Dongfang Yi said that she would never attend such a boring banquet. However, when it came to bedtime at night, she began to feel a bit regretful.
The night seemed endless. From her own palace, she could hear the commotion of the banquet. It was bustling and seemed quite interesting.
Immediately, she lay in bed, trying to hypnotize herself. She kept telling herself that the banquet was boring and fake, and she would have to sit next to Helian Qi...
As she was thinking, she got up irritably. She thought to herself that it wouldn't hurt to go out for a stroll to relieve the boredom. It wasn't that she wanted to attend the banquet.
With this thought in mind, she got up right away. She had already washed up. Since it was late at night, she was too lazy to do her hair. She simply let her hair hang loose behind her head and put on a white printed robe before leaving her bedroom.
Outside the palace, Donghua saw her coming out at this late hour. He frowned and asked, "Your Majesty, where are you going?"
"I'm just going out for a stroll. It's so boring in the palace. Everyone has gone to watch the banquet," Dongfang Yi replied. Of course, she wouldn't admit that she regretted not going to the banquet and was too annoyed to fall asleep.
"Then I'll go with Your Majesty," Donghua sighed and then said.
"Okay," Dongfang Yi said and then stepped out of the palace gate.
On the main avenue of the palace, except for the imperial guards guarding the gates, there was no one else. Apart from the lively sounds coming from the banquet hall, the rest of the palace was completely silent.
A bright moon hung in the sky, looking so pure and quiet. The places illuminated by the moonlight also seemed to be bathed in tranquility.
Suddenly, Dongfang Yi thought of someone, Situ Qing.
She wondered how he was doing at the Duoyu Inn. Whether he was living a serious life and making money. Oh, right, she remembered that Situ Qing never lacked money.
It turned out that having a bosom friend felt like this. She missed him terribly after not seeing him for so long.
They came to a rather secluded small garden. It looked a bit dilapidated, but the water in the pond was very clear. The flowers were not as neatly arranged as those in the imperial garden, but they had a natural beauty.
"Let's sit here for a while," Dongfang Yi pointed to a small pavilion not far away and said to Donghua.
Donghua frowned again. In her eyes, this was just a deserted yard. Resting here was not as good as going back to the palace to sleep. She couldn't understand Dongfang Yi's wild taste.
"But Your Majesty..." Donghua hesitated to ask, but was interrupted by Dongfang Yi.
"Don't 'but' me. I think this place is great. Come and sit with me quickly," Dongfang Yi had already sat in the pavilion and waved to the still-hesitating Donghua.
Donghua sighed and had no choice but to walk over.
"Donghua, do you have any relatives?" Dongfang Yi asked.
Donghua's expression froze for a moment, and then she said a bit gloomily, "My family members have all passed away. I'm the only one left. Thanks to the Emperor's rescue, I can still survive today."
Dongfang Yi was a bit surprised when she heard her words and immediately said habitually, "Sorry."
When Donghua heard this sudden apology, she was so shocked that she widened her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her in disbelief.
The woman suddenly smiled awkwardly. She had forgotten that in this era, it was quite incredible for a queen to apologize to a servant.
But Donghua suddenly felt very warm in her heart. Looking at this woman who was sometimes childish and sometimes fierce, she began to respect her from the bottom of her heart.
"Ah - I'm a bit hungry. Why did I forget to bring some snacks when I went out?"
Dongfang Yi said with regret in her tone. She suddenly felt that it was a waste not to eat something in such a beautiful scenery. But then, as if she had thought of something, she gave a sly smile to Donghua beside her.
Donghua was immediately covered in cold sweat when she saw this smile. She knew that once this woman showed this expression, she was up to some tricks.
"What... what's wrong, Your Majesty?" she asked nervously.
"Donghua, I'm hungry. Go back to the palace and get some snacks for me," Dongfang Yi said, blinking her eyes.
"But..." Donghua hesitated to ask something.
"But what? Are you afraid that I'll run away?" Dongfang Yi frowned and asked.
Her words did reveal Donghua's concern. After all, the Emperor had asked her to accompany Dongfang Yi not only to protect her safety but also to report her whereabouts in time.
Dongfang Yi saw her expression and knew that her guess was right. So she sighed and continued, "Hey, I won't run away randomly. Even if I do, I'll be caught by Helian Qi. I don't want to waste that energy."
Seeing her sincere look, Donghua finally turned around hesitantly and prepared to go back to the palace to get the snacks.
Dongfang Yi shouted loudly behind her, "Remember to bring a pot of tea!"
Donghua, who was walking in front, kept sighing and shaking her head, then quickened her pace.
After Donghua left, the air became very quiet. Here, because it was far from the banquet hall, she couldn't hear any sound at all.
Although it was already late at night, the whole yard was illuminated by the moonlight as bright as day. She could also hear the croaking of frogs, which had a rather serene charm.
A gentle breeze blew by. Dongfang Yi sat in the pavilion, looking up at the moon in the sky. She felt the warm wind blowing through her ears. She even seemed to be able to see the marks on the moon.
The environment in ancient times was really good, she thought. In the city before, where did she have the chance to look at the moon like this? Every day, she was dizzy with busy work. The colors of the neon lights were even brighter than the moon. Not to mention the croaking of frogs. All there was were the honking of cars day and night.
"Zhi - zhi -"
Dongfang Yi suddenly heard a sound, which seemed to come from the grass beside the pool. She immediately lowered her head and thought that this was the sound of a cricket. Catching crickets in the fields was her favorite thing when she was a child.
With this thought in mind, she immediately stood up and walked to the pool. She began to walk lightly to listen for the sound, and then held her hands in front of her, ready to pounce on the cricket as soon as she saw it.
"Zhi - zhi -"
When Dongfang Yi stood still completely, the sound of the cricket rang out again. She also saw where the little thing was hiding. Immediately, she pounced forward, but unexpectedly missed. The little thing jumped to another place, but she still followed it without giving up.
Suddenly, there was a stone on the road in front, but Dongfang Yi didn't see it and was immediately tripped by it.
Just as Dongfang Yi was about to fall, she clearly heard a male voice shout, "Miss!"