CH 23.2

Chapter 23.2 – Moving Forward, One Step at a Time (2)

The royal chef’s skill really was amazing, and there were also rare wines in the courtyard, but Princess Qi Yang’s meal was not that delicious. She really didn’t ask Lu Qipei to write any more essays today, she only took out a scroll with drawings on it during the meal.

It was the blueprints of the princess’s mansion that was selected, but it was a new one without any change on it.

Taking advantage of the heat from the wine, Qi Yang said, “Ah Pei already accompanied me to the mansion yesterday, so I shouldn’t bother two masters with one issue. You might as well give me some advice for the mansions’ renovation, no? Let me listen to it, we can use it if it’s suitable.”

Lu Qipei didn’t usually drink much, and was slightly drunk after just two to three cups. Hearing what she said, she didn’t answer immediately. She just stared fixedly at Qi Yang, as if she was lost in thought. It was not until Qi Yang reached out and waved her hand in front of her eyes that she suddenly asked, “Why does Your Highness always ask me about your mansion?”

Qi Yang blinked and asked back, pretending to be ignorant, “Can I not ask you?”

When Lu Qipei saw her like this, she also lowered her gaze. Normally, she would stop here and not ask anything else. But right now the wine made her slightly more bold than usual, and she somehow managed to say what had been in her mind for the past two days. Looking a little confused, she said, “Your Highness building a mansion is a private matter, so it’s not appropriate to always come to me to ask about it. Besides, the layout of the mansion should be based on Your Highness’s preferences, so it’s useless to ask me all the time.”

Qi Yang was much more sober compared to Lu Qipei. Hearing that, she narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “Why would it be useless? What you like is what I prefer.”

That sounded pretty ambiguous. Even though Lu Qipei was slightly drunk, her ears couldn’t help turning red when she heard it. Her bright eyes slightly trembled, and she blurted out more bold words, “I don’t live with Your Highness, so you don’t have to ask me about these.”

Lu Qipei sobered up as soon as she said that, and she bit her lower lips in frustration for a while. She didn’t know why she said such a sentence – one that looked like covering things up but actually made it more apparent, and that meant to reject but sounded welcoming.

That little thought at the back of her mind that she didn’t dare to think about deeply, seemed to have popped up at this moment.

Qi Yang’s eyes lit up when she heard those words, and she refused to let go of this opportunity. She got up and walked towards Lu Qipei. She held Lu Qipei’s chin up and raised her face, saying with a smile, “What is Ah Pei talking about? In this dynasty, there are no rules about making a separate mansion for the Prince Consort. After marriage, the Prince Consort would always come and live in the princess’s mansion. Could it be that Ah Pei wants to stand out from the norm?”

This was not the first time Qi Yang said that she would make her the Prince Consort. Even if Lu Qipei didn’t believe it at first, she couldn’t help but feel her heart beating when it came to this. But what made her heart beat even more was that after she said that, Qi Yang leaned down and pressed her soft lips on Lu Qipei’s…

Maybe she was afraid of startling her, Qi Yang only stayed for a brief taste, then pulled back.

Lu Qipei’s face suddenly turned red. Her cheeks that were white as jade were now as beautiful and delicious as freshly picked cherries.

She subconsciously raised her hand to cover her lips. She looked at Qi Yang with wide eyes, but her mind was already in a mess – this kind of intimacy had obviously gone past the scope of friendship, and it was not the kind of contact that two women should have.

Lu Qipei suddenly believed Qi Yang’s words. She had taken a fancy to her as her Prince Consort in her previous life, and it seemed that she did not intend to change her mind in this life.

But how could she be her Prince Consort? She had already dragged her down with her once!

Lu Qipei’s fervent heart suddenly cooled down. Even though there was still some effect from the wine, she knew that she should strictly refuse at this moment. But she just pursed her lips – she was still reluctant to part with that heart-throbbing moment, so she didn’t immediately say any words of rejection and just stayed silent.

Qi Yang did not explain herself much when she saw this – she knew that it was against the norms for two women to be together. She also wasn’t without any struggled feelings when she found out Lu Qipei’s identity in her previous life. But all those struggles disappeared amidst time and yearning. If she herself was still like this, how could she ask the other party to accept it right away? But it was enough to go forward step by step, to erode her one step at a time.

So she didn’t insist on anything for the moment. Without waiting for Lu Qipei’s response, she casually pulled her to look at the drawings as if nothing had happened.

Lu Qipei didn’t refuse this time. Or rather, her mind was no longer on the drawings. She just looked at Qi Yang’s side features fascinatedly. She would occasionally repeat what Qi Yang said, but she actually didn’t listen to anything.

Time unknowingly passed by. She obviously left work early, and also ate dinner early, but when she finally recovered after Qi Yang’s questioning, she saw that the room was already full of candles. When she looked outside, it was already pitch black, and she didn’t know what time it was.

Lu Qipei stood up in shock. Her first reaction was, “Your Highness, you still have to go back to the palace tonight!”

Qi Yang held her chin and smiled, no panic from being late could be seen in her face. “No problem, I already asked for permission from Royal Father today, and he allowed to stay in this courtyard tonight. It’s just that I haven’t stayed in this courtyard ever since I bought it. It’s very cold… how about if Ah Pei stay with me tonight?”

Lu Qipei’s ears turned red when she heard this, and she finally came to a realization. Her Royal Highness The Princess had already planned this! She found it laughable and also felt helpless. Was the little princess really missing her? Without mentioning anything else, the sixteen years old princess had just learned about love, did she really understand what this kind of love meant?