Noticing Song Qingshu's gaze, the girl blushed and lowered her head. Xue Ji smiled and said, "This is my daughter, Baochai. She is here to greet King Qi."
The girl bowed gracefully and said, "Greetings, King Qi."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Xue." As expected of Xue Baochai. She was the epitome of a lady from a wealthy family. Her etiquette was flawless. Song QingShu was still in a daze. He never expected that one of the two female leads of "Dream of the Red Chamber" would be standing right in front of him.
However, when he thought of the ladies from the Jia Mansion, including Shi Xiangyun, it wasn't surprising to see Xue Baochai here.
In contrast, Song Qingshu was more curious about why Xue Ji had brought his daughter here tonight. Could it be that she wanted to use a honey trap on him to win him over?
Song QingShu quickly denied this speculation. After all, he was not that narcissistic. Moreover, he was clearly the emperor's son-in-law now. How could Xue Ji be so insensible as to let his daughter and the princess fight over a man?
Seeing that Jia Shidao and Xue Ji were chatting happily and looking in Xue Baochai's direction from time to time, Song Qingshu suddenly realized that they weren't trying to win him over. They were taking this opportunity to let Jia Shidao see his daughter-in-law.
Xue Ji was a core figure in Jia Shidao's group. Their children were of the same age, so they wanted to marry each other. However, it was a big deal, and they could easily become enemies. Therefore, neither of them dared to bring it up directly. At the same time, it wasn't convenient for them to take their daughter to the Jia Mansion to cover it up. Song Qingshu happened to be King Qi, which provided an excellent place for them to meet.
The reason why Song Qingshu could see through all this was that he had read Dream of the Red Chamber in his previous life. He knew the relationship between Xue Baochai and Jia Baoyu. For people in this world, there weren't many people in Lin 'an who could guess what Xue Ji was thinking. After all, both Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai were still young.
"Xue Baochai is here. I wonder what Lin Daiyu looks like." Song QingShu laughed self-deprecatingly, but soon his eyes widened and he muttered to himself, "Speak of the devil and he will appear."
It turned out that an elegant middle-aged official was leading a timid young girl over. The steward next to him quietly reminded him that this middle-aged official was the Salt and Iron Envoy, Lin Ruhai. Although his position dealt with money all day long, he didn't have the slightest bit of the stench of money. Instead, he was more like a distinguished and elegant middle-aged scholar.
Song Qingshu noticed that there was a hint of obscurity between his brows. He couldn't help but frown inwardly. His body's origin was already damaged. It seemed like he didn't have the appearance of longevity.
"Congratulations on being conferred the title of King of Qi ~" Lin Ruhai cupped his hands and smiled from afar.
Song Qingshu hurried over to greet him. "Thank you, Lord Lin ~"
Lin Ruhai was startled. He didn't expect that the other party would personally come out to greet him. Although his official position wasn't small and his real power was great, he still couldn't compare to those Prime Ministers. Song Qingshu was currently in the limelight and had become the esteemed King of Qi. The difference in status between the two was already very large.
Somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Lin Ruhai hastily pulled his daughter over. "Daiyu, come and pay your respects to King of Qi."
A delicate young girl stepped forward and bowed gracefully. "Greetings, Lord Qi." Her waist was so slender that it seemed as if she would fall at the slightest gust of wind.
Song Qingshu was very curious about this well-known Lin Ruhai. He carefully sized her up. What left the deepest impression on him were her two curved eyebrows and a pair of eyes that seemed to contain both joy and affection.
"Sure enough, she is born with two dimples and a body full of illnesses." Song Qingshu sighed inwardly. She had only spoken for a short while, but she was already panting and had tears on her face.
"What a typical sickly girl." Song Qingshu could see that she had a congenital defect. Thinking of how Lin Ruhai had a similar feeling earlier, it was clearly a result of her family's inheritance. Sure enough, the heavens were jealous of beauties. Judging from her appearance, it would be difficult for her to live to the age of thirty. If she experienced great sorrow and joy midway through, she might not even live to the age of twenty.
Song Qingshu was curious about Lin Daiyu, and Lin Daiyu was equally curious about Song Qingshu. She had heard about his deeds in various dramas. However, dramas were, after all, just dramas and always had a sense of unreality. Recently, however, Song Qingshu had arrived in Lin 'an. What happened was so close at hand, especially that night when he climbed up to the sky to pray for rain. Many people had witnessed it with their own eyes. As a result, he had changed from a virtual image to a real person.
Usually, Lin Daiyu didn't go out at all. She didn't want to see any strangers, let alone socializing with her father. However, when she heard that they were going to Prince Qi's Mansion, she agreed without hesitation. She just wanted to see this legendary figure.
When she quietly looked at him, she found that he was looking at her with a burning gaze. Lin Daiyu was startled and looked away in a panic. Just like Xue Baochai, her snow-white face was already flushed with embarrassment.
Lin Ruhai secretly frowned, thinking that Song QingShu was indeed as lustful as the rumors said. In fact, if he was still single, with his current status and reputation, Lin Ruhai wouldn't mind his daughter being a little closer to him. However, Song QingShu already had a wife, and was even discussing marriage with the current princess. How could he let his daughter jump into this pit of fire?
Moreover, he had brought his daughter this time because … Lin Ruhai glanced at Jia Shidao and Xue Ji, who were chatting happily in the distance. When he was about to drag his daughter over, Song Qingshu spoke again, "Sir Lin, let me introduce you to two people."
"Oh?" Although Lin Ruhai wanted to run over and meet Jia Shidao, it was not convenient for him to leave right away because of Song Qingshu's status.
"Pingzhi, Lingshan, come here." Song Qingshu waved at the two people not far away, then pointed at Lin Ruhai and said, "Come and greet your uncle."
Lin Ruhai couldn't help but be surprised to see the boy and the girl in front of him. Even Lin Daiyu curiously stuck her head out from behind him to look at them.
After Song Qingshu introduced them, Lin Ruhai finally understood who they were. To be honest, although they were relatives, they weren't very close. If he had met them alone, Lin Ruhai might have casually dismissed them. However, now that Song Qingshu was introducing them, the effect was completely different.
"Oh, it's you!" Lin Ruhai laughed and even pulled his daughter over, saying, "Daiyu, come and greet your cousin." At first, he was a little reluctant, but he gradually realized that the Lin family had always been small, and he was not in good health. Having a nephew like this might be able to help his daughter in the future. With that thought, he became even more enthusiastic. He pulled Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan to a place not far away and started chatting.
Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan were both overwhelmed by the favor and looked at Song QingShu gratefully. Song QingShu smiled at the two of them, signaling them to relax. Only then did the two of them hurriedly follow.
"Sir Shi is here," the housekeeper reminded him.
Song Qingshu looked up and saw Shi Miyuan walking over with a group of people. He said, "Congratulations, Prince Song. Oh, no, you're called King Qi now."
"Sir Shi, you're being too polite. Your daughter and I are friends." Song Qingshu smiled at the girl in red behind him.
"Is that so?" Shi Miyuan looked at his daughter in surprise, "Xiangyun, why haven't I heard you mention this before?"
"I …" Shi Xiangyun opened her mouth, but she didn't know how to answer. She couldn't tell her father that his daughter had been played by this man.
"I was wondering why you were encouraging me to intervene in Yue Fei's case. It turns out that it was to help King Qi." Shi Miyuan was also a smart person, and he quickly analyzed some clues.
Shi Xiangyun nodded with a sad face, thinking that her daughter was forced by him.
"You young people talk slowly, I'll go in first." Shi Miyuan couldn't help but be happy when he found out that his daughter and Song Qingshu had such a friendship.
But Shi Xiangyun couldn't be happy, and Wei Ruolan, who was next to her, couldn't be happy.
Looking at their sad faces, Song Qingshu smiled and said, "Why, am I so scary?"
"No … no." Both of them answered in unison, but their tone was a little panicked.
"Alright, don't look sad. It's good that you know our relationship in private. At least on the surface, we are still friends." Song Qingshu's smile fell into the eyes of the two, but it was even scarier than the devil.
Shi Xiangyun had seen his means, and had long regarded him as a demon king. Wei Ruolan's pride was completely destroyed by him, leaving a shadow of fear in her heart.
Staying by Song Qingshu's side was a kind of torture for both of them. Fortunately, at this time, another important person came, and they had the opportunity to sneak in quietly.
"Prince Yi and Prince Beijing are here." The housekeeper reminded Song Qingshu.
Song Qingshu raised his eyebrows. He had always heard about Prince Yi, but he had never seen him. According to various intelligence reports, Prince Yi was obviously not satisfied with being a prince, and had always coveted his brother's position as the crown prince. After all, whether it was Prince Yi or the crown prince, they were not Zhao Gou's biological son, but were adopted by the sons of other members of the royal family. Since that was the case, why couldn't he be the crown prince?
There was another reason why Song Qingshu was familiar with Prince Yi, and that was because he knew that Prince Yi was the mastermind behind the White Lotus Group. Speaking of which, although they had not met before, they had dealt with each other many times.
"Congratulations, Prince Qi is indeed as handsome and powerful as the rumors say. You make Gui Cheng feel ashamed." Prince Yi was born with a dignified appearance and a talent. Even without his noble identity, with his appearance, he was definitely the dream lover of many girls.
"I have long heard that Prince Yi is a famous virtuous king, and today I see that you are indeed worthy of your reputation." Song Qingshu flattered politely while secretly sneering. He had been influenced by so many television dramas in his previous life, and was already clear about the tricks of these virtuous kings. Except for Virtuous King the Eighth, which other virtuous kings did not have the idea of buying people's hearts?
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