CH 10

Lu Shi Qing stopped talking for a moment, then froze in place.

When he came back to his senses and invited Xuan shi to enter, the time had already been suspiciously long.

As soon as Xuan shi entered the room, she looked around, first at his bed curtain, and then under his table.

Lu Shi Qing had a headache: “Mother, no one is inside, you…” He restrained himself and said, “Come, sit down and rest.”

Xuan shi sat down suspiciously, and said: “Then who are you talking to?”

“I… recite a book.”

“Which book still says Young Lady Yuan, are you trying to deceive mother?” She glanced at him and asked suddenly, “Mother ask you, what’s the name of Shaohe State Princess?”

Why it also involved Shaohe State Princess? While personally pouring tea for Xuan shi, he replied: “How can I remember?”

“How about Cen Sanniang from earlier?”

Lu Shi Qing had an expression ‘Is there any third young lady in the Cen family?’ on his face.

“What about Liu Qiniang, Ye Siniang, Bai Liuniang, and Shen Jiuniang?” Seeing “Where did this come from” clearly written on her son’s face, she said with more certainty, “You can’t remember? I guess you also don’t remember that these young ladies threw branches at you!”

Lu Shi Qing nodded. Not only he couldn’t remember, he even suspected that his mother was just making up these things.

Xuan shi finished laying the groundwork, and finally got to the point: “In that case, how can you remember the name of the young lady of Yuan family?”

Lu Shi Qing was choked.

How did he know how he remembered. Earlier in the carriage, he was anxious and somehow blurted it out. He had a good memory, and he couldn’t forget the name that had passed through his mouth.

Thinking of this, he frowned, secretly thought it was bad.

Seeing that he couldn’t answer, Xuan shi snorted coldly: “Mother has sent people to find out. Now the whole Chang’an city is full of commotion, and everyone knows that there is a fairy-like woman who drove a golden rare horse to send you home. How dare you lie to mother about the sour plum soup?” After finishing speaking, without waiting for him to explain, she clapped her hands.

A maid came in through the open door, holding a jade plate in her hand, and on it was the sour plum soup sent by Yuan Ci Xian, but it was served in Lu Shi Qing’s usual white porcelain bowl.

Lu Shi Qing’s eyes were full of astonishment.

“Ferghana horses are so rare, mother knows it well. Looking all over Chang’an, Shaohe State Princess has a jujube red one, and the Yuan family has a light golden one. Who’s the one who gave you this sour plum soup if not Young Lady Yuan?” Xian shi then sighed, “Back then, when mother dead set on chasing your father, I did the same flattering thing, sending charcoal in the snow, making cold soup in the summer… Oh, the ice storage back then is not as good as it is now, so mother took a lot of effort because of this…”

She said, wiped away the non-existent tears with a handkerchief, chokingly said: “Since you have accepted it, why passed it to someone else, and let down Young Lady Yuan’s heartfelt thoughts? If it were mother, and I encounter this kind of thing, I will be very heartbroken and shed three thousand tears…” After finishing speaking, she narrowed her phoenix eyes and raised her hand, “This soup, mother has tested for you, it’s not poisonous, drink it!”

“…”

Lu Shi Qing looked down at the bowl of sour plum soup for a long time, then wrinkled his nose.

Sometimes, like Lu Shuang Yu, he wondered if he was picked up from under the bridge. Because his mother doesn’t seem to remember, he doesn’t eat sour food.

…

It was very likely that Young Lady Yuan, who shed three thousand tears, had really suffered a setback.

The Xuanzheng Palace had court meeting every three days, and the next day Lu Shi Qing would be on an errand to serve Emperor Huining and by the way, teach the Thirteenth Prince to read and study. She tucked her fingers and calculated that in the next half month, he might not leave the mansion for four days at most. In this way, her chances of catching people should be countless.

But for several days in a row, she failed to find any trace of him.

Probably Lu Shi Qing took a different path to avoid her, and he was very capable at that. From this lane to that lane, he slipped like a slippery fish without getting caught.

She was bored sitting in the garden enjoying the shade, picked a few flowers, and threw the petals one by one into the pond.

Jiang Bi Rou accompanied her on the side, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: “My little ancestor, you takepity on fragrance and jade, and don’t bother with these flowers.”

She sighed: “I pity the fragrance and jade for these flowers, who will pity the fragrance and jade for me?”

“Isn’t there Sixth Prince? Yesterday, your brother and he bumped into each other in the court. When he saw your brother, he didn’t put on any face at all, just said that you two don’t have affinity, so he won’t force it, but if you change your mind, he’s willing to wait for good news again. You say, now the matter of your admiration for Assistant Minister Lu is known all over the city, and people don’t mind it at all, isn’t that mean he has a deep-rooted love for you?”

Yuan Ci Xian also heard her brother say this, and immediately frowned: “It’s just the noble person’s perfunctory remarks.”

Jiang Bi Rou stared at her for a while: “Ci Xian, what prejudice do you have against Sixth Prince? This kind of good man is hard to find, you should not regret it in the future.”

Yuan Ci Xian was stunned. It seemed that her sister-in-law really doesn’t know what her brother and Zheng Zhuo were planning. Was it because Yuan Yu was too good at hiding it, or Jiang Bi Rou was really too simple.

She said, “Sister-in-law, don’t persuade me, I just like Assistant Minister Lu.” After that, she added, “I like him so much!”

After she said it, she seemed to feel bored and continued to look down to choose another flower. After a while, she saw Shi Cui walking quickly.

Yuan Ci Xian raised her head and asked: “What, is there news about Assistant Minister Lu?”

Shi Cui shook her head: “Young lady, a distinguished guest come to visit.”

“Which distinguished guest?”

“Shaohe State Princess.”

She asked, “Who’s Shaohe State Princess?”

“It’s the State Princess that Jian Zhi mentioned to you before, who previously married to the Marquis Mansion and later became a widow.” Shi Cui reminded her strangely. This noble princess could be said to be young lady’s strongest love rival, how could she not pay attention to such an important matter.

Yuan Ci Xian remembered it now, and suddenly realized: “It’s her.” Then she asked, “What is she doing in my Yuan Mansion?”

“This maid is not clear, only know that she wants to see you.”

Yuan Ci Xian took Shi Cui and Jian Zhi with her and went to the main hall together. At a glance, she saw a woman in a light crimson riding suit sitting at the main seat, with hair tied into a men’s bun, no makeup, plain appearance, and a black mole under her left eye.

She stepped forward to salute: “Ci Xian has met Your Highness. Your Highness Jin An.”

Yuan Ci Xian behaved neatly and did not make the slightest mistake

But the one on the next seat slowly stood up and said calmly: “Afraid County Princess has made a mistake. This is my personal maid.”

When she heard this, she turned to the side and saw that there was also a women dressed exactly the same on the lower seat. Judging by her appearance and facial features, she was indeed different from that so-called maid. The apricot face and peach cheeks were very delicate and invoking pity. The exact same mole grew under her eyes, which could be called a beauty mole adding color.

Yuan Ci Xian didn’t understand what this noble person meant with this, after all, saluting the maid would not make her lose a piece of meat. She smiled lightly: “Forgive Ci Xian’s clumsy eyesight. Looking at it like this, Your Highness’s appearance is indeed… slightly better.”

Zheng Yun’s face changed a little, and soon she smiled again: “County Princess, please sit.” After saying this, she gave the maid on the main seat a meaningful look and signaled her to go back to the proper place.

Yuan Ci Xian welcomed her back to the main seat, sat on the opposite side and asked: “Your Highness came to my humble home, still don’t know what’s the matter?”

She shook her head: “It’s nothing, I passed Shengye Lane when riding the horse, thinking that these days, Father often mention you, so I come here to have a look.”

Yuan Ci Xian’s eyes revealed a look of surprise: “It’s fortunate to have His Majesty’s care, Ci Xian is flattered.”

The two exchanged a few polite words, Zheng Yun then glanced at the overhead sun outside, and said: “It’s getting late, I should go back to the palace to watch thirteenth brother have a meal, this child is naughty, the palace people can’t even catch him.”

Yuan Ci Xian got up to see her off calmly, and a thought came into her mind.

She heard that the birth mother of the Thirteenth Prince was a Jieyu. Four years ago, this Jieyu surnamed Wen died early, and the prince who barely reached full-term was adopted by Concubine De at that time, now Empress Liang.

Since Zheng Yun was born from Empress Liang, presumably she had a close relationship with this younger brother. But in her dream, she never heard about Shaohe State Princess, nor did she know what happened to her afterwards. The thirteenth prince ascended the throne, and she, the eldest princess, probably also won the honor and wealth.

Walking to the gate of the mansion, Zheng Yun paused, then turned back and said: “When County Princess is free, come to the palace to visit Father. The elder was still talking about it yesterday, saying that you have been in Chang’an for more than half a month, but you never remembered him.”

“His Majesty has a lot of things to do every day, and if not summoned, Ci Xian dare not disturb at will. Now that Your Highness has invited me, I will not be polite. I will definitely keep an appointment in a few days.”

In a few days, while our Assistant Minister Lu is in the palace, I definitely will keep an appointment.

Small theater:

#The Story of Assistant Minister Lu and The Mirror#

[Last month]

Assistant Minister Lu: Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me, who’s the most beautiful person in Chang’an City?

Magic Mirror: The most beautiful person in Chang’an is you, Assistant Minister.

[Today]

Assistant Minister Lu: Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me, who is the most beautiful person in Chang’an City?

Magic Mirror: Back to Assistant Minister, it’s Lancang County Princess.