Due to some reasons, a large number of users are suddenly unable to open the webpage to access this site today. Please remember the domain name of this site (first letter + org.dot.co) to find your way home!
This is what happened last year. The distant cousin of the Ninth Prince Zheng Pei came to the banquet that day.
February was the time when the results of the imperial examination were announced. This distant cousin, who thought highly of himself, had just failed the exam and was feeling resentful, so he came to the banquet to make a scene. He was displeased with everyone present and somehow brought up the topic of businessmen, and began to mock his knowledge.
The business of the Zhou Dynasty was prosperous, but the status of merchants was low after all, and the insults he said were really unpleasant. Zheng Zhuo felt uncomfortable thinking of his mother who was a merchant. Lu Shiqing wrote a poem without saying anything and secretly gave it to him, telling him to go ahead. Then Zheng Zhuo became famous at a banquet.
But can he tell the truth? No, he can't. If he tells it, it will be clear that he and Zheng Zhuo are in cahoots. Unless it is necessary, he is still unwilling to tell Yuan Cixian the secrets of the court, lest she know more and increase the danger. After all, Yuan Yizhi means the same thing.
Lu Shiqing had no words to express his sorrow, but he remained calm and said, "Each generation has its own talented people. How can the seniors block the way for the younger generation? We should be humble and yield to them."
Yuan Cixian looked at him with some disdain: "What do you mean by young or not? The Sixth Prince is the same age as you, and if you really want to be precise, he is even half a year older than you."
He blurted out, "How do you know his birthday?"
Yuan Cixian choked. Of course it was because she had checked Zheng Zhuo.
But could she tell Lu Shiqing about it? No, at least not now. The information given by the dream was disorganized, and because it was just hearsay, many of the speculations of the common people could not be taken seriously, so her opinion of Zheng Zhuo was always wavering. It was related to the entire family. Before she had a thorough understanding of the political situation, she could not casually explain the involvement of the Yuan family with him. Even if this person was Lu Shiqing.
She concealed her guilty conscience and lied, "You told me."
Lu Shiqing obviously didn't believe it.
Yuan Cixian said seriously, "Really? When you came back from the south, you fainted with fever and called out the Sixth Prince's name in your dream." She pretended to recall, "Yes, you called him 'Azhuo'!"
"..." This was indeed how Lu Shiqing addressed Zheng Zhuo in private. He was skeptical for a moment and did not refute it immediately.
Yuan Cixian took the opportunity to bite back: "You have never called me like that before, I am not happy."
"I..." Lu Shiqing choked and started to talk nonsense, "I think I called it 'An Zhuo'. I raised a hibiscus bird when I was a child, and I named it that."
Yuan Cixian couldn't help but widen his eyes. Since it was a bird he raised when he was a child, it must have died a long time ago. Why did he still miss it so much
She pursed her lips and asked, "Is it a male or female bird?" After asking, she suddenly realized, "Could it be a lotus bird spirit with high spiritual power that can transform into a human form? You put her at home, hold her in your palm, and let her peck at the food in your palm, so you named her 'Anzhuo'?"
“…” What’s in her head
Lu Shiqing was about to dispel her ridiculous thoughts, but suddenly he heard Zhao Shu exclaim outside the curtain, and turned back to say to the inside of the curtain: "This story is interesting! Let me think about it, let me think about it... Oh, one day, the lotus bird spirit was taken away and eaten by an eagle, and then she became the white moonlight in your eyes and the cinnabar mole in your heart..."
Yuan Cixian nodded in agreement and continued, "Later, the hibiscus bird spirit saw you in so much pain, so it reincarnated as a human and came to you to repay you when it grew up."
As she spoke, she hugged Lu Shiqing's arm and stared at him without blinking. She was about to say with emotion, "Now she is your fiancée," but was suddenly interrupted by him with a blank expression: "The West Market Teahouse is hiring storytellers. Want to go?"
*
Yuan Cixian secretly complained all the way to the prince's mansion. When she entered, she heard that the banquet had already started a long time ago. It was because she and Lu Shiqing were delayed because they went to the palace. Originally, it was fine. This elegant party was more casual. You could enter with an invitation, regardless of being late. However, the two of them were too good-looking. When they arrived at the back garden of the mansion where the banquet was held, they inevitably attracted many people's attention.
In early spring in February, the Waking of Insects had passed and the weather was getting warmer. The banquet was held outdoors, beside the winding stream dug in the back garden. A row of long tables were placed beside the stream, on which were placed tea cups, wine cups, and fresh fruits. Young talents sat on the ground beside the tables, looking around and chatting, but they all fell silent when they saw Yuan Cixian.
This girl, who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, had her hair combed into a bun, with a pair of light golden beads in her hair. She wore a blouse, a long skirt, and a pair of heels. Not only was her color outstanding, but her figure was also graceful. Her graceful steps, every gesture, her eyebrows, eyes, and speech were all so picturesque that it was impossible to take your eyes off her.
When he noticed Lu Shiqing again, there was a hint of envy in his eyes.
Lu Shiqing didn't care how jealous they were of him. He felt the wolf-like gazes coming from all directions, and his face darkened. He forgot to prepare a veil for Yuan Cixian.
He gritted his teeth and tilted his body slightly to block the area where tigers and wolves were most concentrated.
After all, there were only a few women invited to the table, and some of the more reserved ones even wore veils to cover their faces. Yuan Cixian didn't feel that her fiancé was attracting much attention. She nodded slightly to Zheng Zhuo, who was looking at them from the upper seat, and followed Lu Shiqing to an empty long table. Halfway through, she heard a young man who was just in the middle of reciting a poem laugh out loud, "Just now, Brother Li asked where Mr. Tan and Ms. Xie were sleeping. Look, aren't Minister Lu and the Princess of Lancang County here?"
This was to use the Jin Dynasty's Pan Yue and Xie Daoyun as an analogy to please the two. Many people present were slightly stunned.
The story of Yuan Cixian's pursuit of Lu Shiqing was made into 17 or 18 versions and spread in the streets and alleys. Most of the people present had heard one or two of them. Although the Zhou Dynasty was open-minded, such a persistent behavior of a woman was never accepted by the public, so Yuan Cixian's reputation was not very good.
Because Lu Shiqing didn't have time to change out of his official uniform, most of the people present recognized him. However, since they had never seen Yuan Cixian before, they didn't know at first that this was the legendary Lancang County Lady. They just thought that Lu Shiqing really belonged to someone else. Now that they heard the truth, they couldn't help but feel contempt for him.
In today's occasion, I'm afraid it was this county lady who pestered me to come here.
Yuan Cixian naturally noticed the tense atmosphere, but she didn't mind it. She straightened her skirt and was about to sit down beside the long table. Unexpectedly, Lu Shiqing suddenly pressed the back of her hand to signal her not to move. Then he bent down, stretched out his hand to smooth the mat under her seat, and said, "Sit down."
People around them gasped silently.
Many of them were officials who had had dealings with Lu Shiqing. Even if they had never had direct contact with him, most of them had heard of his reputation for being arrogant, picky, and bad-tempered. So they really didn't expect that such a person would do such a humble thing for a little girl.
Wasn't it agreed that Princess Lancang would keep pestering Minister Lu
Yuan Cihan was also slightly stunned, said "Oh" and sat down, and saw Lu Shiqing personally pouring a cup of tea for her.
She now understood a little bit what he meant.
Lu Shiqing didn't want people to look at her like that, and would rather be the one being criticized.
She felt an indescribable feeling in her heart, a little sweet and a little sour. She looked at him and handed him a fruit, probably meaning to return the favor.
Lu Shiqing burst out laughing for a moment, and just as he took it, he heard Zheng Zhuo, the head of the table, say in a clear voice: "Minister Lu brought his beautiful lady here today, but did he mean to tell us that we can have a banquet at your house soon?"
Yuan Cixian and Lu Shiqing's marriage was kept low-key and had not yet been announced to the public, so that's why everyone just reacted like that. Zheng Zhuo asked this question to help Yuan Cixian clear her name.
Lu Shiqing cooperated very tacitly and said, "Your Highness is so anxious to make the marriage news public for me, it really seems like he is asking for wine."
Of course everyone now understood what was going on. After a moment of confusion, they hurriedly congratulated Lu Shiqing and started praising Yuan Cixian.
Regardless of whether it was true or false, Yuan Cixian felt very comfortable listening to it. After the interrupted banquet was able to continue, she quietly leaned close to Lu Shiqing's ear and said, "Lu Shiqing, I think I like you a little more."
Lu Shiqing tilted his head to look at her and blinked: "Just a little bit?"
She raised her chin, signaling him to show off, and then pointed to the plates of food on the table: "Peel a walnut for me, and I will like you a little more."
Lu Shiqing sneered and returned to his usual attitude: “No peeling, like it or not.”
The sound of water gurgling was heard everywhere, and a silver cup was floating down the winding stream. Yuan Cixian saw that the cup was still far away from her and Lu Shiqing, so she curled her lips, reached out to take a walnut, and went to eat. When she peeled the walnut and was about to lower her head to eat, she suddenly heard a voice saying, "I am not good at poetry, so I will drink three cups instead."
The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but not entirely like any she had heard before.
She suddenly looked up and looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a girl in a white veil covering her body, who was chosen by the wine cup in the winding stream and was pouring wine with her head down.
Noticing her gaze, Lu Shiqing tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
She frowned, thought about it secretly, shook her head and said, "Nothing, I just thought he looked a bit like someone, maybe I heard it wrong."
Although she said it was nothing, Yuan Cixian kept glancing at the girl during the rest of the banquet, and only when she stood up and left did she completely withdraw her gaze. But by coincidence, not long after she left, a maid leaned over to whisper something in Zheng Zhuo's ear, and then Zheng Zhuo also left the table.
Yuan Cixian's doubts grew stronger. After enduring for a moment, she stood up.
Lu Shiqing glanced at her and said, "Where are you going?"
She lowered her voice and said, "I go to the toilet, and you care?"
Of course Lu Shiqing couldn't do anything about it. Even though he guessed why she left, he had to hold back for the time being.
Yuan Cixian had noticed the direction that the girl and Zheng Zhuo left, and had groped their way there under the pretext of going to the toilet. Fortunately, the two did not take a detour and were just in the corridor not far ahead.
She saw someone, stopped suddenly, quietly hid around the corner, and poked her eyes out to watch.
The girl knelt at Zheng Zhuo's feet, tugged at the corner of his clothes, and spoke with her head raised. She seemed a little agitated, and her posture seemed like she was begging for mercy or crying.
But Yuan Cihan was far away and couldn't hear clearly what she said.
Zheng Zhuo stood there silently, not dodging but also indifferent. After a long time, he took a step back, avoided the girl's hand, and glanced in the direction of Yuan Cixian.
Yuan Cixian retracted her head, but she knew in her heart that Zheng Zhuo must have discovered her. In fact, she did not expect to succeed in spying, after all, this was someone else's territory. She was just sure that her reasons were enough to make Zheng Zhuo not bother with her, so she dared to come here.
She waited quietly at the corner and heard the footsteps of the two people leaving. After a while, she saw a maid coming to her and handed her a thin paper: "County Lady, His Highness asks you to go back to the table first to avoid suspicion. He said that what you want to know is on this note."
Yuan Cixian thanked her and turned to walk back to the back garden. As she did so, she unfolded the note in her hand and saw a line of small words on it: "Tomorrow at noon, at Yanxing Gate."
If you like "Holding on to My Dear Lover", please collect it: () "Holding on to My Dear Lover" has the fastest update speed.