Lychees in Fengyi Palace

The moonlight glowed softly, and the palace lanterns shone bright.

The distance between them stretched from the empress's throne to the Chancellor's residence.

Yet someone refused to play by the rules.

Shangguan Mingyue hurried into Fengyi Palace, lifting her skirts. A few fallen petals from the imperial garden clung to her hair, and her eyes shone as if she had stolen the stars. "Elder Sister Empress, I brought you some newly presented lychees. They've been chilled, so hurry and try one!"

Ouyang Yanran set down her brush and smiled helplessly. "How many times have I told you to call me Her Majesty the Empress?"

"Oh." Shangguan Mingyue answered obediently, but the next moment she was already beside her, holding a lychee to her lips. "Then, Your Majesty, let me feed you."

Before long, this became routine.

Whenever she came, she always had some excuse: newly acquired spices, pastries made by the imperial chefs, or even just a begonia that had recently bloomed in the corridor.

"Elder Sister Empress, may I join you for a meal?"

"Elder Sister Empress, look at the sachet I just embroidered. Doesn't it look like a pair of mandarin ducks?"

Ouyang Yanran always answered coolly, but never truly sent her away.

The rain came suddenly that night.

Shangguan Mingyue stumbled through the door, reeking of alcohol. Without a care, she grabbed the corner of that bright yellow robe and forced Ouyang Yanran back step by step, until the latter's back met a carved pillar in the palace hall.

Their breaths mingled, closer than propriety allowed.

She raised her reddened eyes and gazed at the stunned face just inches away. Her voice was as quiet as a murmur in a dream:

"Elder Sister Empress..."

"I miss you so much."

The air froze for a moment.

Ouyang Yanran's lashes trembled, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks, yet she struggled to maintain her dignity.

"How dare you? Let go of me at once."

But the hand gripping her sleeve did not move an inch.

That night in Fengyi Palace, someone watched over the figure passed out drunk, sitting alone until dawn.

Later, the history books recorded: The virtuous empress and the Chancellor's daughter had been close companions since childhood, with a profound bond between them.

No one knew that in the lonely silence of the deep palace, there had once been a moment when someone crossed the line between sovereign and subject, just to steal a moment of tenderness that should never have been theirs.

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