Bai Liuyue walked ahead, with Pei Yu obediently following behind.
The former seemed silent.
The latter chattered away.
"I think my uncle is deeply devoted to my aunt. Look at how beautifully these roses are blooming."
"It must have taken seven or eight years to cultivate them like this."
As he spoke, Pei Yu pointed at the roses of various colors in the flowerbed.
Bai Liuyue turned her head, her tone very calm:
"The Marshal's residence has a Second Concubine and the already deceased Third Concubine. Does that still count as deep devotion?"
"Of course. No matter what, my uncle's greatest love is still my aunt."
Pei Yu said this deliberately, just to see if she would get angry.
After all, girls usually detest unfaithful men.
Then he could seize the opportunity to say that his cousin Xie Chengxiao took after his uncle Xie Zhenning and might very well have a second or third concubine in the future, utterly unreliable.
Unexpectedly, Bai Liuyue gave a soft smile.
"I think you're right."
Pei Yu was dumbfounded: "..."
Bai Liuyue replied unhurriedly:
"You see, although there are the most roses in this flowerbed, there are also camellias and peonies."
"I love roses, but I also adore camellias and peonies. As long as my greatest love remains the rose, that's fine."
Pei Yu suspected there was a hidden meaning in her words, but he couldn't decipher any other layer.
Perhaps she genuinely likes roses, camellias, and peonies?
At the corner of the flowerbed, Bai Liuyue suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.
A pair of clear almond-shaped eyes stared straight at him, her voice soft and pleasant.
"Young Marshal Pei, have we met before?"
"Ah, well, no, we haven't." Pei Yu's expression was somewhat unnatural. He rubbed his head, his eyes evasive.
"But why, the moment we first met, did you look at me as if seeing an old acquaintance? So..."
Bai Liuyue's tone paused slightly before continuing:
"We must have met, right."
Meeting those slightly upturned almond eyes, Pei Yu's heart began to beat somewhat traitorously.
The lies he originally wanted to blurt out got stuck in his throat.
It seemed that in front of her, he couldn't utter a single falsehood.
Bai Liuyue curved her lips again, smiling faintly as she bent slightly towards him, her gaze sincere:
"If we have met before, but I have forgotten you, I am very sorry."
"Then, could you tell me when and where we met and got to know each other? This time, I will definitely not forget you again."
Pei Yu felt his heart beat even faster.
The sound was so loud it almost drowned out the surrounding noisy environment.
There was only her smiling face and the thumping of his wildly beating heart.
By the time he realized it, the words had already escaped his lips.
"At the ball in the 17th year of the New Republic. You were five, and I was seven."
"By the fountain, I was maliciously pushed in by a cousin. I was drenched all over. It was you who passed by, pulled me out, and gave me a handkerchief."
Oh, so it was him.
Bai Liuyue finally recalled the scene from her memory bank.
That was the 17th year of the New Republic, the thank-you banquet for her grandfather Bai Wenshan's appointment as Director of the Jinzhong Finance Department.
All the political dignitaries and nobles of Jinzhong attended.
At that time, Pei Yu also had a rather arrogant personality.
The children from the Pei family's relatives disliked him and plotted to make a fool of him at the Bai family's banquet. So, he was foolishly led to the backyard.
The fountain was large. For a seven-year-old child falling in, the water level could reach his waist.
Fortunately, Pei Yu was a good swimmer.
At that time, Xiao Liuyue had already started etiquette lessons. Finally, on the day of her grandfather's banquet, she could rest a little, so she sneaked away from all the servants to wander in the backyard.
And then she saw Pei Yu, dripping wet, standing in the fountain.
At first, she thought he was some kind of water monster and was very scared, wanting to run away quickly.
But she was threatened:
"Little girl, don't you dare leave. Come here and pull me up right now. Do you know who I am?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued on his own:
"I am Pei Yu, son of the Jinzhong warlord Pei Qiang!"
Just as he was boasting arrogantly, perhaps too pleased with himself, his tiptoeing foot slipped. As soon as the words left his mouth, he let out an "aiyo" and fell back into the fountain pool.
One moment he was all puffed up, the next he was a drowned rat again.
Although Xiao Liuyue didn't know who Pei Qiang was, nor did she recognize Pei Yu,
seeing him fall back into the fountain pool, she hurriedly ran over in a panic.
Afraid he might drown.
Not exactly afraid he would really drown, but if he died, it would be very inauspicious.
Because today was her grandfather's thank-you banquet.
On such an auspicious day, it wouldn't do to be tainted with bad luck.
So, Xiao Liuyue extended her small hand and pulled him up, helping Pei Yu to his feet.
Watching him sneeze miserably, "achoo achoo," and seeing that sneeze was about to land on her face,
Little Xiao Liuyue, somewhat disdainfully, handed over her handkerchief, saying:
"Wipe yourself."
Her real hope was that he would wipe his nose.
Being all wet and disheveled was already unsightly enough; if he had snot running, how ugly would that be?
Although young at the time, Xiao Liuyue already had a sense of aesthetics and liked pretty things.
"Thank you."
Pei Yu took the handkerchief somewhat shyly; it was the first time a girl had ever given him a handkerchief.
She's so thoughtful. Was she afraid I'd catch a cold?
This handkerchief smells nice too.
And this little sister in front of him looked quite pretty, Pei Yu thought to himself randomly.
But he saw that after handing over the handkerchief, Xiao Liuyue ran back inside.
"Hey, little sister, what's your name? I didn't get to ask..."
By the time Pei Yu came to his senses, she was already far away.
Later, he cherished this beautiful memory for many years, thinking she was like a little angel.
He tried every means to find out and finally learned she was the young lady of the Bai family's second branch.
Unfortunately, the wife of the Bai family's second branch was the daughter of a high official from the previous dynasty, so she was very strict, raising her daughter to rarely leave the inner quarters. There was almost no chance to see her again.
Pei Yu pinned his longing on that single handkerchief.
Thinking that when she turned eighteen, he could go to her family to propose marriage and ask for this kind little angel sister's hand.
Of course, all these memories were one-sided, his own beautiful fantasy.
Xiao Liuyue back then was truly just afraid he would drown and bring bad luck.
Giving the handkerchief was to prevent his snot from getting on her.
It was purely out of disgust.
Moreover, Pei Yu's face hadn't matured yet back then; he still looked like a little dark, chubby boy.
Fallen into the fountain and all wet—just imagine that scene.
Then you'd understand why the looks-conscious Bai Liuyue simply didn't remember him.
If it were you, could you remember?
Pei Yu finished sweetly narrating the beautiful childhood memory, only to see Bai Liuyue blink her eyes, seeming somewhat... guilty?
No!
He must have seen wrong.
Sister Liuyue knew to help him even as a child, warm-hearted and kind. Why would she feel guilty?
Bai Liuyue curved her lips and replied:
"So it was you. It really has been a long, long time since we met. If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost couldn't remember."
Huh?
Couldn't remember.
Pei Yu felt as if an arrow had pierced his heart.
