Feng Yinwan dawdled in her room for a long time. It wasn't until Yu Ping cautiously urged her for the fourth time that she reluctantly got up.
As she went downstairs, she saw a great Buddha sitting in the hall. Their eyes met, and a vague sense of awkwardness immediately welled up.
Feng Yinwan quickly averted her gaze, hardened her scalp, and stepped down the stairs.
"Are you ready?"
Compared to her slightly stiff expression, Ye Tinglan's face was as placid as water, incapable of stirring even the slightest ripple.
Feng Yinwan's lips curved inwardly, and she strode directly outside. "Let's go."
Qi Xuan had been waiting outside with the carriage. Seeing the two emerge one after another, he quickly strode forward.
"Your Highness, Your Highness Consort."
Feng Yinwan walked ahead. As she passed by him, she didn't even glance at him before swiftly getting into the carriage.
Ye Tinglan followed behind with his eyes slightly lowered, also in silence.
The carriage curtain was quickly lowered, and Qi Xuan cautiously went to retrieve the carriage stool, clicking his tongue inwardly.
It seemed His Highness still had more effort to put in.
The carriage traveled smoothly, but the atmosphere inside was quite tense.
Feng Yinwan sat by the carriage window, her head tilted more than her body. A cold expression still lingered on her pretty face, almost as if it were written all over her: "Resistance."
Ye Tinglan's dark eyes imperceptibly deepened, carrying a hint of displeasure.
"Why are you sitting so far away from me?"
The carriage was extremely spacious, yet she had chosen the seat at the very edge. If she were concerned about appearances, Ye Tinglan suspected she might have sat outside.
Feng Yinwan's beautiful eyes were focused on the scenery outside, not deviating even a fraction.
"The scenery is good over here. This concubine wants to enjoy the view."
After speaking, she fell silent again.
Ye Tinglan waited for half a moment but couldn't get another word, his brow furrowing slightly. However, he patiently gathered his composure again.
He couldn't get angry. At least, she was still willing to offer a perfunctory reply.
"I have already explained the previous matter to you. I was indeed impulsive, but I had no other intentions."
Feng Yinwan let out a faint "Oh," not accepting his explanation.
"So His Highness ordered Lan Qing Courtyard to be sealed."
Ye Tinglan's expression froze.
"Ordering the courtyard sealed was merely my angry words. Now that you have worried day and night to save me, it shows your true feelings for me. Such a trivial matter, I naturally will not dwell on it anymore."
He was the one who had overthought and caused trouble, and now he was coming to make peace with her, even putting on a show of being put in a difficult position?
Feng Yinwan sneered, the coldness in her eyes undiminished.
"His Highness is overthinking. This concubine saved you simply because she was afraid of becoming a widow prematurely. After all, although you have allowed this concubine to live permanently in the General's mansion, you haven't signed the divorce letter yet."
Upon hearing this, Ye Tinglan's handsome face immediately darkened.
A chill rapidly spread within the carriage. Feng Yinwan rubbed her hands, feeling much better.
Glancing at his dark and brooding face, she raised her eyebrows and continued to jab.
"Oh, right. Since the Mo Prince's mansion no longer has a consort, whether this courtyard is sealed or not is your own business, Your Highness. This concubine has no way of caring."
Every word she spoke poked at Ye Tinglan's sore spots, yet Feng Yinwan felt exceptionally pleased.
Knowing her sharp tongue, Ye Tinglan's thin, cold lips tightened. With a gust of palm wind, he drew her into his embrace.
Feng Yinwan had no time to react before her body was tightly held. Suddenly close to the center of the cold air, the oppressive aura was far more intense than she had imagined.
Looking up to meet Ye Tinglan's stern, sharp eyes, Feng Yinwan's heart tightened, and she instinctively felt a little cowardly.
"Why aren't you continuing?"
As if seeing through her thoughts, Ye Tinglan did not get angry. He merely held her chin and asked coldly.
His long, narrow eyes were close at hand, dark and deep like ink. Feng Yinwan felt even more cowardly.
However, she couldn't lose face.
"Say... say what? I've already said everything!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Tinglan suddenly let out a low laugh, his jade-white fingers tracing her lips gently.
"I thought, Consort, that your cold words and demeanor stemmed from deep resentment."
Feng Yinwan:?
What did he mean? He wanted her to resent him even more?
As her brow furrowed, her vision suddenly darkened. Ye Tinglan leaned forward abruptly. Feng Yinwan had no time to react before the back of her head was firmly cupped by a large hand.
Immediately after, her lips met a soft touch.
!!!
The scoundrel actually kissed her!
It was as if lightning had struck from the sky, scorching Feng Yinwan from the outside in, her body tingling with a wave of numbness.
She was utterly stunned.
In the moment her brain glitched, she heard him say in a low voice.
"It was this King's fault."
Feng Yinwan's mind went blank. An inexplicable surge of strength erupted from somewhere, and she abruptly pushed him away.
"It's good that you know!"
However, her movement was too large, and the medicine bottle in her sleeve fell out.
It rolled precisely to the front of Ye Tinglan's eyes.
Seeing this, Feng Yinwan's face flushed. Just as she reached for it, it was snatched by a pair of slender, well-defined hands.
"Give it back to me!"
How could she possibly snatch it back!
Ye Tinglan glanced at her, then directly pulled out the stopper. A familiar medicinal scent wafted into his nostrils, and a ripple stirred in his usually serene dark eyes.
This was the antidote she had specially prepared for him.
The gaze from above suddenly became intense. Feng Yinwan's face felt inexplicably hot under his stare. With a glare from her beautiful eyes, she directly snatched it back.
This look, a mixture of shyness and anger, was a rare display of charming innocence. Ye Tinglan's heart stirred. Maintaining the position from being pushed away, his dark eyes deepened silently.
"This King truly knows now."
His consort, cold on the outside but warm on the inside; a girl who was stubborn in speech but soft in heart.
When they got out of the carriage, Feng Yinwan's cheeks were still pink.
Ye Tinglan stood up first and considerately lifted the carriage curtain for her. "Slowly."
Qi Xuan, standing nearby, was startled by the hidden tenderness in his voice. Then, to his even greater shock, he realized that the Consort had actually not refused!
And, after getting off the carriage, they even walked side by side?!
Qi Xuan almost dropped his jaw.
No... they just rode in a carriage together, how did it become like this?
Before he could recover, his own Prince's cold command came.
"Park the carriage properly. The Prince and the Consort will go in first."
With that cold instruction, he put his arm around the delicate figure beside him and left.
Qi Xuan: ...
Although it felt like a dog that had been kicked while passing by, he would still sing praises for the beautiful love between the Prince and the Consort!
As the weather had been hot lately, the venue for the Dharma talk was specially set up by the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden.
A gentle breeze swept through the green foliage, creating patches of shade that looked very cool.
Upon arriving, Feng Yinwan discovered that she and Ye Tinglan were not the only ones present. In the crowd, Ye Tingyun and Qin Rulian were clearly visible.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she immediately shot a questioning look at the person beside her.
Ye Tinglan's thin lips curved slightly. Before he could speak, two figures walked over together.
"Brother Tinglan, why are you so late?"