"Yes, I heard Cui Shixi say it myself." Chang Ning was right, "What he said was that the Cui family of Boling and the Xie family of Chang'an wanted to get married, and this banquet was for the two of them alone."
"Ah?" Cui Shi, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment, but then he realized that it made sense, "Cui Shixi and Madam Xie are indeed of similar age, and their family backgrounds are also suitable..."
But after all, the two families had not married for nearly a hundred years. He was still wondering what was going on this time and which family had thrown out the branch first. He didn't notice that Li Qishen had already tightened his round-collared robe and hurried out. Cui Shi was startled again and only had time to shout, "Hey, where are you going?"
Of course Li Qishen had no time to pay attention to him and didn't even turn his head.
“… Just now you said that even if it rained knives from the sky, you wouldn’t get up.” Cui Shi could only look at the sky awkwardly; it was a clear blue sky.
"Don't look at it, knives won't rain from the sky." Chang Ning didn't think Li Qishen's move was strange. He looked at Cui Shi and sighed, "If you don't get up now, you'll lose your wife."
**
The dishes at the crab feast were naturally good and unique, but neither of them touched much. After the meal, Xie Wangzhi had no idea what was going on. Apart from a dish of crab roe tofu, he could not taste anything special. Neither of them had any intention of eating, so they just ate in silence. When they left the restaurant, they both breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they had completed a task.
Thinking of this, Xie Wangzhi felt relieved and walked forward side by side with Cui Yunqi: "I am sorry for being rude today and for saying such things before... Please forgive me, my dear."
"It doesn't matter. Since you don't have that intention, it's better to make it clear to avoid unnecessary trouble." Cui Yunqi thought clearly. He didn't like Xie Wangzhi, nor did he want to get close to the Xie family in Chang'an. "I will have an excuse when I go back. I will have to think about how my wife is doing."
This is a problem. Xie Wangzhi nodded and said, "I also have a way. My dear, you don't need to worry about it."
"Okay." Cui Yunqi nodded slightly.
There was no more conversation after that. The two walked quietly for a while. When they were about to reach the place where the carriage was waiting, Xie Wangzhi paused. Just as he was about to speak, Cui Yunqi stopped first and said, "Wait a moment."
Xie Wangzhi was stunned and really stopped, looking up at Cui Yunqi in confusion.
Cui Yunqi was also seventeen years old, and was almost half a year younger than her, but he was a man after all, and half a head taller than her. The man with an indifferent expression raised his hand, and his fingertips gently brushed through her hair, showing her the osmanthus he had picked up: "There are many osmanthus trees here, and it is blooming now, so I got it."
Wearing flowers on the head is fashionable, but having a head full of flowers is embarrassing. Xie Wangzhi felt a little embarrassed: "Excuse me."
"It's just the wind blowing by. What's so rude about that?" Cui Yunqi smiled slightly.
He has a pleasing appearance, and his expression is naturally cold when he is not smiling, but he is gentle when he smiles, with a tiny light hidden in his pupils, and a natural affection at the end of his eyes. Such a pair of eyes, looking at Xie Wangzhi, with a gentle expression, if Xie Wangzhi didn't know that he didn't mean that, he would really think that he was hiding something that was not easy to say.
Both sides knew it was impossible, but outsiders saw it as something completely different. A young man and woman of similar age stood on the street, one lowering his head, the other raising his head, as if they were communicating with each other through their eyes, or as if they were reluctant to leave.
This was the scene Li Qishen saw when he dismounted. The silhouettes of the man and his wife were framed like a meticulous painting. Even though he knew that Cui Yunqi was probably doing it on purpose, he was still furious. He was so angry that he ignored the etiquette and crossed the street directly. He handed the cinnamon branch he had picked when he came to Xie Wangzhi and asked her in a gentle voice, "Are you going home?"
"Ah." Cui Yunqi had met him before, but he pretended not to know him. "Who is this?"
He pretended, and Li Qishen also pretended, looking at him with a half-smile, and asked Xie Wangzhi in a light tone: "Should I introduce you?"
On the left is Li Qishen, on the right is Cui Yunqi, and there is a branch of osmanthus with a faint fragrance. Xie Wangzhi is stuck in the middle, feeling extremely embarrassed.
It was easy to introduce Li Qishen, as she was frank and honest, and Li Qishen had nothing to be ashamed of, but when it came to introducing Cui Yunqi, she couldn't just say, "This is the person my father asked me to meet. If we like each other, he will most likely be my future husband, but we don't like each other." Xie Wangzhi looked at Cui Yunqi for help, wanting to wait for him to speak, but Cui Yunqi liked to watch the fun, so he looked away and pretended not to notice.
"This is the Prince of Yanyang, a friend I have known since my early years." What else could Xie Wangzhi do? He spoke awkwardly, raised his hand again, and pointed to Cui Yunqi, "This is... um, the young master of the Cui family of Boling, and he has some connection with... with my family, so I want to meet him."
Li Qishen didn't ask what this "origin" was. He suddenly raised his hand and touched Xie Wangzhi's shoulder.
She was sandwiched between two men, and Li Qishen reached out to touch the shoulder near Cui Yunqi, which made him look like he was hugging her. Xie Wangzhi raised her eyes and saw Li Qishen's profile. He had a beautiful outline, cold eyebrows, slightly drooping eyelashes, and a light amber color in his eyes. He looked careless, but it made her feel uneasy.
"You..." Xie Wangzhi swallowed, "What?"
"Guizi, your shoulders are all covered with petals." Li Qishen was indeed careless. He casually pulled Xie Wangzhi to his side and said, "Don't stand there. The wind will blow and the petals will all fall."
Xie Wangzhi looked down and saw that there were indeed a few spots of cinnamon on the hem of his skirt. He quickly stroked it and said, "... I didn't notice it."
This action of marking out the territory was really obvious. What else could a man mean by marking a woman into his territory? But Xie Wangzhi was confused and really thought it was because of the falling osmanthus. Cui Yunqi laughed in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He deliberately said: "I think it's not bad. The subtle fragrance of osmanthus and the osmanthus falling on the skirt are like embroidery patterns. It really suits Madam Xie."
"Osmanthus flowers are too small. It would be petty to make them into embroidery." Li Qishen resisted the urge to hit Cui Yunqi and said to Xie Wangzhi with a smile, "If you like the fragrance of osmanthus, how about the flowers I picked?"
The flowers were naturally good, and the osmanthus flowers were clearly visible. Xie Wangzhi suddenly remembered Sun Yuandao, who had a bad intention at the Qujiang Banquet. He handed the peach blossom in front of him and said softly, "It smells good. I like it. I'll make osmanthus dumplings for you next time."
"I don't like sweet things." Li Qishen frowned slightly, pretending to be distressed.
"Osmanthus dumplings are not candied osmanthus. No sugar is added. They only take the fragrance of osmanthus." Xie Wangzhi said seriously, "I remember you don't like sweet food."
"You really remember?" Li Qishen deliberately choked her, "You forgot it at the Qujiang Banquet."
Xie Wangzhi blushed, and just as he was about to explain, Cui Yunqi suddenly coughed. He really admired the two people in front of him. They clearly didn't express their feelings to each other, but in front of him, they forced themselves to talk like a couple, which made him feel jealous.
Cui Yunqi was convinced, and felt that if he continued to listen, his teeth would probably ache. He was about to leave, and before leaving, he tried to annoy Li Qishen again: "If my lady likes osmanthus, there is an osmanthus garden outside the city. I can take my lady there. When I am free, I can send someone to send a message."
"Thank you, sir. But..."
"That's not necessary, right? Although Guiyuan is beautiful, the trees were planted by someone else after all." Li Qishen took the first step to thank Wang and directly refused. When he looked at Cui Yunqi, his expression was calm, but the depths of his pupils were like frozen ice. "I like to pick flowers, but I won't reach into someone else's garden."
"What the prince said makes sense, but it's a pity that the osmanthus tree can't move and can't recognize its master." Cui Yunqi also stabbed Li Qishen, then turned to Xie Wangzhi and said, "It's getting late. Thank you for taking the time today, madam. I'll leave first."
"Okay." Xie Wangzhi nodded, "Take care, my dear."
The carriages of the two families stopped in completely opposite places. Cui Yunqi left first, and Xie Wangzhi also wanted to leave, but Li Qishen was standing in front of him. Although he didn't know how he got here, and he was stuck at this awkward spot, it would not be very fair to just leave like that.
She thought about it and asked tentatively: "...Prince?"
Li Qishen glanced at her and asked, "What did you call me?"
“…Eternal life.” Xie Wangzhi was convinced. He had no idea what he was arguing about. He followed his lead and said, “What do you want to do next? It’s about time. If nothing else, I’ll go home so that my brother won’t worry.”
"Walk with me for a while." Li Qishen thought about it.
Xie Wangzhi also thought about it and nodded: "Okay."
Zhaoye was left behind on the other side of the street. Li Qishen raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The warhorse received the signal and walked past the passers-by to the side of its master. The reins fell down, just enough for him to hold. Li Qishen took the reins and led Zhaoye forward, while Xie Wangzhi followed him.
The two of them originally had endless things to talk about, and Li Qishen was very good at chatting, so he didn't let the atmosphere become dull. But at the moment he was annoyed and didn't want to speak. Xie Wangzhi didn't know what to say either, so he just walked in silence all the way.
Li Qishen was upset and didn't want to hear the voices of others, so he took a small path, passing through the shops in the East Market, passing by banners with shop names written on them. The sun flickered on his face, revealing his cold and beautiful face and the warhorse he was leading. The city was bustling with people, but he walked forward with his horse, and he actually felt like he was walking alone on the desert grassland.
Xie Wangzhi took small steps, half a body length slower than him. From her position, she could just see Li Qishen's profile. He didn't have a tough look, but at this moment, his jawline was particularly clear, as if he was gritting his teeth.
She got anxious and spoke randomly: "... Earlier at the Qujiang Banquet, I also remember that you didn't like sweets. I haven't forgotten it, no."
Li Qishen thought to himself, who cares whether it's sweet or not? Girls' Generation had so many sweet soups, and they just swallowed them down while enduring the hairy feeling in their throats. He was so distracted that he didn't notice that he had entered a narrow alley, and turned around abruptly while still turning the corner.
Xie Wangzhi was caught off guard when she turned around. The alley was narrow and the space was small. She dodged and her back hit the bluestone wall. Li Qishen was right in front of her, looking into her eyes. The two were less than a step apart. It seemed as if Li Qishen took advantage of the situation to press her against the wall.
Xie Wangzhi's heartbeat was disordered: "Eternal Life..."
"Let me ask you." Li Qishen simply sat down, put one hand on the girl's side, and directly trapped her between himself and the wall, "What do you think of Cui's young master?"
The author has something to say: I've figured it out, say whatever you want, I'm just an ordinary person anyway, I just like this kind of secretly jealous and wall-banging zvsjanxjsi meme, it feels so good (collapsed)