Xin Liu was very popular. After a class, he casually asked around and found out why Zhan Xueyuan and his group came to Sima Kui's place. It was said that the Day of the Sacrifice of the Sacred Ancestor was approaching. Jing Chen, the Daoist, was personally sent by the Emperor to the Directorate of Astrology to make preparations for the ceremony. The Taishi Library could not take care of it, so they asked Academician Sima to do it on their behalf and let a few new students learn from him.
Xin Liu not only inquired about this, but also found something else, "They said that you were recommended to attend the ceremony and were replaced by someone else?"
"Yes." Yu Shu didn't feel much pity about it. She just didn't know who Fang Zijing found later.
"Even you couldn't be selected. I really don't know what kind of people they chose …"
Xin Liu felt it was unfair for her. As the two of them walked out of the gate, Yu Shu listened to Xin Liu's grumbling while looking at the blueprints given by Academician Sima today. She was familiarizing herself with the instruments on the observatory. When they reached the gate and said goodbye, Yu Shu mentioned to Xin Liu, "I'm going to go on an outing in a few days. I'm looking for a good place to cool down.
"Going out to play?" Xin Liu's eyes brightened at first, and then she said with a sullen face, "I can't do it on the fourth or fifth day of the Chinese New Year. We have a family banquet on the Dragon Boat Festival. No one can be absent."
Yu Shu thought about the barometer she calculated last night, reached out and patted her on the shoulder, "Then let's do it on the third day of the Chinese New Year."
Xin Liu nodded happily. She had been bored at home for many days. Someone took her out to play was more than she could ask for.
"Who else is going with us?"
"Brother Xue and his sister, my brother Xiaoxiu, and the young master of the Feng family."
"… The sister of Lord Xue? Who is it? "
"It's the third daughter of their family. Her name is Jin Xun. Don't you know her?"
Hearing this, Xin Liu's face showed a little strange, and she said, "It's her."
"Well, what's wrong with her?"
"No, nothing."
Yu Shu saw that Xin Liu's face was not right, and she was suspicious. She didn't intend to let her fool her, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why hide it from me? If you're like this, I won't tell you the next time I hear any news. "
Xin Liu pouted and didn't want to talk about it. "It's not a good thing. It's been a long time. It's meaningless to talk about it again. It's better not to talk about it."
Yu Shu glanced at her and turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, don't go," Xin Liu hurriedly pulled her. Looking at Yu Shu's "forget it if you don't want to say it" look, he was very depressed. Looking around, he dragged her into the opposite teahouse, found a private room on the second floor, and sent the waiter away. Then he closed the door and said frankly, "The current Empress has no children. You should have heard that the Second Princess is the legitimate daughter of the Empress and has married Qiu Hengzhi, the eldest son of the Grand Secretary of the Tao Wen Guan. Now there is only the Fourteenth Princess by the Empress's side, who is only nine years old. Do you know that there was a Tenth Princess by the legitimate wife?"
Yu Shu shook her head. She was born in the marketplace and had just made a name for herself. How could she know about the things in the imperial city? She had only been in contact with a few nobles. Although she had Xue Rui, a relative of the imperial family, as a lover, he usually didn't gossip with her.
"The Tenth Princess died three years ago. It was said that she died of typhoid —" Xin Liu leaned forward, half lying on the tea table, and suddenly lowered his voice. "But in fact, the Tenth Princess fell from the Sea-view Tower and fell into the water in the middle of winter. After being rescued, she died."
Hearing this, Yu Shu had a vague guess in her heart. She then asked, "Could it be that the death of the Tenth Princess is related to Xue Jinxun?"
"Not only related. There are rumors that it was Miss Xue who caused the Tenth Princess to fall into the water."
Yu Shu was stunned and then frowned. She thought that Xue Jinxun, the daughter of the Prime Minister, had a timid temperament. Could it be because of this rumor?
"So when people in Anling City heard about this, they didn't want to have anything to do with Miss Xue. The First Young Master of the Xue Family was even more unlucky. He lost the position of the Emperor's son-in-law."
Xin Liu sighed lightly. Yu Shu heard it and was stunned for a moment. She blinked her eyes a few times and then repeated a few words dryly, "Emperor's son-in-law?"
"Isn't it so? I heard from the elders that the Emperor intended to marry the Tenth Princess to the First Young Master of the Xue Family. At the last moment, the Tenth Princess was gone. The First Young Master of the Xue Family was sad and left Anling City. He only returned to the capital after two or three years. He was really an infatuated person …"
Xin Liu continued to ramble on and on, not noticing that Yu Shu, who was sitting opposite him, was unusually silent.
After coming out of the teahouse, Yu Shu and Xin Liu separated and got on the carriage. She stopped halfway and got off the carriage. She asked the coachman to go back first. She wanted to walk on the street alone. At this moment, she was upset. When she returned to Wangji Tower, she didn't know what expression to show to Xue Rui.
She didn't believe everything Xin Liu told her. Originally, those groundless rumors were 30% true. As it was passed on, people said it was 100% true.
She could not believe it, but she had to doubt —
Was the Tenth Princess killed by Xue Jinxun?
Did Xue Rui almost become the Emperor's son-in-law?
And did he leave the capital city because of his broken love?
These questions caused Yu Shu's mind to be uneasy. She walked and thought all the way, and unknowingly, she'd returned to Forgotten Opportunity Restaurant. She stood at the entrance of the rear courtyard and looked at the closed door, unable to take a step forward.
"What are you doing here? Are you going to be a door god?"
A sound of laughter sounded out from behind her, causing Yu Shu to turn her neck stiffly. She saw Xue Rui who wore an official's robe walk out of the palanquin nearby, and he held a pair of wings and a black gauze hat in his arms as he walked towards her with a bright expression, and he truly had a graceful bearing and dignified appearance.
Her lover might have more than one woman in his heart.
Xue Rui walked in front of her and saw her gloomy face. He raised his hand to touch her head in confusion and asked gently, "Why are you unhappy?"
Taking a breath, Yu Shu pushed his hand down and turned to knock on the door, "No, it's too hot. I'm upset."
Xue Rui looked up at the noon sun and said, "It's stuffy these days. I don't know when it will rain."
Yu Shu glanced at him, then entered the courtyard and went up to the second floor.
.....
During lunch, Yu Shu and Xue Rui mentioned that they wanted to go home.
"I've been out for almost a month and didn't care about Xiaoxiu. I've copied all the files. It's time to go home."
Xue Rui's hand that was holding the chopsticks paused. He looked up and said, "When are you leaving?"
Yu Shu pretended not to see his strange look and said, "Tomorrow."
Xue Rui scooped a spoonful of peas and put it on her plate, "You're leaving so suddenly. I really don't want you to leave."
Yu Shu smiled and said, "It's not like we can't see each other. We'll just go home. I can't stay in Wangji Building for a lifetime."
When Xue Rui heard her speak in a carefree and unrestrained manner, there was not a hint of reluctance on her face. He was secretly distressed. According to his thoughts, it would be best if he could continue spending time with her. This little girl did not have deep feelings for him, so perhaps after she left tomorrow, she would forget about him in a few days.
He couldn't find a suitable reason to let her stay for a while, so he had to settle for the next best thing, "Have you picked a good day to go out to play?"
Yu Shu bit the chopsticks and said, "On the third day of the New Year. I met Xin Liu today and invited her to go out. You tell Feng Zhaomiao in advance."
"Okay, we'll go out early on that day. Take your horse. I can teach you and Xiaoxiu how to ride when we go to the suburbs. I've already asked someone to find the way out of the western suburbs …"
After choosing the day, Xue Rui arranged the specific itinerary. Yu Shu listened to his words, but her mind was somewhere else.
On the first day of May, Yu Shu brought a cart of sundries and was sent home by Xue Rui.
Zhao Hui hadn't finished her confinement yet and couldn't get out of bed, so she didn't go out of the backyard. She let the wet nurse follow Yu Shu to carry the child out. Xue Rui was well-mannered and gave He Xiaochuan a set of exquisite puppets. After playing with the child for a while, he got up and said goodbye. When he walked to the gate, he looked back at Yu Shu, who was waving goodbye to him. He thought that the monk could run away, but the temple couldn't run away, so he turned around and left with relief.
In the afternoon, Yu Xiaoxiu's class ended. When he saw his sister coming back, he was very happy. He immediately turned into a small tail and circled around Yu Shu. Wherever Yu Shu went, he followed. He was teased by Zhao Hui.
After dinner, the siblings returned to the room. Yu Shu first looked over Yu Xiaoxiu's homework in Baichuan Academy and asked a few questions. Finally, she told him that they were going out to play in two days.
"On the third day of the New Year, we'll go for an outing and bring Little Red along. Your Big Brother Xue said that he'll take you to ride horses. Are you happy?"
"En!" Yu Xiaoxiu grinned in surprise. After a while, he asked Yu Shu for praise. "Sister, when you weren't at home, I was the one who bathed and fed Little Red. I could only take it for a walk in the yard, causing its temper to become worse and worse. When it sees people, it wants to kick its hind legs."
Yu Shu blushed with shame. "No wonder when I came back to the stable to see it, it kept rolling its eyes at me. It seems like in the future, I'll have to take it out for a run more often."
After not seeing each other for a long time, the siblings had a lot to talk about. During this period, they inevitably mentioned Aunt Cui. Maybe Yu Xiaoxiu heard something from Zhao Hui, but he didn't argue to see her. Instead, he complained a few words to Yu Shu. He complained that Aunt Cui lived in someone else's house without saying a word, which made people worried.
Late at night, Yu Shu drove Yu Xiaoxiu back to his room to rest. But she called his attendant Bai Ran out alone and asked him about some things in the school, such as whether Yu Xiaoxiu was bullied, whether he was naughty, whether the teacher was serious and so on.
Bai Ran answered in detail. When Yu Shu was satisfied, he returned to his room and was pulled by Yu Xiaoxiu. He excitedly shared the good news with him. "A Ran, my sister said that she'll take us out to play in two days. Big Brother Xue will teach me to ride horses …"
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