After Yuelan returned to the capital she rested in her residence until her injured shoulder had healed. There was a scar left behind, but it was small and faint. With any luck, one of the creams from Kilin would be able to help the scar disappear.
Once her shoulder was declared fully recovered Long He started putting Yuelan through a much more intense training with the world’s crystal magic than before. He also sent Granny Mei out to have accessories made with specific stones, all stones Yuelan could use to create wards that would deter or at least lessen the injuries from physical attacks. The dragon refused to allow her out of the residence or to allow any of the princes to come and visit before he was satisfied that she had mastered the protection magic.
After protection magic came healing, and Yuelan found herself feeling as though she was being forced into university courses intended for doctors as her study became filled with books on anatomy, the brain, and everything else.
Yeulan had only breached the surface of the things she needed to learn to be able to heal injuries, but two months had already gone by and summer was changing to fall. She pleaded for a reprieve from Long He’s lessons so she could go out and relax for an afternoon. The dragon agreed and Yuelan nearly ran out of the Crystal Moon Residence, heading straight for the shopping district to look for new music to learn for her guzheng, her three maids following closely behind her.
They hadn’t been out on the streets for long when people started exclaiming that the third prince and his army of victors had arrived at the capital and were going to come through the streets at any moment on their way to the palace. People started moving to the sides of the street, looking eagerly in the direction of the city’s southern gates.
Yuelan stiffened, frowned, then decided to pretend that nothing was happening and continued on her way to the shop that sold musical scores, walking down the middle of the street. She hadn’t heard anything about the war or received any letters from Guangfeng since returning to the capital and hearing that he was coming back victorious made her feel a surge of anger directed at him.
Before she could go very far, a parade of soldiers turned onto the main street of the shopping district where she was walking. At the front were a few foot soldiers carrying spears and they were followed by the generals with Guangfeng at their center. After the leaders came the rest of the army. The parade took up the entire street, forcing Yuelan to stop.
Gauangfeng caught sight of her immediately and lifted his hand, calling the parade to a halt. He dismounted his horse and made his way over to her, grinning. “I didn’t expect Miss Yuelan to come out to meet me…”
Yuelan glared at him. “I didn’t. This is a coincidence. Long He hasn’t let me out of my residence for two months. I finally convinced him to give me a break and came here to get a new musical score. It has absolutely nothing to do with you, since I didn’t even know you were returning.” She made a ‘hmph’ sound, folded her arms under her breasts, and turned away from him, her cheeks puffed out a bit in a pout.
The third prince looked a bit startled. “You’ve been stuck in your residence for two months? Doing what?”
Yuelan’s lips tightened and she refused to answer or look at him.
Guangfeng sighed. “Will you come with me to greet Father Emperor?” he asked, his tone coaxing. “I mean to keep my promise to you that I made back then...Your shoulder is recovered, right? Did it leave a scar?”
Yuelan still refused to answer, forcing Guangfeng to turn to her maids and let out a sigh.
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Camphor and Willow looked amused, though Laurel looked a bit distracted.
“Your Highness...Miss is upset that she did not receive any more letters from Your Highness,” Willow explained.
“Who’s upset over not receiving letters?” Yuelan demanded, turning her head to glare at Willow. “I don’t care one bit about receiving letters from a no good prince!” She let out another huff and turned her red face away, stomping her foot.
Guangfeng couldn’t help smiling. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I meant to send you letters, but I didn’t have time. I wanted to quickly finish up the war and come back. And if I had sent one after the war had ended it wouldn’t have gotten here any sooner than I would arrive in person.” His sincere, pleading gaze made Yuelan feel like he was going to stare a hole through her head. “Please come with me to greet Father Emperor?”
Yuelan’s eyes narrowed and she turned to look at him. “I’m not getting on that thing,” she insisted, glancing toward his horse.
“Of course. Where is your carriage?” Guangfeng replied.
“I walked here.” Yuelan tilted her chin up and glared at Guangfeng, her expression challenging. “I didn’t want to take a carriage and continue to feel trapped.”
“The palace is too far for you to walk to from here,” Guangfeng pointed out. “Allow this prince to escort you to your residence to retrieve your carriage?”
Yuelan’s eyes narrowed. “And if I refuse?”
“You could ride a horse with Willow’s help. She’s quite skilled and could keep you from falling off…”
She shuddered then gave him a defiant look. “What if I don’t want to go at all?”
The third prince sighd and gave Yuelan a resigned smile. “Well, you certainly don’t have to, Miss Yuelan. Though it will take longer for me to send the gifts I brought back for you to your residence. And my father will likely summon you there anyway.”
Yuelan gave him a flat look. “I cannot be bribed with presents, Your Highness. But I’ll allow you to escort me to my residence. Have someone go ahead and tell them to prepare the carriage so I don’t have to wait when we get there.”
Guangfeng kept a straight face as he nodded and turned to one of his personal guards, who was still mounted. “Go ahead to Crystal Moon Residence and inform them to prepare Miss Long’s carriage.” He turned to the generals and the army. “Return to your homes. This prince will enter the palace with the generals to report your victory to the emperor. You have all done well and made your families proud!”
The army, except for the four generals, dispersed. The generals dismounted and led their horses to follow Guangfeng as he walked at Yuelan’s side.
Yuelan started back toward her residence with a grumpy expression and refused to look at Guangfeng. The third prince didn’t seem to mind too much and just quietly followed after her, smiling gently as he watched her thin figure swaying gracefully in front of him.
After a while, Guangfeng moved forward to walk at her side and speak to her. “It’s in part thanks to you that I was able to obtain victory so quickly,” he said softly. “Because you thought to improve the meals, fewer men became ill, morale improved, and we were able to move faster. Lanzhou requested peace talks after just a few weeks. They’ll be offering tribute to Longuo for the next ten years and one of their princesses will be marrying one of my brothers to ensure there will be peace for a while. Of course, whichever brother marries her will not be eligible to become crown prince.”
Yuelan said nothing and continued to walk. She maintained her displeased expression, but even though she was pretending to ignore the third prince he could tell she was at least listening to him.
Guangfeng continued to speak of the politics that were now in play, the agreements that had been made, and what they would mean for both countries. He knew that Yuelan found politics interesting, even if nobody felt like it was something she should bother with, and his goal at the moment was to appease her.
By the time they reached her residence the carriage was ready and her expression had softened. The third prince waited until they reached the carriage and she was about to get in to lean close and whisper in her ear: “Yuelan...I am in love with you. I mean to ask Father Emperor to agree to our engagement. Will you support me?”
Yuelan’s cheeks turned bright red and she quickly got into the carriage without giving Guangfeng an answer.