Mingyu stared blankly, hesitating and not daring to move. The height difference was more than two meters. There was a teasing look in Prince Qin's eyes, but he still made a gesture to catch her.
"What are you afraid of?" Prince Qin said calmly, looking up at Mingyu on the tree, his tone tinged with sarcasm, "You were quite courageous just now!"
Mingyu wanted to cry but had no tears. She was really scared. She thought that Qin Xiaoren would move aside when she jumped down from the tree, and then she would have a close contact with the ground.
"I... wait a minute." Mingyu lacked confidence. She couldn't ask the prince to pat his chest and swear to ensure that he would not offend anyone.
Qin Junwang's patience was not good. He shook his sleeves and glanced at Mingyu coldly. What this little girl was thinking was clearly written on her face. When she looked at him, her face was full of suspicion and serious distrust. He was also hurt in his heart, okay! "Not jumping? Then I'm leaving." Qin Junwang shook his sleeves and turned around.
“Hey!” Mingyu was anxious. The tree trunk was only as thick as a bowl. As she stood up, it trembled. Mingyu’s heart also trembled. She couldn’t help but stretched out her hand and shouted, “Don’t go, I’ll jump, I’ll jump!”
With a smile hidden in his eyes, Prince Qin stretched out his arms again and stood under the tree. Mingyu aimed at the position, thought about the consequences of not jumping, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and jumped down.
The sound of wind blew past Mingyu's ears, and the feeling of weightlessness suddenly swept over Mingyu. Before Mingyu could feel it carefully, she had fallen into a warm embrace. Under the huge impact, Prince Qin was knocked down by her, becoming Mingyu's human cushion, and fell on his back on the grass.
Mingyu opened her eyes and smelled a faint scent of incense. There was a warm body under her. After she realized what was happening, Mingyu's face flushed red and she got up in a hurry. She turned around and ran away.
The Qin Jun Wang, who was pressed to the ground, covered his mouth and laughed. The afternoon breeze blowing through the woods was refreshing and pleasant. Qin Jun Wang simply spread his arms and legs, looked at the sparkling sunlight through the gaps in the leaves, and thought of the soft jade and warm fragrance in his arms just now. The wonderful feeling seemed to still linger on him. Thinking back, the cold and stern prince couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Looks skinny and has no flesh. It's quite heavy!"
Mingyu felt that she had never been so embarrassed in her life. She ran back to the banquet hall with a burning face. Before entering the door, she asked the maid waiting at the door for a basin of water and washed her face carefully. After calming down, she tried her best to pretend that nothing had happened and walked back.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw Sima Lian sitting quietly in her seat. When she saw Mingyu at the door, Sima Lian waved happily. Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked over.
Xu Mingrui saw Mingyu coming back after a long time, her face full of displeasure, she couldn't help but lecture him: "This is not your home, why are you running around here as a guest? You went to a place you shouldn't go. You are the one who is embarrassed!"
Mingyu was speechless. Her cousin was indeed a wise man. "It won't embarrass me." Mingyu said with a smile.
Xu Mingrui frowned and glared, "Of course not!"
"I'll tell them my name is Xu Mingrui!" Mingyu looked at Xu Mingrui with a very friendly and amiable smile.
The fire in Xu Mingrui's heart was so strong that it could boil a pot of water. She felt that Mingyu's smiling face was particularly hateful. She gnashed her teeth in anger, and was filled with hurt. She couldn't speak. Shameless, too shameless! After a long while, Xu Mingrui finally uttered two words from between her teeth, "You dare!"
Mingyu glanced at Xu Mingrui with a smile, ignored her, and sat down on the chair.
Sima Lian asked with concern: "Where have you been? Why did you take so long? I wanted to find you."
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you come back for a long time!" Mingyu asked back.
Sima Lian lowered her head, her eyes reddened, and she sighed softly, "I felt bad, so I asked the Gao family's maid to take me outside for a walk."
Mingyu took a close look at Sima Lian's expression, which was mournful and sad, and she certainly didn't seem to be lying. She thought that she had taken the wrong road when she went to look for her just now. That place was remote and not often visited by ordinary people. There were many guests in the Marquis' Mansion today, and the toilets must be in short supply. The maid in the Marquis' Mansion probably wanted to take her to a place with few people, but she didn't expect to run into an embarrassing scandal.
After sitting for a while, people began to leave the banquet. Sima Lian and Mingyu didn't want to sit there anymore. They were surrounded by strangers. It was difficult for the two people with their own thoughts to blend in with this group of innocent young ladies. However, Xu Mingrui didn't want to leave at this moment. She was still thinking about squeezing in to the princess's side.
Mingyu saw Xu Mingrui chatting and chatting with the other ladies, so she didn't plan to call her. Sima Lian took her hand and said with a smile: "Mingyu, I came here by carriage, why don't I take you back first."
If it was before, this was just a small matter, but now that she and Sima Hong have divorced, Mingyu feels that it is not so convenient to ride in the carriage of the Marquisate. She smiled and declined Sima Lian's kindness, "This place is very close to my home. I can go out and call a sedan chair and arrive in half an hour. You should go back quickly to avoid worrying my wife."
Sima Lian naturally knew Mingyu's concerns and sighed slightly. After all, things were different from before, so she didn't force it. She said goodbye to Mingyu and left with her maid.
Li Xiang followed Mingyu out of Gao's house and couldn't help asking, "Miss... Miss Sima is here too?"
Mingyu nodded and said with a smile, "She is engaged and will get married after the mourning period is over."
"Miss Sima used to worry about her marriage every day, afraid that the lady would treat her badly. How could a girl be like that? And now..." Lixiang shook her head after hearing this.
Mingyu turned back with a smile and made a hushing gesture. From a modern person's perspective, she did not think there was anything wrong with Sima Lian's behavior. Rather than getting married blindly and being arranged arbitrarily by the Miao family, it would be better to find a way to fight for her lifelong happiness.
Thinking of this, Mingyu couldn't help but think of herself. Thinking of that clean and warm chest today, with a faint pleasant incense scent, Mingyu's face turned red again. That prince was of noble status and talented. Even if she had not divorced, such a person was probably not something she could dream of.
"Miss, what's wrong with you? Is it because the sun is too hot?" Lixiang asked hurriedly when she saw Mingyu's red face.
Mingyu shook her head, took a few deep breaths, and calmed down. Thinking of the gap between herself and that person, Mingyu's heart sank. She turned back and smiled at Lixiang, "It's okay. It's too sunny. Let's find a carriage to go back."
After returning home, Madam Xu asked Mingyu if she had made any new friends. Mingyu snorted twice, leaned to Madam Xu's arm, and fiercely complained about Xu Mingrui. It was obvious that Xu Mingrui had bad intentions and deliberately tricked her into going to the banquet at Gao's house, wanting her to embarrass herself in front of the crowded door. Did they think she was stupid enough not to guess
Mrs. Xu's eyes were terrifyingly gloomy. That night, after Mingyu fell asleep, she took the several account books that had problems before, brought Mother Liu, and deliberately went around the courtyard of the third room and went to the courtyard of the second room. She grabbed Hu and Xu Mingrui and scolded them both without any mercy.
Li from the third room was very upset. She kept complaining to the old lady about the shop account books for several days. She was convinced that her eldest sister-in-law took the account books to the second room in the middle of the night to curse, and that there must be something fishy about the account books. She tried to bully Hu in both words and deeds. Hu was so angry that her teeth itched but she could do nothing about it. She had to humble herself and swallow her anger in front of the old lady.
Time flies, and June, the midsummer, is about to pass. Mingyu has also learned to distinguish fabrics. Although she cannot catch up with Mrs. Xu, she can basically accurately determine what kind of fabric it is, the warp and weft counts, and the quality of the fabric just by touching it.
Xu Mingye, who has always been at odds with Mingyu and would not miss Mingyu if he passed by her, has been quite well-behaved recently. He never takes the initiative to provoke Mingyu. After dinner, he goes back to his room quietly to study hard. It is not that he has a change of heart and repents that he is wrong to bully his sister, but half a month ago, he received a letter from Lu An, saying that his good friend Qi Su is going to Beijing to prepare for the exam.
In the provincial examination, Xu Mingye was two places behind Qi Su. Although time has smoothed out the sharp edges in Xu Mingye's character, it has not worn away the arrogance and pride in his heart. On the surface, he pretended not to care, but secretly he was trying hard. He had a good relationship with Qi Su, but in Xu Mingye's heart, a real man still had to compete with others.
Mingyu also heard a lot of news about Sima Hong. The streets and alleys in the capital were not short of gossip. According to an irresponsible report from Lubianshe, Lord Sima Hong was already the vanguard of the Northwest Army. He captured Jingzhou, an important northwestern town occupied by the Tartars, recovered a large tract of land, and captured two thousand Tartar soldiers.
Sima Hong and his immediate superior Lu Sheng have been portrayed by the people of the capital as mysterious figures who can kill with a swift move of a sword, have strange body movements, turn beans into soldiers, kill people without blinking an eye, and can stop children from crying at night.
Listening to the compliments from passers-by outside and thinking about the silly boy who threw a toad onto her skirt on a rainy day, Mingyu suddenly felt as if she was in another world.
In early August, the long-awaited Autumn Examination finally began. At the gate of the capital, almost all the candidates from all over the country came to take the exam, just like the annual college entrance examination. The focus of the people in the capital changed from the battlefield in the northwest thousands of miles away to the Autumn Examination. Some people even opened underground casinos to bet on this year's top three and second place.
Xu Changqian, who was always serious about his work, also took a leave to accompany his son to take the exam. Mingyu and Mrs. Xu also followed them into the examination room. It was only then that Mingyu realized that the examination was not like the modern college entrance examination, and it was dozens of times more cruel. Before Xu Mingye entered, he had to be searched. Except for himself and his clothes, he was not allowed to bring anything else. Even the pens, ink, paper and inkstone were all provided by the examination room.
The family waited anxiously for a few days, and finally saw Xu Mingye return. He was smelly, with disheveled hair, unshaven beard, lifeless eyes, and looked miserable. Mingyu couldn't help laughing in her concern. How could he go to take an exam? He was clearly going to labor reform!