This is a city of lights, starting from the large lanterns with auspicious images of phoenix and dragon at the highest point, and below that are pairs of lanterns!
This is also the most lively place for the Qiqiao Festival in Beijing. You can see this sea of lights from afar, twinkling and inexplicably beautiful.
Some people who are more particular make their own lanterns, draw some obscure patterns or poems on them, and present them to the deceased together as a couple, praying for a better future.
You can also buy them directly from the stalls nearby. The prices are not expensive and there are many styles. Some shops have unique and ingenious designs, which are also popular with many women.
Pei Luoan stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he spoke to a cloaked woman beside him.
The woman was far away from him before, but now she was walking shoulder to shoulder with him. There were couples everywhere here, and two people walking together was nothing special, but the woman's cloak made people look at her a few more times.
Even if it's just a unclear look, I know that this must be a beauty. And looking at the gentle and handsome appearance of the young man walking beside her, I can tell.
"Your Highness, we won't go over there!" Liu Jingyu stopped and looked into the distance. There were more people and it was more crowded, which made her dislike it for no reason.
Today was the first time she and Crown Prince Pei Luoan had made an appointment to celebrate the Qiqiao Festival together.
The last Qiqiao Festival, she celebrated it with Prince Jing Pei Yusheng.
"Don't you want to hang up a concentric lamp?" Pei Luoan asked gently.
Liu Jingyu lowered her head shyly, her eyes flickering, "Your Highness... it would not be good if someone saw this!"
After all, the two of them haven't officially decided on their relationship yet.
Pei Luoan laughed and said openly: "What are you afraid of? This has already been arranged. Even if someone sees it, what does it matter? The Queen Mother said that we only need to choose a date. If we find a suitable one, we can arrange the marriage in advance."
Listening to Pei Luoan talking about their marriage, Liu Jingyu's face became redder and the hand holding the handkerchief moved, "Your Highness, after all... No, and I heard that Your Highness has deep feelings for the former Crown Princess, so it's not appropriate at this time!"
"Hanyue was the woman I loved before, but she is gone after all. I have to look forward. The most important thing is to cherish the person in front of me." Pei Luoan sighed softly and said softly. When he turned his eyes to Liu Jingyu, there was some tender affection in his eyes, and the look in his eyes was very heart-warming.
The hands behind his back were clenched tightly and then relaxed.
He didn't like to mention Ji Hanyue at all. He even felt like he was out of control when the name was mentioned. He couldn't explain why, but he just subconsciously didn't mention it, didn't think about it, and didn't ask about it.
"Your Highness is truly a man of deep affection. No wonder outsiders say that Your Highness loves the late Crown Princess... But it's all in the past!" Liu Jingyu said in a tender voice, raising her head slightly. Her face was revealed under the wide cloak. The face half-hidden behind the cloak was carefully made up, beautiful and charming, especially with this half-hidden face like a hibiscus flower, which exuded a bit of gentleness.
The lights in the distance flickered over.
In the past, Ji Hanyue was someone Liu Jingyu had to look up to. Even though she was a county lady, when facing the second young lady of the Ji family, many people flattered the second young lady, and Liu Jingyu, who had always been the center of attention, lacked a lot. As long as Ji Hanyue was around,
Now, she, Liu Jingyu, will not be the center.
But what about now? Ji Hanyue was already dead, and it was useless for a dead person to talk about nobility!
The corners of his lips curled up silently, and a hint of pride flashed in Liu Jingyu's eyes, but then he looked gentle again.
"Let's not talk about her anymore, let's go over and put up two lanterns?" Pei Luoan pointed to a few stalls in the distance. The stalls were doing good business, with many people selling things, and the quality seemed to be good. Looking at the pairs of lanterns that were taken out, they were all outstanding.
There are pens and ink on the side. You can write by yourself or ask someone to help you write some words, or even secretly write your name on it.
Liu Jingyu looked down on this kind of lanterns from the bottom of her heart, but of course she would not say it openly. She just smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you ever been here with the former Crown Princess to let go of it before?"
Pei Luoan shook his head: "No!"
It’s not that I didn’t want to let go, it’s just that I didn’t have time to do so.
"How could he not let her go? Your Highness has been engaged to the former Crown Princess for a long time, and the Qiqiao Festival in the capital has been celebrated time and time again." Liu Jingyu said in surprise, but the joy in his heart grew even greater. As expected, the deep love and loyalty they talked about were all superficial. If he really had feelings for her, he would not have brought Ji Youran into the mansion.
"I didn't like doing this kind of thing in the past, but now I have some ideas. I wonder if you, the county lord, can accompany me to hang a pair of lanterns?"
When Pei Luoan mentioned Ji Hanyue again and again, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes, but he hid it very well, and he still looked as gentle as jade.
"Okay, but could you please buy two over there? There are too many people over there." Liu Jingyu did not refuse this time and said in a tender voice.
He stretched out his hand and pointed in that direction. It looked very docile, but he was not very happy in his heart.
On a day like this, shouldn't the prince have prepared the Tongxin Lanterns early? Aren't the carefully crafted ones inferior to the ones bought casually from the stall in front of him
But she also knew when to stop. The other party was the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, and it was good enough that he could accompany her here. After all, it was not Ji Hanyue's turn for so many years, right
Pei Luoan nodded, giving Liu Jingyu enough face, and walked slowly forward with a servant dressed as a eunuch, actually going to choose the lanterns himself.
A smile appeared on Liu Jingyu's face, and he was somewhat satisfied. In this world, besides himself, who else could be treated so lovingly by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince
No one else can do it, not even Ji Hanyue. Of course, Ji Youran, a concubine, is not even within Liu Jingyu's consideration.
"Lord Jingyu County!" Suddenly a low voice came to my ears.
The smile on Liu Jingyu's face froze. He turned his head and saw Qu Xuexin, who was dressed in ordinary clothes.
Qu Xuexin's clothes were from Pei Yuanjun's boat. In fact, how could his boat have prepared any good clothes? They were just ordinary maid's clothes, but they looked better than those of ordinary maids.
"What's the matter?" Liu Jingyu asked unhappily.
"That thing didn't work out!" Qu Xuexin cut to the chase.
"It's not a success, it's not a big deal. I get it, Miss Qu, please go back!" Liu Jingyu immediately understood what Qu Xuexin said. His heart skipped a beat and his face turned ugly. He was afraid that the prince would come back at this time, so he could only refuse coldly.
She couldn't let Qu Xuexin stay here. If the prince took a fancy to her, it might cause trouble.
Nothing can happen.
Qu Xuexin didn't expect Liu Jingyu to say such a light remark. She looked at Liu Jingyu in astonishment, only to see Liu Jingyu waving at her, motioning her to leave.
“Then… then my business…” Qu Xuexin said hesitantly. It’s not that she didn’t understand Liu Jingyu’s gesture, but she was unwilling to retreat like this.
Liu Jingyu saw that the Crown Prince seemed to be about to turn around, and hurriedly said: "I know, I will ask my mother to keep an eye on it!"
Hearing Liu Jingyu's agreement, Qu Xuexin was overjoyed. She hurriedly bowed to Liu Jingyu and then left. She had just recognized that the person next to Liu Jingyu was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
I felt both envious and inferior, but at the same time, I became more and more determined that I must find someone rich and powerful in the future and I couldn't just let it go.
Seeing Qu Xuexin leave, Liu Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief. He watched as the prince in front of him turned around, with a gentle smile, handsome as jade, noble, and so affectionate to her. He was indeed a good husband. He felt very lucky in his heart. Fortunately, Ji Hanyue died, otherwise such a good thing would not have happened to him.
The most she could do was marry King Jing and become his princess consort.
Of course, she thought that she could only be a Princess Jing at most in her life, but her mother asked her to wait a little longer, and it turned out that there was a blessing in the future.
Although Prince Jing is also a possibility, Liu Jingyu feels that the prince still has the majority. With his help, it will not be a problem for him to ascend the throne in the future. He is not Ji Hanyue, so how can he compare to Ji Hanyue
Pei Luoan came over personally carrying two lanterns. The ink on the lanterns was not yet dry. This was a pair of poems he had just written. The two lanterns were placed together, and one could tell at a glance that they were a pair.
Looking up at Liu Jingyu, Pei Luoan showed a gentle smile on his face and walked over slowly. But at this moment, something unusual happened. From the shadows behind Liu Jingyu, a figure stumbled over, staggering, and bumped into Liu Jingyu.
Pei Luoan's eyes turned and he wanted to tell Liu Jingyu to be careful, but it was too late, the two had already collided with each other.
Liu Jingyu's attention was on Pei Luoan. There were many people coming and going around her, so she didn't notice someone bumping into her from behind. She fell to the ground with the person, who was half on top of her.
"You... where did you come from, you lunatic? Why don't you get out of the way?" Following Liu Jingyu was her personal maid. Upon seeing this situation, she shouted anxiously and hurried over to pull people away.
The person being pulled was a man, his clothes were still wet. He raised his head in panic, and after seeing the maid's appearance clearly, he suddenly stood up, grabbed the maid and said angrily: "What is the origin of this young lady from the Qu Mansion you asked me to plot against? Are you planning to kill us?"
The maid was stunned for a moment, then took a closer look under the light and immediately recognized him. Wasn't this one of the human traffickers she had contacted? She was frightened and alerted. She also heard what Qu Xuexin and Liu Jingyu had said just now. Didn't they say it didn't work out? Then what was going on with this person
"Tell me, where does this fourth young lady of the Qu family, who you and your master want to plot against, come from?" This man was the young master Wang who had been abducted before. When he saw the maid, his face turned blue with anger and he held the maid's hand and refused to let go.
The maid was so frightened that her hands became messy and she almost screamed, "Who are you? I don't know you. Let me go. I don't know what you are saying!"