To be honest, Li Chang'an really hadn't intended to eavesdrop.
He had arrived at the Princess's residence later than most. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, everyone crowded around him, offering congratulations on his auspicious betrothal. But though their mouths spoke words of felicitation, their eyes were filled with scrutiny and the anticipation of a good show.
There were too many people eager to witness a spectacle, but since today was his great-aunt's birthday, he couldn't very well leave early. So he could only find a place to hide.
Little did he expect to overhear his own younger brother confessing his feelings to his betrothed.
Was this an attempt to steal her away?
Still, the Pei girl surprised him. Faced with someone as favored by heaven as Prince Shou, she could rebuff him so cleanly and ruthlessly.
Li Chang'an was still shaking his head inwardly when his attendant Tingshu suddenly appeared. A startled "Your Highness, the Crown Prince" nearly made him fall off the rockery. His gaze instantly turned cold as he shot Tingshu a glare.
Tingshu quickly added, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, where are you?"
Tingshu circled around the rockery and spotted Prince Shou approaching. He hurriedly bowed in respect. "Your Highness, Prince Shou, have you seen my master?"
Li Changjian was stopped by Tingshu's call and could only pause to say no. After Tingshu left, he entered the rockery to check.
But there was no one in the rockery. Still, Li Changjian's heart was uneasy—if his words just now had been overheard by the Crown Prince, that would not bode well.
As for Pei Yue, she had hurried away before Tingshu emerged. Though nothing had happened between her and Prince Shou, she still had to protect her reputation. Being seen alone with a man, no matter the circumstances, would not reflect well on her.
Thinking back to the words Prince Shou had spoken in his confession, Pei Yue felt vexed. She didn't know whether the Crown Prince had truly been behind the rockery. If he had heard those words, then she… well, never mind. She had no desire to marry the Crown Prince anyway. If he went to the Emperor to annul the engagement because of this, she would be more than happy.
Pei Yue walked quickly and, as she turned a corner, nearly collided with An Yingying, who was coming from the opposite direction.
"Yue'er, why are you walking so fast? Did someone upset you?" An Yingying asked.
Pei Yue didn't want to stir up more trouble, so she shook her head and said no. "I thought the banquet was about to start, so I was hurrying along."
"It is about to start—that's exactly what I came to tell you." Hearing that Pei Yue was fine, An Yingying didn't think much of it. "There are a lot of people here today, so Mother specially arranged for you to sit at our main table, to spare you from having to deal with those gossiping women."
"Aunt is very thoughtful." Pei Yue set aside the matter of Prince Shou for now and followed her cousin into the banquet.
Pei Yue's aunt, Princess Huiping, was the only daughter of Princess Jing'an. In earlier years, because the Yuan family had coveted the inheritance of the Princess's lineage, Princess Huiping had simply given her eldest son to her mother as an adopted heir, cutting off any improper designs the Yuan relatives might have had. This made her somewhat different from other married daughters.
Princess Huiping, like An Yingying, wore her emotions on her face. The moment she saw Pei Yue, she came over and pulled her to sit down. "You just sit here with us. Don't bother with anyone else."
After settling Pei Yue, Princess Huiping went to receive the other guests.
An Yingying whispered in Pei Yue's ear, "Just now, two people were gossiping about you. Mother charged right over. If Grandmother hadn't been there, those two would probably have gotten a beating from Mother. They were thrown out anyway. Mother really looks out for you."
If this were an ordinary conversation, it naturally wouldn't have provoked such anger. An Yingying hadn't gone into detail, but Pei Yue could guess what had been said—nothing more than remarks about her ill-fated lot in life: born into an excellent family, yet married to an incompetent Crown Prince, and if the Prince were deposed, she would follow him to meet the King of Hell. Pei Yue had felt such words too many times through the pitying looks in others' eyes.
The feast at the Eldest Princess's residence was exquisite and elegant, the flavors naturally superb, but Pei Yue had little appetite. She barely endured until the meal concluded, and when the crowd was about to head to the garden for pitch-pot and other amusements, An Yingying suddenly pulled Pei Yue aside with a mysterious air.
"Cousin, the way you're looking at me—are you plotting some mischief again?" A passing cloud happened to shield the sun just then. Pei Yue asked in a low voice, then glanced up at the dark clouds, worried it might rain again.
"I'm married now, so things are different." An Yingying hummed as she took Pei Yue's hand. The two stood by an empty flower bed, and she said slyly, "You've never seen the Crown Prince, have you? As it happens, he's a guest here today too. How about I take you to sneak a peek at him?"
When they were young, An Yingying had often snuck out of the manor with Pei Yue. One was the daughter of the Grand Secretary, the other the daughter of the Grand General—both were bold by nature, quite unlike the typical young ladies who never left their homes.
As they grew older, the two gradually became more composed, but the daring in their bones remained.
Though she had no desire to marry the Crown Prince, an imperial edict of betrothal had bound Pei Yue to him. If she said she wasn't curious, that would be a lie.
Seeing Pei Yue hesitate, An Yingying simply tugged her hand and pulled her forward, coaxing, "At the year-end palace banquet, I happened to catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince once. When it comes to looks, there's truly no one in this world who can match him. His handsomeness is the kind I can't even put into words. Let's take a quick peek, and you'll have a sense of what to expect."
Rumors in the streets also held that the Crown Prince was exceptionally handsome, but that he had no interest in women, often frequenting pleasure houses, and was said to keep many handsome young men outside the palace. With his striking face, he was said to be unbeatable in the world of romance.
An Yingying led Pei Yue to a pavilion, where from the second-floor window, one could see the area where the male guests were playing pitch-pot and cuju.
An Yingying leaned by the window, craning her neck to scan carefully outside, but after quite a while, she still hadn't spotted the Crown Prince. "How strange—why can't I see the Crown Prince anywhere?"
Pei Yue also leaned out curiously. The Crown Prince's attire differed from ordinary men's, so even without having met him, she could recognize him by his clothing. Yet Pei Yue couldn't find him either.
"Cousin, let's not bother looking." With no one around at the moment, Pei Yue spoke frankly, "Even if we can't dissolve the engagement right now, I still can't marry the Crown Prince. You know that the Empress Dowager and Prince Shou have been eyeing the position of heir apparent, and several other princes are eager to make their move. If I marry the Crown Prince, not only would I be dragged into it, but the Pei family, the An family, and my grand-uncle's household in the northwest would all be pulled into the struggle for succession."
More than a decade ago, Grand Secretary Pei had already been dragged into three succession struggles. In one of them, the Pei family had their property confiscated, and Grand Secretary Pei was exiled to a desolate island. Just thinking about that incident made Pei Yue unwilling to marry into the Eastern Palace, so knowing what the Crown Prince looked like wasn't important to her.
Moreover, the betrothal edict had already been issued, and the engagement couldn't be annulled anytime soon—she would see him eventually.
An Yingying couldn't grasp such complicated matters; she only knew to feel sorry for Pei Yue. "Alright then, let's not look."
Just as she finished speaking, An Yingying spotted a figure in bright yellow emerging from the main hall and exclaimed excitedly, "Yue'er, come quick, the Crown Prince has appeared!"
Hearing this, Pei Yue turned to look, but by the time she caught sight of him, the Crown Prince had already reached the side gate. In the blink of an eye, he had passed through it, leaving only a glimpse of a tall, slender, upright back.
"Ah, what a pity—why did he leave so quickly?" An Yingying sighed, settling into the grand armchair. She picked up her teacup with a graceful air, took a small sip, and mused as the fragrance lingered on her lips, "I recall that when the Crown Prince was young and being pursued by assassins, it was your father who saved him, wasn't it?"
Pei Yue nodded. "I was only two at the time—too young to remember much clearly. But my father mentioned it later, saying that when the Crown Prince stayed at our home, he showed remarkable talent in both scholarship and martial arts. He could grasp things from a single example and infer the rest, and he endured hardship with great perseverance. But after returning to his fiefdom, he fell gravely ill, and that's how he became what he is today."