The matter in Lingxi County was settled, and the group turned south to return to the Prince’s Mansion.
Before dark, the party stopped in a small town over twenty miles outside the Royal City to rest for the night.
After tonight, they could reach the Royal City directly tomorrow, no longer needing to camp out in the wild.
Qingluan was handling the camp setup with the armored soldiers, leaving Bai Shuangshuang with nothing to do.
She stood by the inn window, watching the lights of the night market flicker on one by one.
“Want to go out and look around?”
Zhao Qingyue’s voice drifted over from behind her.
Bai Shuangshuang turned to look at her.
Zhao Qingyue leaned against the doorframe, spinning a copper coin in her hand.
“I’m bored.”
“Where to?”
“The night market.”
Zhao Qingyue gestured with her chin toward the window.
“Since we’re here, might as well.”
Bai Shuangshuang thought it over. She had nothing better to do anyway.
When Qiu Yue was called, she was meditating in her room.
She opened her eyes and followed without a second word.
Qingluan wanted to come too, but Zhao Qingyue shut her down with a single sentence.
“Qingluan, watch the camp.”
Qingluan opened her mouth, glanced at Zhao Qingyue, then at Bai Shuangshuang, swallowed whatever she was about to say, and returned to her post with a blank expression.
‘Alright, Miss thinks I’m in the way.’
The three of them stepped into the night, heading toward the brightest street in the small town.
The night market wasn’t large, but it was lively.
Stalls selling candied hawthorns, cosmetics, lanterns, and wontons stood side by side.
The cries of vendors mixed with laughter and chatter, creating a warm, cozy atmosphere.
Zhao Qingyue walked ahead.
She stopped at a stall selling rabbit-shaped lanterns, picked one up to examine it, then set it back down.
Bai Shuangshuang followed behind, watching her pick it up and put it down.
She couldn’t help but speak up.
“If you like it, just buy it.”
Zhao Qingyue turned back to look at her, the corner of her mouth curling up.
“Then you pay this time~”
“On what grounds?”
“Because you’re the Prince’s Mansion Special Envoy, an official higher than me.”
Bai Shuangshuang took a deep breath, pulled a Spirit Stone from her sleeve, and tossed it to the stall owner.
The man stared at it, utterly bewildered.
Zhao Qingyue pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Where did this celestial being come from, paying for a night market trip with a Spirit Stone?”
Even for disciples of Immortal Sects, Spirit Stones were rare treasures.
Ordinary folks had never even touched one.
“We normal people use these…”
Zhao Qingyue pulled a few copper coins from her sleeve and handed them to the stall owner, who accepted them with a smile.
Bai Shuangshuang scratched her head.
She wasn’t stupid enough to make that kind of mistake on purpose, but she genuinely had no copper coins on her.
That Spirit Stone was one that Lady Zhao had given her earlier to compensate Qiu Yue for the ones she’d lost in the Dao Seed Incident, instructing Bai Shuangshuang to pass it on.
Zhao Qingyue was generous.
Qiu Yue only took the original amount, so Bai Shuangshuang kept the leftover.
‘Lord Bai doesn’t seem like much of an upright official either…’
“Oh well, even though it’s my money, let’s just pretend you gave it to me.”
Zhao Qingyue strolled ahead, swinging the rabbit lantern happily.
The candlelight inside flickered, casting dancing shadows on her smiling face.
Bai Shuangshuang followed behind, watching her smug expression.
Suddenly, a thought struck her.
“Zhao Qingyue.”
“Hmm?”
“I just remembered. Last time, you abducted me from Lingxi County and threw me into the Prince’s Mansion.”
Bai Shuangshuang spoke slowly, blinking.
“Thinking about it now, how is that any different from kidnapping a girl off the street?”
Zhao Qingyue’s footsteps faltered.
She turned around, the rabbit lantern swaying between them.
“What do you mean, ‘kidnapping a girl off the street’?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I invited you, didn’t I? This princess rescued you from a life of hardship. I’m your great benefactor.”
“Invited? Did you ever ask if I wanted to come?”
“I did ask. Didn’t you clearly say yes back then?”
“Th-that was under duress! I had no choice but to bow my head!”
“Oh, so you’re saying consent can be revoked?”
Qiu Yue trailed behind, listening to their back-and-forth.
She slowed her pace, deliberately falling half a zhang behind.
Bai Shuangshuang and Zhao Qingyue bickered all the way from one end of the street to the other, neither of them dropping the smiles on their faces.
Neither would yield, but neither was truly angry.
They passed a stall selling masks.
Zhao Qingyue picked up a cat mask and pressed it over Bai Shuangshuang’s face.
“Little Burning Cat, this suits you~”
Bai Shuangshuang glared at her through the mask.
‘Haven’t heard that nickname in a while.’
Her ears turned red.
As she pulled the mask off and tossed it back, Bai Shuangshuang muttered absently.
“When I leave the Southern Region someday, who’s going to stick around and fool around with you~”
The words left her mouth before she realized what she’d said.
Zhao Qingyue’s movements froze.
The mask dangled from her hand, its cord swaying gently in the night breeze.
She looked at Bai Shuangshuang, the smile fading from her face bit by bit, replaced by an uncertain expression, as if she hadn’t quite heard right.
“What did you just say?”
Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, wanting to say ‘I was just rambling,’ but Zhao Qingyue’s gaze made her swallow the words.
“Nothing.”
She turned her face away, looking at a nearby sugar painting stall.
“The wind’s strong tonight. You must have misheard.”
Zhao Qingyue didn’t press further.
She hung the mask back on the stall, turned around, and walked toward the other end of the street.
Her steps were slower than before.
The rabbit lantern in her hand swayed less.
Bai Shuangshuang followed behind.
A sudden silence stretched between them.
Not awkward, but not entirely comfortable either.
Both of their steps felt stiff.
Like walking along a narrow cliff path, neither wanting to fall.
Bai Shuangshuang looked at Zhao Qingyue’s back, and her heart suddenly softened.
‘I can’t pinpoint when this attachment started.’
‘Maybe it was at the National Academy in the Royal City. Maybe it was in the Bathing Chamber at the Prince’s Mansion. Maybe even earlier, the day Zhao Qingyue took me away from Lingxi County.’
She kept telling herself it was just gratitude for Zhao Qingyue’s kindness.
But deep down, she knew it was more than that.
‘I never thought someone like me would ever miss someone this much.’
‘And that someone isn’t Senior Sister.’
‘It’s the shameless Commandery Princess who bickers with me, pats my head, and gets affectionate with me in public.’
Bai Shuangshuang bit her lip.
Up ahead, Zhao Qingyue’s mind was churning too.
‘Was that just a casual remark from Bai Shuangshuang?’
Qiu Yue, lingering in the back, glanced left and right.
Finally, she couldn’t hold back and hurried a few steps to catch up with Bai Shuangshuang.
“Miss Bai, why aren’t you two talking anymore?”
Bai Shuangshuang glanced at her.
“I’m tired.”
“Oh~”
Qiu Yue nodded, walked a few more steps, then suddenly said,
“Then I’ll go buy you two some food. You keep walking!”
With that, she turned and ran off, faster than a rabbit.
Bai Shuangshuang watched her figure disappear into the crowd, saying nothing.
Zhao Qingyue also glanced back, then looked away.
They walked side by side for a while, neither speaking.
The night market remained lively, with shouts, laughter, and the sizzle of frying food flowing in from all directions.
Zhao Qingyue suddenly ducked into a narrow alley.
The alley was tight and deep, the lamplight unable to reach in.
Moonlight, however, spilled across half of it.
She leaned her back against the wall, tilting her head to look at the sliver of sky above.
Bai Shuangshuang followed, stopping in front of her.
The rabbit lantern sat at their feet, the candlelight casting a small patch of warm yellow between them.
“Bai Shuangshuang.”
“Hmm?”
“What you said earlier… was it true?”
Bai Shuangshuang lowered her head, meeting Zhao Qingyue’s eyes.
Those eyes held none of her usual teasing, none of her playful grin.
They looked at her quietly, like a pool of still water.
Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, wanting to deny it.
But the words stuck in her throat.
She found she couldn’t say them.
‘I can’t lie to these eyes.’
The alley fell silent.
Moonlight streamed down from above, stretching their shadows long, overlapping until they were impossible to tell apart…
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