The Chinese New Year's Eve seems destined to be a romantic night.
Outside the princess's palace, there are two people.
After Donghua heard what the man opposite her said, her face instantly burned as red as a cooked shrimp. Then, in a bit of a panic, she replied, "You... What did you say?!"
Ru Yi wasn't impatient. Instead, he replied even more seriously, "I said I like you, Donghua. It's been many years. I've always been waiting for a chance like this to tell you."
After his words, Donghua's mind became even more muddled. It was as if there were a buzzing sound inside. What did "like" mean? And what did "many years" mean?
Seeing her in a daze, Ru Yi smiled and ruffled her hair. He thought to himself that he didn't know when their relationship had changed. He was no longer satisfied with their current situation. Instead, he wanted to take more from this woman in front of him and also give her more.
So when he knew she liked that jade pendant, he bought it for her without hesitation, simply because he thought she deserved all the best things.
But Donghua was still in a daze. Her heart was pounding extremely fast. There was no denying that she must like Ru Yi, but all this came so suddenly that she didn't have any time to prepare.
"After all things are over, Donghua, I'll go and ask the emperor for permission to marry you, okay? The empress dowager will definitely agree!" Ru Yi continued.
Only after hearing this did Donghua come to her senses. She subconsciously asked, "Isn't this... too fast?!"
Ru Yi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Silly girl, what's fast? I even think it's too slow!"
Donghua rarely saw him being so doting. She just felt her heart skip a beat. As if under a spell, she nodded heavily. Then the two hugged each other.
It was just a simple hug, without any other emotions. It seemed as if they wanted to cut off all the distance between them.
The night was charming, and there were two lovers outside the palace.
Inside the palace, after several people had eaten, seeing that it was almost the new year, they knew they had to stay up late on this night. Naturally, they couldn't always stay with Princess Shangyang. So they bid her farewell and left the palace.
Helian Rong went to the Cining Palace, saying that he wanted to accompany the empress dowager for the new year. After all, the old lady was quite lonely. Helian Qi and Dongfang Yi walked hand in hand on the imperial avenue.
The red light in the lanterns beside them was flickering, illuminating the whole palace in red, looking quite charming.
"The new year is coming soon!" She looked up at the sky and said so.
The man beside her stared at her profile without blinking for a moment, and gently responded with an "um".
"I've spent this year with you. It's really nice." After Dongfang Yi said that, she turned her head. In an instant, her eyes met the man's who was staring at her.
Almost in an instant, Helian Qi pounced on her, pressing Dongfang Yi against the palace wall. Like a plunderer, he bit her lips.
Dongfang Yi was just a little startled, then she entangled her lips with his. In the exchange of saliva, they seemed to forget everything.
On this quiet night, no one could see their current appearance. Only the moon quietly recorded their deep affection at this moment.
After the kiss, both of them were out of breath. Then they took a breath and walked forward hand in hand again.
"Why didn't you even say a word..." Dongfang Yi said shyly in a low voice.
"Do I need to say a word before kissing you?!" Helian Qi couldn't help but squint his eyes and ask.
She still didn't understand and said in a low voice, "Yes..."
"Then I'm going to kiss you now."
"Ah?!"
Before she could react to what the man said, she felt her just-freed lips being bitten again. It was another round of passionate kisses.
When the two separated, Dongfang Yi was already blushing all over.
"Why did you do it again..."
"Oh? Do you still want it?"
"No no no. Let's go home quickly!"
Along the way, Dongfang Yi didn't dare to say a single word, for fear that if she said something wrong, he would press her against the wall and kiss her forcefully again.
When the two reached the empress's palace, they let out a long sigh of relief. Then they saw that the incense in the palace, which symbolized the new year, had almost burned out. This meant that it was already early morning.
She couldn't help but say to the man beside her again, "The new year is coming!"
Helian Qi hooked his lips and said "um".
But they didn't expect that a snowfall came earlier than the new year. When the snowflakes gently fell and dyed the ground white, Dongfang Yi couldn't help but dance in the snow. This made the smile on the man beside her deepen. He wished time could just stop at this moment.
Then the incense ash burned out, and the new year arrived.
Dongfang Yi leaned into Helian Qi's arms. Looking deeply into his eyes, she said, "Please take care of me in the new year, Helian Qi."
This made the man's eyes darken suddenly. He picked up the woman in his arms, strode towards the bedroom, and threw her onto the bed without hesitation. Then he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
The gentle kisses went all the way down, making the woman moan uncontrollably.
"Um..."
"Happy new year, Dong'er..."
Outside the house, the snow was falling heavily. Inside the palace, the red candles were warm, and it was a night of love.
But in other parts of the palace, it was a different scene.
First, in Concubine Chu's palace.
Concubine Chu was sitting alone in the palace. She could hear the lively sounds outside, but she couldn't get out of the cold palace. She never thought that she, the noble Concubine Chu, would end up being ignored on the Chinese New Year's Eve.
She hated, hated the harem, and even more hated the emperor. But what she hated most was Dongfang Yi. Why could she just say whatever she wanted, while she, who was clearly innocent, didn't have anyone willing to listen?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sneer, with a fierce arc on her lips.
She would never give up like this. Even if she died, she wouldn't let the living people live in peace.
Then her wild laughter echoed throughout Concubine Chu's palace.
On the other side, in the Lanfang Garden.
As for Yaoji, she didn't go to the New Year's Eve banquet tonight. After all, she had just tried to assassinate the empress. Although all the evidence now pointed to Concubine Chu as the murderer, she couldn't let her guard down. Because she knew that the emperor and the empress wouldn't easily stop suspecting her. So it was better for her to stay away from them, so as not to let them see any flaws.
It's better to have one less thing. Whether she did it or not, Yaoji didn't care. As long as she could survive in the harem of the Dongsheng Empire, she would always live for the glory of the Southern Neighboring Country.
Thinking of this, the victorious smile on her lips became even more intense.