"He is Lin Yechen's Younger cousin brother. And he is still a child, what else would you expect from a boy of his age?" Shayue said with calm voice, turning her gaze towards the fluttering curtains. After a brief silence, almost thoughtfully, she added,
"Though… it surprise me that Longlin had sent someone so young to escort the wedding procession."
Mei Yi and Ying looked at her curiously,
"This is no ordinary journey. It leads into the territory of an empire that has stood opposed to theirs for so many years."
Her fingers lightly brushed against the edge of the tuanshan, she continued,
"They could have sent someone, any trusted general or an imperial official. Yet they entrusted the responsibility to Lin Cheng'an's hands… that alone tells me that he is deeply trusted by the imperial family. Longlin does not seem to measure a person's worth by just age alone."
Her eyes grew thoughtful, a faint smile touched her lips.
Mei Yi blinked looking at her, "…That is true."
After another moment, she whispered mischievously, "I still want to know what could have possibly made him smile one moment and frown the next second."
Ying replied without even lifting her eyes, "Perhaps he must be arguing with himself in his thoughts."
Mei Yi lightly laughed at her remark, "I would not be surprised by that, after all his mind is still youthful."
Shayue simply shook her head with a subtle smile on her face.
A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the rhythmic creak of the wheels and the distant call of the mountain birds. Then Mei Yi suddenly leaned forward, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper.
"Your Highness… do you think he was judging us?"
Her question made Shayue's eyes glint with amusement, repeating, "Judging?"
"Back at the palace," Mei Yi started to explain everything, while her fingers tracing the patterns of her sleeves, "When you were talking to Duke Wang and Duchess Wang. He stood at a distance nearby the entire time… his eyes were moving constantly, like a squirrel counting acorns."
Ying snorted at her remark, the sound startlingly undignified coming from her. "A squirrel? You also gave him a nickname too?"
Mei Yi corrected herself, "A very serious squirrel, a squirrel in the imperial clothes, who has been told to guard the acorns but does not know what acorns are… I that…"
Shayue's shoulders shook with silent laughter, "Mei Yi,"
Mei Yi immediately responded, "Yes, Your Highness?"
"You are terrible, when it comes to describing peoples."
"But… I am an observant… there is a difference, a very small one, but there is a difference."
Ying finally looked up, watching Yu Shayue and Mei Yi, giving a light expression.
"He did look confused when, Her Highness had addressed the Duke and Duchess as family. I saw him too. His brows came together like a two caterpillars meeting on a branch."
"You were watching him too!" Mei Yi gasped with delight.
"I watch everyone, it is my duty to watch everyone who watches Her Highness, and I do not make faces about it." Ying flatly said…
"You made a caterpillar comparison."
"That was a tactical assessment of facial tension."
"Of course, it was."
Shayue raised one hand, the gentle gesture but enough to quite them both, yet her eyes remained warm, the tuanshan's beads swaying as she shifted. She finally spoke, softly
"Let him be confused, let him wonder why a Crown Princess calls strangers family as her own and why she receives silence from her own blood. Let him carry that question to Longlin. Let him speak of it to his own family. The more they raised their questions about Fengyu's treatment of me, the more they will believe I have nowhere else to turn to, and the more they will believe that…"
Her smile sharpened, just barely, she did not finish there. Mei Yi nodded slowly, understanding settling in her gaze like sediment in clear water.
"The more they lower their guards. The more they offer trust."
Shayue agreed.
"Trust earned not through words, but through pity, through the belief that I am a wounded bird seeking shelter, rather than…"
She let the sentence hand, her fingers messing around the tuanshan's beads,
"Rather than?" Ying prompted.
Shayue's smile returned, serene and untouchable.
"Rather than what I am"
Mei Yi studied her for a long moment, than leaned back against the carriage with a sigh that was half admiration and of half exhaustion.
"Your Highness, you are going to give that poor boy an entire library of questions before we even reach the Longlin border."
"Let him question," Shayue said simply.
"Questions are the beginning of understandings, and understandings…" she lifted the curtains just enough to have a glimpse of the young rider ahead, his back straight, his head tilted in that familiar posture of internal debate, "Understandings is the foundation on which the alliance are built upon."
Ying's eyebrow rose again. "Your Highness, plans to win over a young boy?"
"I plan to win over everyone," Shayue corrected Ying gently.
"I will win their trust… I must first come to know them fully." She gently rested her hand upon her lap.
"Not as allies bound by politics… but as their family." Her voice remaining calm,
"I must speak with them, understand them, spend time with them, and let them see that my concern for Longlin is genuine… from the day I left Fengyu's borders, Longlin became my home as well."
"So I will let them trust me over their empire, I will let them know my genuine concern for Longlin empire…so I planned to win over everyone… starting with the youngest one…" she smiled through her eyes watching Lin Cheng'an.
"Children are honest, Ying'er. They speak what they think before they learn to bury it, and a child who speaks well of you to his elders… that is worth more than a hundred courtiers' polished flattery." She said letting the curtain fall.
Mei Yi laughed the sound light and genuine. "So Your Highness noticed him too."
"I noticed everyone, but I do not make a squirrel and caterpillar comparison." Shayue said, echoing Ying and Mei Yi's earlier words.
"…"
"…"
"That was Ying's contribution." Mei Yi protested first.
"I will not forget it."
Ying's ear turned slightly pink. She looked out the opposite window with an excessive focus.
"…The terrain is changing. We are approaching the river crossing."
"How convenient," Mei Yi murmured, not quite softly enough.
"Mei Yi."
"I am merely observing the terrain as well, Your Highness, very strategically"
Shayue shook her head with a smile. The tuanshan's beads chiming softly against the sway of the carriage.
Outside, Lin Cheng'an unknowingly rode ahead of the carriage…
Completely unaware that every one of his expressions had been carefully witnessed, catalogued, and discussed by three women who had already begun weaving him threads of strategy he could not yet comprehend.
He sneezed.
Once,
"…"
Twice,
"…"
He frowned, and glanced at the sky and pulled his shoulder higher against the mountain wind.
'Definitely the wind'
Not the sudden, inexplicable feeling of been observed by someone…
He straightened his shoulders and rode on, a young soldier with a serious face and a mind full of youth… squirrels, caterpillars, and the faint, lingering impression that his future Sister-In-Law's smile had been far more knowing than a departing bride.
--
Night had settled quietly over the mountains. For the final time before reaching Longlin, the wedding procession made camp beneath a sky scattered with countless stars. Campfires flickered across the valley, casting warm light over the rows of tents and the fluttering black-and-gold dragon banners. Inside her tent, Shayue sat with a graceful posture, but she her head was quite burdened her towards the entire journey, her bridal crown weighted more than her wedding hanfu. A bride could not simply set aside her wedding attire before the ceremony was complete. Taking only a ray of light from the cool mountain air was really worth for her. She stepped outside, the moment she appeared—
Conversation around the camp gradually ceased, the crimson silk of her wedding robes shimmered beneath the firelight, while the delicate gold embroidery caught the glow of the flames with every measured step she took. She walked with quite composure expected from a Crown Princess, not hurried, nor hesitant, every soldier she passed had immediately rose to his feet and bowed to her.
"Greeting, Your Highness."
Shayue acknowledged them with a graceful nod before continuing towards the largest campfire. There—Lin Cheng'an sat among several soldiers and commanders. Earlier that afternoon, every emotion that could be imaginable had crossed the young boy's face.
Now… he sat perfectly upright. His expression was solemn, his posture straight and steady, his youthful face had carried all the seriousness of a commander determined to appear older than his age. One soldier stole a sideways glance at him before lowering his head to hide his smile. Another murmured quietly,
"Our Young Master has been sitting like that for a quite some time now…"
"Do not ruin his time," another whispered back, "He is trying to look dignified."
"Since when does dignity require, not blinking even for moments?"
"Since he decided to, no longer be thirteen."
A soft snort escaped the first soldier, he quickly disguised it as a cough, before either of them could spoke any further, a familiar shadow fell across the fire, the soldiers instinctively looked up. The flames reflected against the crimson silk embroidered with golden phoenixes. For a fleeting moment, even the crackling fire seemed quieter. They immediately stood on their feet.
"Greeting, Your Highness!"
Lin Cheng'an lifted his head by their sudden shout. He turned back. His eyes met Shayue's figure behind him, for a briefest instant, surprise flickered across his youthful features. Then, remembering his duty, he quickly composed himself, he stood and respectfully cupped his fists.
"Your Highness."
His face remained as serious as before, almost… unnaturally serious, Shayue studied him for a heartbeat before a faint smile touched her lips.
"Young Master Lin…" she titled her head slightly.
"You appear considerably more dignified than you were this afternoon."
Silence fell through the campfire…
"…"
To Be Continued...