CH 21.2

After giving the introduction, the minor official didn’t stay for long. He quickly retired from their presence and silently left.

Qi Yang and Lu Qipei was standing in front of a waterside pavilion. They could see the peach blossom forest in the distance, and the scenery was pretty good. Qi Yang was somewhat moved and asked, “Ah Pei, what do you think of this mansion?”

Lu Qipei was still thinking about the princess’s mansion from her previous life. It was chosen by Qi Yang herself and should be more in line with her preferences, so she said, “This place isn’t bad, but didn’t Your Highness say that the Ministry of Works had chosen three mansions? We should also take a look at the other two.” After going there for a long time and seeing them a lot, she gradually came to like them, thinking that ‘that person’ would return amidst the peach blossoms.

Now her wish had been fulfilled, but after all, she still felt some bond towards the peach blossoms…

The two rushed to check out the other two mansions before it got dark – one of them was the princess’s mansion that Qi Yang chose in their previous life. Lu Qipei felt like Qi Yang should prefer this place more, but unexpectedly Her Royal Highness The Princess frowned when she stood in front of its door.

Of course, Lu Qipei didn’t know how much loneliness Qi Yang felt inside this mansion, how much she felt like she didn’t know where to go. And also, how many people died inside – it was not just Lu Qicheng, whom she had killed with a glass of poisoned wine, even Qi Yang herself died here in the end.

Therefore, this mansion really did not bring back any good memories for Qi Yang. If Lu Qipei had not said to look at all three mansions before making a decision, she would not have gone here this time. In the end, she only gave it a glance and shook her head to show her dislike.

Qi Yang was a decisive person. After asking Lu Qipei and learning that she did not particularly prefer any of them, she simply decided on the one with a peach blossom forest.

It seemed that there were a lot of differences between this life and the previous one. Lu Qipei finally couldn’t hold back anymore and privately asked her, “Why did Your Highness choose this place? Is it just for the peach blossom forest in the mansion?”

Qi Yang’s feelings were seen through by Lu Qipei, at the same time, how could Lu Qipei’s abnormality be hidden from Qi Yang? She had a faint feeling in her heart, but could not figure out the reason. After hearing the question, she answered, “Yes, I like peach blossoms, so I chose that mansion.”

Her Highness liked peach blossoms? How could she not know that there were no peach blossoms in her mansion in their previous life!

Lu Qipei’s eyes grew even more puzzled, and this emotion did not miss Qi Yang’s notice. They came up with all kinds of guesses in their hearts, but they never imagined that the other party was also a returnee, just like them.

Anyways, for the time being there was no need to think about things that they didn’t understand. It should not take up the time that they were spending together now. Seeing that the dusk sun was about to set, Qi Yang also knew that she could not keep staying outside the palace, and could not help but feel regretful and reluctant to part.

They boarded the carriage again and asked the coachman to take Lu Qipei back outside Hanlin Academy. Qi Yang said, “I apologize for troubling Ah Pei to accompany me today. I’ll treat you to dinner some other day as a reward.”

Lu Qipei didn’t care and waved her hand as she said, “Your Highness is too polite. There’s no need for that.”

Qi Yang looked at her, feeling even more helpless. God knew how many people wanted to invite her to a banquet, but she never went. Now it was her turn to look for an excuse to meet, but this person was so dense… Well, as a woman, Lu Qipei had never understood flirting, otherwise the two of them might not have let things slip by them in their previous life.

Seeing Qi Yang looked at her quietly without saying anything, no matter how dense Lu Qipei was, she knew that she had probably said something wrong. But after thinking for a while, she couldn’t find anything wrong with her answer. Was it because she defied her, and Her Highness was angry because she did not give her face? But Qi Yang was not such a petty person!

Lu Qipei was a little confused, and her silly appearance made it impossible for people to get angry.

Fortunately, Qi Yang was patient, especially when facing Lu Qipei. She wasn’t annoyed at the latter being dense, so she asked her again, “Does Ah Pei have any favorite flowers or objects to decorate the mansion with?”

Lu Qipei was thinking about other things at the moment, and didn’t think much when she heard that question. So she replied, “It would be nice to plant some green bamboos in the courtyard.”

Qi Yang took note of it and decided to have the Ministry of Works’s staffs plant a few more outside the main hall.

As they conversed, the carriage brought them back outside Hanlin Academy. But right now, it had started to get dark, and it was lonely outside Hanlin Academy.

Lu Qipei jumped out of the carriage and didn’t let Qi Yang bring her back to the newly built Lu Mansion. The first reason was that she was afraid that interested parties would notice and add it to their calculations, and the other was that she was afraid it would be too late and didn’t want to delay Qi Yang’s return to the palace.

When the carriage left, Lu Qipei stood there watching for a long time, and her mood calmed down a little.

Author notes:

Lu Qipei (speaking from the heart): What did Her Highness mean? Why did she need to ask me what decorations I like when building her princess’s mansion?

Qi Yang (matter-of-factly): Of course it’s to kidnap you back home!
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