Chapter 347 – Another Lantern, A Familiar Stranger
There was nothing special about the lantern. It was so ordinary that it looked similar to the other palace lanterns hanging in the corridor. The only difference was that there was a picture drawn on it. However, everyone overlooked it because the lantern next to it was too remarkable.
Wei Yuewu would not have discovered this ordinary lantern easily had she not stood here to admire the lantern in front of it.
However, when Wei Yuewu saw the unremarkable lantern, she was so shocked that she almost shrieked.
Because there was a woman in a palace dress who was surrounded by many palace maids and eunuchs drawn on the lantern. The woman looked so familiar to Wei Yuewu.
Yes! It was very familiar. It was not because she had seen the woman in her life, but the familiarity came from her memory.
The gentle and friendly little elder sister with a pale face in her memory looked very alike with the imperial concubine who was surrounded by the maids in the picture.
In fact, if the little elder sister in her memory was a little older and looked a little healthier, and her face wasn’t as pale as if blood had drained from it, the two of them would have looked alike.
Wei Yuewu turned her head. At first glance, she thought that it was the little elder sister who had grown up.
But it was obvious that this was not the case!
After all, the little elder sister did not live to adulthood. Even if she grew up, Wei Yuewu did not think that the woman on the palace lantern was her.
As Wei Yuewu looked closer, she was more certain that they did not look alike. The imperial concubine’s expression was cold and noble. She could tell that the woman was not the weak little elder sister.
They were not the same person, but there should be a connection between them.
Wei Yuewu opened her mouth and suddenly wanted to speak. She wanted to ask who the woman on the lantern was. However, as she opened her mouth agape, she suddenly remembered that she could not speak right now, or it would attract unwanted attention from the Crown Prince and the Third Princess.
“This lantern is really ugly!” The Third Princess also looked over and mocked.
“It is indeed ugly. I wonder who made this! It’s so ugly! Get someone to take it down.” Wen Tianyao nodded and ordered the eunuch next to him.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will get someone to remove it in a while. I don’t know who put it here. It’s really ugly. When I checked the area just now, I didn’t notice the lantern at all.” Chen Quan was the Crown Prince’s personal eunuch. He hurriedly bowed and nodded.
Chen Quan was the one who gave Wei Yuewu the Nine-Phoenix Hairpin earlier.
Wei Yuewu felt her heart skip a beat. This meant that this lantern might not have been here before, but it appeared here now. Was it really just a coincidence?
“Royal Brother, Your Heir-apparent, there is a lantern riddle ahead. Should we go and play the riddle?” The Third Princess pointed to an empty palace on the other side, which was coincidentally used as a place to set up a riddle.
“Alright!” Wen Tianyao nodded and looked at Yan Huaijing.
Yan Huaijing agreed with a smile. He led Wei Yuewu and the others in a different direction and turned to the empty palace next to the palace path.
The palace doors were wide open, and the palace was brightly lit. However, there were not many people who came here. There were only a few concubines and a few daughters of aristocratic families.
When they saw the Crown Prince come with the group, everyone stood aside and curtsied, but they stealthily looked at Wei Qiufu, who was walking behind the group. There was a combination of emotions in their gazes such as disdain, jealousy, and envy. Wei Qiufu was enjoying the moment now. She lifted her head slightly, and she looked more dignified and confident.
The palace was very big. Everyone scattered to guess the riddles. At first, the Third Princess followed Yan Huaijing closely, but later, she fell behind. In the end, only Wei Yuewu and Yan Huaijing were left alone.
Actually, the two of them did not join the riddle-guessing game, but they just casually admired the lanterns.
“Your Heir-apparent, is the Third Princess not following us anymore?” Seeing that there was no one else around, Wei Yuewu chuckled.
“No. She’s already seen what needs to be seen, so she stops following us.” Yan Huaijing glanced at Wei Yuewu indifferently, curling up his lips into an elegant smile.
“Is she thinking of how to deal with me?” Wei Yuewu lamented helplessly, “Your Heir-apparent, although the Third Princess is not the daughter of the Empress, the Crown Prince adores her very much, more than Fourth Princess. Which princess do you think is suitable to be your bride?”
“I won’t marry either one of them!” Yan Huaijing smiled.
“If you don’t, will you be released from the capital?” Wei Yuewu asked in puzzlement. After the Emperor made such a big deal of marrying the princess to eligible heirs-apparent, she didn’t think that His Majesty would choose someone else instead of Yan Huaijing, who was the best among them.
Compared to the other three states, the State of Yan was a hot potato.
“I don’t think so,” Yan Huaijing answered in such an aloof tone as if he was talking about someone else’s business. Then, he reached out to take a smaller lantern for Wei Yuewu. The lantern was small and exquisite. Just now, Wei Yuewu had stood there and looked at it enviously but without doing anything about it.
No matter what, it was extremely inappropriate for her to bring the lantern back as it would expose her identity.
Therefore, she nudged Yan Huaijing. “I don’t want it. Put it back!”
“It’s okay. If you like it, I will bring it out of the Palace for you!” Yan Huaijing assured casually.
“Your Heir-apparent, since you think that the Emperor won’t let you go, why do you have to say that in front of the Third Princess and the Crown Prince?” At this moment, there was no point for Wei Yuewu to refuse Yan Huaijing’s offer. She reached one hand out from the coat, grabbed the small bamboo pole, and started carrying the lantern.
“It’s to show how deep my affection to you.” Yan Huaijing smiled gently and casually led Wei Yuewu forward.
Deep affection? Wei Yuewu frowned slightly. Of course, she wouldn’t just take the literal meaning of Yan Huaijing’s words. He was so cunning that his actions that could be seen by others were only the tip of the iceberg.
“You want to show your deep affection to me to indicate that you are a person immersed in love?” Wei Yuewu suggested hesitantly.
There was no threat to the royal family since he was just a person immersed in love.
“Sort of!” Yan Huaijing slowly adjusted Wei Yuewu’s snow coat with his slender fingers, his expression extremely leisurely.
“Do you want the royal family to feel that they owe you after they force you to marry the princess?” Wei Yuewu asked again, feeling that she couldn’t read the cunning man’s mind.
“Sort of too!” Yan Huaijing brought Wei Yuewu to the previous palace and turned into a small path. The path was not big, and there were not many lanterns. There were only a few lanterns that were just enough to illuminate the road below.
“Your Heir-apparent, I don’t think this is the place to admire the lanterns.” Wei Yuewu decided not to guess Yan Huaijing’s thoughts as she would not be able to guess it anyway. She focused on the path ahead of her, which was dark and quiet. No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like a place to admire the lanterns. Moreover, there seemed to be no road in front of them.
“It’s fine!” Yan Huaijing narrowed his eyes slightly. His handsome eyes looked into the distance, and his lips curled into a gentle smile. “The empty space means that it’s a perfect place for a date.”
“Your Heir-apparent, what if the Crown Prince comes to us later?” Wei Yuewu blushed inexplicably and twisted her body uncomfortably. Just now, in order to conceal her identity in front of everyone, she did not feel that it was inappropriate to be held in Yan Huaijing’s arms. But now that there were only the two of them, she blushed shyly as she could almost see his handsome chin as soon as she looked up.
“The Crown Prince won’t look for us. Your Fourth Elder Sister must be doing something now, right?” There was a hint of certainty in Yan Huaijing’s eyes.
Wei Yuewu agreed and fell silent.
Just now, Wei Qiufu had been trying to stand next to the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince seemed to have not seen her actions, and he didn’t even give her any hint.
However, there were fewer people now, so of course, Wei Qiufu would grab this rare opportunity to do something.
“So… we are now…” Looking at the dark path in front of her, Wei Yuewu walked carefully, following Yan Huaijing’s footsteps.
“Of course, we are going to watch a good show now!” Yan Huaijing said.
“Watching a good show at the so-called perfect dating place?” Wei Yuewu’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked and asked.
Wei Yuewu easily came to this conclusion after hearing what Yan Huaijing had said before. However, when she asked him this question, Wei Yuewu couldn’t help but giggle in amusement. A person like Yan Huaijing would not do something like watch someone dating.
She suddenly thought that if someone saw Yan Huaijing, who was like an angel, peeping, she wondered if this heir-apparent, who had always been calm and collected, could still smile so elegantly and indifferently.
“Of course!” His tone was leisurely. Sensing Wei Yuewu’s teasing, Yan Huaijing reached out and gently touched Wei Yuewu’s hair.
“I…” Before Wei Yuewu could finish her sentence, Yan Huaijing suddenly covered her mouth. She immediately stopped making any noise and stared at the rockery in front of her. She gently pinched Yan Huaijing’s waist, indicating that she would not speak.
This rockery was very big. Coincidentally, they were now on the side of the rockery. In the dark night, they could see that there was an attic behind the rockery. She wondered how Yan Huaijing had brought her to this place. The two of them happened to be between the attic and the rockery.
No one would be able to spot them in this location even in the daytime, let alone in such a dark night.
There was a faint sigh in the night, as if it echoed right next to Wei Yuewu’s ear. Such a sudden voice scared Wei Yuewu so much that she burrowed into Yan Huaijing’s arms. Only when she felt the warmth of his body did she relax.
As she listened carefully, there was no sound in her ears now, only the echoes of the cold wind blowing through the rockery.
The hand that was covering her mouth had already been put down, and her ears warmed up, carrying a man’s special aura. “Are you afraid?”
Wei Yuewu shook her head and tightly shut her mouth. She did not know where the sigh came from, so she did not dare to speak.
Her cautious attitude tickled Yan Huaijing so much that he giggled. His watery eyes became more and more charming, and he was quite satisfied with Wei Yuewu’s reaction.
A faint sigh rang out again. This time, Wei Yuewu was already prepared. She lay in Yan Huaijing’s arms and listened carefully. She discovered that the sound came from the cave inside the rockery beside her.
There was actually someone in the cave. This surprised Wei Yuewu, but it seemed matter-of-fact. In order to prevent herself from accidentally stepping on something and making a sound, Wei Yuewu got closer and closer to Yan Huaijing, not daring to move a muscle.
“Your Highness, w-why do you have to do that?” After a faint sigh, it was a woman’s bitterly melancholy voice.
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