Chapter 60

This servant promises not to tell the young master.

Lu Qin's ears were filled with Hao Jingshi's voice, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

She nestled into Hao Jingshi's arms, and Hao Jingshi gently placed his hand on her back.

When she complained of thirst, Hao Jingshi would feed her water; when she complained of being hot, Hao Jingshi would gently fan her, showing great patience.

Even as she drifted off to sleep, Lu Qin could still hear Hao Jingshi whispering in her ear. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she still mumbled in response to him in her sleep.

"I...love my husband too..."

"..."

In a hazy daze, Lu Qin slept until dawn.

The sun was a bit shaky. When she opened her eyes, Hao Jingshi was no longer beside her, and Ling'er had been taken away as well. Xuan Lan couldn't come into the inner room, so it was a maid from the manor who woke her up.

The maidservant said, "Madam, the Princess has arrived. Xuan Lan has led her to the main hall to wait."

Upon hearing that Chang Le had arrived, Lu Qin jumped up to get out of bed, but her whole body was sore and she almost fell over. The little maid was so frightened that she rushed over to help her up.

After dressing up, Lu Qin ran to the main hall and saw Chang Le sitting cross-legged on a wooden chair in the distance.

"Ah Qin, your residence is very beautiful." Chang Le casually picked up an empty teacup and looked around with curiosity. "But it's not as nice as my house."

Lu Qin grinned awkwardly. This little princess seemed to have forgotten that her family was the Pingfan Prince's Mansion. Apart from the nobles in the palace, who dared to compare with them?

She took Chang Le on a tour, which took some time, so by the time they got to Xuande Street, it was almost noon.

The aroma of everyday life drifted through the streets, captivating passersby. Following the scents, people flocked to restaurants and taverns, both of which were packed with people, their laughter as vibrant as the sun high in the sky.

The owners of the other shops also opened their food boxes and took a short rest while tending to their quiet shops.

Lu Qin crossed the street and walked to the front of Xiao Lu Clothing Shop. She opened the door, and at that moment, Aunt Zhao came out from next door. When she saw Lu Qin, she was first surprised, and then felt sorry for her.

"Young lady, you're only just arriving? Many customers came to your house early this morning to wait, but when you didn't come for a long time, they thought you were closed for the day and all left."

Lu Qin smiled and said, "Good morning, Auntie. I wasn't feeling well today, so I got up a little late."

"Your business is good, and you must be busy every day, but you should also take care of your health and get some rest."

Aunt Zhao asked a few words of concern, and Lu Qin thanked her. The two then returned to their respective shops.

After lunch break, customers gradually started arriving at the clothing shop.

To avoid any disturbance, Lu Qin had Chang Le wait in the rest area while she herself ran around attending to the guests.

She moved nimbly, spoke clearly, and smiled broadly. Even when surrounded by a group of people, she responded with ease, appearing full of energy.

Chang Le stared wide-eyed at the sight. In her memory, she had been to the clothing shop many times, but it was always when it was closed. This was the first time she had ever seen a deer like this.

Thinking that Lu Qin had delayed her business because she was showing her around, Chang Le felt guilty and immediately decided to help Lu Qin.

She ran to take the clothes and hand them over, but soon things became chaotic and she was so dizzy that she couldn't tell who was who. So she decided to give up and turned to practice her swordplay at the door.

"Everyone! Don't miss out!"

While shouting, Chang Le danced with her sword in a dashing manner. She removed her hairpins, tied her hair into a ponytail, and her movements were as smooth as flowing water.

Passersby were drawn to the veiled female warrior and stopped to watch.

As the crowd grew larger, Chang Le seized the opportunity to use her sword to pluck off a piece of clothing and fling it into the air.

With each sword dance, her clothes fluttered, light and graceful, as if infused with the soul of a fairy, dancing ethereally in the mortal realm.

The female warrior wielded her sword with great strength, while the dancer was slender and graceful. Their perfect coordination drew applause and cheers from the passersby.

Chang Le then selected other clothes to dance in, showcasing the unique features of each garment.

Passersby not only enjoyed the visual feast but also admired the clothes. If they saw something they liked, they immediately headed into the clothing store.

The shop owners in the neighboring shops watched with great interest and said enviously, "Look, Miss Lu's clothing shop has come up with new ideas again."

"It's not surprising, it's not surprising. She should earn this money."

Business was booming as always. To thank Chang Le for her hard work in sword dancing, Lu Qin closed the shop early and accompanied her shopping.

Chang Le was in high spirits and wanted to stroll through Xuande Street from beginning to end. At this moment, her maid reminded her, "Master, you told the Prince that you were taking Young Master Hao to see the Imperial Concubine. We need to get to the palace before the gates are locked. Don't give ourselves away."

Upon hearing this, Chang Le sighed in disappointment, feeling regretful. Lu Qin smiled and said, "Then we'll take you to the place you most want to go, Princess. Think it over carefully."

"The place I most want to go..." Chang Le lowered her head in thought, but after two seconds she raised her head again, "It must be to go to the music hall to see the handsome men!"

Upon hearing this, the maid weakly tried to intervene: "Master, this is probably not..."

"Let's get going, there's no time to lose!"

Before she could finish speaking, Chang Le excitedly grabbed Lu Qin's hand and ran off, carrying her eight meters away like a gust of wind.

Xuan Lan whistled to signal his guards to follow, then turned and nodded to the maid.

"If we don't hurry, we won't be able to catch up."

"My lord..." the maid sighed.

She followed reluctantly, and to protect her master's reputation, she even went into a general store and bought a straw hat for him.

...

Music Hall.

The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, along with the aromas of fruit and wine.

The front hall was packed with guests, and waiters were bustling about carrying wine jugs.

Chang Le pulled Lu Qin inside, through the hustle and bustle of people, and chose a private room to sit down.

She generously took out her silver and asked to call the top courtesan to keep her company. The owner accepted it with a smile and then turned to lead over a handsome and elegant man.

The handsome man, dressed in white and holding a flute, moved with refined elegance, his stunning appearance comparable to that of Lu Pan'an in his prime.

He played an elegant flute tune, the melodious music filling the air. Chang Le was completely captivated, repeatedly clicking his tongue in admiration.

Lu Qin shrank awkwardly to one side, staring at the small wine pot on the table. Although Qu Mei was beautiful, and she really wanted to admire her, but...

At that moment, Xuan Lan was hanging upside down from the roof beam near the window, staring at her.

Xuan Lan: "If the young master knew you had come to the music hall, he would be furious."

Lu Qin: "Then can you keep it from him knowing?"

"That's hard to say. If the young master asks, this servant will have to answer honestly."

Lu Qin earnestly tried to reason with him: "Xuan Lan, are you confused? If I apologize, he'll calm down. Can you?"

Xuan Lan: "...This servant promises not to tell the young master."

"That's right."

Lu Qin chuckled wickedly, slowly raising her eyes to gaze at the handsome man.

It's just a glance, nothing serious...

"Hey, Madam." Before even seeing his face clearly, Xuan Lan suddenly blurted out, "Look, isn't that Qian Yuming?"

"..." Lu Qin sighed, wondering how long Qian Yuming had been missing. Did he really go to such lengths to stop her from looking at handsome men?

No wonder he's someone who's followed Hao Jingshi since childhood.

Lu Qin looked silently in the direction Xuan Lan was pointing.

A man who looked as thin as a weasel and a simply dressed maid came into view.

Her eyes widened suddenly.

It really is Qian Yuming!

What is he doing here?

"This person... seems familiar, he looks so familiar."

When Lu Qin looked on in surprise, Chang Le also looked in the direction Xuan Lan was pointing, but she was more concerned about the maid next to Qian Yuming.

Chang Le stopped the handsome man from playing the flute, lowered her head and pondered for a while, then exclaimed in surprise, "I remember now, I saw her at the banquet that day, she was Consort Fang's maid!"

Fang concubine?

Lu Qin frowned. Two people who seemed to have nothing in common had actually appeared together.

Chang Le was clearly puzzled as well, and pondered, "Why would Consort Fang's people be looking for Qian Yuming? Could it be..."

Is it about the governor's affairs?

The seven large characters circled in her mind, and Lu Qin raised her head, as did Chang Le.

The two looked at each other, their expressions identical, clearly having thought of the same thing.

“I have a bad feeling about this… I need to tell Father about this as soon as possible.” Chang Le stood up decisively. “Aqin, excuse me, I have to go back to the palace quickly.”

She put on her straw hat and ran off in a few quick steps, with her maidservants hurrying after her, bowing to them before leaving.

Lu Qin hurriedly said, "Be careful on the road," and then turned to look out the window. Chang Le quickly appeared in front of the carriage downstairs and even took the time to look up and wave to her.

Lu Qin watched Chang Le leave from upstairs, but no sooner had she left than Qian Yuming came out and got into a carriage with his maid.

She paused for a moment, then quickly looked at the direction the carriage was heading—it seemed to be in the same direction as Chang Le.

Are they also going to the palace?

Lu Qin strained her eyes, leaning half her body out to see further. Seeing this, the handsome man beside her turned pale, dropped his flute, and rushed to rescue her.

"Please don't do anything rash, young lady! I'll play you a cheerful tune!"

"Go away!" Seeing him rush over, Xuan Lan fiercely blocked his way.

Unexpectedly, the handsome man couldn't stop himself and pounced on him.

The two exclaimed in surprise and retreated a great distance. When Lu Qin turned around, she only saw two men groping her and felt completely bewildered.

She called Xuan Lan back to the manor, but Xuan Lan snorted and, passing by the handsome man, tossed out a remark: "Don't even think about seducing my young mistress."

The handsome man picked up the flute, looked up, and murmured, "Madman."

...

The sky faded from the orange-yellow sunset, draped in a faint, almost imperceptible moonlight.

Lu Qin calculated the time and figured Hao Jingshi should have already returned home, making her even more eager to go back herself.

Xuan Lan was still basking in the glory of protecting the young mistress, unaware that she had already run a mile away.

Lu Qin ran into the house excitedly, and sure enough, she saw Ling'er as soon as she entered.

"Ling'er!" She strode over and saw Ling'er carrying several plates full of dishes. She asked in confusion, "Is this... Husband not having dinner yet?"

Ling'er paused for a moment: "Madam is back."

She said sullenly, "Young Master, Young Master said he doesn't want to eat and told me to take it away."

"Don't you want to eat?" Lu Qin glanced at the plate of dishes. "They're all his favorites."

Ling'er pursed her lips and remained silent.

Lu Qin sensed something was amiss, paused for a moment, then turned and ran into the house.

"Husband?"

She called out as she searched for Hao Jingshi, and soon found him on the soft couch. He was sitting there in the murky twilight, lost in thought, without a candle.

Hearing her call, Hao Jingshi snapped out of his daze, looked up at her, and smiled: "You're back."

"Have you missed me after a day's travel?"

As she spoke, Lu Qin rummaged through the lattice and flint, approached him, struck a match, and lit the wick of the lamp on the table.

Hao Jingshi hummed weakly, and Lu Qin covered the lamp with the lampshade: "Are you tired? Then how about..."

As they spoke, the lantern's light illuminated the scene, allowing her to see the person before her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Husband, what's wrong with you?"