Li Wei didn't know how to respond, so she kept silent.

The Fourth Prince wore a kindly smile and said, “It seems that muhou* likes her niece Qianyue more than her son, as muhou should order granny Sun to look for sister Yue. Does she notice I am not there, too? Why didn't she send someone to come for me?"

“What the Fourth Prince Highness say isn't right. Her Majesty had sent someone to look for you earlier, but no one found you. Her Majesty heard that Miss Qianyue had already entered the palace but didn't appear in the viewing garden, so Her Majesty sent me to find her in case she would get into trouble.” Neither humble nor pushy, granny Sun stood up and said.

“So this is, it is my fault to misunderstand muhou. I just came across sister Yue and we'll go to the viewing garden together. You can return first and inform muhou.” The Fourth Prince told granny Sun.

“Yes!” Granny Sun had another look at Li Yun, then she turned back and walked quickly along the same way she came.

While the Fourth Prince didn't seem to worry about being late, he still grabbed Li Yun and walked leisurely.

Li Yun a.n.a.lyzed the information she received just now – the original body's ident.i.ty was the niece of Her Majesty. Considering granny Sun's expression, Li Yun tried to pull her hand out of the Fourth Prince with great force. But the Fourth Prince grabbed her hand more tightly and didn't let her go. Li Yun glared at him but the latter ignored her anger. She had to give up, anyway, others had seen their intimacy, so it was late to remedy.

After they pa.s.sed through two corridors, gradually, there were more eunuchs and maid-servants who were walking around with fruits and water. When these servants saw their hands held together, all of them paid respects with astonished expressions.

Li Yun didn't have time to care about their strange eyes, she put mind on the environment around. Not far away from her, there was a green lake, which was twice bigger than that she had seen when she woke up. Compared with this one, that was just a pond.

In the long distance, Li Yun saw many pavilions located in the center of the lake, which was surrounded by red flowers and green leaves. Inside these pavilions, there were dozens of men and women in colorful clothes, standing or sitting. She couldn't see their appearances clearly, but all of them were well-dressed. That was the gathering of appreciating poems in the viewing garden they referred to, she thought.

When she was looking around, the Fourth Prince suddenly reached an arm around her waist. Before Li Yun could realize, she, together with the Fourth Prince, had flown up. He didn't step on that jade bridge, instead, he skimmed over the lake like a dragonfly and flew toward the viewing platform, causing countless ripples on the surface of the lake.

Li Yun was suddenly shocked and there was no time for her to react before landing on the ground. The glamorous scene was close to her eyes. She was dazzled and couldn't help but close her eyes then opened in an instant. No need to look back at the lake that they had just crossed, she could clearly know it was the legendary qinggong* – crossing the water without leaving any trails. It turned out that there was indeed such kung fu in the world…

She calmed down and glared at the Fourth Prince, “Why not remind me first?! Do you want to scare me to death?”

The Fourth Prince smiled mischievously, and his look was full of pride, “How can I scare sister Yue? Your qinggong is not worse than mine! It's just the first movement of crossing the water that I've learned recently, I want to share it with you.”

Li Yun heard that she would actually master qinggong, she couldn't help but feel happy in her mind, but she remained unchanged in her expression and snorted, “Who knows how you will make fun of me.”

“You really get me wrong, how dare I make fun of sister Yue.” The Fourth Prince immediately begged for her mercy, without loosening the hand around Li Yun's waist. It was such an intimate action, but he did it naturally.

Li Yun frowned slightly. She had already felt that dozens of eyes fell on her and the Fourth Prince, so she tried to remain calm and didn't have more actions while showing her anger more and more obvious. Yun Qianyue was an unmarried virgin, according to the manners in ancient times, it was not appropriate for her to interact intimately with a man, especially in the presence of so many people. The Fourth Prince naturally knew this, but he still didn't let her go, then he must get some intentions, what would they be?

Sure enough, after the Fourth Prince finished, a slight cough came from the seat of honor, followed by a gentle female voice blaming the Fourth Prince, "Yu'er, why you get so naughty now? Let go your sister Yue, you've scared her.”

“Muhou, you know that sister Yue's courage could enshroud the sky, who can scare her? You are simply partial to her, but blame your son.” The Fourth Prince joked and slowly released Li Yun's hand and waist. Then he took a meaningful look at the bright yellow figure sitting on the left side of the empress, continued, “But today, sister Yue is really frightened! I have never seen she being bullied and becoming so sad that dared not to come to the viewing garden but hid in the small pavilion above the mandarin duck pond…”

Li Yun's mood sw.a.n.g and she followed the gaze of the Fourth Prince.

Then she saw a young man in his twenties sitting in the left of the empress; except for the queen's red dress, that bright yellow costume was the most eye-catching one. After only a glance, she looked away, thinking he must be "His Highness" that she had listened numerous times today.

Translator's notes:

1. : a. The term of address for the empress dowager used by the emperor or his siblings: mother; b. the term of address for the empress used by children of the emperor: mother. See also: (父王)

2. qingong*: A technique in Chinese martial arts, The pract.i.tioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progresses.

The use of qinggong has been exaggerated in wuxia fiction, in which martial artists have the ability to move swiftly and lightly at superhuman speed, and perform gravity-defying moves such as gliding on water surfaces, scaling high walls and mounting trees.

Sweet Bun – w.a.n.gMamaRead