Song Jinglan understood her query as he lowered his eyes and smiled, “I will be alright. The princess does not have to worry about me.”
Lin Feilu felt as if she was looking at a young, promising idol who realized he was being bullied and oppressed by his own management.
She felt her heart ache so much that she wished she could chop Lin Xi into pieces.
Song Jinglan was amused by her abruptly dynamic expressions. He stood up and said, “I know what to do. It’s cold today, so the princess should quickly return home. Thank you again for the snacks.”
Lin Feilu had just recently recovered from her cold and was not planning to catch another one. If she were to fall sick again, it was likely that he would be implicated. So she nodded and was about to put down the hand stove, when Song Jinglan said, “Take it with you. It’s cold and windy on the way back.”
Knowing his circumstances, she knew this was the only hand stove he possessed. Lin Feilu asked, “If I take it with me, what will you use?”
With a smile, Song Jinglan replied, “I’m not afraid of the cold.”
Ahh, what a charming smile!
Lin Feilu waved at him as she held onto the hand stove and ran off with a skip in her step.
As soon as she left, Tiandong hurriedly locked the door. When he turned around, he mumbled something under his breath. Song Jinglan was leaning on the threshold as he smiled and asked, “What are you mumbling about?”
Tiandong had a cheerless expression as he spoke, “The Third Princess was difficult enough to deal with. Now comes a Fifth Princess.” He approached Song Jinglan and asked in a confused tone, “Your Highness, why did you help the Fifth Princess yesterday? Offending the Third Princess is no trivial matter. Did you forget how she tormented you before?”
Song Jinglan looked up to the overcast sky filled with white clouds. The corners of his lips were bearing a hint of a smile, but his voice was hollow as he nonchalantly replied, “Lin Xi won’t be able to do as she pleases for much longer.”
Tiandong looked shocked, “Huh?”
Song Jinglan retracted his gaze and smiled softly at him. “This Fifth Princess is not an opponent she can defeat.”
…
Departing from Cuizhu Villa, Lin Feilu was not in a hurry to return home. Instead, she turned towards Baimei Garden. It was now the season when white plum blossoms were in full bloom. She could smell the delicate fragrance of flowers from behind the palace walls of the garden. In her mind, she had thought up a scheme which would involve these white plum blossoms.
Ever since Qingyan discovered that her princess had gone to visit the hostage prince of the Song Kingdom, it weighed heavily on her mind as she followed behind in a despondent manner. Lin Feilu ran ahead on the long, winding path towards the garden. Soon, not even a shadow of her figure was left to be seen. Qingyan called out and beckoned for her princess to no avail. Fortunately, Qingyan knew she was going to Baimei Garden, so she quickened her steps and hurried over.
Lin Feilu followed the trail of fragrance as she ran all the way into the garden.
It was a beautiful scenery where white plum blossoms were blooming in clusters that parted slightly in the face of the blowing wind. She was too short and could not reach the plum blossoms. She was also reluctant to pick them from their branches because of their beauty. Fortunately, there were many fallen flowers on the ground that were still fresh. She squatted under the tree and picked them up one by one. She dusted the dirt off the flowers and stashed them into her little pouch.
Just as she was zealously picking up the flowers, she heard a familiar voice behind the garden wall.