The breeze blows, and Song Ran's graceful figure passes through the light gauze curtain. She was lying on her side on the bed, her thin clothes half-covering her shoulders as white as snow. The indoor sandalwood penetrates the nose slightly.
Hong Hao called softly outside the door a few times. He didn't hear any movement in the house, so he opened the door carefully and walked in quietly.
Song Ran's face turned red and she closed her eyes tightly, showing no signs of waking up.
"Princess, Princess."
Disturbing one's dream, Song Ran turned over half asleep and half awake.
"Princess, wake up quickly! His Royal Highness Prince Xuan has been waiting in the outer hall for a long time."
"Who are you talking about?" Song Ran sat up suddenly and turned to look at Hong Hao in confusion, her eyes slightly opened and her face blank.
With a smile on her face, Hongyao leaned close to Song Ran's ear and said, "His Royal Highness King Xuan, your future husband-in-law."
Song Ran, who was still drowsy at first, suddenly woke up when she heard the word "King Xuan". But Naihe didn't want to face this person, so he was forced to pretend to be awake and fell down.
The quilt was pulled up to the top of the head again, and his face was buried in the quilt, leaving only two hands holding the edge of the quilt tightly.
"My good princess, the princess asked her maid to wake you up, so please don't embarrass Hong Hao." Hong Hao grimaced for a while before gathering up the courage, and reached out to lift Song Ran's quilt.
Song Ran was sulking under the quilt and refused to let go: "What is he doing here!"
"They say they want to renovate the palace. Today, craftsmen happen to be drawing at the palace. I would like to invite you to come and take a look at it."
"Not going."
"If you don't want to go, why don't you go? You girl, you are even more unruly when you enter the palace." Princess Nanjun walked in from outside the house.
"Mother Concubine!" Song Ran poked her head out from under the quilt, put her arms around the Princess's waist, buried her head in the Princess's arms, and acted coquettishly towards Princess Nan.
Princess Nanjun had a sullen face and glanced displeased at her daughter who was still lying in bed. But he couldn't bear the girl's coquettishness, so he could only pretend to pat Song Ran gently a few times.
Not long after, Song Ran sat obediently in front of the mirror, lightly applying red blush.
Song Ran looked through the bronze mirror, pouted, and glared at Hong Hao who was hiding behind him and snickering.
Chen Chaobai's carriage was quite spacious, and there was an ice tray on the tea table inside the carriage. It was already filled with ice cubes before summer arrived.
Although the marriage had been announced to the world, since they were not married yet, Song Ran sat alone in the carriage, while Chen Chaobai rode beside the carriage.
Today, Hongliu gave Song Ran a bun with a golden hairpin on one side and a lifelike butterfly gold hairpin on the other side. According to Princess Nanjun, today is the first time that Song Ran enters the palace. She must be dignified and decent so that she can have the confidence to discipline the servants of the palace in the future.
This complicated set of headgear made Song Ran breathless. She had just gotten up with a tired look on her face, she was twitching her lips, and her eyes were about to close in confusion.
She pinched her arm and said, "Ss--"
"My good princess, don't sigh." Hong Hao sat outside the carriage, comforting Song Ran who was sighing in the carriage from time to time.
The carriage arrived at Prince Xuan's Mansion. A group of people had already been waiting outside the mansion.
The leader was an old man who looked to be in his late fifties. He was well-dressed and stood there respectfully. Seeing Chen Chaobai dismounting, he immediately went to greet him.
"Your Majesty."
Chen Chaobai nodded.
"This is Uncle Zhong, the steward of the palace."
"This old slave has met Your Highness the Princess."
"Uncle Zhong is an old man in the palace, so there is no need to be so polite."
The groom had already put down the horse stool beside the carriage. Song Ran was about to get out of the car when she saw Chen Chaobai's hand stretched out, as if to hold him.
Song Ran hesitantly raised her head and glanced at the people gathered around the door. With so many people watching, she had no choice but to give him face, so she could only let him lead her all the way into the palace.
Song Ran followed Chen Chaobai into the inner hall.
The inner hall is simple and tidy. Except for some ceramic ornaments, the most valuable thing is probably the mountain and river map in front of it.
Sunlight shines into the hall from the hollow carved wooden window and shines on the map of mountains and rivers. Every dot corresponds to a city.
Song Ran turned around and wanted to look at the window. The messy hair touched Chen Chaobai's strong nose, and she felt Chen Chaobai's hot breath rushing towards her face, which made Song Ran shy for a while, pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Chen Chaobai carefully looked at the shy girl in front of him and suddenly smiled: "I wonder if the princess is satisfied with the palace."
Song Ran was startled when she heard the sound, and suddenly thought of something. He wanted to break free from Chen Chaobai's hand that he had been holding all the way. While the two were entangled, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Majesty, Mrs. Gu is here to deliver mung bean and lotus seed soup." Before he finished speaking, he saw a woman in gorgeous clothes walking in from the door, followed by a maid carrying a food box. She has a delicate figure, a charming smile on her red lips, and a soft voice.
"Does the prince have a guest? Who is this young lady?" The woman glanced at Song Ran, but did not salute, but walked straight to Chen Chaobai.
She took a transparent jade bowl from the hand of the maid, took a spoonful and wanted to put it to Chen Chaobai's mouth. Fortunately, Chen Chaobai's attendant Bai Qi quickly took it with his eyes and hands.
Chen Chaobai cleared his throat, turned to Song Ran and said: "This is Xia Yu. Her brother Xia Chun was once a guard in my palace. In his early years, he went on a private visit to Cangtai County, but unexpectedly encountered a mountain bandit who was seeking money and killing him. Her brother blocked it for me. With one sword strike, he can be said to be my savior."
"Is this the sister of the prince's savior?" Song Ran looked directly at the noble lady in front of her with a sharp gaze. Xia Yu was at a loss when she stared at her, and she restrained a bit of the arrogant arrogance she had just entered the door.
"It was her brother who saved you, what does it have to do with her?"
After hearing Song Ran's words, Xia Yu's face froze.
"Being so wanton and disrespectful in the palace, I don't know if I thought she was one of the prince's concubines."
"You are uttering arrogance!" Xia Yu's face looked a little ugly and her voice was extremely irritable.
Chen Chaobai couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He didn't know what bad idea this little girl Song Ran had come up with today.
"Did I make a mistake? You are a married woman, and you feed other people's men in the palace without caring about your husband's family's face. Isn't this just wanton and reckless?"
"I'm here. When you see me dressed up like this, you should have thought of my status, but you didn't salute. Isn't this a lack of etiquette?"
Song Ran's aggressive look made Xia Yu panic. She stroked her chest and couldn't breathe.
Xia Yu sobbed: "I come from a womanly family, and the husband I married is not a high-ranking official. Naturally, I don't have this knowledge. Please forgive me, Princess."
"Did I just say that I was the princess? Now you are calling me, and you still say that you have no knowledge?" Song Ran looked at Xia Yu with disdain.
Xia Yu's face turned pale when he heard the sound.
"Xia Yu, I accepted this bowl of soup. Go back and tell your mother that the palace has everything, so there is no need to give it away in the future." Chen Chaobai paused, turned to look at Song Ran, and then said: "Today, you also I have met the future Princess Xuan, and there is no need for you to come to Prince Xuan’s Mansion in the future. If anything happens, I will summon your brother."
"Your Majesty." Xia Yu's heart dropped when she saw Chen Chaobai's attitude.
Xia Yu's mother was Chen Chaobai's wet nurse. Her brother followed Chen Chaobai on many expeditions east and west, through life and death.
She knew that she could not become his official wife because of her status, but she wanted to use the relationship between her mother and brother with Chen Chaobai to stay in the palace, even if she was a maid, she was willing to do anything.
However, Chen Chaobai had kept himself clean since childhood and had never approached women. Even if he was approaching her, he would stay away from her.
Just last year, Chen Chaobai gave her family one hundred taels of gold and asked his brother to find a good home for her. His brother knew what he meant, and without waiting for her consent, he agreed to marry her off to a family.
Chen Chaobai signaled Bai Qi to invite Xia Yu out.
The door of the inner hall was closed again, leaving only Song Ran and Chen Chaobai.
The bowl of mung bean and lotus seed soup came into Song Ran's hands at some point. She scooped it up a few times and put a spoonful into her mouth.
"The craftsmanship is quite good. Unfortunately, because of my trouble, the prince will lose a bowl of delicious mung bean and lotus seed soup. Otherwise, it is better to invite the person back. Looking at her crying expression with pear blossoms and rain, don't This princess feels a little sorry for the man you mentioned." Song Ran smiled innocently.
Chen Chaobai stretched out his hand to press Song Ran to his chest, and wiped the residue from the corner of Song Ran's mouth with his other hand. Such an ambiguous scene made Song Ran's heart beat violently, and she was so embarrassed that she almost died from embarrassment.
"You see, my lord, there are not many benefits to marrying me. I am such a fierce woman. In the future, your house will be pure and uncivilized, and I will not be able to support the darlings and swallows. I am afraid that it will delay the lord's children and grandchildren."
"It turns out that you just wanted to solidify your reputation as a shrew." Chen Chaobai showed a look of pity and touched Song Ran's head.
Song Ran shook her head and put away his hand. She felt bitter in her heart, how could Chen Chaobai see out her little thoughts? Her military book was read in vain in front of Chen Chaobai.
"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much." Song Ran looked at Chen Chaobai with a guilty look on her face.
"I was thinking just now that I could turn a blind eye, but I still have to cause this incident. Last time you instigated Wang Chan, 'Ehuang Nvying', to make the emperor dissatisfied. What bad idea did you come up with this time?"
"How do you know it was me who instigated it?" Song Ran was stunned for a while and took a few steps back.
Chen Chaobai sneered and looked at Song Ran with interest but did not continue to answer her question.
The craftsmen outside the house sent the drawings of the palace. Chen Chaobai asked him to hand it to Song Ran.
Song Ran took a look and put him on the table again.
"Your Majesty, all you need to do is give me a yard and I will close the door and live my own life. If Your Majesty likes a girl from that family, just marry her back. If I need to come out to make things happen, I will definitely do it thoughtfully."
Song Ran glanced at the closed door, and then said: "But the woman is already another man's wife, the prince should think twice. This is against ethics, and I can't help the prince."
Chen Chaobai suddenly grabbed Song Ran's hand in mid-air and looked down at her with a smile.
There were several more knocks on the door.
"Your Majesty, Lord Liu wants to see you. He says there is a famine in Huaibei and we have something to discuss."
Song Ran freed her hand from Chen Chaobai's hand, her tone was not friendly, and her face was already unhappy, "Your Majesty has important matters, so I won't bother you."
"I will send someone to take you back."
"No need. I left Beijing when I was young and haven't been to Beijing for many years. It's still early today. I just want to go walking around the streets with Hong Hao today."
"Then I will send someone to follow you. After all, I picked you up from the palace."
"Your Highness Prince Xuan, I'm afraid you have forgotten that I was born as a military general. There are not many people in this capital who can touch me. You don't need to worry."
"I am too worried."
When Song Ran came out of the study, the scorching sun made it difficult for her to open her eyes. She had to cover her forehead with her hands before reluctantly opening her eyes.
She vaguely saw a person sitting under the locust tree not far away. He is not slim in stature, but his manners are indescribably elegant. Fallen leaves passed over his shoulders and fell into the mottled shadows of the trees underground.
Holding her sleeves in the breeze, Song Ran saw a slender and white hand with clear joints on the back, holding a book in one hand.
The man raised his head and met her eyes. From a distance, he slowly stood up and bowed his hands respectfully.
Song Ran nodded in return and hurried past.
Lord Liu, Liu Yunqi. The emperor studied with him when he was young, and he is the youngest bachelor.
