Chapter Sixty-Nine: Unrestrained Passion

It was growing late, and everyone was tired from the festivities, so they decided to return to the inn. Lian Chang'an had already calmed his emotions, resuming his usual cold and indifferent demeanor. He silently followed behind Guli, and naturally noticed the new red ribbon on the rabbit lantern. It was shaped into a flower—a flower woven by a stranger, a man unknown to him, and the cruelest truth of all was that she had accepted it.

Lian Chang'an trailed behind, betraying no emotion, but only he knew the storm raging within his heart, the pain unbearable. He could not stop himself from wondering what kind of man could make her so gladly accept that red ribbon. He could not help but be curious, jealous, even envious. He even wished to see the man with his own eyes—to know how he looked, what manner he had, and how he had managed, in a brief encounter, to win her favor and her acceptance of such a token.

Suddenly, Lian Chang'an found it hard to breathe. His hand, gripping the hilt of his sword, clenched tightly, veins bulging, as he struggled to suppress the desperate ache in his chest. His other hand pressed firmly against his heart, where a red ribbon, woven into a peony, was hidden. It was a token he dared not give, yet longed to offer—a silent confession of his longing and sorrow.

He was not alone in his turmoil; the Crown Prince, Wei Chu, felt a similar unrest. When he first learned of the lantern festival, he had wanted to bring Guli and Yu Yang, knowing that women often enjoyed such gatherings. He had not expected the festival's unique rules, but accepted them with quiet delight.

Wei Chu, not yet twenty and always holding himself to the highest standards, had never kept any concubines or attendants in the Eastern Palace, despite his mother's attempts to arrange it. He was unwilling to settle in matters of the heart. So when he realized he was drawn to a woman, he was surprised, but not entirely so. Yu Yang was special.

Living in the palace, he had never met anyone like her. She was proud and cold as a winter plum, never fawning or flattering like noble ladies were wont to do; sometimes, she deliberately avoided his gaze. She carried herself with the air of a woman from the martial world—skilled in martial arts, unflinching in the face of danger, utterly unlike those delicate girls who fainted at the slightest fright.

The more time he spent with her, the more Wei Chu found himself drawn in. Yet he could not tell what she felt for him. After he had given her a jade hairpin, she had shown a hint of shyness, but afterward grew even colder, evading his gaze, subtly rejecting him at every turn. He knew, perhaps, she did not harbor any romantic feelings for him at all.

Yet, at times, he would catch the illusion that she was watching him, though never with certainty. Until tonight, when, unable to restrain himself, he offered her a red ribbon. That rabbit-shaped ribbon had been woven by Lian Chang'an. Wei Chu had liked the look of it and simply taken it. He had prepared many words, but to his surprise, when he passed it to her, she accepted it without hesitation.

He was overjoyed, barely able to contain his delight. But at that moment, Guli suddenly disappeared, forcing him to set aside his feelings and search for her alongside Lian Chang'an.

Later, when Guli and the others had left, he finally had the chance to speak with Yu Yang, to ask her how she felt. Yet her response doused his hopes as surely as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his heart. She said she had only accepted the ribbon because she found it novel and interesting, and that he should not read anything more into it.

Wei Chu felt as though fate itself was mocking him, but he knew this was the truth: she had rejected him. Still, he could not understand how a woman as clever and discerning as she was could so readily accept a red ribbon from a man, even for the sake of novelty.

Of course, Wei Chu would never know. For this was Yu Yang's secret.

She had seen at once that the rabbit-shaped red ribbon was woven by Lian Chang'an; part of her reason for accepting it was to make Guli misunderstand, but more than that, it was because of her own secret longing. Since he had given it, it was his intention she accepted. Alas, fate had other plans.

They would never belong to the same world, and there was never any possibility for them.