The two wearing pig-nose masks walked hand in hand along with the crowd.
The guards surrounded them to prevent others from bumping into them. As for safety, they were not too worried.
Who was the person beside the prince? It was none other than Young Master Long Yin, who had beaten the bravest warrior of the Northern Barbarians like a sandbag!
Zhen Xiaoyu always flocked to wherever it was lively. Before long, she was holding all kinds of small trinkets in her hands. After buying a bunch of candied haws, she stuffed all the trinkets into Zhao Zongying's hands.
Munching on the candied haws, she mumbled vaguely, "It would be even better if there were stalls selling fried and grilled skewers."
"Hmm?" Zhao Zongying didn't catch what she said.
Zhen Xiaoyu held the last haw on the skewer to his lips. "It's sour and sweet. Not bad. Have a taste."
Zhao Zongying didn't mind at all. He opened his mouth and took the remaining haw into his mouth. The crispy sugar coating and the haw mixed together, creating a refreshingly sour and sweet taste.
Before he could finish chewing, the person beside him had already rushed towards a snack stall selling osmanthus cakes.
After this round of strolling, he was already seventy percent full just from eating the leftovers from Zhen Xiaoyu.
The sky gradually darkened.
More and more people gathered in front of the stalls selling lanterns and sky lanterns.
Zhen Xiaoyu, who loved to join in the fun, dragged Zhao Zongying to a sky lantern stall. Some people were already buying lanterns and writing on them.
She also bought two.
When writing on the lanterns, she did it with her back to Zhao Zongying. She finished writing earlier than him. When she put down the pen, she leaned over to see what he had written.
On his sky lantern, there was only one sentence: "We shall share the same quilt in life and the same tomb in death. Together for all eternities."
At the end of the sentence were the characters "Ying" and "Yu".
Zhen Xiaoyu was deeply touched. A hint of complexity flashed in her eyes.
"What did you write?" Zhao Zongying wanted to see her sky lantern.
She hugged the sky lantern in her arms and covered it with her sleeve. Mysteriously, she said, "You'll see when the lantern takes off later."
There were quite a few people waiting to light the lanterns, so they had to queue up.
However, the lanterns were lit quickly, and soon it was their turn.
When Zhen Xiaoyu lit the lantern, she deliberately hid from Zhao Zongying. It was not until the lantern slowly rose into the air that she let Zhao Zongying see it.
Zhao Zongying finally saw the inked side of her sky lantern. There were no words on it, but a dragon coiling around the sky lantern was drawn.
"A hidden dragon in the abyss, soaring into the sky one day." Zhen Xiaoyu said beside him.
Zhao Zongying turned to look at her. In the light of the slowly rising sky lantern, her eyes sparkled.
He still remembered when she gave him the sachet. Seeing the pattern on it that looked like cow dung, he had thought she was mocking him and had even wanted to strangle her.
Life was really unpredictable. How could he have imagined back then that one day he would regard such a quirky girl as his reverse scale?
He couldn't remember when she had become so important. It seemed that he had already cared about her deeply when he wanted to tie her to his side all the time.
"Xiaoyu," he held Zhen Xiaoyu's hand, "maybe all the hardships I endured in the first half of my life were to accumulate the luck to meet you. I'm glad I've accumulated enough."
Zhen Xiaoyu looked at him tenderly. "Meeting you is also the greatest luck in my life."
It was him who had let her feel the taste of being loved.
She would remember this relationship for the rest of her life.
All around, sky lanterns were rising. The mottled light enveloped the two wearing pig-nose masks. Time and space seemed to freeze in their loving gaze. Everything around them faded into insignificance.
The guards beside them were showered with affection and winked at each other, indicating that they had learned a lot.
They never thought that Young Master Long Yin was not only handsome and skilled but also so elegant in speaking love words.
In the dim corner that no one noticed, someone had been standing there watching for a long time.
"Sir, it's cold. Why don't you go back to the mansion?" the attendant couldn't bear to watch any longer and whispered.
"Go to the Regent's Mansion." Jing Xuan turned around.
When the Queen, who was reading memorials in the study, saw him coming, she said casually, "It's the Lantern Festival today. Didn't you go out for a stroll on the street?"
Jing Xuan first bowed respectfully, and then asked straightforwardly, "Is Long Yin beside Her Royal Highness the Southern Dynasty's General Who Guards the North?"
The Queen put down the memorial in her hand and smiled. "Sure enough, it's Jing Xuan. I thought it would take you some time to notice."
"A few days ago, Your Majesty sent Long Yin to the Longyue Palace and told me not to disturb them. So you've known Long Yin's real identity for a long time?" Jing Xuan asked again.
"I was just suspicious at first. Seeing them inseparable these days and sleeping in the same room, I was finally sure of Long Yin's identity."
Saying this, the Queen paused for a moment and then sighed, "To see Xiaoyu, this General Who Guards the North actually condescended to work as a male singer in the Drunken Immortal Tower. He didn't let down Xiaoyu's infatuation for him."
Jing Xuan remained silent. The scene of the two looking at each other affectionately under the sky lanterns flashed through his mind. He felt a sense of loss.
"How's the progress of the greenhouse Xiaoyu proposed?" the Queen asked about the greenhouse outside the city.
"We've been building it with all our strength. It will be ready for use in a few days." Jing Xuan cheered up and said.
The Queen nodded. "That's good. You've worked hard these days. It's rare to have a festival today. You should go back early and have a good rest."
"I take my leave." Jing Xuan bowed.
"Brother Xuan, so you're here. No wonder I waited in your mansion for half a day and didn't see you come back." Jing Xuan had just walked out of the study when he met Nuoyi.
"What does Her Highness Nuoyi want from me?" Jing Xuan asked calmly.
"Today is the Lantern Festival. I just wanted to go to the lantern fair with you..."
"I'm sorry. I still have important matters to attend to. Please find someone else to accompany you. Goodbye!" Jing Xuan nodded politely and walked straight past her.
"Brother Xuan..." Nuoyi stared blankly at his departing back.
This festive and lively festival was destined to be a sleepless night for some people.
Zhen Xiaoyu, however, slept soundly. Maybe she was too tired from strolling on the street. After coming back, she fell asleep after chatting with Zhao Zongying for just a few words.
When she woke up, the pillow beside her was cold.
She sat up and saw a note on the bedside table. It read: I'm going on a long trip.
At first, she didn't pay much attention. It was not until Song Zhige came to ask her where Shen Yunqian had gone that she realized Shen Yunqian had left the palace quietly.
She asked the people in the palace and found out that Shen Yunqian had left the palace on the same day as Zhao Zongying, and both of them had been picked up by the Queen's people.
As soon as Song Zhige heard that Shen Yunqian had been picked up by the Queen's people, he immediately rushed to the Regent's Mansion, and Zhen Xiaoyu followed him.
"Your Royal Highness, Young Master, Her Majesty the Queen is having a meal..." the steward looked embarrassed.
Song Zhige frowned coldly and directly pushed the steward aside and walked in.
Zhen Xiaoyu also followed, saying as she walked, "We haven't eaten either. It's just right to have a meal here."
As they got closer to the main house, they heard clear laughter coming from inside.
"Father and brother, stop praising me. I just went to help. The one who is really tired is Brother Xuan. It's not easy for him. As the prime minister, he has to rush around outside in the cold winter because of someone's whimsy."
Zhen Xiaoyu recognized the voice immediately. It was Nuoyi who was speaking.
It seemed that the whole family was having a meal.
The guards at the door saw them coming and quickly reported inside, "Her Royal Highness and His Highness the Eldest Prince are here."
The laughter inside stopped abruptly.