“Nonsense.” Yun Zhaobai gently tapped his sister’s forehead. “You must be tired after visiting the palace. Have dinner and go to bed early.”
“Alright.” Fuyi yawned, leaning lazily against the back of her chair. “Her Majesty treated me very warmly. Seems like I haven’t offended the prince.”
“The more you speak, the less it sounds right,” Liu Qiongzhi said softly as she smoothed Fuyi’s loose hair. “If you’re tired, go ahead and rest. We’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”
“Mhm.” Fuyi turned her face to the side and rubbed her cheek against her mother’s palm. “Mother, I’ll head to my room.”
After Fuyi left, the gentleness on Liu Qiongzhi’s face slowly faded. “Ning Wang’s wedding is the day after tomorrow. You should spend more time with your sister over the next few days.”
“Mother, are you worried about little sis?” Yun Zhaobai poured some tea and handed the cup to his mother. “Rest assured, she won’t be bothered by it.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s good.” Comforted by her son’s words, Liu Qiongzhi managed to put her concerns to rest.
…
As dawn broke, Fuyi was still fast asleep when she vaguely heard the voices of her personal servant girls, Qiushuang and Xiayu.
“Miss, please wake up. Miss Lin and Young Master Yang are eager to see you.”
“Who?” Fuyi sat up, hugging her blanket, as Qiushuang wiped her face with a cloth soaked in warm water. “The two you’ve known since childhood, Second Young Master Yang and Fifth Miss Lin.”
“What?!” Fuyi instantly woke up, jumped out of bed, hastily put on a robe, and rushed out.
“Miss, your shoes!” Qiushuang hurried after her with the shoes while Xiayu carried her outer cloak.
“Boss!”
“Yang Er! Lin Xiaowu!” Fuyi ran toward them, but before she could speak, Lin Xiaowu tightly embraced her.
“Boss, you’re finally back!” Lin Xiaowu’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Do you know how we’ve gotten by these past three years without you?”
Fuyi glanced at Lin Xiaowu and Yang Erlang’s1 much rounder faces and hesitated. “Eating, drinking, and playing every day?”
“How could we? With you gone, we had no heart for fun.” Lin Xiaowu shot a glance at the chubby Yang Erlang, then sighed. “Whenever we missed you, we drowned our sorrow in food. Look at how much weight Yang Erlang has gained.”
Fuyi: “…”
She pushed Lin Xiaowu away in disdain. “Enough already.”
“Sure, we’ve put on a bit of weight, but we genuinely missed you,” Yang Erlang chimed in, squeezing over with the widest grin. “When we heard you were back, we rushed over yesterday, but you were at the palace. So here we are, cutting our sleep short to see you first thing in the morning. Isn’t that true friendship?”
“Well, you guys are indeed early enough,” Fuyi yawned. “Wait here, I’ll go freshen up a bit.”
“Okay,” Lin Xiaowu found a chair and sat down, casually instructing Qiushuang, “Qiushuang, bring us some food. We have gotten up so early we didn’t even take a bite before rushing here.”
“Please wait a moment, Miss Lin and Second Young Master Yang. This servant will inform the kitchen to have breakfast prepared right away.” Qiushuang smiled, instructing a young servant girl to fetch the food from the kitchen while she stayed here to serve the two guests.
By the time Fuyi returned, Yang Erlang and Lin Xiaowu were already sitting at a table full of dishes, chatting with Qiushuang about her fall from the cliff. Fuyi sat down between them, sighing. “Does eating ever stop your chatter?”
“We were waiting for you to join us!” Yang Erlang eagerly scooped a bowl of congee for her. “Here, Boss, enjoy.”
“Eat up, you need the nourishment,” Lin Xiaowu added, piling side dishes onto Fuyi’s plate, sniffling. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”
“Just focus on eating.” Seeing their teary faces, Fuyi chuckled. “I’ve been sending you gifts from Chongzhou these past two years, haven’t I? Why get so emotional now?”
“We can’t feel at ease until we see you in person.” Lin Xiaowu sniffled, holding a piece of pastry. “But because of our family titles, we are not allowed to leave the capital without permission. If not for this, Yang Erlang and I would have rushed to Chongzhou three years ago.”
“Good thing you had enough sense not to come,” Fuyi said, feeling a little overwhelmed by their tearful gazes. She ladled congee for both of them. “Now, let’s eat.”
Lin Xiaowu and Yang Erlang exchanged a quick glance, deciding not to tell Fuyi that they had actually tried to sneak out of the capital back then, only to be caught and dragged back by their families shortly after.
Their emotions came and went quickly. After finishing breakfast, the two were back to their usual playful selves, clamoring to take Fuyi out for some fun.
Outside the gate, Yun Zhaobai, hearing the laughter from his sister’s courtyard, asked the gatekeeper, “Are my sister’s friends here?”
“Yes, young master. Second Young Master Yang from the Marquis’s house and Miss Lin from the Anping Junzhu’s house came early this morning to visit.”
Hearing his sister’s joyful laughter, Yun Zhaobai smiled helplessly, folding his hands behind his back as he turned and walked away.
…
After breakfast, Fuyi was whisked out of the Yun manor by Yang Erlang and Lin Xiaowu, heading straight for South Street.
“Everyone was excited to hear you were back. We’ve set up a few tables at Caiyin Pavilion on South Street, just waiting for you to arrive,” Lin Xiaowu lifted the curtain and peeked out of the carriage window. “Don’t worry. The food, the drinks, and the music are all your favorites.”
Before Fuyi could respond, the carriage suddenly came to a stop.
“What’s going on?” Yang Erlang lifted the curtain and asked the coachman.
“Second young master, there’s a dowry procession ahead,” the coachman replied. It was customary in the Dalong Dynasty to yield the way for wedding or funeral processions.
“Is that… from the Cui family?” Yang Erlang glanced ahead. Realizing Fuyi was in the carriage as well, he quickly dropped the curtain and said to the girls, “It’s a dowry procession. We’ll need to wait for them to pass.”
Seeing Fuyi about to lift the curtain, he quickly stopped her. “There’s nothing interesting, really.”
Seeing Yang Erlang’s increasingly nervous look, Fuyi smiled knowingly. She put down her hand and said, “You’re right. Nothing worth looking at.”
Yang Erlang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and instructed the coachman to take a different route.
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