“Not telling you.” Yuchi Li laid back down, exhausted. Her body, which had been tense constantly, could finally completely relax. A comfortable drowsiness enveloped them and they drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, after she finished washing up, Yuchi Li changed into a set of black robes and went to the courtyard to practice her swordwork. The lapels and cuffs of her robe were decorated with flowing golden embroidery which was, with her body movements, extremely eye-catching in the sunlight.
Her sword’s qi scattered the dust covering the ground, and for a moment, the entire courtyard was filled with flying dust. Yuchi Li’s form flitted in the midst of this dust, performing a sword form with the utmost precision and gallant bearing.
Liu Luoyi, who had just come out to the courtyard, was staring at this scene in a daze.
Yuchi Li turned in mid-air, saw Liu Luoyi, and landed nimbly on the ground. She tossed her sword away, walking over with a smile: “Xiao Liu’er, it’s so early. You don’t want to rest some more?”
Liu Luoyi shook her head. She pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve and carefully wiped the glistening sweat from Yuchi Li’s brow.
Yuchi Li grew more joyful as she watched Liu Luoyi. She took her hand and said: “Let’s go, I’ll bring out sightseeing around E’gu. I looked around a bit yesterday and the local customs around here are completely different than in the Northern Territory. There’s lots of fun things to do. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes.” Liu Luoyi smiled back at her. She obediently let Yuchi Li pull her away, following her as she strode out of the courtyard.
The servant girls at the door saw them and knelt respectfully: “Second Princess, Miss Liu.”
Liu Luoyi was a bit taken aback by their reverent actions. She smiled slightly and secretly tugged on the corner of Yuchi Li’s clothes, whispering: “How do they recognize me?”
Yuchi Li leaned toward her ear and whispered back: “I instructed them to treat you as they would treat me.”
“How is that fine? You’re a princess…” Liu Luoyi grew flustered hearing this. She grabbed Yuchi Li’s sleeve, shaking her head.
“So what? You’ll be my wife later, to be afforded the same respect as a Fuma. It’s perfectly justified.” Yuchi Li said. She looked at Liu Luoyi and raised an eyebrow, making Liu Luoyi blush.
“W-what’s the rush.” Liu Luoyi stammered, hiding behind Yuchi Li to avoid the gazes of the female servants.
Yuchi Li looked at her, smiling, her eyes filled with understanding. She said nothing more, bringing her along as she strode out of the palace’s door. The Northern King had gone to take care of governmental affairs and had not called for her, so she was only too happy to enjoy her leisure time.
At the doorway, Yuchi Die was riding atop a white horse. She had the reins clenched in her hands, panic on her face, as she screamed: “An Ge, An Ge, An Ge!”
An Ge was beside her, one hand covering her ear, the other controlling the crazed-looking horse expressionlessly. Then, she reached out a hand to support Yuchi Die: “Princess, this horse was just brought in and is very spirited. Come down first, and once I train it for a while, you may ride it again.”
Yuchi Die pouted her red lips, paying no heed to her words. An Ge was helpless, and could only hold on to the horse for her, afraid that she would fall off.
Yuchi Li walked over, stretching out a hand to pet the horse’s mane, saying: “Didn’t you say you were going for a stroll in the city today? Why’re you riding a horse, and a wild one at that.”
“I like it. What’s it got to do with you?” Yuchi Die looked up at Yuchi Li, then flipped her hair back and turned around, not answering her any further.
Yuchi Li, attacked for no given reason, blinked. She sent a questioning look to An Ge, her expression innocent. An Ge shook her head ever-so slightly, motioning with a ‘beheading gesture’ to her own throat.
Meaning, don’t mess with her today under any circumstance.
Yuchi Li was long used to Yuchi Die’s temperament and did not take it to heart. She simply thought that she had been angered by someone then pulled Liu Luoyi away, following them toward the city streets.
The streets of E’gu were as lively as they had been the day she arrived. Many of the common people nodded respectfully as they passed by them, and some of the vendors even availed themselves of the opportunity to pass Yuchi Li some small trinkets. In no time, her hands were full of pastries, toys, and the like.
The buildings lining the street were unlike the refined style of the Yan Kingdom, and with the unique foreign colors, entirely bold decoration, and all kinds of animal-themed textiles hanging from their doorways, Yuchi Li was dazzled by the sight.
At that moment, Liu Luoyi, who was dressed in elegant, white clothing, became the center of focus for the entire street and attracted the comments of the crowd, especially since she was standing beside Yuchi Li and Yuchi Die. She was a little uncomfortable under their stares and could not help but draw closer to Yuchi Li.
The crowd pointed at her, attempting to guess her identity. Yuchi Li’s brows furrowed. She coughed loudly, then looked at the chattering people, who hurriedly dispersed.
The title of ‘Princess’ was quite useful here in the Northern Territory. Yuchi Li nodded, satisfied, then wrapped an arm around Liu Luoyi’s waist, signaling that she need not be nervous.
Liu Luoyi smiled at her.
There were also some performers along the way, a middle-aged man and a young girl performing the pagoda of bowls. Yuchi Li passed the gifts in her hands to An Ge and brought Liu Luoyi to watch for a while. Liu Luoyi cheered up, even clapping along with the rest of the audience from time to time.
Yuchi Li turned her head and looked at her. She discovered that, during these last few days, Liu Luoyi had started to smile more. She could hardly see any vestiges of that cold woman from the beginning.
Her gaze remained stuck fast on Liu Luoyi, while Liu Luoyi’s gaze was fixed on the little girl. From An Ge’s perspective as she looked on at a distance, this scene was just beautiful.
She could not refrain from glancing at Yuchi Die, but only saw that she had her head lowered as she looked at her feet. She did not know what she was thinking of, but she seemed to be depressed. She sighed and lowered her own head, as well.
“Princess…” Liu Luoyi suddenly looked at Yuchi Li, worrying the corner of her own clothing, “Could you lend me some silver? I-I forgot to bring any…”
Yuchi Li chuckled. She unfastened the money bag from her waist and passed all of her silver to Liu Luoyi, then beamed: “What’s this about lending? What’s mine is yours. Here, have all of it.”
“No need, Princess…” Liu Luoyi wanted to refuse, but Yuchi Li stopped her. She said lightly, “You want to give it to that child, right? It’ll be us giving it to her together, don’t worry.”
Liu Luoyi hesitated before accepting it. While the little girl was bowing repeatedly in thanks, a plate in her hands, she took two silver ingots out from the pouch and placed them on the tray, then, before the girl could kneel in gratitude, she grabbed Yuchi Li and ran off.
The two of them ran quite a distance until they could not see the performer’s stall anymore. Only then did they stop, gasping for breath. They looked at each other then broke out into laughter.
“The surprise you mentioned yesterday, Princess, it shouldn’t be coming out to watch a performance, right?” Liu Luoyi straightened up and asked, her face tilted upward with a smile. Her cheeks were flushed from the run, so she looked a bit more youthful and lively than normal.
“No, naturally. Come with me.” Yuchi Li put on a mysterious countenance. She tugged on Liu Luoyi and the two of them walked around for some time before stopping in a comparatively spacious, quiet alley. The alley was full of calligraphy and antiques stores, the particular scent of ink and paper wafting through the air.
Liu Luoyi looked around curiously. She still was not able to figure out Yuchi Li’s intentions, but she really liked this alley. There were many people that had set up booths selling old books and pieces of calligraphy. The customers may have been few in number, but there was a comfortable atmosphere.
Yuchi Li searched around, rubbing her chin, then snapped her fingers, saying: “Ah, here it is.”
Before her was only a great, carved door not in the style of the Northern Territory, but rather in the style of the central plains. What greeted the eyes upon entering was the scent of agarwood. The room was bright and adorned exquisitely. Resting against the wall was an enormous wooden cabinet lined with all kinds of books and calligraphy works, and in front of the cabinet was a desk with brushes, paper, inkstones, and inkwells, all of the highest quality, arranged on top.
“T-this…” Liu Luoyi took two steps forward, gently touching the brushes that she knew were valuable at a glance.
“This one, too. I don’t really understand, but in any case, I had Xin Ran buy some expensive things. It’s been tough on her, to purchase and set everything up in so short a time.” Yuchi Li scratched her head. She walked up to the guqin, plucking one of the strings.
A twang rang out, resonating endlessly.
Liu Luoyi looked around wordlessly. Her eyes reddened. Yuchi Li cautiously walked up beside her and scratched her head.
“Uh…I was thinking that, I won’t be able to accompany you every day, and I’m afraid that you might get lonely being cooped up in the palace. You’re a stranger in an unfamiliar place, you could get bored, so I went to find somewhere for you. This place is quiet, peaceful, and there’s places nearby that sell books and paintings. This way, if you’re free, you can come here to read, paint, play guqin…”
Before she could finish, Liu Luoyi threw her entire person into Yuchi Li’s arms, wrapping her arms around her waist.
Only then did Yuchi Li release a breath. She embraced her, giggling.
Liu Luoyi raised her head, smiling sweetly, but her eyes were filled with tears. Then, she buried her face into Liu Luoyi’s chest again, whispering: “Princess, I had a dream a few days ago.”
“What?” Yuchi Li asked.
“I had a strange dream. The Princess wasn’t as gentle, instead she was frightening.” She said, as if she still had some lingering fear.
Something clicked into place in Yuchi Li’s mind. No wonder Liu Luoyi had been cold these past few days. She must have dreamt of her original self, when she had not transmigrated.
She felt a little distressed and hugged Liu Luoyi closer to herself, patting her back softly.
“Xiao Liu’er, do you want to know how I got here?” Yuchi Li said softly.
Liu Luoyi nodded.
“I fell down a cliff and was reborn here. When I’d just arrived, I believed that this was just a game, just a dream. I thought this world wasn’t real.”
“I once wondered why all of this would happen to me, but now I understand. I never used to believe in fate, but now, I feel that this was probably all meant to be.”
“I’m also scared to leave you. So scared.”
Yuchi Li’s voice was entirely gentle, but she also did not hold back her feelings. Once her words reached Liu Luoyi’s ears, her eyes reddened, and she sobbed: “Princess…”
Then, a loud crash sounded outside. Yuchi Li nearly jumped out of her own skin, startled.
Reaching the limits of her patience, she rolled her eyes, strode over and pulled open the door. She only saw Xin Ran standing there in place woodenly, half of a smashed flower vase in her hands.
Yuchi Li suddenly smacked her own forehead, chuckling breathlessly: “You—you’ve been here the whole night?”
Xin Ran was so flustered that she did not know what to do with her limbs. She tossed the broken vase aside with another crash. Then, she started to hem and haw: “Princess, I was arranging this the whole night, I couldn’t stop myself from falling asleep this morning. I-I didn’t mean to.”
Yuchi Li had made an error in judgment. She had thought Xin Ran had already left and she had not noticed her. She must have concealed her breathing, lest she interrupt them. Further, her attention had been fixed on Liu Luoyi, so she did not discover her.
“What did you hear?” Yuchi Li stepped toward her imposingly.
Xin Ran, frightened, took a few steps back, her arms wrapped around herself. She looked at Yuchi Li, her expression fragile, then she suddenly knelt, not daring to utter a word.
Seeing her like this, Yuchi Li did not have the heart to scare her any more. She patted her on the shoulder, sighing: “What do you think of me?”
“The Princess is good.” Xin Ran said carefully.
“Then, how do I treat you?”
“The Princess treats Xin Ran with the utmost kindness.” As Xin Ran spoke, her eyes suddenly widened. She covered her chest, her face filled with alarm; her eyes even reddened.
“Princess, Miss Liu treats you with sincerity, you shouldn’t covet anyone else. A-also, I-I still want to marry a general…” She said with sobs.