Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince

This remark startled both Qi Yu and Li Huaixi for a moment.

After understanding Li Mingjue's meaning, Li Huaixi stomped her foot fiercely and ran away without looking back.

She didn't believe that Li Mingjue's affection for Qi Yu, that fool, was genuine.

On the day of the birthday feast, she definitely wanted to expose the fool's true face in front of everyone!

In Tinglan Pavilion, however, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Qi Yu always felt that there was something odd about the way Li Mingjue looked at her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"What are you staring at!" Qi Yu glared at him, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed.

Li Mingjue saw her neck stiffen in a rarely shy manner, coughed lightly, and changed the subject, "In a few days, it will be Huaixi's birthday feast. As Princess Qi, you definitely have to attend."

Qi Yu was taken aback, "What?"

She had already offended everyone; how was this different from being blatantly told there was a pit waiting for her ahead?

Li Mingjue suppressed a smile and consoled, "Huaixi is just a child in temper. She won't really do anything to you."

Qi Yu glared at him.

At least half of the hatred Li Huaixi held for her could be credited to Li Mingjue, and now he conveniently detached himself from it.

After a long silence, Qi Yu tentatively proposed, "Can I pretend to be sick and not go?"

Who in the Imperial Palace wasn't complicated?

She didn't want to throw away her good days to engage in palace intrigue.

Li Mingjue laughed at her in exasperation, tapped her forehead with his finger, "What are you thinking? You are Princess Qi; there will be plenty more such occasions in the future."

How could someone, normally fearless, think of hiding at the slightest trouble?

"Ouch—" Qi Yu winced and swatted his hand away, "Talk if you must, no need for gestures!"

Although she was a Divine Doctor, at heart, she was still a salted fish.

Qi Yu angrily bit into a chicken leg.

Indeed, being a princess was not at all simple.

"Do not be afraid. I will have someone protect you in secret." Li Mingjue, seeing her look of distress, could only console her further.

Qi Yu nodded, "That's more like it."

With the proper prestige secured, she could feel somewhat confident.

Otherwise, going there only to be laughed at? She would never agree to that!

After eating her fill, Qi Yu patted her somewhat distended stomach, keenly aware that her days were both painful and joyous.

Before she knew it, evening had arrived, and the sky had completely darkened.

Li Mingjue called the servants to clean up and then he hoisted the person sprawled in the chair up.

"What are you doing!" Qi Yu didn't want to move at all, but someone insisted otherwise.

Li Mingjue glanced at the lanterns on the ground, his usually stern face softened with a hint of tenderness, and reminded, "It's time to release the lanterns."

Qi Yu's eyes lit up. How could she have forgotten about such an important thing.

"Hurry, let's go!" Now, it was her turn to drag Li Mingjue outside.

At the riverbank, the estate's servants were already waiting.

Upon seeing them, everyone promptly paid their respects.

Qi Yu was not accustomed to so many people kneeling before her and instinctively wanted to move back.

But Li Mingjue held her tightly by the waist, forcing her to stand beside him as he gazed deeply into her eyes, "You are my princess, what is there to shy away from?"

Qi Yu touched her nose, of course, she couldn't reveal she was from another time.

She could only chuckle sheepishly, "I'm just not used to it yet, am I?"

Li Mingjue gazed intently at her, as if trying to see through her eyes into something beyond.

Qi Yu felt uneasy under his scrutiny, worried that he might have discovered something.

Fortunately, Li Mingjue said nothing further but turned and instructed the servants, "At ease."

"Thank you, Prince, Princess," the servants chorused their thanks and promptly stood up.

Seeing the courtyard filled with lanterns, a servant holding a brush smiled at Qi Yu, "Princess, please bestow a blessing."

Qi Yu's hands trembled slightly as she took the brush, her expression somewhat melancholy.

Her writing was exceptionally ugly.

But as everyone looked at her expectantly, she had no choice but to write a few characters on the lantern.

"Year after year?" Li Mingjue looked at the four crooked characters and unapologetically chuckled softly.

His Princess was indeed unique, even her well-wishing looked like ghostly scribbles.

Qi Yu caught the mocking tone in his voice and glanced at him sideways.

But considering her good mood today, she decided not to hold it against him.

She crouched down, slowly placed the lantern on the water, and watched as it drifted away with the current before she softly said, "May this day recur annually, may this morning be renewed each year."

Although arriving here was not her intention, it was undeniable that her days here were not too bad.

Surviving great adversity must bring greater fortune, the ancients did not deceive her.

"Then I wish the Princess may this day recur annually, may this morning be renewed each year," Li Mingjue stood by her side and repeated softly.

The deep and gentle tone of his voice moved Qi Yu, causing her eyes to brighten astonishingly as she looked at him.

For a moment, Li Mingjue felt as if he saw thousands of stars in her eyes.

Qi Yu smiled brilliantly and reached out in front of him, her teasing gaze fixed on him, "Prince, you haven't given me a gift yet."

Li Mingjue raised an eyebrow and gestured to everything in the yard, "Isn't all this enough?"

Qi Yu deliberately sighed, "Ah, it's nice, but it won't last long."

In truth, she had not thought about getting anything extra; what was before her was already enough.

She just wanted to tease Li Mingjue, seizing the rare overt opportunity.

But Li Mingjue actually nodded in agreement, "The Princess does have a point."

"Hmm?" Qi Yu was slightly stunned.

Li Mingjue pulled out a pure gold longevity lock from his bosom and placed it in the palm of her hand, "Is the Princess satisfied now?"

Qi Yu held the longevity lock, freezing her smile at the edge of her lips.

She masked the astonishment in her eyes before breaking into a smile again, "Naturally, as the Princess I've always loved wealth, and something made of gold truly wins my heart!"

Li Mingjue looked at her deeply, observing as she fiddled with the longevity lock, his lips curving slightly.

Only... loves wealth?

Qi Yu secured the longevity lock and turned to lead everyone in the Prince Residence to release the lanterns.

Shen Nanxing originally stood properly to one side, always attentive to the Princess's safety, but soon Qi Yu had pulled her along to join in the fun.

"Princess, this... isn't quite proper," Shen Nanxing said with eyes cast down, not daring to look directly at Qi Yu.

Being just a lowly servant, what merits did she have for the Princess to care about?

Qi Yu nonchalantly waved her hand, whispering in her ear, "What's there to fear? If the Prince dares to punish you, just come and find me!"

Shen Nanxing was taken aback and before she could react, she was pulled by Qi Yu to the riverside to release lanterns.

"What is your wish?" Qi Yu placed a lantern in her hands and asked.

Shen Nanxing shook her head, "I have no wishes."

Having grown up in the Prince Residence from a young age, although she did not know her own family, everyone in the residence treated her well. What more could she dare to hope for?

However, Qi Yu pressed on relentlessly, "How can a person have no wishes? Tell me, and if I can, I will definitely help you realize it!"

Shen Nanxing looked down and thought for a while, then looked up at her seriously, "Then let me always follow the Princess."

Qi Yu hadn't expected her wish to be so simple.

Perhaps she really couldn't think of anything else?

However, that made sense too. Most who served as Hidden Guards in the Prince Residence came from poor backgrounds and led lives on the knife's edge.

The word 'wish' was indeed too luxurious for them.

Qi Yu thought for a moment and then smiled, "Since you say you have no wishes, I will assign one to you. When you think of something, come find me to fulfill it."

Having said this, she did not wait for a refusal but ran off to continue frolicking with others.

Shen Nanxing stared blankly at her retreating figure, a rare trace of confusion appearing in her usually indifferent eyes.

What kind of person was the Princess, really?