Xiao Langyan's thin eyes were lowered, and the shadows in his room intertwined, casting a layer of shadow on his face as cold as white jade.
He sneered: "As expected, I don't remember."
Shen Dingzhu frowned and recalled that Xiao Langyan was talking about the Mid-Autumn Moon Banquet held in the palace when she was eight years old.
The emperor invited all the civil and military officials, and because of the festival, he allowed these officials to bring their families into the palace to celebrate together. Shen Dingzhu, who was only eight years old, was brought into the palace by Prime Minister Shen to attend the banquet.
It was her first time entering the palace, and she felt strange everywhere, so she playfully led her maid around the palace without the permission of Prime Minister Shen.
Then...what happened next? She doesn't remember anything important.
Shen Dingzhu hesitated and said thoughtfully: "I only remember that at the banquet that day, I was walking around. My father couldn't find me anywhere, so he asked the emperor to order a search. Later, he found me..."
She suddenly remembered: "I fell asleep accidentally in the Zhaixing Tower. My lord, is there any problem with this?"
Could it be that at that time, she had met Xiao Langyan and offended him?
But why does she have no impression at all?
Xiao Langyan tilted his head, and outside the window, the bamboo shadows illuminated by the moon swayed and fell on his face, making his brows even more tall and dark.
His eyes darkened, as if Shen Dingzhu couldn't remember it at all, which made him a little unhappy.
However, from the other end of the wall, Shen Dingzhu's coquettish voice suddenly came.
There were waves in her beautiful autumn eyes: "Is the prince the little eunuch?"
Xiao Langyan lowered his long eyebrows and said with a gloomy expression: "Remember? Stupid, how do I look like a eunuch?"
Hearing his affirmative answer, Shen Dingzhu was unsteady on his feet and almost fell to the ground.
It turns out that she had offended Xiao Langyan a long time ago!
At the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, she was naughty and ran around. Not only did she get away from the maid, but she also got lost in the palace.
However, the young Shen Dingzhu was not afraid at all. She was wearing a crimson cloak, pearls on her head, and walking around the palace with her bright and pretty face.
It was also at that time that she met a little brother who was a head taller than her, wearing simple clothes.
He was groping forward in the dark courtyard, and Shen Dingzhu's sudden intrusion made him frown in surprise.
Xiao Langyan had an eye disease at that time and he could not see. Facing the direction of Shen Dingzhu, he could only see a blurry figure.
"Who is it?" he asked.
Shen Dingzhu blinked his big eyes and said coquettishly: "I am a guest here for the banquet. Which palace are you a young eunuch in? The invitation to the moon palace in front is so lively, and many palace people have gone to show their faces to ask for rewards. You Why don't you go ahead and ask for the lottery?"
After hearing these words, Xiao Langyan's face turned completely cold. He ignored Shen Dingzhu, slowly tested his hands in the air, and then moved forward step by step.
Shen Dingzhu was very amused when she saw him like this, and guessed that he probably had bad eyesight.
She grabbed Xiao Langyan's wrist and walked out of the courtyard: "Come on, I'll take you to Yaoyue Palace. You can ask the masters for some money and you can cure your eyes."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Langyan threw her hand away and said in a cold tone: "I won't go."
Shen Dingzhu gradually remembered what happened next.
She felt bored and refused to return to the Yaoyue Palace, so she forcibly dragged the little eunuch she thought was there to play with her.
Especially knowing that this little eunuch had bad eyesight, and occasionally passed by a dark place under the palace lantern, she would not remind him that there was a stone in front of him.
Often when she saw him stumble, she would help him, and then threaten him with a smile, asking him to obey her, otherwise she would bully him.
Thinking of this, Shen Dingzhu broke into cold sweat on his back.
She was pampered by Shen Xiang at the beginning and was domineering and arrogant. She was not afraid of bullying anyone in the palace because she was confident. She also knew that her father was the emperor's capable minister and the emperor would not be willing to punish her.
Xiao Langyan folded his arms and leaned against the wall. The pain in his back seemed to have gone away.
An intriguing smile appeared on his thin lips: "Have you remembered what happened next? Shen Dingzhu, you are really fooling me around. Isn't it fun?"
Shen Dingzhu bit her lip with her teeth, her fair and white face looked particularly bleak and pitiful under the light.
She remembered that she got tired of playing, because Xiao Langyan didn't cooperate with her and always had a cold face, so she wanted to punish the big guy.
So, she proposed hide-and-seek and asked Xiao Langyan to wait where he was. After she hid it, she asked him to come find him.
However, she left him in the dimly lit side garden, ran to the Star-Zhaing Tower, and threw him far away.
She originally wanted to scare him and go back to find him soon, but Shen Dingzhu didn't expect that she fell asleep from exhaustion after playing for a while on the Star Reaching Tower.
When she woke up again, she was already in her father's arms. It was dark and the palace was about to be laid.
The father was reluctant to punish, and his gentle tone contained some words of persuasion.
"Zhu Zhu'er, please don't run around next time, so that your father will be easy to find. Your mother is frightened. Let's go to the carriage and apologize to her properly."
Shen Dingzhu hummed in a sweet voice. She rubbed her big eyes sleepily with her small hands. Looking at the dark palace passages passing through in the autumn wind, she always felt that she had forgotten something.
However, she couldn't remember it, and her mind was very confused at that time, so she simply put it behind her.
After many years, I thought about it again on this not-so-special moonlit night!
And the "little eunuch" she bullied was actually Prince Ning Xiao Langyan. The "eunuch" between them actually started so early.
Now, separated from Xiao Langyan by a wall, Shen Dingzhu's cheeks were already turning red and hot from embarrassment.
Over there, between Xiao Langyan's unparalleled handsome eyebrows, there was already a hint of playful laughter: "That day, you didn't let me wander around, and everything was pitch black. For me, it was as if I was standing in an abyss, unable to move. No."
"After waiting for you for two full hours, the palace people dispersed, and it was almost the second watch before I was found by the servants who came to look for me. Later, I always thought that when I find you, a girl who knows nothing about the world, Just punish him well."
Shen Dingzhu's cheeks were red and her beautiful eyes were filled with panic. She quickly answered: "I have been taught a lesson. I have been with the prince for so long. I have endured hardships and shed tears. Let's let go of this childhood grudge?"
Xiao Langyan sneered: "It's too early to let you go. I mentioned this matter just to remind you, Shen Dingzhu, that you owe me many grievances. When you get out of here, we will settle the accounts one by one."
"In this life, don't even think about escaping."
Shen Dingzhu's fair and beautiful face showed a hint of astonishment. She walked to the entrance of the cave and subdued nicely, pretending to be aggrieved.
Listening to her soft voice, Xiao Langyan had a faint smile on his thin lips.
In fact, he didn't tell Shen Dingzhu that he knew where she hid that night.
She went to the Star Reaching Tower.
The tallest building in the palace is the Star Building, and on that day during the palace's monthly banquet, the palace lanterns hung at the four corners of the Star Building were the brightest and shining.
In Xiao Langyan's vast and dark sight, Star Reaching Tower was like the only light, guiding him to find the way to leave.
It was only through the bright daylight that he could see that petite figure. Although he couldn't see her appearance clearly, he might be looking at her as bright as a sunflower.
She ran up and down on the star-catching building. She would lie down and dangle her little feet, and then climb onto the railing to look at the stars.
She was so happy and fearless, Xiao Langyan actually envied her a little when he thought about his situation.
He should have stepped forward, pretended to go to the Star Reaching Tower, discovered her, and ended this stupid hide-and-seek game.
But he didn't.
He just watched quietly, looking at the little girl who was as far away as the bright moon, as if looking at her bright and bright life.
Now, he never thought that one day, she would stand side by side with him, standing as an ally, against the storm of power.
