Time travel, quick transmigration

Shi Yan's resigned tone made Li Longji feel choked up, but then he thought about it again and became happy.

Yes, regardless of whether the woman in front of him loves him or not, she will be with him until death. Why should he bother with anything else?

Is it really because he's getting old that he's starting to worry about nothing? Looking at Shi Yan's still beautiful, young and charming face, he deeply felt the age gap between them. Li Longji couldn't help but feel a little melancholy, but under her gaze, he slowly smiled.

"It would be best if Yu Huan remained as she is. You have a point. If you really started to hold a grudge, I might not know what to do."

Shi Yan nodded, withdrew her hand from Li Longji's grasp, and tentatively inquired.

"Your Majesty, I will now attend to you and help you to sleep peacefully."

Li Longji waved his hand.

"No, you should go to sleep first. I want to go for a walk."

Shi Yan knew that Li Longji was unhappy. Although she didn't want to pay attention to him, she couldn't let him be ignored for her own sake. She planned to use the same trick to drug Li Longji again, so how could she go to sleep first? Did she have to sleep on that dragon bed and wait for Li Longji to return?

"Sanlang, I am not sleepy yet. How about I accompany you for a walk outside?"

"Look, the moonlight is so enchanting tonight. Why don't you enjoy the moon alone? Why don't you allow me to keep you company?"

Shi Yan's eyes held a smile, as if there were stars in them. Li Longji couldn't utter a cold, hard word when he looked into those eyes.

"Very well, it would be perfect to have Yu Huan by my side."

He then summoned someone into the hall to drape a cloak over the two of them to keep them warm, and took Shi Yan's hand as they left the Ganlu Hall.

For the past two days, Xiao Huanling had been troubled by finding a suitable opportunity to enter the palace to see Shi Yan. He had mentioned it to Jiang He once, and Jiang He suggested that he simply sneak into the palace at night to see Shi Yan, but after thinking it over again, he felt it was inappropriate and hesitated.

Ultimately, it was his own selfishness that got in the way. Ever since he and Shi Yan had confessed their feelings for each other, he had longed to meet her openly and honestly. He was very opposed to and disliked any sneaky behavior that might put Shi Yan in danger or damage her reputation.

But in reality, their current identities meant they could never meet openly, so he didn't understand why he was so conflicted and was only creating trouble for himself.

Fortunately, the day before leaving Chang'an, an imperial decree arrived that His Majesty the Emperor would be hosting a polo match at the horse farm, inviting not only imperial relatives and nobles but also all officials. This was undoubtedly a golden opportunity to see Shi Yan and also resolved the dilemma in Xiao Huanling's mind.

He was originally scheduled to set off for Taiyuan the next day. He could have skipped the palace, but in order to see his beloved, Xiao Huanling, who had never been interested in playing polo, dragged Jiang He and Zhang Liang along to practice polo after receiving the news.

Xiao Huanling himself didn't know who he was going to compete with, but he played polo with extra intensity, as if that would allow him to compete with the emperor when he went to the palace and took to the field.

On an open field in the suburbs, after several rounds of polo, Jiang He, Zhang Liang, and several Imperial Guards who had played polo with Xiao Huanling were all covered in sweat, panting heavily, and collapsed on the ground, raising their hands to beg for mercy. Only then did Xiao Huanling finally agree to stop playing.

The next day, after lunch, Xiao Huanling took Jiang He with her and they went out together.

Shi Yan heard about the polo match from Li Longji yesterday, and she was secretly looking forward to it. She was just hoping that Xiao Huanling might also want to see her and come to the palace.

Perhaps filled with anticipation for meeting the person she liked, Shi Yan specially asked Xiao Die to style her hair in a new way and chose a dress that suited her best. Before leaving, Shi Yan looked at herself in the mirror again and again until she felt a little embarrassed.

"Your Majesty, you look beautiful today!"

Xiaodie exclaimed in praise for the third time.

Shi Yan smiled reservedly, but she was secretly very pleased.

Seeing their master so radiant, attracting frequent glances from the passing palace servants, Xiaodie and Aman also felt honored.

Today, Shi Yan chose a dress made of Shu brocade, with red and yellow stripes embroidered with butterflies and peonies, similar to riding attire, but with a different style. The tailoring and workmanship were very exquisite, making Shi Yan's already graceful figure even more beautiful and elegant.

When Shi Yan and his party arrived at the horse farm, they found the stands already packed with people, and a fierce polo match was taking place in the field. Li Longji, dressed in a bright yellow, neat and simple polo uniform, sat upright on his horse, moving with great ease on the field. With the emperor on the field, the young men were unwilling to be left behind and joined in.

Gao Lishi was originally watching the situation in the arena, but when he turned around and saw Shi Yan coming in surrounded by palace servants such as Xiao Die and A Man, his expression immediately turned serious and he quickly stepped forward to greet her.

"Your Highness, you've finally arrived! His Majesty was just talking about you."

"His Majesty originally intended to wait for you to arrive before taking the stage, but he couldn't refuse the young men's enthusiastic invitation, so he went on stage now."

Shi Yan nodded and smiled at Gao Lishi, then slowly walked forward.

Gao Lishi followed closely behind her, smiling somewhat obsequiously.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has instructed me to reserve a good spot for you. It's unobstructed and offers a particularly wide view. It would be perfect for you to sit there and watch the polo match."

He quickly walked a few steps to Shi Yan's front.

"Your Highness, please come and sit with me."

"His Majesty has also ordered his servants to prepare fruits and snacks for you to enjoy."

Shi Yan followed Gao Lishi up to a platform and sat down on one of the cushioned armchairs.

"Your Majesty is very kind."

“Eunuch Gao, you don’t need to worry about me. You can do your thing. I have Xiao Die and A Man to serve me.”

Gao Lishi was a smart man and didn't want to stick close to Shi Yan and become annoyed, so he simply agreed to take his leave and left.

"Your Majesty, these grapes look fresh. They seem to be tributes from the Western Regions, called something like 'horse milk grapes'."

Xiaodie glanced at the glistening, plump green grapes on the plate, finding them quite unusual.

Seeing her bright almond-shaped eyes, Shi Yan reached out and picked a few and put them in her hand.

"Try it and see if it tastes good."

With a gentle smile, she picked a few more and handed them to Aman.

"Ah Man, you should try some too."

Ah Man looked at the grapes in her hand as if she were holding a hot potato.

"Your Majesty, this is unacceptable. This was prepared for you by His Majesty, and it was even a tribute. How can this servant eat it?"

Shi Yan smiled radiantly and gave her a reassuring look.

"It's okay, they can't see us."

"Don't worry, you can eat it."

"Delicious food tastes even better when shared."

After saying that, he picked two and put them in his mouth.

“It’s quite sweet.”

Xiaodie was also tempted by this.

So the two of them looked at each other and then ate the grapes in their hands. Although they were a little apprehensive, they found the taste quite delicious afterward.

Suddenly, a cheer rang out in the arena. Shi Yan looked over and her eyes met those of Xiao Huanling, who was riding a white horse in a red riding outfit. Xiao Huanling was dashing and radiant. Both of them were startled at the same time, and then naturally looked away.

No one noticed the silent exchange between the two when their eyes met; everyone was cheering and applauding His Majesty the Emperor for scoring a goal.