On the boat, Luo Huaizhou sat behind the desk with a bleak look on his face, opening and closing his folding fan one after another, looking very absent-minded.
Sitting behind the desk next to him is a well-dressed woman, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a faint blush on her face. Her eyebrows are like willow leaves, and her eyes are like almonds. Grape, every move and every move exudes the gentleness and tranquility of a lady.
This woman is none other than Shi Manzi, the daughter of the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Nanling Kingdom.
After putting the last peeled grape on the plate, Shi Manzi took the handkerchief handed over by the maid next to her and carefully wiped her fingers stained with grape juice clean.
She raised her head and glanced timidly at Luo Huaizhou, then lowered her eyes, carefully handed over the fruit plate, and smiled shyly, "Your Highness, please eat some fruit."
Luo Huaizhou glanced at the fruit plate presented by her hands, frowned, and said with some displeasure: "I...it's not like I don't have hands. I can peel it myself when I want to eat."
Shi Manzi's fingers trembled slightly, and she lowered her head in fear. She quickly retracted the hand holding the fruit plate. Her eye circles were slightly red. She didn't know whether she was frightened or felt aggrieved. She looked a little pitiful.
Seeing this, Luo Huaizhou seemed to feel that what he just said was a bit too strong, and said again: "I mean, you... don't need to be so attentive to me, and you don't have to be so reserved here."
Shi Manzi raised her head in astonishment, her apricot eyes gleaming on her pretty face. She didn't expect that Prince Lu, who was famous for being romantic and unrestrained, was actually so informal. He seemed different from the nobles and nobles she knew in the past. Too same.
"Your Majesty! Mr. Su and the others are here!" The guard at the door bowed and reported to Luo Huaizhou through the bead curtain.
Luo Huaizhou didn't notice the excitement in the guard's tone. He folded the folding fan in his hand, knocked it on the desk, and laughed loudly: "Great, I'll go meet him right away!"
He stood up as if he was about to receive an amnesty and walked straight out the door.
"Miss, do we want to follow?" Shi Manzi's maid asked quietly from the side.
Shi Manzi stood up slowly, nodded and said: "Even the prince went to greet him personally, how can we sit here? We must not lose our etiquette."
Besides, the name of Mr. Su had long been spread among the official ladies, and she was actually a little curious about what kind of man could attract the attention of so many women.
The twilight is closing, and the lanterns are starting to turn on. The last rays of the setting sun quietly faded away, and the distant mountains and treetops dyed red gradually turned into silhouettes in the night.
Luo Huaizhou and Shi Manzi both stood on the bow, staring at the stone bridge with people coming and going in the dusk. When the two figures one behind the other came into their eyes, they were stunned at the same time.
The woman walking in front has mist-colored hair and a fairy-like appearance. Her long white fairy dress is flowing and elegant, like a light cage of haze, ethereal and intoxicating. That stunningly beautiful face shone like porcelain under the night sky. The smile on her face was bright and moving. Her beautiful eyes were full of light and shining with hope. She was like a fairy descending from the Nine Heavens to the mortal world, which made people dream.
The man behind her was tall and straight, with a feeling of being as still as a distant mountain. That flawless golden face has a pair of extremely charming peach blossom eyes, like a masterpiece carefully carved by the Creator, so beautiful that it is so pleasing to the eye that it is unmatched. The beauty of one's body is enough to make everything in the world dim.
There were lights on both sides of the lake shore. In front of the low-hanging eaves, gauze lanterns were hung high, glowing with a dense red light in the dusk, illuminating the crowds of pedestrians.
The rippling blue water surface is like a slightly shaking mirror, reflecting the clusters of blooming flowers and trees on the shore and the shadow of the twisted branches. The autumn wind swept by, the flower branches swayed gently, and the rich fragrance of osmanthus filled the air wantonly.
On the bluestone road, next to the blue waves and green smoke, under the flower trees swaying in the wind, and in the light of candle lights, two figures, one black and one white, walked along the river.
All the eyes around them were focused on them, some were amazed, some were admiring, some were envious, and some were jealous... But no one was rude. It seemed that many people wanted to stay away, and some even stopped where they were and watched from a distance. Holding it, for fear of ruining this beautiful picture.
Luo Huaizhou, who was stunned for a moment before reacting, rolled his eyes and couldn't help but reveal a knowing smile on his face.
"Jingqian!" He waved excitedly to Su Jingqian.
Lin Wanwan followed the sound and saw a very handsome young man in brocade clothes standing on the bow of the boat with upturned eaves and corners. He was waving to them with a bright smile. Next to him, there was a gentle and elegant young man standing in front of the carved railing. The woman's eyes were filled with a hint of coquettishness, making her look charming.
The crowd around her gradually thinned out. Lin Wanwan paused lightly, turned around quickly, and came to Su Jingqian's side. She whispered in his ear and asked, "Is this Prince Lu? Who is the woman next to him?" ?”
Su Jingqian was so amused by her little move that he raised his lips and replied, "It's the woman the Queen Mother asked him to see, the daughter of the Minister of Civil Affairs, Shi Manzi."
Lin Wanwan raised her eyebrows lightly and glanced at him with a strange look, "I'm not the woman I want you to look at, but I remember your name is familiar."
Su Jingqian smiled and said nothing.
She rolled her eyes at him and was about to walk back to the front when she heard his voice faintly.
"I know the names of the important officials of the Nanling Court, the spouses and children at home."
Lin Wanwan was dumbfounded. He had been dormant in Nanling for nearly six years. He had probably already understood the layout and characters of the Nanling court very clearly. How could he not be clear about these things?
She touched her nose, laughed sarcastically, and said, "Prince Lu doesn't seem very satisfied."
Lin Wanwan's words were not groundless. She just discovered that Prince Lu didn't seem to like this woman very much. The two of them were standing on the bow of the boat together, but Prince Lu stood far away from her. She didn't even see him looking at her. She glanced.
She glanced at Luo Huaizhou not far away and joked: "It seems he is more enthusiastic about you."
Su Jingqian didn't need to look to know that Luo Huaizhou must be fully expecting him to save him, so he should be... smiling all over his face now.
There was a faint smile in his eyes, "He is more curious about you."
"Me?" Lin Wanwan raised her eyebrows and glanced at him suspiciously, "Have you ever mentioned me in front of him?"
"He discovered it himself."
After Su Jingqian finished speaking lightly, he stepped onto the boat first, then turned around and stretched out his hand to hand it to her.
Without thinking, Lin Wanwan put her hand into his palm without hesitation.
He held her hand tightly, lifted her gently, and pulled her up.
The two of them moved in perfect harmony, just like how he climbed up the green plum tree in the backyard in those years, stood on the branch and stretched out his hand to her with a smile on his face. Everything seemed so skillful and natural, so natural that Luo Huaizhou, who stood aside and took in all this, widened his eyes and opened his mouth.
Thinking of that time Su Jingqian had no choice but to cover his mouth with his hands, and then not only wiped him again and again in disgust, but also washed him in the water for a long time, as if he wanted to wash off a layer of skin before he would give up. A person who usually would be displeased if others touched the hem of his clothes, now actually reached out to pick her up without any hesitation...
A sly smile flashed in Luo Huaizhou's eyes.
