"I remember now!" she exclaimed, startling the other three.
Su Yunmo frowned, "Qianxue, if you're too tired, go back to the carriage and sleep. Don't talk in your sleep here."
She was scaring them with her sudden outbursts.
Qianxue's excitement didn't diminish despite being chided. She lowered her voice slightly, "No, Your Highness, I remember where I've seen the glazed lock before."
She turned to Ye Jingyu, "My Lord, isn't this your token of love?"
Su Yunmo blinked and looked at the person sitting beside her.
Was it true? Was this item so common?
Ye Jingyu also frowned and glanced at Qianxue, "You really should go back and get some sleep."
What nonsense was she talking.
"It really is! My Lord, you were very young then. Consort Liang once gave you the same glazed lock, saying it was your protective charm."
As Qianxue reminded him, a vague image surfaced in Ye Jingyu's mind.
Back then, his mother consort hadn't been confined to the cold palace.
Once, she had given him an item, saying it was from his future wife, and that the person who held a similar glazed lock would be his destined one.
However, he was young then and disliked such talk, feeling it was beneath him to be chosen by a girl. But since it was a protective charm, he couldn't just throw it away.
So, he sealed it in a pouch and wore it always. Because he had never opened the pouch since, he had long forgotten what was inside.
Seeing her Lord's expression, Qianxue knew he remembered, "I am a few years older than Your Highness, so I remember seeing it that one time."
"But later, when Consort Liang was banished to the cold palace, didn't you secretly visit her and give her the pouch?"
Yet, when he sent people to clean the cold palace, he hadn't found the glazed lock.
"It really exists," Su Yunmo exclaimed in surprise, then furrowed her brow, utterly perplexed. "It shouldn't. A glazed lock should be a unique treasure."
If it could store items and cultivate medicinal herbs, and if there were more of them in the world, it would cause chaos.
"Lord Wu was charged with embezzlement back then," Ye Jingyu reminded her.
He understood. Consort Liang, neglected in the cold palace, might have had her valuables stolen by a greedy eunuch who then sold them outside the palace.
It was merely a coincidence that Lord Wu had acquired it as a treasure.
When the Wu manor was raided, a young lady like Wu Qian would certainly not want to become a beggar. When leaving the manor, she would most likely have hidden some items.
She had hidden the glazed lock, but being timid, she dared not sell it. After all, the item clearly wasn't ordinary, and she feared being discovered and getting into trouble.
She remembered that A Cai was able to find her back then because the glazed lock, unlike other jade artifacts, was highly recognizable.
"Then how did you get this one?"
Ye Jingyu pondered for a moment. "It's not two pieces, it's one. When you died..."
"Cough cough!" Su Yunmo glared at him.
Ye Jingyu, exasperated by her pickiness, changed his words, "Qianxue investigated. When your body from the Marquis's manor was buried, that glazed lock vanished into thin air."
Su Yunmo touched her chin.
Zi Yuan had also told her that the glazed lock was not seen during the burial.
Working backward, the glazed lock had somehow split into two pieces, one in Su Yunmo's possession at the Marquis's manor, and the other with Consort Liang.
Other items might not experience such a phenomenon, but the glazed lock certainly could.
However, the specific reason for its division would likely only be clear once Consort Liang recovered.
Su Yunmo smacked her lips, then suddenly crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I almost became your princess consort, aren't you happy?"
Qianxue's eyelids twitched, and she instinctively looked at her Lord, feeling nervous for him.
Ye Jingyu silently averted his gaze and said nothing, but the tips of his ears turned red involuntarily.
It was the first time Su Yunmo had seen him act so bashful. After a moment of stunned silence, she threw a pastry at him.
"I was only six years old, and you still dared to have ideas? You beast!"
Ye Jingyu was hit squarely in the face with the pastry. Uncharacteristically, he didn't get angry and brushed off the crumbs.
However, his movements somehow conveyed a sense of grievance.
She was the one who had asked.
Qianxue couldn't help but chuckle. Su Yunmo raised her hand and threw another pastry at her head.
Both mistress and servant bore the marks.
As the three of them were playfully bickering, none of them noticed Consort Liang's gaze towards them gradually softening with affection, her expression no longer vacant but calm.
A small stone flew and hit the window.
Su Yunmo turned her head and saw Ye Jingguang perched on the wall, making faces at her.
She rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with him.
Ye Jingguang immediately puffed out his cheeks, somewhat indignantly, and picked up another small stone to throw.
Su Yunmo tutted and jumped off the bed, "I'll go see."
Ye Jingyu grunted and didn't stop her. After Su Yunmo left, he let out a slight sigh, a flicker of suppressed panic flashing in his eyes.
Qianxue, witnessing this clearly, was inwardly delighted.
Her Lord usually hid all his emotions, but today was truly rare. It seemed he had finally realized the nature of his feelings for the young lady.
While Ye Jingyu was calming his nerves, Ye Jingguang craned his neck to look inside.
A moment later, Su Yunmo emerged, holding a stone as large as a water vat. As she stepped out of the courtyard, she hurled it.
"Ah!" Ye Jingguang shrieked and quickly rolled to dodge, forgetting he was on the wall. He fell straight down, landing face-first.
He clutched his backside, rolling on the ground and wailing, "You're too ruthless! What if you had actually hit me?"
Su Yunmo brushed the dirt off her hands, "You deserved it."
Was this child's hand itching for trouble?
"If you're here, come inside. Why are you throwing stones at windows?"
Ye Jingguang pouted aggrievedly, patted the dirt off himself, and stood up. "I didn't dare. Third Brother is here."
He heard Little Wu say that Third Brother disliked others playing with Mo Mo. Yet, he himself played happily with Mo Mo.
Third Brother was truly overbearing.
Su Yunmo didn't understand the reason and simply assumed that Ye Jingyu's usual stern demeanor made him seem unapproachable to Ye Jingguang. "Did you need something?"
"I'll take you to see someone." Ye Jingguang's eyes lit up, and he excitedly grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
Su Yunmo was dragged to the back garden.
Ye Jingguang pulled her behind a large rock and pointed towards the corridor, "Look."
Su Yunmo looked up. A sedan chair carried by four people was approaching from the opposite direction.
A child sat in the sedan chair. The girl looked about her age, with two pigtails sticking straight up. Her eyes were bright and lively, making her very cute.
But the problem was, according to palace rules, only the Emperor could travel in a sedan chair. Even the consorts in the harem did not have this privilege.
"She's my cousin, a little girl who just returned a couple of days ago. I heard her father is the very powerful King Zhenbian, renowned on the battlefield. He might even be more formidable than your father."
Su Yunmo frowned, disliking hearing comparisons that made someone seem more formidable than her father. "What does that have to do with me?"