“I just fed you a…” Before You Yuji could finish her sentence, she realized he wasn’t asking for candied fruits.
You Yuji turned her head, took a small bronze mirror the size of a baby’s fist from her embroidered pouch at her waist, and looked into it, noticing the white residue on her lips.
Suddenly, the wind picked up, causing the small boat to sway.
Si Que immediately raised his hand to support You Yuji’s waist.
The boat soon stabilized. You Yuji slightly lifted her chin and moved a bit closer to Si Que, speaking softly, “Help sister clean it off.”
Clean it off.
Si Que’s hand, which was supporting You Yuji’s waist, gradually pressed inward, fully embracing her slender waist. You Yuji leaned into him, her soft body bumping gently against his chest, lightly touching his heart through their clothes.
With his other hand, Si Que gently lifted You Yuji’s face, his thumb lightly tracing along her soft lips, gradually increasing the pressure until all the residue was on his fingertip.
“Is it clean now?” She raised the corner of her eyes slightly, smiling at him.
“Yes.” Si Que looked into her eyes, slowly putting the finger that had touched her lips into his mouth, still tasting a hint of sweetness.
The boat seemed to hit something, swaying more violently. Suddenly, the light dimmed.
You Yuji turned her head to look and saw that the boat had drifted under a bridge. The bridge blocked the light, casting the boat into darkness. There weren’t many river lanterns floating on the water here either.
As You Yuji was looking outside, Si Que suddenly pulled down the ropes, lowering the curtains at both ends of the boat’s cabin. In an instant, the cabin was plunged into complete darkness.
You Yuji turned back, looking toward Si Que. It was too dark; she couldn’t see him.
“Sister.”
She quickly heard his voice, right by her ear.
“Yes?” You Yuji found his hand on her waist and gently rubbed it.
“My lips are dirty too. I want sister to clean them.” His voice was low.
In the pitch black, You Yuji vaguely felt him lowering his head, his long eyelashes seeming to lightly brush her cheek.
Unfortunately, in the darkness, Si Que couldn’t see the charming expression in You Yuji’s eyes.
You Yuji gently squeezed his hand again. At this moment, her heart felt soft. She also found his indirect request for a kiss somewhat adorable.
She moved closer, pressing her soft lips to his, slowly rubbing them. This time, she didn’t pull away quickly. Her lips still pressed against his, she softly asked, “Is it clean now?”
As she spoke, her lips gently parted and closed against his.
Si Que closed his eyes, paused for a moment, and then said, “No.”
He faintly heard a gentle, warm laugh.
You Yuji pressed her lips to his again, rubbing softly, and asked, “How about now?”
Si Que held back, then spoke again, “Still no.”
This time, before he could even close his lips, a soft tongue slipped inside. The hand Si Que had placed on You Yuji’s waist suddenly tightened. Realizing he might hurt her, he quickly relaxed his grip.
You Yuji’s tongue slowly explored his lips, licking around leisurely, finally brushing against his tongue.
“How about now?”
Si Que could clearly hear the change in her voice; the previous amusement was gone, replaced by a deeper, softer tone.
Si Que didn’t answer.
He responded with a bold, unrestrained kiss.
A cool breeze stirred ripples on the water. The boat bumped against a crossbeam under the bridge and then began drifting downstream again. It took a while before it finally emerged from under the bridge.
Light and shadows filtered through the gaps in the wooden cabin, creating shimmering spots on the water.
You Yuji opened her eyes and looked through a small hole in the roof at a twinkling star in the night sky. She gently pushed Si Que.
“We’re almost there,” she said, her voice soft and somewhat weak.
Si Que buried his face in her collarbone, refusing to get up. He still had his eyes closed, inhaling her faint, unique scent. You Yuji pushed him, but he didn’t move, still holding her close. He asked, “Sister, is today the day marked with a red pen?”
Is today the day marked with a red pen?
You Yuji continued to gaze at the distant night sky through the hole in the roof. After a moment of recollection, she shook her head slightly, “I don’t quite remember. Maybe, maybe not…”
Si Que chuckled softly and said, “Then it is.”
You Yuji neither confirmed nor denied it.
It seemed they were approaching the lower reaches of the Lianshui River, as the banks became lively again, and the noise gradually increased.
Si Que straightened up and adjusted You Yuji’s slightly wrinkled collar before raising the curtains at both ends of the cabin.
“So many river lanterns!” You Yuji’s voice was filled with unexpected delight.
Si Que’s gaze shifted from You Yuji’s face to the water. The river lanterns released upstream had all gathered here, densely floating on the water and occasionally bumping into the boat.
You Yuji rolled up her sleeves, leaned over, and picked up a river lantern. The candle inside was almost burnt out. Holding the lantern in her hands, water dripped from it, flowing down her palms.
She read out the crooked words written on the lantern.
“Flowers in Drunken Times.”
You Yuji burst into laughter.
Si Que didn’t understand why she was laughing. He used his skirt to carefully wipe the droplets of water from her hands.
“This is Zhenxu’s handwriting. She thinks that by switching to her left hand, I wouldn’t recognize it!” You Yuji placed the river lantern at the bow of the boat and leaned over again to pick up two more lanterns that floated by.
These two lanterns had the words “Mutual Understanding” and “Love and Harmony” written on them.
Si Que also picked up a lantern and read the words aloud: “Stronger than Gold, Unafraid of Gossip.”
“Sister, the people around you are really interesting.”
For the first time, Si Que didn’t find the meddling servants annoying. Maybe they didn’t need to be thrown into the poison pool after all.
Seeing You Yuji look over, he immediately put on a pure, radiant smile.
The starry river of the heavens was no match for the clarity of his eyes. The shimmering reflections on the water added an ethereal beauty to his face.
You Yuji was momentarily dazed.
She suddenly remembered… the last time she marveled at how the goddess Nüwa took extra care in molding Chen Anzhi’s face, she thought Nüwa must have forgotten to mold his brain.
But now, she felt her previous thoughts were completely wrong.
Chen Anzhi’s face wasn’t worth the goddess’s effort. It was just luck that his features weren’t too crooked when Nüwa flung the clay.
The flawless face in front of her, however, was a masterpiece carefully sculpted by the goddess Nüwa.
“Ah Que, your eyes are so beautiful,” You Yuji suddenly said.
She raised her hand and gently traced the contour of his eyes with her fingertip. Then she added, “Especially when you smile at me.”
Si Que knew. He knew You Yuji liked his obedient, smiling mask.
“We’ve arrived,” he said.
Si Que stood up first, stepped onto the shore, and then extended his hand to help You Yuji off the boat. He had already noticed that although You Yuji could ride a horse skillfully, she seemed not to be accustomed to sitting in a boat.
“Wait, you two!”
As You Yuji and Si Que were about to leave, a little girl of seven or eight years old came running over with a bouquet of flowers in her arms. She looked up and said seriously, “Last night, I dreamed of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. She told me to wait here tonight and count the people coming ashore. If the seventy-seventh person to come ashore is two people together, they are destined to be a perfect couple for three lifetimes. I must give this bouquet to them!”
The little girl quickly finished speaking, then handed the bouquet to You Yuji and ran off.
Si Que suppressed the urge to laugh coldly and asked in a normal tone, “Is this also the work of those two maids of yours?”
You Yuji smiled and shook her head, “I don’t know.”
She leaned in to smell the bouquet, the fragrance was overwhelming.
Si Que glanced over and saw the smile in her eyes, and the feeling of speechlessness in his heart dissipated. As they walked forward, he casually took You Yuji’s hand.
You Yuji looked down at their intertwined hands and again inhaled the fresh fragrance of the flowers she held. The pure scent of the flowers was incomparable to any perfume or incense.
Because it was night, and despite the many lights, one wouldn’t notice others’ faces unless they were close. So, Si Que wasn’t wearing a veil hat tonight.
He stopped at a fireworks stand, watching the vendor animatedly describe how beautiful his fireworks were to a customer.
“Hey, isn’t this Princess Que?” A sharp female voice with a mocking tone cut through the air. “The once high and mighty princess, now a lowly concubine, still dares to wander about. No longer the princess of old, can she even afford fireworks?”
The woman’s voice drew curious looks from the surrounding crowd.
Si Que smiled.
In the past, secluded and rarely seen, he never heard such schadenfreude. Suddenly being mocked to his face was quite novel.
Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. He repeated in his mind.
He turned to You Yuji, obediently saying, “Sister, I want fireworks.”
“Alright,” You Yuji responded gently.
She asked the fireworks vendor, “Sir, if I buy fireworks, can you help set them off?”
The vendor, thinking this beautiful lady was too timid to light them herself, quickly nodded, “Of course.”
“I’ll take all these fireworks. Please find a safe place to set them off in a while.”
You Yuji glanced around.
Her action allowed many people standing behind or beside her to see her face clearly. Under the moonlight, she looked like a celestial being.
“It’s Lady You!” Someone in the crowd immediately recognized You Yuji.
Soon, people realized the person standing next to You Yuji was Si Que.
“Seeing the two wonders of the Si Kingdom together! What luck!” Someone exclaimed.
You Yuji had already spotted her guards. She and Si Que had drifted downstream, with several guards taking other boats, some landing before her, others just arriving.
You Yuji instructed, “Buy all the fireworks for tonight and set them off together later.”
Someone in the crowd laughed loudly, “How generous!”
Si Que lowered his eyes, a smile also appearing in them.
—Sister was generous for his sake.
That night, fireworks lit up the Lianshui River. The splendor could be seen from distant places, making even those far away rise and look in their direction.
Many people gathered by the river, exclaiming in awe as bursts of fireworks blossomed in the sky.
At this moment, You Yuji and Si Que held hands as they moved away from the crowd. The winter breeze seemed to be warmed by the night’s fireworks, gently brushing against them, causing their skirts to entwine.
As they continued downstream, You Yuji was surprised to see some people dancing around a bonfire.
“Do you want to dance?” Si Que asked.
You Yuji slowly shook her head. “No, it’s not convenient.”
She didn’t want to cause any trouble.
“Wait here for me.”
Si Que turned and left, returning shortly with a mask in hand. He carefully put the peach blossom mask on You Yuji, then removed the recognizable purple cloak from her shoulders. “Go ahead. No one will recognize you.”
You Yuji hesitated for a moment, then smiled behind the mask. She lightly ran over to join the foreign girls dancing around the bonfire.
Si Que stood in the shadows, watching her from afar. In the world illuminated by fireworks, he could only see her; everyone else seemed to disappear.
As soon as she joined, she was warmly welcomed and surrounded by admiration. The dancers gradually gathered around her.
She always had this way of easily gaining others’ affection, making people want to get closer.
A young man from the Si Kingdom enthusiastically approached You Yuji.
Si Que suddenly walked quickly over and grabbed You Yuji’s wrist.
You Yuji turned to look at him, the fireworks in the night sky reflecting the delight in her charming eyes.
Si Que’s grip on her wrist tightened slightly as he pulled her away.
