Chapter 35: My Wife Has a Kind Heart

Nan Xueyin thought for a moment and said, "Because Your Highness considers the Emperor's fatherly love; if you do not keep the maidservants, the Emperor will be sad. And Your Highness does not wish for the Emperor to be sad."

"That is only one of the reasons," Xiao Youlan said. "If I were only considering the Emperor, I could keep everyone. As for Linglang and Hantao coming out to show themselves, I could very well have kept just the two of them."

Nan Xueyin thought to herself, is it because I stood for a long time yet did not blush, nor did I sweat?

Xiao Youlan looked at her deeply. "Because of your eyes."

Nan Xueyin was slightly stunned.

"Your eyes are different from anyone else's."

Even now, Xiao Youlan can clearly remember the first time he saw her.

That pair of eyes of hers, hidden beneath thick, long lashes, were clear and limpid, pure and cold, like snow-pines under the moon, and also like the cold glint of a sharp blade.

At that time, he watched for quite a while.

At this moment, he also gazed at her for a long time, saying, "I have never had any feelings for a woman's appearance, but I remembered only your eyes. That is why I kept you."

Nan Xueyin was silent for a moment.

The last trace of the scent of gunpowder in the air had dissipated. She seemed to come back to her senses and asked, "Your Highness, we have eaten dinner and watched the fireworks; should we return to the Eastern Palace now?"

Xiao Youlan nodded.

He went out first and waited outside the door.

Behind him, Nan Xueyin seemed to accidentally trip over the threshold. Xiao Youlan was quick-witted and fast-handed, grasping her hand.

The Crown Prince's palm was warm. At first, he only held it loosely. Nan Xueyin paused briefly, then immediately spread her fingers and interlaced them with his inside her sleeve.

Xiao Youlan was stunned. Nan Xueyin stood steady outside the door and looked up with a sly smile.

He instantly understood that the detail just now was intentional on her part. His eyes were deep as he evaluated her: "Little fox."

He squeezed her hand tighter and said in a low voice, "Let's not take the carriage; we will walk back slowly."

Nan Xueyin nodded obediently.

There is no curfew on Ziwei Main Street, and trade remains prosperous until late at night. At this moment, under the night sky, the lights were still bright and the crowds bustling.

It was also at this time that Xiao Mingyu's carriage pulled to a steady stop below the Tianxi Yuan Restaurant.

He pushed open the carriage door and found Wu Zhui staring blankly at the end of the long street. When he looked in that direction, he could not help but freeze.

It was Xiao Youlan and Nan Xueyin. His robe and her jacket were made of the same material.

The two of them were holding hands, walking slowly. She seemed to be saying something, and he lowered his head slightly, listening patiently. The warm light of the lanterns fell, casting long and lingering shadows behind the pair.

The scene was tender, like a painting, as if they had been in love for many years.

Xiao Mingyu's eyes felt sore, and his heart ached as if he were suffocating.

"It is said that today is the birthday of Doukou from the Eastern Palace. That display of fireworks just now was the birthday gift the Crown Prince prepared for her," Wu Zhui said slowly, his tone seeming gratified yet carrying a hint of melancholy.

Xiao Mingyu said nothing, his thin lips pressed into a line.

Wu Zhui murmured weakly again, "In the past, it seems we... never celebrated her birthday."

Xiao Mingyu seemed to be struck hard by something, his complexion looking terrible to the extreme.

But he insisted on hiding something, forcing a sinister and fierce expression as he warned Wu Zhui word by word: "If you dare to mention her again, this Prince will pull out your tongue!"

Nan Xueyin knew nothing of this.

She saw a little girl, as round and plump as a lucky child in a New Year's painting, holding a candied hawthorn in one hand and her mother's hand in the other, jumping up and down happily: "It's so beautiful, those fireworks! Mother, I really want to see them again!"

The woman laughed: "Hurry back and have a dream, then you can see them again."

She teased her again: "Stop jumping, or you'll be well-behaved once you drop your candied hawthorn."

The little child pouted triumphantly: "I won't!"

As she spoke, she even held the candied hawthorn above her head.

The next instant, with a "pop," the candied hawthorn fell to the ground.

The little child was stunned. She looked at her empty palm, then at the candied hawthorn on the ground, and finally, with a "waa," she burst into tears.

"Do you want to eat a candied hawthorn?" Nan Xueyin was watching with great interest when she suddenly heard Xiao Youlan's voice beside her.

"... Hm?" She hadn't reacted for a moment.

Xiao Youlan's voice carried a smile: "Wait for me here."

After saying this, he let go of her.

Nan Xueyin saw him stride toward the vendor selling candied hawthorns not far away, then she turned her head and looked at the little child.

The woman had been coaxing her for a long time, but she was still crying with a face full of snot and tears, mumbling in her mouth: "My candied hawthorn, my candied hawthorn."

Nan Xueyin suddenly remembered that when she was young, she seemed to have cried until she was out of breath just like that.

But she didn't really want to reminisce, so she went back to watching Xiao Youlan.

He had already bought the candied hawthorns and returned, holding two skewers in his hand.

Nan Xueyin said: "Young Master, I cannot eat that many."

"Eat as much as you can," Xiao Youlan said gently, handing her one skewer.

Nan Xueyin took it, then saw him holding the other skewer and walking toward the little child over there.

He bent down, his voice exceptionally soft when coaxing the child: "Don't cry, here, for you."

The little girl saw that he was handsome and very much wanted to take it, but remembering her parents' teachings, she shrank her hand back, wiped away her tears, and turned to look at her mother.

The woman was embarrassed: "How could we accept this?"

"It is no trouble," Xiao Youlan said. "My wife has a kind heart; seeing the little sister crying so sadly, she had me buy it."

Nan Xueyin had just bitten off a whole hawthorn and was about to start chewing when she caught the word "wife" and began to cough violently.

The woman and the little girl heard the sound and looked at her.

Nan Xueyin covered her mouth, coughing until her cheeks were flushed red.

Xiao Youlan laughed: "My wife is embarrassed."

He withdrew his gaze and held the candied hawthorn forward, "Just take it, it's fine."

The little girl still looked toward her mother, and the woman smiled, "If you want to eat it, then take it."

The little girl immediately broke into a smile through her tears and happily took the candied hawthorn; afraid of dropping it this time, she held it with both hands, and although she was still brimming with tears, she had already raised a brilliant smiling face and said crisply, "Thank you, pretty big brother!"

After thinking for a moment, she added to Nan Xueyin, "Thank you, pretty sister-in-law!"

Xiao Youlan let out a laugh, "You're welcome."

"Sister-in-law also says, you're welcome."

By the time he walked back, Nan Xueyin had already swallowed the first hawthorn; she didn't eat the second one as savagely, biting off only half of it.

She looked at him with a beaming smile and called out, "Husband?"

This time it was Xiao Youlan's turn to blush.

He explained, "I just said it casually, afraid that they wouldn't dare to take this candied hawthorn."

Nan Xueyin nodded her head, "I know, Husband is the most kind-hearted."

Xiao Youlan felt a little embarrassed; after a moment of silence, he asked, "Is it good?"

"Very sweet," Nan Xueyin offered the candied hawthorn toward him, "Would Husband like to have a taste?"