Chapter 96: Your Highness Is Truly Lucky

Chapter 96: Your Highness Is Really Lucky

Xiao Yan walked over to the counter and looked down at the neatly arranged plates of dumplings.

"Why is this one broken?" he asked, pointing to the dumpling that Liu Qingci had pinched out of shape.

Liu Qingci glanced at it.

That was the one he had crushed in his panic when he first saw Xiao Yan.

The tips of his ears turned red again.

"... I accidentally pinched it," he said softly.

Xiao Yan looked at him, the corners of his lips curling up.

"Then I'll eat this one," he said.

Madam Liu turned her head from the stove to look at them, a gentle smile spreading across her lips.

She said nothing, only bringing over another plate of freshly rolled wrappers.

"Your Highness, why don't you take a seat and rest?" she said. "There's still plenty of filling; it'll be ready soon."

Xiao Yan hummed in acknowledgment and sat down on a chair nearby.

Liu Qinghe immediately rushed over, chattering like a little sparrow.

"Your Highness, do you know how to make dumplings?"

Xiao Yan looked down at her.

Did he?

In his past life, he liked to spend the New Year alone. He'd cooked plenty of frozen dumplings, but had never actually made them from scratch.

Liu Qingci paused his movements and looked over as well.

He saw Xiao Yan's brief hesitation and suddenly remembered who this man was.

Prince Yu, a man of noble and honored birth, raised in the palace from childhood. He had never done such ordinary things.

He was about to help Xiao Yan out of the awkward moment when Xiao Yan said flatly,

"No."

Liu Qinghe, being straightforward, started to chime in. "Me neither!"

"This is how our family has always spent every New Year!" She gestured, waving her hands in the air. "Mother mixes the filling, Father rolls the wrappers, Brother wraps the dumplings, and I'm in charge of eating! Today, you can just wait to eat with me, Your Highness!"

Liu Qingci let out a soft laugh. "Back then, you only caused trouble."

Liu Qinghe went on babbling. "Oh, oh, and every New Year, Mother wraps a copper coin in one dumpling! Whoever eats it will have good luck in the year ahead!"

She leaned in close to Xiao Yan, her eyes sparkling. "Your Highness, have you ever eaten a dumpling with a coin in it?"

Xiao Yan shook his head.

Liu Qingci watched from the side.

He felt as if he saw ... a hint of envy in Xiao Yan's eyes.

Envy?

Xiao Yan was born into royalty, the most favored prince. He had everything he wanted and could do as he pleased.

What could a person like that possibly envy?

Liu Qingci slowed his movements, his entire attention fixed on Xiao Yan's expression.

Xiao Yan's gaze was slightly dazed, actually listening seriously to Liu Qinghe's constant chatter.

"It's okay if you've never eaten one, Your Highness! Eat a few more today, and maybe you'll get the lucky coin! If you do, Your Highness will have really good luck next year!"

She chattered on and on, from the coin dumplings to last year's fireworks, and from the fireworks to the candied hawthorns her mother made.

Xiao Yan just listened, without a hint of impatience, never once interrupting.

Liu Qingci's heart suddenly went soft.

By the time the dumplings were dropped into the pot, the sky was already dark.

Fine snowflakes began to fall again outside the window, swirling and fluttering gently.

The kitchen pot bubbled and simmered, steam rising as the dumplings rolled around inside.

Finally, the dumplings were taken out.

Several plates of steaming dumplings were brought to the table, and all four of them sat around the table.

Madam Liu, smiling warmly, served the dumplings to the younger ones. The wrappers were thin and the filling generous, fragrant.

Liu Qingci reached his chopsticks into the plate and picked up a dumpling.

He paused, just as he was about to bring it to his own bowl.

He shifted his chopsticks, placing the dumpling into Xiao Yan's bowl.

Xiao Yan looked up at him in surprise.

Liu Qingci lowered his eyes, avoiding his gaze.

"Your Highness, have some more..."

Xiao Yan looked at the extra dumpling in his bowl.

It was round, white, and plump, and to him, it looked particularly lovely.

He picked it up.

Bit into it.

*Clink.*

His teeth hit something hard.

He looked down at it.

A copper coin lay quietly inside the dumpling.

Liu Qinghe was the first to react, jumping up abruptly: "His Highness got it! Prince Yu found the copper coin!"

Madam Liu also smiled, gazing warmly at him: "His Highness will surely have good fortune next year."

Xiao Yan stared blankly at the copper coin, then slowly let his gaze fall on Liu Qingci's face.

Liu Qingci looked back at him, his eyes warm with a smile, and said:

"Your Highness is truly lucky."

After the meal.

The New Year's Eve sky was filled with fireworks.

The sound of firecrackers came from all directions, lively and boisterous, as if to blast away all the year's bad luck.

Liu Qingci stood under the eaves, and he heard light footsteps behind him.

"Brother."

It was Liu Qinghe who had walked up to him.

Liu Qingci lowered his head.

"Brother," she called again, her voice very low, as if afraid someone might hear, "Did you do that on purpose just now?"

Liu Qingci's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Do what on purpose?" he asked.

"Don't pretend, brother." She leaned in closer, lowering her voice mysteriously, "The dumpling you gave to His Highness, the one with the copper coin inside, right?"

Liu Qingci said nothing.

Seeing that he didn't deny it, she got even more excited.

"I knew it. You've had nimble hands since you were a kid; you can tell the weight of anything just by holding it." She paused, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "So when you picked up that dumpling just now, you must have known it was heavier than the others!"

The tips of Liu Qingci's ears turned red.

He didn't admit or deny it.

He just reached out and ruffled Liu Qinghe's hair.

"Qinghe is very clever," he said softly.

Liu Qinghe, pleased with the compliment, suddenly remembered something else and tugged at his sleeve, asking:

"Brother, do you like Prince Yu?"

Liu Qingci's hand froze mid-motion.

Fireworks exploded overhead, golden rain cascading down, casting a faint blush over his face.

"Why is a kid asking about stuff like that?"

Liu Qinghe protested, "I'm not a kid anymore."

She winked slyly and suddenly grinned.

"I not only know you like Prince Yu, I also know... Prince Yu definitely likes you too!"

Liu Qingci's breath caught for a moment.

His voice was a bit flustered: "...What nonsense are you talking about, kid?"

Even though... even though last night they had...

But Xiao Yan had never said anything like that.

No matter what they had done, he had never forgotten his place when he entered Prince Yu's residence.

He didn't know what Xiao Yan really thought.

"I'm not talking nonsense!"

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Liu Qinghe suddenly lowered her voice, whispered mysteriously, "On his belt, right here..."

She pointed to the side of her own waist.

"There's a jade ring hanging from his belt, green jade, carved with bamboo leaves."

Liu Qingci's eyelashes fluttered gently; the light of the fireworks flickered across his face, making it hard to read his expression.

Liu Qinghe said, "I recognize that jade ring—it's the one you've always worn since you were a kid, brother!"

"Brother, you used to love it so much, and Mom even said... it was the one you'd give to your future wife!"