“What happened next?”

“After the fight, the misunderstanding was cleared up. It turned out she was from the demon realm, so unlike ordinary, delicate women, she particularly loved horsemanship and martial arts. Her horse had been startled, which was why it scattered our soul-collecting team. In the end, she traveled with us for two days before we parted ways.” The Third Prince spoke very casually, but judging from the smile at the corner of his mouth, it must have been quite an exciting encounter.

Yu Wensang looked at the Third Prince meaningfully and smiled, “Brother speaks so lightly of it, but I’m afraid you must have become quite close with that young lady at the time.”

The Third Prince looked down at Yu Wensang’s smile, knowing she was deliberately teasing him, but he didn’t object—just responded with a faint smile.

Seeing the Third Prince respond this way, Yu Wensang understood her guess was correct. She showed a knowing smile, “Was she very beautiful?”

The Third Prince smiled slightly, “I’ve never seen a woman who could wear red so captivatingly.”

Yu Wensang looked at the Third Prince in surprise, having never heard him praise a woman so highly. She teased him with a few more remarks, all of which he deflected. Knowing his personality was naturally not inclined toward joking, she stopped asking further questions. After dragging the Third Prince around the heavenly streets for another round, the sky darkened, and they returned to the manor. Due to official business, the Third Prince couldn’t accompany Yu Wensang for long, so she could only run to sit by the palace wall alone, gazing at the full moon in the sky in a daze.

“…” A melodious flute sound drifted over, interrupting Yu Wensang’s melancholy. Instinctively, Yu Wensang plucked a leaf and placed it at her lips to blow.

The music harmonized beautifully, elegant and serene, sometimes soft and intimate, sometimes bright and clear, flowing quietly under the moonlit courtyard. Yu Wensang’s heart gradually became bright and relaxed with the music, yet there was also a touch of melancholy. When the piece ended, she even forgot to put down the bamboo leaf in her hand.

Yu Wensang became increasingly curious about who was harmonizing with her music. She quickly ran to the wall and stuck her head out to look, but could see nothing but darkness in the night.

…

…

After her birthday, Yu Wensang had to continue her confined days. She wandered around the palace daily like a wandering spirit. Initially, when her prince brothers were around, she would pester them with endless questions, listening to their tales of customs from outside and their experiences along the way. Later, they became afraid of her because once Yu Wensang started asking questions, there was no end to it.

In April, the peach blossoms still bloomed magnificently, and Dajing Royal Palace was filled with intoxicating fragrance. Yu Wensang leaned boredly against the windowsill, seeing Huayi tidying the room, and casually played with her jade-carved little dog.

“Princess, why are there two fragrance pouches?” Huayi suddenly frowned and asked Yu Wensang, holding up two identical fragrance pouches.

“Where are the two?” Yu Wensang turned around nonchalantly, about to deny it when she discovered Huayi held two identical light azure fragrance pouches embroidered with jasmine flower patterns in plain silver thread—the flowers elegant and lifelike. Taking a closer sniff, the pouches truly contained dried jasmine flowers. Turning them over, the embroidered characters were different: Yu Wensang’s read “Holding your hand,” while the other read “Growing old with you.”

“This…” Yu Wensang recalled in surprise, “Could it be his?” Yu Wensang remembered the fragrance pouch she had snatched from that person’s waist last time, and looked at the pouch more carefully.

“Did I mistake it?” Yu Wensang murmured, wanting to return it to him, only to realize she didn’t know his surname or name, much less who he was. Finding herself in a difficult position, after thinking it over, she could only put it away, planning to return it the next time they met.

The Dragon Boat Festival was a major holiday in the human realm, and the same was true for the Fengjian clan. Every year at this time, there are dragon boat races on the river west of the city. Citizens from inside and outside the city would dress in new clothes to stroll the streets. Various vendors would be unusually bustling on that day, especially those selling river zongzi. River zongzi were different from the zongzi eaten by mortals—they contained special ingredients and were bound with colorful threads, used for throwing into the river as offerings to the river god. Most people would make a wish when throwing river zongzi, and legend said that if the river god received your zongzi, your wish would come true.

It was another beautiful day with the sun already high. Yu Wensang had also completed her confinement period. Seeing that Yu Wensang had behaved well this month, the Queen Mother agreed to let her watch the dragon boats after Yu Wensang pleaded a few times. Yu Wensang dragged her brothers and brought Huayi along as they energetically left the palace. Accompanying them was also Zi Feng. After some time, Yu Wensang had finally figured out that Zi Feng and Bai Zhi were the only remaining bloodline of the phoenix clan after Pangu created the world. The two brothers traveled the five realms and were currently staying on Taiye Island outside Dajing City. The Phoenix clan and the Yuwen family had been close friends since before her birth.

“I say, little sister, if Mother Queen knew you were eating these things on the street, she’d scold you.” The Second Prince followed behind, watching Yu Wensang eat while walking, and couldn’t help but tease her.

Hearing the Second Prince mention this, Huayi couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle, “Last time she went out, she ate too many street snacks and got a stomachache as soon as she returned to the palace. She lay in bed for several days, unable to get up. Princess forgets the pain once the wound heals.”

Yu Wensang glared with laughing eyes and turned her head, leaning close to Huayi to quickly reach out and tickle her arm, “You’re making fun of me now—you need a lesson.”

Huayi was most afraid of people tickling her arms. As soon as Yu Wensang moved, she laughed and begged for mercy, pushing Zi Feng to block Yu Wensang. Yu Wensang panicked and reached out to pull, but Huayi lost her balance and fell into Zi Feng’s arms, immediately blushing deeply and lowering her head.

Zi Feng didn’t notice Huayi’s blush. He smiled as he helped her steady herself, laughing, “Alright, alright, stop bullying Huayi. How can she be your match?”

Yu Wensang grinned at them and withdrew her hand. “Fine, fine, I won’t bully her.”

Along the way, they watched acrobatics, monkey shows, street performances, fragrant powders, and hairpins… Gradually, everyone got separated. After watching for several hours, they finally reached the riverside west of the city, but the riverbank was already packed with people. Despite Yu Wensang trying several times, she couldn’t squeeze through. Seeing the nearby Linxiang Wine House, she thought about finding a seat upstairs in the restaurant. But upon entering the wine house, she discovered that while the first floor was manageable, the second floor had no standing room at all, especially near the windows, which were already surrounded by three layers of people.

Unable to find any place, she could only ask a waiter. The waiter initially said there was a private room available, but then another waiter ran over with a pleased expression and whispered something in the other waiter’s ear. That waiter immediately put on a smiling face and bowed to Yu Wensang, “Miss, I’m sorry. This private room was just reserved by a young master. You’re too late.”

It was one misfortune after another. Though somewhat unwilling, she could only smile and thank the waiter before heading downstairs dejectedly. But as she turned the corner to go downstairs, a smiling person suddenly blocked her path, bowing respectfully to her, “Miss, my master invites you to the private room to watch the dragon boats together.”

Yu Wensang looked up at the person in surprise, frowning, “Who are you?”