CH 63

To be able to see Lu Shi Qing again, and to visit the Prince Mansion, Yuan Ci Xian would of course go, but she was a little curious: “Sixth Prince held a birthday banquet, but why is it your master who gave me the invitation?”

“The servant from Prince Mansion arrived at Yongxing Lane first, and Master intercepted the invitation for you, and ask this servant to send it to you.” He cleared his throat here, “what Master means is that today is different from the past, and in the future this kind of stranger’s invitation should go to him first, and then he will forward it to you…”

Who let get in charge? It seems this fiancé is overstepping his authority.

Yuan Ci Xian scolded “petty”, but the corners of her mouth rose up little by little.

Yuan Yu couldn’t take it anymore, and said angrily to Cao An: “What about my invitation, huh? Also intercepted by your master?”

“No, it was accepted by Master.” Cao An smiled embarrassedly, and explained, “Master said, General Yuan is busy with official duties, and he is not a person who likes poetry, so why bother you with such boring things. He will accompany County Princess to the banquet, please rest assured.”

Yuan Yu was almost combusted from anger, but Yuan Ci Xian also joined to make decisions for him, and muttered for a while: “Yes, brother has to accompany Xiao Hei for a walk every day, it’s too hard, just stay at home and have a good rest.”

“…”

She patted her brother on the shoulder to comfort him, took out the invitation and told Cao An, “Tell your master to pick me up early.”

On the 14th of Second month, Lu Shi Qing was coming too early. Yuan Ci Xian was still sleeping soundly, and only woke up after Shi Cui kept on shouting, she then heard that he was already waiting at the gate of the mansion.

She sat groggily on the bed for a long while, looked at the first glimmer of light in the sky, and finally regained her energy.

She was dreaming again just now.

This time the dream jumped to many years after her death. On the eve of the Thirteenth Prince’s accession to the throne, she heard the common people commenting: “Have you heard? Last night, something happened at the Daming Palace, corpses were strewn all over the ground, and blood flowed like rivers… Prime Minister Lu is really ruthless.”

Another person said mysteriously: “It’s not a day or two for him to be ruthless. Over the years, the princes of the dynasty have died and crippled one by one. Looking back now, isn’t it all his handwriting? In my opinion, at the beginning, the sudden death of Sixth Prince may have something to do with him.”

The one in front continued to sigh: “Isn’t it, when Thirteenth Prince ascends the throne tomorrow, the young emperor will just be a puppet, and he, the prime minister, will be the one who get whatever he wants. Maybe in the near future, the surname of Great Zhou country will be changed…”

“Hush!” A voice interrupted the two of them, “Shut up, don’t talk about those political affairs.”

When Yuan Ci Xian heard until here, she woke up.

Seeing that she looked daze, Shi Cui reminded her again: “Young lady, Assistant Minister Lu is already waiting for you outside.”

She said “Oh” and slowly lifted the quilt.

Now it was Assistant Minister Lu, and it would become Prime Minister Lu in the future.

She recalled the words in her dream over and over again, and after dressing up like a wandering soul, she ran into Yuan Yu when she went out of her courtyard. Probably seeing that she was not in good spirits, he asked her what was wrong.

She evaded and said: “It’s nothing, I’m going out.”

Yuan Yu let her go, but felt that she was walking sluggishly, as if something bothering her, so he stopped her again and asked in a low voice: “Look at you sleepyhead, did you dream of something strange again last night?”

Yuan Ci Xian hesitated for a while, and because she was really panicked, so she said to Shi Cui: “Ask Assistant Minister Lu to wait for me a little longer, I have something to say to my brother. ”

After saying that, she went back to the study with Yuan Yu, explaining the new content of the dream concisely.

Yuan Yu was also horrified when he heard these, and thought to himself, no wonder his sister was so distraught, hesitatingly said: “So, maybe Lu Zishu assisted Thirteenth Prince because he was greedy for power?”

“How could that be!” Yuan Ci Xian said firmly, she then muttered, “He’s not that kind of person…”

Yuan Yu wondered: “Brother didn’t say that Lu Zishu must be bad, but it’s true that this person is deeply scheming. You can see from his actions in this past year. On one hand, he’s not absolutely loyal to His Majesty, and on the other hand, he’s not close to Second Prince and Ping Prince, then according to the dream, the sudden death of Sixth Prince is fishy… I’m afraid he’s really involved in a lot, and it’s hard to guarantee that he’s not a ruthless person. Brother is just reminding you not to be carried away by personal feeling, the person you see may not be the real him.”

“Since you said what I see may not be real, then what I hear is even more false!” She argued, “What can a few ordinary people’s words prove? Whether forcing the emperor to abdicate or bringing down a few princes, but it’s all the things they see, how can they know what his purpose is below the surface? If after many years, the monarch is still heartless, and the princes are useless, even if the country changes its surname, so what?”

After saying that she suddenly got up: “I’m going out.” Then she walked out of the mansion, and when she arrived in front of Lu Shi Qing’s carriage, she threw open the curtain.

Because she was angry, her movement was a little too much. Lu Shi Qing, who was in the middle of writing an official document at the table, raised his eyelids, and asked inexplicably, “Did your brother feed you poison?”

Yuan Ci Xian didn’t want to spoil the mood by what seemed to be nothing at the moment, so she said: “As your fiancée’s first appearance, of course I have to be enthusiastic.”

Enthusiastic like catching fire. Lu Shi Qing glanced at her, pushed down a bowl of light porridge at his hand, and motioned for her to drink it: “Taste yourself how long I’ve been waiting.” It probably meant that the porridge was already cold.

Yuan Ci Xian sat next to him, took a sip and tasted it, then took another spoon and brought it to his mouth: “It’s still warm, drink it if you don’t believe me.”

Lu Shi Qing looked down at the spoon she drunk from, there was no movement for a while.

Seeing that he refused to eat, she said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to drink” and put the spoon into her mouth.

Lu Shi Qing had already made an exception for her, that was, for him who had been obsessed with cleanliness for many years, he always subconsciously hesitated when encountering such a situation. Who knew that she gave up so quickly that he only had time to see her put that spoon of porridge into her mouth, and leave a drop of soup at the corner of her mouth.

The milky white soup was hanging on the cherry red lips, and it seemed it was going to be sucked into her mouth in a moment. Lu Shi Qing’s heart moved, and suddenly felt his mouth dry, he then leaned over to quickly take that drop of juice into his mouth.

Yuan Ci Xian’s heart jumped, she suddenly felt that the carriage was too cramped, and it was a little difficult to breathe. But then she saw that Lu Shi Qing had already sitting upright, and continued to write official documents, only the brush strokes trembled like a small ripple.

She then heard him pretending to be serious and said nonchalantly: “It’s shameful to waste food.”

The carriage was not spacious like other places, and a little intimacy could make people’s ears warm. Yuan Ci Xian secretly slandered him for his skill for making up excuse, but on her face she said “Oh” to indicate that she understood, then looked up at the roof of the carriage, glanced at the wall, and continued to drink the porridge.

After the carriage rolled out of Shengye Lane, seeing that it was not going to Zheng Zhuo’s mansion, Yuan Ci Xian asked, “Isn’t Sixth Prince living in Anxing Lane?” At this time, she had return from her trance, “It seems that he held a banquet in the afternoon, where are you taking me so early?” After saying that, she looked at Lu Shi Qing expectantly.

Lu Shi Qing’s answer was very serious: “I have a few official documents to be handed over to His Majesty. It’s too troublesome to go back and forth, so just come with me.”

“…”

Really never met a more boring person than Lu Shi Qing. She sighed in her heart, and complained: “You are just a fourth-rank official, why are you so diligent?” After she said that, she suddenly remembered her dream, and then said half-jokingly and half-seriously, “But speaking of it, I had a strange dream yesterday, I dreamed that after many years you would become a high ranking official.”

Lu Shi Qing was slightly taken aback: “Many years later? What about you?”

Yuan Ci Xian choked. She thought that Lu Shi Qing would definitely ask what kind of official he would become, but she didn’t expect that he only cared about where was she when he was prosperous?

How could such a person be greedy for power?

She stared at him for a long time, but in the end she didn’t tell the truth, and said with a half-smile: “I, of course, become the wife of a high ranking official, what’s the point of asking?”

Lu Shi Qing seemed to only think that she was joking, twitching the corners of his mouth, and changed the subject: “I have to deliver official documents to His Majesty, and I have to teach Thirteenth prince to study. If you’re bored, take a stroll in the palace by yourself.”

Yuan Ci Xian had always wanted to get in touch with Zheng Hong, but never find an opportunity, so how could she give it up now, and hurriedly said: “With you, I will never be bored anywhere!”

She was used to tease him, and the romantic words came as soon she opened her mouth. Lu Shi Qing glanced at her: “I’m also have to go the Chancellery Department to do some work, you will come too?”

Yuan Ci Xian immediately revealed her true colors: “Oh, this one, this I will not come. I will stay in Hanliang Palace to help you look after Thirteenth Prince.”

Lu Shi Qing and Yuan Ci Xian arrived at Hanliang Palace, and found that Zheng Hong was playing paper kite with the palace servants, running back and forth madly, his head was wet with sweat, and when he saw the two of them, he invited them to play together.

To be precise, he invited Lu Shi Qing. Zheng Hong was only five years old, and he only met Yuan Ci Xian once last year, so he didn’t seem to remember her much.

Of course, Lu Shi Qing was not a person who would accompany children to play paper kites, so he asked the palace people to retreat, and then arrange assignment for Zheng Hong, looked down at the male doll with uncomfortable face and said: “This official have to leave to do some work, Your Highness please review the book, and wait until this official come back to test your assignment.”

Zheng Hong who was wearing a small jacket muttered: “I haven’t played enough. I don’t want to read books! I want this good-looking sister to accompany me release paper kites!”

Lu Shi Qing glanced at the “good-looking sister” beside him, he said, “Your Highness, she is not your good-looking sister.”

The little guy pouted and asked, “Who is it then?”

Yuan Ci Xian thought that this boy was cute, and seeing that Shaohe was not here today, as long as Lu Shi Qing left, this Hanliang Palace would be the world where she and the future emperor cultivated their feelings, so she said with a smile, “I am your good-looking Madam.” She then said to Lu Shi Qing, “Hurry up do your work, leave him to me.”

Lu Shi Qing choked. Really wanted to drive people away huh! But in the end, he indeed have some official work, so he turned around and left, but after a few steps he turned around again and warned: “When I come back, if he can’t answer the assignment, you will be punished together.”