The two of them quietly walked out through a corner door along the wall of the palace, crossed the palace corridor, and turned to a deserted place. Cheng Ping couldn't wait to grab Pei Xiaoyuan's arm and shouted: "Did you see it? Did you see it just now? There is a painter in front of the prince, it's her! I won't make a mistake even if she is burned to ashes! God! How is this possible? Why did she come to Chang'an? It's fine if she came to Chang'an, but she actually came to the palace to be a painter? How dare she!"
After he finished shouting, he noticed that his friend's clear face was as solemn as usual, and he didn't respond. He was not as frightened and flustered as himself, and he was puzzled: "What's wrong with you..."
Suddenly, he came to his senses.
"Did you know about this before today?" he asked suspiciously.
Pei Xiaoyuan nodded.
Cheng Ping was startled and immediately annoyed: "Okay! You are like this! You clearly knew her whereabouts, but you didn't tell me? What do you mean?"
He has always been an indulgent person, but he still feels guilty for his frivolous and reckless behavior that day. Pei Xiaoyuan is naturally aware of this.
In fact, after he and Yenv had an unhappy parting that night, he not only immediately sent a letter to the East Capital for Pei Ji to receive, but also thought about informing Chengping of the matter as soon as possible. Firstly, to reassure him, and secondly, Yenv did not listen to his advice and insisted on entering the palace as a painter. Chengping, as a general of the Left Guard, would inevitably encounter her if he entered and left the palace. It would be better to remind her earlier, so that if she behaved inappropriately, she would get into trouble.
But for some reason, he subconsciously didn't want to think about what happened that night these days. Plus, the two of them hadn't met, and he was busy with government affairs from morning to night. He was too lazy to go find him to talk, so he was delayed.
Today, he knew that he would come to Shenshu Palace, and he had planned to talk to him after the meeting, but he didn't expect that Ye Nu was also there, and she was summoned by the prince to show up. As soon as he saw her, he quietly retreated, intercepted Chengping on the spot, and brought him out.
"It is indeed my fault."
Pei Xiaoyuan apologized.
"I wanted to tell you today, but I didn't expect you to meet her first. I only knew she came to Chang'an a few days ago, and I didn't hide it from you on purpose."
Chengping's anger came and went quickly. He was completely confused and asked, "What's going on? I'm really confused! Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me now!"
Pei Xiaoyuan said that they met by chance in Qingtou West Market, and he went to look for her and finally found her. Naturally, he omitted the twists and turns in the process.
"Come to Chang'an if you want, why did she enter the palace to be a painter? Is she crazy? She really thinks she is a man—"
"Shut up!"
Pei Xiaoyuan frowned and scolded Chengping in a low voice, interrupting his words.
Cheng Ping paused, looked around, and lowered his voice: "… If others knew my identity, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor! You are her sworn brother! Why didn't you stop it?"
"I advised her, but she seemed to have other ideas."
Pei Xiaoyuan said this briefly. Deep down, he really didn't want to say any more about this matter. He looked at Chengping with a serious expression.
"Just keep this to yourself, but don't tell anyone else."
"Also, if you don't have anything necessary in the future, it's best not to bother her. She doesn't want to interact with others."
After a pause, Pei Xiaoyuan gave another instruction.
Chengping did not respond immediately. He stood there motionless, his eyes dazed, his mind wandering, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"A'suan'er!" Pei Xiaoyuan called him by his real name again.