After a long while, Xi Xingjiang heard Lin Feilu say faintly, “Your dreams are quite splendid.”
He twisted his neck and turned to yell at her, “You can’t even think about it?!”
The young man who was always domineering and shameless now had his neck coloured red.
Lin Feilu stretched out her index finger and shook it at him, “No, you’re not even a potential candidate.”
Xi Xingjiang, “!!!” He laid down again like he lost his temper. The corners of his lips were pursed as he looked at the jade-carved hanging beam above his head. Then, he muttered in a low voice, “You think that I would be a lost cause just because you said so? Let’s see who wins then.”
Lin Feilu didn’t hear him clearly as she threw an orange at him, “What are you saying?!”
Xi Xingjiang merely stretched out his hand and grabbed the orange in mid-air before he peeled off the skin. Throwing a piece of orange into his mouth, he said, “Thank you.”
Lin Feilu simply ignored him.
As evening approached, the scorching sun finally set, dying the clouds into a shade of amber. Lin Feilu left the Purple Jade Forest and returned to the palace as the carriage waited outside. Xi Xingjiang walked out the door with her and shamelessly stretched out a hand, placing it on the top of her head while she was climbing the carriage.
Lin Feilu turned his head and said viciously, “Sooner or later I will cut off that hand of yours!”
He smiled and said, “It will be the Qiqiao Festival in three days. The night would be very lively, and there are lanterns to enjoy. Do you want to leave the palace? Brother Shizi will take you to play.”
Lin Feilu, “I’m not going, I’m not playing! Get out!”
Lin Feilu knew that bear children would only grow up to be bear teenagers; they would never become a person of wisdom!(3)
(T/N: Referring to Xi Xinjiang’s playful nature— she knew that no matter what, his core values and tendency to tease and annoy will never change)
But that being said, Lin Feilu was still pondering on the day of the Qiqiao Festival.
In the Qiqiao Festival last year, as Lin Zhanyuan was ill, she accompanied him and could not go out to play. She heard that this year’s Qiqiao Night would have a sky lantern show, which meant that the sky would be filled with Kongming lanterns(4). The sight of countless lanterns flying into the sky would definitely be stunningly beautiful.
(T/N: Chinese name for sky lanterns)
However, she was worried that Xi Xingjiang would be squatting outside the palace, lying in wait the moment she left the palace. Xi Xingjiang’s Qinggong was better than her, so she would not be able to run away if she wanted to.
This is really annoying.
Lin Feilu could only make two lanterns by herself before she ran to the Cuizhu Villa in the dark, intending to ask Song Jinglan to accompany her in lighting it up.
She was used to not going through the main entrance of the villa now, but when she leapt up the wall, she saw that there was no candlelight illuminating the interiors of the Cuizhu Villa. Instead, the darkness of the villa was bathed in the moonlight.
Little Pretty Boy went to bed this early? Is this the legendary ‘beauty sleep’?
She jumped off the wall and walked hesitantly to the courtyard. Holding the lanterns in her arms, she thought about it and decided to walk forward to knock on the door.
Before she even approached the door, she felt a sharp sword intent emanating from the interior. The aura was deadly as it wrapped her tightly like a cold iron net.
Although she studied martial arts for many years and found herself to be quite powerful, she froze under this powerful sword intent. Not only was she unable to move, but she was also unable to speak.
It was as if her entire being was caught in quicksand, and that was where she would remain imprisoned until her inevitable death. There was nothing else for her to do except sink and accept her fate.