"I just felt a little stifled, so I came out for a look. It's getting late. I should go back and rest," Long Xiyue said softly. She seemed rather dispirited.
"Tonight is New Year's Eve," Hu Xiaotian said. "Tradition says we should stay up to see in the new year."
"Year after year, the flowers remain alike; year after year, the people are no longer the same," Long Xiyue recited. On her lips, the ancient verse rose and fell in lingering echoes, its cadence deeply moving, revealing the merciless passage of time and the helplessness of surrendering to fate.
Seeing Long Xiyue so sorrowful, Hu Xiaotian felt tenderness well up within him. Although she held the exalted rank of princess, her life had been terribly pitiful. Like duckweed drifting through wind and rain, she had never been mistress of her own fate. "Go back to your chambers and wait for me, Princess," he said. "I'll come over once I've arranged everything."
Long Xiyue did not know what he intended. She frowned in mild surprise, but still did as he asked and returned to her room.
Before long, Hu Xiaotian came in, carrying a set of his own clothes. "Please change into these, Princess," he said with a smile.
Long Xiyue blinked her lovely eyes. "What are you..." she asked timidly.
"Didn't I say I would take you out of the palace for a look? Naturally, I have to keep my promise."
Long Xiyue was both surprised and delighted, yet a little apprehensive too. "But it's the middle of the night. Won't we be questioned if we go out like this?"
Hu Xiaotian raised the Coiling Dragon Gold Plaque. "Don't forget, His Majesty gave me this Coiling Dragon Gold Plaque. We can leave whenever we please. No one will question us."