Princess and the General

Sparse Shadows Over the Shallow Water (Part Three)

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The center of the garden was open and spacious.

This place was originally a place that everyone in Marquis Gu’s Manor frequently visited.
Regardless of the season, it would have many colorful flowers.

Hundreds of flowers bloomed during spring, and lotuses began to appear during summer.

Frost would cover the chrysanthemums during autumn, and snow fights to cover the fragrance of plums during winter.

As for the present, it was a period where it was empty.
The chrysanthemums had already withered, but the plums had not yet bloomed.
As a result, the garden looked very depressing.

Gu JiuGe stood beneath the barren plum branches while feeling lost.

Suddenly, he noticed a girl in white clothes walk out from behind a nearby plum tree.
She looked like she would be knocked over by a gust of wind.

“Sparse shadows over the shallow water, as a subtle fragrance floats about under the moon at dusk.”

She had recited a verse from Lin Bu’s Little Plum Blossoms in a Mountain Garden in a deliberately normal tone that slightly resembled Yu Fu’s voice.

He could not stop himself from laughing.

The girl was startled by his laughter and turned to look at him.
Her face was quite nice and had a hint of a cold temperament.

“What are you laughing at?”

She did not ask who he was.
She only asked what he was laughing at.
It was evident that she knew who he was.

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Gu JiuGe slightly raised his eyebrow but could not remember who she was.

“I am laughing because the plums have not yet blossomed, so there are no shadows.
It’s also the middle of the day, so there is no moon at dusk.
Young miss, that poem you just recited truly does not fit the occasion.”

So that was the case.

The girl in white slightly smiled and slowly walked toward him.

“Just the word ‘over’ is enough.
I was unable to think of a better way to describe the plum branches.”

In Lin Bu’s poem, the word “over” was describing the plum branch’s unbridled nature.
The plum branch looks unbridled and formless, but it has a unique character.

Gu JiuGe smiled, “It seems that young miss has a carefree disposition.”

The two were chatting warmly when a few girls suddenly walked into the garden.

“Second young sir, what a coincidence.
You’re also here?”

When the girls saw Gu JiuGe, their eyes immediately lit up, as they quickly walked over to him.

It was only after getting to his side that they noticed there was another girl already there.
She was beautiful and thin, but her clothes were a little plain.

“Who is this girl? Why have I never seen her before?”

A young miss in colorful clothes impolitely began to size her up.

To wear such plain clothes, she definitely was not the daughter of a prominent family.
She was definitely not someone who could be placed in the spotlight yet wanted to seduce Gu JiuGe!

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“We’ve never seen her before either.”

The young misses behind her also shook their heads and looked at the girl in white with bad intentions.

A girl from a small family wanted to seduce a young sir of Marquis Gu’s Manor?

Fat chance!

“My name is Yin JiYao.
I…”

Aside from Prime Minister Yin, there were no other officials with the surname Yin.

They had never heard of Prime Minister Yin having a daughter.
It seemed that this girl really was someone who could not be placed in the spotlight.

When Gu JiuGe heard her name, he was a little surprised.

He had heard that Yin Shuo had come with his younger sister.
Thinking about it, it was likely to be Yin JiYao.

“I’ve never heard your name before.
What are you and the second young sir doing? A lone man and a lone woman today in a secluded place, Miss Yin is too lacking in self-respect.”

“I…”

Before Yin JiYao could provide an explanation, another girl said: “That’s right.
Do you know just how many girls in the capital look up to the second young sir? How could your lowly family possibly have a chance!”

When girls became unkind, their words became vicious.

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The sight of a group of girls gathered around to attack a weak girl was not one that any man could see and just watch from the side.

“Would the young misses please have some discretion? If my guess is correct, this young miss would be the daughter of Prime Minister Yin, right?”

Gu JiuGe suddenly spoke up, and the girls who were acting high and mighty instantly became dazed.

“How could that be possible… You’re Prime Minister Yin’s daughter?”

“I am.
Before I could finish speaking, you cut me off.”

Yin JiYao miserably pursed her lips.
Thinking about it, she had a weak disposition.
Standing there and listening to them speak to her like that, she would not know how to respond.

It was fortunate that Gu JiuGe was present.

The girls looked at each other.
After verifying Yin JiYao’s identity, their faces turned a multitude of colors, which was really quite a sight to see.

“So, so you were young miss Yin.
I’m truly sorry.
We’ve never met you before.”

The girl at the front had an awkward expression.
The one who had said that Yin JiYao was lacking in self-respect was her.

Yin JiYao said: “I was born with a frail body.
Father very rarely let me go out, thus you would not recognize me.
I, however, recognize you.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival’s imperial banquet, were you not sitting behind the fifth captain’s madam?”

She looked at the girl, and she really was the young miss of the fifth captain’s family.

“Yes… I am from the fifth captain’s family.
I truly am sorry, young miss Yin.
We didn’t do it on purpose.”

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If they knew earlier that she was Prime Minister Yin’s darling daughter, who would dare to brazenly try to provoke her?

Just as Yin JiYao was about to say something, Gu JiuGe cut her off with a smile.
His charming eyes and smile were intoxicating.

“Young miss Yin, how about we let this matter go for my sake.
The young misses did not do it on purpose.
You rarely go out, and it would be good to have a few more friends in the future.”

“That’s right, that’s right.
Young miss Yin, we can be friends!”

Not only had those girls found a way out of their predicament, but they would also be able to become friends with Yin JiYao.
They were all very happy.

Yin JiYao glanced at Gu JiuGe and bit her lip before smiling at the girls.

This could be considered an agreement.

After those girls left, she quietly complained to Gu JiuGe, “I was bullied, and I would have accepted if you had spoken up to help me, but you helped the people who bullied me and made it so that I can’t even pursue this matter.”

Her tender voice had a plaintive tone, but it would be more accurate to describe it as a flirtatious grumbling.

Gu JiuGe suddenly became spirited, “It would be easy for you to fault them, and they can’t afford to offend the prime minister’s manor.
It’s just that you very rarely go out, so this would make you have even fewer friends.
I mediated the situation for you like a good person, so will you not accept it?”

Yin JiYao looked up, and her eyes met with his charming eyes.
Her heart instantly became frantic.

She wanted to avert her gaze, but she had been caught in a vortex and could not move.

Suddenly, someone rushed over, “Second young sir, Western Kun’s seventh prince broke into the study and was caught on the spot by Lord Marquis!”

TN: Title is a line in a poem by Lin Bu from the Northern Song dynasty titled “Little Plum Blossoms in a Mountain Garden”