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The twelfth lunar month is the coldest time of the year.
In the bitter north wind and rain, Lu Shiqing bent his legs and half-knelt beside the bridge railing, his back hunched, and he kept coughing. After each cough, he took in a mouthful of cold wind, which filled his lungs and hurt his throat, so he coughed again.
This happens over and over again.
The dark purple official robe he was wearing had almost turned black. Although the third-rank court robe was not afraid of getting dirty, the note in his hand was clean.
After Zheng Zhuo gave him the note left by Yuan Cixian, he was ordered to return to the city to avoid being followed. He was the only one on Lu Bridge. It was freezing cold, and no one else was so depressed.
Lu Shiqing coughed hard and tried to prop himself up with his elbows. After two unsuccessful attempts, he simply rolled over and sat down with his back against the bridge railing. The cold wind howled and rushed into his sleeves, but fortunately the cuffs of his official robe were narrow and blocked most of it.
He tightened his sleeves, and a distant voice seemed to ring in his ears, coming from the dead of winter two years ago: "Mr. Xu, you are wearing a wide-sleeved robe in the middle of winter, aren't you cold?"
He wanted to say that he was cold, but if he changed into narrow sleeves and tightened the belt, his figure would be exposed and it would be difficult to hide his identity.
But he couldn't say anything, so even though he was almost shaking like a sieve, he still pretended to be calm and said in a steady voice: "Xu is not cold, thank you for your concern."
If he had known that Yuan Cixian would eventually discover his identity, why would he have put in such a show
Thinking of this, Lu Shiqing curled the corner of his mouth, raised his empty eyes, and looked towards the gray and white sky.
*
I remember the first time I met her formally was in the early spring three years ago in the Daming Palace.
At that time, she was only fifteen years old and had just come of age. She went to Beijing with her father to receive rewards for the victory in the war in southern Yunnan. On the day of her enthronement, she was dressed more gorgeously than the princess. At the ceremony, all the ministers, officials, princes and grandchildren looked at her with awe.
He also looked at her more. He had no other intention, but to ponder the secrets of the court. The county lady of the Yuan family was outstanding in appearance and had reached the age of a wealthy family. After this ceremony of enthronement, many people might be tempted. However, the identity of the King of Southern Yunnan was too sensitive. Except for those who were not smart enough, no one dared to express their opinions publicly. I don't know how the saint planned to use this marriage to make a fuss.
He was thinking about all these twists and turns in his mind, and when he was going back home after the ceremony, he really ran into a fool when passing through the palace road. Right in front of him, the sickly Ninth Prince Zheng Pei stopped the Yuan siblings halfway, and from a distance, he was probably teasing the young lady.
The brother next to Yuan Cixian is not very shrewd. He is straightforward and will start cursing if he can't stand it, no matter how noble the other person's status is.
Lu Shiqing didn't want to get involved in this matter. After all, Yuan Yu and he didn't get along well, and they had a grudge against each other. Seeing that he had offended Zheng Pei, he should ignore it. But when he thought that Zheng Zhuo had recently been trying to win over the Yuan family, and Yuan Yu's trouble would also cause trouble for them, he stepped forward before the quarrel started and said with a smile: "Ninth Prince, you are here."
As soon as he said this, the Yuan brothers and sisters and Zheng Pei all looked over. He glanced at the three of them, bowed to them one by one, and then said to Zheng Pei: "On the way here, I saw your eunuchs looking for you everywhere, and it seemed like they had something urgent to do."
Zheng Pei was interrupted and asked unhappily, "What's the emergency?"
He said calmly, "I don't know about this. Maybe it's the Saint who asked me to do so."
Zheng Pei looked at him doubtfully, and finally got on the sedan chair and drove away, leaving behind a sentence "Cousin Cixian, we will talk next time".
He saw Yuan Cixian's mouth twitching, with a look of "I'm not going to talk to you". After that, he didn't stay for long. He nodded and said goodbye to the Yuan brothers and sisters. When he turned to leave, he heard her whispered: "Brother, who is this?"
Yuan Yu introduced him casually: "He is the Minister of the Imperial Court, his surname is Lu."
Then, February Spring Breeze conveyed her admiration to his ears: "Oh, she's quite pretty."
His impression of Yuan Cixian stayed on this compliment she gave him for nearly two years. The next time he saw her was at the end of the following year, when it was snowing heavily in the middle of winter.
During those two years, Zheng Zhuo successfully won over Yuan Yu. At the end of the year, the Yuan family went to Beijing as required. He took the opportunity to visit them as a teacher and discuss a marriage.
Emperor Huining had an idea to marry Yuan Cixian to Zheng Zhuo as his daughter-in-law. Zheng Zhuo chose to take advantage of the situation and further consolidate his relationship with the Yuan family. He was then sent to act as a matchmaker, to lobby and to show his sincerity.
On that day, after the snow had just cleared, the Yuan family brothers and sisters were making snow in the Yuan residence. Yuan Cixian's face was red from the cold, and she tirelessly threw solid snowballs at Yuan Yu, making noises and laughing. But Yuan Yu didn't dare to throw snowballs at her like that, for fear of hurting her, so she kept running away, and when she had no choice, she symbolically threw soft snowballs back at her.
When he saw that scene, Lu Shiqing suddenly backed off, wondering if he was being a bit cruel as a lobbyist.
The girl, who has been loved and spoiled by her family since she was young, is still as innocent as a child at the age of nearly seventeen, but is about to be drawn into the endless darkness.
He hesitated for a moment, but still went to Yuan Yizhi's study and said what a politician should say. When he came out after the talk, he ran into Yuan Cixian who came to bring tea to Yuan Yizhi.
She had probably heard Yuan Yu introduce him, so she knew who he was. When she saw him, she said, "I've heard of your name for a long time." Her pair of peach-petal eyes curved into crescent shapes and she smiled politely, yet a little cunningly.
Thinking about the purpose of the visit, he suddenly felt that the smile was very glaring, so glaring that he actually felt a little guilty.
He showed no enthusiasm, but just nodded to her politely.
It was at that time that I heard her ask him if he was cold.
After he said, "Xu is not cold, thank you for your concern, County Princess," he said goodbye and left.
But at that time I felt that I had done something dishonest, and my heart was full of disgust and coldness. How could I not feel cold
His sleeves were filled with snow and wind, and he walked with his back straight, but there was nothing upright about his walk.
Although Yuan Yizhi said in the study that he didn't want his daughter to marry into the royal family and get involved in those intrigues, and politely rejected him, he knew that there was no room for negotiation. After all, the saint had to keep Yuan Cixian this time, and after weighing the pros and cons, he felt that Zheng Zhuo, who had no power, was a more "safe" candidate.
His appearance as a lobbyist today was just a formality, to express Zheng Zhuo's position early before the Saint. In this way, when the decree of marriage came down, he would not be in an awkward and passive position.
A few days later, the imperial edict was indeed issued, and Emperor Huining waved his hand and granted the two people's marriage.
Knowing that the Yuan family still had reservations about Zheng Zhuo, and must have some thoughts about this imperial edict, he wanted to make another trip as a teacher to appease them. Unexpectedly, the next day, military news came from the southwest, saying that war had broken out in southern Yunnan and Nanzhao had launched an invasion.
On the one hand, the border was in danger, and on the other hand, the Yuan family was in trouble, so he asked to go to negotiate, set out on New Year's Eve, and returned in February. On the day of his return, Zheng Zhuo met him at Xu's house and asked him if he had seen a jade women's ring in the Nanzhao military camp.
He said he saw it, and Xiju's reaction was a bit strange, and he was thinking of going back to Beijing to find out what was going on.
Zheng Zhuo said don’t investigate anymore, it was his fiancée who did it.
His fiancée is Yuan Cixian.
Lu Shiqing asked for details and Zheng Zhuo explained that on the first day of the first lunar month, he and his brothers went to the Daming Palace to pay their respects to Emperor Huining and wish him a happy new year. He heard from the eunuchs that Yuan Cixian came to the palace to find him and was waiting outside.
Emperor Huining was pleased to see this happen and allowed him to leave early. When he met Yuan Cixian, he found that she came for Shaohe and asked him to do her a favor and arrange for Princess Shaohe to meet at Anxingfang at noon.
Zheng Zhuo said that he didn't care much at first, and out of politeness he didn't ask the reason, thinking that since she was his fiancée, it was natural for him to help with such a small matter. Later, he heard from the spy that the Yuan family sent a confidential item out of Chang'an at night, and then he realized something was wrong. After checking, he learned that it was Yuan Cixian who asked Shaohe for a jade ring to help Lu Shiqing negotiate.
Lu Shiqing understood after hearing this and asked, "What did she do for me?"
Zheng Zhuo shook his head: "That's why I came here to ask you this today. Are you two friends?"
He said "No", and said: "Just for this, you waited for me for two months? Couldn't you have asked her earlier?"
Zheng Zhuo said: "She didn't ask me for help directly, which means she has reservations about me. If I ask her again, wouldn't it be a bit unromantic?"
Lu Shiqing said, "You also know that you don't understand romance." After thinking for a while, he said, "Maybe my trip to negotiate has helped the Yuan family out of siege, and she helped me out of moral obligation." After saying that, he frowned again, thinking of something, "Oh, could it be that thing last year?"
Zheng Zhuo asked what was going on.
He said that it was last year in the Daming Palace that he lied to Zheng Pei and helped her out of a predicament.
Zheng Zhuo said with emotion that this county lady was a straightforward person. She returned favors with small amounts of money but returned huge amounts of love with great kindness.
He felt uncomfortable and said, "Are you speaking up for her? You have to know that if it weren't for me, she wouldn't know who her fiancée is now."
Zheng Zhuo punched him jokingly.
The punch hit him right in the chest, causing him to hiss.
Zheng Zhuo panicked for a moment and asked, "Did the injury relapse?"
Last year, when Huainan was hit by a flood, he went to provide disaster relief. On his way back to Beijing, he encountered an assassin arranged by King Ping and was stabbed in the chest, but he barely survived.
He nodded: "The trip to Nanzhao was a bit rushed, just rest for a few days."
Zheng Zhuo told him to go back and rest, and said before leaving: "Remember to thank the county lady when you have the chance."
Since Yuan Cixian was engaged to Zheng Zhuo, there was no reason for her to follow the King of Southern Yunnan back to Yaozhou. She was in the capital at the time, so there must have been opportunities, and out of courtesy, she should have thanked him.
Lu Shiqing then said "OK" and returned to the Lu Mansion through the secret passage.
He had to accept the offer, and he was truly grateful, but he had never taken the initiative to interact with a young lady in his 23 years of life. Not only did he feel uncomfortable, but more importantly, a visit would be too ostentatious, after all, his status was not appropriate.
He treated this matter as a court battle, and after weighing the pros and cons, he chose the least noticeable method: In a few days, on February 14, the day before the Flower Festival, Zheng Zhuo would hold a wine-drinking banquet at the Prince's Mansion, and Yuan Cixian, as his fiancée, should attend. He had no interest in attending, but now he went reluctantly.
On February 14th, he was in agony for a long time, listening to those bored people spitting and competing with each other, watching Zheng Zhuo and Yuan Cixian at the top eating fruits and chatting and laughing, and he almost fell asleep. He finally waited for a man named Dou Azhang to win the first prize, and the banquet ended.
After everyone left the banquet, he intentionally stayed for a moment, waiting for the moment when Yuan Cixian said goodbye to Zheng Zhuo and left to go home.
Zheng Zhuo was probably originally going to take Yuan Cixian back to Shengyefang, but he saw through his intention to thank her and didn't ask. He took the opportunity to follow her, thinking about how to greet her in a more natural and less pretentious way.
—County Lady, you are here too. Are you preparing to go back home
—Why is the county lady here alone? Didn’t His Highness see you off
—County Lady…
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the man in front of him suddenly stop, turn around and look at him, blink twice and ask curiously: "Minister Lu, why are you following me?"
His heart skipped a beat at that moment.
Damn it, I was seen through.
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