When Wen Shuyu woke up, she felt a slight headache, her throat was somewhat dry, and there seemed to be a faint pain on her lips.
She must have drunk too much last night.
She shook her head, gradually regaining consciousness.
The gentle sunlight from outside the window fell on her face. After a moment, she blinked her eyes and rose from the bed.
Xiao Liu was about to approach and ask when Fuling, who was waiting outside, heard the movement and entered. Xiao Liu quickly hid.
Fuling handed over the hangover soup she was holding. “Miss, you’re awake? I’ve prepared some hangover soup for you.”
Wen Shuyu took it and drank it all in one go, still feeling a bit uncomfortable on her lips. She said to Fuling, “Fuling, bring me a bronze mirror. Let me take a look.”
Fuling handed her the bronze mirror.
Wen Shuyu rubbed the redness at the corner of her lips with her fingertips, a puzzled look flashing in her eyes.
After thinking for a moment, she looked at Fuling and suddenly realized, “Fuling, I suspect that last night, I might have forcibly kissed Xiao Jingchen. He, being a decent man, refused to yield even at the cost of his life, but couldn’t push me away, so he bit me, and only then did I let go of him.”
“When I’m drunk, I get quite lustful. I must have had ill intentions toward him and forcibly kissed him.”
“He must have struggled desperately, and I just wouldn’t let go, so both our lips ended up red and sore.”
“Yes, yes, that must be it. Poor Xiao Jingchen, once again taken advantage of by drunk me.”
Fuling blushed slightly. She had noticed last night that her mistress’s lips were much redder than they were now, but as an unmarried woman, she felt too embarrassed to ask.
She nodded. “That should be the case, Miss. Last night, I saw that His Highness’s lips were also red.”
Wen Shuyu chuckled, rising from the bed without a trace of guilt.
Her gaze fell on a jade hairpin glowing with spiritual power beside the dressing table. “What is that?”
Fuling shook her head. “I don’t know, Miss. Last night, when His Highness the Crown Prince brought you back, I helped you freshen up and rest. I took it from your hair.”
Wen Shuyu rubbed her head but couldn’t recall. “I don’t have a hairpin like that. It must have been given to me by Xiao Jingchen.”
“Could it be that he felt guilty after biting me while struggling, so he gave me this hairpin as compensation?”
She found her reasoning quite plausible and walked over to examine the hairpin. Hmm, not bad—this one looks much prettier.
Xiao Liu, hidden nearby, nodded in agreement.
After freshening up, Wen Shuyu ordered breakfast. While eating, she noticed Fuling fiddling with a flower lantern.
Noticing her mistress’s gaze, Fuling looked up and asked, “Miss, tomorrow night is the Lantern Festival. Young men and women in love go to the river to release lanterns and make wishes for a long-lasting relationship. Would you like to invite His Highness the Crown Prince to go with you?”
Wen Shuyu flipped open her Forty-Two Stratagems, her finger resting on “Hidden Scent Drifting.” A meaningful gleam flashed in her eyes.
A smile curled at the corner of her lips. “Of course, this is a perfect opportunity.”
The Lantern Festival was an important occasion in the Xiao Kingdom. Besides young couples making vows of eternal love, children would write their wishes on slips of paper, praying for the Heavenly Dao’s blessings, and families would release Kongming lanterns in memory and blessing of their departed loved ones.
That night, Wen Shuyu peeked into the bamboo courtyard’s sleeping quarters. “Brother Crown Prince, are you asleep?”
Xiao Jingchen: “…”
At this hour, he wouldn’t normally be asleep anyway.
He coughed lightly and shifted his gaze toward the palace door. “Come in, there’s no one.”
Wen Shuyu slipped inside in an instant.
Her eyes fell upon the figure seated by the desk, flipping through memorials, and immediately welled up with tears. She sniffled softly, “Crown Prince Brother, do you know what day it is today?”
Xiao Jingchen glanced at the jade hairpin adorning her hair, then let his gaze drift to the teardrops clinging to the corners of her eyes. His fingers paused slightly. “The Lantern Festival.”
“Crown Prince Brother, you know… I lost my mother when I was just a child,” Wen Shuyu murmured, her damp eyes looking pitifully vulnerable. “Could you accompany me to the lantern fair to release a flower lantern for her?”
“Come here,” Xiao Jingchen beckoned her with a gesture.
As Wen Shuyu approached, his slender fingers picked up a clean handkerchief and gently wiped away the two teardrops at the corners of her eyes. His voice softened, “Don’t be sad. I’ll go with you.”
As if to offer further comfort, he added, “I lost my mother the moment I was born.”
The two exchanged a glance and fell into silence.
And so, the two little souls without mothers made their way to the Shangjing Lantern Fair.
Meanwhile, in Kunning Palace, Empress Gu and Emperor Chongguang were engrossed in painting, their affection for each other palpable.
“Your Majesty, paint here. It looks more beautiful this way.”
Emperor Chongguang held Empress Gu’s hand as they painted, but at some point, his gaze drifted to her face—still as fresh and lovely as a lotus emerging from water, unchanged over the years.
“Indeed, it is beautiful.”
At some unnoticed moment, the brush rolled onto the floor. Emperor Chongguang wrapped his arms around Empress Gu’s waist and guided her toward the couch, seemingly on the verge of indulging in a moment of passion…