After Dongfang Yi completely disappeared from Helian Rong's sight, he was left alone in the vast courtyard. It was a silent night, and the moon was still as bright as ever. Before long, the chirping of crickets filled the air again.
He sat in the gazebo, gazing at the moon. Suddenly, a wave of loneliness washed over him. On the nights on the battlefield, he would often drink and chat merrily with the soldiers, full of high spirits. Wasn't that a wonderful time? Now that he was back in the palace, he could only face the moon alone.
Then he thought of the beautiful woman he had met in the garden just now. She was so beautiful, and her words were equally interesting. But she had left without leaving any information. Presumably, she was the young lady from some family at the banquet who had sneaked out.
Of course, he wouldn't let such an interesting person slip away easily. They were bound to meet again.
...
On the other side, Dongfang Yi was trotting on the road. The road was brightly lit and not at all dark. This was probably the advantage of the palace. One would never have to walk in the dark.
Before long, she met Donghua, who was also trotting towards her.
"Why are you back, Your Majesty?" Donghua asked, sounding a bit puzzled.
"I'm bored, and it's already midnight. I'm sleepy. Let's go back to the palace," Dongfang Yi replied with a smile.
"What about these snacks...?" Donghua asked, holding up the snack box in her hand.
The snacks must have just been made in the imperial kitchen. One could see the steam rising from them even from here, and a sweet aroma wafted into Dongfang Yi's nose.
"Give them to me!" Dongfang Yi immediately took the box from Donghua, hugged it in her arms, and took out a piece to taste.
"Mmm~ It's mung bean cake. It smells so good!" she said vaguely while munching on the snack.
Seeing her gluttonous look, Donghua beside her couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Don't laugh," Dongfang Yi said, seeing the woman opposite seemingly laughing at her. She suddenly felt a bit unworthy. As the queen, she was so excited about a piece of snack.
"I'm not laughing at Your Majesty," Donghua said, smiling and bowing to her.
"That's right!" Dongfang Yi said, and then flicked her nose with her other hand.
But after she did this, her hand froze. She remembered that she often did this to Situ Qing. Whenever she did, he would close his eyes tightly, waiting for her finger to touch the tip of his nose.
She wondered how he was doing now.
Donghua saw the woman in front of her suddenly withdraw her smile and become serious, as if she had thought of something. She asked, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"
Dongfang Yi just moved her lips a few times but didn't say anything else in the end. She just said, "Let's go back to the palace."
Then she turned around and started walking towards her palace.
She really wanted to ask Donghua about Situ Qing's current situation, but she couldn't. She knew that Situ Qing was the heir of the previous dynasty. If she were to ask his enemies about him, wouldn't she be the most foolish person in the world?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look up at the sky and think, Qingqing, you must live well...
Outside the Palace
Duoyu Inn
Situ Qing was leaning against the window, holding a jade pendant in his hand and rubbing it carefully. If one looked closely, they could see a delicate carving of a basalt on the jade pendant. The green and translucent material showed that it was no ordinary item.
He stared at the jade pendant in his hand and thought, Xiaodong... what are you doing at this moment...?
This jade pendant was not the one that Dongfang Yi had picked up in the imperial garden, but as a prince of the previous dynasty, he naturally had one too. As for Dongfang Yi's jade pendant, it was still in Helian Qi's hands in the palace.
The Duoyu Inn seemed much less fun without Dongfang Yi. The servants didn't dare to easily ask Situ Qing where she had gone. Seeing Situ Qing looking so solemn and depressed, they didn't dare to say a word.
Only Xiao Yang once timidly asked, "Sir... where has Miss Dongfang gone?"
But Situ Qing just stared at him with a solemn look for a while and then went upstairs without saying a word.
After that, no one ever asked about Miss Dongfang's whereabouts again, as if that woman had never appeared.
But the sounds of playing cards and mahjong in the inn and the steaming hot pot made people think of that woman with the extremely beautiful smile.
Situ Qing never mentioned anything about her again. When facing others, he still had the usual smile on his face. No one could tell that his smile was a false front, and no one could see what was hidden behind it.
The night was still long, and the moonlight was everywhere.
The Queen's Palace
Dongfang Yi lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep. She could no longer hear the sound of musical instruments from the direction of the banquet. Presumably, the banquet was over.
On days like this, Helian Qi must be very tired. He had to watch over so many ministers and concubines and accept everyone's flattery.
Realizing what she was thinking, Dongfang Yi quickly shook her head, trying to drive the thoughts out of her mind.
What was she thinking? That man was so heartless. With Concubine Chu one day and Concubine Shun the next, he really deserved the title of a passionate emperor.
Thinking of this, she angrily wrapped the quilt tightly around herself and buried her whole face in it.
Perhaps because she had gone to bed too late and was very tired, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, an unexpected guest came to the Queen's Palace. Under the moonlight, his figure looked even more upright.
"Your Majesty—Why are you...?" Donghua at the door of the bedroom asked in a low voice, looking a bit surprised.
"Shh..." Helian Qi put his finger to his lips.
Then he tiptoed into the bedroom.
Through the bead curtain of the bedroom, one could vaguely see Dongfang Yi sleeping in bed. She had kicked the quilt into a mess because she slept restlessly.
Helian Qi couldn't help but curl his lips. He lifted the bead curtain and walked in. He stopped in front of her bed, then reached out and gently tucked the quilt around her. Then he directly reached out and stroked her cheek.
In her dream, Dongfang Yi suddenly smelled a strong smell of alcohol. Then she felt a pair of cold hands on her face. She was so startled that she opened her eyes.
Their eyes met. To her surprise, the first one to feel embarrassed was Dongfang Yi. It had been a long time since she had looked into this man's eyes like this. Perhaps because he had drunk some wine, his usually clear eyes were now misty, looking as beautiful as a precious gem.
"You..." Dongfang Yi was just about to say something when she suddenly felt the man in front of her lower his head and get closer to her.
Suddenly, a strong smell of alcohol filled Dongfang Yi's nose. She was so startled that the words on her lips were all choked back in her throat.
And Helian Qi's next action made Dongfang Yi's eyes widen in shock.
He actually kissed her just like that.