Chapter 814: Chapter 812: Who Is This Person?

Ye Xinyan gave Zhou Biyao a playful glance: “Biyao, why are you being so silly? It’s actually more convenient to wander around when it’s unfinished. Once the garden is completed, it will be handed over to Prince Yu’s Mansion. Trying to visit it then means having to send an invitation, and how we play around will depend on the owner’s mood. Right now, we can head over as we’re inspecting the construction we’re working on ourselves. How righteous and free that feels, understand?”

Oh, that’s true indeed. Zhou Biyao quickly nodded, admiring how quickly Elder Sister Qi could think, realizing she still needs to learn more.

Ye Xinyan smiled triumphantly at Zhou Biyao, full of anticipation for the garden’s enchanting beauty she loved.

This is Huanxiu Mountain Villa, a scenery she loves. She managed to bring the beauty of a thousand years forward to this era, this space. To play around from time to time counts as a kind of longing and remembrance for the homeland she once knew.

Skyscrapers, neon lights, the colorful and diverse world, she cannot see it now, but admiring such natural beauty offers a kind of solace for her heart.

Upon arriving at Chang Garden without any obstacles, Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao, along with their maids, alighted from their two carriages on the open ground inside the gate, stepping down with the aid of stools.

Li Jingnian, who was in charge of the construction, hurriedly came up to greet them: “Miss Ye, Second Miss Zhou, are you here to inspect the construction? How lucky that His Highness Prince Yu recently came by as well to check the garden’s progress; he’s been inside for a while now.”

Ye Xinyan nodded, subconsciously remarking, “He sure is anxious.” Then she waved at Li Jingnian, saying, “The Second Miss and I will just take a tour here and casually see how the garden is coming along. Go on with your business, don’t let us delay you.”

Li Jingnian hurriedly bowed and stepped aside, respectfully watching them head deeper into the garden.

Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao, each accompanied by a maid, followed the already-built corridors, enjoying the scenery along the way.

Now it was late autumn, and the transplanted trees had shed their leaves; even if there were a few left on the branches, they were all dry and yellow. Yet, the pool in the garden still mirrored the buildings and tree branches, and the pavilions and kiosks remained exquisitely serene and beautiful. Even the ground covered with yellow leaves offered a unique charm, not detracting from Chang Garden’s scenic beauty.

Zhou Biyao hadn’t been here for a long time, so the last time she visited, the complete view hadn’t yet formed. As she walked, she couldn’t help but praise continuously, “Truly deserving of its reputation, it’s a step-by-step beauty overload.”

This garden is smaller than Guan He’s, which originally made it difficult to create an intricate beauty, but thanks to cleverly planned layouts, they have merged rockeries, lake stones, pools, trees, and buildings as a whole. The interplay of the rockeries and pools gives it a unique and diverse beauty, worthy of the description ‘scene changes with every step.’

Ye Xinyan had always been fond of such gardens, and after meticulously restoring her memory, she could say she was intimately familiar with this one’s scenery.

Zhou Biyao might not recall as clearly as Ye Xinyan, but she understood the garden’s structure well enough, though lacking firsthand experience and direct perception.

As the four continually walked and marveled, they eventually reached the central scenic area of the garden, exiting the corridor to be greeted by a layered, enchanting rockery immediately catching the eye. Though artificial, the layered stones, caves, and folds in those rockeries meshed together, closely resembling nature itself.

“Oh my, it’s so beautiful!” Zhou Biyao exclaimed.

Ye Xinyan gave her a sideways glance, thinking this is a rockery, maybe it deserves a different word of praise? Second Miss Zhou, you seem to have a limited vocabulary.

Zhou Biyao likely felt that description was inappropriate and amended her words, “Like, uh, layers of mountains and waters towering majestically?”

Ye Xinyan was taken aback, alright, it turns out Second Miss Zhou is quite cultured after all, at least one of those words is something she’s never heard before.

This rockery was built exquisitely, with two shadowed valleys dividing the main mountain body into three parts in a T-shape. The peaks and valleys seem myriad, while the caves inside are ethereal. Even though the mountain is divided, its style and momentum remain consistent, making it pleasing to the eye.

Ye Xinyan and the others wandered along the valleys, appreciating the sights, only diverting their gaze from the rockery once they reached its rear, looking towards the back of the mountain.

Behind the mountain, by the water, there’s a small pavilion built against the mountain, with a petite cliff and stone pond beside it, offering picturesque scenery akin to a painting. Remarkably, the pavilion holds several people dressed in ancient attire, whose demeanor blends seamlessly with the surrounding ‘picture-like’ scenery, giving the garden’s sights a sense of liveliness… oh, wait a minute…

Ye Xinyan suddenly snapped awake; she was immersing herself too deeply into the act. In the ancient occupants’ domain, if modern people in strange garb were seated instead, that would indeed be terrifying.

The person sitting there was Jinrong, no mistake, but who was sitting at the foremost seat above Jinrong???

Damn, her luck couldn’t get much worse. Could she still enjoy some proper tourism?

Afterward, she heard Zhou Biyao beside her exclaim surprisedly, “So His Highness Prince Yu really is here?”

Ye Xinyan silently gazed at Zhou Biyao; seeing Jinrong isn’t particularly surprising, right? What’s crucial is whether they should pretend not to notice those people and turn back.

She hadn’t really thought she would bump into Jinrong. Although Chang Garden isn’t large, its winding path makes it non-trivial, so casual wandering wouldn’t necessarily lead them to meet.

Who could have thought Jinrong and his group chose a spot to sit and rest? One party stays still while the other roams the scenic area, the encounter becomes inevitable. Such luck… unbeatable.

Yet Zhou Biyao, being quite chatty, continued to express her surprise: “Huh? Who’s that sitting at Prince Yu’s forefront? What kind of person can sit above the prince?”

Ye Xinyan felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead; Second Miss Zhou, are you honestly okay with saying any sort of thing? You’re curious about who could sit before the prince—just by age, doesn’t anyone come to mind?

Perhaps it’s better to pretend not to see them; people in a father’s son’s tour of their garden certainly would dislike disturbance by outsiders. Ye Xinyan immediately finalized her intent.

The emperor was now in civilian clothes, and Ye Xinyan recognized the eunuch beside him, who’s also dressed in common servants’ attire rather than as an inner servant.

Since the emperor is traveling incognito, she might as well see them as ordinary people.

Ye Xinyan softly said to Zhou Biyao, “Let’s do a courtesy and quickly leave.” As she spoke, she curtsied towards the pavilion.

While Zhou Biyao had yet to realize one of those with Jinrong was the emperor, she naturally wouldn’t voluntarily approach the prince, thus obediently curtsied towards Jinrong and company, following Ye Xinyan to retreat.

Unexpectedly, just two steps back, the incognito emperor waved in their direction: “Miss Ye, aren’t you? Since you’re here, isn’t it improper to leave without exchanging words, come over please.”

Zhou Biyao looked at Ye Xinyan, thinking who is this uncle with such impolite words? What did he mean by ‘improper to leave without exchanging words’? Isn’t he aware of the social etiquette separating men and women?

Moreover, she nearly knew everyone familiar with Elder Sister Qi, and this person clearly had no resemblance to any of Elder Sister Qi’s kin, did he?

Zhou Biyao cast an extremely displeased glance toward the emperor, Ye Xinyan gave a casual backward glance and was frightened by the displeasure showing in Zhou Biyao’s eyes. Hastily, she concealed her hands behind her back, wildly waving to Zhou Biyao, signaling her to be cautious.