nodded at her, and then, taking advantage of the unattended door, led her inside.
The smell inside grew stronger, causing the woman to instinctively cover her mouth and nose, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
“Girl, endure it; such places are inevitably like this,” the person speaking was none other than a working girl, heavily adorned with makeup to the point where her original appearance was hard to discern, but her figure was very young.
“It’s fine,” the woman’s voice was smooth. After speaking, she followed the woman upstairs and entered an elegant pavilion. The door was not closed, and the pavilion had hanging curtains obscuring the view inside.
Next door, the larger elegant pavilion was much grander. The door was also wide open, and inside, people were packed tightly around a square table, most of them women, with only three dandies present, engaged in some intense discussion.
The woman sat close by, capturing their conversation clearly in her ears.
“Brother Wei, I see that your mood isn’t great today. What’s wrong? Are you dissatisfied with that Ye family’s legitimate daughter?” one dandy in black clothing, one arm holding a wine cup and the other around a girl, laughed heartily.
Another quickly chimed in, “I heard that Ye Youqing was originally infatuated with Qin Wang? It’s said that Qin Wang was indifferent, must be quite detestable, otherwise how could he remain unmoved by such a beauty in his arms?”
“That’s not right. Last time at General Qin’s mansion, I saw that legitimate daughter, she truly is a beauty, just appears a bit aloof,” the dandy in black clothing shook his head.
“Bah!” Wei Yanei spat out a piece of fruit peel, snorted, “Not only was she aloof, but that woman was downright unappreciative. I went to great lengths to arrange a banquet for her, and not only did she not show gratitude, she also mocked me. I, Wei Maoyan, have suffered such indignity!” (LP: I’m not really sure, but “Maoyan” means talented or virtuous… He’s one of those types huh…)
“It’s not worth getting angry over a woman in your arms,” the dandy in black clothing patted Wei Yanei’s shoulder.
“Originally, marrying her was His Majesty’s intention. I thought she had some place in my heart, that’s why I wanted to treat her well. But she treated me so poorly!” Wei Yanei poured himself a drink and held the woman in his arms tightly.
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“Since the marriage did not happen now, it will be better in the future,” others consoled.
“Yes.” Wei Yanei suddenly smiled, “After we get married, she will have to listen to everything I say. I will educate her properly then and make her understand the importance of respecting her husband. Let’s see how she continues to pretend then.”
As the crowd was laughing and chatting, suddenly, a sound of breaking porcelain came from the next door elegant pavilion.
“Be careful.” Inside the pavilion, an older woman spoke gently, “The men who come to this place are like this, don’t get upset.”
The woman had already taken off her hood, and as she bent down to pick up the sharp pieces of broken porcelain on the ground, she raised her head. What should have been gentle and soft eyes now showed a hint of fierceness at the corners.
“Girl, even though we agreed to do this for you, you must not take a life…” The woman watched as Ci Ke squeezed the porcelain pieces tightly, panic evident in her voice.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Ci Ke said, placing the porcelain pieces on the table.
“That’s good then.” The woman patted her chest, cautiously asking, “But this Wei Yanei deserved this trouble, no doubt. I just wonder, how did he manage to provoke you.”
“He did not provoke me.” Ci Ke softly replied, her eyes slightly flirtatious.
“But he wanted to touch her, and that, in turn, provoked me.”
