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Lu Shiqing walked out of the Purple Palace with a stern face, and followed Yuan Cixian without saying a word. They walked all the way to the spacious palace road. When he saw her suddenly stop, he turned around and asked with a smile: "Minister Lu, where are we going?"
He raised his eyelids and said, "It's up to the county lady."
Yuan Cixian hesitated for a moment and said, "How about going to your house? That would make me the happiest."
"… "
Seeing that his eyes had turned a little colder, she quickly said, "I was just joking with you." Then she continued walking forward.
Lu Shiqing followed her, and after a while she stopped again, turned her head and leaned close to his ear, and asked in a low voice: "Minister Lu, I have a question that I have wanted to ask you for a long time, but I never had the chance. There are rumors that you are not interested in women and like men. Is it true or not?"
If it is true, she should have told her in advance so that her efforts would not have been in vain.
Lu Shiqing tilted his head and glared at her, looking at her chin that was about to touch his shoulder, and said with forbearance: "County Lady, your makeup seems to be shaking on my shoulder."
He was used to speaking venomously, and wanted to say something unpleasant on purpose to make her respect herself, but she was so thick-skinned that she didn't retreat but advanced instead. After a moment's silence, she smiled and said, "Oh, sorry, I'll blow it clean for you."
As she spoke, she symbolically blew a few times at his shoulder, where there wasn't a single speck of white flakes left.
These breaths accurately sprayed on Lu Shiqing's earlobe. His pupils shrank, and he shivered from the itch. He subconsciously took a step away, looking embarrassed.
Yuan Cixian was stunned. She was unwilling to be beaten by his words, so she did something shameless, but she didn't expect the effect to be so unexpected. She raised her eyes and stared at the suspicious blush on his ears, and suddenly felt that he didn't need to answer.
She knew the answer.
She clapped her hands in a good mood and said, "It's cleaned up, Minister Lu, let's go."
…
Yuan Cixian said she wanted to go to the West Market for a stroll.
In the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty, an emperor once stipulated that officials above the fifth rank were not allowed to enter the market in order to prevent collusion between officials and merchants. Later, the rules were gradually relaxed, and now there are no explicit regulations. However, if an official goes to the market every day and is targeted by someone with ulterior motives and reported, he may still be suspected.
Although Lu Shiqing is young, he has a lot of political enemies. He can't help but suspect that Yuan Cixian is up to no good.
Of course, he was fearless.
Chang'an West Market was quite prosperous, with numerous shops and rare goods. The streets were crowded with people and vehicles. In addition to ordinary people, there were also many business travelers, including foreigners from far away.
Yuan Cixian hasn't been here for seven years.
When she got close, she saw a caravan parked in front of the town gate, being stopped by a young gatekeeper and not allowed in. The leading man was negotiating with him, and his expression was unhappy.
The gatekeeper was also young and hot-tempered. He insisted on opening the box to inspect the goods.
The two sides were in a stalemate, and the road was completely blocked. She was impatient to wait, so she stopped the carriage, asked the maid to stay here, and walked forward first, swimming into the crowd like a fish.
Lu Shiqing was sitting in a carriage at the back. Seeing this, he got out and walked behind her, dodging left and right with difficulty to avoid bumping into the people pushing and shoving on all sides.
When the two men arrived near the gate, the stalemate in front was over.
An old official rushed over and gave the young man a slap on the face: "How dare you stop the Wuxing Ji family's troops! Can you afford to delay your noble business?"
After hearing this, Yuan Cixian turned around and asked curiously, "Minister Lu, what is the origin of the Wuxing Ji family?"
Lu Shiqing dodged a sweaty vendor and took the time to answer her, "It's a famous silk shop in the Jiangnan area. It once produced precious silk products as tribute to the palace. It has a good reputation in Chang'an."
He was absent-minded when he said this. He didn't even look at Yuan Cixian. His eyes were always on the caravan's cargo.
She looked at him, then at the group of people, and asked curiously, "Do you like the Ji family's silk very much?"
Lu Shiqing withdrew his gaze and did not answer.
Yuan Cixian didn't pay much attention to it and continued to walk in. After many twists and turns, she arrived at a snack shop. On the shop plaque were a few large characters written in a flamboyant style: Xiao Ji Wonton.
She was the first to step into the shop, and sat down at a small square table by the window. She waved to Lu Shiqing who was standing there, motioning him to sit opposite her, and then called the waiter and ordered two bowls of wontons.
Lu Shiqing stepped forward, lowered his eyes to look at the bench in front of him, and hesitated to move.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Cixian pulled out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve, stood up and wiped his bench, then said, "Minister Lu, would you please sit down?"
He glanced at her indifferently, probably not thinking that her handkerchief was very clean, but he still forced himself to sit down.
Yuan Cihan put away the handkerchief and returned to her seat.
When two bowls of wontons were served, Lu Shiqing looked down and frowned, "I..."
He was interrupted before he could finish his words: "I know you don't want to eat." Yuan Cixian smiled and glanced at the many diners around him, "I want to eat two bowls, but I'm embarrassed. Can you cover for me?"
Lu Shiqing didn't say anything. He glanced at the two bowls of wontons on the square table with disdain and turned his head to the window.
Yuan Cixian then buried her head in eating.
The white porcelain bowl was filled with emerald green onions, and the aroma was fragrant. The wonton skin was smooth and tender, and the meat filling was fat but not greasy. She ate one by one with great relish, and soon she had finished the whole bowl, not even a drop of soup was left. After finishing, without saying a word, she quickly placed the empty bowl in front of Lu Shiqing and swapped it with his. The series of actions were done in one go, flowing like flowing water.
Lu Shiqing was too lazy to say anything and just pretended he didn't see anything. He continued to look out the window, watching a dim sum shop clerk steaming buns.
He had lived in Chang'an for many years, but seldom came to the West Market to avoid suspicion. He had never had the leisure to see such a scene, so this was just the right time to kill time.
A tray of steamed buns came out of the oven. Steam was rising and you could vaguely see the snow-white, round buns lying on the cloth. From a distance, they looked soft and tender.
When Lu Shiqing was looking at the steamed buns, Yuan Cixian was looking at him. She was a little full, so she ate the second bowl much more slowly, and she looked at him when she had nothing to do.
The noble ladies of the Great Zhou were very picky when it came to men. They wanted their faces to be delicate and handsome, but not effeminate; their bodies to be tall and strong, but not rough.
Look at the man opposite, his face is like a jade crown, his lips are like red, and his facial features are deep and angular. He is tall and solid, but not thick and rough, but rather slender as if he had been tailored. Especially the narrow waist in the middle, pinched by the gold and jade belt, looks quite muscular.
To be fair, Yuan Cihan felt that Lu Shiqing's appearance satisfied all the fantasies of the young lady in Chang'an.
As for her, it tastes good with rice anyway.
When Lu Shiqing looked away from the bun shop, he happened to catch a glimpse of Yuan Cixian's staring eyes.
She was actually drinking soup while staring at his waist... waist
Something in his head buzzed, and he was stunned. He felt like an ant was slowly crawling across his abdomen, itchy and numb, and his scalp was about to explode. He couldn't help but straighten his chest and abdomen and sit up straight. After that, he felt something was wrong and wanted to cover it up, but he had nothing to do, so he could only stare at her.
Yuan Cixian was completely unaware of this and continued to chew with relish while staring at his waist.
Lu Shiqing couldn't stand it any longer and asked, "May I ask, county lady, are you eating wontons or..."
Or...eat him!
Yuan Cixian didn't notice the anger in his eyes and was stunned by his yelling, with half a wonton hanging on her mouth.
Fortunately, she had a good attitude and did not choke. Under his scorching gaze, she slowly stuffed half a wonton into her mouth, chewed, swallowed, pointed at herself and asked: "I... don't look like I'm eating wontons?"
Lu Shiqing choked and was about to speak when he heard a voice not far behind him: "... Yes, my old lady wants a bowl of wontons, please put more chopped green onions."
His whole body stiffened suddenly and he turned back subconsciously.
Yuan Cixian looked over there, not knowing what was going on. The so-called "old lady" noticed their gazes and looked up, also puzzled.
The six eyes met in unison.
The person who came was Xuan.
Yes, Lu Shiqing remembered. This Xiaoji wonton shop was a time-honored brand in Chang'an, and was praised by the late emperor. Not only ordinary people, but also many nobles loved its taste. Sometimes they would come here to cook, or hire a chef to come to their house. His mother was also a frequent customer of this shop.
His expression suddenly became subtle. The Xuan's expression opposite was also complicated, first shock, then sudden realization, and then a little... agitation
What's so exciting
Yuan Cixian was confused. After trying to figure out what the two people looked like, she finally came to her senses.
Lu Shiqing glanced at Yuan Cixian, stood up and walked towards Xuan, whispering: "Mother, if you want to eat wontons, just ask the servants to come over, why are you still...?"
Xuan came to buy autumn clothes for him, and after that, she came here to eat a bowl of wontons. But she didn't want to answer him at the moment. Seeing that he was standing in front of her and blocking Yuan Cixian, she waved her hand to signal him not to get in the way, and said, "Go away, why are you blocking my mother!"
Lu Shiqing said with a headache: "Don't misunderstand..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard a crisp voice behind him: "Madam Lu, are you looking for me?" Yuan Cixian leaned over and poked her head out from behind him, looking at Xuan with a smile.
Lu Shiqing took a step and blocked her again: "Mother, please go back home first."
Yuan Cixian stood up, walked around him and came to Xuan: "Madam Lu, you probably don't recognize me, I am Yuan Cixian."
She claimed that she had no airs. When Xuan saw the man, her eyes lit up and she nodded, saying, "I greet the Princess of Lancang County."
She waved her hand and said, "Just call me Cixian." Then she extended her hand and said with a smile, "Would you like to come over here and sit with me and Minister Lu?"
Xuan nodded and glanced at her son who was being ignored: "Then I won't be polite."
She followed Yuan Cihan and sat down on a bench. She glanced at the empty bowls on the table, a look of surprise on her face, and turned to look at her son.
Of course Lu Shiqing knew what she was wondering about. He had never used dishes and chopsticks from outside, so he naturally couldn't make an exception for Yuan Cixian. He hurried forward and explained, "No... Mother, these are..."
"Minister Lu accompanied me to walk around the streets and was very hungry." Yuan Cihan hurriedly explained, confusing right and wrong.
Lu Shiqing looked at her with his back teeth clenched. He knew that she felt embarrassed to eat two bowls of wontons in one breath, so he endured it and didn't expose her in person. He took a deep breath, turned his head away and said nothing.
Xuan looked at her son, then at Yuan Cixian, and her smile became even more pronounced.
Yuan Cixian didn't pick up her chopsticks yet. She waited until Xuan's wontons were served before she said to her, "Madam Lu, do you like chopped green onions too?"
Lu Shiqing glanced at her unkindly. This was almost too obvious. She had coaxed Emperor Huining with her clever words, and now she was going to coax his mother
Like Emperor Huining, Xuanshi didn't feel that she was being deliberate in chatting him up. She smiled and nodded, "Yes, this soup will only be fragrant if it's mixed with chopped green onions."
Yuan Cixian wrinkled her nose, as if sniffing something, and then asked, "But you don't seem to eat ginger?"
Xuan was a little surprised: "How did the county lady know?"
"I can smell it. There is no ginger flavor in your wonton filling."
Lu Shiqing turned her head and looked down at the wonton bowl, frowning. Xuan Shi really didn't touch ginger. But the wonton skin was wrapped so tightly, and the smell of chopped green onions was also strong. She didn't get close to smell it, so how could she smell that something was missing from the filling
Maybe he secretly checked on his mother.
Xuan smiled and said, "The county lady is really smart."
Yuan Cihan smiled back at her: "Eat it while it's hot." After saying that, perhaps because he was afraid that she would feel restrained, he picked up his chopsticks first.
Lu Shiqing sat silently by the side, waiting for them to finish their wontons and say goodbye warmly, then he said, "Mother, I'm still on official business, so I can't take you home."
When he said the word "errand boy", he looked at Yuan Cixian seriously.
But Xuan didn't seem to understand. She looked at her son with satisfaction, as if to say, "Mom, I've been through this before, I understand."
Lu Shiqing held his forehead with his hand as he saw her off. He turned around and saw Yuan Cihan smiling at him with an impatient look on her face.
She didn't care and said, "Minister Lu, I'm so full and bored, can you accompany me to go shopping?"
He wanted to say that she ate a full 24 wontons, how could she not be full? However, due to the emperor's order, he still endured it, motioned for her to go first, and then followed.
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