“Jealous?”
Li Zhizhi blinked, looked at Xiao Yan, and asked, “Jealous of what?”
Xiao Yan paused for a moment before slowly saying, “The relationship between you and me, compared to Su Qingshang, how does it fare? Who is closer, who is more distant?”
Li Zhizhi was caught off guard by this topic and froze slightly before replying, “This…”
Xiao Yan’s phoenix-like eyes stared intently at her, the meaning in them clear. He said, “You are, of course, closer to me, right?”
Seeing that Li Zhizhi did not deny this, a hint of a smile appeared on Xiao Yan’s handsome face. He said, “Since that’s the case, Su Qingshang, an outsider, has already received a painting from you, but I have received nothing. Wouldn’t it be normal for me to feel jealous because of this?”
“Everyone has a sense of competition, so…” He leaned in slightly, reached out, and lightly played with a lock of Li Zhizhi’s hair, speaking with interest, “When will it be my turn, Zhizhi?”
When he called her name, Xiao Yan’s voice softened, almost a whisper, yet the tone lifted, carrying an elusive meaning that made one’s face flush and heart race.
He was too close. Li Zhizhi instinctively took a step back, and that lock of hair slipped from Xiao Yan’s fingers. Under the daylight, her eyes appeared exceptionally clear, like the spring waters of Jiangnan in March, making one’s heart stir.
Xiao Yan gazed at her intently and said, “Mid-Autumn.”
“What?”
Xiao Yan smiled, “On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, if you haven’t decided what to give me, I’ll come and take it myself.”
Li Zhizhi: …
The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th of August, and today is already the 12th.
…
Back at the Princess’s mansion, Li Zhizhi was still pondering Xiao Yan’s words—take it himself? Take what?
As she passed through the flower hall, the Grand Princess had just finished instructing the steward and waved her over, smiling, “Did Xiao Wu bring A’yang to see you today?”
Li Zhizhi nodded. The Grand Princess teased, “That child is becoming more and more attached to you. If she doesn’t see you for a day, it’s as if she loses her sense of direction. She’ll find any way to meet you.”
She smiled at Li Zhizhi, her phoenix-like eyes filled with teasing, but her tone was full of deeper meaning. Li Zhizhi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she had a strange feeling, as if the Grand Princess wasn’t talking about Xiao Rulei but about someone else…
“A’yang is still childish,” the Grand Princess said with a laugh, holding Li Zhizhi’s hand. “Only you aren’t annoyed by her.”
With that, the strange feeling disappeared. Li Zhizhi shook her head and said, “A’yang isn’t annoying, she’s very sweet.”
The Grand Princess took the new tea handed to her by a maid and said, “Speaking of which, she’s staying at the Crown Prince’s mansion now, and everything is well arranged. But when Xiao Wu gets married and takes the Crown Princess, things probably won’t be as easy for her.”
Li Zhizhi instinctively furrowed her brows and asked, “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” The Grand Princess couldn’t help but laugh. “A young couple, sweet as honey, how could there be room for a third person?”
Li Zhizhi was surprised, “But A’yang is just the Crown Prince’s sister. What difference does it make?”
The Grand Princess only smiled and shook her head. “You can’t project your own thoughts onto others, Zhizhi. People are not the same, and you’ll never know what’s in someone else’s heart.”
Li Zhizhi listened, half understanding, and asked, “If my elder brother, the Crown Prince, marries the Crown Princess, could I come live in the Princess’s residence with A’yang, is that alright?”
The Grand Princess burst into laughter and intentionally asked, “What if you get married?”
“Then…” Li Zhizhi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, “Didn’t we mention this before? I can bring in a husband to live here, so I can stay at the Princess’s residence forever.”
The Grand Princess smiled and asked, “But what if the person you like cannot be brought in to live here?”
Li Zhizhi frowned and said, “Then I’ll find another one.”
She said seriously, “Isn’t there a saying that it’s hard to find a three-legged toad, but there are plenty of two-legged men around? If he can’t do it, I’ll find one who can.”
Just then, Xiao Yan entered the room: …
The Grand Princess looked up with a teasing smile and greeted him, “Oh, Xiao Wu, you’re here.”
Xiao Yan couldn’t help but feel that the Grand Princess’s smile carried a bit of mischievous mockery.
“Aunt.”
The Grand Princess glanced behind him, raised her eyebrows slightly, and asked, “Did you come alone? Where’s A’yang?”
Xiao Yan replied, “A’yang was tired and is napping.”
The Grand Princess responded with an “Oh,” and asked with some confusion, “Then what are you doing here?”
Xiao Yan looked at Li Zhizhi and said, “I have something to discuss with Zhizhi.”
“What is it?”
Xiao Yan didn’t immediately respond, just looked at Li Zhizhi again. The Grand Princess sighed softly and said, “So, there are things that even I, as your aunt, can’t hear. Fine, you two have grown up now.”
“Aunt,” Xiao Yan said with some helplessness, explaining, “That’s not what I meant.”
The Grand Princess handed her teacup to a servant, stood up, gave him a sideways glance, and said, “You better be discussing something proper with our Zhizhi. If I hear even half a word of nonsense, I’ll use my long spear to throw you out.”
With that, she gave a light snort, and then gracefully left, leaving the vast flower hall with only Li Zhizhi and Xiao Yan.
Li Zhizhi turned her head, curious, and asked, “What is it, Crown Prince brother?”
Xiao Yan took a step closer and quietly asked, “I heard that recently you sent Xu Tingfeng to find someone… What are you planning this time?”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhi’s eyes sparkled, but before she could respond, Xiao Yan continued, “Tell me the truth, are you planning to deal with Xiao Man?”
Li Zhizhi showed a slight look of surprise, and Xiao Yan knew he had hit the mark. He furrowed his brows and asked, “Why didn’t you discuss this with me?”
Since Li Zhizhi still needed Xu Tingfeng’s help, she couldn’t hide it anymore. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to reveal her plan. She had thought Xiao Yan might think she was too scheming, but to her surprise, he merely frowned and focused on another issue: “You even told Consort Rong, but you didn’t want to tell me? You call me ‘brother’ all the time, but when something comes up, you push me aside?”
Li Zhizhi: …
Xiao Yan’s handsome face turned slightly cold as he asked, “Is the painting you copied still here?”
“In the study,” Li Zhizhi replied, “the one taken to the literary gathering today is a different painting.”
“Take me to see it.”
Li Zhizhi, suspecting nothing, led him to the study. A painting of a distant view of the mountains and rivers was hanging on the wall, precisely the one sent to Mo Xiang Studio for mounting. Xiao Yan glanced at it, but his gaze quickly shifted to another painting, and he stood still.
Li Zhizhi followed his gaze and saw a painting with large patches of ink, varying in depth—this was the very painting Su Qingshang had given her.
Xiao Yan frowned, his tone slightly disdainful. “What is this painting supposed to be? How could he have the nerve to give this as a gift?”
Li Zhizhi said, “Second Young Master said it must be viewed at night.”
By then, dusk had fallen, and the room was quite dark. Li Zhizhi blew out the candles. In an instant, the pitch-black night enveloped the surroundings. At first, she couldn’t see clearly, but gradually, to her astonishment, she noticed faint outlines emerging from the darkness—luminous white lines slowly spreading across the canvas, forming a complete image. It was a night scene, with a full moon hanging in the sky, casting a soft silver glow, outlining the rooftops and eaves below. The moonlight was serene as water, breathtakingly beautiful.
Li Zhi-zhi was utterly amazed. She muttered, “Truly worthy of being the work of Master Fei Yu…”
She had never seen such a strange and wondrous painting before. Unable to contain her excitement, she called out to Xiao Yan, “Do you see it?”
After a brief pause, Xiao Yan’s muffled voice came from the darkness, “I see it.”
Li Zhizhi fumbled to relight the candles, but just as she took a step, she suddenly bumped into a warm embrace. Startled, she quickly retreated and nearly fell. At that moment, a hand caught her waist in time, and Xiao Yan’s voice came from right beside her, “Careful!”
Li Zhizhi let out a long breath of relief and asked, “Where’s the candlestick?”
Xiao Yan replied, “Don’t move, I’ll find it.”
Although he said this, it took him quite a while before he finally let go of her. The room was so dark that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. Li Zhizhi, feeling a bit scared, tentatively took a step forward and asked, “Did you find it, Brother Crown Prince?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she bumped into that familiar embrace again. A faint scent of sandalwood reached her nose, and she heard a soft laugh beside her ear. Xiao Yan seemed to be in a good mood as he said, “Haven’t found it yet, wait a little longer.”
He raised the candlestick high, looking down at the spot in front of him. Even though he couldn’t see clearly, he could still sense the familiar slender figure standing obediently in front of him, waiting patiently.
Xiao Yan thought to himself, what about Master Fei Yu? He has no official status and is a frail, sickly man—nothing special at all.
<img data-lazy-fallback="1" src="https://i0.wp.com/storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/kofi1.png?h=36&ssl=1" alt="Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com" border="0" data-recalc-dims="1" />
Become a member!