Chapter 20

Blood covered the sky, broken walls, mountains of corpses, and seas of blood.

A figure rushed forward to block an arrow flying from the shadows, spitting blood and saying to him, “Your Highness, run.”

Run!

Run!!!

Run!!!

Countless voices mixed together, shouting desperately.

Yan Yuanhua’s breathing was rapid as he suddenly opened his eyes, once again waking from a nightmare.

Yes, it was a dream.

Those days were over. Yan Kingdom had won a great victory, and he was no longer the young prince who would have nightmares after seeing the battlefield.

But those people would never come back.

Yan Yuanhua looked up in melancholy. Even though he had been back in the capital for two months, he still couldn’t shake off the memories of the smoke-filled border. Every time he dreamed, it was those unforgettable memories. His gaze shifted, and he suddenly saw the bunch of apricot blossoms in the vase.

The spring flowers were kept in a celadon vase, the petals on the branches delicate. As he looked at them, the memories that had been swirling in his mind suddenly faded.

In their place was the image of the smiling girl under the apricot tree, selecting branches for him.

That young girl was beautiful, her eyes like stars, her skin fair, a delicacy that could only be nurtured in this prosperous place.

So different from the war-torn border.

But he still remembered that night, the way she held the hairpin. He had seen the records; the woman’s hand was almost pierced through, showing how decisive and fierce she had been.

This was a character rarely nurtured in the capital.

He wondered how she had developed it.

A smile unconsciously appeared on Yan Yuanhua’s lips. The night was deep outside, and he unknowingly fell asleep again, dreaming only of the bustling apricot blossoms and the smiling girl whose face he couldn’t see clearly under the tree.

Next door, Lu Minghua was also dreaming.

The faces of those people from the Lantern Festival night were becoming more blurred, but they still woke her from her dreams. However, tonight, there was a dark green figure in her dream. She didn’t wake up and slept more soundly.

By chance, the two had become neighbors, but they rarely met.

Unknowingly, it was already mid-February. The green on the mountains spread, the new buds of the willows began to sprout, and unknown wildflowers dotted the landscape. Children flew kites in the mountains, cheering.

In the courtyard, there was a small building with windows on all sides. Sitting inside, one could take in the entire mountain scenery. Lu Minghua usually liked to spend her time here. Now, seeing the kites, she felt a slight itch in her heart, wanting to try it herself.

She had never flown a kite before—

No, she seemed to have flown one once when she was a child. Her mother helped her hold the string and patiently told her how to fly it. Then, Lu Mingxi fell, and her mother accidentally broke the string. The kite flew away. Her mother took Lu Mingxi back, and when she wanted to ask her mother to find it, her mother scolded her for being inconsiderate.

Lu Minghua stood there holding the reel, not understanding what she had done wrong. She didn’t think she was wrong and didn’t want to admit it.

Since then, she had never touched a kite again.

But now, she wanted to play.

Having made up her mind, Lu Minghua called Mama Li and asked if there were any kites in the house.

Although the villa was well-equipped, Mama Li said there were no kites. Seeing the disappointment in her young lady’s eyes, she quickly added, “But I know how to make one. Shall we try, Miss?”

Hearing this, Lu Minghua’s eyes lit up, and she nodded.

The two of them got to work immediately, preparing the materials and working until they finally made a decent kite.

Using thin bamboo for the frame and stretching red silk over it, they initially wanted to make a complex design but had to settle for a simpler one. Lu Minghua carefully hemmed the edges, and since embroidery was too time-consuming, she wrote a poem celebrating spring on it. With the help of her maids, they worked hard, and finally, the red kite wobbled up into the sky on the spring breeze.

Over the years, Lu Minghua hadn’t been interested in such things, so Xiao Chun and the other maids hadn’t played with them either. Now, seeing the kite flying, they all laughed. Initially, they were cautious around Lu Minghua, but seeing her smiling and Mama Li not saying anything, they became bolder and laughed even more joyfully.

Their laughter and chatter could be heard even in the neighboring villa.

Zhao Shiyi curiously glanced over. The neighboring courtyard was usually quiet, rarely having such commotion. What was going on?

Lu Minghua carefully held the string, letting the kite fly higher and higher, her face breaking into a smile. After spending the morning in the garden, she felt a bit tired.

“Miss, Miss, stop playing. It’s time for lunch,” Mama Li said, seeing her happy. The meal had been ready for a while, but she hadn’t wanted to interrupt. Now, seeing it would get cold, she spoke up.

“Alright, Mama,” Lu Minghua replied, starting to reel in the kite. This was her first kite, and she wanted to keep it. But just as she had reeled in half, a gust of wind blew, and the string suddenly broke. The red kite wobbled and fell towards the east.

Lu Minghua stood there, holding the reel, stunned.

It broke again.

“Oh no, it broke?” Mama Li hadn’t thought much of it, but seeing Lu Minghua’s lost expression, she was startled and quickly said, “Hurry, hurry, go find it.”

“It’s just a small area. It can’t have gone far. We’ll find it soon. Don’t worry, Miss.” Although she didn’t understand why her young lady cared so much about a kite, finding it would solve the problem.

“Really?” Lu Minghua hesitated. When she was a child, her maids had searched for her kite but never found it, and her mother had scolded her for causing trouble.

“Of course, Miss. Let’s have lunch first,” Mama Li said confidently, though she wasn’t sure. Seeing Lu Minghua’s expression, she reassured her.

However, by evening, the servants still hadn’t found it.

The kite was lost.

“Miss, it’s alright. We’ll make another one,” Mama Li said worriedly when she saw Lu Minghua quietly sitting by the window, staring outside calmly.

Lu Minghua turned and smiled, saying, “Alright.” It wasn’t that she couldn’t let go of the kite, but the lost kite reminded her of childhood memories, making her mood worse.

Mama Li quickly brought the materials.

Seeing her prepared, Lu Minghua couldn’t help but smile.

That night, Lu Minghua dreamed again.

In her dream, the figure kept moving away. She didn’t chase after it, calmly watching as it gradually disappeared, surrounded by mist, as if she were the only one left in the world.

This dream made Lu Minghua’s mood even worse. She forced a smile, not wanting to worry Mama Li. After breakfast, she decided to go for a walk outside.

The morning mist at the foot of the mountain gradually dissipated, and the fresh scent of grass and trees filled the air. Pausing at the door, Lu Minghua walked east.

To the east was a mountain stream with a rugged and difficult path. She usually walked west and rarely came this way. Along the way, she moved her gaze, trying to find that striking red color, but she couldn’t see any trace of it no matter how hard she looked.

Indeed, if such a conspicuous color could be found, the servants wouldn’t have returned empty-handed yesterday. Finally, she stopped in front of the mountain stream. Below, trees grew close to the cliff, and she could see the smoke from cooking fires at the foot of the mountain, but there was no sign of that red color.

Lu Minghua took a step forward and looked down at the cliff.

“Miss,” Xiao Chun and the other maids called softly, afraid of startling her.

Lu Minghua gently said it was fine and continued looking.

In the villa, Yan Yuanhua, having taken his medicine and found the taste too bitter, went out for some fresh air. Looking up, he saw that yellow figure.

That was—

Without thinking, he walked directly towards her.

“Miss Lu,” he called, deliberately making his footsteps louder. Seeing her turn to look, Yan Yuanhua raised his eyebrows and greeted her with a smile.

“Young Master Yuan,” Lu Minghua took a step back, turned, and smiled, asking with concern, “Is your health better?”

In their occasional encounters, she noticed that Mr. Yuan Ji’an always carried the scent of medicine, realizing he was injured and had come here to recuperate.

“Taking medicine daily, I suppose it should be better,” Yan Yuanhua said, tilting his head briefly before smiling brightly.

This Young Master Yuan always appeared cheerful and carefree, never showing any signs of worry or trouble, as if everything was interesting.

Every time Lu Minghua saw him, she couldn’t help but feel more at ease.

Seeing him joke, Lu Minghua couldn’t help but tease, “Young Master Yuan should take his medicine seriously and recuperate properly. Only then will you truly be well.”

Yan Yuanhua had come here to escape the nagging of his mother and brother in the capital, but he was still being told off.

But seeing the bright smile on Lu Minghua’s face, he didn’t feel annoyed. Not wanting to continue this topic, he lightly coughed, stepped forward to look down, then turned to Lu Minghua and asked, “Miss Lu, are you looking for something?”

Lu Minghua was a bit surprised. Was she that obvious?

Seeing that Yan Yuanhua was only casually asking, Lu Minghua didn’t think much of it and smiled, “Yesterday…” She hesitated for a moment, then continued, “The kite string broke. It looks like it fell around here, so I wanted to take a look.”

Just a kite—

Yan Yuanhua was about to laugh but saw the faint melancholy in Lu Minghua’s eyes. He paused and said, “I see. I walk around the mountain all day. Maybe I’ll come across it.”

“No need to trouble you, Young Master Yuan,” Lu Minghua immediately refused, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was just an ordinary kite, at most carrying a bit of her sentiment. How could she trouble her benefactor to find it?

“It’s no trouble at all. If I see it and miss it because I didn’t know, wouldn’t that be a pity?” Yan Yuanhua laughed, emphasizing the word “pity.”

Hearing this, Lu Minghua also felt a bit regretful. She thought for a moment and then said, somewhat embarrassed, “I made it casually. It’s really nothing special. Thinking about it, there’s no need to find it. I don’t want to trouble you.”

As she spoke, she suddenly felt she was indeed making a fuss over nothing.

It was just a kite. It wasn’t the kite from back then, and she wasn’t the Lu Minghua from back then either.

Seeing her relieved smile, Yan Yuanhua, who had been indifferent, suddenly felt curious.

Seeing Lu Minghua refuse, he didn’t say much, just nodded with a smile and said, “Alright.”

Feeling grateful that he didn’t insist, Lu Minghua’s smile grew brighter. After chatting for a few more moments, she took her leave.

Although they were in the wilderness, where there weren’t many prying eyes, the difference between men and women still needed to be considered. At that moment, Lu Minghua had no idea she would see her kite that very afternoon.

The ink on it had slightly blurred from the night dew, the silk was a bit wrinkled, and the red wasn’t as bright, but it was indeed her lost kite.

The servants said it was brought by Zhao, the steward from next door.

Lu Minghua held the kite, stunned.