Summer is in full swing now, and the lotus flowers in the lotus pond are in full bloom, swaying in the wind, with pink and green waves forming.
Groups of noble ladies, dressed in costumes, holding silk handkerchiefs or round fans, gathered around the railings, chatting softly, and crisp laughter could be heard from time to time.
The young and handsome young men on the shore asked for paper and pen, and were reciting poems with the title "Lotus" and drinking wine. They were very happy.
It's just that his eyes are always looking towards the woman.
When Lou Jinhuan brought Xiao Ning in, in order to avoid being onlookers, he deliberately walked from the alley and did not let his servants make any noise.
It was the first time for Xiao Ning to attend such a large-scale banquet, so she was still a little nervous, fearing that she would make a mistake.
She was not afraid of being embarrassed herself, but she was afraid of making a fool of herself and causing Lou Jinhuan to be embarrassed.
Sensing her nervousness, Lou Jinhuan held her hand and whispered: "There is nothing to be afraid of, just be yourself, I will take care of everything."
"Yes." Xiao Ning held Lou Jinhuan's hand tightly and straightened his back.
They walked from the corridor to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. When people in the pavilion saw her, they all stood up and saluted, "Elder Princess Jin An."
"Excuse me, you don't have to be restrained. I'm just a guest here today."
Lou Jinhuan pulled Xiao Ning to sit down next to her, and then the others took their seats. Although she said that, few people dared to be presumptuous in front of her. The eldest princess was different from other princesses, especially those with titles. Unparalleled dignity.
In addition, she was so beautiful and aggressive that few people dared to really get close to her. They all abided by their duties and asked questions before answering.
But the fact that he didn't dare to ask Lou Jinhuan didn't mean that he didn't dare to ask Xiao Ning. She was a new face to these noble ladies, and she was brought in by Lou Jinhuan. Many people focused on her, with good intentions. , with unknown meaning, all fell on her, making her feel uncomfortable everywhere.
"Whose lady is this? Why haven't I seen her before?"
"Yeah, I haven't seen him before, but he looks really handsome and seems to be a stable person. Can you accept him?"
"Yes, how old is my sister? Can we say that we are married? My father-in-law and your father-in-law are..."
A group of people were chattering around Xiao Ning. Xiao Ning's face turned red and she looked at Lou Jinhuan as if asking for help.
Lou Jinhuan put down the tea cup carefully, which immediately attracted everyone's attention, and the noisy Huxin Pavilion suddenly became quiet.
"Xiao Ning is my sister. She has never been betrothed to anyone, and she does not plan to be betrothed to anyone so early. She has a calm temperament, but is relatively introverted. You should stop hanging around her all the time. She is shy. If you have any questions, please ask me."
As soon as these words came out, the ladies and ladies immediately put out the fire, smiled and returned to their seats. However, the organizer of the flower viewing banquet arrived late. When he heard this sentence, he couldn't help but laugh and ask: "When did the princess have a younger sister? I don't even know about it. It's really rude."
Lou Jinhuan looked over and saw a woman dressed very flamboyantly walking over.
This is the seventh prince's aunt, Mrs. An Guogong's wife, Mrs. Liu.
She looks quite majestic and has a cheerful personality, but her eyes are sparkling, which makes people think she is too shrewd.
Lou Jinhuan smiled slightly, "Isn't my sweetheart's sister my sister?"
Mrs. An Guogong's expression suddenly changed and she looked at Xiao Ning in disbelief, wishing she could see a flower on her face.
Xiao Ning smiled, "Xiao Ning has met Madam."
Everyone around was stunned, this news was so exciting.
Mrs. An Guogong forced a smile. She wanted to say something for the occasion but couldn't. She simply turned to Lou Jinhuan and asked hesitantly: "When did the princess have a sweetheart? Which family is he from?"
"I am not a young master from any family, and I am not in Kyoto at the moment, but I guess I will be back soon. I will be very happy when the time comes, and I will invite you all to have a wedding drink."
Lou Jinhuan's expression remained unchanged throughout the whole process, and he seemed to be sincere when he extended the invitation. However, Mrs. An Guogong's face became increasingly ugly.
Her wishful thinking failed, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Lou Jinhuan took in her reaction completely and smiled without saying a word.
[Host, why did you suddenly make it public? 】001 I don’t understand.
[If I don’t disclose it, these people will keep plotting against me, which will make them very annoying. Why not disclose it completely and let them give up on this idea? 】
[But if it reaches the ears of the emperor, he may not agree so easily, right? 】
[If he doesn’t agree to our mission, won’t he do it? 】 Lou Jinhuan asked back.
001 paused, [Of course it’s impossible! 】
[Then why should you care whether he agrees or not? ] Lou Jinhuan tasted a piece of dim sum and thought it tasted good, so he took one for Xiao Ning and said, "This is delicious, try it."
"Yeah." Xiao Ning took it and started eating it naturally.
001 I think so, no matter what the emperor thinks, no one can dismantle his CP!
Seeing that Lou Jinhuan and Xiao Ning had such a good relationship, other people couldn't help but feel a little regretful knowing that there was no hope for their brother or nephew.
After a while, Mrs. An Guogong cheered up and greeted everyone, and tried her best to host the banquet. However, as soon as the banquet was over, she immediately went to the palace to discuss countermeasures with the seventh prince's mother and concubine.
…
Xiao Ning was still worried when she went back, "Sister-in-law, if you say it directly like this, will it be bad for you?"
Lou Jinhuan shook his head, "I'm the eldest princess. I just like a man. What's wrong with that? I'm not in love with a married man. Whatever they say."
"Sister-in-law, you are so brave." Xiao Ning looked at her with admiration.
Lou Jinhuan laughed, "It's not that I'm brave, it's that I have confidence. I have martial arts and abilities. I can live without the royal family. I won't starve to death wherever I go, so I'm not afraid of falling out with the royal family. Fame is enough for me. It doesn’t matter, I don’t care about the rumors outside, because I know what I want to do, what they can do, and they can’t hurt me, so I naturally don’t need to care about those rumors.”
She held Xiao Ning's hand and said: "So I asked the master to teach you riding and shooting, teach you self-defense martial arts, teach you piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, all in order to give you skills. When you have enough confidence, everyone in the world can No amount of malice can hurt you at all, and what your brother is doing is also to improve his own confidence."
Xiao Ning was suddenly enlightened and his eyes brightened, "I understand, sister-in-law, I will work harder in the future."
Lou Jin smiled and nodded.
However, the next day, the emperor couldn't help but asked Lou Jinhuan to enter the palace.
Lou Jinhuan had already prepared, so it was no surprise.
The father and daughter sat opposite each other on the couch. The emperor smiled and said, "I haven't played chess with you for a long time. Come and play a game with your father."
"Okay." Lou Jinhuan picked up the black piece skillfully and waited for the emperor to make a move before moving. It was hard to tell the winner between the two of them. After a while, the emperor suddenly asked: "I heard that you have a sweetheart?"
Lou Jinhuan admitted frankly, "Well, you have seen it."
The emperor was startled, then frowned: "Is it the boy who shot the third child to death with an arrow before?"
