This was a problem she couldn't ignore. If Zhang Yu stayed for three to five days, she would take good care of him. Ten days or half a month wouldn't be too difficult... but a month? The ministers would probably all be rushing to the nunnery to beg the emperor to return to the palace. That was no small matter.
Zhang Yu turned around, not annoyed by A-Hao's questioning, acting like someone with an always good temper. He smiled and leaned in to whisper in A-Hao's ear. The warm breath tickled her ear, and A-Hao tried to dodge, but Zhang Yu held her head still with his large hand. Then she heard him say, "A year is too long. Let's go together next spring."
Where to?
Ah Hao looked at Zhang Yu strangely, not understanding what he meant. While it was indeed less than a year until next spring, it was still far more than half a year. Since he said that, and it certainly didn't mean returning to the palace, Ah Hao felt confused.
Seeing that Ah Hao was confused by his words, Zhang Yu seized the opportunity to kiss her cheek and whispered, "Anyway, we're not going back to the palace, you'll find out then." He refused to reveal any more details. Ah Hao belatedly realized that she had been tricked by Zhang Yu and taken advantage of, and she was upset, but seeing that Zhang Yu had his own plans, she stopped asking him about it.
Despite saying he wanted to help Ah Hao, Zhang Yu lingered in the kitchen, refusing to leave. Every now and then, when Ah Hao was busy and couldn't free her hands, he would hug her from behind and try to take advantage of her. Ah Hao really couldn't understand how he had changed so much, becoming clingy and shameless, not serious at all.
With Zhang Yu constantly causing trouble, it took more than half an hour to prepare dinner. Finally, Ahao chased him out of the kitchen. Once it was quiet, she quickly and easily prepared a meal. After serving the food, Ahao went to wash up first because she was sweaty and smelled of cooking oil, letting Zhang Yu eat first.
When she returned, Zhang Yu was still sitting at the table waiting for her to join him. Ahao had no choice but to eat with him. After dinner, Zhang Yu dragged two chairs over and took Ahao to the courtyard to cool off. The chirping of insects seemed to come from afar, continuous yet not noisy.
A firefly flew in from somewhere and landed in Ah Hao's hair. Although she noticed something had landed in her hair, she didn't know what it was. Zhang Yu then deliberately scared her, saying, "Don't move, there's a bug." Ah Hao indeed stopped moving, and Zhang Yu caught the firefly and placed it in Ah Hao's palm.
The firefly, emitting a bright green light, only lingered in Ah Hao's palm for a moment, just enough for her to see what it was. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. Before Ah Hao could even scold Zhang Yu for being too childish in scaring her with such a thing, he pulled her up by the hand.
"What's wrong?" Ah Hao asked, seeing that Zhang Yu seemed to want to go somewhere.
"The moonlight is beautiful, let's go for a walk."
Ah Hao looked up at the crescent moon that had disappeared into the sky, hidden by layers of clouds, and remained silent.
After leaving Jingyun Nunnery, Zhang Yu led Ahao along the mountain path. The light from the luminous pearl replaced the moonlight, illuminating the path beneath their feet. After walking for a long time, almost reaching the foot of the mountain, Zhang Yu led Ahao onto a small path.
Perhaps because people often come this way, the path is quite flat and easy to walk on, except for the occasional pebbles, and it is not overgrown with weeds like the sides of the path. When he reached the end of the path, Zhang Yu finally stopped and put away the luminous pearl in his hand.
Looking around, they saw a place lush with vegetation, and the faint sound of flowing water could be heard. As if he knew about this place beforehand, Zhang Yu didn't think twice and used his arm to push aside the tall grass that could cover Ahao's entire body, leading her through it.
When the view opened up again, Ah Hao saw a vast expanse of sky and earth, where a large swarm of fireflies, emitting a soft green glow, danced in the air, their tiny lights twinkling like stars in the night sky. In the distance, a stream murmured, and a gentle breeze carried the faint fragrance of flowers, creating a dreamlike scene, both real and unreal.
The scene before her was breathtakingly beautiful, and Ah Hao couldn't bear to spoil it, so she stopped in her tracks, suppressing her amazement. Zhang Yu held her hand tightly, turned to the side, bent down slightly, and whispered in her ear, "If you like it, praise me."
He wasn't interested in these things, but seeing the fireflies in Ahao's hair reminded him of the large swarm of fireflies he'd encountered near Jingyun Temple. Although so much time had passed, the surrounding landscape hadn't changed much, so Zhang Yu deduced that they could still be found. He brought Ahao here, and sure enough, he was right.
"In my heart, Your Majesty is already omnipotent," A-Hao whispered in response, speaking from the heart. She had had this thought since the time Dong Shou and his companion jumped off the cliff. Zhang Yu seemed to know everything; everything, whether calculable or not, was under his control.
Zhang Yu, however, didn't think it was a compliment. He immediately retorted, "High above, only to be revered and not profaned?" A-Hao thought the phrase sounded familiar, but after a moment of surprise, she realized it was something she had said before. Even she herself had almost forgotten it, so how could the person in front of her say it exactly the same thing?
"No." Ah Hao denied it sadly, paused for a moment, and leaned close to Zhang Yu's ear and whispered, "We just 'desecrated' each other yesterday..." After saying that, she walked forward on her own, but Zhang Yu, who realized the meaning behind her words in time, grabbed her hand.
He turned Ah Hao's body around, and even though he couldn't see clearly, he could imagine her blushing face. Zhang Yu just looked into her eyes and said in a serious tone, "It's okay now, I won't resist."
·
Although Zhang Yu pushed many of the matters that should have been his to handle onto Prince Ning, Prince Ning was more unwilling to continue watching his sixth brother suppress his pain and endure torment every day, pretending nothing was wrong. Hearing from Lü Chuan that Zhang Yu was getting along well with Ahao at Jingyun Nunnery, Prince Ning breathed a sigh of relief and also relayed the news to Ling Xiao.
However, three or five days passed, and Zhang Yu showed no sign of returning. Eight or ten days passed, and Zhang Yu showed no sign of returning. A month passed, and Zhang Yu still showed no sign of returning, even seeming to be living a more comfortable life each day. The Prince of Ning, who had to deal with a mountain of things every day, finally reached his breaking point.
Ling Xiao knew he wanted to go to Jingyun Nunnery to invite Zhang Yu back to the palace, and she strongly disagreed. "His Majesty isn't coming back, naturally because Ahao refuses to return. Do you want His Majesty to abandon Ahao and come back to this palace to fall ill from longing?" She said this, but in her heart she was thinking, "Is a nunnery a particularly exciting and irresistible place?"
"Do you know what my sixth brother does there every day? Watering flowers, planting vegetables, hunting, chopping wood. He only stays for ten days or half a month before coming back, and that's fine. It's been a month already, and he's still not tired of it. Does he expect to come back in a year or two?" The Prince of Ning couldn't help but angrily accuse Lian Lingxiao of siding with his sixth brother.
"Or... once the Buddhist temple His Majesty ordered to be built is finished, why don't you go and stay there for a month?" Ling Xiao suggested to Prince Ning with ulterior motives. Prince Ning was stunned for a moment and asked, "What would you do at the Buddhist temple?"
Ling Xiao couldn't follow Prince Ning's train of thought and asked, "Why would I go to a Buddhist temple?" Prince Ning also asked, "If you're not going, why should I go?"
Hearing Prince Ning's words, Ling Xiao understood his meaning, and also realized that he hadn't understood hers. She coughed lightly and said only to Prince Ning, "I'll only go if you go." Prince Ning was taken aback, finally realizing the deeper meaning behind Ling Xiao's initial words, and couldn't help but raise his hand to flick her forehead, "What are you thinking about all day?"
"If you don't want to make an appointment, then don't. Why hit me?!" Ling Xiao covered his slightly aching forehead in anger, but in the end, he couldn't suppress his impulse and gave the unromantic person in front of him a glare.
After Zhang Yu went to Jingyun Nunnery to pursue Ahao, Prince Ning became increasingly busy. Ling Xiao observed him coldly for a month, knowing that Zhang Yu probably wouldn't return to the palace easily. So, she kept a close watch for two more days, knowing that Prince Ning wouldn't have time to bother her at the Imperial Hospital anytime soon, and she once again considered leaving the palace. If it weren't for that incident with Ahao, she would already be living a carefree life outside the palace.
The past has completely cooled down. With the emperor away from the palace and Prince Ning temporarily unable to bother or keep an eye on her, this is indeed a very good opportunity. After pondering for two days, thinking that there's no time like the present, Ling Xiao took the things she had prepared beforehand and quietly slipped out of the Imperial Hospital under the cover of night.
How could she only prepare one escape route? Ling Xiao secretly rejoiced at her own caution, and smoothly made her way to another place where she could sneak out of the palace. If she had a choice, she wouldn't have wanted to crawl through this... extremely unglamorous and unimpressive... dog hole... Ling Xiao silently shed a tear of sympathy for herself.
Although her escape wasn't exactly graceful, Ling Xiao had successfully fled the palace. Breathing in the fresh air, she felt the scent of freedom everywhere and couldn't help but hum a little tune. The title of Princess Ning held no allure for her. Rather than being destined to share a husband with someone else, she preferred to sleep with him and run away without taking responsibility.
But what was going on with figures suddenly appearing from all directions outside the palace walls, and torches being lit? Ling Xiao's joy froze on her face, her heart sinking. Not only had she been caught red-handed, but it even looked like… they had been waiting here to ambush her beforehand?
Judging from the incident where she used the little princess to seduce Prince Ning, Ling Xiao didn't think the overwhelmed Prince Ning would realize that she hadn't given up her plan to escape. After all, she hadn't shown any sign of it, and Prince Ning thought she was truly obedient.
Just as she was wondering what was going on, Ling Xiao conceded defeat when she saw that the person standing in front of her was Zhang Yu, who should have been far away at Jingyun Nunnery. She seemed to be trying to remain calm, but she silently took two steps back to the wall. "Hehe, Your Majesty, what a coincidence. Are you here to see the stars and the moon as well?"
"I'm here to have a chat with you about life," Zhang Yu said calmly, looking at Ling Xiao who had immediately given up struggling.
·
Zhang Yu said he had urgent business to attend to at the palace, and Ahao nodded in agreement but didn't take it to heart, going to sleep first. The next morning, she woke up to find herself in Zhang Yu's arms, unable to recall when he had returned. Thinking he might be late, Ahao got up without waking him.
After washing up, Ahao went to the yard to pick some fresh vegetables to make vegetable porridge for breakfast. She glanced at Zhang Yu's plot of land where he had sown seeds, but there wasn't a single vegetable in sight, only weeds. For a moment, she remembered his words, "I am no longer omnipotent," and Ahao couldn't help but laugh again.
When Ahao brought breakfast into the room, Zhang Yu had just opened his eyes. Seeing that he was already awake, Ahao told him to get up and wash up quickly so that the breakfast wouldn't get cold. Zhang Yu lay on the bed, but turned to look at her and said, "Xiao Shi and Ling Xiao are coming today."
It had been more than a month since Ahao last saw Prince Ning and Lingxiao. Ahao assumed that Prince Ning had told Zhang Yu when he returned to the palace to handle some matters, so he asked out of curiosity, "Does Your Highness Prince Ning have time?" Zhang Yu did not answer, so Ahao said instead, "Then you should prepare lunch properly. You should get up soon too."
Zhang Yu snorted, "Give me a hug before I get up." Ah looked at Zhang Yu as if he were a mentally challenged child, then turned and left the room. Ignored, Zhang Yu did not get the hug he was supposed to receive. He could only get up, then wash up and ate breakfast by himself as usual.
After watering Ah Hao's vegetables and fruits, and ignoring his own unproductive vegetable patch, Zhang Yu watered the two jujube trees he had planted in the yard. Then, Prince Ning appeared with Ling Xiao. When Ling Xiao saw Zhang Yu again, he trembled slightly, but had to immediately put on a smile and bow to him along with Prince Ning.
Hearing the commotion, Ah Hao happened to bring out some freshly brewed lotus leaf tea from the kitchen. Smiling, she invited Prince Ning and Ling Xiao to sit in the main hall. Ah Hao then went to the kitchen and brought out some wild fruits that she and Zhang Yu had picked while hunting the day before, for them to try.
Although Zhang Yu didn't look at her, Ling Xiao still felt a chill run down her spine and her breathing became labored. When A-Hao went to the kitchen again, Ling Xiao, unable to sit still, made an excuse to help and followed A-Hao out. Only after escaping to the kitchen did Ling Xiao feel a sense of relief. A-Hao noticed her appearance and sensed something was wrong, so she asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a falling out with His Highness Prince Ning?"
Ling Xiao sat down behind the stove to help Ah Hao start the fire, but Ling Xiao waved her hand weakly, "No, don't worry about me, you're here..." Seeing Ah Hao's radiant face, she admired her contentment and smiled, "Seeing how comfortable you are here, I want to come and keep you company too."