The Taiye Lake was artificially excavated. The small island in the lake was built by piling up stones and earth into a mountain. The plum grove is spread all over the hill, and there are pavilions and towers for appreciation every ten steps or so.
When the group came out of the hexagonal pavilion, they first walked up the slope together, but before they knew it, they were separated.
Huan Xuan, Huan Minggui and the eldest princess and her husband were walking together. The eldest princess had just become very close to Xiao Ling and was eager to talk to him about the similarities and differences between the handsome men of Yan and Zhao and the handsome young men of the capital. She also felt that she had met the elegant and handsome young man in white clothes beside her too late. However, her husband was watching her closely, and for some reason her own brother seemed to have some friction with Xiao Ling. So she had to stay in Han while in Cao's camp, and frequently looked at the two figures in white fox furs on the hillside.
The prince consort glanced at her and asked nonchalantly, "What are you looking at, Princess?" while squeezing the slender fingers in his hand hard.
The eldest princess came back to her senses with a start and smiled modestly: "I was looking at General Xiao and Master Cheng. They are such a perfect match."
He put two fingers together in a pretentious manner: "Just walking in one place is so pleasing to the eye."
Before he finished speaking, a gaze like a sharp blade shot towards him.
The eldest princess felt an inexplicable chill on her back, and then she heard her third brother say coldly, "It's quite pleasing to the eye. They are almost the same length, and as neat as a pair of chopsticks."
The eldest princess said, "Don't lie with your eyes open, Sanlang. Master Cheng is indeed a little higher, but the terrain on General Xiao's side is higher."
The prince consort sneered silently: "It doesn't matter if he is tall or not, Master Cheng is extremely talented, he is proficient in poetry, prose, music and calligraphy, and his chess skills are better than those of the Hanlin Academy. The princess loves talents very much, and she will definitely recommend him to the Minister of Rites for the imperial examination."
The eldest princess smiled awkwardly and shook her husband's hand: "He has General Xiao's recommendation, so why should I worry about him..."
Huan Xuan glanced at the prince consort and said leisurely, "From what I heard from my elder sister, it seems that she is very regretful."
The prince consort snorted coldly, "It doesn't matter. One more person recommends us, and we have a better chance of success. With the princess' help, it will be easy for Mr. Cheng to get the top spot in the imperial examination."
The eldest princess stared at her brother who was stirring up trouble in disbelief and mouthed, "Ignorant wolf!"
Then he turned around to comfort the prince consort: "My dear, please don't let your imagination run wild. He is General Xiao's man. Who dares to get involved..."
Huan Xuan couldn't bear to listen any longer and walked forward quickly.
The eldest princess said to her husband without knowing what was going on: "What's wrong with the third brother? He seems to have some problems with General Xiao, and I don't know why. They almost became uncle and sister-in-law, and they are both generals with large armies, so they should not make things too awkward..."
He paused and said, "No, I have to go and persuade my third brother."
As she said this, she lifted her skirt and ran forward. The prince consort's temples were throbbing, and he pulled her back and said, "You have no right to interfere in this matter."
Huan Minggui said, "Don't worry, sister. I will go and persuade him." After saying that, he smiled and waved to the eldest princess and her husband, then immediately chased after them.
Huan Xuan practiced martial arts and his legs were longer than his. Soon he left him far behind. Huan Minggui was out of breath and finally caught up with him. He pulled his sleeve and pointed to the hillside: "The plum blossoms over there are beautiful. Why don't we go and pick one."
Huan Xuan looked in the direction he pointed, and saw two white figures among the red plum blossoms. He glanced at Huan Minggui and said, "Cousin, please go ahead."
Huan Minggui was helpless: "If you don't go to the mountain, will the mountain come to you?"
Huan Xuan said, "My cousin, you don't have to play tricks on me."
Huan Minggui sighed and said, "I can't let it go anyway, so I might as well go find the person directly, so that I won't regret it when I return to Heshuo."
Huan Xuan smiled coldly, but in this smile, apart from arrogance, there was also indescribable sadness.
Before he came, he had made up his mind to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the woman, but when he really saw her, his eyes were involuntarily attracted to her, and she seemed to be provoking him as if possessed by some unknown force - he didn't know what he was thinking at that time, whether he was trying to prove something, or whether he was just a weakling who was eager to be stepped on by her.
As expected, he lived up to his expectations and was much more cruel than he had expected. He could even laugh and chat without thinking, and make fun of the memories of the past. If he had no grudges, how could he say those words
"What does going back to Heshuo have to do with me?" he said coldly.
Huan Minggui rubbed his forehead and said, "Xiao Ling is not an ordinary person. You can't just coax him back."
Huan Xuan said: "You are indeed not an ordinary person." Ordinary people don't have such a cold iron heart.
He looked at Huan Minggui and said, "If you love me, go find me yourself. You don't have to use me as a cover."
Huan Minggui said: "I dare not. I want to live a few more years."
Huan Xuan snorted coldly, obviously not believing it.
Huan Minggui said: "I'm serious."
He really liked Xiao Ling, probably more than any other woman in the world, but he could see that Xiao Ling had no interest in him at all. He was a person who liked to be at ease, and would not make himself uncomfortable again and again. He had also experienced too many people and too many things, and knew that love hurt others and oneself, and understood when to stop and when to stop.
Last night he was just unhappy and deliberately teased his cousin who was very irritated.
He himself is sentimental but fickle, but he likes to watch lovers struggle in the sea of love and desire.
He brushed his clothes and squinted his eyes: "It's Xiao Ling."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, "I know who it is."
Huan Minggui shook his head: "You don't know."
He paused and said, "You only know it verbally, but in your heart you actually think of me as Lu Suisui, the poor girl who is alone and helpless, depends on you for everything, and has her life in your hands."
Huan Xuan wanted to refute, but he had no way to refute.
Huan Minggui continued, "Lu Suisui will accommodate you, but Xiao Ling won't. If you want to be better, you should learn from him."
He pointed at the man in white fox fur in Merlin with a half-smile.
Huan Xuan looked into the woods and saw two people standing in the woods, facing each other, talking about something. He had good eyesight and could see from a distance that Xiao Ling was smiling, with a faint blush on her cheeks and a half-bloomed plum blossom just covering her forehead, like a flower on her brow.
His amber eyes reflected the light of snow, looking exceptionally bright, his brows beaming with joy, and it was obvious that he was having a very pleasant conversation with the newly widowed young wife.
The young wife lowered her brows, showing a bit of forbearance and loneliness. She slowly raised her hand, broke off a branch of red plum and held it in her hand, as if she wanted to give it to the master, but she was afraid of offending the beauty, so she hesitated for a while, and finally handed the branch to Xiao Ling carefully.
Huan Minggui sighed: "It's really pitiful."
Huan Xuan frowned and said, "If I have to beg for mercy like that, I'd rather die."
After saying that, he turned around and walked quickly towards the hexagonal pavilion. Just as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Ling taking the plum blossom with a smile on his face.
He simply stayed far away from them, not even walking on the stone path, but walked straight through the plum trees, causing the petals to fall one after another, and the bright red spots landing on the snow looked like tears of blood.
Huan Minggui followed helplessly.
…
Sui Sui took the red plum blossom handed to her by Cheng Zheng and said calmly, "This flower has a good shape. Master Cheng knows how to pick. Yue Rong likes red plum blossoms, so you can take them back to put in a vase for me. I'd also like you to pick another one and put one in Chun Tiao's room."
Cheng Zheng's eyes dimmed, and then he said gently, "Okay."
Sui Sui took two red plum blossoms in his hands.
Cheng Zheng lowered his eyelids slightly and said shyly, "When I was playing against His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi just now, I underestimated the enemy and failed to live up to the expectations of the general."
"Mr. Cheng, you are right," Sui Sui said with a smile, "Winning and losing are common, not to mention the difference in chess skills."
Cheng Zheng was a little disappointed: "General, you and Prince Qi are evenly matched. Today's game was brilliant. I am really far behind you."
Sui Sui said: "The game just now was not that exciting. His strength is more than that."
There was a hint of regret in his eyes: "It's a pity that I probably won't have the chance to fight again before returning to Heshuo..."
Judging from Xie Huanxuan’s temper, he must have been very angry when we played chess just now. Even if he was tied up with a rope and a knife was put to his neck, he would definitely not want to play chess with me again.
Cheng Zheng knew the unspoken meaning in his words—this time he returned to Heshuo, he would most likely never set foot in the capital again in his lifetime.
His head trembled slightly. Was the only regret that he couldn't find an opponent to play chess with
Sui Sui saw a gloomy look between his brows and thought he was thinking about the game he lost to Huan Xuan again, so he comforted him, "After all, chess is a minor sport. It's just that people like us who are bored have no other pastimes, and apart from wielding swords and sticks, the only thing left is chess to relieve boredom. You want to study the books of sages and take the imperial examinations, but you shouldn't focus on this. If you want to beat us at chess, you just need to spend more time."
He said it lightly, but Cheng Zheng knew that he was just comforting himself.
He suppressed the sadness in his eyes and pretended to be relaxed: "After the New Year's Day ceremony, it will be the Lantern Festival soon. General, do you plan to go and see the lanterns?"
Sui Sui's eyes moved slightly, and he turned to look at the prince and his wife in the distance: "I have other arrangements. Ask Xiao Shun and the others to take you to Qujiang Lake to release river lanterns and take a boat trip on the lake."
Cheng Zheng smiled awkwardly: "The lantern festival in Chang'an is probably similar to that in Luoyang. When I was young, I watched it every year in Luoyang, but I got tired of it, so I decided not to join in the fun. Instead, I rested in the inn and had more peace and quiet."
Sui Sui nodded: "Okay, if you change your mind, just tell me earlier and I'll ask someone to arrange it."
Cheng Zheng said: "General, don't worry about me."
The prince in a sable fur coat turned his head in the distance, and the two men's eyes met. They smiled faintly and then looked away.
The prince was sweating profusely, and asked his wife, "Are you sure that it was the woman from the outer house?"
Ruan Yuewei's face was completely bloodless, she bit her lip and nodded: "It is absolutely true, I will never admit my mistake."