"Ah! It's you, Young Master An!" I was rather surprised to find that the person up there was Young Master An.
He was dressed in white robes and walked over with a folding fan in his hand, smiling. "Why can't it be me? Who did you think it would be?"
"No, no." I waved my hands hurriedly. "I just saw a figure and came up to take a look. I had no idea who it would be."
"Really? How's your archery practice going recently? Has Princess Aoqing still been pestering you?" Young Master An kindly inquired about my current situation.
I replied, "Yes, she has! In the female archery range recently, almost wherever I go, she follows. I'm so annoyed!"
"Really? Doesn't she feel uncomfortable seeing you and Yu Chi Cheng being so affectionate?" He opened his folding fan and waved it gracefully. All I noticed was that there were no words on the fan in his fair - skinned hand.
I laughed upon hearing this. "She must have felt quite uncomfortable today."
"Is that so? That's good." Under the moonlight, Young Master An waved his fan and looked into the distance. His features were as handsome as a painting.
"What are you thinking about?" I followed his gaze but found nothing special.
"I miss home. I was thinking that if I hadn't come here, my younger sister at home would be about your age by now." Young Master An sounded rather vicissitudinous when he said this, which suddenly reminded me of Qi Yuan who missed his hometown under the moonlight.
After so much time had passed, I suddenly realized that I hadn't thought about Qi Yuan for a long time. Even when his figure occasionally flashed through my mind, I only felt calm.
"Then why don't you go back? Is it like Lord Qi Yuan, who, after entering the palace, has his own responsibilities and can't go back?" I was very curious about what motivated people who served in the palace to leave their hometowns and make a living in a completely strange place.
Unexpectedly, Young Master An laughed after hearing this. "I can never go back."
"Where is it? Is it farther than from the Great Yong to the Northern Cold Region?" I didn't understand. Even if it was very far away, one could still reach home in a year or two if one was determined.
Young Master An smiled and shook his head. "It's not a matter of distance, but a limitation in people's hearts."
I suddenly understood that Young Master An was also a man with a story.
"Has the princess ever heard of the Snow - Forest Wind Monster?" He suddenly asked. I shook my head, and he closed his folding fan and slowly said, "The Snow - Forest Wind Monster lives deep in the snow forest. On every full - moon night, it turns into a human form. Because it is good - looking, it specifically seduces young girls in love and then kills them and eats their hearts. However, people only know one part of the story. The one who eats the hearts is not the Snow - Forest Wind Monster itself, but its mother. The mother will die if she doesn't eat human hearts. The Snow - Forest Wind Monster is in great pain because it can't be both filial and just. Finally, it sacrifices family ties for righteousness, no longer cares about its mother, and turns into a gentle breeze and leaves. But no one really knows the end of this story. People only remind young and beautiful girls to be careful of good - looking men on full - moon nights, because they may very well be the transformed Snow - Forest Wind Monster."
Just then, a night breeze blew, making me shiver. I looked at the moon and Young Master An under the moonlight, thinking that he was just like that good - looking man in the moonlight story.
"So what does Young Master An want to say?" I couldn't help asking.
Young Master An sized me up and then said, "Aren't you afraid of me? My reputation is not very good."
At this moment, his clothes fluttered in the night wind. Standing under the moon, shrouded in the silver light, he was like a celestial being. Could such a person really be a bad guy with a bad reputation?
I shook my head. "Young Master An saved me once. If he really wanted to harm me, he could have just stood by last time."
Young Master An laughed upon hearing this. "The princess is really simple - minded. But look, the wind is blowing at night. Go back and rest quickly."
"Okay." I turned around to leave. Then I suddenly stopped, remembering something. "By the way, can I meet you here again tomorrow? I always feel that you seem to know a lot. Can I listen to your stories?"
"Sure." Young Master An smiled.
So I turned back and continued walking. After taking two steps, I stopped again. "By the way, can you tell me how to make Aoqing stop following us? I think you must have a way."
Young Master An said, "Do you want to know?"
I nodded.
"Then come here." He waved at me.
So I walked over without any defense. He leaned over and whispered a few words in my ear. Immediately, my eyes lit up, and I quickly nodded at him. He patted my shoulder and motioned for me to go back quickly.
I waved at him and happily ran towards my residence. Little did I know that this scene had been completely witnessed by another person.
...
As a tenacious and stubborn princess, Aoqing, as expected, ignored the setbacks. After a short period of quietness, she continued to appear frequently in front of Yu Chi Cheng and me. I really admired her for her pursuit of love. I thought that someone must have told her the saying "Where there's a will, there's a way", which was why she was so persistent.
She appeared so often that Yu Chi Cheng was already used to her presence and didn't care whether he had verbally attacked her the day before. For Aoqing, Yu Chi Cheng was definitely a playboy, but for me, he hadn't been dazzled by the colorful world.
After practicing shooting at moving targets for a while, I saw Aoqing constantly stealing glances at Yu Chi Cheng. I really lost the mood to continue, so I played the spoiled one and called out to Yu Chi Cheng behind me, "Brother Cheng, I'm thirsty." As soon as I said this, goosebumps immediately rose on my body. At the same time, Aoqing turned to look at me with disgust on her face. Only Yu Chi Cheng remained calm in this situation. He smiled dotingly and said, "Okay, I'll go get some water."
Yu Chi Cheng turned around and left. Aoqing and I stared at each other, at odds.
"How disgusting! Don't think that just because Brother Yu Chi is nice to you now, you can act like you're on top of the world. After all, you're a guest. Brother Yu Chi has to be somewhat polite to you. He told me that you'll leave sooner or later and asked me to be nice to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother with you."
I didn't believe her nonsense. It was impossible for her to drive a wedge between us. So I sneered, "I don't need you to bother with me. Look at yourself. Do you think someone like you can make Yu Chi Cheng like you? You're just daydreaming."
Aoqing was very angry. "Whether I'm daydreaming or not is none of your business. Get out of here and go back where you came from!"
I laughed. "Haha, I didn't come here on my own. Brother Cheng personally invited me here."
Aoqing was so angry that her face distorted. "Humph, don't be so smug. Don't think I don't know that you climbed out of the box while you were asleep. You're being so forward and you still think you're right."
"Oh? Well, I'm better than some people who throw themselves at one man after another..." I resolutely used the information that Young Master An had given me last night.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Aoqing's face immediately changed. "What did you say?"