Chapter 586

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Qianqian forced her spirits up, stood up, and after steadying herself a little, said, "Alright, do my hair for me."

She walked unsteadily to the dressing table, and as usual, propped her chin with her hand and sat down gracefully.

Seeing this, Mantou nimbly set about doing Qianqian's hair. Before long, a simple yet exquisite hair bun appeared at the back of Qianqian's head.

Hua Hua also swiftly took out a dangling hairpin that had already been selected from a box at the side, and carefully inserted it into Qianqian's hair bun.

Then she picked out a few simple small hair ornaments, adding a touch of playfulness and liveliness to Qianqian's hairstyle.

Everything proceeded very smoothly, until Mantou prepared to apply light makeup for Qianqian, a problem arose — the dark circles under Qianqian's eyes were truly too severe; no matter how they were covered, it was to no avail.

"What can we do about this?" Mantou said anxiously, "These dark circles simply cannot be covered!"

Qianqian waved her hand lightly, the corners of her mouth revealing a faint smile, and said softly, "It's fine, it's fine, we're all family, no need to mind these things."

Finished speaking, she tilted her head slightly, gazing at herself in the mirror. She saw the woman in the mirror had a slightly pale complexion, a faint ring of dark shadows around her eye sockets, clearly due to insufficient sleep, but apart from that, there was nothing else obviously amiss.

Qianqian nodded in satisfaction, then said to Mantou standing at the side, "Mantou, put some rouge on me."

Mantou obediently answered, swiftly took out an exquisite rouge from the makeup box, and carefully applied it for Qianqian. Once the rouge was applied, Qianqian's lips instantly became delicate and dewy, as if blooming flowers.

After everything was ready, Qianqian went toward the front hall together with Mantou. Along the way, Mantou told Qianqian in a low voice that the Crown Prince and Young Master Shangguan were already waiting in the front hall and had been for quite a while.

Qianqian felt a bit anxious in her heart, so she quickened her pace, and before long arrived at the front hall entrance.

Entering the front hall, Qianqian's gaze first fell on the Crown Prince on the main seat.

She saw the Crown Prince wearing a magnificent brocade robe, sitting there upright, with a dignified bearing that made one not dare to look directly at him.

On the Crown Prince's left sat An Wang and Shangguan Xingyan, while on the right sat An Wangfei and Shangguan Xingyu. Yan Si had gone out early on business and was not at home at this moment.

Qianqian forced her spirits up, stepped into the front hall. As she walked, she couldn't help but yawn, then covered her mouth with her hand, and walked slowly to the Crown Prince, bowed in salute, and said in a sweet voice, "Elder Brother Crown Prince, hello."

Then she turned around, gave a graceful bow to Shangguan Xingyan, and said softly, "Elder Brother Xingyan, hello."

Seeing this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but frown slightly, looked at Qianqian with concern, and asked, "Qianqian, were you just dragged out of your bed? How come you look so weary?"

Hearing this, Qianqian felt a bit surprised in her heart. She raised her head, met the Crown Prince's gaze, then smiled faintly and said, "Huh? Elder Brother Crown Prince actually noticed?"

While speaking, she walked leisurely toward the seat next to Shangguan Xingyu. Arriving before the seat, she didn't bother with any posture, plopped down, her whole person appearing somewhat lazy. However, despite this, her bearing was still not too unsightly.

The Crown Prince looked at her like this and couldn't help laughing, teasing, "The dark shadows under your eyes could almost catch up to This Palace's ink stick."

Qianqian heard this, scratched her head a bit embarrassedly, and explained, "Aiya, it's because I got absorbed reading a picture book last night, and accidentally lost track of time."

The Crown Prince heard this and found it even more amusing, continued joking, "You, you're already this old, yet still like a child. A girl your age could already be betrothed."

Hearing this, Qianqian's face instantly flushed red with shame, and she hurriedly said, "Aiya, Elder Brother Crown Prince, what exactly did you come for today? Stop teasing me, let's talk about proper business."

Seeing Qianqian so shy, the Crown Prince no longer persisted, instead spoke up, "Young Master Shangguan still needs to stay in Kyoto for a few more days. He feels the relay station isn't as comfortable as An Wangfu, so he wants to stay at An Wangfu temporarily for a while."

Shangguan Xingyu heard this and her heart instantly rejoiced; her elder brother being able to accompany her for a few more days was naturally nothing better. However, she also worried a bit that it might be too much of a disturbance.

An Wang said with a smile, "We're all family; even if he lives here long-term, it's perfectly fine."

The Crown Prince heard this, nodded slightly in agreement, then said, "Since that's the case, This Palace happens to have some matters to discuss with Imperial Uncle; wonder what Imperial Uncle thinks?"

An Wang agreed readily, "Good, then Crown Prince please move to the study."

Finished speaking, the two walked together toward the study. Their figures gradually receded until they disappeared from everyone's sight.

However, the moment the Crown Prince and An Wang left, everyone's gazes unconsciously converged on Qianqian.

After all, what Qianqian had said before was truly hard to believe. Not only did the Crown Prince harbor doubts about it, even the others all half-believed, half-doubted her words.

However, because the Crown Prince was present, no one dared to question her face to face, lest it appear too rude. Now the Crown Prince had already left, and An Wangfu instantly quieted down.

Just then, An Wangfei took the lead in breaking the silence. She looked at Qianqian, with a seeming-smile-not-smile, and asked, "Qianqian ah, where did you go thieving last night?"

Qianqian heard this, glared at An Wangfei coquettishly, and complained, "Mother, how can you speak of your daughter like that? How could your daughter be that kind of person! It's just that I had insomnia!"

An Wangfei wore a face of skepticism. After all, this ungrateful little one of hers had always had extremely good sleep quality, rarely ever having insomnia.

It's just that now is not a good time to press further, so she changed her tune: "Forget it, forget it, you go rest first. Mother still has to go settle Xingyan properly."

Qianqian, like a gust of wind, after hearing her words, vanished in the blink of an eye. Her speed was extremely fast; she directly burrowed headfirst into the soft bed.

Before long, she fell into a deep sleep, even the hair ornaments on her head hadn't been taken off in time. It was Mantou who came in later who helped her take them off.

After Qianqian left, An Wangfei began arranging Shangguan Xingyan's lodging.

She considered that Yan Jie was recently not at home, his courtyard happened to be empty, so she decided to place Shangguan Xingyan in Yan Jie's courtyard. This way it was both convenient to look after him and gave Shangguan Xingyan a comfortable living environment.

An Wangfei then instructed the servants to move Shangguan Xingyan's luggage and belongings to Yan Jie's courtyard, and specially told them that if anything was lacking, they must go purchase it immediately.

Shangguan Xingyan did not refuse An Wangfei's arrangement. After all, everyone is family; being too polite would instead seem distant.

After arranging Shangguan Xingyan's lodging, An Wangfei, Shangguan Xingyan, and Shangguan Xingyu sat together in the courtyard and began chatting idly. Sunlight fell on them, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.