One day, just as they stepped out of the Empress Dowager's palace, a young eunuch rushed over in a hurry to report, "Your Majesty, Minister Lin requests an audience."
At the mention of his name, Yong Yaxuan was slightly taken aback. Then he inquired, "What is the purpose of his visit?"
The young eunuch timidly replied, "It is said to be a major matter regarding the Ministry of Rites."
Yong Yaxuan could only heave a sigh and said, "Summon him."
Seeing this, Ji Feiyu quickly said, "Since Your Majesty still has matters to attend to, your servant shall take her leave first."
However, Yong Yaxuan suddenly called out to Ji Feiyu, "Why don't you come with me to have a look?"
Ji Feiyu lowered her eyes calmly and said, "Your Majesty is going to discuss important court affairs. What would your servant do there?"
But he looked at Ji Feiyu with a smile and said, "I thought he was half an old acquaintance of yours. So I thought that after such a long time apart, you might want to see him."
Ji Feiyu didn't say a word. She wondered if this was the after - effect of his repentance. That is, all the things he didn't allow her to do before, now he let her do them once?
Seeing that she didn't respond, Yong Yaxuan took her hand and walked away, saying, "Come on, I'll take you to see him."
"Your Majesty..." Ji Feiyu couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. She had to admit that before, she thought Lin Zhiran was quite good - looking and wanted to take a few more glances at him. But now that she knew his feelings for her... she really didn't dare to see him anymore...
...
In the Drunken Flower Pavilion, Ji Feiyu and Yong Yaxuan sat behind the curtain.
Lin Zhiran slowly walked in from the long corridor. He was still as handsome as ever, with a noble and elegant bearing.
When Ji Feiyu saw him, her heart ached. He bowed respectfully and said, "Your humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen."
"Dispense with the formalities and rise," Yong Yaxuan slightly waved his hand. After Lin Zhiran got up, he looked up at them.
The glistening look in his eyes at that moment made Ji Feiyu vaguely feel that he was a bit excited because of her survival. Ji Feiyu turned her head away uneasily. At this moment, there were too many emotions in Lin Zhiran's eyes, which Ji Feiyu didn't dare to look at. Since she couldn't give him a response, she shouldn't give him hope.
Yong Yaxuan watched the reactions of the two. Suddenly, he thought that he might have really misunderstood Ji Feiyu before. Ji Feiyu didn't seem to have any feelings for Lin Zhiran! He originally brought her to see him, planning to find an opportunity to leave and let them talk alone. After all, he heard that Lin Zhiran was heart - broken when he heard of her false death a while ago. He thought that it might be good for them to clear things up. But now it seemed inappropriate?
Realizing that he might have done something strange, Yong Yaxuan decided to remedy the situation. So he said, "Minister Lin, what is the purpose of your visit to the palace this time?"
Hearing this, Lin Zhiran withdrew his gaze from Ji Feiyu, held his ivory tablet, and bowed, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter you asked me to secretly keep an eye on the expenditure of the Ministry of Rites, I've got some clues..."
Hearing this, Ji Feiyu immediately said to Yong Yaxuan, "Your Majesty is going to discuss state affairs with his ministers. Your servant shall take her leave first."
Yong Yaxuan had already sensed Ji Feiyu's uneasiness and just wanted to let her go. So he said, "Alright, then wait for me in the Qiwu Palace."
Ji Feiyu got up, bowed, and then left gracefully.
It was not until she had walked a long way that Ji Feiyu let out a sigh of relief. Probably since she knew Lin Zhiran had special feelings for her, she had a hard time facing him.
The last time she saw him was in the Lin Mansion. She disguised herself as Miss Lian and overheard his conversation with Lin Chujie. She was shocked to learn that he liked her. She pretended to be asleep in front of him, pretending not to know anything, and then was sent out of the Lin Mansion by him. After that, she never saw him again.
This meeting was really sudden. Seeing the unspoken words and hesitation in his eyes, she was really a bit scared.
Would there be a future between her and him? No.
Since there was no future, why should she let him have any delusions? She really shouldn't have provoked him before. She just wanted to anger Yong Yaxuan, but unexpectedly, such a past was brought out.
Speaking of which, just now when Yong Yaxuan saw Lin Zhiran looking at her like that, he didn't get angry at all. He had really changed!
No, no, she needed to calm down.
Ji Feiyu quickly walked back to the Qiwu Palace. But before she could reach it, she was startled by someone who jumped down from the beam. Then a teasing voice sounded beside her ear, "Yu'er, how could you go to see other men behind my back?"
Ji Feiyu took a closer look and found that it was the frivolous Butterfly Hua. At this moment, he was standing with his hands behind his back in an ivory - white long gown. A few strands of his black hair fluttered in the wind, looking quite elegant. What was even rarer was that he showed his true face, which was even more stunning than when he was in disguise.
"What are you doing here?" Ji Feiyu looked at him in surprise.
Butterfly Hua immediately walked around to Ji Feiyu's side and said, "Of course, I missed you! You disappeared without a trace after you left. I thought you were bullied again in the palace..."
Ji Feiyu twitched the corner of her mouth at his cheesy tone. What did he mean by disappearing without a trace? What about the emperor's proclamation to the world that the queen had been restored to her position? This guy must have sneaked in after hearing this news.
"Alright, this is the palace, not somewhere else. You can just come in and have some fun. But after you've had enough, leave quickly. Otherwise, it'll be over if someone from my palace sees you!" After all, the palace was not as free as the outside world.
Butterfly Hua looked aggrieved and said, "Yu'er, how could you be so heartless? It's so hard for me to get in once. Won't you take me to your bedroom?"
After saying that, he pulled Ji Feiyu forward. Only then did Ji Feiyu realize something was wrong. If someone from her palace was going to come out, they should have come out long ago. Why was there no sound until now?
"What did you do to the people in my palace?" Ji Feiyu asked in surprise again.
But he pretended to be innocent and replied casually, "It's okay. Don't worry. I just cleared a space for us to be alone."
"You... you..." Ji Feiyu was dragged away by him, looking helpless. Didn't he know what danger was? He actually broke into the Qiwu Palace alone. Just thinking about it made her shiver with fear!
"You'd better leave quickly. Yong Yaxuan will come here soon," Ji Feiyu said kindly after being dragged into the Qiwu Palace and then shaking off his hand.
But he didn't mind at all. With a gentle smile, he went to look at the various jade wares and antiques displayed in Ji Feiyu's hall.
"Wow, Yu'er, you even have a potted landscape carved from Hetian white jade. Give it to me!" Butterfly Hua said brazenly while admiring the antiques, completely ignoring Ji Feiyu's good - intentioned advice for him to leave.
"This finely carved chicken - blood stone is also good. Give it to me too!"
"..." Ji Feiyu was speechless again.
After admiring the chicken - blood stone, Butterfly Hua looked around the Qiwu Palace and said, "Tsk tsk, I didn't realize that you've been living such a luxurious life here, Yu'er. Just a few things I see are all rare treasures in the world... No wonder I didn't hear any news about you for the past three years. It seems that you only remembered me when you were in trouble?"