Under Lu Fusu's urging, Shui Xinyuan slowly stood up. Then she was led to a chair in the corner and sat down with Lu Fusu.
"I understand that everyone is worried because I am the prince, but now there are only you and me, and no one will blame you, so just relax."
"...Does it make you feel lonely if others care about you?"
"Well, it's very lonely."
Shui Xinyuan looked closely at Lu Fusu's face, and his expression was still gentle.
"His Royal Highness, will you also feel lonely?"
"Does Miss Water feel lonely too?"
"Um."
She could pretend that she was not lonely, but when she saw Lu Fusu, she felt that there was no need to tell this lie.
"I just felt lonely, so I wanted to see the moon. I thought the moon here might be the same as the one I saw in my hometown."
"It is the same?"
"..."
Shui Xinyuan shook his head.
"The moon I saw in my hometown felt relatively close...the moon here...is so far away."
"Where is your hometown?"
"Qidu Town."
"Qidu Town...Liuzhou, so you came here by water with your family?"
"I came alone."
Lu Fusu opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"one person?"
"The gods were not kind and there was no harvest in the fields, so I...I was sold here."
"Sold? To whom?"
"Human traffickers, and then they are sold to the capital."
"..."
Lu Fusu's eyes were still wide open, his brows were furrowed, and his expression was serious.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"What's going on? If the harvest in the fields fails, do we have to sell our sons and daughters?"
"My family is a tenant farmer. If we can't pay the grain, we have to use money to pay the rent. But my family has no money, so..."
When Shui Xinyuan came to the capital from the countryside of Liuzhou, he was also shocked by the grandeur and splendor of the capital.
Being here, it was hard to imagine that his poor hometown and the capital city were on the same land. Therefore, Shui Xinyuan could understand Lu Fusu's surprise.
"There have been constant natural disasters in recent years. I did hear that crops were failing in various places. I didn't expect it to be this bad. This..."
"This is not a rare thing. Six people were sold in our village this autumn, but they were sold to different places... Oh, sorry, I forgot to change my story again. If I do, I will be scolded again in the shop. Hmm.
, that, is traded to different places.”
"..."
Lu Fusu looked serious and fell into deep thought.
"I'm sorry, I, did I say something wrong?"
"No..." Lu Fusu looked up blankly, then shook his head, "Miss Shui, how old are you this year?"
"Thirteen."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Four brothers and three sisters, I am the eldest."
"That's why you... left the village?"
"Um."
Shui Xinyuan felt that Lu Fusu's face became serious as soon as the topic came to her, so she said in a cheerful tone as much as possible: "But I didn't expect that I would have the opportunity to come to the capital. The traffickers initially planned to send me to a certain place.
I was in a brothel, and while they were discussing, a big dog rushed into the house. I was so scared that I ran away, but the trafficker said: 'I didn't see it, you are quite smart, why don't you sell me to dance in the palace'."
"I see..." Lu Fusu nodded, his expression finally relaxed a little, "It seems that your escape must have been quite exciting."
"That's right! That dog was so ferocious and barked so hard. I've never seen such a scary dog. It jumped on the table all of a sudden."
"Your body is really nimble, so you are practicing dancing now?"
"…Yes."
Seeing that Shui Xinyuan's reply voice suddenly became softer, Lu Fusu moved his face closer to hers.
"What's wrong? Don't you like dancing?"
"I like...dancing, but..."
"But?"
"But I'm a bad dancer..."
"Very bad?"
Just being dexterous does not mean that you can coordinate well with the music. Everyone danced beautifully, but I seemed to be shaking my sleeves. As a result, I was laughed at by the other palace girls every day.
"They often say I look like a little tanuki..."
"Raccoon cat? Who said such a thing?"
"They were right..."
She is thin and small, with a round face and big eyes. She looks like a little civet cat that got lost from the countryside. This is what makes her the most laughed at besides her dancing.
"I didn't expect so many people to be so dishonest. Shui Xinyuan, before you entered the palace, had you ever practiced dancing?"
"No."
"How long have you been in the palace?"
"Two months...a little more."
Lu Fusu smiled, but it was definitely not a contemptuous smile.
"In this case, there is no need to care about whether you dance well or not. The Jiaofangsi are all palace dancers who are more senior than you, and some of them have been dancing since they were young. It's just two months before you have to compete with those seniors. This is too much.
How pitiful."
"……Pitiful?"
"If you don't hate dancing, you don't need to care about others. You may not be able to catch up with them right away, but as long as you believe in yourself and practice diligently, one day you will be better than anyone else. It's just the beginning now, it shouldn't be so fast.
Just give up.”
Shui Xinyuan lowered his head and only looked up, secretly peeping at Lu Fusu.
Under the moonlight, that smiling face remained steady.
"Really……"
"Um?"
"Will it really make progress?"
"Of course, my mother was also a palace actress in the past. What she was good at was not dancing but singing. However, I heard that she could not sing well at the beginning of her studies and often forgot her songs. It was very hard. But in my life
In my memory, the queen mother sang very movingly, and the water girl must also be able to dance wonderfully."
So gentle, such a gentle person...
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Don't be so outspoken. Just call me Lu Fusu, Miss Shui."
"...Lu Fusu, Your Highness."
Shui Xinyuan raised his head this time and looked directly into Lu Fusu's eyes.
"When one day I can dance very well, will you like to watch me dance?"
I don’t know how many years it will take, but as long as it’s for this person...
"In order to dance the best dance in front of His Highness Fusu, I will definitely learn it and be able to..."
Lu Fusu nodded heavily with a smile.
"Really? I'll wait and see."
"Okay...I will try my best!"
It doesn't matter how much you are laughed at, one day you will definitely...
Strong wind blows.
The bright moon dimmed instantly, and when I raised my head, faint clouds drifted by.
"It's time for you to go back..." After muttering, Lu Fusu stood up and said, "The return trip is a little dark, so I'll see you off."
"Hey, how can this be done..."
"This is Donghe Hall, do you know how to get back to the Jiaofang?"
"..."
Shui Xinyuan ran out unconsciously. In fact, he had almost never left the Jiaofang, and he didn't know how far it was from the Jiaofang.
"It's not too far, don't worry."
"good……"
After leaving the roofed area, he immediately felt the cold wind. Shui Xinyuan shrank his neck and noticed that he had been wearing Lu Fusu's robe.
"Ah, His Highness Fusu, this..."
"It's okay, just return it to me when you return to the workshop."
"But……"
"Be careful this time, don't step on the hem of your clothes."
"good."
Shui Xinyuan walked slowly while paying attention to her steps, and Lu Fusu also walked slowly forward in line with her pace.
The wind blew away the clouds and the moonlight fell down again.
I really don’t want to go back…
Shui Xinyuan, who was half a step behind Lu Fusu, thought this way.