[The one with the most votes is: 1. Lu Yu — Speak to Lu Yu first.]
Li Rong sized up the four of them without saying a word. Behind the beaded curtain was a piece of light muslin. Li Rong could clearly see their faces, but they could only vaguely see Li Rong's posture. After a moment of silence, Li Rong raised his chin towards the Jing Lan beside him.
The Jing Lan knew what Li Rong meant. He bowed to the four of them from behind the beaded curtain and said respectfully, "The Princess heard that the four of you are famous in the capital and was curious. Therefore, she summoned all of you to have a chat with you. Please relax and don't be too nervous."
The atmosphere was not very tense at first, but after hearing this, it became more tense.
Previously, they did not know what she was here for, but now they were sure. Which woman would find a few men for no reason? It must be related to her marriage.
Yang Quan and Cui Yulang's expressions suddenly changed. Lu Yu, on the other hand, seemed to have no idea what was going on. She sat there quietly, seemingly bored. Pei Wenxuan was used to not showing his emotions on his face. He glanced at the three people beside him and could tell what they were thinking from their expressions.
Naturally, Li Rong could see the same thing as him.
She held her teacup and looked at the four of them quietly.
Yang Quan's gaze was eager. He seemed to want to say something a few times, but he felt that it was inappropriate and held himself back.
He wanted to marry the Princess, and Li Rong knew what he was trying to do.
Yang Quan had a bad reputation and was ostracized by the Yang Family. If he could marry the Princess and treat her well, the things he had done in the past might slowly be forgotten.
If he did not want to marry the Princess so much, Li Rong might have wanted to talk to him again. After all, Yang Quan was considered a talented general in the future, but he died on the battlefield. It would be a pity if the rumors about him were false. But now, seeing his ambitious demeanor and the sense of imminent threat, Li Rong believed that the rumors were somewhat true.
Cui Yulang, on the other hand, seemed rather cautious. He seemed to be contemplating something as he tapped the fan in his hand against his palm.
Li Rong could almost guess what he was thinking. This person was really bold. He probably saw her appearance and felt that she was somewhat interesting. However, he disliked her status as a princess and did not want to be associated with her. In his previous life, he was obviously brimming with talent, but after leading the government for a while, he felt bored and directly resigned to return to Yangzhou. From then on, he wrote poetry in the brothel for the rest of his life.
If one were to say that he was not talented, he would not have been able to become the Zhuangyuan. It was even more impossible for him to have this kind of temper and still be able to stay in the officialdom for a long time before leaving unscathed. It was just that he was born to be carefree and unrestrained. He just hated the imperial court.
Pei Wenxuan was still the same as she remembered. His expression was calm, and she couldn't tell if he was happy or angry. Li Rong couldn't be bothered to look at him. Finally, his gaze fell on Lu Yu, and he looked at her quietly for a moment.
Lu Yu's appearance was the least outstanding among the four of them.
Although she wasn't outstanding, she was extremely pleasing to the eye. At first glance, she was just not bad. After looking at her for a while, although she wasn't stunning, she was like a clear trickle of water that was extremely comfortable.
After looking at her for a moment, she opened her mouth and softly called out, "Heir Ning."
Her voice carried the tenderness of a young girl, but it was also naturally a bit hoarse. When she spoke together, the ending of her voice was slightly longer. When it entered the ears of others, they would feel an indescribable sense of limpness and numbness. It could be said that it was a heaven-sent charm.
The three people beside her all had different expressions. Only Lu Yu, who was called out, was a bit confused. Li Rong thought for a moment, then said one word and called out again, "Heir Ning."
This time, Lu Yu understood. He looked at Li Rong and asked straightforwardly, "What did you call me for?"
His straightforwardness made Li Rong smile. She spoke gently and continued to ask, "What did Heir Ning do today?"
Lu Yu frowned and thought about it seriously. Then, she said, "There are many things. When I woke up this morning, Ah Lan changed my clothes ten times. One set was yellow, one set was blue, one set was … "
When he spoke, he was like a child who talked about everything, big or small, as if everything was very interesting.
Li Rong tapped the fan in her hand and listened to them with great interest. The sound of silver bells could be heard from behind the beaded curtain.
Li Rong found the conversation between Lu Yu and Li Rong very interesting. The other three people were left aside and felt a bit awkward. Pei Wenxuan looked up at the person behind the beaded curtain and felt a bit flustered.
The current situation seemed to be more and more different from what he remembered. Li Rong didn't seem to be interested in him at all. Why was that?
Did something go wrong in the middle, or …
Did he actually not understand the 18-year-old Li Rong?
When he thought of this, his heart sank. After Li Rong and Lu Yu chatted for a while, she turned to say a few words to Yang Quan and Cui Yulang. When they reached Pei Wenxuan, she asked about the food and drinks, then yawned and said, "I'm tired. Everyone, please help yourselves."
As she spoke, she asked someone to help her up and left.
After she left, the attendant led the four people away. Pei Wenxuan purposely slowed down his steps and looked around. He saw that the person who led the way for Lu Yu was Jing Lan.
He knew how important Jing Lan was to Li Rong. He also knew about Li Rong's current situation.
Li Rong and Su Yongqing talked for so long today. It was actually very dangerous for her. If Li Ming thought that she was interested in Su Yongqing, it would be very bad for Li Rong. If Li Rong was smart, he would find a way to change the target and let the Emperor think that she was interested in one of the four people he appointed.
Now that Jing Lan went to find Lu Yu, it seemed that Li Rong was interested in Lu Yu today.
Pei Wenxuan's heart sank. He thought for a while and walked out quickly. He saw the attendant standing at the door waiting for them. Among them, the attendant who wore the jade pendant of Marquis Ning was the most anxious. As soon as the eunuch came out, the attendant came up and said, "Eunuch, this servant is the personal attendant of Marquis Ning Shizi. Have you seen my Shizi?"
"Oh, you are Shizi Ning's attendant." The eunuch looked the attendant up and down, then smiled and said, "The Princess likes Shizi and asked him to stay to talk. In a while, Aunt Jing Lan will send someone to pick you up. You don't have to worry."
Hearing this, the attendant was stunned. The eunuch turned his head and said goodbye to Pei Wenxuan, "Young Master Pei, this servant will send you here. Please help yourself."
"Thank you, Eunuch."
Pei Wenxuan was very polite. When he cupped his hands, he put a piece of silver into the eunuch's hand.
The eunuch bent over in laughter and hurriedly saluted Pei Wenxuan before taking his leave.
After the eunuch left, Pei Wenxuan looked at the attendant next to him. Seeing the attendant's anxious expression, he went forward and whispered, "Do you not want Shizi to accompany the Princess?"
Hearing Pei Wenxuan's words, the attendant was stunned. Then he said with some vigilance, "You are?"
"Pei Wenxuan," Pei Wenxuan said his name and said quickly, "Just now, I met the Princess with your Shizi. May I ask, does your Shizi … offend the Princess easily?"
Pei Wenxuan said it euphemistically, but the attendant could tell that Pei Wenxuan saw that Shizi Ning was a fool.
Lu Yu rarely went out. His mother hid him well. When he went out, she asked the attendant to follow him at all times. Not many people knew about this. When the attendant heard Pei Wenxuan's words, he said directly, "Young Master Pei, since you already know what this servant is worried about, do you have any ideas?"
"In a while, when you see your Shizi, let him pretend to be unconscious."
"Won't the Princess blame me?"
The attendant asked anxiously. Pei Wenxuan said calmly, "He's sick. What's there to blame? It's a real sin to offend her while sober. "
Hearing this, the attendant didn't say anything. Pei Wenxuan turned around and said, "I'll stop here. Think about it yourself."
After that, Pei Wenxuan returned to the front yard. He glanced around. Cui Yulang was already sitting with a group of women, including a princess. He was helping the princess read her palm.
He wasn't worried about this person. He was hiding from Li Rong.
Yang Quan was still talking to the eunuch. He frowned and seemed to be angry.
Pei Wenxuan thought for a while and took a cup of wine. When no one was paying attention, he directly poured it on Yang Quan's seat.
The people at the spring banquet were having fun. Pei Wenxuan shuttled through the crowd, randomly took a jade pendant from a drunk person, and threw it at Yang Quan's feet.
After doing all this, Pei Wenxuan directly turned around and returned to the entrance of the backyard, waiting quietly.
After a while, Yang Quan's roar came from the crowd.
"Whose jade pendant is this?"
As soon as Yang Quan roared, the scene became noisy. The person who lost the jade pendant didn't have a low status. He looked at the jade pendant in Yang Quan's hand and was a little unhappy. "You're holding my jade pendant. Why are you shouting?"
When the person responded, the two sides immediately quarreled. Pei Wenxuan heard the roar and sneered. He turned around and stood respectfully with his hands in his sleeves.
In the backyard, Li Rong sat by the lake and asked people to bring fishing tools. He also prepared the boiled eggs that Lu Yu said she liked. As he peeled the eggs, he waited for Lu Yu to change clothes and come over.
Just now, his servant accidentally poured a cup of wine on him and took him to change clothes. Li Rong guessed that something must have happened, but he wasn't worried. She peeled the eggshell on the table and slowly said to the Jing Lan behind her, "Look at how good I am to him. I haven't personally peeled eggs for many people."
As she spoke, the Jing Mei hurried over with some people. She said in a panic, "Princess, it's not good. Ning Shizi fainted."
"If he fainted, then go find the imperial physician." Li Rong put the peeled eggs on a small decorative vase. "Why are you looking for me?"
Li Rong's indifferent attitude made the surrounding people quiet down. For a moment, they felt that Lu Yu fainting wasn't a big deal. After a while, the Jing Lan said respectfully, "Princess, are you going to fish by yourself, or …"
Li Rong didn't speak. She patted the eggshell residue on her hand and took a handkerchief from the Jing Mei. She lowered her head and wiped her fingers. She said, "Jing Mei, go out and bring that dog in."
The Jing Mei was stunned. After a while, she stuttered, "What … what if there isn't a dog in front of the door?"
"Impossible." Li Rong looked up. "Pei Wenxuan must be there."
The Jing Mei understood this time. She wanted to find Pei Wenxuan. She quickly led the people out. After everyone left, the Jing Lan knelt behind Li Rong and poured wine for Li Rong. He asked with some confusion, "Princess doesn't seem to like Pei Wenxuan. Why did you summon him?"
"Even Lu Yu fainted." Li Rong sneered. "Do you think other people can still come?"
The Jing Lan was confused. Li Rong didn't explain further. After a while, the Jing Mei led Pei Wenxuan in. Pei Wenxuan knelt down and bowed respectfully to Li Rong. He said in a neither servile nor overbearing tone, "This humble subject is Pei Wenxuan. Greetings to Your Highness."
Li Rong didn't say anything. She continued to peel the egg. Pei Wenxuan knelt down respectfully and didn't show the slightest bit of impatience.
After a long time, Li Rong said, "I peeled an egg and wanted to put it in the bottle. However, the opening of the bottle is too small. I can't put it in." Li Rong looked up at Pei Wenxuan. "I've heard that Young Master Pei is intelligent. Why don't you come and help me? If you can't put the egg into the bottle completely, then Young Master Pei's reputation as an intelligent person would be unworthy. Why don't you just jump into the lake? That way, you'll have some integrity. "
"Princess means that if I can't do it, then I have to jump into the lake?"
"Yes," Li Rong said directly. "That's exactly what I mean."
"Princess, this is quite absurd." Pei Wenxuan tried to persuade her.
Li Rong propped up her chin and admired the way Pei Wenxuan knelt down and dealt with her. Suddenly, she felt secretly happy. She felt that the current Pei Wenxuan was very pleasing to the eye and brought her an indescribable pleasure.
Therefore, even though she knew that Pei Wenxuan was dealing with her, she still continued to pester him endlessly. "Yes, but I'm a princess. What's wrong with me being a little willful?"
"Princess, you're a princess. You shouldn't make things difficult for this humble subject." Pei Wenxuan continued to persuade her.
Li Rong picked up a grape and ate it. She continued to make things difficult for him. "Yes, I'm a princess. What's wrong with making things difficult for a small official like you?"
"Princess, if this humble subject can do it, then there's no need for me to jump into the lake. I can sit up and talk to you properly, right?"
"Yes …" Li Rong subconsciously opened her mouth. Before she could finish, she saw Pei Wenxuan stand up and remove the egg from the small bottle. He tore a page from the book beside him, lit the incense burner, and threw the incense into the bottle. Then, he put the egg back into the bottle. He quickly retreated and respectfully knelt on the ground again.
His actions were smooth and fluid. By the time Li Rong reacted, he had already knelt down. Li Rong was furious. "Who allowed you to tear my book?!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the egg that was placed in the mouth of the bottle suddenly fell into the bottle with a thud.
Li Rong and the attendant next to her looked at the egg that disappeared into the mouth of the bottle. Their eyes widened.
Pei Wenxuan raised his head and looked at Li Rong. "Princess, may I ask if I can sit up and talk to you properly now?"
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