Yu Duanya sat in the carriage, her thoughts drifting back four years ago when Prince Zhongli Mingye, who hadn't been conferred the title of prince yet, paid a visit to the Prince of Duan'an's mansion.
Under the crabapple tree, the man smiled calmly. He had thick, sword-shaped eyebrows and phoenix eyes that seemed to hold gurgling spring water. Every so often, his gentle and unrestrained charm would be revealed. His thin lips were slightly curved, and his jet-black hair was neatly tied up with a jade crown, making him look elegant and noble.
"Greetings, Princess,"
She would never forget that voice for the rest of her life. She had been ill for so long. Meeting such a celestial being like him, her heart was instantly captured.
His eyes were like the spring snow in March, crystal clear, soft and warm. When he looked at her, there was a flash of pity in his eyes, and every so often, a hint of sharpness would also be revealed.
What kind of story would unfold when they met again in Liuzhou this time?
She was the only princess of the Prince of Duan'an's mansion, with a noble status. Now she had requested her father to go on a tour in Liuzhou. Presumably, Prince Yu had already received her father's letter by now.
Yu Huai, the Prince of Duan'an, was the only vassal king with a different surname in the Daxia Dynasty. In his early years, he had fought battles for the emperor in the south and north, making great contributions. In order to commend his achievements, the emperor directly conferred the title of Prince of Duan'an on him. Due to injuries sustained in battles in his early years, he only had one daughter and never had any more children.
The emperor conferred the title of princess on Yu Huai's daughter. However, the princess had been ill since birth, with a weak constitution and poor health. Yu Huai only had this one daughter and always doted on her. Now that she was over eighteen years old, although she was a delicate beauty and there were many suitors, this girl only had eyes for Prince Yu Zhongli Mingye.
"Princess, we're almost in Liuzhou City!" The maid Bitao lifted the curtain of the carriage and reported.
It was already June, but Yu Duanya still wore thick clothes, for fear of catching a cold.
Bitao was a bit worried about her. She could have lived a comfortable life in the mansion. Why did she suddenly want to come to Liuzhou City?
She couldn't understand the princess's thoughts. She could only serve her wholeheartedly.
Prince Yu was looking at the letter from the Prince of Duan'an's mansion. There was a hint of sharpness in his eyes.
This Prince of Duan'an was really being too presumptuous because of the emperor's favor. He actually asked him to take good care of Yu Duanya and hoped that he would marry her.
In exchange, the Prince of Duan'an's mansion would become his ally.
Zhongli Mingye stood up. Qingfeng saw his expression change. "Your Highness, you..."
"It's okay. Take good care of her."
When Zhongli Mingye received the letter, the princess was already on the way. She would probably arrive in Liuzhou City the next day.
Yu Huai was trying to use his only daughter to choose among his brothers, wasn't he? What a good plan.
When Zhongli Chengze was choosing a crown princess, the queen had considered the Yu family. However, Yu Duanya was too young, so the choice of the crown princess fell to the daughter of the grand preceptor.
Because of this, the Prince of Duan'an's mansion had never thought highly of the crown prince. Now, seeing Zhongli Mingye being conferred the title of prince, was Yu Huai using his daughter to exchange for power again?
This world ultimately belonged to the Zhongli family. He let out a cold snort and watched the letter turn into ashes.
When Xingjian came in, Zhongli Mingye was carving a jade pendant. He stole a glance and saw that the pendant was actually a likeness of the prince himself.
"Your Highness, where would be a good place for the princess to stay?"
"You can arrange it as you see fit." Zhongli Mingye was concentrating on his carving and didn't care about the upcoming princess at all.
Xingjian pondered secretly in his heart: Should I arrange it or not?
Seeing the prince's attitude, he decided to arrange a faraway courtyard for the princess, so as to avoid her getting in the prince's way every day.
Zhongli Mingye looked up. "Send Mitui to accompany her."
Xingjian was even more confused. Did this mean that the prince thought highly of the princess?
He went to find Mitui later. She looked disdainful. "Did the prince ask me to accompany Princess Heyi when she was here? Did he ask me to accompany Miss Song when she came to the mansion?"
Xingjian didn't understand. "So the prince thinks highly of the princess?"
"Bang!" Mitui knocked on his head. "You're so stupid!"
"The prince is on guard against the princess, which is why he asked me to accompany her." Mitui stroked her chin and said seriously, "It seems that this princess has ulterior motives."
The news that Princess Duanya was coming to Liuzhou City reached the Crown Prince's Mansion in the capital. Crown Prince Zhongli Chengze was in Shen Yingyun's room, listening to a tune. When he saw the secret report, he was stunned for a long time.
Good for you, Prince of Duan'an's mansion! Your daughter was too young to be the crown princess back then. Now you've set your sights on Prince Yu? These days, the court had decided that Prince Yong would go on a diplomatic marriage with the princess of the Gu tribe because of this matter. He was already unhappy about it. Now that the Prince of Duan'an's mansion thought highly of Zhongli Mingye, he was even more annoyed.
The Prince of Duan'an's mansion was different from the princess of the Gu tribe. Yu Huai actually held real military power! The crown prince's good mood was ruined. For now, he must stop this matter. Otherwise, that younger brother's strength would threaten his position.
"Send someone to Liuzhou. When necessary -" The crown prince made a slitting motion across his throat.
The next day, Zhongli Mingye tucked a delicate box into his pocket and went to find Song Jinyu. As expected, he missed her again. The doorman said that she had gone to visit Miss Lin.
Lin Ziyu was the girl he had met at the queen's flower banquet last time. She was also one of the few female friends that Song Jinyu liked in Liuzhou.
This time, she had newly obtained an interesting thing and had specially sent an invitation for Song Jinyu to come and play with her.
"What? It's just a cricket!" Song Jinyu couldn't help laughing and crying. She had always been playing cricket-fighting with her senior brothers on Tianmen Mountain. In the boudoirs of the young ladies in Liuzhou City, it had become a novel little thing.
Seeing that she wasn't very interested, Lin Ziyu patiently explained, "This was carefully selected by my elder brother."
"Your elder brother -"
Just as she was talking about her elder brother, Lin Yijun pushed the door open and walked in. Jinyu looked up and saw a young man with a tall and slender figure and handsome features. Although his skin was dark, it added to his masculinity.
"Brother," Lin Ziyu ran in front of Lin Yijun. "This is the daughter of the magistrate Song!"
After they exchanged greetings, Lin Yijun saw that Song Jinyu liked the crickets and said that he would give her a few.
Lin Ziyu glanced at her elder brother and rolled her eyes. She said, "Then just send them to her mansion."
Song Jinyu said, "No, it's okay to just look at them here. I can't keep these little things alive."
The three of them were busy fighting crickets in the hall. Lin Yijun was also good at cricket-fighting. An afternoon passed quickly.
Lin Ziyu said that she was tired and asked her elder brother to send Miss Song home.
Song Jinyu felt a bit awkward. "There's no need to send me. It's not far..."
Lin Ziyu smirked. "No way. My elder brother is very good at martial arts. Let him ride a horse and follow your carriage to see you off for a while."
After saying that, she urged her elder brother to go and get the horse.
Lin Yijun gave a shy smile, blushing slightly, and quickly went out.