Chapter 24: Festival of Encounters

  Chapter 24 The Festival of Encounters

  Ruan Youqing just came out of the palace gate when she heard someone calling her from behind.

   "Young Qing!"

   Looking back, she saw Li Ange chasing him from behind with an excited face.

   "An...Ge?" Ruan Youqing had no expression on his face, but when he saw that Li Ange had chased him out of the palace, he couldn't help being a little surprised.

   It wasn't until Li Ange came in front of her that she slowly recovered her breath, and then continued:

   "I heard that you are going back home, I still have something to say to you, so... I came out."

  Seeing that Li Ange changed from his previous awkward look, he looked at her very seriously.

   "Did the palace know you were coming out?" Ruan Youqing was concerned about other things. Ruan Youqing felt a little uncomfortable because the Queen's reprimand to Li Ange at the Hunting Ground made him feel a little uncomfortable.

  The empress cared so much about Li Ange's reputation, she must not want Li Ange to leave the palace at will.

  Li Ange was like a blessing to his heart. Seeing that Ruan Youqing was worried, he couldn't help lying: "Of course I know! I told the queen mother to see you off! The queen mother naturally agreed."

  Ruan Youqing intuited that Li Ange had lied, because the queen seemed to have engraved hatred for her in her soul, and she must not like how Li Ange had any contact with her.

  But without waiting for Ruan Youqing to answer, she watched Li Ange pull her arm out of Fan'er's embrace and put it in her own. After doing this, she grinned and said, "Let's go, let's talk as we walk."

  Like hiding something, can't wait to get away from the palace.

  …

  It wasn't until they got into the carriage that Ruan Youqing looked serious: "An Ge, did you sneak out?"

   However, although his expression is serious, his tone is still gentle.

  Li Ange pursed her lips, and then smiled.

   Seeing that the other party didn't answer, Ruan Youqing knew it.

  If this girl wants to stay with her in the Ruan Mansion later, she must find someone to report to the palace, and the Queen of the province will make things bigger and say something about her.

  Just as she was thinking about what to do next, Ruan Youqing heard Li Ange speak in a soft voice:

  「That...Youqing...」

"Ok?"

  「Do you want to learn martial arts from me?」

   "Huh???" Ruan Youqing's eyes widened with astonishment.

Li Ange continued: "I know you are the little granddaughter of General Ruan, but he may see you as weak and is reluctant to teach you... But I don't think you can do this! I was at the hunting ground a few days ago, and I knew you were worried about me before going back. .But...that's too dangerous. If you're not careful, maybe...you...will be the one to die first!"

  Ruan Youqing was startled for a while, and then he fully understood why the other party wanted to teach her martial arts.

  My heart was very complicated. After thinking about it, Ruan Youqing slowly replied: "An Ge, thank you for your kindness... But... I need to think about it... After all, this is not a trivial matter..."

   Before Ruan Youqing finished speaking, Li Ange nodded with a clear gesture: "Naturally! You must think about it carefully! If you learn martial arts, no one will dare to bully you casually in the future!"

  「Okay, I will think about it carefully.」

   As soon as the words fell, the carriage stopped suddenly.

   "What's wrong?" Ruan Youqing frowned slightly, then lifted the curtain and looked out.

  I saw the bustling crowd in front of the carriage, which was extremely lively.

this is…

   "Ah! I almost forgot!" Li Ange was so excited that he was about to pull Ruan Youqing to jump off the carriage.

  「Today is the festival before Xingqing Festival!」

  Ruan Youqing froze for a moment, then remembered.

  In Ningguo, every year on New Year's Eve, Lantern Festival, Qixi Festival, and three days before Xingqing Festival, festivals will be held in the capital.

   Even the curfew will be lifted.

   Perhaps Li Ange's emotions infected her, but Ruan Youqing also became interested.

  So, the two stopped the carriage aside and squeezed into the crowd with great interest.

  The festivals are mostly around the temples, but in Ningguo, they don't care about these. In places with a large population, festivals will be held every year.

  The street at this time, although the voices of people are noisy, but the expression on everyone's face is very happy.

  Ruan Youqing was dragged around by Li Ange and bought a lot of gadgets. Fan'er's arms were already piled up with various things, and he couldn't see the way ahead.

   "Miss...! Wait for Faner!" Faner wanted to cry but had no tears. After a lot of effort, she found a gap to look forward, but she only saw strangers coming and going.

  Her lady and princess...

  It was...

   Gone!

   At this time, Ruan Youqing had been led by Li Ange to run further and further away. When passing by a small alley, he suddenly heard the cry of a child.

  Ruan Youqing turned his head slightly, and saw a group of children seemed to be surrounding something.

   And the cry came from the middle.

   Before Ruan Youqing could react, Li Ange took Ruan Youqing's hand and rushed over.

   "These kids don't learn good things, but they learn from those local hooligans to bully the weak! This princess can't stand it!"

   After finishing speaking, Li Ange scolded loudly.

  「What are you doing!」

  The group of children saw someone coming, and immediately dispersed.

   Sure enough, after the group of children dispersed, a little boy squatting on the ground stood up crying.

   "Did they bully you?" Ruan Youqing stepped forward, squatting and talking to the child.

  The little boy covered his somewhat dirty face with his hands, and said nothing.

   "Hey! Kid! You are not polite!" Li Ange frowned, a little dissatisfied.

  Ruan Youqing looked back at her helplessly, then turned her head and continued to speak softly: "Don't be afraid, we are not bad people. Now they have run away, you can tell us what happened."

   Xu Ruan Youqing looked very kind, the little boy finally took his hands from his face, but his expression was still a little frightened.

  「I'm sorry...」

   "Huh?" Ruan Youqing was a little surprised why the other party was like this.

   At this moment, she suddenly heard a muffled groan behind her.

  When she looked back vigilantly, it was too late, and darkness had already struck.

  …

  In a certain teahouse, Gu Changan was sitting with the second prince Li Qian and talking about something.

   "Is there any movement from the Queen's side?" Gu Changan opened his mouth expressionlessly.

  Li Qian raised his eyebrows, and slowly replied: "I heard that the queen went to the father's place again, and once again mentioned that she wanted to marry the young lady of the Ruan family to the prince."

   "She still doesn't give up?"

"That's right. And... I heard that this time, she wants to marry as a side concubine. I don't know where she got the confidence. Before, the main concubine was rejected by others, let alone reduced to a side concubine." Li Qian said a little Disdain.

  Gu Changan also smiled coldly: "Perhaps the prince thinks... Ruan Youqing will like him."

   Li Qian also smiled, and then continued:

   "By the way, my mother... also went to find my father, she wants the young lady of the Ruan family... to marry me as the main concubine."

  (end of this chapter)