Meng Anli naturally would not let the Crown Prince go to the imperial palace. She merely named the city closest to the Capital City.
When the Crown Prince brought her down, night had just fallen. The streets were brightly lit, bustling with people and carriages.
She looked like a little girl who had never seen the world. "So fast! We got here in only an hour. If I had this carriage, it would be much easier to visit my little sister in the future."
The Crown Prince looked at her with tender eyes. "I can give you the carriage, but don't go see your little sister anymore. Don't let her bully you."
Meng Anli lowered her eyes sadly, twisting the ribbon on her clothes between her fingers. "People don't like me."
"It's her fault," the Crown Prince said, heart aching for her.
"Candied hawthorn skewers~"
The call caught Meng Anli's attention, and she looked over.
The Crown Prince had wanted to comfort her further, only to see her staring at the candied hawthorn skewers with shining eyes.
He laughed. "Want some?"
Meng Anli nodded repeatedly. "They look delicious. I had some when I was very little too."
Only when she had been very little?
The Crown Prince could not help feeling sorry for her again.
He took out a gold ingot and was about to head over when Meng Anli grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't."
The Crown Prince looked at her in confusion.
"That's too much." Meng Anli opened her bundle and found a copper coin in a small pocket tucked deep within an inner layer. She said happily, "This is just enough."
The Crown Prince asked in surprise, "This is your only copper coin?"
"Mm! I already thought it through. On the way back, I'll pick more fruit and wild vegetables, then drink spring water. My mother already taught me which kinds are edible."
Meng Anli finished quickly, then anxiously called out to the old man selling candied hawthorn skewers.
"Wait! I want one candied hawthorn skewer."
The old man cheerfully handed her one.
Meng Anli ran back and held the first fruit up to the Crown Prince's mouth.
"This one is the biggest. You eat it first."
The lanterns by the street cast a warm yellow glow, falling diagonally over her face. Her bright smile, so radiant in daylight, was now gilded with a layer of warmth.
Her eyes, clear as black and white, looked especially sincere.
Like a beautiful, pampered cat baring its soft belly for him to stroke.
The Crown Prince suddenly remembered something Meng Anli had said during all her endless chatter.
She said the first fruit on her candied hawthorn skewer was for Lu Yao.
Because the first one was the biggest and had the most sugar.
She would even give that to Lu Yao. That showed they were the best of friends under heaven.
At the time, the Crown Prince had been dismissive and annoyed.
The little girl kept chirping meaningless things into his ear.
He had many important matters to handle.
But now, looking at that candied hawthorn fruit, the Crown Prince's heartbeat slowly fell into disarray.
Did she mean that she and he were the best of friends under heaven?
Meng Anli saw that he still was not eating, only staring blankly at her.
Don't space out at a time like this. My smile is about to freeze, and my arm is getting sore from holding this up.
An idea struck her, and her expression immediately fell.
"I'm sorry, I forgot. How could the Crown Prince possibly like something so mundane?"
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand—
"Wait." The Crown Prince caught her hand and ate one. He gave it a light bite, and the sweet-and-sour flavor spread across his mouth.
Meng Anli looked at him expectantly. "Is it good?"
The Crown Prince had originally found it ordinary, but seeing her like this, he could not help smiling. "It's good."
That smile made the sourness hit him even harder. He could not help letting out an "Oh~" as he covered his mouth.
Meng Anli laughed happily, then half-covered her mouth too. "You can't laugh like that while it's still in your mouth. It'll taste even more sour~"
She laughed so happily that the Crown Prince was infected by it.
He laughed along with her.
"Mm, even sour, it's still good."
With that laugh, Meng Anli smoothly grew more familiar with him and tugged at the hem of his robe. "Brother Shaoguang, there are Sugar Figures too. Sugar Figures aren't sour at all."
Brother Shaoguang?
The Crown Prince's heart stirred. No one had ever called him that.
Meng Anli still looked entirely unaware as she pulled him over to the Sugar Figures stall.
"Look, they can make all kinds of shapes."
She turned back to him. "Amazing, right?"
Shaoguang only looked at her. "Mm, amazing."
"But these are too sweet. My mother said they'll make your teeth hurt."
The Sugar Figures vendor laughed cheerfully. "Little girl, rinse your mouth after eating, and your teeth won't hurt. Want to buy one?"
"Better not." Meng Anli said openly, "I don't have any money left~ I'll come buy one after I save up some more."
The Crown Prince took out money. "I—"
Meng Anli swiftly pressed his hand down. "You can't spend your money. Having candied hawthorn skewers today is enough. I only wanted to show Brother Shaoguang."
She would not spend his money?
The Crown Prince's heart was stirred once more. The women around him, Liuyin included, had never refused his rewards. They all accepted them happily.
But she was unwilling to spend even a single gold ingot of his.
She truly was so special.
While he was lost in thought, Meng Anli had already pulled him before a clay figurine stall.
"Brother Shaoguang, look. This master is amazing too. He can mold clay figurines~ He can make both of us right here on the spot."
The master looked up. His hair was white as a crane's feathers, yet his face was youthful. A smile rested at the corners of his mouth, but his gaze was cool and thin.
The moment Meng Anli met his eyes, her heart skipped a beat, and she instantly let go of the Crown Prince's robe.
It was Master!
Why was Master here making clay figurines?
The Crown Prince only assumed that she was shy. Looking over the rows of clay figurines, he saw that every single one was different.
He asked curiously, "Can you really mold our likenesses on the spot?"
"I can." Yun Jing said coolly, "You two are strikingly good-looking. Easy to mold."
Meng Anli felt a chill down the back of her neck.
Her fingers twisted together unconsciously.
Would Master think I'm slacking off instead of cultivating properly?
The Crown Prince was pleased by his words and took Meng Anli's hand. "No need to be nervous. Let him make one and see. It can serve as a keepsake too."
Yun Jing's slender fingers pulled the clay apart into two pieces.
Meng Anli swallowed nervously. "Maybe not."
"You don't want to spend my money?" The Crown Prince soothed her gently. "This is what I want."
Yun Jing kneaded the clay in his hands and smiled as he watched them. To outsiders, he looked just like an elder pleased to see a golden boy and jade girl.
"No..." Meng Anli felt as though what Master was kneading was her head. Her scalp went numb.
The Crown Prince interrupted her. "I'm spending my own money on myself. Are you going to stop me from that too?"
Then his tone shifted as he leaned closer to her. "It's not impossible, but it will take some time. Once you become mine—"
"Heh~" Yun Jing gave a soft laugh and gently placed the clay ball on the board. The clay head had already taken shape, but it shattered into pieces when it hit the board.
Meng Anli felt a chill crawl down her back. She shuddered and closed her eyes.
To the Crown Prince, she looked like she had been stirred by his teasing.
He smiled and leaned closer again. "So shy?"
Meng Anli instinctively dodged away.
She actually dodged him?
The Crown Prince's gaze grew even hotter. If it had been Liuyin, she should have fallen into his arms by now.
He was about to move again.
"You two." The curve of Yun Jing's lips turned cold. His voice was not loud, yet it made the Crown Prince's heart tremble.
Just then, the fragrance around Meng Anli drifted into his nose.
The scent was extremely faint, like the sweet fragrance of cool melons and fruit in the blazing heat of summer.
Breathing it in made one feel refreshed and at ease.
The Crown Prince felt that he had fallen for her once again.
Before you continue