C78part1: Fifteen-years-old Birthday Ceremony (Part1) After quite a while, Xie Zhen finally said in his arms, “This is …You did it?” He made a slight sound of acknowledgment. After thinking for a while, she actually asked, “Who taught you this?” To her knowledge, it was impossible for Yan Yu to do all these … Too shocking! When did he get enlightened? Sure enough, he let go of her and held her shoulders in silence for a moment, “Wu Ze said all girls like this.” Oh. Sure, this was Wu Ze’s credit. The colorful fireworks were still going on and on in the distance, one after another, alternating constantly. The commotion alerted the passersby and commoners on both sides of the river. Many people stopped to watch, raising their heads in surprise and bewilderment. It was not a festival today, so how could someone set off fireworks? One by one, they opened the windows and took their children to see the fireworks above the lake. In a split-second, the entire street became bright, accompanied by the cries of children, it became several times more lively than usual. She stepped out of his arms and stood at the prow of the pleasure boat, admiring it with everyone else. Her face was bright and dark, a soft smile on her lips, and her eyes were bright as if they were filled with the radiance of the stars. Yan Yu, who was standing behind her, didn’t look at the sky. Instead, he looked at her with a good eye. It made his heart feel soft. He was disappointed and insisted on asking, “How about coming home with me?” “Well, it’s too late,” she said, tilting his head. “Mum’ll worry if I don’t go back.” Who told her to return to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion! Yan Yu looked straight at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He said dryly, “It’s not that home.” “Which house is that?” The fireworks on the shore finally ended, and the passers-by on both sides of the river left, still wishing for more. The night sky returned to darkness, leaving only a crescent moon hanging high in the sky. Being used to the bright sky, it suddenly darkened, making it hard to see its surroundings clearly. “Back to our house,” was all she could hear. She turned around and deliberately dragged her words out in a long drawl, “I won’t return.” Yan Yu was exasperated. Why didn’t she returned? Wu Ze say that when a girl saw this, she would agree to any request. Was it useless, or was she different from the other girls? He didn’t have time to think about it. He needed to take her back first. Thinking of the First Prince he had met earlier, his heart was in a mess … As soon as the boatman pulled the boat back to shore, she jumped off the shore and he caught up with her in two or three steps. “How long will you be staying at the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion?” There were two people standing under the tree. One of them was Wu Ze and the other was Wu Bin. The firework just now be their masterpiece When Wu Ze saw the Sixth Prince and the Prince’s wife coming down, he looked towards Yan Yu excitedly. He didn’t expect them to stare at him coldly. Wu Ze was baffled, why does his highness’s mood is bad? Could it be that this firework was ineffective? It was indeed ineffective. On the way back, Xie Zhen never opened her mouth, Yan Yu used his eyes to kill Wu Ze. It wasn’t until she was in the carriage that she said, “I don’t want to go back until I’m fifteen years old.” Her birthday was at the end of the year, and she was still more than half a month from her fifteen years old. Could it be that he had been living in the Duke’s Mansion all this time? Yan Yu didn’t want to do it, after all, it wasn’t his own home, so it wasn’t convenient for him to do anything. Also, Xie Xun always came to find Xie Zhen, so it was better for him to go back to his home. But since she said so, she made up her mind, and he couldn’t change it though he didn’t want to. She stayed at the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion for nearly a month on the grounds that Madam Leng was ill and that she had come back to take care of her. During this period, the Sixth Prince frequently visited the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion. Even if someone wanted to gossip, they had nothing to say. Adding to the fact that Xie Zhen would reach her fifteen years old a month later, it made sense for her to stay in the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion. On the twenty-fifth of December, she was called up early. All the female elders of the family came to the ancestral hall, the old lady and the several madams sat together, and the Madam Leng held the ceremony of fifteen years old for Xie Zhen. One by one, her clothes were added to her body. After kowtowing to the elders, she followed the Madam Leng to the banquet and greeted the madam, only ending after half a day. She was fifteen years old now. Returning to her own side room in the Jade Yard, she was about to ask Shuang Yu to take off his clothes, when Yan Yu rushed back from the palace. He hurried into the house and saw Xie Zhen standing by the window. He suddenly stopped. He wore a dark-green, gold-embroidered peony sleeveless shirt with a ribbon around his waist, which he squeezed tightly around his waist. Her hair was tied into a bun, and her hair was piled into a messy pile. Her hair was as fine as the clouds, making her small face as white and flawless as jade. As he entered the room, the wind blew in from the outside, lifting the jade pendant around her waist and tinkling it. She looked back at him, a little surprised. “Why are you back?” When he’d left this morning, he’d said that His Majesty had summoned him for an urgent matter. She’d thought he’d come back by nightfall, but hadn’t expected that he’d come back before nightfall. Yan Yu walked towards her step by step, letting the maids on both sides leave. It was probably because the cold wind outside had gotten into his throat. His voice was extremely hoarse. “Have you finished your ceremony of fifteen years old birthday?” “There are still some guests outside, but I’m not going to go, so I want to rest in the house.” He looked at her unblinkingly, a little flustered. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Instead, he led her to the bed, where she kept the clothes the Shuang Yu had brought in. He helped her to stand and asked solemnly, “I wasn’t there for the ceremony. Who dressed you?” Xie Zhen didn’t understand. “Mother.” He nodded, a hint of uneasiness flashing across his face, his hands burning. “Then I’ll change your clothes.” As he spoke, he covered his embarrassment with a cough. What does this have anything to do with her mother dressing her up? He really could make it up! His hand was on her waist, however, and he untied the ribbon. She wanted to stop him, so she hurriedly reached out her hand to stop him. “No …” He put his hand on her shoulder and looked up at her with a look that was very different from his usual, dark and steady, with a soul-wrenching appeal. She froze, mesmerized by the eyes. Yan Yu took advantage of this opportunity to take off her dark green blouse, revealing her deep clothes inside.He took them off one by one, gently and carefully, like a flower bud that was about to bloom, he was the first one to see the beauty of her hidden in the petals. Seeing that she was about to be peeled off again, all that was left of her was a underwear with red embroidered flowers. Xie Zhen insisted on not letting him take it off, “I’ll do it myself, you can go out …” Yan Yu pretended not to hear and pressed her onto his lap, directly peeling her clean. Fortunately, there were no maids in the room, otherwise, Xie Zhen would really die of embarrassment here. Even so, in the daylight, she was too ashamed to face anyone. She desperately tried to burrow into Yan Yu’s embrace, crying: “You’re shameless!” Opposite the bed was the window, and there was no guarantee that there would be servants walking under the window. Yan Yu carried her to bed and let down the curtains on both sides of the bed. The curtain blocked the light, and for a moment the vision was blurred, and she tried to wrap herself in the quilt, but he wouldn’t let her to do so. he tied her arms and legs in the way of her whole body against him. She was about to struggle again when he said in her ear, “Lamb.” All that was left of her was a underwear and a pair of silk pants, but he was so neatly dressed that she found it unfair. She bit him on the arm and said angrily, “Don’t call me.” He did not pull away. After being bitten by her, he did not say a word. With a voice full of worry, he said, “father wants me go to the border in spring.” When he entered the palace today, the Emperor Yuan Huai told him about this. The two cities needed to be rebuilt. After the last battle, no one in the city was in charge of this matter. The city lord, He Lianzhen, had abandoned the city and fled, leaving tens of thousands of citizens unmoved. After he defeated the Western barbarians, Emperor Yuan Huai ordered people to capture He Lianzhen. In the end, he was captured by a small temple a few hundred miles away from the city, and he was given a death sentence. As a result, the reconstruction of the city became even more distant. It was said that Wu Qiang was in dire straits and that the lives of the people were not good. Therefore, it was urgent to rebuild the two cities. In the end, the Emperor Yuan Huai decided to send Yan Yu and Xie Liqing to the border gates. This was a good thing for Xie Liqing, but for Yan Yu … Not so good. Emperor Yuan Huai wouldn’t let the Yan Wen go, but letting him go would only make Yan Wen aware of the sense of danger and hasten the conflict between Yan Wen and the Crown Prince. Perhaps the Yan Wen would still be fighting and there would be great turmoil in the imperial court by then. Yan Yu was on the Crown Prince’s side. If the Crown Prince was in trouble, he would not be well either. Furthermore … It would take him at least a year or two, maybe three or five years, and how could he bear to be separated for Xie Zhen so long? Unfortunately, Emperor Yuan Huai didn’t understand his vexation, so he set out in March after the spring, it was urgent for him to do so. That was why she felt that there was something wrong when he came back today.

C78part2

C78part2: Fifteen-years-old Birthday Ceremony (Part2) She sat in his arms, digesting, her eyes open, not knowing what to say. She didn’t know much about these things, but she had heard Madam Leng mention them. Daddy and brother were going to the border gates and would leave in the spring next year. Mum had prepared their clothes early. She had heard that they would be gone for a long time. The weather there was very different from the capital, so she didn’t know if they would be able to get used to it. Yan Yu held her tightly in his arms, his head resting on her shoulders. He didn’t say anything for a long time. He had to go, but he couldn’t bear to part with her. After a long time, he called out to her, “Lamb?” “Ah?” He buries himself in her neck. “Hold me.” She always felt that he liked to act coquettish with her recently. This wasn’t excessive, but now she didn’t wear any clothes. She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around his waist and burrowed into his chest. “you won’t leave if I hug you?” He stiffened. “You don’t want me to go?” She shook her head. “I didn’t say that.” Her voice was soft and her body soft, and his heart was soft with it. He lowered his head to block her pink lips and savor the taste of her mouth. Every part of her was sweet enough for him to taste. She was not a thin-skinned girl, but her face was red from his kisses. She could not help but grumble, “Don’t bite my tongue …” Unfortunately, before she could finish her words of protest, the words were swallowed by him. After the fifteenth birthday ceremony, she could finally return to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion. Yan Yu said goodbye to Madam Leng and Xie Liqing and took her home. She had lived in the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion for nearly a month, and had not brought much when she came. When she left, she had brought with her two extra cages, all of which were the new clothes and accessories she had brought in the past few months. The Madam Leng had arranged for two other mammy to be assigned to her: Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui. Mammy Wang was an old mammy who had served the Madam Leng for many years. She helped to manage the backyard in a neat orderly. Madam Leng felt that Xie Zhen was too young to know what to do when something happened, and the two mammy could come up with ideas for her. For example, if she had had Mammy by her side, she wouldn’t have been so lonely and helpless when it was Qing Xia and Ouyang Yi’s matter. Xie Zhen happily accepted. When she returned to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion, the carriage stopped before the gate of the Zhanyue Courtyard. After a month of not coming back, the servants in the yard all came out to greet her. The moment Hong Mei and Tan Mei saw her, their eyes turned red. Ever since she had returned to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, they had been severely punished and knelt in the courtyard. No one was allowed to get up. At that time, the weather was extremely cold, and a few of them were so weak that they didn’t kneel for long before they collapsed. It was still Xie Zhen who carefully knew that Yan Yu would punish them, and let Yan Yu release them all that day. Only now did they escape. They had cleaned up the yard in the absence of Xie Zhen, and there was no sign that they had not lived in the house for many days. “Ouyang Yi is still living there?” she asked, after having her things taken away and taking a look at the back of the room. Yan Yu said, “Wu Ze has already found a yard in the west side of the city. She said she wants to pack up her things and move there the next day.” Why would she need so many days to pack her things? However, she wanted to stall for time. In this short period of time, cries could be heard from the Pavilion Changqing from time to time. None of the servants were willing to pass by, and after listening for a long time, they were too lazy to even bring ingredients in. Originally, they only gave the ingredients once a day, but gradually it became once every two or three days. Seeing that the steward didn’t say anything, the servant became even lazier. In just a few days, Ouyang Yi had lost a lot of weight. Now that Yan Yu had found a good house for her outside, she should be thankful for that, but she didn’t expect to be grateful. On the day Ouyang Yi left the mansion, the snow had not yet melted. She reluctantly watched her servants carry her things onto the carriage. The Pavilion Changqing had quite a few jade vases, but she was reluctant to part with any of them. She actually wanted to move them all to the courtyards outside the city. Not too far away, Xie Zhen waited for the servants to carry everything up before speaking slowly, allowing Mammy Wang to take the ledgers to the Pavilion Changqing to inspect them. Mammy Wang led two maidservants away, returning after a short while. She respectfully said, “there are two vases missing from the room, two gold-painted Man Mu boxes and a set of inkstones …” There were around twenty to thirty items in total. Ouyang Yi’s face turned green. Xie Zhen retracted her gaze and smiled, looking at Ouyang Yi with severity, “Cousin Guning, are you planning to empty the Pavilion Changqing?” Ouyang Yi stood beside the carriage and tightly clenched the handkerchief in her hand. When she and Madam Li came in, they were poor and only had a change of clothes. Afterwards, when Madam Li left, Madam Li’s things also followed her to the grave, and there wasn’t anything else in Pavilion Changqing either. In fact, the things that belonged to her were the only clothes that the steward had make for her … But how could she be willing to just leave like this? She was reluctant to part with anything in this room filled with gold and silver. She had only wanted to take away a few things secretly, since Yan Yu was a prince, he probably wouldn’t mind her too much. But who would have thought Xie Zhen would stop her midway. She was unwilling to give up. “Cousin did not say anything …” “Who’s your cousin?” she asked her. Her eyes were red with anxiety. “Naturally, it is the Sixth Prince.” That was reasonable. “You are Li Yu’s cousin, not Yan Yu’s cousin.” With that, she turned to Mammy Wang and said, “get back everything on the carriage. Leave everything registered within the mansion. Ouyang Yi can only take her things away.” Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui replied and left. Although these two Mammy had only been here for a few days, because they were old and could do things, the servants in the mansion quickly submitted to them. It didn’t take long for the servants to once again bring down their belongings and sort the items with Mammy Wang and Mammy Gui. The items were divided into two sides. One side was the Pavilion Changqing’s, and the other side was Ouyang Yi’s. What belonged to Ouyang Yi was only a small bundle containing a few pieces of clothing and jewelry, as well as two boxes of dowry prepared by the steward under the orders of Yan Yu. Ouyang Yi saw that only a small portion of her things were left, she glared at Xie Zhen and said, “You…” “You can take these dowry. This is the Sixth Prince’s last favor to the Li family. However, you must sign this agreement. After you marry, you will no longer have any relationship with the Sixth Prince.” In fact, if she didn’t sign the agreement, there wouldn’t be a big problem. Ouyang Yi wasn’t Yan Yu’s cousin and only they ignore her. Naturally, she had no other choice. But signing the agreement would save them a lot of trouble. Ouyang Yi looked at her in disbelief and subconsciously shook her head. “How can it have nothing ralationship? I am…” Xie Zhen didn’t wait for her to finish. “Then leave the dowry. I am your sister-in-low. Since your mother is gone, I will help you decide what kind of person you want to marry in the future.” Ouyang Yi stared wide-eyed. That would be even worse! Who knows what kind of person she would marry herself? If that man was half pockmarked and half puckered with bad manner, how did she do? Ouyang Yi gritted her teeth and took the agreement from her. She angrily signed her name and then sighed it with a handprint. Xie Zhen didn’t even look at her and let Mammy Wang keep it. Mammy Wang put it away and asked the crowd, “Did you all see it?” This was the path that between the gates. What happened here would spread throughout the entire mansion in less than half a day. The servants nodded in unison. Mammy Wang nodded. “Since you’ve seen it, then go and do your own thing.” In this way, even if Ouyang Yi returned to the prince’s mansion in the future, there probably wouldn’t be anyone who would interfere in her matters. Ouyang Yi knocked off her teeth and swallowed her blood. Annoyed, she got into the carriage and took the two boxes of dowry to the yard in south of the city.