I went to the courtyard to play on the swing, and took the opportunity to observe the Eastern Palace, Xia Zhiyuan, as he interacted with the princesses. The Eastern Palace seemed to be in a good mood, treating the princesses more kindly, frequently smiling, causing the princesses to bashfully cover their faces with fans. It was said that Yan had also proposed a marriage alliance to the Eastern Palace but was politely refused.
By nearly mealtime, the sparrow hurriedly ran to me with a secret report, saying that according to her eavesdropping, General Shen and my younger sister had reconciled.
I felt relieved. With the sparrow’s talents, she could be a gossip information gatherer.
When my younger sister appeared before me again, her face was rosy, her eyes glistening, her lips constantly curling upward, looking like a woman who had fallen in love. General Shen always maintained a step’s distance from her, neither too far nor too close, occasionally whispering to her, his gaze like soft silk threads, causing heart-fluttering and heartache.
Of course, the heart-fluttering was my younger sister’s, and the heartache was mine.
Watching them openly sweet together, while I must meet my husband in the middle of the night, like a secret tryst. Not to mention that after the full moon banquet of the Western Liang Crown Prince, I would have to set off back to Nanrui. With this farewell to An Jin, I don’t know when we’ll meet again.
An Jin sneaked in at night, and I took the opportunity to nestle in his arms, sighing and lamenting. He tried to comfort me to no avail and could only end my melancholy by distracting me.
Unexpectedly, midway through, my younger sister suddenly burst in, knocking on the door and startling me and An Jin.
She knocked and loudly shouted, “Second Sister, open the door… I can’t sleep, I want to chat with you.”
I pretended to be already asleep and didn’t respond. An Jin lightly laughed and continued his actions while biting my lip.
“Second Sister! I know you’re still awake… Open the door, I can hear your breathing. Aren’t you feeling well?” She spoke shockingly. “Are you sick? I’m about to kick the door—”
We were both stunned and cried out in alarm.
