Chapter 66

Chapter 66

“Strange. It was right here just now…”

“Come on, let’s look over there.”

The voices of two palace maids drifted to their ears.

Their gazes broke apart in a fluster.

Sheng Zhaoning retreated two steps, putting distance between them. Her eyes were filled with that flash of crimson. His robe had a round collar and wide sleeves, with coiling dragons woven in gold across the front, back, and both shoulders, and a jade-studded belt fastened at his waist.

In an instant, she understood the identity of the man before her.

In all the realm, aside from the emperor, there was only one person permitted to wear the five-clawed coiling dragon pattern.

He was… Wei Heng.

Sheng Zhaoning was just about to speak when she saw him tuck the kitten into his sleeve. Holding his umbrella, he stood beneath the tree, a faint smile rising in his brows and eyes as he said softly, “Shh.”

His gentle gaze passed over her slender shoulder and landed behind her.

For no reason at all, something in Sheng Zhaoning’s heartstrings stirred. She turned back, following his gaze, and saw two palace maids hurrying over in search of something.

“This servant greets the Crown Prince.”

The two palace maids clearly had not expected to run into him here. They hastily curtsied, and, not knowing who Sheng Zhaoning was, could only give her a vague bow as well.

“Rise,” Wei Heng said, his expression mild.

The two young palace maids did not seem afraid of him. There was only urgency in their eyes, no fear. One of them even mustered the courage to step forward and ask, “May I ask whether Your Highness has seen a tabby cat?”

Sheng Zhaoning’s brow twitched slightly. She stood to the side without speaking.

“Why are you looking for a tabby cat?” Wei Heng asked, looking at the palace maid.

“It was Consort Sun. That tabby cat accidentally scratched Consort Gui…”

The palace maid stopped there.

But everyone present could hear what she had left unsaid.

Sheng Zhaoning lived outside the palace and did not know Consort Sun’s temperament, but Wei Heng did. She was arrogant, extravagant, and domineering, yet deeply favored by the emperor, which had only cultivated an even more difficult disposition. She looked down on everyone.

The cat had injured her. Its fate was easy to imagine.

In his hand, the damp, furry bundle trembled, its faint heartbeat still pulsing against his palm.

Wei Heng said with a serious expression, “I saw a tabby cat’s body in the pond just now. The eunuchs fished it out and threw it away.”

At those words, Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes shifted.

She had thought that someone like the Crown Prince would not lie.

The palace maid froze, suspicion flashing through her eyes.

That explanation was rather far-fetched. However, the Crown Prince’s word was golden; surely he would not tell a lie.

Moreover, since the Crown Prince had personally said the tabby cat was dead, even if the matter were reported back to Consort Gui, there would be absolutely no reason for her to take her anger out on them.

With that thought, the two palace maids did not press further. After bowing, they said, “Thank you, Your Highness,” then left beneath their umbrella.

Their figures disappeared around the rockery.

Perhaps sensing that there was no danger, the kitten under his sleeve finally let out a weak cry.

Wei Heng raised his hand and brought it out. The tiny orange kitten cautiously poked out its head, glanced around, then began mewing at Sheng Zhaoning.

“It likes you very much,” Wei Heng said warmly.

Sheng Zhaoning’s fingertips curled. She moved her gaze away from the kitten and met Wei Heng’s eyes again. All at once, she understood why the entire court and the common people alike were full of praise for him.

This man had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, clear and gentle, the outer corners lifting slightly with a natural trace of laughter that made people instinctively want to draw close.

She fled in panic from that clean gaze. Such bright, clear eyes only made her, standing beside him, seem all the darker.

“This humble official greets Your Highness,” she said, belatedly performing her salute.

Wei Heng studied her closely. The person before him overlapped with the figure he had seen from behind that day at the Palace Examination. A smile touched the corner of his lips. “Rise.”

Only then did Sheng Zhaoning straighten.

The rain gradually grew heavier, driven by a troublesome wind. Half the hem of her robe was soaked through, and her billowing sleeves tangled with his crimson ceremonial robe. The two figures in red stood in the garden, setting each other off so brilliantly that the surrounding grass and trees seemed to lose their color.

Only then did Sheng Zhaoning realize how close they were standing. Close enough that she could feel his damp breath carried over by the wind, brushing against her neck.

Wei Heng seemed to notice her soaked hem. The umbrella above them silently tilted toward her, blocking the slanting strands of rain blown in by the wind.

Sheng Zhaoning noticed none of it.

Their meeting had been by chance, and she did not know why Wei Heng was here. She was hesitating over whether to give her name when the man before her said in a low voice, “Lord Sheng, I have long heard of you.”

A strange feeling spread through her heart.

Sheng Zhaoning looked up in a daze, never expecting him to know her name.

For a moment, she did not know how to answer.

Wei Heng, however, did not let the awkward atmosphere linger for long.

“I saw you during the Palace Examination,” he explained.

Sheng Zhaoning’s gaze stirred slightly. She inclined her head and said, “I, too, have long admired Your Highness’s great name.”

Perhaps it was the mutual appreciation of kindred spirits who understood each other without a word, but Wei Heng felt an inexplicable closeness toward her.

He thought back to her anonymous answer sheet from the Metropolitan Examination. Every line had been a gem, every point polished and luminous. In breach of etiquette, he had asked for her name, named her first in the Metropolitan Examination, written the victory report with his own hand, and stamped it with the Plum Blossom Vermilion Seal he carried with him, the one his late mother had given him.

He admired her learning and mettle, and wanted to speak with her of the past and present, to discuss their political views at length. Yet the timing was not right after all. Before many words could be spoken, someone from the Eastern Palace had already come looking for him.

Peng Lu spotted the two vermilion figures half-hidden among the plants at a glance.

He hurried over. “Oh, Your Highness, this servant has finally found you. The Emperor has sent someone to the Eastern Palace to ask you to proceed to Xuanzheng Hall for a policy discussion!”

Peng Lu’s face was full of anxiety. Only after he finished speaking did he notice that there was someone standing beside his master, someone he had never seen before. And at that very moment, His Highness was holding an orange kitten no bigger than his palm.

The orange kitten was carefully passed into Peng Lu’s hands.

Wei Heng glanced at Sheng Zhaoning and said with some regret, “There is much to attend to today, and the weather has been unkind. I could not sit down with Lord Sheng for a proper conversation. Another day, the Eastern Palace will prepare tea and a little wine, and I will invite Lord Sheng to speak with me again.”

Sheng Zhaoning bent at the waist and cupped her hands. “To have had the fortune of meeting Your Highness today is already my honor. There will be time enough ahead. I look forward to meeting Your Highness again, to speaking freely and sharing good conversation.”

The two bade each other farewell and exchanged a smile.

One figure went south, the other north, parting at the crossroads.

Peng Lu followed behind Wei Heng with the umbrella. Staring at the half of Wei Heng’s shoulder soaked by the rain, he glanced strangely at the umbrella in his hand.

The umbrella was not small. How had he gotten drenched over such a large patch?

…

The rain did not finally let up until dusk.

The Enrong Banquet was held in Guangyang Hall.

This grand feast congratulating all the newly successful Jinshi continued until around quarter to eight. Cups passed back and forth throughout the banquet, and young talents gathered together to compete in poetry and wine. The scene was extraordinarily lively.

Because Sheng Zhaoning was the Zhuangyuan of this examination, and because she was handsome as well, she naturally drew the most attention. Over the course of the Enrong Banquet, she drank almost from beginning to end.

Even she, who had always held her liquor extremely well, could not help feeling somewhat tipsy by now.

The only thing everyone found regrettable was that the Crown Prince had political affairs to handle and could not free himself to attend. He had only had several jars of excellent wine carried over from the Eastern Palace as his congratulations.