On the day when the family is reunited, people who are alone are always particularly prone to weakness, and Sui Sui is no exception.
But her weakness lasted only a moment.
Before the kiss ended, Huan Xuan felt a pain in his chest. He came to his senses and found that he had been pushed away.
He pushed the man aside casually, untied the sand from his waist and pointed at the man's chest, then Huan Xuan rushed forward without any hesitation.
Sui Sui reacted quickly and withdrew her hand in time, but Xi's chest still hit her scabbard hard - fortunately the knife was not unsheathed. Perhaps it was because she expected that he would be so reckless that she did not point the tip of the knife at Xi.
Huan Xuan grabbed the scabbard, frowned, panted slightly, his lips were still wet, and blood was faintly oozing from the wound. He didn't say anything, but stared at her stubbornly and fiercely, like a wounded wolf, as if he was ready to pounce and bite at any time.
But Sui Sui was not a prey. The blush on her cheeks had not yet faded, but her mood had already calmed down. She smiled and said, "No."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows: "If I can't do it, then others can?"
Sui Sui said: "Yes."
Huan Xuan's voice sank: "Cheng Zheng is fine?"
Sui Sui didn't answer, and Xi didn't refute. His eyes fell on the knife scar on the side of his face: "You know what I think of you, and you still think you can do it?"
Huan Xuan's heart sank, and even breathing seemed to hurt. Every word that came out of his throat felt like a knife cutting himself: "I know."
Sui Sui crossed his arms and said, "You don't care?"
Huan Xuan said: "I don't care."
Sui Sui's eyes fell on the scar on the side of his face.
Huan Xuan understood what she meant. If he was willing to be a fake, he would not have ruined his appearance in such a short time.
Huan Xuan pursed his lips: "I don't care."
Sui Sui said calmly: "Your Highness, why bother? As long as you are willing, there are countless people willing to make you a bowl of birthday noodles. Why bother staring at a bowl that doesn't even belong to you?"
Huan Xuan said, "I am happy to do so."
Sui Sui raised his eyelids: "I don't believe it."
Huan Xuan was speechless for a moment.
Sui Sui said: "You are drunk now, maybe you will regret it when you wake up tomorrow."
Huan Xuan said: "I won't regret it."
Sui Sui said: "The words of a drunkard cannot be trusted."
Huan Xuan said: "I am not a drunkard."
But he couldn't count how many glasses of wine he had drunk tonight, his head was dizzy, and he was embarrassed to say how sober he was. What he did just now was not something a sober person could do.
Sui Sui said: "Your Highness, you might as well go back and think about it carefully. If you really want to make a fake, I naturally won't mind."
She uttered the word "fake" lightly, just as she had done at the beginning.
After Lu Suisui died, I felt endless regret every time I thought of that Lantern Festival night. But it was not until today when I was in his shoes that I truly realized the cruelty of these two words.
She pursed her lips and lowered her eyes: "I did a lot of wrong things and said a lot of wrong things."
Sui Sui said: "It's okay."
Huan Xuan said: "I didn't treat you well, but during the Lantern Festival that year, I didn't treat you as a substitute for someone else."
Sui Sui said: "It was a matter of mutual consent, Your Highness, don't mind it."
Huan Xuan curled his lips in self-mockery: "The general may not care what I think, but it is wrong to say something hurtful."
Sui Sui sneered and looked up: "It's not that I don't care at all. Being a fake is not a pleasant thing after all."
She sighed softly: "I've wanted to say this for a long time. Even if you love Begonia, you'll get tired of it if you see it too much."
Huan Xuan was a little surprised, then lowered his head: "Sorry."
Sui Sui said: "It was a pity that we didn't get to release river lanterns during the Lantern Festival that year."
Huan Xuan's heart began to beat wildly like a drum.
Sui Sui said calmly: "It is better to have a beginning and an end to everything. This year, Your Highness Shangyuan will accompany me to light lanterns."
Huan Xuan felt as if his heart was tied up with a rope and held in her hand, lifted up and put down again. Every time she lifted it up, he was afraid that another fall was waiting for him.
"Really?" He held his breath, waiting for her decision.
Sui Sui raised an eyebrow: "Your Highness, do I look like I'm joking?"
Huan Xuan's heart seemed to have grown a pair of wings, wanting to fly up into the night sky, to the end of the wind and snow.
Sui Sui said, "When I was in the northwest, I heard that during the Lantern Festival in Chang'an, the Qujiang Pond was filled with river lanterns, like an upside-down Milky Way. I've always wanted to see it with my own eyes."
She had joined forces with Huan Ye to suppress a rebellion in the northwest, so she naturally heard what he said about Chang'an.
These words were like a sharp knife, cutting off the wings of his heart, and his heart fell again, straight into the abyss.
Sui Sui had already buckled the knife back to his waist and turned around: "Your Highness, go back and think about it for a few days. When you have figured it out, come to Qujiang Pavilion to keep the appointment on Lantern Festival night."
…
Back in the hall, Chun Tiao brought a bowl of steaming hot ginger soup: "Madam, why have you stayed outside for so long? Have a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up."
Sui Sui was not cold, she even felt a little hot, but she still took a sip and said with a smile: "Sister Chun Tiao loves me."
Chun Tiao said with embarrassment: "Mr. Cheng is careful. If he hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have thought of it..."
Cheng Zheng stood not far away and looked at him, his eyes and brows looking even gentler in the candlelight.
Sui Sui said: "Thank you, Master Cheng."
Cheng Zheng's gaze fell on her lips. Her lips were fuller and redder than usual, and there was a not-so-conspicuous crack.
He shifted his gaze calmly and said softly, "It's my job."
Sui Sui remembered that half of his body was outside the umbrella and he had walked such a long way in the snow. He couldn't help but look at his shoulders, and saw that they were already wet with snow water.
She frowned and said, "Mr. Cheng, have a bowl of ginger soup and go back to change your clothes."
Chun Tiao then remembered that Cheng Zheng had also walked in the snow, and said apologetically: "I'll go get Master Cheng a bowl."
Cheng Zheng said: "I can do it myself."
Sui Sui sat in the hall for a while. Perhaps he was too exhausted from dealing with Huan Xuan outside just now, so he felt tired after sitting in the hall and watching the guards play two rounds of backgammon, so he got up and went back to the room to rest.
After she left, Cheng Zheng asked Tian Yuerong, "Are you guys going to the Lantern Festival on Shangyuan Night?"
Tian Yuerong asked: "Master Cheng wants to see the lanterns?"
Cheng Zheng said, "I heard that there are big lanterns and lantern towers outside the Qinzhengwu Building. Don't you want to go and see them?"
Tian Yuerong's eyes flickered. "The lantern wheel is crowded with people. Every year, there are criminals who take advantage of the situation to steal property and kidnap women and children. It's better not to join in the fun. It's better to go to Qujiang Lake in the south of the city to watch the river lanterns. This year, there are dragon lanterns and large lotus lanterns. They are very beautiful when reflected on the river water. You can't see them in Wei Bo."
Cheng Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and he nodded and said, "I will not join in the fun, but rest in the inn."
Tian Yuerong's brows relaxed: "Okay, Master Cheng's old illness has not yet healed, so it's better for him to rest more."
…
Huan Xuan returned to the palace and drank a bowl of sobering soup. After taking a bath, changing his clothes and washing up, it was time to go out to attend the grand court meeting.
The snow stopped, but the sky was still dark. The cold streets were already crowded with cars and horses. The light from torches and lanterns gathered like a galaxy and flowed towards Penglai Palace.
Huan Xuan slept for a while in the carriage and had some chaotic dreams. When he woke up, his heart was still beating fast, but he could not remember what he dreamed about. He lifted the curtain and looked out, and saw that the carriage had entered Danfeng Gate.
The carriage stopped in front of the Longwei Road of Hanyuan Hall. Huan Xuan got off the carriage, put on a white fox fur coat, and walked along the Longwei Road towards the hall.
On both sides of the palace courtyard were men in golden armor and spears, and the ceremonial guards were strict. Half an hour was still before the grand court meeting, and many ministers and court envoys had already arrived. They were divided into civil and military groups, and were waiting in the Xiangluan and Qifeng pavilions on both sides of the main hall.
The civil officials were in the east, the military officials were in the west. As soon as Huan Xuan entered the Qifeng Pavilion, he saw the familiar figure.
On the New Year's Day court, she wore a purple silk court dress according to her rank, a military cap on her head, and a tall, graceful figure that made people unable to take their eyes off her.
She was chatting with other officials. When she saw him walk into the pavilion, she simply raised her eyes and glanced at him calmly, then bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Prince of Qi."
No one could tell that they had been intimate just two hours ago.
However, someone was sharp-eyed. The Minister of War bowed to the King of Qi, squinted his old eyes, stared at Huan Xuan's mouth and asked in surprise: "Hey, what's wrong with the mouth of the King of Qi?"
Huan Xuan said, "I bumped into it accidentally."
The Minister of War glanced at Sui Sui and said with a smile: "What a coincidence, General Xiao got hit."
Sui Sui said with a smile without blushing or beating his heart, "What a coincidence."
The old minister went to greet the others, then took two steps towards Huan Xuan and asked, "Your Highness, are you sober?"
Huan Xuan said, "Awake."
As soon as he finished speaking, the first morning drum sounded from Chengtian Gate. The guards beat the big drum outside the hall, and the New Year's Day court was about to begin.
Amid the drumbeats, Sui Sui whispered, "Do you still remember our agreement?"
Huan Xuan said: "Remember, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, at Qujiang Pavilion."
Sui Sui nodded: "See you later."