“This type of flower…” Su Xi-er paused. If I reveal the name of the flower, I will arouse Prince Hao’s suspicions as it only exists in Nanzhao.
“Lingrui[1] Flower. The flower is indigenous to Nanzhao, and can’t survive outside of its home nation. If you want to see it, this prince will take you there after we reach Nanzhao.”
Su Xi-er showed a bitter smile. That’s right. How could I have forgotten this point? Didn’t Mum name it ‘Weiyi’ precisely because it wouldn’t be able to survive if it leaves Nanzhao and gets transplanted in other nations?
Perhaps it was because they were getting closer to Nanzhao that her emotions were in such delirium.
“There’s something wrong with you tonight,” Pei Qianhao remarked confidently as he observed her expression.
Su Xi-er raised her head to look at him. “The Shui Family’s young miss fits the bill for a beauty. Are you not considering keeping her, Prince Hao?”
Changing the topic of the conversation is the best method.
Pei Qianhao chuckled. “What you said is right. She’s bright and beautiful, and has the qualifications to enter the Beauty Palace. It’s just that she shouldn’t have worn your clothes.”
“Let this prince ask you, were you the one who came up with the idea to exchange clothes?”
“Prince Hao, what is the point of asking a question to which you already know the answer?”
Pei Qianhao’s voice gradually turned ice-cold. “Do you feel that this prince has been too benevolent? To be so audacious, were you so sure that this prince wouldn’t dare to punish you?”
Although she didn’t know why, Su Xi-er had indeed believed in that fact. At least he wouldn’t for now. Even if he punishes me, he wouldn’t take my life.
There was no logical basis for this assumption; it was simply her intuition.
“Carry a wooden basin and kneel with the Shui Family’s young miss in the courtyard. You’re not allowed to get up,” Pei Qianhao instructed coldly before flinging his sleeves forcefully as he left.
Su Xi-er looked at this retreating figure, then looked at the parterre. The flower fragrance is completely gone. Maybe I can ask Shui Yinglian why there’s a type of flower that has a fragrance so similar to Lingrui?
~~~
Once he was out of sight, Pei Qianhao didn’t return to his room, but instead stood next to the woods in the courtyard. The scenes from that night gradually emerged in his mind. I was drunk on wine that night. After I made my way to the woods beside the Palace Side Quarters, I was knocked out by some unknown woman.
He hadn’t seen the appearance of the woman clearly, but from his interactions with Su Xi-er after that, he was certain that it was her.
In the imperial palace, he had discovered that this woman was obedient on some occasions, while being surprisingly daring in others. She had differentiated herself from the masses. After ordering someone to bring her here, her reactions were once again completely out of his expectations.
I deliberately made things difficult for her in the room, and she returned the gesture by adopting a clever artifice and almost sending me a ‘pleasant surprise’.
However, all of this is nothing compared to her actions beside the parterre. Her expression was dignified. If the flower that she is looking for is a Lingrui, that would imply that she isn’t a Beimin citizen and that her mother could be a Nanzhao citizen.
If she is of Nanzhao’s blood, Beimin’s imperial palace wouldn’t have kept her as a palace maid, even in the Palace Side Quarters.
For the moment, Su Xi-er’s identity had become an enigma, causing Pei Qianhao to furrow his eyebrows involuntarily.
Only when he collected his thoughts did he realise that he had actually spent so much time thinking about her. There is no woman who can make me like this.
Pei Qianhao’s eyes were slightly narrowed. The sudden oncoming of such a novel experience had been breathing colour back into his life for quite a while now.
1. A fictional flower in this novel