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"Because on the fifteenth..." Yuan Cixian hesitated for a moment, pointing to the moon that was about to set in the sky, "the moon is rounder."
Lu Shiqing sneered in his heart and said, "Just go ahead, why are you asking me?"
She smiled and grabbed his arm: "I don't have a car."
"… "
Lu Shiqing's face darkened. He thought she came to ask for his opinion.
He smiled and pulled his arm out of her hand: "My Lu family is penniless, with only a carriage, and now you want to take me to court."
*
Lu Shiqing, who was taken to court by carriage, was late. When he arrived at Xuanzheng Hall, Emperor Huining had already begun to listen to the court officials' reports. He then quietly stood at the end of the line, just behind Yuan Yu.
Unexpectedly, the sage was also very idle. He was halfway through listening to the report when he saw him coming late. He ignored the minister who was still talking nonstop, nodded in his direction and said with emotion: "Minister Lu has been in office for seven years, and this is the first time he is late for court."
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the court turned around to look at him.
Lu Shiqing's heart was bleeding. He wanted to refuse Yuan Cixian just now, but she kept pestering him. He thought that although it was not entirely on the way, he would just give her a ride, since it was still early. As soon as he agreed, she became more demanding, saying that how could she go to visit Shaohe with nothing in her hands, and she borrowed his servants from the Lu Mansion to make some breakfast.
He would wait until the snacks were ready before sending her to Wangji Temple, otherwise it would be too late as his carriage kept going back and forth.
He didn't care about the opinions of these people. What he cared about was that for seven years, he had been undeterred by any weather conditions and was like a legend in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He always attended court on time to the minute. Now, there was a stain on his life.
Being late once is intolerable, so why not be late tomorrow as well.
Lu Shiqing thought so in his heart, and with his hands clasped, he was about to step forward to take the blame, but he saw Emperor Huining waving his hand to indicate that it was not necessary.
The official who had just been interrupted continued to make his report, but Yuan Yu in front could no longer stand. He kept facing the saint, raised his toes, leaned back a little, and whispered, "Where have you been!"
Knowing that he would not agree easily, Yuan Cixian left home without consulting him. The note she left for him was also brief and to the point, saying that she had a dream again, dreaming that if she did not go to live in Lu's mansion for a few days, she would be killed.
Yuan Yu was furious when he first saw the note this morning, but what could he do? What if he took her back and she lost her life
But he was a man after all, and he knew how fatal his sister's beauty was to Lu Shiqing, so he was still worried about him, especially when he saw that he was late for the first time in his life, and he didn't know what his thoughts were going on.
Lu Shiqing lowered his voice and answered: "Go ask your good sister."
"What did you do to her?"
He frowned and was about to say something else when he suddenly heard an official with a white beard and long eyebrows cough. Then he looked at him with contempt and disdain. At the same time, Emperor Huining asked, "Minister Lu, in your opinion, is this policy feasible?"
Lu Shiqing stepped out calmly, glanced at the official who had just spoken, nodded and said, "I think that although Yu Siye's plan is good, it is also biased. If we want to find the right remedy to avoid the harm, I'm afraid we need to discuss it further."
Emperor Huining nodded repeatedly, and then said: "Minister Lu's words make sense, Yu Siye's proposal is rejected for the time being."
Seeing this, Yuan Yu felt that Lu Shiqing's ability to do two things at once was amazing. He turned around and asked in a low voice: "What was old man Yu talking about just now?"
But he replied indifferently: "Who knows."
*
After Yuan Cixian arrived at Wangji Temple, he asked the temple servants about the whereabouts of Princess Shaohe. He heard that the place where she practiced asceticism was a separate nunnery, but she would recite sutras in the main hall every morning, so he went there.
As early as the second day after returning to Chang'an, she went to the palace to meet the emperor and expressed her willingness to forgive Zheng Yun and hoped that the emperor would show leniency to her.
The old emperor already felt guilty about Shao He, and after being coaxed by Yuan Cixian, he was overjoyed. He praised her for her magnanimity and agreed to this matter. However, it was not a good thing to take back the imperial decree just after it was issued, so he said that he would pardon Shao He's crime when the general amnesty was issued on the winter solstice in the twelfth lunar month.
Zheng Yun probably didn't know the news yet. When Yuan Cixian saw her, she felt that her eyes were dim. She stood up from the futon and smiled at her: "Why is the county lady here?"
The question was completely without intonation or rhythm, and lacked any worldly air.
Yuan Cixian didn't want to play tricks with her, so when she saw that no one was around, she said directly: "I know it wasn't you who did it. The saint promised me that he would take you back on the winter solstice."
Zheng Jun's face was calm and he showed no surprise. He just said, "Thank you for your help, but it's nice here."
Yuan Cihan always felt particularly depressed every time she talked to Zheng Jun, as if she was dealing with an old man in his seventies or eighties who had seen the vicissitudes of life. Hearing this, she smiled uncomfortably, changed the subject, made some polite gestures, and asked her about her recent situation.
The two chatted for a while, and suddenly heard a steady sound of footsteps coming from outside the hall.
When Yuan Cihan turned around, she saw Zheng Zhuo, dressed in black, stepping into the main hall. He seemed a little surprised to see her, and then nodded to her and Zheng Yun as a greeting.
She was just using Zheng Yun as a cover today, but she was actually here to look for Zheng Zhuo. She was just worried about where to find him, but now she was relieved. She looked surprised and asked, "Why did the Sixth Prince have time to come to Wangji Temple?"
Zheng Zhuo smiled slightly: "It's not that I have free time, I just came here because I have no choice."
Yuan Cixian pretended to be enlightened: "Look at my memory." Then he lowered his head and glanced at the food box in his hand, "I brought some breakfast for your lord. Since Your Highness is here, let's eat together."
Zheng Zhuo didn't seem to be very familiar with Zheng Yun, his legitimate sister who was of higher status than him. He was not as casual in speaking as when he was alone with Yuan Cixian. He said stiffly, "No, just eat."
Zheng Jun didn't say anything polite.
Yuan Cixian had played tricks with the food, so she had to hint, "It's better to come at the right time than to come early. It just so happens that what I brought today is the yam cake that Your Highness loves to eat. You can have a piece to fill your stomach."
Zheng Zhuo didn't like yam cakes, and even if he liked it, Yuan Cixian wouldn't know. He immediately understood the truth, but didn't show it on his face. He smiled and said, "Then I'll respectfully obey your order."
He reached for the pastry, and at her hint, he took out a piece with a note stuck underneath, then slowly and carefully twisted the paper between his fingers.
At the same time, Yuan Cixian turned around to distract Zheng Yun and said to her, "Would you like to take a piece too?"
Zheng Yun did not take it, but raised his head and said, "Please follow me to the small room for breakfast, County Lady."
Yuan Cixian glanced at Zheng Zhuo and made sure that he had received the news, then went to the small room in the nunnery at the back with Zheng Yun.
Zheng Jun's steps rarely seemed impatient, but when he arrived at the small room where agarwood was burning, he turned around and regained his composure. He asked Yuan Cihan to sit down without saying a word.
Yuan Cixian took the initiative to ask: "Does your Excellency have anything to say to me in private?"
Zheng Yun smiled and asked, "Are the county lady and my sixth brother familiar with each other?"
"It's just a few encounters."
"If that's the case, why bother borrowing my name to come and see him?"
Yuan Cixian had expected that even if Zheng Yun guessed the real purpose of her visit, she would definitely think of it as a love affair between a man and a woman, so she would not make a big mistake. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Are you standing up for Minister Lu now?"
Zheng Yun didn't say anything.
Yuan Cixian continued, "You don't have to worry about him." She pointed to the food box in front of her and said, "This is the work of the Lu family's servants. Please try it. I'm leaving first. Minister Lu will come down from court soon to pick me up."
Zheng Jun's eyes showed a strange color. When he saw her stand up and leave, he quickly came back to his senses and called her: "Wait."
Yuan Cixian turned around with a questioning look in his eyes, but saw that her face was bleak. She smiled bitterly and didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, she just said, "It's cold and windy, please walk slowly, county lady."
She nodded and turned away. Zheng Yun sighed as she watched her back disappear into the path in front of the nunnery. She just wanted to tell Yuan Cixian that this time, she must not let Lu Shiqing down again, no matter who she was, she must not let Lu Shiqing down again.
*
Thanks to this word "slow", Yuan Cixian waited for a long time in the front hall before she finally saw Lu Shiqing coming back from the court. In order to avoid attracting attention, she did not go to find Zheng Zhuo again. There was no maid by her side, and she was really bleak in the wind for a long time. As soon as she got into Lu Shiqing's carriage, she complained: "The saint has delayed the court? Why are you so slow?"
Lu Shiqing thought that he was fast enough. After the court session, even if he did not have to go to the Purple Palace to serve Emperor Huining, he would be surrounded by a group of officials who wanted to get close to him, or he would run into a few officials of higher rank than him who came to find fault with him.
Today, as soon as the sage said to dismiss the court, he turned around and walked out of the Xuanzheng Hall. No matter how purple, red, and blue people called him from behind, he just pretended not to hear them and walked away. It was only when Yuan Yu caught up with him that he said a few more words of nonsense to him.
But he didn't want to tell her this, lest she get carried away, so he said coldly: "Do you think I have lots of free time?" Then he knocked on the small table in front of him, motioning for her to look for herself.
Yuan Cixian looked down where he was pointing and found that his writing was filled with Sanskrit that she could not understand.
Oh, this is to copy Buddhist scriptures to make amends for Xuan.
She subconsciously glanced at his belt and smiled embarrassedly: "I'll help you copy it. It's all scribbles and you can't make out the words anyway." As she said that, she took out his paper and pen and started to copy it.
Lu Shiqing thought she was just sitting around doing nothing, so he ignored her at first. But when she had filled a whole piece of paper, he couldn't help it anymore, and frowned as he asked, "Did you know that Sanskrit also has symmetry?"
Yuan Cixian certainly didn’t know.
Lu Shiqing simply took back the pen from her hand and said, "Don't trace it anymore. It makes me upset."
Yuan Cixian curled her lips and said, "You are also a scholar, how can you deprive someone of the ambition to study? I don't know how to do it, just teach me!" After that, she tempted, "Teach me step by step..."
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