Ye Qingcheng smiled, "No need to be so formal, everyone. I'm just the same age as you all, only married earlier."
Her words brought about some laughter, and the atmosphere instantly became much more cordial.
Liu Ruyan also instructed a servant to prepare seats, so that the Princess Consort wouldn't have to stand the entire time.
This arrangement suited Ye Qingcheng's wishes, and just as she was about to sit down.
A sudden loud noise startled Ye Qingcheng, causing her to instinctively straighten up.
She turned to look in the direction of the sound and saw a young man standing not far away, looking at her with a strange expression.
Ye Qingcheng pondered, this young man looked so familiar, yet she couldn't recall where she had met him. Thinking that he was a distinguished guest of the Liu mansion, Liu Ruyan should know him, so she asked, "This gentleman is..."
Liu Ruyan was also startled by her brother's actions and hadn't understood his intentions yet when she heard the Princess Consort's question. She explained, "This is my younger brother, Liu Huai'an."
Liu Huai'an! Ye Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat. Goodness, she actually ran into him here. No, this was the Liu mansion! It was over. She shouldn't have agreed to come with that little girl. See! She had walked right into a tiger's den!
Despite the turmoil within, Ye Qingcheng maintained a calm and composed demeanor. She smiled and nodded, "So this is your brother! I've heard much about him."
Liu Ruyan felt a bit embarrassed for a moment.
After all, her brother's remarkable deeds were known throughout the entire capital.
"Princess Consort is too kind."
Ye Qingcheng was about to say something more when she noticed someone in her peripheral vision striding purposefully towards her.
Before Ye Qingcheng could react, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight embrace.
Ye Qingcheng was stunned.
Liu Ruyan was also stunned.
Li Mo'er dropped her投壶 (tóu hú - a game of throwing arrows or sticks into a pot) tools.
The entire place fell into an absolute silence.
Liu Huai'an held Ye Qingcheng, even nuzzling her neck, beaming as if he had finally embraced his beloved. "You're back, you're finally back. I thought I'd never see you again!"
Ye Qingcheng lowered her gaze. At this moment, she felt as though she had overturned her previous conclusions. In just a few short days, Liu Huai'an had actually fallen for the person she had fabricated. In this moment, she felt so terrible.
However, her current identity was that of the Regent's Princess Consort, and the Regent's Princess Consort's dignity was not to be violated. "How dare you, you scoundrel! Release me at once."
Liu Ruyan heard Ye Qingcheng's voice and snapped back to reality. "Huai'an, quickly release the Princess Consort. She is the Princess Consort, not the one you love."
Liu Huai'an flinched, released Ye Qingcheng, and then looked at her closely, his voice filled with disappointment. "My apologies, Princess Consort, for my rudeness. I just woke up and in my daze, you looked like her. But upon closer inspection, you are not her."
Ye Qingcheng sighed, "The 'her' that Young Master Liu speaks of, is it the person you guarded the capital's gate for some time ago?"
Liu Huai'an nodded. "Yes, she..." His voice choked slightly. "She is the love of my life."
Ye Qingcheng fell silent.
Liu Huai'an looked at her and smiled.
"Princess Consort, you truly resemble her, but you are not her. Your eyes aren't as big as hers..."
Ye Qingcheng was choked up. That unique emotion vanished instantly.
Liu Ruyan was also taken aback. What was her brother saying? How could he remark on a girl's eyes not being big enough?
Liu Huai'an continued, "Your complexion is also similar, but you aren't as pretty as she is..."
The others twitched their lips.
They all turned to look at the Princess Consort.
"And your..."
"Stop!" Ye Qingcheng interrupted him. "I don't want to hear any more. Enjoy yourselves today, I'll be taking my leave."
Liu Ruyan tried to persuade her, "Princess Consort, you haven't even started playing yet! How about you play for a little while before leaving..."
"No, thank you," Ye Qingcheng smiled and shook her head, interrupting her. "The sky looks rather gloomy, and it's likely to rain soon. The Prince asked me to come home for dinner, so I'll be heading back." If she stayed any longer, she might explode with anger.
After bidding farewell to everyone, Ye Qingcheng left.
Liu Ruyan looked at the clear blue sky. Was it really going to rain?
Seeing that Princess Consort sister had left, Li Mo'er also bid farewell and departed.
Pei Changqiu, seeing that the person who brought him had also left, and not knowing anyone else, found it uninteresting and bid farewell as well.
The others also dispersed one after another.
After seeing everyone off, Liu Ruyan looked at her brother, who was sunbathing along the riverbank, and finally couldn't help but speak to him.
"Tell me, why did you speak to the Princess Consort like that today?"
Liu Huai'an rocked his chair, his gaze vacant. "She really looks like her."
Liu Ruyan didn't want to hear him speak of this. "I know. The woman in your heart is almost perfect. But... she's already married and settled down. Why can't you move on!"
Upon hearing that she was married, Liu Huai'an could no longer hold back, tears flowing silently down his cheeks. "I know, but Sister, here..." He pointed to his chest. "It hurts so much! So painful! I can barely breathe."
Liu Ruyan embraced him. "I know, Sister understands. But..." She also became choked up, lamenting that her brother would react this way.
"But you were fated to be apart!"
Yes, fated to be apart.
That girl, even though she had taken root in his heart, growing from a sapling into a towering tree, even though that girl had continuously transformed and become more perfect in his heart, they could no longer be together.
On the way back, Ye Qingcheng let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had held her ground. If she had faltered and revealed her true identity, it would have been a loss that outweighed the gain.
The next day, Ye Qingcheng decided to avoid any potential gossip and did not seek out Pei Changqiu. However, Li Mo'er was not pleased. She arrived early in the morning, disturbing Ye Qingcheng's sleep.
Li Mo'er grabbed Ye Qingcheng's arm and shook it incessantly, "Princess Consort sister, Princess Consort sister, please go! Please!"
Ye Qingcheng, drowsy as she was, still managed to tease her, "What, you miss him already?"
In front of familiar people, Li Mo'er usually didn't maintain her reserve. She readily admitted it.
"Yes! A day apart feels like three autumns. I missed him so much that I couldn't sleep all night."
Ye Qingcheng didn't believe her. She opened one eye to look at her. Having not slept all night, she couldn't possibly have so much energy.
So, she pulled Li Mo'er into her bed.
"Since you didn't get much sleep, let's have a good sleep first."
Li Mo'er didn't want to. She wanted to see Pei Changqiu as soon as possible.
However, after saying only a few words and getting into bed, Li Mo'er fell asleep within seconds.
Ye Qingcheng looked at her helplessly and closed her eyes, continuing to sleep.
By the time they both woke up, it was already noon.
Ye Qingcheng was roused by Bi Xi.
"Princess Consort, it's already noon! You can't sleep any longer, you need to get up."
Ye Qingcheng reluctantly got out of bed. Suddenly, she noticed why there were two pairs of shoes by her bedside. Turning to look inside the bed, she then remembered that Li Mo'er had come to find her today and had fallen asleep with her.
Ye Qingcheng helplessly instructed the small kitchen to prepare enough food for two.