Chapter 3 Pei Ji

Luo Zhen pinched the peony stem and left in a very good mood.

There was no one around to make noise, so Love picked peonies for a while before going back.

Ren Dong and another maid, Shang Lu, had been waiting at the door for a long time. When they saw her return, they hurriedly came to greet her from both sides and said with a smile, "The young lady is finally back."

The two men walked back to the yard with Love in their arms, smiling.

There were a few little girls sitting under the porch playing with lace. When they saw her come back, they hurried over with smiles and chatter.

"Miss, while you were greeting the old lady, your uncle sent someone to bring flowers."

"It's wild cherry blossoms. The guy outside said that my son-in-law went to Yongming to handle a case and saw wild cherry blossoms at the criminal's house. The quality was better than the ones we have here. After asking around, he handed the case over to his subordinates. He ran to the mountains and picked a huge bunch. He asked the gardener to keep them in fresh water and sent them to our house at full speed. Go and take a look, young lady. They are very beautiful."

"There are also many Yongming specialty cakes and snacks. Go back to the house and try them, girl."

…

Luo Fu entered the inner room and saw a large bunch of pink cherries blooming in a jade vase on the long table.

The surroundings are decorated with pink, which is really beautiful.

"That's really thoughtful."

Luo Fu was also happy to see this. She walked over and leaned over to sniff: "Is the little flag that brought the things still there?"

Shang Lu smiled and said, "He's waiting in the gatehouse, but my son-in-law has told him not to disturb the young lady."

Honeysuckle also smiled.

At first, the future son-in-law of their family only knew how to send things over. Later, after the girl sent a gift and a letter in return, he came to his senses. No matter how he sent someone over, he would not let the person leave immediately. He would also ask about the girl's recent situation and would preferably ask for a reply letter.

The same is true this time.

Luo Fu nodded and said, "I just happened to pick some peonies in the garden. I can make a sachet into it as a return gift, but it will take a few days, and I don't want to keep people waiting. Shang Lu, you can ask the flag officers outside to go back first. I will send someone to deliver it to the Qianhu Office when it is ready."

"yes!"

Shang Lu responded with a smile, packed some snacks and fruits for Xiaoqi as usual, and went out to pass on the message.

When she came back, Luo Fu had already washed the peony petals and hung them up to dry, and was now embroidering sachets.

"Miss..." Shang Lu walked to Luo Fu, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Luo Fu raised her eyes to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Shang Lu clutched her handkerchief and said, "I was just out delivering a message when I ran into the young lady leaving the mansion in a carriage, accompanied by quite a few people..."

"The eldest girl is going to her uncle's house in Qingzhou. This has been prepared for several months. Everyone in the mansion knows about it. Why are you hesitating?" Honeysuckle was impatient and couldn't help but interrupt.

"That's not it." Shang Lu looked at a loss for words. "When the young lady's carriage started, I was escorting Xiaoqi out of the corner gate, so I took shelter on the side. Unexpectedly, the young lady's carriage stopped right in front of us. The young lady opened the window and asked Xiaoqi a lot of questions. In the end, she even rewarded Xiaoqi with a gold ingot..."

"What?" Honeysuckle's eyes widened. "What do you mean, young lady? Why does it seem like the son-in-law sent someone to deliver something to her?"

Shang Lu nodded and said, "Besides, I am sure that the eldest lady gave the gold reward after seeing the snacks and fruits given by the young lady in Xiaoqi's hand."

"You, you mean to say that the eldest daughter has taken a fancy to the son-in-law?" Honeysuckle's face turned green, and after thinking about it, she shook her head, "That can't be. Although when the son-in-law came to propose marriage earlier, the wife thought he was asking for the eldest daughter and was proud of it, she was secretly disdainful, saying that the eldest daughter was the queen of the palace, how could she be interested in a small local thousand households like him.

The eldest girl's mind is also on the candidate for palace entry. For this purpose, she even spent a lot of money to hire a retired maid to teach etiquette. How could she suddenly fall in love with my son-in-law?

"I also think it's unlikely, but there's something wrong with the young lady." Shang Lu looked at Luo Fu, who had been silent the whole time, "Young lady..."

"Maybe Big Sister is going to Qingzhou and she's in a good mood, so don't think too much about it and just get busy."

Even my grandmother couldn't influence Luo Zhen's marriage robbery, so there was no point in telling it to the two maids.

Luo Fu said perfunctorily, lowered her eyes and continued to embroider the sachet.

After all, she is still Pei Ji's fiancée, so she will do her part well.

However, her embroidery skills were mediocre, and she had to stroll around the garden, play polo, take naps, make spices, pick flowers to make jam, and read books every day, leaving her with little time for the sachets.

She had been embroidering for seven days and still hadn't finished it, but Pei Ji came back first.

"Pei Ji, do you want to see me?" Luo Fu was awakened and propped herself up to sit up on the bed, her head still a little confused.

Rhizoma Phytolaccae and Honeysuckle were so happy that they didn't know what to do.

"Yes, the uncle is waiting in the old lady's courtyard, young lady, please go over quickly."

Luo Fu was helped out of bed by the two men. When she was about to put on makeup after getting dressed and washing her hair, Luo Fu finally sobered up a little and raised her hand to stop them, saying, "It's so hot, makeup is bound to be sticky. Let's just leave it at that."

"The girl is pretty, it doesn't matter if she wears makeup or not, but she needs to wear something in her hair."

When Luo Fu heard this, she realized that Nanny Li, who was beside the old lady, was also in the room.

Nanny Li smiled and explained, "The master and his wife are not at home. Pei Erlang had to pay his respects to the old lady first and get her permission before he could see the young lady."

Luo Fu nodded: "Fu'er will be there soon."

She casually picked up a silk flower and pinned it to her hair, then stood up and went out.

It was June, mid-afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly outside. The little girls who usually loved to play in the yard had all gone home.

Only two servants were left standing on both sides of the door to open the curtains.

Honeysuckle held up the umbrella, Shanglu gently put his arm around Luofu's waist, and walked her to the old lady's yard, where they stopped.

Only Nanny Li followed Luo Fu into the main room.

As soon as she turned the folding screen, Love met a pair of hot and aggressive eyes.

She paused and subconsciously took a step back.

Nanny Li supported her from behind and said with a smile, "That's Pei Erlang, don't you recognize him, young lady?"

Luo Fu was only frightened by that look for a moment, but now she had recovered her senses. She lowered her eyes and bowed to the man: "Master Pei."

Pei Ji also bowed, but his scorching gaze remained fixed on her, "Second Miss."

Luo Fu tried to ignore his gaze and looked at the old lady in the main seat: "Grandma."

The old lady had been helped up by Nanny Li, her eyes full of smiles: "You two little ones, please talk. I'm still sleepy. Please don't disturb me."

Luo Fu watched the old lady return to the inner room, and only she and Pei Ji were left in the main hall.

Hot afternoon.

The men and horses were exhausted.

Even the chirping of cicadas outside could no longer be heard, but breathing in the main hall could be heard more clearly.

Luo Fu saw Pei Ji walking towards her from the corner of her eye. She resisted the urge to retreat. When she saw him stop in front of her, she said, "Are you afraid of me?"

Are you afraid of him?

Not really.

It's just that they are too unfamiliar with each other. After all, she and he have only met once.

But his temperament was too cold and stern, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her was extremely aggressive, which made her a little uncomfortable.

In addition, his cousin...

Love raised her face.

This was the second time she met Pei Ji. He was tall and straight, and the wide-sleeved shirt with snow-blue embroidered flying cranes did not look cumbersome on him, but rather had a sense of elegance.

The eyebrows and eyes are handsome, but more sharp.

Seeing her raise her face to look at him, the heat in his eyes became even stronger.

"Your Excellency has misunderstood. I was just a little surprised to see you when I came in." Luo Fu no longer avoided the question and said calmly, "I wonder why you are so anxious to see me?"

Pei Ji stared at her without blinking.

This was the future wife he fell in love with at first sight. She was dressed in plain clothes and had no makeup on, but she was more delicate than the flowers on her temples.

It was so hot outside that everyone would be sweating, but her skin was as white as ice and her breath was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

When he was out on a case, he would always think of her. When he finally came back, he naturally had to come see her first.

But I can't say it.

He didn't want to scare her.

Pei Ji took out a slender sandalwood box from his wide sleeves and handed it to her.

Luo Fu took it: "This is..."

Pei Ji said, "Open it and take a look."

Love had no choice but to open the box.

Inside is a peony hairpin made of ice.

I don't know how it was polished, but the peony petals on the hairpin are as thin as cicada wings, blooming layer by layer, and even the stamens are clearly visible.

But the color is still bright, the petals are bright red, and the stamens are emerald yellow, as if the peony is covered with thin ice, so lifelike.

The hairpin is made of green jade, so even if you don't wear it, it is very pleasing to the eye just to hold it in your hand and admire it.

Especially in this summer, it is more refreshing.

Pei Ji asked, "Do you like it?"

This hairpin was obviously worth a lot of money. Luo Fu couldn't come up with a gift of equal value in return, so she didn't want to accept it. She closed the lid and handed the item back: "This hairpin is too valuable..."

Pei Ji interrupted her: "You are my daughter-in-law yet to be married. Who do you want me to give you to if you return it to me?"

Love paused.

Pei Ji moved a little closer to her and said, "Second Miss, if you're so kind, please hurry up and embroider the sachet for me."

The closer the distance, the stronger the sense of aggression.

Luo Fu couldn't help but took a step back, lowered her eyes and nodded: "Okay."

Pei Ji stared at Bai Fufu's tender neck, his Adam's apple rolling. When he spoke again, his voice was a little hoarse: "I will send someone to pick it up in two days. Second Miss, don't forget."

After saying that, he didn't stay any longer and walked away.