Where is he?

The crown princess felt a jerk in her sleep. She gradually opened her eyes and realized that she fell asleep while doing the work. Her left arm was on the table in front of her on which her head was rested. She sat up straight and turned to look.

Court Lady Xu and the maidservants were sitting on the floor but they were sleeping. Ying Lili turned her head left, saw Bao Ling was also sleeping in the sitting position. In the workshop, the workers had left already as it was late. Ying Lili picked the overcoat from the table and looked at the design which she made.

'Only two ears' of the tiger could the crown princess make. Ying Lili took a deep sigh. "I could not even make these ears good. I had never thought that hand embroidery would be so tough," Ying Lili put aside the overcoat and looked at her fingers. "I have never been pricked so much until today," Ying Lili murmured as she touched her fingers.

She stood up from the seat and walked out from there. Gazing at the night sky, the crown princess spoke, "Can I not gift him something else? Bao Ling took a year to draw simple patterns. How can her majesty expect me to draw the pattern in just two nights? That's impossible." The annoyance was visible on Ying Lili's face.

The guards standing there looked at the crown princess who was talking to herself. "Why am I even doing this? It is not like we are husband and wife. So, what is the auspicious thing hidden in it?" Ying Lili wondered. "But, if I will not make it, then her majesty will scold me. Not only that, Sheng Li will get a chance to taunt me," Ying Lili mumbled.

"Pardon me, your highness for intruding your thoughts. Her highness shall go inside as it is late at night," one guard came to Ying Lili and told this. Ying Lili turned to look at him and found the guard had bowed his head.

"But it is the Palace so, there is nothing to be scared about," Ying Lili opined. "I am coming in a while. Do not follow me," Ying Lili with a stern expression told the guard. The guard bowed his head but still gathering his courage spoke, "Her highness shall not go alone. I might get punished for this later," the guard anxiously spoke.

"No one will punish you. I just want to talk a walk then, I have to resume the needlework. You shall go back to your place," Ying Lili proclaimed. The guard could not defy the order of the crown princess so, went back to his place and stood there.

Ying Lili descended the stairs and was now at the bottom of the stairs. Ying Lili looked around and turned left. The crown princess was walking through the passage and realized that there were few guards posted in that part of the Palace.

The fire torches had illuminated the passage, so it was not difficult for her to walk when she saw someone running from left to right. Ying Lili halted at her place. "Who was that?" Ying Lili wondered and again started walking but with quiet steps. She turned to the same path where she had seen the man was running earlier.

But as the crown princess kept walking on that path, she found that there was a giant wall and that was a dead end. Ying Lili looked at her left and right but saw nothing. "It is impossible for someone to climb this wall," Ying Lili thought. "So, I was hallucinating?" Ying Lili questioned herself.

The crown princess turned to go when her shoe hit against something. She stepped back and looked down. Ying Lili bent on her knees and found a metallic round object. "An imperial seal?" Lily murmured as she picked it up and stood up.

"Shall I tell Sheng Li about this?" Ying Lili thought as she looked at the seal. She again turned towards the wall. "That man was definitely here, but where did he vanish to?" There were doubts in Ying Lili's mind, but there were no answers for them.

Ying Lili turned back on that passage and came out from there. She was going back to the workshop, but then she halted. "I shall tell this to Sheng Li," Ying Lili told herself and went towards the Eastern side of the Palace.

As she came out of the western Palace corridor, the guards bowed their heads in front of her. "Your highness, may I ask where are you heading to at this late-night?" the chief guard at the main gate of Western Palace side asked the crown princess.

"To the crown prince's Manor. I am sleepy," Ying Lili replied.

"Let us escort her highness," the chief guard told Ying Lili who nodded. The chief guard gestured to the other guards to ready a palanquin for the crown princess, which they did swiftly.

Ying Lili got into the palanquin, and the eight guards carried it up. In a while, Ying Lili was in the Manor of the crown prince. She stepped out of the palanquin and quickly ascended the stairs to go towards the chamber of the crown prince.

A soldier saw the crown princess coming there so, he quickly informed Xing-Fu who was seated outside the study room and was asleep. "Master Xing-Fu," the soldier shook lightly the shoulder of Xing-Fu who woke up.

With half-opened eyes, Xing-Fu asked the soldier why he woke him up at that late night. "The crown princess is here," the soldier told Xing-Fu who immediately stood up from the wooden floor.

Wiping off the drool from his mouth, Xing-Fu turned when he saw the crown princess had come there. He ran towards her and bowed his head. "Your highness, may I ask why are you here this late? Is everything okay?" Xing-Fu worriedly asked and looked behind the crown princess, but there was no one. "What about her highness maidservants?" Xing-Fu further asked.

"I want to meet the crown prince," Ying Lili softly said.

"Forgive me, your highness, but, his highness has given strict orders of not letting anyone come to his highness' study room. Her highness can tell me then, I will pass the message to his highness as soon as he will awake," Xing-Fu assured the crown princess.

"Let me go inside," Ying Lili affirmed.

"Your highness, forgive me but I cannot let you go in. Furthermore, it is late so, it not suitable for her highness to be here at this hour. Let me escort her highness back to Zhenzhu Inn," Xing-Fu offered.

Ying Lili did not listen to him and stepped ahead. She had her hand on the door and she glanced at Xing-Fu. "It is important," saying this Ying Lili opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind her.

As Ying Lili closed the door, she thought about what was the crown prince doing in the study room when he should be in his resting chamber. She turned and stepped ahead when she saw the desk was empty. "Where is he?" Ying Lili muttered under her breath and walked further inside. As the crown princess passed by the bookshelves, she saw the crown prince was sitting against the support of the bookshelf with a notebook in his lap.

Ying Lili walked to him and bent on her knees. She peered at the notebook in Sheng Li's lap. There was no title written in the notebook. Usually, the notebooks used to have a title written at the front but this had none which amused Ying Lili. She gawked at Sheng Li and found the tears near his eyes' edges.

Ying Lili's eyes widened because this was shocking for her. 'A person like Sheng Li could never cry but he would make other people cry'- Ying Lili used to think this until now, at this moment. She lifted her hand but, then pulled it back.

~~~~~

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