Fuzhu's Ballad

33

CHAPTER 33 Royal Night Banquet

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At noon, the weather was already very hot. Lan Dan opened the door of the room and also opened the sliding door of the garden to the maximum. The breeze brought in some flower petals. Lan Dan leaned against the high pillow and silently watched the flower petals come and go with the wind.

The entire courtyard was very quiet. It was the time of the scorching sun and drowsiness after dinner. Except for the rustling of the branches and leaves of the crabapples in the courtyard, there was no other sound.

Shentu Rui went out with Zi Fu again, leaving only herself in the yard. How could it not be quiet? Shentu Rui had explained to her that he and Zi Fu going out could be considered as going to work. He told her not to think too much, and she also knew what “business” they were doing. It was not just about finding a baby boy. Shentu Cheng was not a fool. To deceive him, they had to figure out how to switch the babies in and out unnoticed, how to silence the people involved, and where to send the switched baby… Needless to say, it was a pile of tricky and bloody conspiracies and secrets. Three months was definitely not enough time.

Therefore, Shentu Rui and Zi Fu were very busy.

Sometimes when they returned together, they would enter Shentu Rui’s room and whisper in low voices. She deliberately disturbed them, ignoring the two palace maids guarding outside Shentu Rui’s door and swaggered in. The palace maids had likely been instructed not to forcefully stop her, instead they greeted her loudly, bowed, and blocked her path. This was a routine Lan Dan was accustomed to from her time in the deep palace, where it was simply a way to notify those inside the room. When she entered the room, Shentu Rui was indeed smiling, while Zi Fu remained reserved, smiling but not speaking. At these times, the feeling of being excluded by them was most intense.

Lan Huang was a cunning person, skilled in judging and utilizing people. She seemed to accurately grasp Shentu Rui’s preferences. When Zi Fu first arrived, Shentu Rui’s coldness and disgust towards her were evident. However, in just a month, he changed— perhaps without even realizing it— but Lan Dan noticed the difference.

Initially, when she interrupted their conversations, Shentu Rui would politely ask Zi Fu to leave.

Later, he would tell herself that she could leave first.

This slight difference in wording had a world of difference— at the very least, Shentu Rui no longer saw Zi Fu as just a servant. Not to mention the subtle changes in his gaze and expression.

As Shentu Rui and Zi Fu returned together, the sound of laughter and conversation could be heard coming from the hallway. Lan Dan’s expression darkened as she was certain she had not misheard– Zi Fu was laughing, and it wasn’t her usual fake laugh. What had Shentu Rui said to make Zi Fu laugh like a normal teenage girl? Perhaps she was even blushing!

The sound of their voices passed by Lan Dan’s door and headed straight for Shentu Rui’s main room. Clearly, they weren’t finished talking and were going to continue their conversation at a leisurely pace.

In a fit of annoyance, Lan Dan gave a hard kick to the pile of blankets next to her, causing them to scatter and fall.

The maid came in holding a full tray and saw that Lan Dan had kicked the quilt. A slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She didn’t mean to tidy up, but calmly put down the things and informed her, “His Highness said this is for your attire at the flower-watching banquet tonight.”

Lan Dan felt a bit embarrassed and looked awkwardly at the clothes on the tray, frowning and asking, “Are there no other colors?” It was that pale yellow color she had been wearing all her life, and even though it was a common spring color, she hated it and felt like she looked like a washed-out rapeseed flower in it.