"As expected, you're as clever as a whip!"
Xiao Xueyi praised effusively. "Even after losing her memory, she's still extremely intelligent. A few doubts here and there were enough to arouse her suspicion, and then she went to investigate..." No wonder Zhongli Mingye was so infatuated with her.
"My lord, this..." Yun Ran and Ling Feng were a bit confused. The pavilion master clearly knew Ning Yue's true identity, yet...
In Gusu City, it was the cold winter season. Ning Yue hadn't been out for many days, and Xiao Xueyi was a bit worried about her. So he invited her to enjoy the lanterns with him.
"What's the occasion today? Why are there lanterns everywhere in Gusu City?"
Jing Ran smiled and said, "The pavilion master saw that you've been staying in your room for several days, so he ordered lanterns to be lit in every street and alley in the whole of Gusu City..."
Ning Yue looked back at Xiao Xueyi. The man was smiling, as elegant as an orchid among trees. Ning Yue remained silent. Yun Ran pushed Xiao Xueyi to her side.
"Do you like it?"
"I like it very much. It's just... a bit too extravagant..." Ning Yue said. Was she happy? Maybe!
Although she was smiling, Xiao Xueyi couldn't feel her happiness.
He said, "These lanterns will be given to the families in front of whose houses they're lit. It's just to make you happy!"
Ning Yue took over from Yun Ran and pushed Xiao Xueyi forward. Along the way, looking up, she saw the star - filled sky and the sea of lanterns on earth, with the lantern shadows flickering.
"Pavilion Master..."
"Can you call me Xueyi?"
"Our statuses are different. I'm just a maid. I'm grateful for the pavilion master's care. From now on, I dare not overstep the mark." Ning Yue refused without hesitation. Xiao Xueyi felt bitter in his heart. "How's your guqin skills recently?"
"Not bad. I just started learning late, so my foundation is a bit weak." Since meeting Ji Yeliu, Ning Yue began to suspect her own true identity and also doubted Xiao Xueyi's intentions.
Now, she was thinking about how to bring it up. But unexpectedly, Xiao Xueyi brought it up first. "Young Master Ji always acts in a strange and changeable way. He's quite popular among the ladies in Gusu City."
"Maybe he mistook you for someone else. You don't have to take it so seriously."
Hearing this, Ning Yue smiled slightly. "Yes, Pavilion Master." After hearing this, she understood even more that Xiao Xueyi must be hiding something. Although she had only met Ji Yeliu once, Ning Yue didn't think he was a playboy. "It's getting late. Can I push you back to the mansion, Pavilion Master?"
Xiao Xueyi was lost in thought. These lanterns were only lit for her. But from beginning to end, Ning Yue didn't seem to care about his feelings at all.
Even after losing her memory and spending every day together, I still can't make you fall for me, right?
In the Zhongli Palace, it was extremely cold and heartless at this moment. Except for a few imperial concubines, all the lower - ranking concubines without children or daughters had moved into the Lindong Palace with the emperor. Concubine Shu could already walk on the ground. After several months of recuperation, she finally recovered a bit, but the guilt in her heart gradually grew. Especially seeing Zhongli Mingye looking sad every day,
she understood more and more that Song Jinyu might never come back. "Hurry up, hurry up..." Lian Luo was responsible for sending the emperor to the Lindong Palace.
The emperor didn't want to go, but in his drowsy state, he was too weak to resist. He watched helplessly as he left the palace and his throne.
Concubine Shu went to see him off for the last time. She vaguely felt that the emperor was at the end of his rope. Moving out of the palace in the cold winter,
it seemed that the rift between the father and son was too deep. But she didn't know how to comfort Zhongli Mingye, because from beginning to end, the emperor was mostly to blame for the accident of the Princess of Yuqin.
"No one is needed to serve me today!"
Zhongli Mingye climbed up the Mingyue Tower. While drinking, he looked at the scenery outside. He remembered that he used to dine with Song Jinyu here. On the Qixi Festival that year, he picked the fish bones for her; she promised him that she would wear the wedding dress for him.
He swallowed the bitter wine in his mouth. His phoenix - like eyes were dull and listless. It turned out that without you, the world had lost its color.
The Mingyue Tower reopened a few days ago, and the business of the Tingran Pavilion in the capital also started. Today, when the Crown Prince came, the owner of the tower directly cleared all the guests.
He originally thought it would be very quiet, but unexpectedly... there was a rustling sound from the corner. "Who's there!"
Chen Caiqing, the legitimate daughter of the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, stepped forward to pay her respects. "Your servant Caiqing pays respects to Your Highness..." Zhongli Mingye's eyes were a bit dazed.
The woman's clothes were almost the same as Song Jinyu's in the past, and even her actions and mannerisms imitated about seventy percent of her!
His eyes became more and more blurred. He really missed her so much.
He waved his hand. Chen Caiqing thought she had caught the Crown Prince's eye and couldn't wait to crawl forward on her knees.
When she got closer, he realized it wasn't her. How could Song Jinyu do such a thing? Such a proud person would never deliberately curry favor with him.
If it hadn't been for that imperial edict of marriage, perhaps Song Jinyu would have chosen to be the head of the Tianmen Mountain rather than enter the royal family.
She said... Suddenly, he remembered that day when she said that it wasn't because of the imperial edict of marriage, but because she had already fallen in love with him. "Cough, cough..."
A mouthful of blood suddenly welled up, and he forced it down. Chen Caiqing hurriedly stepped forward and gently supported him. "Your Highness, let Caiqing take you back?" As she said this and was about to take him back, unexpectedly, her whole body leaned against Zhongli Mingye.
She had the fragrance of the Biluohua on her today, which could arouse passion. Seeing the Crown Prince's eyes getting darker and darker, her heart was pounding.
After tonight, she would be the Crown Princess. With her father's official position and the power of the Duke Fuguo's Mansion, at worst, she would be a high - ranking concubine of the Crown Prince.
Unexpectedly, "Ah!" Zhongli Mingye waved his hand, and Chen Caiqing fell straight down from the second - floor like a broken doll.
She lay motionless on the ground. Qing Feng and Xing Jian stepped forward. "Your Highness..."
Zhongli Mingye, in a daze, took off his outer robe and threw it on the ground.
"Jinyu will dislike me for being dirty!"
Qing Feng couldn't bear to watch and reached out to hold him. "This subordinate will take you back to the mansion... The young heir is making a fuss to see you in the mansion and refuses to go to sleep."
Only Dabao could awaken Zhongli Mingye's reason.
Until he left, he didn't look at Chen Caiqing again. The next day, the unconscious Chen Caiqing was sent to the door of the Duke Fuguo's Mansion.
Qing Feng and Xing Jian passed on a message from the Crown Prince. "The assassin last night seemed familiar to the Crown Prince. He's specially sending her back to the Duke Fuguo."
Chen Jiacai was trembling with fear. Although he had coveted the position of the Crown Princess before and had talked with the Chen family, the family of the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince.
He didn't expect Chen Caiqing to act on her own. Soon, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince was dismissed from his post. Chen Jiacai only retained the title of the Duke Fuguo,
and all his official positions in the court were stripped!
Mi Cui looked at the Duke Fuguo's Mansion coldly. "How dare such a person covet the position of the Crown Princess!"
"She's really asking for trouble..."
The Crown Prince and his wife used to be in perfect harmony, like a divine couple. Even now that the Crown Princess was missing, the Crown Prince still didn't let anyone into the mansion.
However... Mi Cui sighed. Now... there was still no news. How could they get through this year?