Wanwan was utterly bored. Being here wasn’t like being at the Princess’s mansion – she felt uncomfortable all over. She couldn’t sleep well for her afternoon nap either, sitting by the window in a daze. Just then Xiao You said the young master had invited her to fly kites. Thinking that idling was still idling, she put down her writing brush and got up to go out.

The feudal prince’s mansion was very large – if judged by regulations, it probably already exceeded proper bounds. However, no enfeoffed prince in the world was truly that honest. As the Emperor had said when he was Prince Fu – family, state, and world, first family, then state, then world. The latter two were the Emperor’s achievements, the former was for one’s own enjoyment, so small transgressions within certain limits were still permitted.

Precisely because the place was so large, every area of the prince’s mansion had a name – White Robe, Jade Letter, Sui Marquis Pavilion – all to enable precise location identification. If they just used “east road, west road, behind the tea room,” that would truly be confusing.

She didn’t quite know the way to Green Water Fragrant Pavilion, so she called for a mansion maid to guide her, only then learning it was in the northeast corner of this lake. Supposedly many lilac trees were planted there – when the lilacs bloomed in May and June, the entire prince’s mansion would be immersed in fragrance. South of the grove was a large open area with slightly raised terrain in an arched shape, also called steamed bun ground, perfect for flying kites. The maid spoke eloquently – since there were no young ladies in the mansion, only two young masters, this kind of game was almost never played. The young masters had been instilled with masculine values from childhood. The eldest was like a miniature prince, having learned to speak and act with complete propriety. As for the second young master, no matter how mischievous he was, he had never stooped to such girly things.

After listening for a while, Wanwan’s mind spontaneously conjured up a thought – if she had a daughter in the future, that would actually be quite nice. But in the next instant she felt ashamed of her own thoughts. Not long after marrying down, she had already quarreled with Yuwen Liangshi several times. Who knew what this marriage would be like in the future? Thinking so far ahead was truly shameless.

She collected her thoughts and continued forward to Green Water Fragrant Pavilion. The steamed bun ground was vividly and aptly named – a round ridge like a small hillside. In this season of spring warmth and blooming flowers, the ground was covered with soft, fine grass that felt soft underfoot, suddenly giving her the desire to fall into it.

Wanwan stood at the bottom of the slope without seeing Lan Zhou. Xiao You grumbled, “It was clearly arranged, but now that people have come, he’s nowhere to be seen?”

She wasn’t anxious – waiting a bit didn’t matter. The scenery here was very good. To carve out such a space within a residential compound was truly not easy. People all said Prince Nanyuan was extremely wealthy, and after coming here twice, she believed it. Though the palace gardens were built as beautifully as possible, they still couldn’t match the natural authenticity here. Even if they couldn’t fly kites, strolling around and looking about would be quite nice.

She turned back to instruct Xiao You, “Go find the young master. I’m going up to the hilltop to sunbathe.” She removed her ornamental steps and lifted her skirt hem, walking off on her own.

The slope wasn’t actually high, but the surrounding fields were open and she seemed closer to the sky. Standing there alone with wind blowing through, mixed with faint bee humming – Jiangnan’s April weather was indeed very pleasant.

Since no one could see her anyway, when alone she could do whatever she wanted. She first carefully sat down on the grass, still somewhat apprehensive about insects and ants. But before long she couldn’t restrain herself and suddenly lay back, so happy she almost laughed out loud.

Her nose caught the fragrance of green grass, both arms pillowed behind her head, overhead was blue sky and white clouds. Even though her face was being warmed by the sun, she paid no attention. Rarely able to be unrestrained, not needing to put on airs and maintain dignity, she propped up her legs and boldly crossed them. The fine pleats on her horse-face skirt spread like an opened folding fan, fluttering in the afternoon breeze.

She stared intently at the sky when suddenly a kite drifted into her field of vision – graceful and upright like a young maiden, it was a thin swallow.

Anyone who played with kites knew that Beijing’s most commonly flown were these swallow kites. They were made in a “big” character shape with bat wings fitted in the armpit hollows, double-raised eyebrows, colorful and gaudy. Fatter ones were called fat swallows, slimmer ones naturally called thin swallows. Thin swallows had an advantage – being lightweight with clever wing pockets, they could rise in light winds and stay steady in strong winds. Beginners generally liked flying these. She squinted at that colorful swallow embedded in the azure sky – how wonderful, even not knowing whose hands held the string, it looked free.

Unfortunately that swallow wasn’t flying very high. In such weather, it should have soared straight up to the ninth heaven. After waiting a long time without seeing whoever was flying it loosen the line – unskilled technique, wasting good materials – she even felt sorry for this swallow. She finally propped herself up, assuming it must be Lan Zhou, but the person below the slope was tall and broad – surprisingly it was his father.

Wanwan was startled, remembering her current undignified appearance, and quickly stood up to brush off her dress. Just as she was about to ask where Lan Zhou was, that swallow swayed a few times in the wind gap, then suddenly dove straight down and crashed right in front of her.

Tsk! She couldn’t help frowning. It seemed Prince Nanyuan truly wasn’t a skilled player. Even if replaced with her two elder brothers, they would probably be more adept than him. He looked at her with a face full of chagrin, while she looked at him with disdain. He still spoke first, “Lan Zhou suddenly developed a headache and went back to rest. I met him halfway – he asked me to bring the kite over and also to ask leave for him.”

Wanwan picked up the kite and walked down the slope, reaching him and handing it back. “This swallow’s wings are broken – it can never fly again.”

He took it and frowned as he bent it a couple times. Made of thin bamboo strips, one was broken, and the paper used to cover the wing decorations also had a hole torn in it – it truly couldn’t catch wind anymore.

He was deeply disappointed. “It’s my fault for not being able to control it.”

“It’s nothing – all beginners are like this.” She was rarely so good-tempered with him, because she knew he was trying his best to accommodate her, even constantly having a flavor of trying to please her, so she couldn’t be so unreasonable.

She said, “Let’s fix it – it would be such a shame…” Her words had barely fallen when two servants came carrying a centipede kite – big head, slender body, segment by segment, each section with legs growing out.

Chang Bao hurriedly delivered it to them, wearing a flattering smile on his face, bowing deeply. “Our master had this prepared long ago, left there for quite a while, just waiting for Your Highness. It happens that the young master has a stomachache and couldn’t come, so he had this servant bring it to you. Please have Your Highness help send it to the sky – that would work too.”

So first it was a headache, then a stomachache – what exactly was going on? She glanced at Yuwen Liangshi, who looked embarrassed and touched his nose.

A clever person who hadn’t coordinated his story properly, or perhaps Lan Zhou had deliberately betrayed him. Wanwan found it somewhat amusing. But it was a good kite, made very carefully with wind whistles properly tied – when flying it would probably resound throughout a large neighborhood. It was just that one person probably couldn’t operate it well – assistance would be needed. The servants below didn’t dare linger in their presence and had already slipped away, so the only one who could help was him.

“Can Your Highness run along with me?” She held the centipede’s head, gripping the line reel in her hand. “I don’t have much strength and fear I won’t be able to hold it back later. You support the middle first, then help pull the line – can you do that?”

He nodded repeatedly – even if he couldn’t, he had to.

She smiled, rarely so gentle. “Just support it, don’t pull. When you feel it wants to float up, give it a gentle push upward and it will rise.”

Friendship between people often develops from working together. For instance, if she always sat properly in her room and you tried to develop special feelings through greetings and casual conversation, that would be like dreaming. Not to mention distant examples – just look at Lan Zhou. After falling ill and staying in her courtyard for over ten days, his relationship with her advanced by leaps and bounds. He immediately drew inspiration from his son – using the title of husband and wife to make demands of her simply didn’t work. He had to start with her preferences. Giving her gold and silver mountains might not earn a glance, but accompanying her to find amusement, she would definitely like.

“I don’t know how – I’ll do exactly as you say. Tell me one by one what to do and when.”

He was just like a well-behaved good student – polite, not putting on airs, admitting when he didn’t understand. Wanwan was also happy to teach him.

Her eyes curved with smiles as she said, “It’s not hard to learn – just run toward the wind, let it rise with the momentum. Watch for the right timing to slowly loosen the rope. If there’s a tendency to fall, use skillful force to pull the rope. Between loosening and releasing, it will fly higher and higher.”

Her expression when talking about kites was relaxed, forgetting her status and the responsibilities she bore. This was good – she was a girl after all. Why should she live with such bitter resentment? By his side, letting him carefully protect her – this was the life she should live.

She started running, her smile blooming like flowers. He had never seen her like this – thoroughly and completely happy, her young body stretching in the sunlight. These things that should have belonged to her, occasionally flashing forth, were so precious. It was just that getting this kite to fly wasn’t easy. At first he still had the mind to watch her, but later in all the bustle he had no attention to spare. The two people ran toward open ground, gradually the centipede’s head rose, bit by bit driving the body behind it, until finally even the tail floated into mid-air.

Wanwan shouted loudly, “Good, good… come quickly, come here…”

Her strength was insufficient – she really couldn’t pull such a large kite. He rolled up his sleeves and came forward – proximity meant strength. Wanwan’s attention wavered as she saw his unguarded smile, so bright and open, crashing into her eyes with a wind-and-wave-breaking posture. She remembered he had once boasted that the Yuwen family’s beautiful reputation was known throughout the world – it truly was so. The man was already beyond reproach; if it were a woman, who knew what shocking beauty that would be. After Emperor Qinzong, Yuwen women weren’t permitted to enter the imperial harem, probably from fear of beauty bewitching the ruler. After all, if an absolute beauty decided to overturn the court, it would certainly be much easier than for a man.

With their combined efforts, the kite soared upward. Only a small distance remained between the line and the reel. With four hands working together, in all the bustle there was no attention for much else. His hand covered hers to grip it together. No matter how slow Wanwan was, she noticed. But he was very calm, his whole mind on the kite, making her wonder if she was being too constrained, appearing somewhat petty?

His smile gradually transformed, from having a heart free of dust to secret delight. His gaze never changed direction, nor did his expression show anything improper, but his hidden satisfaction was about to burst through his chest and explode from every limb.

Truly using every method, advancing step by step. Actually he didn’t have much interest in flying kites, but to get close to her, this situation was the best opportunity. That little Lan Zhou had quite a few tricks – for him as a father to compete with his son for opportunities was somewhat embarrassing. Yesterday’s incident had taken him a full day and night to calm down and figure out exactly what had caused her such abnormal behavior.

It was all the wonderful work of his good son, taking crooked paths at such a young age. She had been affected by his intoxicating incense, and her every action was the same as speaking truth after drinking – whoever she deeply loved in her heart was who she saw with her eyes. She kept calling “Chang Chen this, Chang Chen that,” completely ignoring his feelings. He was disheartened all night, thinking of tearing Xiao Duo limb from limb, but never thought of giving up on her. Given some time, he would definitely find a way to completely uproot Xiao Duo. So today coming to fly kites with her, taking small advantage during their moment of sincere cooperation – if he could look at himself from a clear angle, he was probably both humble and pitiful.

But there was no help for it – he just liked her. He could hold his head high before anyone else, but in front of her he regressed to a hunchbacked invalid. The kite flew in the sky, sunlight was dazzling, almost hurting his eyes, but he didn’t care – as long as she was beside him.

The thin rope in their hands ultimately couldn’t confine the soaring centipede. The higher it rose, the louder the whistle sound and the greater the force. Afraid she might be carried away, he held her tightly in his arms. Suddenly there was a light “zheng” sound, and that centipede writhed chaotically in the sky before flying toward more distant places.

“Ah, the line broke…” She grasped the line reel, disappointed. “It just flew away like that…”

He tightened his arms without intending to let her go. “It’s good that it flew away – now it never has to be controlled by people again.”

Wanwan sighed, watching it grow smaller and smaller until it finally became a thin black line. Every time a kite was lost from her hands, she always felt inexpressibly regretful.

After lamenting for a while, she finally noticed she was still in his embrace. He encircled her from behind – this embrace was like copper walls and iron barriers, making one feel secure but also panicked. She flushed red. “The kite flying is finished, Your Highness… please let me go.”

But he said nothing, turning her around and embracing her tightly again.

Her heart thundered as she struggled twice. He said don’t move. “I have so many words in my heart, but can’t say a single one. Let me hold you for a while – please, I beg you.”

Wanwan’s nose felt somewhat sour. All the bits and pieces of their past interactions were like picture slides, passing frame by frame before her eyes. How had it come to this? From the beginning she hadn’t disliked him, had even secretly missed him sometimes, but somehow they had gradually become like fire and water. Sometimes she also felt hatred – after hating Yin Ge, she hated the Emperor. Why make her know so much? Wouldn’t it have been better to keep it hidden until the end? But each person had their fate – she couldn’t live in stolen peace because the world belonged to the Murong clan.

The only fortunate thing was that Yu Qixia and the Eastern Depot agents hadn’t discovered any illegal activities from him. That was good – even if her own vigilance relaxed, she needn’t feel guilty about it. He held her and she surprisingly didn’t reject it at all. Inexplicably, there was even a vaguely familiar feeling – their bodies were compatible.

Both remained silent. After a very long time, she finally heard him speak.

“Our marriage hasn’t given me any sense of security – my heart has actually grown emptier day by day. Is it because I’m not good enough that you can’t accept me? I’ve already tried very hard. I’ll change what’s insufficient – please don’t ignore me.”

His tone carried grievance, not like a regional overlord but like a child who couldn’t get what he wanted. Wanwan was stunned, her heartbeat becoming chaotically irregular. This person truly had ability – flexible and adaptable, actually showing such vulnerability to her. Her sleeves hung down, those two hands at a loss. She wanted to pat him consolingly, but it was like being awakened by a revelation – she absolutely mustn’t be presumptuous.

As for him, because of her non-resistance, he saw a glimmer of hope. Things he had worried about before were now slowly beginning to loosen and crumble. He felt he should change direction – rather than being evasive and mysterious, it might be better to take the initiative and confess. The effect might be somewhat better.

He slowly drew a breath. “Facing you, I truly feel somewhat guilty. I did something wrong before, and this matter has been buried in my heart. Recently I’ve thought about it countless times – if you knew, perhaps you would distance yourself from me even more. But if I don’t speak, I feel I’m wronging you and don’t deserve to stand before you.”

Her heart tightened, all her attention focusing on his words. “Your Highness might as well speak directly.”

He released her and faced her in a penitent posture, hands hanging down. “To bring you to Nanyuan, I instructed Yin Ge to bewitch the ruler. After Yin Ge became pregnant, I had her spread slander, inciting His Majesty to issue an edict bestowing your marriage to me. When you received the edict, it happened to be when I was suffering endless gossip and rumors, causing you to lose face – this was due to my thoughtless consideration. In this matter I will owe you for life. But with Heaven above watching, the feelings I’ve expressed to you many times – not a single sentence was false. Please believe me. Today laying out the truth, I’ve already prepared myself. If you hate me from now on, I deserve it. However you want to punish me, I’ll accept it. But if Your Highness could spare me redemption, I’ll love and protect you doubly in the future to atone for the sins I committed before.”

He spoke very devoutly, but it was also strategic retreat to advance. This matter was like a festering sore – both sides had always maintained superficial peace. Without lancing it, it would only rot more thoroughly the more it was covered. He knew that so far all her dissatisfaction with him lay in this matter. Perhaps by fighting with his back to the water and resolving her mental knot, things would improve afterward.