Li Xianfang looked at him with an aggrieved expression.
"Then... should I go in?"
Li Xianfang struggled to puzzle it out with a frown, then finally gave him a furtive nod before immediately lowering her eyes to the floor.
"..." Pei Ye turned back. "I'll go put on a couple more layers."
Startled, Li Xianfang hurriedly turned and caught his wrist, looking at him pleadingly.
"I can't... do you know what she did last time..." Pei Ye tried to explain, his eyes wide.
"How much longer are you two going to whisper?" A cool voice came from inside the hall.
"..."
"..."
Pei Ye straightened, coughed twice, and knocked. "Your subordinate Pei Ye, answering your summons."
"Come in."
Pei Ye gently pushed the door open and entered, immediately catching traces of delicate fragrance. Pale incense smoke curled from the mountain-shaped censer. The hall was excessively quiet, and as Pei Ye stepped onto the soft carpet, he felt as though he too had become a kitten.
Past several turns of the screens, a curtained bed stood beneath the window. The indistinct figure within rested her head against a pillow, her body still beneath a thick quilt.
Pei Ye stopped three feet outside the curtains.
"Fetch yourself a seat. There's tea on the table too."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Pei Ye fetched a seat and sat as instructed, though he left the tea untouched.
"I let you out for a day. Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yes." Pei Ye paused. "Does Your Highness mean that from now on, I can only leave the palace when I'm let out for air?"
The shadow of the head behind the curtains moved. "What, does staying in Vermilion Mirror Hall make you that miserable?"
"No. Though I was outside today, my thoughts remained with this hall."
The