Zhao Yan walked along the familiar corridor towards her dormitory with light steps.
Along the way, many maids and servants stopped what they were doing and bowed to her.
Zhao Yan smiled and nodded to them mechanically.
But there was no focus in her eyes, and her thoughts had already flown nine days away.
"How do I feel about Gu Xu?"
She asked herself over and over in her mind.
But the specific answer to this question was difficult for her to describe in words.
She recalled that the first time she met Gu Xu was in the "Secret Realm of Tianlong". The other person's outstanding appearance, which was like an immortal, really made her eyes shine.
Of course, Zhao Yan, who has a distinguished background and has been on the battlefield for many years, is not like ordinary girls, whose heart beats faster and can't walk when she sees a handsome man.
She just felt that this person looked familiar, as if they had known each other for a long time.
But this does not prevent her from treating the other party as a strong enemy.
The two of them fought against each other in an infighting manner.
Next is what happened to Kuli within the royal family.
When the cracked "flint" appeared in front of her, she felt that the faith in her heart was shattered along with the black stone.
It was as if she was wearing the most beautiful dress and makeup, planning to go hiking in the countryside on a sunny afternoon.
Suddenly, my feet slipped and I fell into the smelly ditch.
The dress was dirty, the makeup was gone, and the whole plan was ruined.
But when she was most disappointed, a handsome young man in flowing blue clothes appeared in front of her, stretched out his hand to her, and said to her: "Maybe I can help you."
At that time, she only felt that his smile was very warm and the temperature of his palms was also very warm.
"Maybe from that moment on!"
Zhao Yan took a deep breath and thought silently.
I have to say that the feeling of "heartbeat" is really wonderful. It often plants seeds silently in a person's heart and slowly grows under the water of time - by the time you notice its existence, it will It has grown into a large tree with lush branches and leaves.
After reaching the end of the corridor, she opened the door and entered her room.
The personal maid Qiu Yan knew her habits very well. She filled the wooden bathtub behind the screen with hot water early and put in flower petals and spices.
For a while, the house was filled with fragrance, which made people feel relaxed and happy.
Zhao Yan ordered Qiu Yan to close the doors and windows, draw the curtains, then took off her loose red robe, bellyband and underwear, and stepped into the bathtub with Qiu Yan's support.
This tub is very wide, enough for two people. Zhao Yan stretched out her limbs and lay inside, feeling that it was more than enough.
The orchid soup with floating petals made her skin as white and delicate as milk.
She gently swayed her two well-proportioned and elastic long legs, creating circles of ripples on the water.
When Qiu Yan was washing her hair next to her, she couldn't help but ask: "Qiu Yan, have you ever liked anyone?"
Qiu Yan couldn't understand why a young lady who had never been interested in love and sex would suddenly ask her such a question.
But she still answered truthfully: "Yes, Your Highness. A few years ago, I had a crush on a soldier in the border guard regiment."
"Why do you like him?" Zhao Yan asked.
"Uh...I can't quite tell. Maybe it's because he is tall and handsome," Qiu Yan thought for a while and replied, "The first time I saw him, he just returned from the border in triumph. At that time, he was riding a maroon horse, his silver armor sparkling in the sun, and the people on the roadside were cheering for him.
"I thought at that time that I would marry a man like him in the future."
"Then what?"
"Then... In fact, Your Highness, he doesn't know my existence at all, and I don't know his name. Every time he goes out and comes back, I will go to the city gate to see him. As long as he looks towards On my side, my heart would be pounding.
"In this way, I secretly watched him for more than a year.
"But later, I found out from others that he was engaged to his neighbor's girl. When I heard the news, I hid in bed and cried all night, and I never saw him again.
"Doesn't that sound ridiculous, Your Highness?"
Zhao Yan shook her head gently.
"Actually, I just want to ask, how do you know for sure that you like someone?"
Qiu Yan glanced out the window and pondered for a while: "When you see him, your attention will be attracted to him unconsciously. All his movements will be slowed down and taken in one by one. The wind will blow inadvertently." The hair strands can also be counted clearly.
"I will always want to be with him. I will feel happy when he smiles. I will feel sad for him when he is hurt, as if the wound is on my own body. If he talks and laughs with other members of the opposite sex, my heart will be sour. It will be very disappointing.”
"I understand." Zhao Yan was silent for a few seconds and sat up slightly.
She closed her eyes and felt the hot water licking her skin. The temperature of the bathing water is extremely high, enough to burn an average person instantly. But Zhao Yan was safe and sound inside, and even felt very comfortable and comfortable.
Uncontrollably, scenes of practicing together with Gu Xu in "Xianyunju", watching the sunrise together, and crossing the Daqi border together appeared in her mind.
Zhao Changying's words were like a catalyst.
She originally thought that the relationship between herself and Gu Xu was just pure friendship.
But after listening to what his father said today, every scene and every move the two of them had together in the past seemed to have a bit more ambiguity.
Even unconsciously, she imagined that the hot water in the bathtub was his embrace - Gu Xu was sitting behind her, stroking her, hugging her, and staying close to her.
After realizing her subconscious fantasy, she pursed her lips and closed her legs, feeling ashamed but also inexplicably looking forward to it.
When the water temperature gradually cooled down, she wrapped herself in a bath towel and stepped out of the tub. Her skin was slightly red, and transparent water drops rolled down her crystal-clear legs.
"Bring me some clothes," she told Qiu Yan, "bring me something nicer."
Qiu Yan obeyed her order and took out a red dress with exquisite workmanship and embroidered with golden phoenix feather patterns.
After getting dressed, Zhao Yan sat in front of the dressing table again, picked up the powder and rouge that she had not touched for a long time, and applied them carefully on her face and lips.
Zhao Yan has always acted neatly, pursuing convenience and rarely dressing up seriously. However, she is naturally beautiful, even if she is naked, she is still enough to stun everyone.
She tried makeup today, but she was a little unskilled.
Her right hand, which was used to holding a spear, was shaking slightly uncontrollably when she picked up the eyebrow pencil. In the end, it was with Qiu Yan's help that the entire set of makeup was completed.
"Your Highness is so beautiful!" Qiu Yan looked at her face and admired in an envious tone.
Zhao Yan stared at herself in the mirror for a while. She was beautiful, but she always felt that there was still something missing.
After a few seconds, a look of sudden realization appeared on her face. She took out a bottle of Yanhong Dan from the cabinet, bent down, and dyed it on the tips of her toes carefully.
Zhao Yan's feet are moderately slender, white and flawless, and her nails are rounded and neatly trimmed, like beautiful handicrafts.
At this time, the kodan is applied, just like the white porcelain is dyed with enamel glaze, and the red plum blossoms bloom on the snow.
After doing this, she stood on the red carpet with bare feet, turned a few times in front of the full-length mirror, and then asked Qiu Yan, "Does it look good?"
Qiu Yan stood dumbly for a long time before she came back to her senses and sighed from the bottom of her heart: "Your Highness is even more beautiful than the female temptress in the story. Even I was almost tempted just now."
"Can you speak?" Zhao Yan crossed her hands on her chest and glanced at her.
Qiu Yan immediately changed his mind: "Your Highness is simply like a fairy descending to earth."
Zhao Yan nodded with satisfaction.
Looking at the dazzling His Highness in front of her, Qiu Yan hesitated for a while, but couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness said these things to me today... Could it be that he is attracted to a certain man?"
"yes."
After all, Zhao Yan is not an ordinary woman. She always does things in a free and easy manner and does not show off her masculinity. After recognizing his emotions, he did not act coy like a little woman, but admitted it openly.
Qiu Yan looked at her with astonished eyes, feeling quite incredible. After thinking about it, he then asked: "With your highness's status, what man in the world can't get it? As long as your highness waves his hand, all the men in Dayan will come." Just line up here. Why bother..."
At this point, Qiu Yan shut her mouth and did not dare to say the following "Why bother to bother to please him".
Zhao Yan sighed softly and smiled faintly: "He is different."
Then she paused for a moment and looked at Qiu Yan: "If you were given another chance, would you catch up with the border guard soldier before he got engaged?"
Qiu Yan was stunned for a while, not expecting His Highness to ask such a question.
"I...I don't know. Well...but at least, I will take the initiative to say hello to him. Like now...I like him unilaterally, but he doesn't know my existence at all. I feel that I am too stupid. .”
"So I don't want to make the same mistake as you did," Zhao Yan patted her shoulder gently, "I not only want him to know my thoughts, but I also want to snatch him away from another woman."
Qiu Yan opened her eyes wide, suspecting that she heard wrongly. She never imagined that His Highness, with his noble status and beautiful country, would actually compete with other women for men.
Zhao Yan didn't notice the maid's expression.
The image of Gu Xu being seriously injured in Jingxing and falling from a high altitude like a kite with a broken string flashed through her mind again, and she felt even more distressed.
"Idiot," she murmured in her heart, "I will protect you well from now on. I will never leave you in your most critical moment, let alone sell your whereabouts to the enemy."
…………
At the same time, Gu Xu was in the Fire Temple, listening to Chong Li and the priests complaining to him.
