sjar Chapter 479 Meeting at the Lantern Festival
Chapter 479 Meeting at the Lantern Festival
Jin Er said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. These are all ready. Your Highness and the Queen can just go out and have fun."
Xing Luo was surprised. When were these things prepared? How come she had no idea about it?
Jin'er gave her a secret look, which she had prepared long ago, just to give the princess a surprise. The princess had been frowning these days, and now that she could go out to see the lanterns with His Highness, she should be in a much better mood.
So the two of them got ready and went straight out of the palace.
The imperial city was lit up by lanterns, making it look like daytime. Half the sky was illuminated red, which was truly beautiful.
Xing Luo lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. There were huge crowds of people outside, and it was very lively.
The corners of Tang Yi's lips curled up slightly, and no one knew what he was thinking. The light coming through from outside the carriage shone on his face, which was so handsome that it angered both humans and gods, making his expression a little gloomy.
"Your Highness seems to be in a good mood today?"
Princess Xingluo suddenly spoke, and Tang Yi nodded slightly, "Not bad!"
Xing Luo was a little unwilling to give up and continued to ask, "But the Saint and the others' whereabouts have been discovered."
Tang Yi glanced at Xing Luo with an ambiguous expression and said in a somewhat cold tone, "It's best if you don't interfere in the affairs of the court!"
Xing Luo's eyes darkened, "I obey your command!"
The carriage soon fell into silence again. Neither of them spoke, but Xing Luo suddenly lost the excitement she had when she first came out. The man who came with her to see the lanterns was now thinking about other women, which really made her feel uncomfortable.
After a long while, Tang Yi probably felt a little depressed in the carriage, so he leaned out to look at the scenery outside. Suddenly, his eyes were attracted by something, and he shouted loudly: "Stop!"
Xing Luo was confused and followed Tang Yi's gaze. They were an ordinary-looking couple, both of whom seemed to be quite old. Even under the bright and soft lights, it was obvious that the woman's face was not very good, but the man behind her was half-hugging her in his arms, with pity and love in his eyes self-evident. At this moment, the man was putting a hairpin on the woman's head. The woman had her eyes slightly closed, with a look of happiness on her face.
Xing Luo turned to look at Tang Yi, only to see that his eyes were extremely complicated, as if he was envious, dazed, and a little helpless.
"Your Highness, what's wrong? Do you know them?"
Tang Yi suddenly withdrew his gaze, and told the coachman to drive again, saying in a cold voice: "I don't know him! I just saw him wrongly."
Yu Qingli, who was in the crowd, reached out and touched the flower hairpin Murong Yanhui had put in for her, completely unaware of Tang Yi's gaze. "Isn't this flower too gorgeous?"
"It's not gorgeous at all. Only a color like this is worthy of you, my lady."
"But……"
"Don't worry, this is quite beautiful, isn't it? Xiluo, Changkong and the others should have found their boat by now, let's go release the river lanterns together later."
Murong Yanhui put the beautiful flower on Yu Qingli's head regardless of Yu Qingli's attempt to stop him. Yu Qingli sighed helplessly and said, "Okay, I'll just satisfy King Yan's little vanity."
The two walked slowly in the bustling crowd. Murong Yanhui held Yu Qingli in his arms, worried that someone would accidentally bump into her. Yu Qingli could only express helplessness about Murong Yanhui's overprotection, but fortunately, she was now playing the role of a sickly person, so it didn't matter if she was a little weak.
Yu Qingli and Murong Yanhui held hands, as if everyone around them had become the background, and they were a beautiful picture.
Gradually they reached the river, and Yu Qingli saw Xiluo's figure from afar. Changkong beside her considerately put a cloak on her shoulders. Xiluo seemed to want to refuse. After Changkong said something, Xiluo slowly let go of her hand.
Yu Qingli asked curiously, "Murong Yanhui, what's up with that Changkong beside you? He seems to be interested in Xiluo. If that's the case, why didn't he confess his feelings earlier? Doesn't he know about Xiluo's previous relationship with Prince Alai?"
Murong Yanhui looked innocent and spread her hands, saying, "I really don't know about this. Changkong is a dull person and doesn't talk much on weekdays. He only occasionally speaks a few words when he is with people he knows well. I only recently discovered that Changkong seems to have some special feelings for Xiluo. But this is really a bit difficult to deal with. Is Xiluo's heart still with that Prince Alai?"
Yu Qingli also frowned. Changkong was a good person. The important thing was that he knew Xiluo inside and out. Moreover, he had always taken good care of Xiluo. Compared with Prince Alai, he was indeed more reliable. However, if he really had feelings for Xiluo, why didn't he tell her when he had so many opportunities?
"Lili, you don't have to worry about these things. To be honest, Xiluo and Changkong can be considered fellow disciples. They have both been with me for quite some time. Over the years, I really haven't figured out Changkong's thoughts. Perhaps, we are just overthinking it."
Yu Qingli glanced at Changkong who was tidying Xiluo's hair and sighed in her heart, I hope so, but who can say for sure about matters of the heart?
Yu Qingli was led out of the crowd by Murong Yanhui and came to the riverside, where a flower boat had been parked early. There were low tables and fine wines on the boat, and several finished lanterns were placed on the bow, which were exquisite and beautiful.
"Miss, Master, you are finally here. We have been here for a long time, feeling the river breeze."
"Really? No wonder your face is so red."
Yu Qingli teased, her eyes flickering between Changkong and Xiluo.
Xiluo's ears turned red, but she didn't say anything back. Yu Qingli thought there was a chance. It seemed that Xiluo was not so averse to Changkong.
As they were talking, a voice came from behind them asking, "Hey everyone, my young master and young lady would like to ask if the flower boat behind you is yours and if they can rent it?"
Murong Yanhui and Yu Qingli smiled at each other. They hadn't even boarded the ship yet, but someone had already set their sights on their ship.
Seeing no one answering for a long time, the maid seemed a little unhappy and her tone became a little stiff. "You may not know, but my young master and young lady are of noble status. It is a blessing for you to be able to requisition your ship."
Seeing that Yu Qingli and the others still didn't answer immediately, he continued, "Don't worry about money. Is one ingot of silver enough?"
If the maid had been more polite, Yu Qingli and the others might have considered it. But now that the maid was arrogant, Xiluo quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Yu Qingli. "What's the point of being noble? Don't your young master and young lady eat whole grains? What are you showing off about? This flower boat was custom-made by my master for his mistress. I wouldn't rent it even if it cost a fortune! Who cares about you two bastards? It's just silver. Everyone has seen it before."
Changkong also stepped forward to block the maid, "My wife is in poor health and is not used to meeting strangers. Please step back!"
The maid was about to say something when a voice stopped her, "Jin'er, don't be rude!"
Yu Qingli looked up and was dumbfounded. It was true that people meet each other everywhere in life. She didn't expect to meet Princess Xingluo while visiting a lantern festival. What was even more unfortunate was that Tang Yi was also there.
Yu Qingli subconsciously took a step back and nestled into Murong Yanhui's arms. Fortunately, Xiluo and Changkong stood in front of them, and Princess Xingluo and Tang Yi had not yet met them.
Xing Luo said gently and politely, "My maid was rude just now. Please don't take offense. My husband and I saw that this flower boat was so unique that we were wondering if we could rent one or two. I really didn't mean to offend you."
The other party has been so polite. If Yu Qingli and the others don't show any appreciation, it would seem a bit petty.
Murong Yan took the initiative to step forward and said, "Miss, you are too polite. It is only because my wife is not feeling well that we specially ordered this flower boat. This is also my gift to my wife, so I am really sorry."
"Boss Huang, what a coincidence!"
Tang Yi suddenly spoke. When he first saw these two people, he was surprised. Now when he saw them again, he couldn't help but feel emotional. It seemed that he and this couple were really destined to meet each other everywhere.
Murong Yanhui carefully examined Tang Yi's face, then suddenly opened her eyes wide and pretended to be very surprised. "Aren't you the official from before?"
Tang Yi smiled upon seeing this, "Thank you, Boss Huang, for remembering me. I never thought that Boss Huang is such a devoted man that he even personally ordered a flower boat for his wife to use for releasing river lanterns. I really admire you."
"Sir, please don't laugh at me, Huang. I had no choice but to do this. The night breeze on the river is very cold, and I was worried that my wife wouldn't be able to handle it, so I ordered this flower boat."
Tang Yi discussed with Murong Yanhui, "My wife really likes this flower boat. I wonder if we can rent it to her."
"I'm afraid this is not appropriate." Murong Yanhui refused to give in.
Yu Qingli, who was standing by, reached out and tugged at Murong Yanhui's sleeve, lowering her voice and saying, "Seventh Master, I think that lady just wants to release a lantern. Why don't you lend them this flower boat first?"
Murong Yanhui frowned and said seriously, "But didn't we agree to release the river lanterns together? What will we do if we lend them?"
Yu Qingli coughed twice deliberately, "The wind on the river is very strong today. I think we should go back early."
Murong Yanhui's face darkened, and he looked extremely dissatisfied. He turned to Tang Yi and the others and said, "Sir, you heard it too. If I lend you this flower boat, my wife will have to go back. She's been feeling unwell and rarely goes out to play. Now, she's finally able to come across such a lively Lantern Festival..."
Murong Yanhui didn't continue speaking, but the meaning was very clear. The appearance of Tang Yi and others had disturbed them.