A Quiet Homecoming

Another half month passed, and Xiao Mingting made no further moves.

As it happened, they all had some free time, so Yuan Wangshu and Qu Zhujun took it into their heads to invite Chen Yao over to the Treasure Pavilion on West Street to look at some of the new jewelry and ornaments that had just arrived.

Chen Yao naturally agreed.

Since she would be going out, she dressed that day in a light orange ru skirt, draped over her shoulders with a rosy-hued pibo scarf.

The young woman's ink-black hair was loosely pinned up, with just two or three pearl flowers tucked simply among her tresses, yet it still made her look especially elegant and refined.

Having agreed on a time in advance, she took a carriage directly to the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.

When she arrived at the destination, she saw that the other two had also just stepped down from their carriages around the same time.

"It's been days, and Chen Yao-meimei is still as beautiful as ever." Qu Zhujun stepped forward a few paces, taking her hand and saying with a grin.

"Zhujun-jiejie flatters me." Chen Yao lowered her eyelids in embarrassment at the compliment.

"Well, she's not wrong—every time I run into you, it truly is a sight for sore eyes." Yuan Wangshu also chimed in with a light laugh.

"Wangshu-jiejie, you're teasing me too." Chen Yao couldn't help puffing out her cheeks.

The three of them chatted and laughed, exchanging a few pleasantries before walking into the Treasure Pavilion together.

Seeing guests arrive, Manager Wan, who had been standing behind the counter, promptly greeted them with practiced familiarity.

She naturally recognized the two young ladies from the households of Grand Tutor Yuan and Old General Qu, and while Chen Yao looked unfamiliar, anyone who could keep company with these two clearly wasn't from an ordinary family.

So she put on an even more enthusiastic manner and asked with a smile, "Three honored guests, we've recently received quite a few new jewelry styles. Would you like a shop assistant to introduce them, or would you prefer to browse on your own?"

"We'll look around ourselves," Qu Zhujun said with a casual wave of her hand.

"Very well, please make yourselves at home. Gold ornaments are on the first floor, jade pieces on the second, and the counter on the west side holds all the new arrivals." Manager Wan said.

Miss Yuan and Miss Qu were regular customers, so they were already quite familiar with the shop's layout; her explanation was mainly for the unfamiliar young lady's benefit.

"Alright, we'll just take a look around." Qu Zhujun nodded in response.

But before long, it became clear that the three of them had wildly different tastes when it came to picking out jewelry.

Yuan Wangshu preferred the ornate and intricate, Chen Yao favored the delicate and understated, and Qu Zhujun...

"I wasn't really all that interested in these trinkets to begin with. After all, when you're swinging a blade and wielding a spear, having things strapped to your wrists just gets in the way." Qu Zhujun said lazily, idly flicking the slender gold hairpin she currently held in her hand.

"But this kind of pin does have some use—handy as a weapon in a pinch. And since it sits in your hair all day anyway, you could call it a hidden blade that could save your life. Speaking of which, even bracelets worn on the wrist could be hollowed out to hide a mechanism..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Yuan Wangshu quickly raised a hand to cut her off, shooting her a glare. "What are you telling Chen Yao all this for? Don't scare her."

Chen Yao thought about explaining that she wasn't actually that timid, but since Yuan Wangshu was concerned for her, she simply blinked softly and didn't argue.

Still, seeing that Qu Zhujun clearly had some novel ideas about the gold ornaments before her, Chen Yao worried that staying might spoil her fun.

After a moment's thought, she took the initiative to say, "I'd like to take a look at the jade ornaments upstairs. Why don't I head up first, and you two take your time browsing down here?"

"Hm? Then we'll all go up together." Qu Zhujun said without a second thought.

Yuan Wangshu also put down the earrings she'd been holding; she naturally felt the same. "Then let's go to the second floor."

"Manager Wan just said the second floor is mostly jade pieces, so I can look on my own."

A smile glimmered in Chen Yao's apricot eyes as she said softly, "Wangshu-jiejie, once you've kept Zhujun-jiejie company through her browsing, come up and join me—no rush."

"Fine, that works." Qu Zhujun thought it over carefully; jade wasn't really suited for her hidden-weapon ideas anyway, so she wasn't much interested.

Yuan Wangshu, however, immediately caught on to the young woman's thoughtfulness and agreed.

After all, they were fairly familiar with the Treasure Pavilion, and there was no one else around at the moment, so she had no worries.

So Chen Yao said her goodbyes to them, gathered her skirts, and went up to the second floor alone.

Unlike the bright, open environment of the first floor, the second floor was slightly dimmer, with only a large luminous pearl placed on each counter serving as illumination.

But this dim, hazy light lent the space a bit more atmosphere, making the jade ornaments displayed on the counters look all the more warm and graceful.

Since she was here anyway, Chen Yao slowly stepped forward, lowered her head earnestly, and studied the various jade pieces showcased on the counter.

The second floor was very quiet, with only her there; occasionally, she could faintly hear some sounds drifting up from below.

Until suddenly, from behind her, a soft yet steady footstep sounded.

Chen Yao instinctively assumed it was Yuan Wangshu or Qu Zhujun coming up, so she turned around with a smile curving in her eyes.

And then she ran straight into a wall of a man, catching her off guard.

A faint scent of ambergris mixed with a sharp, cold undertone instantly flooded her senses, overwhelming her breath—a fragrance she had only ever caught on one person.

Chen Yao's body stiffened. She quickly looked up and, sure enough, saw the man's tall, towering figure.

—It was Xiao Mingting.

"Your Majesty... no, Jingyao-gongzi."

She blinked, still seeming somewhat dazed, unable to process how she could have run into him here.

But Xiao Mingting had already reached out an arm with practiced ease, lightly circling the young woman's waist, and pulled her into his embrace—naturally, also to keep her from stumbling backward after bumping into him.

"How is it that you're here?" Chen Yao quickly snapped back to her senses and instinctively tried to step back to put some distance between them.

But with the man's large hand firmly pressing against her waist, she couldn't budge an inch.

She was just about to struggle when Xiao Mingting spoke, "The hairpin I promised you the last time—I've brought it to give to you."

Chen Yao looked up at him in a daze. "What?"

She didn't quite register what he meant; since some time had passed, she'd thought he'd only mentioned it offhandedly, and had secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"You don't remember?" Xiao Mingting's dark eyes narrowed slightly.

"I—I remember." Seeing his expression darken, Chen Yao quickly nodded.

Only then did Xiao Mingting's demeanor ease. He loosened his hold on the young woman.

Even though she immediately stepped back two paces the next second, putting some distance between them.

He drew a carved wooden box from his sleeve and lowered his eyes, offering it to her. "See if you like it?"

"Thank you, gongzi." Chen Yao pressed her lips together, but she had no choice but to accept it and slowly open it in front of him.

Inside the wooden box lay a diancui gold phoenix hairpin—the phoenix head held high, a lustrous white pearl clasped in its beak, with nine phoenix tail feathers carved in openwork and inlaid with blue-green kingfisher feathers. The entire piece was fashioned from gold wire into a "phoenix flying with its mate" design, exquisitely dazzling.

But according to the ceremonial regulations of Zhao, a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin was clearly an ornament reserved exclusively for the empress.

Chen Yao's small hand trembled slightly. Startled and flustered, she quickly snapped the wooden box shut and handed it back.

Her eyes lowered, her long lashes fluttering faintly, she didn't dare look at it again, and only whispered, "Thank you for your generosity, gongzi. But this phoenix hairpin is far too precious; I dare not accept it."

Xiao Mingting's gaze at her was deep and dark as he said calmly, "If I say you can accept it, then you can."

But he did take back the wooden box Chen Yao returned, and removed the gold phoenix hairpin from within.

Ignoring the empty box he casually tossed aside, he leaned down, raised a hand to gently lift the young woman's chin, and slowly inserted the gold phoenix hairpin into her upswept bun.

The phoenix's nine tail feathers coiled among the young woman's hair, gleaming brilliantly, as if they had always belonged there.

Throughout the process, Chen Yao naturally tried to shy away out of instinct, but compared to the man's strength, she was soon overpowered with ease.

"It suits you well." A hint of satisfaction flickered in Xiao Mingting's eyes, and he curved his lips. "This phoenix hairpin—only you are worthy of it."

His calloused fingertip lightly brushed the young woman's soft chin, his dark gaze lingering on her hair for a moment before drifting down to her face.

Chen Yao didn't dare dwell on what this gold phoenix hairpin signified, and she couldn't dodge away either. She could only keep her gaze lowered, not daring to look at him at all.

Just then, in the next second, she felt the warm breath of his breathing gradually draw closer.

Seeming to realize what was coming, Chen Yao's pupils suddenly contracted. Just as Xiao Mingting leaned in, almost about to kiss her, she struggled and twisted her head aside in a panic.

His kiss ultimately only grazed the corner of her lips.