C17 At the Beginning of the Flower Boat Feast

Two guards rushed to Dugu Jingyu's resting place to report. One of them played Faang Yu, and the other played Zhu Qing.

"Reporting to Princess, this is all Prince Consort said just now."

Dugu Jingyu frowned in anger, and slammed her hand onto the table. The two guards were so scared that they immediately knelt down.

"Princess, please calm down."

Dugu Jingyu waved her hand for the two of them to retreat, and the two guards scrambled out.

Zhichun immediately appeared to defend Dugu Jingyu and said resentfully, "How could this Prince Consort say such a thing? He really doesn't take the princess seriously."

Dugu Jingyu looked at the flickering light in the candlestick and said self-deprecatingly, "This empty feeling can't be tested after all. What was I hoping for?"

Zhichun thought that it was her words that made Dugu Jingyu so sad, and immediately knelt down in repentance and said, "This servant said the wrong thing and hurt Princess's heart. Princess, please punish this servant only."

"You didn't say anything wrong, why should I punish you? I never expected Zhu to care about me. I just hoped that he would be able to stay overnight in the mansion because of this. I didn't expect that I would still miscalculate."

"Princess, you were born noble. There's no need for you to be so lowly in love!"

After a long while, Dugu Jingyu lowered her head and said, "Go and warm the bed. I still have to make breakfast for Zhu in the morning."

The next day, Dugu Jingyu acted as if nothing had happened. She still made a table full of delicious food for Zhixia to send to Zhu Qing, then returned to her room to think about how to tell Zhu Qing about the Lantern Festival.

Not long later, Zhixia anxiously ran in, hurriedly bowed and said, "Princess, when I was delivering the meal just now, I saw that the person on the Glow Platform did not look like Prince Consort, but his figure and voice looked extremely similar to Faang Yu. Princess, do you want to go take a look?"

Dugu Jingyu frowned. The guards at the gate had clearly said that Zhu Qing would return to the residence at seven o'clock, so why hadn't he returned yet?

Zhichun was Dugu Jingyu's closest palace maid, and knowing that Zhu Qing had sneaked out of the mansion, she immediately saw through Dugu Jingyu's thoughts. Zhichun walked forward and said to Zhixia, "You can leave first."

After Zhixia left, Zhichun said, "Why don't I go to the Glow Platform to scout? If Prince Consort returns to the residence, he will immediately inform the princess."

Dugu Jingyu shook her head, her eyes very calm.

"I'll personally wait for Zhu to return."

Dugu Jingyu sent someone to bring a zither and placed it on the path that Zhu Qing had to pass on his way back to the Glow Platform. Dugu Jingyu did not know what kind of mentality she had to intercept Zhu Qing here. Perhaps she wanted to see Zhu Qing's expression when he returned home in a panic, or perhaps she wanted to know what a man looked like after cheating.

The sound of the zither spread out in the backyard in a relaxed manner, and after playing one song after another, Dugu Jingyu still did not see Zhu Qing's figure.

It was only then that Dugu Jingyu saw Zhu Qing slowly walking over. Dugu Jingyu immediately stopped, stood up and walked towards Zhu Qing.

Zhu Qing originally had a smile on his face, but when he saw Dugu Jingyu, he stopped smiling and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Princess."

After seeing Zhu Qing, Dugu Jingyu finally could not hold back her suppressed heart and asked even though she already knew the answer, "Why is Prince Consort coming from this direction? Isn't the Glow Platform over there?"

Dugu Jingyu pointed in the direction of the Glow Platform, her tone not questioning but curious. Zhu Qing clearly panicked for a moment before slowly saying, "I just went out."

"I see ~" Dugu Jingyu did not ask any more questions. Instead, she grabbed onto the corner of Zhu Qing's clothes coquettishly. "Today is the Lantern Festival, let's prepare to put on the lights and pray for blessings later."

Zhu Qing took a step back and immediately said, "I have already made an appointment with a few of my good friends to go to the poetry recital. I can't light the lamp and pray with the Princess."

"What poetry recital? Can I go with you?"

Although Dugu Jingyu knew that this was just an excuse, her face was still filled with innocence. Zhu Qing frowned. "The princess has a noble status, it would be beneath her dignity to participate in the poetry of a small family."

"Wherever Prince Consort goes, I go. Anyway, let me go with you when you're bored."

Dugu Jingyu moved closer to Zhu Qing again, and this time, Dugu Jingyu smelled a fragrance on Zhu Qing's body. It was the scent of a woman's rouge. Dugu Jingyu's face immediately darkened, because Dugu Jingyu hated the smell on Zhu Qing's body.

Just as Zhu Qing was thinking about how to get rid of Dugu Jingyu, Zhichun walked forward with an invitation in her hand.

"Greetings, Princess, Prince Consort. This is the invitation that Princess Pingyang sent over just now. Princess, please take a look."

Dugu Jingyu picked up the invitation and glanced at it casually. It said that Dugu Jingyu was invited to the flower boat to cross the Lantern Festival. Dugu Jingyu returned the invitation to Zhichun's hand and said, "I sent someone to refuse Aunt."

Zhichun took the invitation and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Yes."

"Wait." Zhu Qing called out to Zhichun, then said to Dugu Jingyu, "Since Princess Pingyang has invited the princess to a banquet, it would not be good to sweep away Princess Pingyang's face."

"Aunt won't mind. I'd rather go to the poetry meeting with Prince Consort."

"This poetry gathering is a gathering of all the men. It's better for Princess to attend Pingyang's banquet. This way, neither side will be in a difficult position."

Zhu Qing's eyes were filled with impatience, and his tone was also very polite. Dugu Jingyu spread out the invitation card in Zhichun's hand in front of Zhu Qing, and said with a helpless smile on her face: "Aunt asked me to attend a flower boat banquet, Prince Consort wouldn't let me attend such a banquet, right?"

The flower boat banquet was one of the prevalent banquets today. The banquet was held in a river, and the guests all boarded the boat alone. There were hundreds of handsome men and beautiful women on the boat for people to enjoy. To put it bluntly, it was no different from a brothel.

Zhu Qing didn't care at all when he saw the invitation card. He said seriously, "Princess has always followed the rules. It's good to take this opportunity to relax."

Dugu Jingyu sneered in her heart and thought to herself: Yesterday, she couldn't even get the slightest bit of care with her life, so how could she expect to care about these superficial things?

Dugu Jingyu looked at Zhu Qing in a daze, and asked powerlessly: "Do you really want me to go?"

Zhu Qing nodded without hesitation. At this moment, Dugu Jingyu heard the sound of her heart breaking, and felt an impulse to burst into tears. Dugu Jingyu took a deep breath and suppressed her emotions in her heart.

"Zhichun, tell Auntie that I will be on time for dinner."

Dugu Jingyu turned around and left Zhu Qing's line of sight, returning to the dormitory. At this moment, Dugu Jingyu could no longer hold back her emotions and crawled into bed, shedding two tears. Dugu Zhao had been very strict with Dugu Jingyu since she was young, so Dugu Jingyu only dared to quietly cry in bed.

Dugu Jingyu had only proved that she couldn't compare to Dugu Qingluo by testing Zhu Qing with the word 'assassin' yesterday, but what happened just now proved that there was no place for her in Zhu Qing's heart.

Dugu Jingyu was not sad that Zhu Qing had Dugu Qingluo in his heart, but that after all these years, Zhu Qing still did not have any feelings for her, not even the slightest thought of possessing her.