Chapter 91
Lu Dieqing had never been a brave person since she was a child. The impression she gave was often like a gentle little deer, a little cat, a little rabbit—the kind of being that, even if provoked, would at most give you a light bite, not even leaving a bloodstain.
For such a gentle and timid girl to be able to pat her chest and say, “I’ll take you away, I’ll protect you,” was truly rare.
Zheng Xuening was caught off guard and froze there. After a long moment, she laughed softly.
This laugh was truly hearty.
All the gloom, grievances, and various negative emotions all seemed to become unimportant.
All that was left was the girl in her arms at this moment, holding her tightly, her heart and eyes completely filled with her.
With her laugh, Lu Dieqing, on the contrary, was like a deflated little pufferfish. Her puffed-up, soft, and tender cheeks deflated a little.
The girl’s aura was lacking, and she inexplicably felt guilty and unconfident. Her clenched little fists also loosened, and the two small hands holding Zheng Xuening also slowly withdrew.
“What are you laughing at?” Lu Dieqing pressed her lips together.
Only then did she realize that she had been like she was just now, very much like she was boasting.
Was the Crown Princess laughing at her?
She was like a little snail that had been poked. Sensing danger outside, she immediately retracted her two little antennae on top of her head, trembling, trying to hide back in her fragile, transparent little shell.
However, the two arms that had just been withdrawn were immediately held by Zheng Xuening and placed back on her waist, letting her hold on tight.
“Silly. I wasn’t laughing at you.”
Zheng Xuening slowly blinked her eyes, rarely explaining so seriously.
“Really?” Lu Dieqing was a little unconvinced.
She looked up at her, her little face so cute.
Zheng Xuening’s gaze darkened. “I was happy.”
Her gentle way of speaking, on the contrary, made Lu Dieqing shy.
The girl’s gaze began to dart around, and two red clouds appeared on her cheeks. She stammered, “I… although I don’t have the ability now, I will work hard to become powerful…”
Aiya.
The more she said this, the less confident Lu Dieqing became, her head almost completely buried in the Crown Princess’s embrace.
Now that she thought about it, she was currently eating the Crown Princess’s food, using the Crown Princess’s things, and even living in the bedchamber prepared for her by the Crown Princess’s mother, the Empress.
A person who could only be a vine for the time being had actually made such a boast, saying that she wanted to protect the heir of a nation in return. Thinking about it was truly… so fanciful.
It was as if she were drawing a pie in the sky for the other, and drawing it so extravagantly.
How could she be like this?
The girl fell into self-abandonment. Her face was still red, but this time it was no longer shyness, but shame.
Zheng Xuening could see what Lu Dieqing was thinking at a glance.
This girl’s mind was very simple. With a knock, you could hear what was inside.
Her slender fingers, which had developed a thin layer of callus from years of holding a sword and practicing martial arts, gently held the girl’s delicate chin and gently brushed past her cheek with one hand.
“I didn’t even say I didn’t believe you, and you’re already discouraged?”
“Success depends on human effort. Doesn’t everything start from zero? Only with this intention and aspiration can you achieve it.”
“Look, the puppetry manuals in the Library Pavilion are already covered in so much dust, and no one has read them. Whether among the common folk or in the palace, have you heard of anyone else succeeding in spiritual awakening?”
“No, you are the first, and the only one. Isn’t that enough to prove your uniqueness?”
“You have turned what others considered impossible into a possibility. Why aren’t you holding your head high and being proud?”
The impression Zheng Xuening gave was always sharp, like a snow lotus on a snowy mountain, or a treasured sword that was always in its scabbard and would draw blood the moment it was unsheathed.
Her warmth was rare, so when she showed this rare gentleness and comfort to Lu Dieqing, it seemed even more precious and moving.
Lu Dieqing stood there in a daze, like an exquisite little doll that had gotten stuck, beautiful and well-behaved, her eyes watery, looking at Zheng Xuening with great emotion.
“Ningning!” Wow, so touching.
She had never heard such heartwarming encouragement!
She really wanted to take out a pen and paper and record every word of what had just been said.
Lu Dieqing, with her teary eyes, was extremely lethal.
Zheng Xuening’s ears turned a little red from her gaze. She pressed her lips together slightly and forced herself to calm down.
She raised an eyebrow at Lu Dieqing, her cold and stunning beauty at its peak.
“Still discouraged?”
Lu Dieqing shook her head frantically, paused, then nodded her little head, full of confidence.
“I believe in myself. I will definitely become very powerful in the future!”
Love is the greatest power in this world. She lived in a love full of care. No matter what, she had to grow up strong.
“Oh, right, Ningning, you still haven’t said why we are going to the forbidden land.”
Lu Dieqing seemed to have remembered something. She gently tugged at Zheng Xuening’s sleeve with her two small hands and asked in a small voice.
In the past, she would never have dared to be so bold with the Crown Princess, asking all sorts of questions.
But tonight, she felt that the person in front of her was no longer the high and mighty Crown Princess, but the cute Ningning who shared her joys and sorrows with her, and they huddled together for warmth.
The Crown Princess was not vicious and cold. She was actually a gentle girl, and she needed love and care even more than ordinary people.
Faced with Lu Dieqing’s question, Zheng Xuening did not hide it.
In fact, from the moment she had inexplicably become this girl’s little wooden doll, it was destined that her heart could no longer be closed to Lu Dieqing.
She was silent for a moment and said directly, “I suspect that my mother, the Empress, is not dead.”
Huh?
Lu Dieqing was stunned.
Her heart was like it was filled with a hundred little cats, frantically scratching. She was scratching her ears and cheeks, wanting to understand what had happened.
Zheng Xuening paid attention to the changes in the girl’s expression. Seeing that no matter what she said, the other’s expression was so lively and rich, she couldn’t help but smile, curving her lips.
“A couple of days ago, I secretly went to the imperial mausoleum and found that my mother’s coffin was empty.”
Zheng Xuening continued, “From the belongings my mother left me, I found something that might be related to the powerful puppeteers of the forbidden lands. Perhaps… it’s also related to those legendary immortals.”
Huh?
Lu Dieqing felt as if she were listening to a fantastic story. Every part of it was unexpected.
Besides astonishment, she didn’t know what expression to use to express her emotions. Her mind was also in a daze, a complete blank.
Zheng Xuening had guessed that this girl would be surprised, but she still found Lu Dieqing’s every move cute.
Everything that had happened to her was like a swirling mist at the end of darkness.
To travel a long distance, to reach the end, to solve the mystery, was a tiring and uninspiring process.
But when doing this, to have a girl by her side who would watch you with her whole heart and be fully invested in your every reaction.
This journey was suddenly filled with a warm landscape.
