The daughter of the Marquis is too delicate, the abstinent prince pinches her waist and loves her

Chapter 118: Keep it safe

At the end of the Shen period, the royal palace appeared.

Fiery clouds swept across the sky, and as dusk engulfed the Arrow Pavilion, an orange-yellow glow was cast on the bluestone ground.

Ye Jinchen pulled open the rhino horn buckle of the black arrow sleeve, and the gilded ring brushed against the tail feathers of the eagle feather arrow. The moment the bowstring vibrated, the golden nanmu arrow target thirty steps away broke into two halves.

"The ninth target." Ye Jinlan threw the Jade Gall Bow to the guard beside him. Sweat beads rolled down his neck. He chuckled and said, "War King is unrivaled in the crowd. After returning from the Northern Frontier, his archery skills have improved greatly. My brother is far behind."

Ye Jinchen narrowed his beautiful phoenix eyes slightly and said, "The northern border is bitterly cold and dangerous, and every arrow is stained with blood. My brother's arrows are too clean."

"Peace and prosperity are the blessing of Zhu Luo." Ye Jinlan watched the guards take the broken target away. The stone wall behind the target also cracked a few times. He said, "Seventh brother, I am very happy that you can come to my house, but as soon as you came, you challenged me to a competition of archery without any explanation. Do you have to tear down the martial arts field of my Xianwang Mansion before you stop?"

Ye Jinchen pulled out three wolf-tooth arrows with his backhand. The arrowheads reflected the light in the setting sun. When he drew the bow, his shoulder blades were like crane wings. He finally spoke and said, "My brother, what is the origin of the jade pendant you just got?"

Ye Jinlan frowned slightly and said, "You didn't care when I put it on your desk, why are you interested in it now?"

The spring breeze blew the peach blossoms, and the petals fluttered down. Ye Jinchen shot three arrows at once, and each arrow pierced the petals on the peach tree and hit the three targets.

Ye Jinchen stroked the vibrating bowstring, raised the corners of his lips, and said, "Qing'er likes it."

Ye Jinlan, who cherishes flowers, dimmed his eyes slightly, pursed his thin lips and said, "It's not yours, so I can't give it to you."

Ye Jinchen's fingertips touched the smooth arrow, and he drew his bow and shot an arrow at the bull's eye. His voice became lowered: "Name your price."

Ye Jinlan chuckled and took out the star jade pendant from his arms. It became transparent under the sunlight, and there was a faint golden light surging among the delicate star patterns. The workmanship was exquisite, which was not something that ordinary people could have.

He lowered his head and looked deeply, stroking the faintly flickering light with his fingertips, and said, "Not for sale."

Ye Jinchen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You can choose any of the things in Prince Ye's Mansion."

Ye Jinlan's expression became serious, and he said, "I am waiting for the owner. I will not hand it over to anyone else except the owner."

Ye Jinchen was silent for a while, then he dropped the bow and arrow he had raised, threw it to the guard beside him, and whispered, "In that case, my brother, please guard it well."

"Well, that's natural."

A trace of loss flashed across Ye Jinchen's eyes. He didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.

Ye Jinlan turned aside and tried to persuade him to stay: "Seventh brother, it's getting late, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Ye Jinchen did not answer, but his steps did not stop. Ye Jinlan looked at his back blending into the twilight and put the jade pendant back into his arms.

The next day, early in the morning.

Inside Prince Xian's mansion, a guard walked in worriedly and bowed to Ye Jinlan.

Ye Jinlan sat on the throne, tasting the finest Longjing tea. When he saw him coming, he raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Confess?"

The guard frowned and reported, "Your Majesty, the maid who attacked the palace at night and tried to steal your jade pendant was surprisingly tight-lipped. When I went there this morning, the guard who was guarding her had fainted on the ground. She had bitten her tongue and committed suicide."

Ye Jinlan paused for a moment, feeling puzzled: "Where did this jade pendant come from? Why is it so popular..."

"Your Highness, I saw a wooden box at the back door." Another guard walked in from outside.

Ye Jinlan raised his eyebrows and asked, "What is it?" The guard opened the wooden box and handed it to him. Inside was the jade pendant that he always carried with him.

He picked up the jade pendant, frowned and looked at the guard and asked, "Did you see who brought it?"

The guard shook his head and said, "It seemed as if a gust of wind blew by, and when I looked around, there was no shadow."

Ye Jinlan's fingers tapped lightly on the table. Since the owner of the star jade pendant knew that he had taken the wrong jade pendant, why didn't he rush to take back his own after returning his?

The bluestone street was bustling with activity. Zhixing got off the carriage, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath.

The Prince's Mansion felt oppressed, so she proposed to Ye Jingnian that she wanted to go out of the palace to make purchases. Ye Jingnian did not object, and did not even send an informant to accompany her. It seemed that he would not care much if she just escaped like this.

She shook her head, looked at the shopping list, and searched for the marked store.

A group of people gathered on the stone wall in front, seemingly discussing something.

"Which girl is so lucky to be favored by King Xian?"

"This jade pendant was probably left there on purpose to attract King Xian's attention, right?"

"He said he was going to the palace to claim the jade pendant. I'm afraid he will live in the palace after entering it."

Zhixing raised her eyebrows slightly, jade pendant?

She squeezed into the crowd and saw the notice on the wall:
"There is a jade star pendant that was lost in the willow alley west of Zhuque Bridge on the night of the Waking of Insects. The owner is a young girl. If you remember this pendant, you can bring the remnant of your raincoat sleeve that was soaked in the rain that day to the east corner room of the palace to verify the sound pattern and old memories. If you can verify that it is yours, the original jade will be returned to you without questioning the cause and effect. Anyone who pretends to be someone else will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and exiled for three thousand miles."

On the edge of the notice, the delicate patterns of the star jade pendant were drawn.

She pursed her lips, looked for a long time, then lowered her head, sighed softly, and turned away.

The jade pendant will not be returned...

Show the palace.

Sandalwood smoke curls around the incense burner, and the scenery in the hall is fresh and elegant.

Ye Jinlan put down the teacup, smiled faintly, and said, "Miss Sheng is here to ask for the jade pendant as well?"

Sheng Yunqing raised his eyebrows and asked, "Also?"

"My seventh brother came to my palace yesterday evening to ask for it, but I refused to give it up." Ye Jinlan sighed softly and said, "Miss Sheng, I know this item is not common, but it may be important to that girl. I am not qualified to control it, so please don't make it difficult for me."

Sheng Yunqing smiled just the right amount and said, "Your Highness has misunderstood. I am not trying to take someone's favorite thing away. It's just that this jade pendant seems to be hiding some important secret. Like Your Highness, I want to meet the owner. If the owner comes looking for me, could Your Highness tell me?"

"I see." Ye Jinlan nodded gently and said, "This is easy. I will ask about the girl's identity and introduce her to Miss Sheng."

Sheng Yunqing nodded with satisfaction and said, "Can I take a look at that jade pendant?"

"can."

Sheng Yunqing took the jade pendant he handed over. There were dots of golden light flickering among the stars. It was made in an exquisite and wonderful way, but it was hard to tell what it was.

She returned the jade pendant with a faint smile and said, "Thank you."