Chapter 59

"She... is really beautiful..."

Zhao Hongrun quietly stood behind the Princess Yulong, a distance of ten feet away, silently gazing at her from the side.

Yulong, the title of the Princess Yulong before Zhao Hongrun, and her true given name, even Zhao Hongrun did not know.

But there was no denying that Princess Yulong held a special place in Zhao Hongrun's heart, well, a very problematic special place.

The courtyard was very quiet.

The beauty was very quiet.

Zhao Hongrun's heart gradually calmed down as well.

It was as if a sense of tranquility and peace spread throughout his body, making him feel very comfortable.

He stood there for quite a while, unwilling to break the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere, but if he were to turn around and quietly leave at this moment, he felt a bit reluctant.

After struggling for a long time, Zhao Hongrun lightly coughed.

"Hem."

"..." As if she had been lost in thought, Princess Yulong turned her head, her exquisite and beautiful face showing a hint of confusion as she quietly looked at Zhao Hongrun.

Looking at the delicate face that had appeared in his dreams many times, Zhao Hongrun felt a sudden sense of guilt, and his heart couldn't help but beat faster.

"Hi." This was the first time he had greeted her, even though they both lived in the palace.

"..." The confusion on Princess Yulong's face deepened.

It was hard to imagine that Zhao Hongrun, who was always at ease and mature in front of Miss Su, now felt a strange awkwardness, and his face involuntarily turned hot.

"I... I'm Hongrun..." He stammered, introducing himself.

Perhaps noticing the tension on Zhao Hongrun's face, Princess Yulong smiled slightly, her red lips parting as she softly said, "I know. ... You are the most mischievous prince in the palace, Prince Hongrun..."

"Uh..." Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but feel embarrassed, looking at Princess Yulong's sweet smile, he had no idea what to say for the first time.

"Do you have something to ask me?" Princess Yulong asked softly.

Zhao Hongrun scratched his forehead awkwardly and said, "I just happened to pass by here and saw Sister sitting here, so I came over to say hello."

"Oh." Princess Yulong's expression showed relief.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but take a few steps closer to her and asked curiously, "Why is Sister sitting here alone?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Yulong didn't answer immediately. She curled up her legs, gently hugged her knees, and rested her chin on them, saying softly, "Where... isn't it all the same to me?"

Zhao Hongrun was taken aback, suddenly remembering that the mother of this princess, Xiao Shuanyuan, had passed away more than ten years ago. Since then, she had lived alone in the empty Yujiong Pavilion, almost forgotten by everyone.

Yes, in the imperial court of the Great Wei, the status of princesses was far lower than that of princes, especially for a princess like Princess Yulong, who had lost her mother as a support, making her like a floating weed in the palace.

"Sister, you seem very lonely?" Zhao Hongrun sat down slightly on the oval stone.

"..." Princess Yulong looked at Zhao Hongrun with wide eyes, seemingly unable to understand why this prince, with whom she had no prior interaction, was acting so close.

Noticing Princess Yulong's surprised expression, Zhao Hongrun immediately regretted his impulse to get closer to her and quickly asked, "Uh, does Sister mind if I sit here too?"

Princess Yulong smiled slightly, moved a bit to the side, and then tilted her head to look at Zhao Hongrun, clearly making room for him.

Zhao Hongrun sat down on the stone without showing any emotion, but his heart was pounding.

He couldn't help but feel nervous because he had only seen her a few times from a distance in the palace school and had never appreciated her beauty so closely.

Looking at her unguarded and intimate expression, Zhao Hongrun felt a deep sense of guilt.

Yes, Princess Yulong trusted him because he was her half-brother and allowed him to get close, but in his heart, his desire to get close to her was not pure.

Because, in a true sense, this princess before him was Zhao Hongrun's first love.

A very bad, quite bad feeling, but uncontrollable.

"Since when did it start?"

With his hands supporting him on the stone, Zhao Hongrun looked up at the starry night sky, and the scene of the first time he noticed this princess came to mind.

"Sinful teenage urges..."

Zhao Hongrun smiled bitterly to himself.

It was probably last year when he was thirteen, and his uncontrollable physical development gradually matured. He found it increasingly unbearable to be surrounded by either rough guards or handsome eunuchs. During those difficult days, he noticed this princess, and worse, he had an almost indelible strong memory, so her every smile and frown, her joys and sorrows, were deeply etched in his mind, even though he had never deliberately tried to remember them.

Then, even worse things happened.

One day, Zhao Hongrun dreamed about this princess and woke up in the morning to find himself in a mess.

And this wasn't the worst part; the worst part was that Zhao Hongrun, with his unparalleled strong memory, could remember the dream clearly, including the enticing image of the princess with a flushed and shy face that he had imagined...

From then on, Zhao Hongrun stopped attending the palace school because every time he saw her, he couldn't help but think about the dream, and his body would react.

This was... simply the most painful torture!

Perhaps it was from then on that Zhao Hongrun gradually developed a bad feeling for this princess.

There was no denying that Princess Yulong met all of Zhao Hongrun's criteria for a partner: she was gentle and quiet, with a head of black hair. Unfortunately, she was his half-sister.

"Ah—"

He couldn't help but sigh again.

"..." Beside him, Princess Yulong looked at this strange brother with confusion.

To her, this brother seemed to have come to chat, but he just sat on the stone, sighing and groaning, as if he had more worries than she did.

"Prince Hongrun seems to be very troubled?" Princess Yulong's way of addressing Zhao Hongrun again highlighted the lower status of princesses in the palace.

"Sister can just call me Hongrun. ... Everyone has their troubles."

Princess Yulong hesitated for a moment before trying to call Zhao Hongrun by his name: "Hongrun... do you have worries too? A prince as talented as you..."

"Talented?" Zhao Hongrun smiled bitterly and said, "I've always been the most mischievous prince."

"The most mischievous prince... who can easily counter the accusations of the Crown Prince from the Eastern Palace?" Princess Yulong blinked, with a playful look, "The Crown Prince really took a big hit this time. ... You're really ruthless, dismantling the Eastern Palace's team."

"Who made him claim an ancestor's work as his own?" Zhao Hongrun lied without blushing.

"Is that so? ... But I feel like you memorized the book and wrote it down, thereby tricking the Crown Prince." Princess Yulong blinked and said.

"I don't have that kind of ability." Zhao Hongrun denied it outright.

Seeing that Zhao Hongrun wouldn't admit it, Princess Yulong didn't mind. She just looked at him and sighed, a hint of envy and sadness on her face.

"What's wrong, Sister?" Zhao Hongrun clearly caught Princess Yulong's moment of disappointment.

Princess Yulong shook her head.

It was clear that, despite the sibling relationship, she didn't fully trust Zhao Hongrun.

This feeling was similar to how Zhao Hongrun had treated the other princes except for his brother Hongxuan.

This distance and detachment made Zhao Hongrun feel uncomfortable.

After some thought, Zhao Hongrun said sincerely, "If Sister has any worries, you might as well tell me. It might make you feel better."

Princess Yulong looked at Zhao Hongrun with surprise and smiled, "There's nothing really to worry about, just... feeling a bit bored..."

"Bored? That's loneliness, right?"

Princess Yulong ignored Zhao Hongrun's interruption and looked at the dark pond, saying softly, "Your deeds have spread throughout the palace... Sometimes I envy you, envy your freedom in the palace. Whether it's the hall where Father handles state affairs or the inner palace, there's nowhere you dare not go... Father is especially lenient with you..."

"Lenient? No, he's not." Zhao Hongrun refused to admit it.

"Is that so?" Princess Yulong turned to look at Zhao Hongrun and smiled bitterly, "You're not a daughter, and you don't live in a pavilion where you're not allowed to leave unless there's a special reason. How can you feel Father's leniency? ... You're a prince, and among the princes, you're quite special..."

"..."

"You're only fourteen, yet you can freely enter and leave the palace, go out and see the world... What are the people outside like? ... When you turn fifteen, you'll officially leave the palace, be enfeoffed as a prince, and set up your own household..." At this point, Princess Yulong's face was full of envy.

"Sister is only one year away from leaving the palace, right?" Zhao Hongrun remembered that Princess Yulong was only one year older than him.

"..." Princess Yulong looked deeply at Zhao Hongrun, her beautiful eyes showing no emotion, and said calmly, "Do you really understand what it means for a princess to leave the palace?"

Zhao Hongrun opened his mouth but then closed it again.

Yes, for a prince, leaving the palace means freedom, but for a princess, it means becoming a political sacrifice, either marrying into another country or to the son of a high-ranking official, purely for political alliances.

"I... can only stay here for one more year, just one more year..." She said softly, then slowly got off the oval stone, seemingly about to return to her residence, the Yujiong Pavilion.

At this moment, Zhao Hongrun, still sitting on the stone, reached out and grabbed Princess Yulong's wrist.

"Do you want to go out of the palace? ... Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, the city is much more lively than usual."

"..." Princess Yulong's red lips parted, her beautiful eyes wide open, looking at Zhao Hongrun in disbelief.

"As long as you want to, I'll take you out of the palace!"

Looking at her surprised and delicate face, Zhao Hongrun whispered his promise.