Pei Wanmu stared at her delicate face for a long while, without speaking.
Once he confirmed she was sound asleep.
He quietly left the room, carefully closing the door.
Returning to his own room, his slender fingers picked up an ink stick, and began to grind the ink in a calm and measured manner, the stick drawing circles vertically on the stone ink slab as the black ink spread forth.
He casually took a top-quality purple Xiang wolf hair brush from the brush holder, dipped it in the ink, and smoothed it out.
He picked up the brush to write on a small slip of paper: Need your help, meet at the Imperial College. Mu!
These simple ten words, with strokes like iron and silver hooks, were written with grace and fluidity, as if clouds and flowing water, as if seeing the person in writing.
He rolled the paper and placed it in a small bamboo tube.
Before long, a gray hawk flew out from Qingqiu Courtyard.
The hawk soared into the sky~
The paper slip, was sent out!
The rear mountain, Bishui Pavilion.
"Sigh..."
The Bishui Pavilion, with its green tiles and red pillars, nestled beside the crystal-clear lake, complemented each other beautifully.
A girl in a light pink dress, with double knots in her hair and wearing a lotus green jade hairpin, a Ruyi embroidery pouch at her waist, with delicate and exceptional looks, sat by the railing near the lake in the pavilion.
Holding her face in her hands, she gazed at the water, sighing~
The picturesque green mountains and clear waters offered an invigorating scenery.
Ye Zhi sighed repeatedly, not noticing the beautiful scenery around her.
A couple of small squirrels leapt into the pavilion with pine cones, playing for a moment before leaving.
On ordinary days, Ye Zhi would pay attention to these cute little squirrels, although she wouldn’t dare to touch them – as they were not aggressive, getting a little closer wouldn’t be an issue.
Now, she couldn’t muster the slightest interest.
"Sigh..."
On the eighth sigh, a surprised voice called from behind!
"Brother Shen Chen, so Sister Ye Zhi is really here."
It was the little prince.
Startled by the excited voice, Ye Zhi lost balance with her hands, almost hitting her chin on the railing, and mumbled: "Li Qian, why are you yelling? I almost hit my chin."
Li Qian looked at her, pouting slightly, his eyes filled with grievance: "Sorry, Sister Ye Zhi, I couldn’t find you earlier, now I’ve found you, I got a bit excited and lost my composure..." His voice became smaller towards the end.
"Alright, alright, I forgive you, from now on just call me Ah Zhi, and call him Xiao Chen, it sounds more intimate." Ye Zhi waved her hand, indicating her forgiveness.
Li Qian was overjoyed, tentatively calling out: "Ah, Ah Zhi? Xiao Chen..."
"Mm." She waved at the two outside the pavilion: "Come in and have a seat."
The little prince happily bounced to sit properly beside Ye Zhi, looking all serious, his hands folded on his lap, like a model student.
The little traitor followed suit.
After they were both seated, Ye Zhi cautiously, tentatively asked: "Xiao Chen, I hit Liu Qingxi today, what do you think?"
At the same time, she mentally chanted three times: Please let him have no opinion, please let him have no opinion...
"No opinion.
She let out a sigh of relief.
"Honestly, all along, she has been unrelenting. Now, my biggest worry is the Crown Prince Li Changnian; it seems he’s taken an interest in Liu Qingxi and surely won’t let me go. He’s the Crown Prince, Xiao Chen, do you think he would imprison me in the Imperial Prison for Liu Qingxi? I’m scared."
Ye Zhi held onto the little traitor’s sleeve, asking.
In this era where power was paramount, there was some concern that her father, the Chief of Staff, might not match the Crown Prince’s influence.
Before the little traitor could speak, the little prince jumped up, indignantly declared: "He dares, Ah Zhi, don’t worry, if he dares to imprison you, I’ll hit him."