Tie Ci couldn’t treat her wounds in front of Rong Pu, so she desperately chewed on flower roots, crunching audibly. Sitting up high, she didn’t hear clearly what Rong Pu was saying. Just as she leaned down to ask, her nose tip suddenly felt cold.
Looking up, she clicked her tongue: “I really have become a divine fortune-teller.”
It was raining.
Listening to rain in a bamboo grove had a poetic mood, but without rain gear, it was rather tragic.
Tie Ci wrapped her cloak over her head, preparing to run.
Looking back, she saw Rong Pu still standing in place. Thinking that a beauty would lose his charm if drenched, and besides, this one was a sickly beauty.
Her nature of cherishing flowers and pitying jade suddenly surged, so she beckoned him: “Come, my cloak is large – it can shelter two people.”
Just after saying this, she remembered that under the cloak, her clothes still had undried bloodstains with a smell.
However, someone like Rong Pu – jade-like, snow-like, yet naturally graceful – surely wouldn’t burrow under a woman’s cloak.
But immediately she was proven wrong.
“Alright.”
Tie Ci was stunned.
I was just being polite…
The cloak moved, and the beauty had already burrowed in, thanking her as he squeezed: “Thank you, Your Highness…”
He suddenly stopped speaking. Tie Ci’s heart tightened, but then Rong Pu continued: “I wonder if I’m crowding Your Highness?”
“Ah, yes… ah, no.”
Since he had already come in, driving him out would only arouse suspicion.
Both fell silent.
Rong Pu was taller than Tie Ci, so he naturally took over the task of holding up the cloak.
No matter how large the cloak, it was limited, and the space inside even more so. Though Tie Ci tried hard to move outward, she still inevitably made contact from time to time.
Tie Ci hadn’t expected that Rong Pu, who looked frail, actually had a quite solid physique. Even in the darkness, she could feel the smooth and graceful lines of the man’s silhouette.
The faint epiphyllum fragrance grew stronger, but it wasn’t disturbing when inhaled.
The spring rain fell gently on the cloak with a tender sound. The space under the cloak was narrow, dark, and warm.
Rong Pu’s profile glowed faintly in that darkness, like a distant but not cold snow line.
This was a hazy yet clear beauty, but with a slight coolness. Tie Ci suddenly remembered a poem:
“Don’t listen to the sound of rain beating through forest and leaves, why not chant and whistle while walking leisurely? Bamboo staff and hemp shoes are lighter than horses – who’s afraid? A straw raincoat for any weather in life.”
This was taught by Master, and she recited it casually, feeling it fit both the mood and scene.
Rong Pu suddenly said: “Good poem, did Your Highness compose it?”
Tie Ci then realized Su Shi didn’t exist here. She shamelessly hummed in agreement: “I’m well-read in five cartloads of books, you understand.”
This was said jokingly – the entire Great Qian court knew the Crown Princess loved martial arts over feminine pursuits, especially hating sour poetry, and never attended court poetry gatherings.
But Rong Pu also hummed in agreement: “Written with ups and downs yet transcendent and free. Your Highness has great talent.”
Tie Ci was stunned, suddenly feeling bored.
Was it so hard to tell the truth?
She wanted to speak, but her throat suddenly itched and she wanted to cough. She held back, but her back started burning again, and her steps stumbled.
A hand steadily supported her. Rong Pu’s gentle, light voice sounded by her ear: “Your Highness, roads are slippery on rainy days – allow me to support you.”
Tie Ci’s vision blurred. Knowing she had endured too long and couldn’t hold out much longer, she leaned on Rong Pu: “Much obliged.”
With Rong Pu supporting her, he couldn’t hold up the cloak anymore. The two wrapped in the cloak walked along swaying, and Tie Ci thought thankfully this road was quiet – if someone ran into them, they’d probably think a giant caterpillar had become sentient.
Under the cloak, their bodies pressed tightly together. Even slight contact seemed to echo. Tie Ci belatedly realized that walking together under a cloak in the rain like this, perhaps tomorrow Rong Pu would really become her male empress.
She suddenly said: “Minister Rong.”
Once the formal address was established, the slight romantic atmosphere was completely swept away. Rong Pu immediately straightened and said solemnly: “I am here.”
“Why have you not submitted a petition to withdraw from the betrothal?”
“Your Highness, why should I withdraw?”
“Not withdrawing shows your magnanimity.” Tie Ci laughed. “But I cannot bully magnanimous people.” She turned her head, staring into Rong Pu’s eyes: “So I have already chosen a new Crown Prince Consort.”
Rong Pu fell silent briefly before saying: “Might I have the honor of knowing who Your Highness’s new fiancé is?”
“You wouldn’t know him even if I told you.” Tie Ci waved her hand. “The eighteenth son of the King of Liaodong – see, don’t we make a perfect match?”
This time Rong Pu was silent much longer, so long that Tie Ci became puzzled. She turned to look at him and for an instant caught something strange in the light in Rong Pu’s eyes.
She was truly surprised – could he actually know that prince from the ends of the earth?
They had now turned onto the main road and began encountering patrolling guards. Tie Ci’s hand emerged from under the cloak, holding up her token. The guards bowed from afar and made way.
Soon, looking up, she saw the plaque of Ruixiang Palace. Tie Ci laughed: “There, I’ve arrived. You can leave the palace on your own from here. My cloak isn’t convenient to lend you – I’ll have someone bring you an umbrella.” She raised her hand to call someone.
But her hand was suddenly grasped.