The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 203: I miss you, come let your husband give you a hug (second update)

Chapter 203: I miss you, come let your husband give you a hug (second update)

Li Xianyun snuggled into Yelu Yan’s embrace, finding a comfortable position to lie down.

Yelu Yan kissed her cheek and the root of her ear, his tiger-like eyes deep and contemplative.

From now on, he would never let Li Xianyun encounter any danger.

...

The next morning, Li Xianyun indulged in a long, luxurious sleep.

In the past few days, Li Xianyun had gotten up early for affairs outside the palace. Today, she planned to carefully arrange the palace banquet for the Eighth Month Festival and had no intention of going out, which gave her plenty of time.

When Li Xianyun awoke, she did not wish to get up but instead lay on the bed with her eyes gently closed, her three thousand strands of hair falling over her shoulders, making her look even more charming and adorable.

In a state between sleep and wakefulness, someone pushed the door open and came in.

Li Xianyun thought it was Zhuo Ma and Youlan, she turned her head still with eyes closed, her thick and long eyelashes fluttering gently like the wings of a butterfly.

"This consort wishes to sleep a bit longer," she murmured, her voice lazy and sweet, very pleasing to the ear.

However, the person who entered did not speak and instead sat down beside the bed after lifting the curtain.

Zhuo Ma and Youlan never sat on her bed.

If it wasn’t them, who could it be?

Li Xianyun’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head, looking over with guarded eyes!

At a glance, she saw Yelu Yan dressed in court attire, sitting beside the bed, turning towards her with a smile.

Even though he was sitting down, his tall and burly figure could not be concealed.

Seeing it was Yelu Yan, Li Xianyun’s heart relaxed, and she flopped down on the pillows, lazily looking at Yelu Yan like a little kitten, "Husband, how have you returned?"

"I missed you and came to hold you," Yelu Yan said as he opened his arms towards her.

His doting was to the extreme.

He was telling the truth, he truly missed Li Xianyun. Knowing she would not leave the palace today, Yelu Yan always wanted to come back to Khan Palace to see her.

Upon hearing his words, Li Xianyun chuckled lightly, crawled up from the bed and, as soon as she approached Yelu Yan, was embraced by him in his arms.

Yelu Yan held her close, entwining his neck with hers, and planted several deep kisses on her face before letting Li Xianyun sit across his legs, wrapping her tender body within his broad embrace.

Li Xianyun rested in the crook of Yelu Yan’s arm, looking up at him with a smile bubbling with happiness.

Yelu Yan lifted his hand with slender fingers to gently arrange the soft strands of hair at Li Xianyun’s forehead and beside her ears, handling her with utmost tenderness as though she were a precious treasure of the world.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not hungry."

Li Xianyun looked up at Yelu Yan, "Husband, you should return to the Hall of Diligent Governance. I want to get up now."

Yelu Yan held her tight without letting go, "Lie down a bit longer, I will leave after holding you for a while."

Li Xianyun’s eyes twinkled, so he really had come back just to hold her.

Li Xianyun reached out to embrace Yelu Yan’s sturdy neck, hugging him tightly then letting go, she cocked her head to look at him, "Is it okay now?"

"It’s not," Yelu Yan said with a mischievous smile.

Here we go again.

Li Xianyun raised her hand to rub Yelu Yan’s handsome cheek, "You need to go deal with government affairs in the Hall of Diligent Governance, like a good boy."

But Yelu Yan simply wouldn’t, persisting for a good while before he finally left.

This man really was clingy.

After Yelu Yan had left, Li Xianyun got up, had her meal, and then summoned the Master of Ceremonies.

She asked him how the August festival had been held in previous years.

The Master of Ceremonies spared no detail in his thorough explanation.

Li Xianyun roughly understood what needed to be done that day, beginning in the afternoon when members of the royal family and high officials would enter the palace with their female relatives to attend the horse race. This time it was a competition among men, and in addition, there would be an archery contest.

From this arrangement, it was evident that women were merely a backdrop, not needed to do anything in particular.

Li Xianyun had the Master of Ceremonies leave behind records of previous August festivals, and after a careful comparison, she kept a few unchangeable parts of the festivities while other small details were altered.

Regarding the menu, her previous experiences with hosting banquets meant it was not a difficult task.

Most importantly, she wanted to add ice porridge, date cakes, mung bean cakes, and candied fruit to the menu, seeking to build up a good reputation for the Ice Porridge Shop and the candied fruit.

That was also her reason for wanting to organize the August festival in the first place.

Beyond the horse racing and archery that men enjoyed, Li Xianyun wanted to add something for the women as well.

Women liked watching plays, so platforms could be erected for troupes to perform dramas and vaudeville.

Moreover, to her knowledge, the Khitan had no tradition of Kongming Lanterns. She would craft some and, at the end of the palace feast, people could write their blessings on them before releasing them into the sky.

At the same time, Li Xianyun planned to introduce the custom of releasing river lanterns from the folk festival into the palace setting. Members of the royal family and high officials could release lanterns by Qingyan Pool. By then, the gentle waves and sparkling tranquility of the lanterns would surely create a scene as beautiful as a painting.

Li Xianyun had numerous ideas in her mind.

She sat at her desk, contemplating while jotting down her thoughts briefly.

After roughly planning the banquet for the festival day, Li Xianyun summoned people from various palaces to start preparing.

She convened the Master of Ceremonies, the Chief of Haoyang Palace, and the Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assign tasks.

The Chief of Haoyang Palace needed to think through the menu for the festival feast then report back to Li Xianyun.

Li Xianyun handed a piece of paper to the Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, detailing the materials needed for making Kongming Lanterns.

She looked at the Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, "You take someone to go through the Ministry of Internal Affairs first to look for these items. See if what this consort needs is available. If not, have someone purchase them as soon as possible, preferably ready by tomorrow."

This way, she could then teach the Palace Attendants of the Khan Palace how to make Kongming Lanterns.

Li Xianyun instructed the Master of Ceremonies to supervise, and if anything was not in accordance with proper decorum, to point it out immediately to avoid becoming a laughing stock on the day of the banquet.

After conveying these tasks, Li Xianyun then taught the Palace Servants and maids how to make river lanterns.

Her hands were nimble, as if she was skilled at everything.

Li Xianyun had Bater go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to fetch what was needed for making lanterns.

With the weather clear and fine, Li Xianyun had a group make river lanterns under the spreading silk trees outside the main building.

The Palace Attendants sat at small tables, forming a circle, with materials for making river lanterns laid out in the space in the middle.

Li Xianyun addressed everyone, her red lips parting lightly, "Making lanterns is actually quite simple. First, take out a flat piece of wood to serve as the base of the lantern, so it won’t sink. Then, adhere the lotus petals according to the way this consort will teach you, layer by layer on the wood, leaving enough space in the center to place an oil-soaked cotton wick. Of course, you can also design the upper part of the lantern however you like."

After she explained, Li Xianyun led the Palace Attendants in crafting the lanterns.

The tradition of releasing lanterns during the August festival came from Houtang and Houliang, although it was a practice but not widespread among the Khitan.

Therefore, making lanterns was a novel experience for them.

Yaduo, being older, would wake up earlier, and she left the Imperial Palace early to find pleasure outside the palace.

Yaduo knew best how to treat herself.

After tiring herself out with fun, Yaduo hurried back to the palace from outside, immediately noticing a crowd busily at work on the ground in front of the main building’s doors, with several completed pink lotus lanterns particularly eye-catching.

Yaduo approached with a smile, observing Li Xianyun— who was engrossed in cutting petals— seated among the group.

Zhuo Ma gently tugged at Li Xianyun’s sleeve.

Only then did Li Xianyun raise her head, seeing Yaduo and smiling as she got up to perform a courtesy, with the others following suit.

Yaduo said with a laugh, "I shall make them with you."