"Brother!" Yun Yaoyao waved at Yun Yanqing from atop the city wall, trying to catch his attention.
Yun Yanqing and Xie Qing both looked up towards the city wall. They saw a figure in red, her black hair flowing, a fair wrist exposed below the red robe, swaying and capturing all the light.
"Yaoyao!" Yun Yanqing smiled broadly.
The moment Xie Qing saw the figure in red, he understood that this woman was the sister Yun Yanqing always spoke of.
Yun Yaoyao quickly ran down from the city wall.
"Princess, slow down!" Su Ya called out from behind her.
Seeing Yun Yanqing, Yun Yaoyao rushed into his arms without hesitation.
"Brother, why are you only back now?"
Yun Yanqing had naturally heard about the matter between Sheng Huaiyu and Yun Yaoyao. He quickly pulled her away and examined her all over.
"Yaoyao, is your injury still serious?"
Yun Yaoyao's eyes almost immediately welled up, and then she shook her head fiercely.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, you have no idea, the Princess was in a coma for several days..."
Yun Yaoyao shot Su Ya a look, and Su Ya fell silent.
"Yaoyao, you are truly too willful," Yun Yanqing said, flicking her nose, his expression helpless.
"Brother, Yaoyao has let go of those things."
She said calmly, and at that moment, it was indeed her true self.
Yun Yanqing, however, thought she was merely feigning strength, so he comforted her, "It's good that you've let go."
He sighed softly.
Yun Yaoyao looked at the man beside them, her face icy cold, making Xie Qing instantly feel her malice.
This girl did not like him.
Xie Qing did not take offense, and his gentle voice like jade flowed, "This must be the Princess."
Then he quickly bowed.
"This commoner apologizes for his rudeness, please forgive me, Your Highness."
Yun Yaoyao could not show her displeasure in front of Yun Yanqing, so she could only agree, but her tone was not good.
She had a hunch that she did not like this man.
It was because his gaze was clear, as if it could see through a person.
Just like now, his gaze was the same.
"Yaoyao, this is my friend, whom I mentioned to you in my letter, Xie Qing."
Thinking of what was on Yun Yanqing's mind, Yun Yaoyao became even more annoyed.
Her brother, at this moment, seemed to be completely occupied by Xie Qing in his heart and eyes!
Yun Yaoyao smiled and said to Xie Qing, "Young Master Xie need not be so formal. Since you are Brother's friend, you are also Yaoyao's friend."
Xie Qing's gaze was clear and innocent, yet Yun Yaoyao, for some reason, always felt he was showing disdain.
Perhaps it was because he was too clean and pure, as if he did not carry a speck of dust.
She could always disguise herself well in front of others, but in front of Xie Qing, she felt awkward.
...
"Brother, it's snowing outside, will you play in the snow with me?"
Yun Yanqing, holding a book, said helplessly, "Yaoyao, Brother has things to do. Can you go play by yourself first?"
More than half a year had passed in the blink of an eye, and during these months, Yun Yanqing and Xie Qing had been together almost every day, which had caused some murmurs in the court.
In the harem, rumors even spread that the Crown Prince had a penchant for men, and that Xie Qing was the lover the Crown Prince had brought back from outside the palace.
In short, rumors were rife in the palace.
"Brother, you must have made an appointment with Young Master Xie again, haven't you?"
Yun Yaoyao rarely acted so unreasonably. Instantly, Yun Yanqing understood that something must have happened.
"Yaoyao, did something happen?"
He put down the book in his hand and asked gently.
"Brother, can you stay away from Young Master Xie?"
Yun Yanqing had not been unaware of such rumors. Now, he had not even established a Crown Princess, and the court was already murmuring. The harem was now spreading rumors that he had a liking for men, and he thought that it must be because of this that Yaoyao was pestering him.
"Yaoyao, you don't need to pay attention to those ridiculous rumors."
He comforted her.
Yun Yaoyao clenched her hand hidden in her sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Young Master Xie has arrived."
"Please invite him in."
Her brother, towards Xie Qing, was indeed different.
But Yun Yaoyao knew that her brother was definitely not someone who liked men. She herself was originally a woman.
It was just that she had once seen her brother secretly dressing in women's clothes.
From then on, she knew that her brother was a woman more beautiful than herself.
"But why should Xie Qing, why should he snatch her brother away?
Before, his eyes clearly only held her, but now, because of Xie Qing, everything had changed.
In the past six months, Yun Yaoyao had done her best to damage Xie Qing's reputation, but in the end, it seemed to have no effect on her brother's affection for him.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Princess."
Xie Qing's eyes fell on the red figure almost immediately, so dazzling.
His heart stirred, and he couldn't help but curl his lips.
In Yun Yaoyao's eyes, she thought he was mocking her for what she had done.
"Young Master Xie, would you like to go out and tread on the snow?"
Xie Qing was stunned, as if he hadn't expected Yun Yaoyao to say that.
But almost instantly, he agreed.
Yun Yaoyao and Yun Yanqing had played in the snow often when they were children. The addition of Xie Qing now felt a little strange.
"Young Master Xie!" httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Xie Qing turned his head at the sound, and was hit squarely in the face by a snowball thrown by Yun Yaoyao.
"Princess! Take this!"
Unlike ordinary people, he was not subservient to this pair of siblings. At this moment, it truly seemed like three youths of similar age playing in the snow.
Yun Yaoyao, with her strong vengeful heart, deliberately targeted Xie Qing.
Yun Yanqing stood to the side, feeling as if he had no sense of participation.
He had rarely seen Yaoyao laugh so heartily...
"Ah!" Yun Yaoyao had intended to sneak attack Xie Qing from behind but unexpectedly slipped.
She fell headfirst into the snow and twisted her ankle.
"Princess!"
Xie Qing rushed to help her up, but Yun Yaoyao still held a handful of snow tightly, which she directly slapped onto Xie Qing's face.
But that man did not show the slightest hint of anger.
Yun Yaoyao heard a clear and pleasant laugh. Xie Qing was still laughing.
As he laughed, he picked her up. Yun Yaoyao's entire body stiffened.
For some reason, even though her face was red from the cold, she felt his embrace was very warm.
"Yaoyao..."
Yun Yanqing also hurried over to check on her. Xie Qing, with a princess carry, held her in his arms.
"The Princess is truly like a child..."
That pure and clear laugh made Yun Yaoyao forget to retort.
After that, she began to trouble Xie Qing even more.
Sometimes she would steal his books, or deliberately frame him and ruin his reputation.
In short, she tried everything a child could do, but she could not influence Yun Yanqing's impression of him, and instead, she herself seemed to have changed.
She truly became like a childish child.
Two years passed quickly. She celebrated her coming-of-age ceremony, and Sheng Huaizhi also returned.