A piece of Japanese incense

The princess said nothing. With delicate and graceful steps, she took out a brocade box from the bedside cabinet. She raised her pinky finger and smiled sweetly, "Oh, right! How could I forget, Yihe? This is the coming-of-age gift I prepared for you. It's been several months, and I'm giving it to you today. Please don't be offended."

Zhi Yihe took it respectfully with both hands and opened the lid of the box. He saw a colorful and strange grass lying quietly inside. In the dark night, the stem emitted a faint green light, and the light flowed along the veins of the stem like faint starlight.

Its leaves are long and narrow, as thin as cicada wings, and the edges of the leaves emit blue light, like lace drawn with a brush dipped in fluorescent paint.

Zhi Yihe placed the box under the light and admired it carefully. The surface of the leaves was covered with a thin layer of silver frost. When the angle changed, the leaves turned into golden yellow.

Zhi Yihe looked at the princess in shock. The princess looked at her softly, smiled and said sweetly, "This is 'Liuguang Grass'. I know you like making incense and prefer to collect rare plants and flowers, so I collected this for you. Do you like it?"

Zhi Yihe raised his voice and nodded frequently: "I like it! Your Highness is thoughtful! Thank you, Your Highness!"

The princess was delighted, took her hand and said happily: "As long as you are happy~"

Zhi Yihe felt a subtle resistance to this sudden intimacy. She took a step back and bowed to say goodbye: "It's getting late, you should go to bed early."

"Good~"

Zhi Yihe was about to leave when he thought of something else and turned back to ask, "Your Highness, I dreamed of a painting. Could you give me some advice?"

"Oh?"

Zhiyi and Sui were about to give a rough description of what he had pieced together in his mind, and the princess frowned in thought.

Seeing that she seemed to be frozen, Zhi Yihe smiled awkwardly and said with a cupped hand: "Maybe I just dreamed about it. You don't have to take it to heart. I'll take my leave now."

"Yihe, wait a moment," the princess said in a soft voice, "I do remember the painting you mentioned very clearly."

When Zhi Yihe heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She stopped and turned to face the princess.

The princess smiled gently, raised her hand and motioned her to come closer: "Why leave in such a hurry? Why don't you stay here and have a chat with me by candlelight at night. I often envy those ordinary people, mother and daughter..."

"Your Highness," Zhi Yihe interrupted anxiously. She was extremely uncomfortable with the term "mother and daughter," and she didn't want to spend the whole night talking to someone she didn't know well. "Have you ever seen the painting that appeared in my dream?"

The princess curled her lips and forced a smile. "Of course! This is something I saw when I was a child. It's a painting of people and landscapes. The birds and animals in the painting are lifelike, and stories from various schools are interwoven in it. The allusions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are vividly portrayed on the paper. Although it was only a glimpse, it is truly engraved in my heart."

Zhi Yihe's eyes sparkled, and she was very excited: "May I ask Princess, where did you see this painting?" She realized that she was too excited, and quickly added: "I didn't expect that the painting in my dream would actually exist. It's amazing."

The princess's face darkened slightly, she held Zhi Yihe's hand, and sat back on the Luohan bed together, recalling: "People only know that my father has favored Concubine Xin for many years, but few people know that decades ago, there was a beauty in the palace who was truly favored.

She lived in the Pearl Mirror Palace, close to her father. When her father didn't have to deal with government affairs, he always rushed to her palace. Treasures and rewards were sent to her palace like water, and her father racked his brains and took great pains to prepare unique surprises for her, just to make her smile.

She didn't even need to greet anyone, and few people in the palace had seen her appearance. That day, because I hadn't seen my father for several months, I was curious and sneaked into the Pearl Mirror Palace to see with my own eyes what kind of stunning face this person who had seduced my father was.

At this point, the princess paused, her eyes drifted towards Zhi Yihe, and then she said nonchalantly: I was there, and I saw the painting. "

Zhi Yihe was a little confused. She secretly speculated that the beauty the princess was talking about might be her grandmother. However, judging from the princess's expression, it didn't seem like a beautiful memory. So she asked with a smile, "So, is that painting still in the Pearl Mirror Hall?"

"I don't know. After the beauty passed away, my father sealed the Pearl Mirror Palace. Now, I don't know if the painting is still there."

Zhi Yihe finally said goodbye to the princess, left the courtyard where she was, and walked alone in the night. The railings of the corridor shone coldly in the moonlight, and the rockery, flowers, and trees that were familiar during the day were looming in the darkness.

The moment he pushed open the door, Zhi Yihe was stunned.

Under the dim light, Zhi Siqi sat there quietly, staring at the door, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

There was a trace of fatigue on his face, but his eyes flashed with surprise for a moment. He tried hard to stand up, and his originally hunched back straightened a little. The corners of his mouth rose unconsciously, and he whispered softly, "Sister is finally back."

Zhi Yihe gently took a blanket and draped it over his knees, asking in a concerned voice, "Xiao Qi?! When did you come? Why didn't you send someone to tell me?"

"Yuyi said you wanted to walk around by yourself, and I didn't want to disturb you, so I'll wait for you here."

That voice was like a warm spring breeze, blowing away Zhi Yihe's fatigue. She felt a warm current in her heart, and her eyes were moist. In this strange place, there was actually a relative who was waiting for her silently in such a corner. This feeling was extremely reassuring.

She rubbed Zhi Siqi's head, sat beside him, held her cheeks with both hands and asked him: "What's the matter? Is there anything you want to discuss with me?"

Zhi Siqi said slowly: "Sister He, I don't think we should go to join the Yan Family Army."

Zhi Yihe lowered his eyes for a few moments before responding with a smile, "Hmm~ Young man, please state your opinion."

Zhi Siqi's expression remained unchanged as he said solemnly, "When we parted ways, Father repeatedly urged me to put you first in everything. So, sister, let's stay in Sanchuan. I will definitely protect you."