The emperor couldn't stand Prince Rui's clinginess to the princess, so he finally found a reason and assigned him to go on a business trip out of the capital.
As soon as the man left, Su Yi suddenly felt refreshed, and the sky seemed half brighter.
However, after only two or three days, she began to miss the kindness of the dog again. After all, the days when someone peeled grapes for her, someone carried her when she went to the fields, and someone rubbed her waist at night were too easy to lead to depravity.
As the weather gradually got warmer, she asked someone to move the couch to the waterside pavilion, which was surrounded by bamboo curtains. The wind from the lake and mountains blew over, passed through the bamboo curtains, and gently caressed her face.
Su Yi was drowsy, but without someone to cushion her, even her nap seemed a bit boring.
She simply turned sideways, propped up her head, and watched Qinglian, who was sitting next to her, sewing small clothes.
Qinglian's belly is five months old and bulging. Ever since Su Yi knew she was pregnant, she has not allowed her to take care of her. It was not until two months ago, when Qinglian had morning sickness and could not sit still, that she was allowed to come and talk to Su Yi from time to time.
She has always been deft with her hands. In her hands, a piece of cloth not much bigger than the palm can be turned into exquisite little clothes and shoes in no time.
That was prepared for the baby in Su Yi's belly. Princess Rui was pregnant, so naturally there was no shortage of rewards from the palace, and a lot of things for the child were also given. In addition, Su Yi's sister-in-law Liu came to visit her earlier and said that she was already sewing clothes for the baby.
Qinglian certainly knew that the future little master would not lack her for a few clothes, but this was her intention, and even Su Yi could not refuse.
Previously, Su Yi asked her to prepare for her child, but Qinglian looked embarrassed and said that a while ago, her mother-in-law came to the palace from the farm to visit her and brought a big bag of things for the child. The old lady sewed several quilts by herself. She started making them secretly since Qinglian got married and never let anyone know until now that she was pregnant, then she finally dared to take them out.
After hearing this, Su Yi felt more relieved about Qinglian's in-laws. That family truly loved her.
Seeing her turn over, Qinglian stopped what she was doing, leaned over and asked with concern: "Princess, are you too hot to sleep?"
Su Yi shook her head, "It's not that hot, it's just a little boring."
Although the opera troupe still lives in the mansion, no matter how wonderful the play is, they can't help but listen to it every day. In the past two days, the troupe owner has been rehearsing a new play intensively to meet the princess's requirements.
After hearing this, Qinglian smiled and said, "I dare to guess that the princess is missing the prince?"
Su Yi hummed lazily twice, neither saying yes nor no.
Qinglian then said, "I heard that the prince will not be far from the capital this time. He may be back in a day or two. If the princess is worried, why not write a letter and have someone deliver it to him."
Su Yi said, "Why write a letter? He will be annoying when he comes back."
Qinglian covered her mouth and laughed secretly, not trying to expose the fact that the princess was missing the annoying prince.
As the two chatted, Qing Xing trotted over from the corridor on the lake and said excitedly, "The prince sent someone to give the princess a message that he can return to the capital today!"
When Qinglian heard this, she smiled and said to Su Yi, "It seems that it is not the princess who misses the prince, but the prince who misses the princess."
Su Yi let her laugh, sat up from the couch, and asked the person who brought the message to be called in.
The one who made this trip was the seventh brother. Su Yi asked some questions and then estimated the King Rui's speed. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be able to arrive in the capital in the afternoon.
She asked Lao Qi to go back and rest. She changed her lazy look and suddenly felt like going out: "Let's go and listen to a book."
Now that she is a princess and pregnant, she can't go out as casually as before. Everyone in the palace is busy making arrangements about who will accompany her and who will protect her secretly.
But when they actually went out, the group was inconspicuous. They looked just like the women of an ordinary wealthy family. Su Yi wore a veil hat and did not take it off until she entered the private room of the teahouse.
The private room they booked faced the street, so they could listen to the old gentleman telling stories downstairs while enjoying the bustling scene of the capital city.
Su Yi was listening intently when she suddenly heard Qing Xing let out a small "eh" and couldn't help but tilt her head and ask, "What's wrong?"
"Isn't that..." Qing Xing pointed to the street downstairs. The word "two" had already come out of her mouth. After thinking for a while, she changed her words and said, "That looks like the second young lady of the Shen Mansion."
Su Yi remembered that it was the hostess trapped in the Shen family. Thinking of the envy on the little girl's face when she left the Shen family, she said, "Go down and take a look. If there is no one else, ask her to come up and sit for a while."
Qingxing went downstairs and came back with two people after a while. They were Shen Shuyao, who looked nervous, and her maid.
In the past, when Su Yi was in the Shen Mansion, Shen Shuyao felt a little restrained when facing her. Now that she has become a princess, she doesn't know what to do.
Su Yi interrupted her gesture of greeting and said, "No need to be polite, just sit down."
Shen Shuyao was halfway through her ceremony, but she completed it completely before sitting down.
"I haven't seen you for a while. How have you been?" Su Yi asked.
Shen Shuyao said: "Thank you for your concern, Princess. Shuyao is doing well."
Su Yi saw that she seemed thinner than before, and it didn't seem like everything was fine. However, since the girl didn't say anything, Su Yi didn't ask any questions to avoid embarrassment, and just talked about other topics.
Shen Shuyao lowered her head slightly, and while answering, she couldn't help but secretly look at her.
A year had passed since they last saw each other. Although she had been in the Shen family's backyard, news about her continued to come in. It wasn't because the people below her were too gossipy, but because her experience made people both surprised and envious.
She met Prince Rui by chance on the Dragon Boat Festival, and he fell in love with her at first sight. A few months later, she married into the palace and became a high and mighty princess as a second bride. A few months later, she became pregnant, which severely slapped the faces of those who implied that she was infertile.
Each of these is even more exciting than a play.
Shen Shuyao knew before that the second wife of their family would have a more brilliant future after leaving the Shen Mansion, just like a bird out of a cage, but she didn't expect that she could be so brilliant. On the other hand, although she lived a new life, she was still struggling in the mire, which was really far from being a human being.
The two of them didn't have much to talk about. Su Yi invited people up only because she thought that in the big melting pot of the Shen Mansion, only this little girl had not been soaked by it. She still had outstanding qualities, making people willing to stay in the same room with her.
She finally said, "We have known each other for a while. If you encounter any problems in the future and need help, come to the palace to find me."
"Thank you, Princess." Shen Shuyao bowed again and prepared to leave, but her face was hesitant. It was obvious that she had more to say, but she didn't know whether she should say it or not.
Su Yi asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Shuyao hesitated for a while, bit her lip, and said with determination, "Shuyao, I dare you, Princess, to let me have a word with you for a moment."
Before Su Yi expressed her opinion, Qing Xing was the first to disagree, fearing that she would do something bad to the princess.
But with Su Yi's ability, let alone a little girl, even King Rui couldn't hurt her at all. Besides, she was a little curious about what Shen Shuyao was going to say, so she asked the people around her to temporarily step outside.
When they were the only two people left in the private room, Shen Shuyao said, "A few days ago, Shuyao had a dream that was like reality..."
As Su Yi listened, she was a little surprised that the other party was actually reminding her to be careful about something happening to King Rui.
Obviously Shen Shuyao remembered the death of King Rui in her previous life, but she was trapped in the backyard for many years, and was even more confused in the years after she got married. Her memory was not very clear, and she could not remember in which year King Rui had the accident.
But Su Yi knew that what she said was most likely about King Rui who went south to suppress bandits and was injured by miasma and poisonous insects. The real King Rui was indeed dead, and the one who was alive now was her dog.
Shen Shuyao used dreams as an excuse to reveal to her some things about her past life that she knew. Although this had already passed, Su Yi still felt grateful to her.
After she left, Qingxing came in immediately, looked Su Yi up and down, and then she felt relieved.
Su Yile said: "Do you think she, a little girl, can really do anything to me?"
Qing Xing curled her lips and said, "You can't know a person's heart by his appearance. Princess, please don't blame me for being narrow-minded. There are some things that we have to be on guard against. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, won't the prince peel off our skin when he comes back?"
"What does your prince want your skin for? To make boots? It's not as good as cowhide."
Su Yi teased her deliberately, causing Qing Xing to stamp her feet.
Suddenly there was a commotion on the street. Qing Xing looked out and immediately said with a smile, "The prince is back!"
Su Yi was not that surprised. If she hadn't calculated that she would meet him, why would she go out today
She walked to the window and saw the tall figure of King Rui standing on his horse from afar. As they were in a busy city, she had to walk slowly towards this side. On both sides of the road, young girls and wives all looked at him with red faces.
This scene is somewhat similar to last year's Dragon Boat Festival.
Su Yi was playing with an almond on his fingertips nonchalantly, and when a man on a horse passed by the teahouse, the almond popped out with a flick of his finger.
Almost at the same time, King Rui stretched out his hand to block it, but unexpectedly failed to block it, and was hit on the head by Xingren.
He was stunned for a moment, then reacted and realized that the only person in this world who he couldn't stop or avoid was that person.
When I looked up, I saw someone standing by the window on the third floor. The face hidden by the veil must be stunningly beautiful and cunning.
Everyone on the street saw that the prince's horse stopped, and a subtle smile appeared on his face, which made people both respect and fear him.
Although it was fleeting, that moment was like the birth of spring water and the cracking of ice.
Prince Rui stepped on his horse and flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, he was outside the window fence. Then, amid Qingxing's screams, he slowly landed in his arms, holding his princess.
Su Yi's veil was blown up by the wind, revealing her stunning face underneath. Unfortunately, it only flashed by quickly before the prince covered it up.
He carried the person onto the horse, carefully protecting the princess' face in his arms, then rode away with the princess, leaving behind Qingxing and a group of servants who were extremely anxious, as well as pedestrians on the street who were unable to recover for a long time.
One can imagine what kind of legends there will be in the capital about Prince Rui and the Princess after today.