The summer is hot, the scorching sun is baking the earth, cicadas are chirping, frogs are chirping, and birds are chirping in the courtyard of Lemon Fragrance Pavilion.
Li Luansong rarely woke up early and chose a goose yellow dress with a white double-breasted skirt. Wearing it, he looked fresh and elegant.
After thinking about it for a while, I put on a silk hat specially before going out.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of Zuixian Tower. Li Luansong went upstairs and entered the private room alone, took off his silk hat and fanned himself.
This Zuixian Pavilion was a place he had carefully selected after careful comparison. Not only was the environment good, but the food was also delicious. The private rooms were also very lovingly decorated, making it perfect for private discussions.
Well, yes, a private relationship. I'm afraid no one in this world has a more private relationship than the two of them.
Thinking of this, Li Luansong felt a little hot in his ears. He quickly rubbed his ears and started pouring tea, hoping that the lady would like it.
There was a market on the street today, and the streets under the window were bustling with traffic. The sounds of shouts, sellers, and bargaining floated into his ears. This grounded feeling made him feel very relaxed.
After a while, the door of the private room was pushed open, and Li Luansong saw Shen Que. He was wearing a moon-white straight suit, his whole body was upright, and he had a gentle smile on his face. It felt familiar yet strange at the same time.
Li Luansong didn't expect that he could look so elegant and graceful.
"Your Highness, you have been waiting for a long time." Shen Que made a female salute.
"Sit down, there are no outsiders, no need to be polite." Li Luansong gestured with his hands and poured her another cup of tea.
Shen Que also looked at Li Luansong and said with a smile: "I was amazed by you at the last palace banquet. I didn't expect His Highness to be so good at dressing up. He has such good taste and dresses better than me."
"Really?" Li Luansong looked down at his clothes and said, "You are the same. It makes me look more elegant and like a scholar."
Shen Que covered his mouth and chuckled.
They said hello to each other and stopped talking. The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became a bit strange. The only sound that could be heard was the bubbling sound of boiling water in the red clay stove.
Li Luansong drank cup after cup of tea, not knowing what to say for a moment. This atmosphere really made people feel prickly.
Shen Que smoothed his hanging hair, raised his eyes and glanced at Li Luansong, who was also looking at her. Their eyes met, as if they were burned, and they hurried away, their earlobes turning red.
"It should be easy to find here." Li Luansong spoke first, "This is the place I specially selected for you. It is very famous. You need to book in advance. The owner is very good at doing business. The waiter is smart, the food is delicious, and the environment is excellent. Jia, have you been here before?"
He really had nothing to say. Just when Shen Que was about to speak, the door was pushed open and the waiter came in with a menu. He glanced at Li Luansong and was stunned for a moment. Before they could say anything and turned around, he went out and even took the menu away.
Li Luansong was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, "You're going to tear me down right after you finished your praise."
"Waiter..." Just as he was about to call the waiter back, the door was pushed open again, and the shopkeeper came in with a smile on his face.
As soon as he entered the door, he bowed to Li Luansong and said, "Master, you are here."
Li Luansong:......
Seeing Shen Que looking at him and smiling across from him, what else could he not understand? This was her shop.
Li Luansong cleared his throat and said, "I'm going to ask a friend to talk about something. If you have anything delicious to eat, feel free to bring it over."
The shopkeeper said hello, turned to look at Shen Que again, bowed slightly, and asked: "I wonder if this distinguished guest has any taboos or what he likes to eat. Let's prepare it."
Li Luansong said: "No, just prepare it according to my taste."
The shopkeeper was stunned, how could anyone treat him like this?
Sure enough, Shen Que said with a smile: "Please ask the shopkeeper to pick up more special meat dishes, especially the plate of braised pork elbows."
Li Luansong blushed and stopped: "No, no."
Shen Que said he wanted it, he wanted it.
The two of them refused like this, and the shopkeeper was stunned: He was so stingy in treating guests, but the guests did not regard themselves as outsiders.
In the end, I followed Shen Que's words and ordered a few special dishes.
Li Luansong smiled awkwardly and continued to add tea to Shen Que: "You don't have to take care of me. I am free and free now. I can eat whenever I want."
Shen Que said with a smile: "Since we are eating together, both of us must be happy. If Your Highness likes this place, you can ask them to leave a room for you and come every day."
Li Luansong smiled and said: "No, no, no, oh, I really admire you, madam."
What he said was from the bottom of his heart. The woman in front of him almost overturned his understanding of women over the years.
She is not a delicate girl from a wealthy family who often sheds tears, nor is she a wanton and flamboyant princess like Li Le who does not know the taste of sorrow, nor is she a domineering mistress in the family...
She understands poetry and songs, is good at writing articles, is diligent and smart, can make money and is very kind.
Li Luansong once again sighed silently in his heart: Zhang Chengru, Zhang Chengru, you are the most blind-eyed fool in the world.
"This place used to be just a small shop. My father started to run it bit by bit and later bought the shop."
Seeing that he didn't speak, Shen Que took the initiative to open the topic.
Li Luansong nodded and asked, "How many shops do you own on this street?"
Shen Que said: "This Qinglong Street is mine, as well as the Xuanwu Street and Baihu Street next door. Except for the Suzaku Street where His Highness lives, half of which was expropriated by the royal family, the remaining half is also mine."
After saying that, she made a gesture of silence, "I never mention these things to anyone."
Oh, then just mention it to him. Li Luansong felt a little happy inexplicably, and remembered what that girl Zelan said: This big man looks like he belongs to the Li family, but in fact it’s hard to say whose family it is...
If there was anything hard to say, Li Luansong felt that it was clearly her Shen Que.
How shameful! Why did he feel like Li Gui met Li Kui?
"Your Highness will not need to wear a hat when going out in the future. You are generous and comfortable. Anyway, the shopkeepers and other staff will recognize you."
Shen Que looked at him with a smile. The sunlight hit her face, and her eyelashes were dyed with fine golden particles. They were so soft and radiant.
Li Luansong agreed, "The last meeting was too rushed and many things were not discussed clearly."
Shen Que nodded and said yes, "How do you think the two of us ended up like this?"
"I don't know either." Li Luansong shook his head, "Recall what you were doing before the exchange that day."
Shen Que said about sleeping, "I felt uncomfortable due to heatstroke, so I went to bed, but I woke up like this."
Then he asked Li Luansong: "What was your Highness doing that day?"
Li Luansong thought that he was arrogant and said "I want to become a little lady", but he couldn't say this, so he said vaguely: "I just finished practicing and took a nap."
The two of them looked at me and I looked at you, and said in unison: "Sleep."
Shen Que said: "It seems that I have to sleep."
Li Luansong shook his head: "No, how much sleep have you had in these days? Nothing happened?"
By chance, the shopkeeper outside the door brought a tray of dishes in. I accidentally heard the last two sentences of the conversation, and my old face turned red to the root of my neck: The young people nowadays are really Meng Lang...
The shopkeeper lowered his head and said nothing when he entered, leaving Li Luansong and Shen Que puzzled.
Li Luansong: Is the shopkeeper drinking?
Shen Que: He doesn’t drink. Is he sick?
Shopkeeper: Can you two please stop discussing such an embarrassing topic in public...
Before the two of them could speak, the shopkeeper ran away.
Shen Que said: "Your Highness, don't worry, everything is God's will, just let it take its course. Don't you like the food here, Your Highness, just live happily every day."
Li Luansong said yes, "Jingyuyu".
After drinking a glass of wine, he glanced at her and said with a smile: "Actually, it's not that bad. Look how good you are at being me, better than I am. The key is that you still enjoy it, and I do. , I will take this opportunity to help you repair the Zhang family so that they will not dare to bully them again. Not only that, I also have to provide for you and beg you..."
Shen Que smiled happily and said: "I believe that His Highness has this ability, so I would like to thank Your Highness first."
Li Luansong said with some pride: "Easy to say, easy to say."
Have another drink.
"Xiao Le is full of praise for the dim sum you made." Li Luansong said: "I like it very much too."
"Really?" Shen Que was obviously very happy and felt quite relieved: "I heard from Eunuch Shi that His Highness likes to eat heavy meat. I was worried that you wouldn't like those sweet pastries. Now, okay, you Whichever one you like, I’ll make more and send them to you in the future.”
Li Luansong said that he liked it all, "I didn't think it tasted good before. The main reason was that you cooked it well."
Look, our Prince Jin can speak visibly.
The food was delicious. The two of them drank some wine, and a blush appeared on Li Luansong's face.
Shen Que ate very gracefully and slowly. She sat in the sunshine and looked very bright. Li Luansong's eyes were attracted by an emerald dragon-engraved ring on her thumb.
Isn't this something that belongs to the father? Why did it get into her hands?
Probably sensing the look in Li Luansong's eyes, Shen Que also glanced at the jade ring, immediately took it off and handed it to him:
"Your Majesty rewarded me for the well-written article."
With a proud and shy smile on her face, Li Luansong took the ring and looked at it. Yes, that's it. This is something that his father never left.
Li Luansong: ...Is his father so generous to him?
Shen Que saw him stunned and asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness, is there anything wrong?"
"No, it's just strange." Li Luansong returned the ring to him, "This is given to the father by the emperor's grandfather. It is said to be inherited from the ancestors. If you can get it, it means that the father really likes you."
Shen Que smiled and said, "I like you, Your Highness. Why are you so confused?"
Li Luansong also smiled: "My father has so many sons, how come I never feel that he likes me?"
Shen Que said that was wrong, "His Majesty just prefers His Highness, and the Queen feels the same way. Compared with His Highness the Second, His Highness the Fifth, and several other Highnesses, it is obvious that His Majesty will be particularly happy as long as you make some achievements."
"But I'm often lazy." Li Luansong smiled heartily, "And I often got into trouble with the second and fifth sons."
"But I think it's not that Your Highness doesn't understand, it's just that you're too lazy to care about them, just like I'm too lazy to care about the Zhang family. I'd rather be scolded and bullied than pay attention to their trivial matters. Your Highness, tell me, am I right?" Shen Que. He tilted his head and looked at him with a playful look on his face.
Li Luansong nodded and said: "Yes, yes, that's what it is. It's so annoying."
Shen Que said: "Now the imperial court is short of manpower. After the imperial examination, the official promotion system will be promulgated after the New Year. The second prince and the fifth prince have already begun to recruit talents. I will pay attention here."
Li Luansong nodded: "These literati may seem weak, but in fact they have the toughest tone in their hearts, and they have deep thoughts. They will take things seriously to the end. I admire them in my heart, and I feel that if you only use them temporarily to make friends, There’s no need to work blindly, that’s not my style.”
Shen Que said yes, then lowered his head shyly and said, "I asked Zhang Chengru to take charge of the imperial examination. Actually, I want him to be busy so that His Highness can live more comfortably."
"I understand. I understood you just by looking at you that day." Li Luansong smiled, "We have a good understanding."
How should I put it? It's that feeling that suddenly there is someone in the world who believes in you and supports you as firmly as you do. It's a very reassuring feeling.
Li Luansong warned: "You can take care of these things by yourself. The only thing is, don't be too tired. Make time to exercise."
Shen Que nodded: "I will. By the way, the little painting His Highness drew last time was really good. The movements were lifelike, but I didn't quite understand what the story was about."
Li Luansong was confused: "A storybook? A small painting I drew?"
Shen Que said yes, "It's the martial arts guy. Some villains are flying kites, some are walking on wooden poles, and there are two villains fighting..."
Li Luansong covered his face and sighed: "That's a practice diagram I drew for you, not a script."
Shen Que: ...Is it so advanced? The practice pictures are like that? It seems that the princess is right, she really watched it a lot when she was a child.
"I'll paint it for you again later. Start with something simple. If it's too complicated, you won't be able to understand it." Li Luansong felt helpless like a chicken.
"That's it, okay then." Shen Que said sheepishly, "I thought it was a storybook. I also helped you add flowers, plants, houses, and many plots..."
Li Luansong covered his face: ...Oh my God, help me.
Shen Que said: "Look, how stupid I am, just as stupid as you are when you read the account book."
Li Luansong said that was wrong, "You are much stupider in practicing kung fu than I am in reading the ledger."
She covered her mouth and smiled with peach blossoms on her face, which made Li Luansong also smile helplessly. The midday sun shone through the diamond-shaped window panes, forming mottled shadows, and also illuminated their whole bodies with a faint golden light.
When I walked out of the inn, it was already three minutes later.
The two said goodbye, got into their own carriages, and headed off in different directions.
However, two groups of people followed closely behind them, one group followed Shen Que and the other group ran after Li Luansong.
