At this time Zhou Zhiyuan deliberately mentioned Zhou Lanqing. Song Ruiyang's eyes flashed, and when he looked at Zhou Zhiyuan who was bowing, his eyes suddenly became more inquiring.
When Zhou Zhiyuan stood up straight, Song Ruiyang's face was gentle and kind again, and his eyes were still full of emotion. "It's getting late. If you don't have anything else, you can..."
"No, no, I am here today to report the progress of leasing the dock," Zhou Zhiyuan said with a flattering look on his face. His goal had been achieved, and the best thing for him to do was to leave the palace and go home to enjoy a life of luxury.
Song Ruiyang ordered the palace servants to serve the meal. When he washed his hands, he looked at the people serving him and said, "You sly fellow, you usually pretend to be deaf and dumb. Why are you so abnormal today and interrupting to speak for the Cao Gang?"
Xiao Luzi raised his eyes and carefully looked at Song Ruiyang's face, then lowered his head and whispered, "Reporting to Your Highness, before I entered the palace, I was attacked by bandits on the way to the capital to find my relatives, and my parents died. It was the old leader of the Cao Gang who passed by and rescued me and brought me to the capital. He also sent me to live with my relative, my father-in-law. Although I have never seen his adopted daughter, the old leader is definitely not that kind of person. He must have thought carefully and had good reasons to let his adopted daughter succeed to the throne."
"You've been with me for a few years, but I've never seen you talk so much at once," Song Ruiyang found it strange, "and I've never seen you pay any attention to political affairs."
Xiao Luzi was a little panicked, afraid that his kindness would harm the Cao Gang, "Your Highness, I... I..."
Song Ruiyang laughed at Xiao Luzi's stuttering. "Why are you so nervous? The old gang leader has done you a favor and it's okay for you to protect him. But this new gang leader has nothing to do with you, and you don't know her character. What if the old gang leader is also deceived by her?"
Seeing that the prince was convinced by Zhou Zhiyuan's statement, Xiao Luzi did not dare to argue much. Firstly, the old gang leader had passed away and the so-called scandal did not cause him any real harm. Secondly, he really did not know Liu Yue and could only sigh silently for his benefactor in his heart.
After dinner, Song Ruiyang took his men out of the East Palace for a walk to digest the food. "Xiao Luzi, tell me, who is Liu Yun who rescued people with me that day?"
The sky was gloomy but not completely dark. The palace walls cast vague shadows on the ground. The tired birds had returned to their nests, and only the insects were still chirping.
"Your Highness, do you still remember that person? Commander Zhu has been looking for him for several days, but to no avail. Maybe he is not even in the capital."
"He's a living person with a name and surname. His father worked for the Cao Gang. He himself said his home is just outside the city. Commander Zhu and his men went there with a reward. Unless he doesn't want to take credit for his work, how could there be no clues at all?"
"But we are just casual acquaintances, so who knows what secrets we may have. Your Highness has been working hard all day, so please don't let these trivial matters distract you."
"I always feel that something is fishy. I have tried to inquire about it from Zhou Zhiyuan, but he didn't know anything about the whistle. But Liu Yun did use the whistle to summon the boats of the Cao Gang, so he saved me."
As they were talking, the group had already walked into the Imperial Garden. Song Ruiyang strolled to the water's edge, looked at a cluster of withered lotus leaves on the water, and suddenly remembered something. He asked everyone not to follow him, and walked up to the waterside pavilion alone to look at the withered lotus leaves.
Only Song Ruiyang himself knew that he often had the same dream.
In the dream, there was a woman who often wore a lake green dress and her face was like a pink lotus blooming in the early morning. I always played with her by the water, and her smile was like the morning sun that could make the entire water surface ripple.
The annoying thing is that every time I wake up from a dream, I can't remember what the woman looks like. That time, the queen mother held a banquet in the palace, and Song Ruiyang originally planned to go there to get by.
But he didn't expect to see Zhou Lanqing, who was wearing a light lake green dress, among the many beautiful girls.
(End of this chapter)