ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 125
Li Zhizhi and the Grand Princess returned to the residence and chatted for a while longer. Since Li Zhizhi had drunk quite a bit of wine today, she started feeling sleepy. The Grand Princess noticed and suggested she go rest.
Li Zhizhi returned to her room, but before she could lie down, a maid came to report that His Highness, the Crown Prince, had arrived. After hesitating for a moment, she changed her clothes and headed to the flower hall. Just as she reached the door, she heard the Grand Princess’s voice from inside: “… How could this happen?”
Li Zhizhi stepped into the hall, and both the Grand Princess and Xiao Yan looked at her. Their conversation halted simultaneously. Perhaps because of the banquet at the palace earlier, Xiao Yan was wearing a black ceremonial robe today, making his face seem even more striking, handsome beyond compare. This color often made others look old-fashioned or unattractive, but on Xiao Yan, it unexpectedly suited him well, giving him a solemn and restrained aura. Even Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.
“Why are you here?” the Grand Princess asked with slight surprise, “I thought I told you to rest.”
Li Zhizhi smiled and replied, “I heard my Crown Prince brother arrived, so I came to say hello.”
“Sister!” Xiao Rulei ran over, throwing herself into Li Zhizhi’s arms, hugging her waist tightly. Caught off guard, Li Zhizhi staggered a few steps before wrapping her arms around Rulei, teasing with a smile, “A’yang, your strength is getting stronger.”
Xiao Rulei just buried her face in Li Zhizhi’s chest, shaking her head and letting out muffled sounds. Sensing something was wrong, Li Zhizhi touched her head and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong, A’yang?”
The question made things worse. As soon as Li Zhizhi asked, Xiao Rulei’s muffled sobs turned into full-blown crying.
Li Zhizhi quickly cupped her face, seeing her eyes red and tears streaming down like pearls. Feeling heartbroken, she asked gently, “What happened? Did someone bully you?”
She looked over at Xiao Yan, who immediately defended himself, “It wasn’t me!”
Li Zhizhi hugged Xiao Rulei, patting her back to comfort her, and frowned. “Then why is she crying for no reason?”
The Grand Princess sighed and said, “It was the Emperor.”
Li Zhizhi froze, and Xiao Yan explained. It turned out he had taken Xiao Rulei to the palace banquet that evening. Rulei never liked the palace much, always feeling uneasy there, like a bird trapped in a cage. Usually, Xiao Yan would protect her, but tonight, Emperor Jing Ming suddenly called her over to speak.
The Emperor was always stern and authoritative, and Xiao Rulei had been afraid of him since childhood, never close to him. Hearing this, she became flustered and, in front of so many people, instinctively tried to hide behind Xiao Yan. This act naturally offended the Emperor, and though Rulei was known to be simple-minded, disobeying the Emperor was still disobeying him. Some attendees even urged her to follow orders. Feeling overwhelmed, she burst into tears right then and there.
Everyone was left in awkward silence, with some even watching the scene with curious eyes. Xiao Yan immediately stood up to apologize to Emperor Jing Ming on her behalf. The Emperor, however, fixed his gaze on Xiao Yan, saying, “When you moved out of the palace, you promised to take care of her and teach her well. Now, tell me, what have you taught her?”
His tone carried reproach. Seeing her brother scolded, Xiao Rulei tried to hold back her tears, but even that didn’t change the Emperor’s decision. He decreed that Rulei was no longer allowed to return to the Crown Prince’s residence and must stay in the palace from now on, with new nannies assigned to teach her.
She was supposed to stay in the palace that very night, but it was only after Xiao Yan invoked the Grand Princess’s name that the Emperor allowed her to leave the palace for the time being.
After hearing the story, Li Zhizhi frowned instinctively, finding the situation troublesome. The crying in her arms intensified, with Xiao Rulei sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for air as she said between sobs, “A’yang doesn’t want to stay in the palace alone… A’yang doesn’t… want to be separated from Brother…”
Hearing her heart-wrenching sobs, Li Zhizhi felt her heart twist in pain. She comforted her for a long time, while the Grand Princess sighed, “Why did this happen all of a sudden? What is the Emperor thinking? A’yang is different from other children; how can she be taught? Does he really expect to impose rules on her?”
She spoke with some frustration and added, “I’ll go to the palace tomorrow and plead with the Emperor.”
Xiao Yan listened and said, “I’ll trouble you for that, Aunt.”
Xiao Rulei knew that starting tomorrow, she might no longer be so free, so she clung to Li Zhizhi’s side, refusing to leave or sleep, as if afraid that the moment she closed her eyes, she’d have to return to the palace.
Li Zhizhi indulged her. As the night deepened, the Grand Princess, unable to stay awake any longer, gave a few instructions before retiring. In the flower hall, only Li Zhizhi, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Rulei remained. Xiao Rulei, lying on Li Zhizhi’s shoulder, looked through the half-opened window and suddenly said, “Sister, look, it’s snowing outside.”
Li Zhizhi followed her gaze and saw the silver moonlight falling everywhere, making the surroundings bright. The treetops, the eaves, and the stone tiles all seemed to be covered in a thin layer of white snow, looking incredibly beautiful.
Suddenly, Xiao Rulei leaped from her chair and dashed outside at lightning speed. Li Zhizhi barely had time to call out before quickly standing up to chase her. “A’yang!”
Fortunately, Xiao Rulei hadn’t run far. She was standing in front of some flowers, head tilted upward, and said to Li Zhizhi, “Sister, look at the stars!”
It turned out to be golden fireflies, flying freely among the trees, flickering brightly, indeed resembling stars in the sky. Xiao Rulei, filled with excitement, chased after the fireflies, trying to catch one in her palm.
Indeed, she had the nature of a child. She had just been crying so sadly, and now, in a flash, she was fine. Watching her, Li Zhizhi’s face softened with a smile.
“Speaking of which, you’ve forgotten something.”
Xiao Yan’s voice came from behind. Li Zhizhi turned around, surprised to find him standing beside her. She didn’t know when he had come out. The cold moonlight fell from above, casting shadows over his brows and down his nose, outlining his face in a clean and precise way, as if painted with confident brushstrokes, where the artist’s hand must have been steady to create such perfect lines.
Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but take a closer look at him, and without thinking, she said, “You…”
Xiao Yan slightly lowered his phoenix eyes, waiting for her to continue. “What?”
Li Zhizhi actually wanted to compliment him on how well he looked today in his black clothes, making him seem as if he had walked straight out of a painting. His appearance, like bold ink strokes, exuded a strange allure. It reminded her of a line from a poem: “Like a dragon lying in the depths, stirred awake to summon dark clouds.”
Li Zhizhi stayed silent, and Xiao Yan didn’t rush her, quietly looking at her. The moonlight filtered through the leaves, falling into his eyes like scattered fragments, unmoving, but as if revealing some deep emotion.
Li Zhizhi quickly turned her gaze away, looking toward Xiao Rulei in the distance. The gentle night breeze blew by, and suddenly, her mind cleared a lot.
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Li Zhizhi kept her eyes on Xiao Rulei and casually replied, “What?”
Xiao Yan, crossing his arms, moved in front of her, blocking her view, and childishly insisted, “You promised you’d give me a gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Have you prepared it?”
Li Zhizhi looked at him speechlessly and said, “Crown Prince brother, do you know who you remind me of right now?”
Xiao Yan paused. “Who?”
“You look like A’yang when she pesters me for candy.”
Hearing this, Li Zhizhi immediately burst into laughter, her eyes curving upward with a bit of innocent charm. Her clear eyes were full of joy, as beautiful as glistening autumn water.
Xiao Yan stared at her, and after a moment, he slowly said, “Then just treat me like A’yang. Every time she asks you for candy, you always give it to her, right?”
Li Zhizhi hesitated for a moment and reluctantly said, “Alright, fine then.”
She spoke while taking something out from her sleeve, gesturing to Xiao Yan: “Crown Prince brother, hand.”
Xiao Yan, intrigued, obediently extended his hand. Li Zhizhi then directed him to open his palm. She placed her clenched fist on his palm and slowly opened it, saying, “There.”
His hand was still empty, so Xiao Yan looked closely. In his palm, somehow, there was now a silver-white spot of light, the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the tree leaves. It appeared exceptionally bright in the night, like a patch of fresh snow.
He raised an eyebrow slightly. “What does this mean?”
Li Zhizhi laughed. Tucked in her hair was a butterfly hairpin, its wings trembling gently as if ready to take flight, an enchanting sight. With a mischievous expression, she said, “This is the Mid-Autumn moonlight, a gift for the Crown Prince brother, wishing you many more moments like this in the years to come.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly, he grasped her wrist and took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Li Zhizhi could even catch a faint scent of sandalwood from him.
“Do you really think you can coax me like you do with A’yang?”
Li Zhizhi wasn’t afraid of him and retorted stubbornly, “Didn’t Crown Prince brother say it himself?”
Xiao Yan let out a soft chuckle through his nose. “I also said that if you wouldn’t give it, I’d take it myself.”
As he spoke, his slender fingers casually brushed against her cheek, then to her ear, causing her to shiver instinctively. Finally, his fingers stopped in her hair, pulling out the silver butterfly hairpin. In an instant, her long black hair lost its restraint, cascading down her shoulders, adorned with the moonlight, like a beautiful, luxurious silk tapestry.
Seeing Li Zhizhi’s shocked expression, Xiao Yan felt a surge of satisfaction. He closed his hand around the hairpin, smirking faintly, “I’ll take this.”Discord@dogfoodplease or @dogfoodplease#8837
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