Huan Xuan stood in the corridor, staring at the snow.
Snow fell earlier in the border areas than in the capital, with hail starting to fall in August and September. In the past three years, every first snowy night, he would drink alone in his tent.
The first time he saw Ruan Yuewei was on the first snow of a certain year.
He was young at that time, but he vaguely remembered that he was in the courtyard of Tangli Palace. The tiles and dead branches were covered with a thin layer of snow, and the mud was still black.
Tangli Palace is a small side palace in the Empress Dowager's Palace. No one lives there on weekdays. It is occasionally used as a guest house. He likes the ginkgo trees and stone pillars in the courtyard and always plays here.
He seemed to be alone that day, which was also common. The Queen Mother didn't care about him, and the Queen didn't ask much. The palace servants knew that the third prince was not favored. They didn't like his loneliness and quietness, and they knew that he was taciturn and would not complain. As long as Gao Ma and Gao Mai were not around, he would always find ways to shirk his responsibilities, lock the courtyard door and let him play alone in the courtyard, and chat and do embroidery in groups.
Ruan Yuewei appeared at that time.
He didn't know when she came in, nor did he know how she got into the locked yard. He only remembered that he was squatting under the ginkgo tree in the yard to bury a dead bird when he suddenly heard a "bang" sound. He turned around and saw a little girl in red clothes standing behind him.
Her red clothes were like a burning fire in the grey and withered winter scene. Her face was also red like a ripe apple. Her eyes were brighter than her fiery red clothes and brighter than a lonely star in the cold night.
He had never seen such a bright and lively person. His days before were repetitive, monotonous and dull, like a gray mist, and she was like a ray of light that penetrated the gray mist.
But he was still young at that time, and it was difficult for him to describe his feelings. He just stood there stiffly, staring at her without blinking.
He opened his mouth, but before he could think of what to say, she spoke first: "Who are you? Why are you hiding here alone?"
She had a gap in her front teeth and her speech was somewhat lisp.
He frowned: "I'm not alone."
He pointed at her: "And you."
She was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "You are right. Then whose child are you?"
"I am the Third Prince." The palace maids and eunuchs all called him that.
The girl nodded: "Who is the queen to you?"
He pursed his lips: "It's my mother."
The girl said, "I just came from Huiyin Palace and saw your brother and sister. Why aren't you with them?"
He pursed his lips and said angrily: "I hate them."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise: "How could that be? Your Highness, please be fine."
Even her eyebrows were beautiful and lively, and they looked particularly bright against her snow-white skin.
Such a handsome man also likes his elder brother.
They all liked his eldest brother, his father and mother, brothers and sisters, everyone liked him. His eldest brother was like the moon, who could not like the moon? Even he himself, although he was reluctant to admit it, always secretly looked forward to the day when his brothers came to pay their respects to their grandmother.
An indescribable disappointment surged in his small chest.
He frowned: "I hate him the most."
After saying that, he turned around, squatted down again, picked up the unsharpened machete and continued digging.
The girl squatted beside him, holding her chin in her hand, curiously poked his dead bird with her black deerskin boots, then looked at the small hole he had dug: "What are you doing?"
He thought she was noisy, but didn't want to pay attention to her, so he deliberately threw dirt on her pretty little boots.
The girl seemed not to realize that he was doing it on purpose, so she patted her boots to shake off the mud and continued to chat with him: "Where did this bird come from? Are you kidding me?"
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at her.
"Have you ever eaten roasted sparrow?" She stretched out her foot and poked the poor bird again. "It should be roasted until it is sizzling and oily, and sprinkled with salt, but no other seasonings. It is very delicious, but there is not enough meat..."
He interrupted her and stretched out his little feet to push her feet away: "You can't eat it, it's mine."
The girl swallowed and said in defense, "I didn't mean to eat it. I just wanted to tell you that roasted sparrow tastes good."
"You raised it?" the girl changed the subject. "How did you kill it?"
"It's a pick-up," he said. "Dead."
"What are you doing digging a hole?"
He glanced at her sideways: "This is not a pit."
"It's just a pit," she asked curiously, "Isn't it a pit?"
"It's the palace," he hated people who asked questions, "you are annoying, please leave."
But she didn't leave. She took out a paper bag from her bosom and opened it, revealing candied plums.
"Do you want to eat?" she asked him.
He shook his head and was about to open his mouth to chase her away, but a plum was already blocked in his mouth.
The sweet and sour taste melts on the tip of your tongue.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I forgot, my hands just touched my feet, and they are still covered in mud!"
His face suddenly turned green, and he wanted to vomit, but was afraid that she would be angry.
"I was kidding you," the girl smiled and touched his head, "you touched the shoes with your right hand, and you grabbed the plums with your left hand. You are so funny."
But the one who touched his head was his right hand, so he quickly dodged.
She stuffed the paper bag into his hand, took the unsharpened knife from his hand, and twirled it deftly between her fingers. He was stunned.
"Isn't it great?" She laughed, "Let me do it. You're digging too slowly."
She indeed dug much faster than he did. Although he didn't say it, he admired her deeply in his heart.
The "palace" was dug, it was a neat rectangle. He took out a handkerchief, wrapped the bird up, held it carefully, and put it in.
She kicked the dirt in with her deer boots, and the two of them held the dirt in their hands and piled up a small hill to make a grave. They also placed two rows of stones symmetrically in front of it to make stone statues.
Before she had finished placing the stones in her hands, the gate opened and a palace maid with a strange face ran in: "Young lady, Madam Su has been looking for you everywhere..."
The girl said to him, "I'm leaving now."
He grabbed the corner of her clothes fiercely: "Don't leave."
She touched his head apologetically and said, "I'm going home now. I'll come play with you next time I go to the palace."
He pursed his lips and grabbed her relentlessly: "When will you enter the palace again?"
She thought for a moment, spat out a plum pit from her mouth, buried it in the grave, and patted the soil: "I will come back when the plum tree grows."
As she coaxed him, she gently removed his muddy little fingers one by one.
Then she followed the palace maid and left as suddenly as she had come. The door closed, leaden clouds gathered around, and snow began to fall from the sky again.
He rubbed his eyes and soon began to wonder if he was dreaming.
It was not until Nanny Gao came looking for him that he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask the girl's name.
He only remembered a "Madam Su", so he asked Grandma Gao: "Who is Madam Su?"
Grandma Gao asked, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Madam Su is the mother of your third cousin from the Ruan family."
He secretly kept the third cousin of the Ruan family in his heart.
Every three to five days, he would run to Tangli Palace and pour water on their graves, hoping that the plum kernels would take root and sprout soon.
The honey-pickled plum pits would not sprout by themselves, but in the winter of the following year, the cousin from the Ruan family really came back. He watched the eunuchs and palace servants busy bringing her in boxes and cages and moving them into the Tangli Palace.
And she stood in front of him with a smile on her face.
She was taller, no longer noisy, no longer wearing red clothes, and her smile was reserved. She held his hand and said softly, "Your Highness, are you alone? I am alone too. From now on, we will keep each other company and we will never be lonely again."
It was the dead of winter with heavy snow, but the plum seeds he had planted last year had quietly sprouted in his heart.
…
Huan Xuan pinched his brows, looked back at the low-hanging bamboo curtain, slowly walked out of Qixia Pavilion, called Gao Mai and ordered: "Clean up this courtyard."
After a pause, he added: "I come to stay here occasionally."
Gao Mai knew that what His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi meant by "tidying up" was to replace all the utensils and to replace them according to the specifications of his daily life.
"I will take people to the treasury to select them right away." Gao Mai said.
Huan Xuan nodded, and then said, "Choose from the small warehouse."
Gao Mai was stunned. Everyone close to the King of Qi knew that there were two storehouses in the palace. The small storehouse was located in the main courtyard of the King of Qi's residence and no one was allowed to enter.
Needless to say, the items in the library were exquisite and rare, but most importantly, almost every item had a crabapple pattern, from beds, desks, and screens to silks, incense burners, vases, hairpins, and jewelry.
The third wife of the Ruan family was nicknamed Atang. Because she loved crabapple flowers the most, many of her clothes and accessories had crabapple patterns on them. Because of her, whenever Huan Xuan saw good things with crabapple patterns, he would spend a fortune to buy them and put them in his storehouse. Although he didn't say it, everyone close to him knew that those were prepared for Mrs. Ruan, and ordinary people were not qualified to enter the storehouse.
However, after Madam Ruan entered the Eastern Palace, these items full of love and affection lost their purpose.
It is somewhat surprising that it is now used by Lady Lu.
Gao Mai thought about it and understood that Lady Lu was Ruan Yuewei's substitute, and giving her her help could make up for the lack in His Highness' heart.
Huan Xuan glanced at the desolate courtyard again and said, "Move some flowers and trees from Nanshan."
Nanshan Villa is located outside Guocheng, and is also Huanxuan's manor. The entire hillside is planted with crabapples, with tens of thousands of them, many of which are famous varieties moved from Jiangnan and Shu.
Gao Mai should be.
Huan Xuan walked out of the yard, stopped, looked up at the three words "Qixia Pavilion", and said thoughtfully: "Let's change it to Tangli Courtyard."
In fact, there were no pear trees planted inside or outside the courtyard, Gao Mai knew that. The name was changed to this because Madam Ruan lived in a small side hall when she was in the Empress Dowager's palace, so it was called Tangli Hall.
Gao Mai pretended not to notice and bowed to ask, "Your Highness, where should Lady Lu be placed while the Tangli Garden is being renovated?"
Huan Xuan gave him a sidelong look and said in a cold voice, "You can't arrange such a small matter? Do you still need to ask me?"
Gao Mai knew that this was not an intention to let Madam Lu stay in Qinghan Courtyard temporarily, and he immediately said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I was confused. I will clean up Wutong Cottage for Madam Lu. That courtyard is close to Tangli Courtyard, so it is convenient for coming and going."
It is close to Tangli Courtyard, which is also close to Qinghan Courtyard, making it convenient for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi to summon people to sleep with him.
Gao Mai was always considerate and thorough. Huan Xuan nodded and said, "I will be staying in Shanchiyuan for a while. Please arrange for someone to move my daily belongings here. If Song Jun and the others have anything to report, please send them a letter first."
Song Jun was the head of the Qi king's staff.
Gao Mai couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this, he knew his master well and he was definitely not a lustful person, he probably didn't go back to the palace just to get some quiet time.
Although Gao Mai is an eunuch, to be able to sit in this position, he has to keep an eye on all directions and have a clear understanding of the direction of the court.
Recently, the court has been divided into several factions over the issue of military power. One faction argues that the rebellion in the four towns has been quelled, and that it is not in accordance with the system for Huanxuan, as a prince, to control the Shenyi Army, and he should hand over the tiger talisman. The other faction, led by the Right Prime Minister and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, believes that the court consumes a lot of taxes and grain to maintain a large number of troops, and the army should be disbanded. Still another faction argues that not only should the Shenyi Army not be disbanded, but tens of thousands of strong men should be recruited and led by the Prince of Qi to take over the three towns while the civil strife in Heshuo is going on.
The most ambiguous thing is the emperor's attitude - not long after the prince's wedding, the emperor handed over the government affairs to the prince and returned to the hot spring palace.
However, military and national affairs, and the appointment of officials above the fifth rank, were still decided by the emperor.
Gao Mai served Huan Xuan and knew that the relationship between the emperor and the crown prince was not as loving and filial as it seemed.
The emperor, the crown prince, court officials and government officials all have their own thoughts. They cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake at this time. If they are not careful, everything will be ruined.
He claimed to be ill and lived in seclusion in the mountains and ponds, and even refused to see his own staff, just because he didn't want to give anyone any handle.
Gao Mai couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the arrogant young man who showed his emotions on his face three years ago had finally settled down and became more shrewd than ordinary people.
After giving the order, Huan Xuan returned to his own Qinghan Courtyard.
Gao Mai was efficient and immediately ordered the servants to clean up the Wutong Cottage and let Lu Suisui and everyone in the yard move in.
Then he went to the palace again, and before sunset, he moved to the Shanchi Courtyard all the clothes that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi usually wore, the books he liked to read, the calligraphy he liked to copy, the zither and sword he practiced, the study, and the chessboard.
Sui Sui originally thought that Huan Xuan was going back to the palace, but when he saw the servants filing into Qinghan Courtyard to move things, he realized that he was going to stay there for a long time.
She knew what was going on after a brief thought. It seemed that the situation in the court was even more tense than she had imagined.
Huan Xuan was in the center of the storm, but he was able to keep his composure. If he had been more impatient, he would have been discussing countermeasures with his staff day and night. However, he locked himself in a mountain pond to avoid suspicion, and even refused to see his staff in the palace. He made such an attitude for the emperor to see and to prevent the prince from finding fault.
Sui Sui couldn't help but look at this young prince with a new respect. It seemed that he was not only a good general, but also more cunning than she expected.
Huan Xuan stayed in the Shanchi Courtyard and summoned Sui Sui to sleep with him almost every night. However, he was mostly alone during the day, reading, practicing calligraphy, and playing the zither and composing music in his study.
Occasionally, he would call her to his study to teach her how to play chess, but he could only teach her a few moves before he would think of the incident on the day of the rainstorm, and he would have to review it again. In the end, she only learned chess in a fragmentary way, but she became more proficient in other things through practice.
Huan Xuan finally realized that he was not cut out for Mr. Xu, so he threw her a simple chess manual and asked her to go back and memorize it.
Unexpectedly, this hunter girl had a good memory. Within three to five days, she had memorized all the chess manuals. Gradually, she was able to play a few moves with him.
About half a month later, Qixia Pavilion was finally renovated and officially named Tangliyuan.
Chun Tiao looked at the three characters on the plaque and asked the eunuch who was carrying boxes and cages for them, "There are neither crabapples nor pear trees in our yard, so why did we change the name to Tangli Courtyard?"
The young eunuch knew the whole story. He glanced at Sui Sui's face with a guilty conscience and said with a smile, "There are crabapples. Chief Steward Gao specially sent people to move several rare and famous varieties to His Highness' Nanshan Villa. The crabapple tree under the steps was moved from the forbidden garden of the previous dynasty. In spring, the tree is full of flowers, like pink snow, so beautiful! As for the pear blossom... that was just a coincidence when naming it, there is no other meaning."
Seeing that Chun Tiao was still frowning and doubtful, the young eunuch hurriedly changed the subject and said to Sui Sui: "Look, Madam Lu, the words on this plaque were written by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi himself!"
Sui Sui raised his head and took a quick look. Huan Xuan's handwriting was really good. It was vigorous yet elegant. The character "唐" was especially good. He must have practiced it thousands or tens of thousands of times.
She said sincerely: "Your Highness's handwriting is really good."
When he walked into the courtyard, he saw that the railings and walls had been repainted, the red railings and white walls looked brand new, all the weeds in the yard had been removed, and the old plum tree had been uprooted and replaced with the crabapple tree that the young eunuch had mentioned.
Sui Sui felt it was a pity that she didn't live to see the flowers bloom and would never know the color of that plum tree again.
When the master and servant walked into the room, Chun Tiao immediately exclaimed "Ah!"
The changes in the interior were earth-shaking. Not only had all the tables, screens and curtains been replaced, but the objects there were so exquisite and gorgeous that Chun Tiao had never seen them before, and she could not even imagine them in her dreams.
Sui Sui thought she was more knowledgeable than a maid in the governor's mansion, but she couldn't help but be secretly surprised. She could see that most of these artifacts were made inside, and there were even valuable antiques, not to mention the gold and jade vessels. Just the folding screen with crabapple and pear blossoms painted by a world-renowned painter in front of the bed was a treasure worth a fortune.
The newly laid Xuanzhou silk carpet in front of the bed was embroidered with a crabapple pattern in gold thread, so exquisitely crafted that one could not bear to step on it.
Not only the furnishings, but also the beams and pillars of the house were newly painted, and every room on the flat roof was decorated with golden crabapple flowers.
The only thing that survived was the ordinary bed - the bed was narrow and not very sturdy. I wonder why the pampered Prince Qi was interested in it.
Apart from this, this furnishing would be enough to be moved to Penglai Palace for the empress and concubines to live in.
Other things would be fine, but the most thoughtful thing was to build a bathhouse behind the dormitory. Its structure was similar to the one in Qinghan Courtyard, with hot water directly drawn from stone pipes, but the bathtub was smaller.
Chun Tiao felt that the sight was so dazzling that even his eyes were not enough to take it all in. He touched the incense burner and tugged at the brocade curtain. He looked like he was dreaming. After a long while, he said to Sui Sui, "My lady, His Highness treats you so well."
After a pause, he continued, "Your Highness, do you like crabapple flowers? Why is there a crabapple painted on the screen, and there are crabapple flowers embroidered on the curtains and clothes, and even this incense burner is engraved with crabapple patterns..."
Sui Sui didn't say anything, but just smiled faintly.
Chun Tiao laughed foolishly for a long time, and finally remembered to pack up. He put the two people's boxes and clothes in place. It was noon, so he went to the kitchen to serve meal.
This trip delayed him for quite a while. When he returned to Tangli Courtyard with the lunch box, the joy on Chun Tiao's face had disappeared. His brows were full of indignation. He looked at Sui Sui with something to say but stopped.
Sui Sui asked, "What's wrong?"
Chun Tiao pursed his lips and opened the lunch box: "No, my lady, please prepare lunch. The weather is cold and the food should be cold."
The food box is embellished with a gold and silver flat-bottomed crabapple pattern, the bowl is embellished with a gilded crabapple petal pattern, and the plates are a set of crabapple plates - five small plates forming a crabapple flower.
Sui Sui took the jade chopsticks from Chun Tiao's hand—even the end of the chopsticks was embedded with a small golden crabapple.
At the sight of those crabapple blossoms, Chun Tiao's lips pouted even higher.
Sui Sui picked up a piece of Begonia cake and asked, "Who made Sister Chun Tiao unhappy?"
Chun Tiao has never been one to keep things to herself: "I just went to the kitchen and happened to hear some gossip. I feel suffocated if I don't say it out, but I'm afraid that it will upset my wife if I say it out."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Sister Chun Tiao, just tell me. I won't necessarily be sad if you tell me. But if you don't, I'm sure you'll feel bad."
Chun Tiao gritted his teeth and said, "Madam, do you know why there are things with crabapple patterns everywhere in this yard?"
Sui Sui asked: "Why?"
Chun Tiao lowered his voice and said, "It turns out that the Crown Princess likes crabapples. This is a well-known fact in Chang'an. The Crown Prince built a crabapple garden for her in the East Palace and planted thousands of crabapples. And..."
She paused and said, "It is said that the Crown Princess was raised in the Empress Dowager's Palace when she was young, and the place where she lived was called Tangli Palace."
Sui Sui Bu Wei smiled and said, "That's it?"
Chun Tiao raised his eyebrows: "Madam, don't you feel wronged and uncomfortable?"
Sui Sui took a bite of the crabapple cake, swallowed it slowly, looked around and said, "Isn't this house beautiful?"
After a pause, he continued, "Are these things not good?"
These things were too good, even too good, so good that Lu Suisui, of his status, was not even worthy of touching or looking at them, let alone eating them.
Chun Tiao nodded reluctantly: "The food is good, but..."
She had just heard a sentence but did not dare to tell Lu Suisui. The servants in the palace said that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi treated Madam Lu like this because she looked somewhat like the Crown Princess.
Chun Tiao put herself in the other's shoes and thought, if it were her, she would be surrounded by things that her lover had carefully prepared for another woman. She would probably not be able to be as open-minded as Lu Suisui.
She would rather not have these good things.
Sui Sui said nonchalantly: "Can we move somewhere else?"
Chun Tiao shook his head helplessly.
"Since there is no choice, what benefits do you want?" Sui Sui said with a smile.
This is the truth, but human beings have seven emotions and six desires, which cannot be controlled by reason.
But Lu Suisui really didn't seem to mind at all.
Chun Tiao suspected that Sui Sui was pretending to be indifferent, but after observing her quietly for a while, he found that her expression was the same as usual and her appetite was not affected at all. She felt a little unsatisfied after finishing a plate of crabapple cake.
Sui Sui ate and drank his fill, put down his chopsticks, and put away the dishes with Chun Tiao, and said, "The wine we brought last time is almost gone. We have nothing to do today, so let's go to the East Market and bring back two more pots of wine."
Chun Tiao didn't say it, but she actually loved to go shopping in the market, so she said, "It's just right, I'm running out of blue silk thread for you to make a brocade, so I'll go buy some more."
The two of them agreed on this.
Sui Sui went back to the bedroom to change clothes, while Chun Tiao went to inform Grandma Gao and asked the servants to arrange the carriage.
Sui Sui changed and put on a short coat, picked up a veil and was about to go out when a young eunuch came running over and said, "Madam Lu, His Highness wants you to go to Qinghan Courtyard."
Sui Sui was slightly stunned. The timing was really coincidental. It was as if Huan Xuan was watching her every move and stopped her when he learned that she was leaving the house.
She then sneered, thinking that she was being too paranoid and it must be just a coincidence.
So she put down her veil and followed the young eunuch to Qinghan Hall.
Huan Xuan was playing chess in his study. Hearing the noise, he threw a white jade chess piece back into the chess box and raised his eyelids to look at her: "Moved back?"
His attitude was casual, but he could not go beyond the rules, so he bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, I have moved back."
She looked normal, and seemed to be unperturbed by fame or disgrace.
Huan Xuan glanced at the brown Hu clothing she was wearing and asked: "Are you going out?"
Sui Sui nodded: "I plan to go to the East Market to buy some things."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Just ask the maid to handle this matter."
He paused and said, "Didn't you say last time that you wanted to learn archery and horse riding? I am free today, so I will take you back to the palace to choose."
Sui Sui didn't expect Huan Xuan to bring up this matter on his own initiative, but he has been idle recently, why did he suddenly become interested today
Is it really a coincidence
Seeing that she was stunned and silent, Huan Xuan said unhappily, "Don't you want to go?"
Sui Sui came back to her senses and said: "I want to go. Your Highness, please wait for a moment. I will go back to the courtyard."
Huan Xuan waved his hand impatiently: "Go quickly and come back soon. If you are late, I will not wait for you."
Sui Sui couldn't help but smile: "I know."
After returning to the courtyard, Sui Sui ordered Chun Tiao to go buy some wine, and then said, "Go to Chang's cosmetics shop again and find a shop assistant who is about sixteen or seventeen years old and has a scar on his left eyebrow. Tell him that a customer named Lu is here to pick up the facial cream he ordered last time."
Chun Tiao said: "Madam, please go back to the palace with His Highness and leave these small matters to me."
This was the first time that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi brought Lu Suisui back to the palace, and Chun Tiao was happy for his wife. Even if she was just a substitute, being favored was better than being neglected.
…
When they arrived at the East Market, Chun Tiao first went to Chang's cosmetics shop.
As soon as she entered the store, she saw the young clerk with a scar on his eyebrow.
Before she could explain why she came, the shop assistant recognized her and said with a smile, "I recognize you, madam. Are you here to get something for Madam Lu? Madam, please wait a moment. I will go to the storeroom to get it."
Having said that, he turned and ran upstairs.
Chun Tiao thought to himself that it was no wonder that the cosmetics shop was so prosperous, every employee was not an ordinary person, and they even remembered customers as humble as them.
After a while, the shop assistant came down from upstairs with a paulownia wood box in his hand.
"Ma'am, take a look and see if there's anything wrong with the items." said the shop assistant.
Chun Tiao took it and looked at it. There were two black porcelain boxes inside, one big and one small, sealed with wax. There was a paper label on the lid with the name of the product written on it.
She checked it and smiled, "Yes, thank you. How much is it?"
The shop assistant said, "Last time, Madam Lu already transferred the money."
As he spoke, he wrapped the box with green cloth, tied a knot, and handed it to Chun Tiao: "If you like it, Madam Lu, don't forget to come back next time."
Chun Tiao did not doubt it and hung the bag at his elbow: "Of course, of course."
After leaving the cosmetics shop, she looked for the tavern opened by the Kang people according to her memory.
After buying two jugs of wine, she couldn't help thinking of her last adventure and glanced at the cheese stall across the street.
There were a few guests sitting sparsely in the shed, but the elegant young man was nowhere to be seen.
Harujo felt inexplicably disappointed and walked towards the crossroads.
Little did she know that in the restaurant across the street, two pairs of eyes were coming out from the propped-up carved windows and were fixed on her.
There were two people in the elegantly decorated room. One was dressed in brocade and wore a jade crown, and the other was dressed in tight clothes. He looked like a long-term attendant of a wealthy family.
The young man in brocade clothes had a handsome face and a noble bearing. He was none other than Prince Huan Gui of Yuzhang.
"Sir, it's not a good idea for us to stay here every day," his close follower Ah Han whispered, "What if that lady is really a foreigner and is no longer in Chang'an... won't we be able to wait any longer?"
Huan Xigui put down his wine glass with a smile and pointed out the window: "Look who that is?"
Ah Han looked outside and couldn't help but feel happy: "Isn't that the girl in green who followed that girl the other day..."
Before he could finish, Huan Xigui stood up, lifted the hem of his robe, and strode downstairs.
The attendant hurriedly followed.
The two of them went downstairs and got into an inconspicuous little carriage with green curtains.
Huan Xigui said to the carriage driver, "Follow the young maid in green clothes in front from a distance. Don't let her notice you, and don't lose her."