The carriage was getting farther and farther away. Zhao Pei lowered the curtain and stopped looking at the palace that was getting smaller and smaller. She sighed slightly. She turned around and looked at Zhao Li in the same carriage. She put her hands on her hips and said teasingly, "Okay, Li'er. Tell me, how did you end up with the Eighth Prince?" Just now, she and her brother went to Jingshui Tower to look for her, but there was no sign of her. Instead, they saw her at Luoyue Pavilion outside the garden. She was with the Eighth Prince. "Tell me, how did you two know each other?"
Zhao Li felt a little aggrieved: "I saw you had been gone for a long time and didn't come back, so I went to check on you and happened to meet him..." Zhao Li's face was a little red, "I didn't know his identity at that time, I thought he was a young master from a certain family, so I asked him if he had seen you. So... we started talking. I didn't expect it to be the eighth prince..." Zhao Li lowered her head, seeming a little embarrassed, Zhao Pei pressed her forehead, this was strange, everyone likes to run outside. Looking at the girl's appearance, it seems that she is moved.
Zhao Pei's mind was in a mess. No, a lot of things happened today and she needed to digest them.
After washing up, Zhao Pei opened the window. It seemed to have rained at night, and the ground was wet. A fresh smell of budding flowers mixed with soil blew in her face. She smiled, took a deep breath, and her heart was refreshed.
Ruhua was tidying up the bed, turned sideways and looked at Zhao Pei with a smile: "Miss seems to be in a good mood today."
"Of course." Zhao Pei smiled and sat down in front of the dressing table, picked up Luo Zidai's eyebrow pencil and began to draw carefully. "Daddy allowed me to go out today." Because he didn't cause any trouble at the dinner party, and had taken a few etiquette lessons with Zhao Li a few days ago, he got this rare reward.
"That's great." Ruhua walked up to her and combed her hair. "Where do you want to go, young lady?"
"Just follow me. When we have time, let's go to Zhiweilou to try some dim sum." Zhao Pei smiled happily, and she had already drawn up a route map in her mind.
It was the beautiful scenery of early spring, with green willows sprouting buds and the streets dotted with green and red. Zhao Pei was wearing the red shirt she wore at the poetry and prose meeting, holding a Xiang bamboo fan, looking proud and arrogant like a young man. Ruhua was still dressed as a little maid. She wanted to change into men's clothes with the young lady, but the young lady said that she was too rouge-smelling and anyone could tell. Ruhua lowered her head and wore her maid's clothes obediently, but she was complaining in her heart, saying that with this appearance, no one could fail to be with the young lady. It was just that the young lady had a transcendent temperament.
Zhao Pei and Ru Hua walked along the way, visiting many rouge shops and jewelry stores. The shopkeeper warmly entertained them, but the young man was very interested in the jewelry, thinking that he was buying it for the delicate little girl next to him. But Zhao Pei couldn't help but try it on her face when she saw something she liked. The shopkeeper sighed in his heart: Such a beautiful young man, but he has such a hobby.
"Young... Master, look, there is a calligraphy and painting shop over there." Ruhua said hesitantly, holding a half-eaten string of candied haws in her hand.
Zhao Pei looked at the plaque. The old plaque had three large characters engraved on it: "Taobaoju." She couldn't help but laugh: "Let's go and take a look. Let's see if we can find any treasures."
After entering the store, I found that there was a little boy of about ten sitting in the counter. When he saw a customer coming, he quickly put down the book in his hand, stood up and greeted him, "Auntie...what do you want to buy, sir?" Zhao Pei saw that he was handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but she liked his bright eyes and clever mind. She smiled and said, "Just take a look. Is this your store?"
The boy shook his head and replied, "It belongs to my grandfather. He went to get medicine. I am helping him keep an eye on it."
Zhao Pei nodded and said nothing more. She looked around and saw a lot of calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, so she looked at them carefully. The boy ignored her and sat down to continue concentrating on the book in his hand.
There was a smell of old book pages in the room, and Zhao Pei liked this kind of ink smell very much. I remember that when I was very young, I skipped the teacher's class and hid under the desk in my father's study to read books. At that time, the old ink smell lingered on my nose... It was just a little sour for no reason. It was at that time that she heard an unexpected secret while hiding under the desk. It turned out that the mother she had called for eight years was not her biological mother. She still didn't know who her biological mother was. Only under pressure did her father tell her that her mother died when she was born.
Why did she suddenly think of this? Zhao Pei shook her head, forcing herself to come back to her senses from her memories.
"Sir, look at this painting. Isn't this the 'Red Lotus' you have been looking for?" Ruhua called out happily, as if she had found some treasure.
Zhao Pei sniffed her sour nose and leaned over, and her eyes suddenly lit up. On the yellowish scroll was painted a lifelike red lotus, enchanting and gorgeous yet elegant and refined. It floated quietly on the clear water, with a leisurely aura, as if it would transform into a fairy-like ethereal beauty at any moment. I still remember Wu Jun's poem "Picking Lotus": Brocade belts and flower hairpins, silk clothes hanging down the green river. I ask you where you are going now, to pick lotus in the south of the Yangtze River.
She gently stroked the delicate petals with her slender fingers, and smiled, turned around and said, "I want this one. How much is it..." Before she finished speaking, a shadow suddenly flashed by, and a man in black stood beside her. He reached out and took the painting, put it away, and threw a gold ingot into the cabinet, saying lightly, "I want it, no need to pay the change."
Zhao Pei was stunned for a moment, and then she was furious. This man was so arrogant! She was about to buy it, but he snatched it away. Without saying a word, she took a few quick steps and stretched out her hand to block his way. Only then did she see his face clearly, and she was even more stunned. No wonder he was so arrogant, it turned out to be him.
Xiao Yi looked at the woman who suddenly appeared in front of him, his eyebrows were furrowed, and his eyes were filled with undisguised anger, just like the red dress she was wearing. Before he could say anything, she angrily said, "Hey! What do you mean? This painting is mine!"
Xiao Yi looked at her cheeks, which were slightly red from anger, with amusement: "Did you pay?"
"Hmm? Not yet." Zhao Pei answered truthfully, but raised her voice and said, "But you snatched it away just when I was about to buy it!"
"Rob?" Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows, "I remember I paid." He turned his eyes away and looked at the boy in the cabinet, as if he wanted him to prove it. The boy just nodded, Zhao Pei got angry and reached out to grab the painting from his hand: "No matter what, I saw it first. How about you give it to me?"
Xiao Yi seemed unwilling to give it to her, so he stopped her hand and held her wrist, only to find that her skin was delicate, smooth, and boneless. Zhao Pei saw that he was unwilling, so she turned her eyes and took his arm with a charming smile, saying, "Seventh brother, I want this painting, please give it to me." Not only Zhao Pei herself, but even Ruhua felt uncomfortable.
Xiao Yi stared at her for a long time with a cold face. Seeing her smiling face and looking at him expectantly, and seeing her holding his arm as if they were very intimate, his lips slightly raised: "Do you want it very much?"
"Yes!" Zhao Pei nodded vigorously. It seemed that her little beauty trick worked. She couldn't help but smile more brightly. For some reason, Xiao Yi looked at her smile that was as bright as a hundred flowers blooming, and wanted to see her disappointed and angry look. "But I won't give it to you."
"Thank you, Seventh Brother! Huh? What? You won't give it to me?" Sure enough, that smiling face turned from bright and beautiful to gloomy and dark, staring at him angrily with anger, and it seemed that fire could be spewed from her eyes.
"You! Are you teasing me on purpose?" Zhao Pei stared at him and suddenly found this guy very hateful. She originally thought he was an iceberg, but now she found that he seemed to be no different from Xiao Lun, the dandy boy.
"Pepe, do you still remember that you seem to owe me a request?" Xiao Yi raised the painting in his hand and said, "This is the request." After that, he left without waiting for Zhao Pei to react.
Zhao Pei stood there in a daze, thinking for a long time. Request? When did she owe him a request? Suddenly she remembered the dinner that day, and she couldn't help but feel angry again. How could this person be so petty? Still not convinced, Zhao Pei turned around and asked the little boy, "Do you still have the Red Lotus Picture?"
The boy shook his head without saying a word, but his eyes flashed with five parts of apology, three parts of helplessness and two parts of smile. Smile?! Zhao Pei looked a little embarrassed, thinking that the look she had just had was very... indecent.
Xiao Yi, now we have a huge feud! You stole my things and made me a laughing stock!
Holding Ruhua's hand, he left Taobao Residence and walked westward in a depressed mood. Ruhua asked, "Miss, that person just now... was he the Seventh Prince Xiao Yi?"
Zhao Pei responded sullenly, and was furious again.
But she heard Ruhua whispering in her ear: "It turns out that the Seventh Prince is so handsome and has such a humorous personality." Zhao Pei turned around and glared at her: "What do you think of his personality?" He was just handsome. Zhao Pei admitted that everyone in their Xiao family was a dragon and phoenix. But this humor really made her angry.
Ruhua knew that the young lady was really angry, and replied awkwardly: "Well... Ruhua said he was crazy."
"That's more like it." Zhao Pei retracted her gaze. Right in front of her was a two-story building. What came into view was the "Zhiwei Building". Zhao Pei smiled faintly: "Forget it, let's go comfort our five internal organs and cool down."
The waiter called Zhao Pei and Ru Hua into the lobby and asked them to find a seat. Zhao Pei looked around and frowned slightly: "Is there a private room?"
The waiter saw the obvious dissatisfaction on her face and suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake. He smiled and led the two to the second floor. This floor was full of individual guests, most of whom were ordinary people. They were dressed like this, either rich or noble, and they must not sit together. If they were offended... The waiter shuddered all over, but fortunately this young man had a good temper.
Zhao Pei ordered a few signature snacks and sat down behind the bamboo curtain to wait. But she was still angry and drank tea angrily. Ruhua handed her a bracelet and said with a smile: "Miss, calm down. Look at this bracelet, it will look very beautiful on your hand."
"Of course, what kind of vision do you think I have?" Zhao Pei knew that she was trying to make herself feel comfortable, so she smiled and took the red lacquer bracelet from her hand and put it on her hand to take a closer look. At this time, someone came in with tea and snacks. Zhao Pei didn't have time to take it off, so she had to hide her hands in her sleeves.
When the bamboo curtain was opened, there was a burst of noise. Zhao Pei had sharp ears and could faintly hear a familiar hearty laugh. She quickly leaned out to look and saw two people she knew sitting at the table near West Street.
Her beautiful eyes turned and she had an idea. She smiled and said to Ruhua, "Be good, Ruhua, stay here. I'll be back soon." Before Ruhua could respond, she disappeared. (To be continued)