Chapter 81: If Not For Caring, How Would The Princess Lower Herself To Such An Extent? 

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too. 

A kiss like a dragonfly touching the water did not stay for long.  

It clearly did not carry any bit of passion or desire, yet it made people's hearts beat terribly fast.  

At that moment, Meng Chang'an only felt her mind go blank. She just stared at the Princess in a daze, letting the Princess do as she pleased.  

"I wonder  if ‘husband’ is satisfied with this reward?"  

After the Princess returned to her original position, the Young Master only then belatedly realized where this place was.

On the bustling street, surrounded by the passing people,  

Should they kiss in the middle of the street like this? Isn't it a bit too flashy?  

"You, you, you... What if someone sees us under the broad daylight?"  

Unlike the Young Master, who nervously looked around, the one who started it was quite calm, smiling brightly while watching the Young Master's actions.  

"If someone sees, then they see. Now you are my 'husband,' so what is wrong with me kissing you?"

Fortunately, the people on the street were all busy shopping at small stalls or shops. In addition, the Princess' movements were quick, and some objects in her hands blocked part of the people's view, so not many people actually saw that scene.  

Furthermore, even if someone had seen it, in this open-minded place, no one would say anything.  

Since no one stopped to point and stare at them, the Young Master finally relaxed a little and turned around to glare at the Princess.  

"It may not be wrong, but if others see it and think you are that kind of woman who does not know how to behave, what will we do..."  

Upon hearing this, the Princess' heart suddenly warmed.  

"I am not afraid of that."

The Princess' smile deepened more and more at the corners of her mouth. She simply stopped holding back, stepped forward, and hooked her arm around the Young Master's, leaning close to her ear to softly say, "I am only afraid that you, in a fit of anger, will ignore me."  

In the Princess' words, besides teasing, there seemed to be a hint of seriousness, which made the Young Master hear a trace of humble posture.  

If not for caring, how would the Princess lower herself to such an extent?

After thinking it over carefully, the Young Master felt her heart soften into a complete mess. She could not bring herself to say anything that might make this person overthink.

"I am not that petty. If I truly ignore you, it would only be because you did something to hurt my feelings..."  

After murmuring this softly, the Young Master, to avoid the Princess saying more words that would disturb her mind, did not dare to continue dwelling on the inappropriate actions in broad daylight. She quickly pulled the Princess' hand down and prepared to hold it, continuing to walk forward.  

Unfortunately, before the Young Master could take a step, the laughter from beside her already caught her attention.

On the street, in the aisle of the shops, stood Shen Lingyun and Shu Yao, who had just bought some snacks and walked out of the shop.  

When Meng Chang'an saw their identical, ambiguous smiles, she suddenly realized that the earlier scene must have been seen by these two. For a moment, she felt a little guilty.  

In her guilt, a red cloud slowly climbed up the Young Master's cheek.  

Without giving the Young Master a chance to shyly escape, Shu Yao had already pulled Shen Lingyun and approached them.  

"Yo, yo, yo, our 'Young Master' and 'Young Madam' are really loving, truly the envy of others."

Shu Yao's words were full of teasing and joking.  

With her playful gestures and winks, Meng Chang'an felt like her face became even warmer.  

Fortunately, the Princess, who was used to the world, remained unfazed even when Shu Yao teased them openly on the street. She only slightly squinted her eyes, smiled, and asked, "What? Are you envious?"  

After a brief pause, she casually glanced at Shen Lingyun, who was walking alongside Shu Yao, and then said meaningfully, "If you are capable, go find one yourself."

Shu Yao subconsciously turned her head to look at Shen Lingyun's expression. Seeing that she still wore the same smile as before, seemingly not hearing the hidden meaning in Li Qiubai's words, Shu Yao slightly relaxed and awkwardly touched her nose, smiling faintly.  

"Then I will pass on that. If I, like you, find someone clueless about romance, I might as well live alone."  

This stinky girl, her wings really have grown strong, huh? Even when finding excuses, she does not forget to drag my Young Master into it.  

Li Qiubai chuckled softly in response, glancing at Shu Yao but not bothering to argue with her. She simply shoved the mask and other items, which she had bought with the Young Master earlier, into her arms.  

"With such a venomous mouth, you deserve to be alone.”

Shu Yao: "..."

This imperial sister's heart is so biased...  

So, have I now shot myself in the foot?  

After Li Qiubai finished speaking, she did not care about Shu Yao's reaction. She directly took the Young Master and walked forward, pulling Shen Lingyun along with her. She felt completely at ease letting Shu Yao follow behind and do the hard work.  

Is this still her real sister?

With a helpless smile, Shu Yao did not resist. She simply followed behind Li Qiubai and the others, obediently following the Princess' intentions and playing the part of a hardworking, obedient little follower.  

In this way, the so-called "clueless" Young Master Meng finally realized what had just happened and asked blankly, "So, is she saying that I am clueless about romance?"  

Shen Lingyun could not help but laugh and added, "If you were to show some spirit in the future, then what she said would not apply to you."  

At this point, Meng Chang'an finally understood and pouted in grievance, glaring at Shu Yao. "Well, at least that is better than being a stiff who cannot even find someone clueless about romance."  

Oh, is this considered being angry and frustrated?

Seeing this, Shu Yao could not help but laugh. To prevent the Princess from speaking up in defense again, she quickly surrendered, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong, is that enough? I hope the Young Master will not hold this against me."  

Only then did Young Master Meng feel somewhat satisfied.  

Her gaze stayed for a moment on the half of Shu Yao's face that was exposed, before she turned her head away, her anger dissipating. However, just as she turned, she happened to meet the Princess' smiling face with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.  

In that instant, Meng Chang'an suddenly realized that this person's smile was so similar to Shu Yao's.  

It was almost identical...

Turning back repeatedly to glance at Shu Yao a few more times, Young Master Meng furrowed her brows, then tilted her head to secretly look at the Princess' smooth chin, slightly dazed.  

She hadn’t noticed any similarity between Shu Yao and the Princess before. After all, Shu Yao’s left face was often covered by a half-mask, making it hard to see her full appearance.  

But now, the Princess was also wearing a mask, which covered the upper half of her face. The exposed chin and smile of the Princess, at a glance, looked surprisingly similar to the half of Shu Yao's face that was visible.  

However, at this moment, Young Master Meng did not connect the Princess and Shu Yao’s identities. She was simply confused and thought to herself.  

Could it be that when the beauties' faces are partially covered by masks, they all start to look so alike?

Unfortunately, before Young Master Meng could clear her thoughts and figure out the key point, her train of thought was interrupted by someone approaching.  

Yuechu, who had been ahead, had already found the restaurant the Princess liked. After making arrangements, she hurried back to call the others to join the meal, completely unaware of the show she had missed.  

On the top floor of Linyuan Tower, the entire floor had already been booked by Yuechu. After leading them to the best private room, she took them inside.  

From the high building, it was easy to enjoy the scenery. Looking out of the window, the lower part of the city was clearly visible. Paired with a meal, it gave a unique flavor.

"I did not expect that even though we have arrived in Yucheng, it is not us who are showing hospitality, but rather Your Highness. I truly feel ashamed."

When Shen Lingyun spoke, the Princess was just feeding a piece of cake to the Young Master.

Upon hearing this, the Princess did not stop her movements, instead, she lightly smiled and replied, "Miss Lingyun, there is no need to be polite. I have long heard of the fame of Linyuan Tower. Unfortunately, I have always lived in the capital and never had the opportunity to visit. Today, this rare opportunity has come, so I brought you all along to accompany me, which also fulfills my wish. It should be me who thanks you all first."

At present, Shen Lingyun no longer appeared as cold and stiff when facing Li Qiubai as she had during their first meeting. After hearing this, a smile appeared on her face.

"Your Highness is truly joking. This little one was unaware that such an activity of accompanying someone for leisure could also be worthy of thanks."

Not wanting the two to continue this formal exchange, Shu Yao quickly interrupted, saying, "You two, why say there is no need for politeness, yet end up being more polite than the other?"

Unlike the invisible rift between the two, Shu Yao, sitting opposite the Princess, felt completely at ease. After personally refilling Shen Lingyun's tea and taking care of everything, she propped her chin and began observing the Young Master, who was frequently poking her head out the window.

Beside them, Yuechu saw how the two Princesses so naturally took over the task of serving people, even more skillfully than she, the little maid, would. She sighed softly, silently stopping herself from trying to refill tea or water for the Princesses.

Forget it, she thought. She would not compete with the Princesses for such a rare opportunity to show goodwill.

However, at this moment, Li Qiubai was unaware of Yuechu's strange thoughts. Following Shu Yao's gaze, she turned her head and easily noticed the curiosity and anticipation in the Young Master's eyes.

"What are you staring at?

As if wanting to see what the Young Master was so curious about, the Princess leaned in closely to her side, watching the view outside the window together.

Linyuan Tower was built beside the river, and outside the window was the city’s circular river.

If it were in the past, the only boats docked along the riverbank would have been flower boats rented by tourists for leisurely river trips.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too. 

However, it just so happened that today was the Lantern Festival. Therefore, the boats currently docked along the city river were the riverboats organized by the government to entertain for the night.

Each flower boat was adorned with large flower lanterns, about three or four people high, in all shapes and colors, strange and wonderful. Sitting high up, one glance was enough to reveal a breathtaking view.

According to the usual practice, the boats would later host various performance groups to entertain the citizens, such as musicians, actors, or dancing girls. But for now, it was still early, and only the empty flower boats and the guard soldiers were stationed by the riverbank.

Afraid that the Princess might fall while leaning like that, Meng Chang'an quickly extended a hand to wrap around the Princess' waist, allowing her to lean more comfortably on her. At the same time, she spoke up to share her thoughts with the Princess.

"This place is nice. We can even see the flower boats prepared by the government outside. It is a pity that it is still early, so we cannot enjoy the view of the lanterns. It would be so nice to sit here in the evening and watch the boats outside."

Noticing the subtle movement from the Young Master, the Princess' mood lightened even more. She did not hurry to return to her original position but instead stayed leaning on the Young Master, meeting her gaze filled with quiet anticipation. She chuckled softly and asked, "What is this? Did you not say yesterday that you were not interested in these things?"

Remembering how she had confidently claimed to be uninterested yesterday and how she had tried to stop the Princess from going out, Meng Chang'an felt embarrassed. Thinking further about how the Princess had persuaded her to go out with her despite her objections, Meng Chang'an became even more bashful. She quickly tried to deflect with a vague excuse.

"Let us talk about yesterday's matters another time. How could today’s mood be the same as yesterday’s?"

Sitting across from them, Shen Lingyun observed their intimate interaction with a smile, unable to hold back her laughter.

"Indeed, after all, our Young Master once said she was not interested in women. But what about now?"

Following Shen Lingyun's gaze toward the hand of the Young Master resting around Li Qiubai's waist, Shu Yao quickly nodded in agreement, adopting a serious expression as she echoed the Young Master's earlier words and teased along with Shen Lingyun.

"Indeed, who can say that today is the same as the past? Our Young Master's mood today cannot possibly be the same as before."

Meng Chang'an: "..."

What kind of evil had she done to provoke a group of people?

Author's Note:

Ahem, the author is alive. By the way, I bring a belated New Year greeting to everyone... Um, about the New Year's red envelopes I planned to send out, is it too late now? If not, then all the red envelopes for this chapter's comments are yours!

Apart from apologizing to everyone, the author can only once again say a sentence of thanks to the little cuties who have not abandoned and are still following the updates, especially to little comrade Yixian, a thousand thanks! Fortunately, there are still you all leaving comments for me, so I can persist and not abandon this pit...

The completion will definitely be smoothly finished, everyone do not worry, it might just take a little longer for the process...