Meeting
Watching the freshly cleaned round table get splashed with water again, Shi Li had no choice but to call over the waiter to clean it up. She asked, “Do you know who that man just now was?”
The waiter, quick with his hands and feet, finished cleaning in no time. He glanced at the back of the man who was going upstairs and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know either. This person is rarely seen, just know that he is some kind of noble.”
“But there are many nobles in the capital. I advise you two ladies to keep your distance. Princes and ministers are not people we common folk can approach.” After saying this, the waiter took back the cloth and walked away with his head down.
Soon, the hall was bustling again, as if the earlier incident was just a minor episode.
Ye Youqing watched the dancers on the stage spread their arms and dance to the song. She suddenly stood up but was pulled back by her sleeve by Shi Li beside her, “What are you doing?”
Ye Youqing stared intently at the elegant room upstairs and said in a low voice, “I want to see who that person is.”
With that, she deftly twisted her body, slipping past Shi Li. She weaved through the tables, chairs, and laughing crowd, making her way to the carved wooden stairs. However, just as she stepped on the first step, someone reached out and stopped her.
“Our master is upstairs. Miss, please halt,” said a guard in black, staring straight ahead.
Ye Youqing moved again, and several men in black immediately blocked the path, their waist-swords faintly visible.
“Xiaoqing,” Shi Li, fearing that Ye Youqing would lose her temper, hurriedly stepped forward, wrapping her arm around Ye Youqing’s shoulder and dragging her out of the door.
“You yourself said not to cause trouble, but you forget it yourself?” Shi Li said, extremely helpless. “Just bear with it a little longer.”
Ye Youqing looked at the scene just now, her heart sinking bitterly. Now, even standing on the street made her feel short of breath and stuffy in the chest. She exhaled a few breaths of stale air and turned to walk down the long street, feeling depressed.
Shi Li glanced back, then turned and followed step by step.
“Ci Ke is deeply in love with you; how could she change her heart? This must be a misunderstanding. You need to control your temper,” Shi Li said softly.
Ye Youqing responded with a hum, but her heart was still uneasy. Ci Ke’s closeness to that man was evident to all. Although she knew she shouldn’t let her mind wander, she couldn’t control her heart.
However, what impacted her heart and lungs even more was seeing her at that moment. Two years of longing day and night finally had an end. If she weren’t afraid of being watched, she would have stood up immediately, crossed the crowd, and embraced her.
It seemed that only by filling her arms with her could she fill the years of longing.
Ye Youqing exhaled and closed her eyes, feeling the gentle winter sun.
“So, are you going tomorrow?” Shi Li asked.
“Yes.”
The next day was also a sunny day. With winter passing and spring arriving, the imperial family held a banquet to entertain the ministers. They sent an invitation to Ye Youqing as well. Such banquets were usually limited to the nobility of the imperial palace. For Ye Youqing, a commoner, to be invited was already a great “honor.”
Ye Youqing knew what the Emperor was planning, so she did not refuse. She accepted the invitation as a matter of course and got into the carriage specially dispatched by the Emperor.
She retained the simplicity appropriate for a commoner, wearing only a thick white dress with a brown cloth belt around her waist, appearing elegant yet spirited. Her hair was styled in a flying cloud bun with a few jade beads hanging down.
Beside her, Shi Li had also changed her appearance. She found the maid’s attire quite uncomfortable, so Ye Youqing gave up and allowed her to wear a set of vigorous clothes, looking very much like a hired bodyguard.
The carriage soon passed through the Imperial Street and stopped outside Xuande Gate. Ye Youqing got off the carriage and looked around.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, two years have passed. However, the palace remains just as it was before she left, with no difference. The palace gates were wide open, and the nobility continuously entered through the gates, surrounded by the clinking of jade and the dazzling sight of gold and silver.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Inside the palace gates, the long, winding red palace walls had been freshly painted, as bright as blood, standing proudly against the pale sky.
Seeing this scene again, Ye Youqing suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed.
A palace servant came to lead the way. After nodding, Ye Youqing followed. Some people around, seeing her unfamiliar face and simple attire, occasionally cast puzzled glances and whispered behind her back.
Ye Youqing couldn’t be bothered to pay attention, silently searching for the figure of Ci Ke.
However, as the banquet hall drew nearer, she still hadn’t found Ci Ke’s figure, feeling somewhat frustrated. She took her seat under the guidance of the palace servant. Though she hadn’t seen Ci Ke, she did see some familiar faces from the past, such as the Ji family sitting diagonally opposite her.
However, Ji An’an was not among them; she was sitting next to a young man, presumably recently married.
Ye Youqing, feeling bored, was watching when suddenly she heard a clear voice beside her say, “Miss, could I borrow the cushion next to you?”
Ye Youqing’s heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice. She raised her eyes and saw Qin Xin, who still had her two hair buns. Though she was still short, her facial features had matured a lot, and her once thin face had become rounder.
“Oh…” Ye Youqing was momentarily stunned, then picked up the cushion on the chair beside her and handed it to her.
“Thank you, miss,” Qin Xin said with a smile. “My mistress has always been in poor health, and the chair is cold. Seeing the cushion beside you, I came to borrow it.”
“No problem,” Ye Youqing replied.
Qin Xin did not recognize Ye Youqing, quickly bowed and left. Ye Youqing’s gaze followed her movement and saw the Liang family at the other end of the hall. Duke Liang was as usual, sitting sternly, while Zhao Qingrou beside him had white hair at her temples and looked even more haggard than when they first met.
Ye Youqing’s nose tingled, and she quickly lowered her head. She knew that the news of her mishap reaching the capital would have certainly caused Zhao Qingrou concern.
However, fortunately, she was not poorly dressed now, implying that her days were not too bad.
It also somewhat alleviated the guilt in Ye Youqing’s heart.
After a while, all the empty tables and chairs in the hall were filled. The Emperor only bestowed a luncheon and did not make an appearance. Soon, the sound of toasts and clinking glasses filled the hall.
Ye Youqing still had not found Ci Ke’s figure. Feeling anxious, she pulled Shi Li over and whispered a few words in her ear.
“Don’t run around,” Shi Li warned with folded arms and a frown.
“I know. It’s rare to be in the palace without anyone watching. I’ll just take a breather,” Ye Youqing said, then got up, bypassed the crowd, and walked out of the main hall.
The air outside the door was indeed much clearer, but also quite chilly. Ye Youqing tightened her clothes and walked slowly along the corridor outside the main hall. When she reached the back of the main hall, she suddenly heard voices.
She recognized the voice as that of the man from yesterday and did not wish to face him, so she quickly concealed her presence and hid behind a pillar.
“With these years of war, countless refugees have been left homeless. Only a few thousand managed to escape to the capital, but even that is troublesome,” the man sighed. “Ci Ke, I have to thank you for this matter, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to settle the refugees so quickly.”
“It’s just an idea, nothing much,” Ci Ke’s smooth voice sounded. Ye Youqing couldn’t help but turn her head to look and was mesmerized by her appearance.
The daylight rendered her skin a warm white, her eyebrows and eyes were delicately outlined with makeup, her charming eyes were lowered, and her lips were as if holding a cherry, making her even more stunning than before.
Moreover, she now seemed to like wearing red clothes, which made her look much more charming and mature.
It wasn’t until Ci Ke seemed to sense something and cast her gaze over that Ye Youqing instinctively withdrew her body and covered her pounding heart.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
She missed the momentary look of disappointment in Ci Ke’s eyes as she stared into the void.
“Go back quickly, don’t let others see you,” the man said, stuffing something into Ci Ke’s hand, then lightly encircling her shoulders and pushing her away.
Seeing this scene, Ye Youqing’s heart surged with anger, and she couldn’t help but clench her fists. Unable to contain her rage, she turned and followed the man, walking all the way to the garden.
The man seemed to sense her following him. As he walked under the rockery, he disappeared. The next moment, he descended from the sky, seemingly trying to press Ye Youqing down.
However, Ye Youqing was not flustered. She pivoted on her toes and moved away from her original spot. As the man landed, she raised her hand and threw the sand she had casually grabbed earlier. At the same time, she used a sweeping kick, but the man’s martial arts skills were not low, and he suddenly lifted his legs to dodge.
“Who is being so presumptuous here?” the man said in a low voice with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, the surrounding guards heard the commotion and came over.
Ye Youqing was stunned as she looked at the face in front of her. Then she cursed in her heart, pushed him away, and disappeared behind the withered branches of winter.
It turned out that this “man” was none other than the Sixth Prince, who had grown much taller.
Earlier, I saw only the back, and just now I only looked at Ci Ke, not at his face. What a big misunderstanding. Ye Youqing sighed repeatedly while fleeing back to the banquet.
Over there, she was awkward and anxious, while here, there was only a chest full of depression. Walking on the withered grass by the lake, the willow tree beside her swayed its branch without any greenery, and everything was desolate.
Ci Ke didn’t want to listen to people chatter, so she simply sat under the tree, holding something in a daze.
That item was somewhat broken, a cracked willow leaf hairpin, later wrapped with a piece of silver around the broken part, some willow leaves had fallen off and couldn’t be reattached.
“Besides a few letters, you didn’t leave even a single item.” Ci Ke murmured sadly, hugging her knees and bending over, looking at the withered grass on the ground, “If you don’t come back soon, I really might change my mind.”
At this moment, someone suddenly appeared behind her and snatched the willow leaf hairpin.
Ci Ke, startled by the sudden loss of the item, hurriedly got up to take it back, but the person dodged and evaded, playing with the hairpin and laughing.
“Miss Zhou, with so many gold and silver treasures at your disposal, why do you fancy a broken thing?” The person was none other than the Xiao man who had drunkenly harassed people that day. He was now holding the hairpin, looking at Ci Ke impudently.
Ci Ke ignored his words and only stared at the hairpin in his hand.
“Give it back to me,” she said.
“Miss Zhou, don’t be anxious. The banquet is over, and the Emperor has permitted us to have a poetry contest and enjoy ourselves. People are now coming this way. In front of a large audience, I won’t trouble you.” The man sneered along with his companion.
“I said, give it back to me!” Ci Ke’s voice trembled with anger as she tried to snatch it again, but the man dodged, holding it high up.
“We saw you sitting alone and came with good intentions to play with you. Since Miss Zhou cares so much about this item, why not use it as a wager?” The man smugly laughed and took a fine jade pendant from around his neck, throwing it to Ci Ke. “You and I each take an item. If I win, this broken hairpin will be mine. If I lose, this jade pendant will be yours.”
Ci Ke, having had Ye Youqing’s item taken from her, was so furious that her eyes turned red, and even her voice changed: “Who wants to compete with you!”
The man and his companion exchanged a glance, holding the hairpin with both hands, pretending to break it. Ci Ke hurriedly tried to stop them.
“Choose another item, and I will compete with you. Give me the hairpin…” Ci Ke was almost pleading.
Seeing that the usually aloof Ci Ke had softened her attitude, the man felt extremely comfortable in his heart and, pretending not to hear, handed the hairpin to his companion. “Now that everyone is here, with everyone as witnesses, Miss Zhou, don’t be afraid.”
Sure enough, during their conversation, a number of young men and women had already gathered around, whispering and watching.
Everyone knew about the grudge between the Zhou family and the Xiao family, and since Xiao Yucheng was a relative of the current Empress, no one said much and just watched the spectacle.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Several attendants brought over bows, arrows, and targets and set them up. Xiao Yucheng threw a bow at Ci Ke’s feet, smugly saying, “As I said earlier, I won’t bully you. Although we will compete in archery, you can ask someone for help. If your lame brother were here, he could do it for you.”
“Don’t let it spread around that I rely on my skills in riding and archery to bully women.” He sneered, drawing the bow, the arrow creating a phantom as it flew, hitting the bullseye steadily.
Ci Ke’s lips moved slightly, staring at the back of the man’s head, her deep-lake-like eyes flickering with darkness, clenching her fists tightly.
Seeing that she did not move, the man’s companion made a move to break the hairpin. Only then did Ci Ke slowly bend down, pick up the heavy bow, place the arrow on her hand, and slowly draw the string.
Her expression remained unchanged, but halfway through drawing the bow, her hand began to tremble, anger causing her vision to blur.
Xiao Licheng had deliberately brought a bow with a draw weight of one stone and five, which an average woman could not pull.
She held back her tears, gritting her teeth to pull the bowstring. Only then did the bow slowly bend. At the same time, her fingers were torn with intense pain, and her right arm trembled like a sieve. The people around took a deep breath upon seeing this.
Ci Ke closed her eyes, using all her remaining strength to pull desperately. However, at this moment, someone suddenly came from behind, adopting a semi-embrace posture, holding her hands.
“Relax,” the woman said softly.
LP: Shot through the heart, and Ye Youqing is to blame (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
