Three days later.
As dusk barely settled, Wen Lier unusually climbed into bed early.
Everyone assumed she was also afraid of the meteor shower.
Mama Qin instructed the maids and eunuchs serving in the East Hall to return to their rooms and hide, not to come out tonight.
She originally wanted to keep Qing Mei and Qing Zhu in the bedchamber to attend to Wen Lier, but Wen Lier refused.
“Mama, let them return to their rooms too, to hide inside and not come out. I’m about to sleep, why would I need anyone to attend to me?”
Mama Qin thought it made sense. Once her mistress fell asleep, she hardly ever got up during the night and slept deeply, undisturbed even by thunder.
So she dismissed Qing Mei and Qing Zhu, reminded Wen Lier a few more words, and returned to her own room.
The same situation occurred in the main hall and West Hall of Yaohua Hall. Zhou Momo and Qiu Momo both ordered the attending palace servants to return to their rooms, not to bring misfortune upon their masters.
When the entire hall quieted down, Wen Lier secretly pulled down the blanket, her eyes darting around.
In the bedchamber, only a few lit candlesticks emitted faint crackling sounds.
Outside was extremely quiet too.
Wen Lier quickly got up and put on her outer garment herself.
The spectacular sight of the meteor shower—it’d be a waste not to see it.
After she watched it, she’d sneak back; Mama Qin and the others definitely wouldn’t know.
She didn’t dare tell them, worried they’d be scared to death and she wouldn’t get to see it either.
It was still too early to go now.
Wen Lier moved close to the candlelight and read for an hour.
Making sure it was about time, she secretly opened the hall door and slipped out.
In the imperial palace, there were three extremely tall towers.
One was beside the Imperial Garden, named ‘Wangqiong Tower.’
The second was in Yang Guifei’s Guanju Palace, named ‘Wangyue Tower.’
And the last was in the southwest of the Eastern Palace, near the plum garden, named ‘Star Gazing Tower.’
Wen Lier smoothly made her way to the front of Star Gazing Tower. Carrying a lantern alone as she climbed the high tower, she actually felt a bit scared.
Not afraid of the meteor shower, but at this moment, in such a tall tower, there wasn’t even a ghostly shadow.
On the corridors of each floor, lanterns hung swaying in the wind.
Ugh!
Wouldn’t a ghostly shadow be even scarier?
Wen Lier felt like retreating. Maybe she should just go back to Yaohua Hall and look from there?
But since she’d already come, she shouldn’t make the trip for nothing.
Moreover, standing high here, closer to the sky, the view of the full meteor shower would naturally be more spectacular.
After struggling with herself, Wen Lier kept climbing up the stairs.
Reaching the top floor, she gasped for breath, wishing she could lie down right there.
Why build a tower so high? So exhausting!
At the top of Star Gazing Tower, there was an observation deck with tables, chairs, and a tea table.
Huh?
To Wen Lier’s surprise, there were actually fruits, pastries, and tea on the table.
Did the servants here know in advance that she would come?
That shouldn’t be; she hadn’t told anyone.
Maybe because usually, nobles came here to admire the moon? So the servants prepared them out of routine?
That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
Wen Lier stepped forward, picked up a piece of white jade cake, and just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she heard a light laugh behind her.
“Caught a little food-stealing kitten.”
“Ah… ghost ah…”
Wen Lier was so frightened that the white jade cake flew out of her hand, and she scurried away covering her head.
Yan Shixu was startled by her scream, and seeing her such a cowardly appearance, he laughed aloud again.
Wen Lier found the laughter somewhat familiar and cautiously parted the fingers covering her face.
Through the gaps between her fingers, she saw Yan Shixu standing under the moonlight.
His tall, erect posture resembled a pine tree atop a mountain—masculine and imposing.
“Your… Your Highness?”
“Yes, it is I.”
Wen Lier pressed a hand to her chest as she stood up, complaining, “Your Highness, startling someone like that could frighten them to death.”
Yongtai, who stood behind Yan Shixu, rebuked her angrily, “How dare you! You fail to greet His Highness properly and even dare to accuse him?!”
Wen Lier suddenly realized that the imposing figure before her was the Crown Prince—how could she speak to him so casually?
She stepped forward to make amends.
“Your humble servant pays respects to Your Highness.”
Yan Shixu approached and helped her up, then waved Yongtai away.
Yongtai bowed and retreated.
Only then did Yan Shixu ask Wen Lier, “Why are you here alone tonight, Wen Fengyi?”
Wen Lier replied honestly, “Your Highness, I came to watch the meteor shower.”
Yan Shixu was surprised.
“Wen Fengyi, you’re not afraid?”
Wen Lier shook her head and recounted how she had seen a meteor shower in her childhood.
Hearing this, Yan Shixu smiled and said, “In that case, I can watch it with peace of mind.”
Wen Lier was stunned. So His Highness wasn’t even sure whether watching the meteor shower would bring misfortune—how did he dare to come and see it then?
Yan Shixu explained, “I also saw a meteor shower when I was young, likely the same one you witnessed.”
Wen Lier rested her elbows on the tea table, cupped her chin in her hands, and waited for him to continue.
Yan Shixu recalled the scene from that day, his expression growing distant.
That year, he was only ten.
One day, he accidentally overheard palace servants saying that he was not the Empress’s biological son.
His birth mother was merely a low-ranking concubine in the rear palace.
She had died from postpartum hemorrhage before even getting a chance to lay eyes on him.
Unable to believe it, he ran to the Star Gazing Tower.
He always came here whenever he felt down.
That night, he thought deeply and finally understood why the Empress had always been distant toward him.
He realized that the way she looked at him wasn’t like a mother gazing at her son, but more like she was evaluating a qualified heir.
He was so heartbroken that night that, despite knowing the Imperial Observatory had predicted a meteor shower, he still didn’t return.
He sat quietly on the viewing platform and witnessed the spectacular sight of meteors streaking across the sky.
What had he been thinking then?
He thought that aside from the Empress Dowager, no one in this world truly cared for him.
If watching the meteors brought misfortune and took him from this world, perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Yet, after watching, nothing happened—he lived safely all the way to the present.
Recalling those thoughts, he chuckled softly and shook his head in amusement.
He really had been too young back then, too easily swayed by emotions.
After listening, Wen Lier also felt a pang of sadness.
Though the Crown Prince was born into nobility, he lacked the happiness she had.
She had the love of her parents and elder brother, but His Highness had only the Empress Dowager.
And the Empress Dowager had many imperial grandsons and granddaughters—how much love could she possibly spare for him?
Moreover, Yang Guifei was watching covetously, eager to seize the Crown Prince’s position.
He probably hadn’t had many peaceful days.
At that moment, perhaps due to an overflow of maternal instinct innate to women, Wen Lier instinctively reached out and embraced him, gently patting his back.
“Your Highness, do not grieve. When one is born into this world, eight or nine out of ten things may not go as desired. Though Your Highness has shallow familial ties, you possess the highest status and are the future Son of Heaven of the Great Yan Dynasty, destined to govern the fate of a nation. This is a height that ordinary people could never reach, even in a hundred lifetimes.”