Saying that, Xie Ruyue spread her hands helplessly and said, "This little Yong'an has been arguing with me all morning. He insists that I take him to see the lanterns. We must first agree that I will not go out in this ice and snow."
"So?" Xie Ruzhuo picked up Xie Huailin, warmed his cold chubby hands, and said with a faint smile, "You don't want to leave him to me and let me take him, do you?"
Hearing this, Xie Ruyue smiled mischievously, turned to look at Xie Huailin, and said coaxingly, "Yong'an, do you want your fourth sister to take you to the street to watch the lanterns?"
"Yes!" Xie Huailin clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Second sister and fourth sister want it. We will take Yong'an to eat snacks and watch the lanterns."
"Hey, you greedy little guy." Xie Ruyue tapped his eyebrows with her green-green fingertips and sneered, "When I came here, I only said I was looking for your fourth sister, why did you bring me with you now? ?”
Xie Huailin was nodded by Xie Ruyue's finger, smiled, and retracted into Xie Ruzhuo's arms, only concentrating on nibbling the snacks in his hand.
"Don't you love the excitement in the past? This Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is very lively. Are you serious about not going?" Xie Ruzhuo hugged Xie Huailin's falling body tighter and then asked jokingly.
Xie Ruyue sighed and said, "I would like to go, but -" When she said this, her face became a little embarrassed and said, "Isn't it inconvenient?"
As soon as she said this, Xie Ruzhuo immediately understood and whispered, "It's rare that you come at such a time this time. It's good to be able to temper your temper."
Hearing this, Xie Ruyue let out a light "poof" and said, "You're not serious. My waist is very sore right now. I'm going back to lie down. You can go by yourselves tomorrow. Just remember to carry it for me." Come back with a pack of cloud cakes."
Xie Ruzhuo agreed, and when he saw Xie Ruyue holding her waist and going out, he couldn't help but laugh, and started teasing with Xie Huailin.
The lantern market for the Lantern Festival has been hung with a long line of colorful lanterns since yesterday. There are vendors selling lanterns along the street, and there are also smart ones who have put up lantern riddles early to entertain the guests at the night market.
There is no curfew on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and even noble ladies from aristocratic families will go out to play in the streets with their veils on. Therefore, Shen Jingci had already told the waiters in various stores to make good use of this festival so as to make a lot of money from those girls.
As soon as she finished her instructions, she heard Shimo come to report, "Miss, that noble man went to Longyue Pavilion and asked you to come over."
Shen Jingci was stunned for a moment, then came back to her senses, nodded and said, "I understand, you go to Haosheng first and wait on me, and then I will be there soon."
Seeing Shi Mo hurriedly leave after responding, Shen Jingci's eyes flashed, and then she called Baoqin beside her and said, "Baoqin, go back and bring the sample of the pattern I drew two days ago to Shopkeeper Shen. "
After putting her arms aside, Shen Jingci turned into the backyard, turned a few corner doors, and looked around cautiously. Seeing no one around, Shen Jingci entered another courtyard.
There are several clear pines planted in the courtyard of Langyue Pavilion. The heavy snow has stopped at this time, and the pine branches are covered with a thick layer of snowflakes. Occasionally, the wind blows, and they shake off. The white snow and green pines are full of vitality in this icy winter day.
Shen Jingci had no intention of looking at the scenery in the courtyard, and walked hurriedly along the gravel path into the room.
As soon as I entered the house, I could smell the fragrance of dragon's birth inside. Standing near the window was a man wearing a dark blue robe. He did have a rare good appearance, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, and a face like jade. However, his eyes were too sharp and his lips were too cold, which made people afraid to get close to him.
Seeing Shen Jingci, the man's lips curled up first, and then his eyes turned cold, "I thought you weren't coming."
Shen Jingci smiled slightly, "It's freezing cold today, but the second prince is so angry. Could it be that the fire in my room is too bright?"
The person who came was none other than Xiao Junhan.
Hearing this, Xiao Junhan smiled coldly and said, "The fire in this furnace is indeed too strong. As the master, don't you know that going too far is not enough?"
"I don't understand what the second prince means." Shen Jingci put away the smile on her face, walked to the table, and poured herself a cup of hot tea.
Along the way, her hands were almost frozen, but as soon as she entered the door, she was immediately shunned, so naturally she felt unhappy.
And she was not the only one who was unhappy
"Did you hear the decree this morning?" Xiao Junhan also knew that his tone was harsh, so he softened his expression and said.
Shen Jingci thought about the information sent in the morning and said with a smile, "Are you saying that the emperor issued a decree to commend the Xie family and the Jiang family?"
"Exactly."
When this was mentioned, Xiao Junhan's anger tended to rise. What the Jiang and Xie families did in Weinan not only won praise from the local people, but even their father and the emperor rewarded these two families for their clear will! Thinking back on these days, when he and the fifth prince fought to the death, but no one got any advantage, he became more and more angry.
"I asked you to cooperate with me to suppress the Xie family, not to make them more and more prosperous! If it weren't for your repeated failures in the past six months, how could the Xie family be in this situation?" After saying that, Xiao Junhan took another deep breath and said, "I didn't give you so many connections and material resources just to help you build a Shen family!"
Knowing why Xiao Junhan was angry, Shen Jingci calmed down. She turned the teacup in her hand over and over and said casually, "This is just the beginning. Why should the second prince be so angry?"
"It's just the beginning? You said it lightly. This prince tells you that if you can only excuse what you have done, then the prestige of the Shen family will soon come to an end!" He, Xiao Junhan, will not raise a bunch of useless people. No matter how beautiful and scheming Shen Jingci is, if she can't do things for herself, it's just a skin. However, the most indispensable thing in his prince's palace is beautiful skins.
"The words of the Second Prince are really chilling." Shen Jingci gave a charming smile. Although the words were accusatory, they sounded seductive.
After she said this, she raised her hand to brush the broken hair behind her ears, and continued, "The Xie family will not be so lucky every time. The honor and favor during this period are just to make them fall down in the future. It’s even worse! What’s more—”
Having said this, Shen Jingci stood up and approached Xiao Junhan, sniffing the dragon's birth fragrance exuding from his body, and said with a soft smile, "The Xie family is becoming more and more prosperous now. After you marry Xie Ruzhuo, the benefits you will get will not be the same." The more? A family that is destined to be used by you, even if it declines, it can only start from losing its use value! Otherwise, wouldn’t the position of the second prince, the principal concubine, be wasted? "
Xiao Junhan was a little distracted by her vague teasing, and most of her previous anger was gone. Seeing her approaching, he held her in his arms, took a deep breath into her hair, and breathed into her ear, "You said I'm cruel, why don't you first say that you are heartless? We know each other. Over the years, I have only been allowed to see and not touch. Do you want me to change into a vegetarian monk?"
"If the second prince becomes a monk, he must also be a fair-weather monk." Shen Jingci buried her head in his chest, a cold light flashed in her eyes, but her words were extremely tender.
Fortunately, she never had any hope for this man. When it comes to men and women, apart from using him, they just take it. He is cold-hearted and she is ruthless, which is just right.
"Then can you bear it?"
Xiao Junhan didn't know what she was thinking at the moment, so he raised her face, which was as delicate as an oval, pinched her chin with a slight force, and said with a smile, "Can you bear the thought that I can't join hands with you to ascend to the highest position, and see all the prosperity of the world together?"
"Why can't you bear it? Anyway, the one who joins hands with you is the Xie family's daughter." The moment Shen Jingci raised her head, all the cold light in her eyes turned into tenderness, but her words were filled with traces of of resentment.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Xiao Junhan suddenly shrank his eyes, and then made a somewhat solemn look and said, "Ci'er, don't worry, if the cause is successful, the master of the harem will definitely be yours."
Shen Jingci gently drew circles on his palm with her fingers. Her soft and white hands were like cat's paws, teasing people's hearts. "Second Prince, are you really willing to give up the position that belongs to Xie Ruzhuo?" Give it to me?"
Xiao Junhan held her hand in his palm, lowered his head and kissed it, and then said, "If she knows how to look, there might be a place for her in my harem. If she doesn't know how to look..."
At this point, Xiao Junhan stopped talking, but the coldness in his eyes said everything.
Xie Ruzhuo's lukewarm treatment of him these days has made Xiao Junhan very unhappy. That arrogant and domineering woman dared to ignore herself many times. Now he will swallow his anger for the time being for the sake of the power of the Xie family. But as long as he waits for him to board Dabao...
Shen Jingci naturally knew exactly what he was thinking. She slowly gave a sinister smile, Xie Ruzhuo, don't you claim to be a noble girl? The days are long and I will definitely teach you what it means to be the ultimate winner!
On the Lantern Festival, the weather was rare and sunny. In previous years, Xie Ruyue helped Qiao manage this matter. But this time she was not feeling well, so the burden fell on Xie Ruzhuo.
Early in the morning, Xie Ruzhuo accompanied Mr. Qiao in and out. Xie Huailin followed her behind like a little tail. He stopped talking several times, but when he saw that Xie Ruzhuo was too busy to touch the ground, his eyes turned into pitiful eyes, which were always glued to Xie Ruzhuo.
Xie Ruzhuo knew what he was thinking and continued to work while holding back his laughter.
After following this for three or four times, even Mrs. Qiao was a little surprised and asked with a smile, "It's rare that Master doesn't come to teach today. Why isn't Yong'an sleeping in the room?"
The master was a strict man and never allowed his students to sleep in. Xie Huailin cried and complained several times. Finally, seeing that the elders were ignoring him, he reluctantly followed the master's words.
During this first month, the Master was not around, so he slept until three o'clock in the morning. It's strange that I got up early today.
Hearing this, Xie Huailin's bulging eyes rolled a few times and hesitantly said, "I'm looking for Fourth Sister."
"What are you doing with your fourth sister?" Mrs. Qiao was making a calculation in her hand and reporting the verified figures to Xie Ruzhuo, not forgetting to tease her son.
Xie Ruzhuo checked the accounts one by one and said with a smile, "What else can I do? He is probably greedy and waiting for me to take him out to play."
"no."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qiao refused without thinking.
Xie Ruzhuo had known this outcome, so he smiled and said, "Today is the Lantern Festival. I will only take him to see the lanterns nearby and then come back. The guards at home are following him. Mom, don't worry."