Xiao Lun's residence is located on the street next to the busiest street, and is quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Just looking at the gate, the red lacquer, gold carvings, jade steps and stone lions are already extraordinary and luxurious. It shows the owner's noble status and majesty. Zhao Pei smiled and shook her head. This is exactly Xiao Lun's character. It is said that wealth should not be exposed, but he has always liked to show off like this. It is no wonder that he has been reported to the emperor in many memorials.
Han Zhen was stunned and murmured, "They are both princes, why is there such a big difference between Sixth Uncle and Dad?"
Zhao Pei just smiled but didn't say anything. She stood at the door for a long time and didn't seem to want to knock. Han Zhen looked at her with some doubt, but saw that she raised her head slightly and squinted her eyes, with a rare smile on her lips. Han Zhen thought, she seemed to be reminiscing about the past again.
The guard at the gate stared at the two of them for a long time. Seeing that they were reluctant to leave, he couldn't help but stepped forward and asked, "Are you okay? If not, don't stay at the gate."
Zhao Pei suddenly came to her senses and said with a smile, "Please tell him that I want to see the prince."
The guard frowned and said, "You can't just meet the prince whenever you want."
Zhao Pei smiled apologetically and said, "Please tell them that an old friend is visiting." He looked at them again. Although the clothes of these two people were a little dirty, their temperament could not be ignored when they stood there.
He sighed and said, "What a coincidence, the prince is not in the palace now."
Zhao Pei was startled, and immediately asked, "When will the prince come back?"
The guard shook his head: "I don't know about these. If there is nothing special, please go back."
Zhao Pei sighed that this was troublesome, and could only smile and shake her head: "It's okay, we'll wait here." After that, she pulled Hanzhen to sit on the jade steps. The guard frowned again and wanted to drive them away. How could there be two inexplicable people sitting at the gate of the palace? Do they think this is a place to rest? But he couldn't bear to drive them away. He helplessly let them sit and went back to stand guard.
Xiao Lun went somewhere to spend his days drinking and partying, and he didn't show up until the night fell. The wind started to blow, and it gradually became a little cooler. Zhao Pei cursed him in her heart, but she couldn't do anything. Han Zhen stayed beside her pitifully, drawing circles on the ground with stones.
Suddenly, the door behind them opened with a bang. Hanzhen turned around with blurry eyes and saw a young and elegant gentleman. He was wearing a simple crimson shirt, but he was handsome and elegant, with gentle and pleasant eyebrows and eyes, calm and handsome. That face was obviously 60% similar to Xiao Lun, but the temperament was 100% different. When Zhaopei saw him, a poem immediately emerged in her mind: "Look at the Qi River, the green bamboos are lush. There is a gentleman, who is as sharp as a knife, as sharp as a jade. He is solemn and elegant, and he is a gentleman who can never be deceived."
He saw the two people sitting on the steps staring at him, and smiled calmly: "Are you two waiting for someone?" Zhao Pei smiled and stood up, bowing politely: "Greetings, Marquis Runan. I want to see the prince, so I am taking the liberty of waiting here."
Zhao Pei looked at his appearance and age, and thought he was Xiao Lun's eldest son, Xiao Zijian. Xiao Zijian looked at Zhao Pei's face in the moonlight, and was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's me. I wonder what you two want to see my father for?" He said it very modestly, and Zhao Pei couldn't help but smile and nod. It seems that Xiao Lun must have married a well-educated, gentle and elegant woman.
"I knew the prince before, and I just wanted to say hello to him when I came to Yangzhou this time." Although Zhao Pei said this, she was thinking in her heart that she would serve him well for a while.
Xiao Zijian thought for a moment and said, "Even if you two are guests from far away, you shouldn't just wait at the door. My father doesn't always come back at a fixed time, and it's getting late. Why don't you two go sit in the hall and wait?"
This was exactly what Zhao Pei wanted. She smiled and nodded, and said rather embarrassedly, "Thank you very much."
Xiao Zijian led the two of them into the mansion. The whole road was decorated with carved beams and painted pillars. Behind the screen wall, it seemed like a fairyland with delicate bridges, flowing water, and waterfalls. The pavilions and terraces were meticulously carved and strived for perfection. It seemed that incense was burning everywhere. Hanzhen shook her head while looking at it, and her face was full of "Why are people so different from each other?" Zhao Pei couldn't help but say to herself: "Liu Zhen really knows how to enjoy life."
Xiao Zijian, who was leading the way, trembled slightly, as if he heard it but also as if he didn't. He smiled and asked them to sit down in the front hall, asked the maid to make tea and stayed with them for a while, then apologized and said he had something else to do, and left after apologizing several times.
Zhao Pei looked at him and nodded in praise. She asked Han Zhen with a smile, "Zhen Er, what do you think of this kind of man?"
Han Zhen was stunned and murmured, "Isn't he my cousin? How can... "
Zhao Pei glared at her in reproach and said with a smile, "What are you thinking, little girl? I'm talking about men like this, not him."
Hanzhen thought for a while, then nodded as if in a daze. Then she immediately came to her senses and shook her head: "I will never marry and stay with my mother for the rest of my life."
Zhao Pei felt helpless after hearing this and was about to teach her a lesson. But then there was the sound of footsteps, and then a man in exquisite red clothes came in. His eyes were as bright as stars, and his eyes were full of spirit. The corners of his mouth were always raised, with a somewhat conceited and leisurely smile. Over the past ten years, only calmness and indifference have been deposited on him, and only the youthful and frivolous eyebrows have changed. His face has hardly changed.
The moment Zhao Pei met his eyes that were slightly surprised and delighted, she felt inexplicably nervous. She slowly stood up and smiled without saying a word, letting him look at her.
Xiao Lun was stunned for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "I said something about an old friend coming to see me, but I never thought it would be Pepe." He walked a few steps closer, his eyes flashing with a thousand kinds of glass light. He stared at Zhao Pei and looked at her carefully, then suddenly smiled and said, "Pepe hasn't changed at all."
Zhao Pei smiled and replied, "You too."
Xiao Lun then saw Han Zhen beside Zhao Pei. She stared at the two of them with her eyes wide open, as if trying to figure out something. Xiao Lun looked at the handsome boy in red and smiled, "Is this Han Zhen? They look like they were carved from the same mold."
Hanzhen originally thought that he would simply ignore him, but she stood up quickly and bowed: "Hello, Sixth Uncle." Then she muttered: "How come you saw through my disguise at a glance again?" Although her voice was small, it did not escape Xiao Lun's ears. He laughed out loud: "It must have been your mother who helped you disguise yourself. Her skills are quite..." She was interrupted by Zhao Pei's sidelong glance when she was halfway through her words.
Xiao Lun did not continue to speak, his face remained with a gentle smile, his eyes full of stars. "I think I held Hanzhen in my arms before, when she was still very young. Do you remember Uncle Six?" Hanzhen nodded quickly, "I remember, I remember."
Xiao Lun smiled dotingly and asked Zhao Pei, "Why is Pei Pei here with Han Zhen?"
"I came out when I wanted to." Zhao Pei replied with a smile, and then pretended to complain: "If I hadn't lost my money on the road, I wouldn't have come to you to find a place to stay."
Xiao Lun smiled faintly: "Did you sneak out again this time?" (To be continued)