Spring arrives and the land smiles

"Jadeite Hibiscus Shrimp, Begonia Reflecting Mandarin Fish, Golden Lion Rolling Embroidered Ball, Phoenix Tail Coiled Shark Fin, Longjing Bamboo Fungus Stew, Yellow-Flavored Jade Dragon Slices, Pine Nuts Moistening Duck Feet, Crystal Pearl Lotus Seed Soup, Cloud River Duanxiao Ten-Ingredient Cake, Hmm, that's all," Qingyan said, picking up her teacup and taking a sip.

"Princess, these are not your usual dishes." The princess is staying overnight at the Expo Pavilion today, but she did not ask the pavilion's small kitchen to prepare a meal. Instead, the princess summoned the head chef, Pang Chu, who usually takes care of her daily needs. However, the dishes she ordered were different from the princess's usual preferences, which made the head chef Pang Chu unable to resist speaking up.

"No need to ask any more questions, just do it." Qingyan put down her teacup and waved him away.

Pang Chu dared not say anything more and wisely withdrew.

"Wait, add another one: Dragon with Crab Roe."

"Yes."

“Princess, you’ve remembered everything.” Zhui’er smiled happily.

Qingyan couldn't laugh; her face darkened, and she said, "Zhui'er, go back to Caiyi Palace. If anyone asks, just say you were sent back."

"Princess, why is this?" Zhui'er asked in confusion.

"Don't ask so many questions, just do as I say." Qingyan pursed her lips lightly.

Tomorrow, the rumors about the princess and her husband will likely reach new heights.

"Such a lavish feast, Your Highness is too kind!"

After dismissing his attendants, Yunxuan and Qingyan were left alone at the table to drink. Yunxuan held a full cup of Huazhen Zhuyeqing tea in his hand and looked at the whole table of his favorite dishes with some surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, these should all be my husband's favorite foods!" Qingyan picked up a piece of crab roe with dragon's mouth and put it into Yunxuan's bowl, just like a loving couple.

Such attentiveness, coupled with the ambiguous address, made Yunxuan very uncomfortable. Qingyan's gentle smile and tender charm made him momentarily lose his focus. The little girl was indeed doing a good job, almost making him believe it was real.

"Princess, you've gone a bit too far." Yunxuan drank the flower wine in his cup to the brim, his tone indifferent, as if he were handling business. Qingyan had a bad feeling.

"The prince consort is my husband, I don't think it's inappropriate for me to do this!" Qingyan pretended to be calm and smiled as she poured him another cup of Huazhen tea.

“In the princess’s heart, there must be a distinction between close and distant husbands!” Seeing that Qingyan was unmoved, Yunxuan picked up the flower wine and drank it all in one gulp.

"Huh?" Unexpectedly, he said that, and Qingyan's face showed an unnatural expression.

"If the groom in Caiyi Palace last night had been General Ning, I'm afraid he wouldn't have had to spend the night in the study," Yunxuan said jokingly, yet his words hit the nail on the head.

Yunxuan's words made Qingyan feel even more guilty, so she raised her hand and poured him another cup of wine as a cover-up.

Yunxuan picked up the wine glass without refusing and drank it down in one gulp.

"Prince Consort." Such drinking is really harmful to one's health. Qingyan tried to stop her, but it was too late.

"The princess always addresses me as 'Prince Consort' and General Ning as 'Ning Yuan.' Is the princess reminding me or warning me?" Yunxuan put down his wine cup and bluntly stated, "Or perhaps the title 'Yan'er' is reserved exclusively for General Ning, and Yunxuan can only hope for it?"

Unexpectedly, the words were so blunt and revealing. Qingyan was stunned and didn't come back to her senses for a long time. Her rosy lips opened wide involuntarily and remained there in an unseemly manner.

"Princess, there's no need to be surprised. If Yunxuan had no feelings for you, he would never have agreed to this marriage. He just didn't let you find out." Qingyan's blank expression made Yunxuan smile slightly, and his expression relaxed for some reason.

Indeed, given the Fu family's prestige, it's no surprise that the Emperor issued such an edict. If the eldest grandson of the Fu family didn't voluntarily become the princess's consort, who could force him? It turns out that she was the only one caught in the vortex of political marriage.

“No wonder the Prince Consort, oh no, Yunxuan, said that to Ningyuan last night. It seems Yan’er was being petty.” Qingyan smiled bitterly, a helpless understanding on her face, the deliberately changed form of address revealing a trace of resentment.

"Princess." Hearing Qingyan change her address to flatter her, Yunxuan knew that she had misunderstood.

"Just call me Yan'er," Qingyan said calmly.

"Yan'er, I—" Yunxuan didn't know how to begin.

"Yunxuan, there's no need for this. It's an arranged marriage, and besides, the subject is stronger than the ruler. I'll accept my fate." Qingyan picked up the wine cup on the table and drank it down. "Besides, you spared me last night, so I should be grateful." Last night, Qingyan thought Yunxuan had someone else in his heart and wanted to help him. Now it seems that she was the best person to help him.

"You dislike me that much?" Yunxuan's mood plummeted, and he poured himself a drink.

The topic was too sensitive, and both knew that continuing the discussion would lead to an unpleasant ending, so they both fell silent.

The silence was broken only when the wine in the pot was emptied, by Yunxuan's gentle voice: "When I first met you, you were still an infant, and I was also a child. You were like a porcelain doll, crying at the slightest touch." Yunxuan picked up the wine cup but did not drink it; instead, he swirled it, letting the aroma of the wine fill the air.

Infant? Qingyan thought to herself: The one you saw back then wasn't me.

"For many years afterward, I would see her occasionally, and she would still cry at the slightest touch, until she fell seriously ill at the age of six and seemed to become a different person."

That's right, it's a different person. Qingyan thought to herself, but blurted out, "You touched me?" Otherwise, why would she always emphasize that she cries as soon as she's touched?

Yunxuan choked on his breath, coughed violently a few times, and said with an unfriendly expression, "I didn't touch you."

Qingyan cracked a joke, chuckled, and gestured for you to continue, ignoring me.

Yunxuan composed himself: "Later, I saw you more often, but the timing was wrong. Every time I appeared in front of you, it was when you were being scolded the most by Master Cheng. So, you hate me as your role model, right?" Yunxuan raised an eyebrow and asked her.

"Yes!" Qingyan nodded firmly and confidently.

Yunxuan wasn't annoyed and continued, "I was really stupid back then. I thought that helping you cheat was harming you. It wasn't until I saw your dependence on Ningyuan that I realized what I had missed."

"So, you suddenly agreed to help me?" Qingyan remembered that the first time Yunxuan helped her cheat was when she was twelve years old. For some reason, her father suddenly became strict with her. The little bit of cleverness she had accumulated in her previous life was not enough, and the result was extremely miserable. In addition, another of Master Cheng's favorite students was a top scholar, which made her seem even more unremarkable.

“Master Cheng was my mentor, so it wouldn’t be difficult for him to help you cheat.” Yunxuan’s eyes were filled with laughter, his doting affection overflowing. “Every time you succeed, you are exceptionally proud, so proud that it’s blinding.”

"Smug? That's called being lucky, the luck of surviving a disaster." Qingyan immediately corrected her, "Luckily you didn't go to the palace often, otherwise, if you had been caught cheating by Teacher Cheng, you would have been in big trouble. Teacher Cheng is not as honest and easy to fool as he looks. You are really my jinx." Qingyan also vividly remembered the situation from her childhood. As soon as Yunxuan, this role model, appeared, she was in big trouble.

"Also, when I turned fifteen, you were a Hanlin Academician. Master Cheng made a joke, and Father actually asked you to set an exam for me. Do you remember what you set?" Qingyan looked like she was meeting an enemy with intense hatred.

“Copy the Lin Yuan Revelation once.” Yun Xuan looked at her with a smile; of course she remembered.

"Yes, it's Lin Yuan's Revelation, it's Lin Yuan's Revelation. Dong Lin Yuan has so many works, but you just had to choose the one with the most words. I hate writing the most, and you made me finish copying it in three days. You didn't even let me have a good birthday." Qing Yan got angry when she talked about this.

"Yan'er, do you know why I did this?" Yunxuan's eyes were filled with memories, his gaze varied in depth, as if he were immersed in them, as if he were in a whirlpool.

"Why?" Could there be a reason behind this test question? Qingyan asked, frowning.

Yunxuan smiled calmly, as memories flooded back, vivid and clear. He blurted out, "Back then, you only had eyes for Ningyuan, so I could only use this most basic method to make you remember me. The more direct it was, the more memorable it became."

“Even so, I still don’t meet your standards. To you, I’m just a court official, no different from any other civil or military official, right?” Yunxuan stared into Qingyan’s eyes, suppressing his frustration and unease, his expectant expression seemingly yearning for a different answer.

what……

Qingyan didn't know how to answer, so she turned her face away.

The answer was so obvious; he was simply unwilling to give up. Yunxuan smiled helplessly, not pressing the matter further, and continued his recollection:

"I thought that in this life, our paths would never cross again except between ruler and subject. Unexpectedly, a year ago, an unexpected opportunity arose. I was favored by the Emperor and awarded the title of First Talent, and a banquet was held in the palace to celebrate. On the way, I left the banquet for some reason. When I returned, I overheard the Emperor mentioning to my father that he intended to betroth the princess to me. My father hesitated because he was concerned about the princess's position as crown prince. Marriage should be decided by one's parents, but I was impatient and agreed on my own. So the Emperor promised that the wedding would take place after the princess was formally appointed." At this emotional moment, Yunxuan unexpectedly grasped Qingyan's hand. "Yan'er, give me a chance." Give me a chance to enter your heart.

This... is even harder to answer than the previous question. Qingyan, at a loss, withdrew her hand and chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, so you already knew. You didn't tell me about something so important. We have some childhood friendship, don't we?"

Qingyan's smile was very forced, even more unsightly than crying.

Now that the matter was out in the open, Yunxuan became somewhat stubborn, determined to get to the bottom of things: "Yan'er, avoiding the important issues is not the way of a gentleman." His brows furrowed, and his words were aggressive.

"I am not a gentleman, I am just a woman." Qingyan glanced sideways and started acting like a rogue.

Yunxuan laughed in exasperation. Since there was no point in advancing or retreating, there was no need for further words. He reached out again and grasped Qingyan's soft hand tightly, locking his gaze on her, yet a hint of unspeakable panic flickered in his eyes. He spoke slowly once more, "Please give me a chance."

The second time, the request turned into a plea.

Qingyan trembled slightly, her mind unsteady, her gaze darting erratically between the fine wine and delicacies. Such directness was unbearable; whether to welcome or refuse left Qingyan at a loss.

Qingyan's gaze finally settled on the fragrant Huazhen.

She withdrew her hand again, this time not as subtly as before. She took a light breath, a beautiful smile blooming on her lips. Her voice was hesitant, but she ultimately refused: "No!"

A simple rejection, so simple it's just one word, yet it's the most direct, seemingly severing all hope.

"Because of Ning Yuan?" Yun Xuan remained unmoved; he was not surprised by such an answer.

"Yes." Qingyan's tone was concise and clear, but her gaze unconsciously drifted elsewhere.

"Yan'er is using General Ning as a pretext like this, could it be that he instructed her to do so?" Yunxuan still didn't care about this answer, and his expression was even more relaxed than before.

"No, I..." Qingyan panicked as if her thoughts had been exposed. It would be a lie to say she didn't care about this kind of man, but it would be a bit much to say she was moved by him.

"Since that's not the case, unless Yan'er hates me, everything else is just an excuse." His persistent gaze seemed to nail Qing Yan to the spot, finally throwing her into a panic.

"No, I don't hate you, I just... I..." Qingyan couldn't express herself clearly and was speechless.

"If you don't dislike it, then you like it!" Yun Xuan raised an eyebrow and smiled, with a smug look on his face.

"Huh?" Qingyan was shocked. What kind of logic was this? This person was really arrogant.

“You are different from Ning Yuan, and I can tell the difference very clearly.” For such an arrogant person, it might be necessary to give him a blow from time to time.

"Since Yan'er is so certain, let's wait and see." Yun Xuan said with a playful expression, his confidence completely intact, which made Qing Yan glare at him angrily.

"Stop joking around, eat quickly, it's getting cold." Yunxuan smiled indulgently, as if soothing a furry kitten, and picked up a piece of jade dragon slice and put it into Qingyan's bowl.

Qingyan was puzzled. How did he know that this was my favorite dish of the whole table?