Prince Yu's wedding ceremony was chosen to be held on the eighth day of February. There are still ten days until the eighth day. In other words, Luo Lan will stay in the Duke's mansion for these ten days.
Suddenly free, Luo Lan felt a little bored. Looking at the various rare treasures sent by her father, she couldn't help but sigh.
When she first entered Prince Yu's Mansion, she was penniless and had to worry about the food and clothing for dozens of people in the Prince's Mansion. Now she suddenly became the eldest lady of the Duke's Mansion, with countless gold and silver at her disposal. She felt that her life was not easy. It was so uninteresting, and the change was so unexpected.
The sun was just right today, and she had nothing to do. She could only sit on the rocking chair in the yard of the west wing, watching the sunshine pouring down, and listening to the birds chirping in the trees.
Ah Hong placed a plate of fruit on the table in front of her, picked up an apple and peeled it while whispering:
"Princess, do you think this girl A Cai is a little strange? Why is she always running to the main hall these days? She also delivers ginseng soup to Mr. Liu for two days in a row. I have told her several times, but she doesn't listen. I'm really afraid that if she acts carelessly, she might anger Mr. Liu."
Luo Lan opened his hand to block the sunlight, half-squinted his eyes, and murmured through his fingers:
"She can't sit still. She can go wherever she likes. Daddy is not a hypocritical person and won't blame her."
"What the princess said is true, but I always feel that Ah Cai has something on her mind. She chatters all day long, and sometimes she even snickers."
Hearing what she said, Luo Lan sat up as if he had thought of something, and was so frightened that Ah Hong asked hurriedly:
"Princess, why are you so alarmed?"
"Wait a minute, you said A Cai often snickers?"
"yes!"
"Is there anything else strange about her?"
Ah Hong peeled the apple in her hand and handed it to Luo Lan. After putting the knife on the table, she thought for a while and said:
"She has changed recently. She often giggles and says some strange things. By the way, she often mentions the prince, you, and General Liu."
When it came to herself and Leng Yu, Luo Lan was not curious about this, but when it came to her father, she was a little surprised.
She took a bite of the apple and asked while chewing:
"Why did she mention my father?"
"She said that General Liu was such a good man. He stayed unmarried for so many years and didn't even have a concubine because of his deceased wife. If she was lucky enough to marry such a man, it would be worth dying for."
After saying this, Ah Hong said "Bah, bah, bah!" several times, and then continued:
"Do you think she is stupid? She works hard all day long. We are just little girls. If it weren't for the princess's preference, we would still be slaves who have to die in the hands of the master. She still hopes to find someone. A man like General Liu? It’s so whimsical.”
Ah Hong sighed while speaking, while Luo Lan frowned slightly and said softly:
"Call Ah Cai here. I have something to ask her."
Ah Hong was obviously a little flustered, she hurriedly leaned over and said:
"Princess, it was Ah Hong who was talking too much just now. I am not saying bad things about Ah Cai. I am just saying casually. Although Ah Cai has been acting a bit strange recently, she does things as before, without any perfunctory. Princess, you..."
"A Hong..."
Seeing that Ah Hong was a little nervous, Luo Lan hurriedly interrupted her, "I asked you to call Ah Cai. I didn't mean to say anything against her. I just wanted to ask her a few words. Why are you nervous?"
Hearing this, Ah Hong breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded and said:
"Okay, I'll call her now."
Looking at Ah Hong's hastily leaving, Luo Lan felt inexplicably worried.
Ah Cai is still a young child. From the moment she arrived at the Duke's Mansion, she felt that the girl was looking at her father in a daze. At first, she thought she had seen it wrong. But now after Ah Hong said this, she felt that maybe what she guessed was wrong. Wrong, as her master, she should explain things clearly to her in a timely manner. She is young, so don't confuse admiration with love.
After a while, A Hong brought A Cai to Luo Lan. She waved to A Hong,
"You go down first, Ah Cai and I have a few words to say."
Although Ah Hong was a little worried that her unobtrusive words had brought trouble to Ah Cai, she still bowed and bowed before quietly retreating out.
A Cai stood in front of Luo Lan. She was a little more awkward than before. Luo Lan pointed to the round stool opposite and whispered to her:
"Acai, sit down!"
"A Cai doesn't dare."
"Sit down. You stand like this and you have to raise your head when I talk to you. Don't you feel bad that I'm tired?"
After hearing what she said, Ah Cai took two steps forward to the round stool and sat upright on it, with her upper body straight, looking nervous and at a loss.
"Acai, how old are you this year?"
Luo Lan's question made Ah Cai a little nervous. She swallowed and replied in a low voice:
"18 years old."
"Well, you are an adult now. I know that your parents died when you were very young and you have no relatives around you except Ah Hong. But since you came here, I have treated you like a sister. Did I do that? What are you dissatisfied with?"
Hearing this, Ah Cai was a little nervous. She quickly slipped off the stool, knelt down on her knees, and said in a panic:
"Princess, did A Cai do something wrong?"
Seeing Ah Cai's panic, Luo Lan hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, blaming her,
"I told you when you came here, don't kneel down at every turn, and you didn't do anything wrong. I just want to tell you a few things from my heart."
Hearing what Luo Lan said, Ah Cai stood up timidly. She looked at Luo Lan, pursed her lips and asked:
"Princess, just ask if you have anything to say. If you talk to the slave like this, the slave will be scared."
"What are you afraid of? You, me, and Ah Hong. We have been together for so long. We are not sisters, but we are better than sisters. I have never treated you the same as you are, so I want to say a few words to you from the bottom of my heart."
Having said this, she walked slowly for two steps and came to sit down at the stone table in the middle of the yard. She motioned to Ah Cai, who was following her, to sit opposite her.
Ah Cai was still a little at a loss. Seeing her fidgeting, Luo Lan asked directly:
"I see that you have been in a strange state recently, but what's on your mind? You might as well tell me."
"No no."
Ah Cai shook her head vigorously and hurriedly denied: "A Cai is dedicated to serving the princess and has no worries."
Seeing that she didn't want to say anything, Luo Lan could only nod slowly, and then said:
"When I was in the country, I would be betrothed to someone else when I was sixteen years old, and I would formally marry a man when I was less than eighteen years old. Logically speaking, it is not an exaggeration to say that you are interested in someone at your age. In other words, you It’s not an exaggeration to think that you have someone you like in your heart, it’s human nature.”
Having said this, Luo Lan tightened the handkerchief in his hand and continued:
"I just want to remind you that when looking for a man, you should not be blind or make assumptions. You should be realistic and mutually agreeable, because if it is yours, you can get it. If it is not yours, don't force it. So as not to hurt yourself.”
As soon as she said these words, Ah Cai's face turned pale. Suddenly, she knelt down again and said with red eyes:
"Princess, this slave is wrong. I shouldn't have any wrong thoughts. Please punish me, Princess."
