Not long after Lin Feilu had left Yaohua Palace, she saw Qingyan who seemed to be waiting anxiously for her at the fork in the road. Seeing that her princess had exited, Qingyan hurriedly approached her. She seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears as she cried out, “Princess, you’ve finally come out! Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?”
Lin Feilu held out one of the hand stoves and passed it to her, then she said with a smile, “It’s not as if I’ve entered some torture chamber, in fact, Eldest Imperial Sister was very kind to me. See, she even gave me these.”
Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief before she continued to express her fears, “I was so scared when I heard from a palace maid that you were going to Yaohua Palace with the Eldest Princess. If you did not come out when you did, I was about to go look for help from Consort Xian.”
Lin Feilu tilted her head and looked her in the eye. “I thought you were well-versed with the palace’s affairs? Don’t you know that Consort Xian and Consort Hui don’t get along with each other?”
Qingyan replied, “This humble servant certainly knows, but still I was afraid for you, princess…”
Lin Feilu lightly interrupted, “As long as you know not to ever take such drastic actions. After all, you belong to Mingyue Palace. Should a misstep were to happen, you wouldn’t be the only one who would be affected.”
Qingyan lowered her head. “Understood, milady. This humble slave was wrong.”
At this, Lin Feilu took her hand and said in a soft voice, “I know, you were only so anxious because you care for me. However, if I had dared to go in the first place, that would mean that I was absolutely certain that nothing bad would happen to me. You’ve been serving by Mother Consort’s side for so many years, that’s why I trust in you the most. I hope you will be more careful in the future.”
Qingyan was moved beyond measure.
It was at this moment that she realized how different her little princess was now, but she welcomed this change. After all, life in Mingyue Palace was getting better day by day, thus she was happy to loyally serve and protect her masters.
She playfully handled the brand-new hand stove. As she walked, she happily squealed, “Princess, this hand stove’s handicraft is really exquisite. Once we return to the palace, this humble servant will make a little handbag for you, so you can keep the hand stove inside and it will remain warm for a longer period.”
The two were chatting as they walked on. When they passed by the small bridge in Baimei Garden, a pebble suddenly fell from from nowhere and hit the ground right beside Lin Feilu’s feet.
A sharp sound was produced as the pebble bounced off the ground. Qingyan jumped with fright as she exclaimed in a loud voice, “Who did this?!”
No one answered. Lin Feilu took two steps forward, another pebble fell and hit the ground right before her toes. The force behind the trajectory of the thrown pebble was very accurate as it was just enough to scare her without hurting her. Anxiously, Qingyan stood in front of Lin Feilu and continued, “Who dares to harm the Fifth Imperial Princess right here in this palace?!”
Lin Feilu’s expression went pale as she searched around her surroundings. Suddenly she thought of something, then she raised her head and directed her gaze towards a tall tree nearby.
As she expected, a black-robed boy was sitting on a bare tree branch. He was holding a slingshot in his hands, aiming at her with a smirk on his face.
This rascal viscount sure is very patient to have waited in this spot for so long.