Chapter 402: Chapter 320: Can She Also Be a Girlfriend Now? (Extra 2-in-1)
"You’re really not a paper figure?"
Yin Weiyin was startled, then blinked in confusion.
Chen Yi stared at her for a long while, silently reciting the incantation Zhou Yitang had taught him to open the Heavenly Eye.
The Heavenly Eye abruptly activated, radiating dazzling golden light in the chamber. Chen Yi fixed his gaze squarely on Yin Weiyin.
However, no changes occurred at all...
The female crown noticed him staring endlessly at her and felt goosebumps rise, involuntarily asking:
"You... what are you doing?"
Chen Yi frowned, pressed his eyelid, and shook his head, saying:
"Nothing."
His abrupt question moments ago was meant to catch Yin Weiyin off guard, allowing his Heavenly Eye to uncover something.
But the problem was, he saw nothing.
The reason for testing her was due to the earlier instance during Yin Weiyin’s stay, where she mentioned her mastery of the art of paper figures. This led Chen Yi to suspect whether Yin Weiyin might have been transformed from a paper figure—albeit an unusually sentient one.
Chen Yi pressed his forehead, dismissing that possibility.
No matter how he looked, Yin Weiyin... was neither a paper figure nor an illusion.
Besides... how could there be a paper figure as tender and beautiful as this?
If she’s real, that’s a relief...
Chen Yi exhaled gently.
No matter what, he didn’t want Yin Weiyin to be fake. After all this time, he couldn’t deny his growing affection for her.
However... though he had ruled out the possibility, the question remained unanswered.
Chen Yi still couldn’t understand why Yin Weiyin didn’t exist in his previous life...
"Hey, what’s wrong with you?"
Yin Weiyin, noticing Chen Yi’s prolonged silence, leaned forward slightly to ask.
Chen Yi suddenly grabbed Yin Weiyin by the hand.
Caught off guard, the female crown trembled slightly but quickly steadied herself, unsure what Chen Yi intended to do next. Her eyes darted around, avoiding his gaze.
Having failed with a direct confrontation earlier, Chen Yi pondered briefly before asking indirectly:
"When you arrive at the Prince Mansion, what’s your plan?"
Yin Weiyin lifted her gaze sharply at him, then after a long pause, she sighed softly and replied:
"How dare I make any plans on my own? Everything depends on you. If you insist on asking, then the best course would be to keep me at arm’s length, while the worst would be... treating me as a tool for cultivation."
"Oh?"
Hearing Chen Yi’s deliberately drawn-out tone, Yin Weiyin felt her hair stand on end and pressed onward nervously:
"But only in the eyes of others. And that’s the worst case. It’s unlikely we would ever resort to that.
Besides, in the eyes of outsiders, the Taichua Goddess for the past sixty years, so pure and ethereal, beyond reproach, secretly becoming a cultivation tool in your courtyard—wouldn’t that... please you immensely?"
After listening, Chen Yi smiled faintly and responded, "Indeed."
Yin Weiyin let out a long breath, easing the fear in her eyes, then calmly said:
"If that’s the case, then we’ll act accordingly when the time comes. Before others, we’ll pretend there’s no connection between us."
Chen Yi turned his face away. He had already promised her, and such an arrangement was reasonable, so her words didn’t bother him.
Meanwhile, the female crown lowered her head slightly, leaning forward and carefully studying Chen Yi’s expression.
When Chen Yi turned back to face her, she quickly shifted her gaze away.
Chen Yi asked, "You’re worried?"
"How could I not be?" Yin Weiyin hesitated, then spoke with sentimental melancholy, "Our relationship—what can it even be considered?"
Chen Yi furrowed his brow slightly, hearing the unspoken longing and desire in her words, even if she didn’t explicitly say it or even fully understand her own thoughts.
This woman was never satisfied—and it was her lack of satisfaction that kept her defiant despite everything.
Failing to ascend, only then would Yin Weiyin feel regret...
Facing setback after setback, only then would she learn restraint.
Chen Yi didn’t mind if she returned to him,
But he also knew that this misguided woman always pushed her limits.
Still, seeing her wear this wistful and somewhat sorrowful expression stirred a hint of fascination in him.
In the eyes of others, she would never appear as she did now—burdened by worries—but as the ethereal and unforgettable Taichua Goddess, transcendent and detached.
This side of her existed only within this courtyard, tied to her ignorance.
In a fleeting moment of thought, his irritation softened slightly into a trace of tenderness. Chen Yi grasped her hand and held it before him, reassuringly promising:
"Rest assured, to others you will always be the Taichua Goddess.
Even if your father discovers this matter, I have my ways to turn danger into safety."
Hearing his gentle promise, Yin Weiyin’s tense body relaxed slightly. Her delicate hand grew warm in Chen Yi’s grasp, and she uttered a quiet "Mm," lowering her head and allowing Chen Yi to embrace her closer.
Yin Weiyin lightly rested her chin into Chen Yi’s shoulder hollow, her expression serene, saying nothing, exuding a soft and dependent demeanor.
Yet, inwardly, she felt a surge of secret triumph.
Could she... perhaps become a real girlfriend too?
She wrinkled her delicate nose,
Was ascension now within reach?
..................
The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was the birthday of Prince Jing, and so the annual poetry banquet was held on this day, both to host guests for his celebration and to seek out a masterpiece of verse among the gathered poets and scholars.
As a result, the Prince Mansion bustled with preparations, many of which began immediately after the previous year’s banquet concluded. Just in the rear kitchens of the mansion, thirty pounds of deer tendons, six pairs of live golden pheasants, twenty pounds of deer antlers, fifty young deer, ten stone of jade-colored rouge rice, and other fine ingredients sourced from prominent estates were assembled. In the outer guesthouses of the mansion, incense burners and fine wolf-hair brushes were placed for sleepless poets to capture sudden inspirations and pen verses destined for eternal renown.
This grand event not only entertained visiting guests but also allowed the mansion’s servants to share in the bounty. The Prince Mansion’s generosity and magnanimity were renowned—partly to maintain a favorable public image, but undeniably, both the prince and his princess were individuals untroubled by material possessions. Especially on a joyous day like this, everyone deserved a share of the festivities!