Ah Luo strutted out of the residence with Xiao Yu. If there was a first time, there would be an nth time. Her and Zi Li’s restaurant opened smoothly. Ah Luo taught the chef a series of vegetarian dishes that she knew how to cook. The restaurant was named Su Xin Zhai. There were only seven or eight private rooms and the reservation queue was already two weeks long.
The family bustled with activity as they busily prepared to marry Qing Lei off to the Crown Prince. When she first left the residence, Minister Li would ask Ah Luo about her relationship with Liu Jue, however, Ah Luo would answer carefully without revealing anything. Being busy with ministry affairs and worrying about Qing Lei, Minister Li gradually questioned her less and less.
Liu Jue seemed to have disappeared without a trace and didn’t show up. Ah Luo was immersed all day long in the joy brought by money. When Zi Li was free, she learnt how to ride a horse. Her days became carefree and easy.
Zi Li wasn’t aware that Ah Luo knew about his identity so he continued to keep silent about it, and Ah Luo didn’t ask. Zi Li frequently observed Ah Luo who was just like a happy little bird when she left the residence, and he couldn’t help but want to spoil her even more. He felt like being with Ah Luo really lifted his mood. Any worries bothering him would be swept away when he was with Ah Luo. One day, Ah Luo was finally able to spur the horse into a gallop. With her face flushed red, she smiled and said, “Elder Brother, it feels like I’m flying. Freedom!”
Zi Li smiled and said, “How does it feel to fly? Have you flown before?”
Ah Luo recalled the time when she had ridden an unpowered glider plane before and described this to Zi Li, “It’s like looking over the earth from up in the air and the mind feels so open.”
Zi Li said, “How is it possible for people to fly in the air?”
Ah Luo thought for a while then asked Zi Li’s attendant to make a large paper kite, then said to Zi Li, “Brother, I’ll ride the horse and fly the kite. You try and stand on it lightly with your Qinggong.”
When Zi Li’s feet touched the paper kite, the kite sank a little, then was pulled by Ah Luo’s horse and flew quickly. The blowing wind combined with Zi Li’s Qinggong, and at this moment, Zi Li truly felt the feeling of flying that Ah Luo had talked about. It was a pity that this only worked for a while. Zi Li embedded this memory deep into his heart.
Ah Luo knew many stories and once she said to Zi Li, “There was a person who complained to the deities that his burden was too heavy, too tiring, and too insufferable. The deity promised that as long as he never looked back, he would follow behind him and accompany him. After walking for a while, he wouldn’t suffer nor be tired ever again. That person really walked forward without looking back. He walked over mountains, across the plains and through the seas. The more he walked, the smoother and easier it was. He said to the deity, why can’t you walk with me for the rest of my life? With you here, it has become easier and easier the further I walk.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “That’s because the deity cast a spell. Seeing that he was tired from walking, he lightened his body.”
Ah Luo smiled slightly and looked at Zi Li, saying, “The deity allowed him to look back. At this moment, he was walking along the beach and when he turned his head, he only saw his own footprints on the sand. The deity said, I actually haven’t been following you. Your deity is inside your own heart. The meaning of this is that everyone is responsible for their own actions and overcoming yourself would mean you can overcome anything.”
Zi Li looked deeply at Ah Luo. After a long time, he sighed to himself in a voice that Ah Luo couldn’t hear, “You are the deity in my heart.”
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Although Qing Lei was to be the Crown Prince’s concubine, because the Crown Prince loved her, she married in style. On the day of the marriage, Ah Luo looked back and saw the scene of an ancient era Crown Prince marrying his consort, which of course wasn’t Qing Lei, but was Wang Yan Hui. Ah Luo was speechless at the strength in numbers. The procession stretched for miles. Was this the ancient era’s version of the armed forces honour guard?
She brought Xiao Yu up to the second floor of the restaurant to watch the festive atmosphere. Liu Jue suddenly appeared, “Long time no see. I heard that you’ve learned to ride a horse? Did you have a great time?”
Ah Luo forced a smile, “Yes. I would be even happier if you hadn’t appeared.”
Liu Jue lowered his voice and said, “After the Crown Prince’s great wedding, it will be the Fourth Prince’s great wedding.”
Ah Luo gave an ‘oh’ and also lowered her voice to say, “After the Crown Prince’s wedding, the Gu Family’s daughter will be getting married.”
Liu Jue froze, then revealed a smile, “Aren’t we two depressed people? Shall we drink wedding wine together?”
Ah Luo scorned, “You won’t make a fool of yourself by drinking, would you?”
Liu Jue smiled slightly, “If you drink until you’re sad, I can hold you while you cry.”
Ah Luo scolded, “Lecher!”
Liu Jue smiled, “What does that mean?”
“It means having no sense of shame!”
“How can I be shameless? At the most, I would just be putting my face in my arms with you.” After saying this, Liu Jue left while laughing.
A month after the Crown Prince’s wedding, Zi Li used his xiao to invite Ah Luo out and brought her straight out the West Gate on horseback. After riding for a while, they stopped. Ah Luo dismounted from her horse and exclaimed, “I hadn’t expected that the grass plains in April would be filled with blooming flowers. Why do all the grass plains here have purple flowers?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “This type of flower is called the Northern Star orchid and they bloom from April till the end of June.”
Ah Luo looked at where the grass plains met the sky and said to Zi Li, “If I had a tent, it would be nice to camp in the grass plains at night and barbeque meat while gazing at the stars.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “How difficult can this be? Just ask someone to prepare.”
Ah Luo said awkwardly, “I can’t come out at night. It would be terrible if I was discovered by that father.”
Zi Li winked, “You can go to bed early and then sneak out? I’ll pick you up.”
Ah Luo thought Zi Li was really great and was so happy that she couldn’t close her mouth. Zi Li looked at Ah Luo and said, “Ah Luo, you will turn 14 this autumn, right? I think you’ve grown taller again.”
Ah Luo used her hands to make a comparison. It was true, the top of her head reached Zi Li’s shoulder. She thought that she would grow even taller, and that it was good to grow up. She bounced around while telling Zi Li what to prepare, what kind of seasonings to bring. Zi Li agreed to each of her requests.
That night, Ah Luo waited until everyone had fallen asleep. Then she locked the door from inside, jumped out of the window silently and walked lightly out of the courtyard. Zi Li was waiting quietly in the bamboo forest. Bringing Ah Luo, he leapt over the courtyard wall.
The city gates were long closed by now. Zi Li led her through a series of twists and turns and somehow, they ended up outside of the city. He smiled at Ah Luo, “The Ning Empire is too ancient and it definitely has its secrets. I happen to know of one such secret way.”
The two of them mounted their horses and galloped across the grass plains with the stars twinkling overhead like diamonds. The moonlight shone brightly there wasn’t even a single cloud in the sky. After riding for a while, they saw a light from a fire.
Zi Li’s attendants had prepared everything and when the two of them arrived, they disappeared silently into the darkness.
Ah Luo roasted things around the fire and buried potatoes in the ashes. Whenever a skewer was cooked, Zi Li would eat it. Ah Luo laughed at him, “Are you that hungry?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “If you give it to me and I don’t eat it, wouldn’t that be too rude?”
Ah Luo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she simply ordered him to take them. When most of them were grilled, the two of them ate skewer after skewer as they chatted. Zi Li asked Ah Luo, “If you knew that I was a prince of the Ning Empire, would you still keep in touch with me?”
Ah Luo said, “Haven’t I already been keeping in touch with you for so long? Elder Brother? Or should I call you Liu Fei?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “You already knew?”
“Yes, Liu Jue told me.”
“Then why didn’t you come and ask me?”
Ah Luo crouched down and dug out the potatoes, “It’s very hot, catch it quickly!” She threw one to Liu Fei, then tossed another one between her own hands, “I’ve said this a long time ago. If you wanted to tell me, then naturally, you would say it. If you don’t want to, then what’s the point in me asking?”
Zi Li slowly peeled the skin off the potatoes and gave it to Ah Luo, then took the one from her hand and continued to peel it, “Then you knew that Gu Tian Lin is appointed to marry me?”
Ah Luo replied as she ate, “Yes, I knew.”
Zi Li said, “What do you think of Gu Tian Lin?”
“Beautiful, proud, intelligent, very good. I have a great impression of her.”
“How did the two of you meet?”
Having eaten well, Ah Luo lay down to look at the stars, “She played <Fragrant Orchid> at the Peach Blossom Banquet. Both her music selection and her performance were amazing, stunning many people. She still has fans even now. Oh, I mean admirer.”
“But why did the Crown Prince choose your sister and not her?”
Ah Luo was tongue-tied and Zi Li continued, “According to the rumours, the other lady’s song, <Autumn Water>, overwhelmed the audience. The sound of the qin was joyful and open-minded with lofty ambitions. It was extraordinary.”
Ah Luo hastily nodded and agreed. Zi Li spoke again, “Thus, I went to the East Palace and saw your sister. The Crown Prince was so overjoyed, he had her play a piece on the zither. Although her zither skills were extraordinary, it didn’t quite match up to the rumours.”
Ah Luo could only explain, “Maybe after my sister married the Crown Prince, she just wants to fulfil her duties of being a good wife, so she’s not as good as before she was married.”
Zi Li murmured, Ah Luo, do you like Miss Gu?”
“Yes, I called her Sister Tian Lin at the time.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “So then, Ah Luo, what kind of man do you want to marry?”
Ah Luo thought of The Lion Roars, then thought of Jackie Chan, and of the many romance stories she had seen before. She smiled and said, “Don’t know. I haven’t been in love before.”
Staring up at the stars in the sky, Ah Luo said to Zi Li, “I’m so lucky to have met you. I had thought that I wouldn’t meet any good men here.”
Zi Li’s eyes slowly lit up and Ah Luo said, “Your eyes are so bright, just like the stars in the sky. Elder Brother, you’re a handsome man.”
Zi Li looked up at the sky, “When I was young, my mother, the Empress, also held me as she watched the stars and she said that Zi Li’s eyes twinkled like the stars. When I was young, I was very mischievous and my Elder Brother loved me…”
As Ah Luo listened to Zi Li talking about his past, she slowly fell asleep. Zi Li looked at her intently, then wrapped a blanket around her and let Ah Luo lie on his lap. Zi Li raised his head to look up at the stars in the sky. He thought that it would be nice if he could live like this for the rest of his life without having to deal with the affairs of the imperial court.
When Ah Luo and Zi Li climbed over the wall of the Minister’s residence and left the city, Liu Jue learned about this in his prince’s palace. Today was different from the past and he felt restless and irritable. At the thought of Ah Luo and the Fourth Prince spending the night together on the grass plains, his heart felt uncomfortable. Lost in thought as he looked at the painting on the wall in Song Feng Tang, he summoned Liu Ying and said, “Gather the Xuan forces and the Chi forces. I want to leave the city.”
