Their eyes met.
An Qi'en felt warm and blessed: "Brother Bochu."
Lu Bochu nodded politely and said, "Sister Qi En."
He should have called her madam, but people on the street were so talkative that it was better to avoid suspicion than to be like brother and sister.
After greeting each other, the two strangers didn't know what to say.
Lu Bochu suddenly thought of something and took out the jade hairpin he just bought.
He apologized and said, "I accidentally hit you on the face with a loquat last time. I give you this hairpin as an apology for your sin."
An Qi'en's heart skipped a beat. There were differences between men and women. It was impossible to say more than two words, let alone accept a gift.
And he is a prince, although Lu Bochu said that he doesn't need to care about his identity, just call him brother.
But the prince is the prince, you can call him brother, but you still have to have a sense of awe.
"Brother Bochu, don't remember what happened last time. I won't accept the hairpin you sent me. Thank you very much for your kindness, brother Bochu."
She was respectful and did not lose any etiquette.
Lu Bochu frowned imperceptibly. He knew why she didn't accept it.
It's just a hairpin, worn on everyone's head.
When Lu Bo first changed hands, he put the jade hairpin on the head of the eunuch Agui next to him.
"Then it's cheap and expensive. Well, it looks pretty good."
Agui silently wiped away the cold sweat, feeling strangely accepting this sudden gift.
Qingbi and Bailu were both amused. They held their handkerchiefs and pursed their lips to suppress laughter.
Lu Bochu resolved the embarrassment gracefully.
An Qien smiled slightly and nodded, and was about to say goodbye when he heard Lu Bochu say.
"It's getting late. Sister Qi'en, please go back home early, otherwise your mother-in-law will ask you to behave yourself."
It was just a joke, his intention was to make her relax.
An Qien's expression was calm, but she smiled faintly, nodded slightly, and left with the maid.
Lu Bochu frowned, looked back at An Qien's back, and muttered in his heart: "It seems that he had a bad time in the Hou Mansion."
Agui also looked back and asked, "Master, what are you looking at?"
Lu Bochu looked away, glanced at the hairpin on Agui's head and said, "Put it away and give it to Zi Ning."
Agui took off the hairpin and put it away: "Princess Zining must like it."
Lu Bochu originally bought this hairpin for Zi Ning, but he happened to meet An Qien on the road.
He treats his friend's sister as a sister sincerely, so it is normal to give her a hairpin.
I didn't expect that she would be so self-absorbed and stick to the rules.
But considering her identity, I can understand why she is cautious.
Lu Bochu and Agui continued walking forward and came to the old place, Changfeng Tower.
As soon as he entered the teahouse, Lu Bochu went up to the second floor under the warm greeting of the waiter.
The second floor is usually filled with literati, or people in high positions.
The tea set is made of fine Ru kiln celadon, and the tea leaves are also precious Cangshan snow green.
After Lu Bochu took his seat, he patiently waited for his friends to arrive.
Suddenly, he heard three or two men talking behind him.
"Brother Qiao, you don't have to worry unfounded. Your Majesty has given you such a good marriage. Your wife is well-known in the capital for being a virtuous and well-managed family, and she will surely rise to great success in the future." Li Renfeng truly envied Qiao Jianghong.
"What Brother Li said is true. The imperial examination is about to take place soon. Your Majesty just doesn't have time to see you right now. The day he sees you will be the day when you will become famous. By then we will all benefit from the honor of the Marquis Mansion." The speaker was Zhuang Dawu.
Qiao Jianghong felt much relieved after hearing this scene. He raised his glass and drank tea with the two of them.
After taking a sip of tea, Qiao Jianghong said sincerely: "You two brothers don't know that there is a wedding in the family. My aunt is pregnant. There will be many children in the family in the future. I will inevitably worry about my career."
The two of them congratulated Qiao Jianghong and said some polite words.
Li Renfeng suddenly said: "By the way, brother and wife have been married for so long, my aunt is already pregnant, and she should be pregnant soon. Brother Qiao is really a steady stream of blessings."
Zhuang Dawu also said a few words of envy, and suddenly sighed and said: "It's not like my family. There has been no movement for several years, so I thought about giving it a rest."
As soon as the words came out, Zhuang Dawu felt miserable, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.
Li Renfeng said a few words and then got involved with the concubine: "Brother, please relax, the real wife has not made any move. It is easy to take care of the concubine and spread the branches."
Zhuang Dawu agreed: "It's also a method. I'll have five concubines in the house at once, so I won't have to worry."
Zhuang Dawu grinned when he thought of Xina's concubine in the mansion.
Speaking of concubines, Li Renfeng often asked Qiao Jianghong during family chats: "Brother Qiao, there is only one concubine in your house. I have to say a few words. Your wife is not thoughtful in this regard."
Qiao Jianghong smiled lightly and said, "It's good to have one wife, one concubine, and one lover."
Zhuang Dawu immediately understood the mystery behind his words and asked, "Who is this lover?"
Qiao Jianghong said complacently: "He is a person who shares my mind, and he is also a candidate for my concubine. I will accept him on a good and auspicious day."
Men are also very good at gossiping. Li Renfeng asked: "Which woman is as beautiful as your wife?"
Qiao Jianghong shook his head, with an affectionate look on his face: "This has nothing to do with beauty. My wife is virtuous but not as charming as her."
Zhang Dawu was quite touched: "This is the truth, that is, the housekeeper is a good person. Usually I would be disgusted by just looking at her, let alone go to her room."
Qiao Jianghong said: "Your wife is a good housekeeper. This is something that can be exploited. Brother, you still need to think deeply."
An Shian's face turned green with anger and he clenched his fists. He heard the conversation between the three of them as soon as he came up.
At the end, the housekeeper is good, can I use it? He, who was always steady, couldn't suppress the fire in his heart and rushed to Qiao Jianghong in a few steps.
Bang!
An Shian punched the table with his fist, causing the tea set to slosh and water spilled on the table.
Qiao Jianghong was startled and shouted with a trembling voice: "Brother-in-law."
Lu Bochu took a sip of tea calmly, put down the tea set and walked over.
An was also good-tempered at this time. If his sister, Lu Bochu, was so humiliated by her husband, he would have punched her in the face.
Qiao Jianghong swallowed guiltily: "What a coincidence that I met my brother-in-law here, why not sit down and have tea together."
An Shi'an's eyes were filled with anger and he couldn't control it, so he punched Qiao Jianghong in the face.
Qiao Jianghong's face was hit to the side, and he fell down on the tea table. With a plop, the Ru kiln celadon tea set fell to the ground.
An Shi'an angrily warned Qiao Jianghong: "You ungrateful person, the daughter of An's house is not something you can humiliate!"
Qiao Jianghong, who felt wronged, stood up in embarrassment with the help of his two friends: "Brother-in-law, I have misunderstood. Qi En has always been a gentle and virtuous woman in my heart. Marrying her is my honor."
Li Renfeng and Zhuang Dawu acted as peacemakers, said a few good words to Qiao Jianghong and then left.
Lu Bochu looked at Qiao Jianghong with critical eyes, and sighed in his heart that such a man was really not worthy of the Anfu woman.
Qiao Jianghong admitted his mistake very well, and he didn't want to embarrass himself in public. Fortunately, there were only a few of them on the second floor at this time.
An Shi'an glared at Qiao Jianghong angrily and left, not even drinking the tea he had arranged with Lu Bochu.
When paying the bill, Qiao Jianghong suffered another blow to his heart. The broken tea set together with the tea required fifty taels.
He didn't have so much money with him, so the waiter followed him back to the Marquis' Mansion to get it.
