In the palace, in the study.
Prince Duan was standing in front of the eucalyptus table, bending over, admiring the painting of galloping horses spread out on the table with a focused look on his face.
Nangong Huoyue put a few other paintings aside and said with a smile: "Uncle Prince Duan, there are a few more here. You can look at them first. I'll go out for a while."
Prince Duan didn't even raise his head, and said with full concentration: "Okay, okay, I'll take a look myself."
Nangong Huoyue glanced at him, then turned and walked out.
The bead curtain rustled and the red shadow disappeared.
The room was quiet for a while, and Prince Duan slowly raised his head, looked towards the door, then continued to lower his head to admire the painting on the table.
Nangong Huoyue walked out of the hall, went straight through the corridor and headed to the back.
Yuewu followed from the side and reported in a low voice: "Mr. Luo is already taking a bath in the back, and Huagu has also gone there."
Nangong Huoyue asked: "How long has it been?"
Yue Wu said, "About half an incense stick of time."
Nangong Huoyue said nothing more. She walked through the garden, stepped onto a stone bridge, and looked at the pavilion not far ahead.
She suddenly stopped on the stone bridge, stared at the attic for a while, then suddenly turned around and said, "Let's go. We're not going any further."
Yue Wu asked curiously, "Your Highness, have you not seen him?"
Nangong Huoyue walked down the stone bridge and said calmly, "Given Mr. Luo's personality and temper, whether Huagu succeeds or not, it is not appropriate for me to see him now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Yuewu followed behind him and bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Nangong Huoyue was silent for a moment, then said indifferently, "I am not sympathizing with her, I just think she still has some value. All men are lustful, and Mr. Luo is no exception. He doesn't want fame and fortune, so I will satisfy him with women. Huagu is a peerless beauty. I believe that once Mr. Luo has tasted her, he will be addicted to her and will never forget her."
Yue Wu whispered, "Your Highness, will Master Luo really help us wholeheartedly?"
Nangong Huoyue sneered and said, "You have to remember that no one in this world will help others wholeheartedly, even if it is your own relatives. It's nothing more than a vested interest."
After that, she was silent for a while, and then said: "Of course, there may be exceptions."
The two entered the hall.
At this time, Nangong Xiaoxin and Nangong Meijiao had just finished taking a shower, changed into new clothes, and walked in from outside.
When Nangong Xiaoxin saw her, she lowered her head and said timidly, "Royal sister."
Nangong Meijiao looked around the room and didn't see anyone. She frowned slightly, but she didn't ask.
Nangong Huoyue didn't say much and went into the study.
Prince Duan had already finished appreciating the calligraphy and painting and was looking at some poems. When he saw her come in, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Huoyue, the calligraphy and painting are good, but these poems, haha, can only be said to be so-so. I have a few Buddhist poems here, do you want to listen to them?"
Nangong Huoyue smiled and said, "Looking at Uncle Wang's expression, these Buddhist verses should be very good."
Prince Duan chuckled and said with a smug look on his face: "Not only is it good, even the gold... Haha, let me read it to you."
Nangong Meijiao didn't find her in the house, so she immediately left the hall and asked the palace maid.
The maid replied respectfully, "My Lady, there is no place for men to bathe here. Young Master Luo may have been taken to the back by Xiaodong. I don't know where he bathed."
Nangong Meijiao asked, "Is Xiaodong back?"
The maid shook her head and said, "Not yet."
Nangong Xiaoxin also came out of the hall and said, "Sister Meijiao, is Luo Qingzhou missing? Could he have been kidnapped? I heard that there are many old maids in the palace who haven't seen a man for decades. Maybe they saw that Luo Qingzhou was good-looking, so they kidnapped him to play with them."
Nangong Meijiao's expression froze, and she glared at her and said, "Who told you these things?"
Nangong Xiaoxin said: "Changle, Changle said so. She said that there are many old palace maids and eunuchs in the palace who are very perverted and especially like to lure young men in to castrate them."
Nangong Meijiao: "..."
Nangong Xiaoxin seemed to see her worries, and suddenly said, "Sister Meijiao, if Luo Qingzhou is castrated and becomes a eunuch, can he always play with me in the future? Father will no longer have to worry about the intimacy between men and women?"
Nangong Meijiao ignored her and walked quickly towards the corridor leading to the back.
Nangong Xiaoxin also hurriedly followed and said, "Sister Meijiao, wait for me!"
As soon as the two of them turned the corner, Luo Qingzhou came hurriedly from the corridor behind.
He seemed to have taken a shower, changed into clean black clothes, and combed his hair meticulously.
The three of them looked at each other.
Nangong Meijiao stared at him up and down.
Nangong Xiaoxin said with disappointment: "Luo Qingzhou, weren't you captured by the old palace maid and the old eunuch? I was just about to rescue you."
Luo Qingzhou stopped in front of the two and said, "The maid took me to the back to take a bath."
Nangong Meijiao stared at his pretty face for a while before asking, "Where did you wash it?"
Luo Qingzhou pointed to the back and said, "There is an attic in the back. I washed it in the room there. Princess, would you like to go and have a look?"
Nangong Meijiao glared at him, turned around and said, "Let's go and have dinner."
Luo Qingzhou followed behind him.
Nangong Xiaoxin walked side by side with him, tilted her head and looked at him and said, "Luo Qingzhou, don't run around anymore in the future. Be careful not to be caught by the old palace maids and have them play with you. Also, be careful not to be caught by the old eunuchs and have them castrate you."
Luo Qingzhou nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for the reminder, Princess."
Nangong Xiaoxin suddenly moved her nose, moved closer to him and sniffed, and said: "Luo Qingzhou, what kind of soap did you use to take a bath? It smells so good, and it also has a sweet smell."
Luo Qingzhou said: "I don't know either. The palace maid brought it to me."
Nangong Xiaoxin suddenly asked again: "Did that little palace maid rub your back?"
Nangong Meijiao pricked up her ears.
Luo Qingzhou said: "No."
The three of them quickly entered the palace.
At this time, the maids had already started serving the dishes.
When the three of them arrived at the door of the study, they heard Prince Duan's smug laughter from inside: "Huoyue, aren't you amazing? All of these are original manuscripts of Chu Mo, which were given to me by that boy to curry my favor. If you like it, Uncle Wang can reluctantly give it to you."
Nangong Huoyue smiled and said, "Uncle Wang, you don't have to be polite. Just keep it for yourself."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at the three people at the door.
Prince Duan also looked towards the door, and quickly came out with a big smile on his face, saying, "Qingzhou, can you write another Buddhist verse? I'll give it to the princess. You can't come empty-handed when you come to eat here."
Nangong Xiaoxin said, "Father, didn't you come here empty-handed as well?"
Prince Duan chuckled and said, "Father's surname is Nangong, yours is Nangong too, and so is Meijiao. We are all family, so it doesn't matter. Qingzhou is different. He wants to stay here for dinner, so he will naturally send something to your sister."
Nangong Huoyue looked at the young man outside the house, smiled faintly, and said, "No need, I am not very interested in poetry. Uncle Wang, let's go and eat first."
Seeing this, Prince Duan did not force it anymore and said, "Okay, let's eat first."
Several people went to the dining room.
Nangong Meijiao said, "My sister and Uncle Wang, please eat here. Xiaoxin, Luo Qingzhou and I will eat outside."
Nangong Xiaoxin quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, father, sister, you guys chat, the three of us can just go out to eat."
Prince Duan sat down at the table carelessly without saying a word.
Nangong Huoyue glanced at the three of them and said, "Why, can't you eat sitting here?"
Nangong Xiaoxin didn't dare to say anything else.
Nangong Meijiao glanced at her and explained, "Royal sister, Luo Qingzhou is a commoner, so it is not convenient for him to sit here."
The hall suddenly fell into a brief silence.
Nangong Huoyue smiled faintly, and suddenly looked at the young man behind her and said, "In my heart, Mr. Luo is not a nobody. If he is willing, the position of Prime Minister of Huoyue Country can be given to him. If he doesn't like the position of Prime Minister, the position of Grand Marshal is also fine. Whether it is a civil official or a military official, I think Mr. Luo is worthy of it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly fell silent.
Nangong Xiaoxin opened her mouth and eyes wide, looked at the young man next to her, and then looked at her royal sister.
The imperial sister knows Luo Qingzhou
And the imperial sister actually thinks so highly of this guy Luo Qingzhou
This guy can only write poetry and keep goal, but he can't even kick a ball or shoot a goal.
Prince Duan lowered his head and looked at the exquisite dishes on the table, with no other expression on his face.
Nangong Meijiao's face changed, and she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't.
"Mr. Luo, please take a seat."
Nangong Huoyue actually bowed with the etiquette of a disciple.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at Prince Duan who was sitting at the table.
Prince Duan immediately smiled and said, "Qingzhou, why are you being so polite? Come and sit down. Since Huoyue asked you to sit down, you should sit down. We are all family, so there is no need to be polite."
Luo Qingzhou bowed and sat down in the lower seat without refusing. Then he turned to Nangong Meijiao and said, "Princess, come and sit down."
Nangong Meijiao glanced at him, said nothing more, and walked over and sat down.
Nangong Xiaoxin also hurriedly followed.
Nangong Huoyue asked the maid to bring up the wine.
She poured a cup herself and handed it to Luo Qingzhou, saying, "Sir, there are many people here this morning, Huoyue is afraid that it will cause trouble for you, so she is being rude to you. Huoyue will toast you first."
Luo Qingzhou took the wine and said, "Your Highness is too polite."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
Prince Duan glanced at him, concealed the shock in his eyes, and raised his glass and said, "Qingzhou, I'll toast you too, thank you for playing football with Xiaoxin today."
At this time, Yuewu suddenly walked in from outside and reported: "Your Highness, there has just been news from Shoukang Palace that the afternoon ball game has been cancelled and Miss Yan'er has admitted defeat. The Queen Mother said that Your Highness should go to Shoukang Palace when you have time. The Emperor is also there. She also said that the two princesses should go there as well."
After these words were spoken, the hall fell silent for a moment.
Nangong Huoyue tightened her fingers around the wine jug and said calmly, "Got it."
Yuewu bowed and retreated.
Nangong Huoyue sighed, sat down and said, "Looks like I still have to go."
Prince Duan said with a smile: "We are going to go, Huoyue, hurry up and eat. We will go after dinner, don't let the Queen Mother wait anxiously."
Nangong Huoyue poured herself a glass of wine, and suddenly looked at him and asked, "Uncle Wang, do you know who the other party is?"
Prince Duan was slightly startled when he heard this, then shook his head.
Nangong Huoyue asked again: "Are they those meritorious families?"
Prince Duan sneered and said, "They are all idle dandies. Who has the qualifications?"
Nangong Huoyue didn't say anything else.
Prince Duan advised, "Don't worry, you will know when you go there. If you don't want to, just refuse directly, no one dares to force you."
Luo Qingzhou and the other two looked at them. They had no idea what they were talking about and couldn't understand a word they said.
After dinner.
The group left the palace and got on the carriage.
The carriage stopped outside Shoukang Palace.
Luo Qingzhou was not invited, so naturally he was not qualified to enter.
Nangong Meijiao asked Aunt Mu to send him out of the palace first and waited for him. Before leaving, she coldly warned him, "Don't run around. Wait for me outside. If you dare to run around like you did last night, I'll break your legs."
Luo Qingzhou ignored her.
Aunt Mu drove the carriage and took him out of the palace.
After leaving the palace, Luo Qingzhou suddenly said, "Aunt Mu, take me to the bookstore. I want to read a book."
Aunt Mu hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's go to Moxue Bookstore?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "No, your eldest daughter should be there."
Aunt Mu asked, "Does Mr. Luo not like my eldest daughter?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "I'm afraid if I meet her alone, your young lady will beat me to death when she comes out."
Aunt Mu was silent for a moment, then said, "That's true."
The carriage slowly traveled through the streets and stopped in front of a bookstore.
Luo Qingzhou got off the carriage.
Aunt Mu held the whip and said, "Mr. Luo, I'm waiting for you on the other side. Don't run around. You are not familiar with the inner city. Be careful not to get lost."
"I know."
Luo Qingzhou entered the bookstore.
Soon, he jumped out from the wall next to the toilet at the back and left by a detour.
We hired a carriage on the street and quickly left the inner city and headed straight for Maple Leaf Alley.
After returning to Qin's residence, he took his storage bag and ring and left without even saying hello to anyone else.
By the time he arrived at the Eighteenth Lane in the South City, he had transformed into the ordinary-looking Chu Feiyang.
I hope Sister Dao is at home at this time.
Sister Dao said before that she would go out to practice during the day and come back at night, but her family should know where she was practicing.
He must find out what happened last night as soon as possible.
"Winter! Winter! Winter!"
He came to the door of Dao Mansion and knocked on it.
Soon, a maid came and opened the door. She was not the same maid from last night and she didn't seem to know him.
Luo Qingzhou hurriedly said: "I'm looking for Dao Ling, is she at home?"
The maid was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "My young lady has just gone to the backyard. Sir, please wait a moment. I will go and call her right away."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
Luo Qingzhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as he was at home.
But he suddenly became nervous again.
If Princess Nangong really came here last night and really met and talked with Sister Dao, would Sister Dao know his true identity now
Obviously, this is very possible.