The Third Prince’s invitation to a lake cruise

Chapter 62: The Third Prince’s Invitation to a Lake Cruise

"I am willing to follow the prince to the northern border. Even if I can only see him once a year, I am willing. When the prince is away, I will visit the queen mother morning and night and serve her. When the prince returns home, I will serve him tea and water, just to make him happy."

The beauty spoke with such sincerity that mist began to gather in her eyes. If she didn't plead fiercely and shamelessly went back with the King of Zhenbei, the end that awaited her would not be good.

After all, the Prince of Zhenbei is a gentleman with a noble bearing. She may not be so lucky next time. She might end up in the homes of ministers who are already in their 50s or 60s. That would be a truly desperate situation for her.

"Well, the palace is not short of servants. Second Prince, please forgive me for not being able to accept them."

Chu Huaibei stood up from his seat, grabbed the hem of the beauty's clothes in his hand with some skillful force, and strode to the side of the second prince.

"Second Prince, I deeply feel that you are an expert in controlling your subordinates. I will definitely invite you to learn from me when I have time. To be honest, my concubine has a bit of a temper. I'm afraid this beauty won't have a good life once she enters the palace. I can't bear it. I hope the Second Prince can arrange a good place for this beauty."

Chu Huaibei bowed and leaned slightly closer to the Second Prince's left ear, as if whispering.

Seeing Chu Huaibei's henpecked look, the second prince's wine glass accidentally slipped and fell directly on his legs, then rolled onto the exquisite carpet, wetting a small area of ​​his pants.

Seeing this, the beauty pouring the wine hurriedly took out a handkerchief from her bosom to wipe her master's hands. Naturally, she had also heard the unbelievable words of King Zhenbei. The little hand that was wiping back and forth was trembling slightly when she looked closely. It was obvious that the owner of the hand was not calm in her heart.

The beauty who was still kneeling on the ground naturally heard it as well. The hand that was originally pinching Chu Huaibei's clothes pinched the hem of her skirt that was spread on the ground after the hem was pulled away. At this time, the expensive Xiangyunsha was wrinkled by the shocked little hands.

The Second Prince took a long time to find his voice: "Ahem, King Zhenbei is joking. Your Majesty has never made any mistakes in deploying troops and generals. He is a man who knows how to control his subordinates. Let's discuss the other matters later."

"Ah, yes, yes, Second Prince is right. I will take my leave today. His Majesty has ordered me to return to the Northern Territory tomorrow. I will go back to my maternal grandfather's house to pack up. Thank you for your hospitality, Second Prince. I really enjoy this meal. It tastes delicious."

Chu Huaibei took advantage of the second prince's lack of reaction and quickly took his leave.

"Well, this prince knows about this matter. Then I won't keep you any longer. I will invite you again when there is a chance."

The second prince stood up to see him off, and Chu Huaibei stopped at the entrance of Shuiyunjian.

"Second Prince, please stay. I will just send you here." Chu Huaibei stopped the Second Prince from sending her downstairs. It was too high-profile and not good.

"Okay, I won't be polite. Goodbye, Your Highness." Seeing Chu Huaibei being so polite, and considering the emperor's attitude towards Prince Zhenbei, the second prince did not insist.

Chu Huaibei bowed to the Second Prince and then slowly walked down the stairs at the same speed as when she came. Although she wanted to run away, she still had to give the prince face.

As soon as he walked down the stairs to the lobby on the first floor, Eleven quickly stepped forward, looked around, and made sure that the prince was okay.

"Nothing, have you had lunch yet?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have already eaten."

"Well, that's good. Let's go back to the Feng Mansion."

In the time it took to finish these two sentences, Chu Huaibei saw that the servant who had led the horses had already led the two men's horses to the door and was waiting respectfully. It must be said that the service awareness of this Juquan Building was first-class.

He urged the horse to trot and quickly returned to the Feng family.

Lu Shun was waiting inside the gate. As soon as Chu Huaibei entered, he saw him and signaled him not to worry, then he stepped into the main courtyard.

The men of the Feng family, seated in the main hall, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Chu Huaibei return. It was mainly because the Second Prince was so unrefined, perhaps too willful. The normal procedure for aristocratic family banquet was to send out invitations a month in advance, and only after someone replied to confirm the time would they officially send out the invitations. There was no point in just blocking people off on the street.

"Now that you're back, have you encountered any difficulties?" Feng Jijiu asked with a frown.

"Grandfather, it's alright. The Second Prince just treated Huaibei to a banquet."

"Oh, that's good, I'm glad you're okay. Go to your grandmother, she's waiting for you." Feng Jijiu saw that Chu Huaibei was not worried at all, so he relaxed his brows and asked him to circle in front of his wife to prevent her from getting anxious.

"Well, Huaibei will take his leave first and go to grandma's room."

"Okay, go ahead."

Chu Huaibei bowed and took his leave, then walked towards his grandmother's yard.

As soon as we reached the backyard gate, the gatekeeper mother happily walked in and announced loudly: "Madam, the prince is back, he is right at the door."

"Okay, okay, let someone in." The old lady was delighted when she heard the voice and hurriedly invited people into the house.

Several of the younger generation were in the room yesterday, along with an older sister/aunt who had returned home for a visit. Feng's eldest cousin was incredibly curious about Chu Huaibei. First, she heard from her husband that Censor Su had impeached the Prince of Zhenbei at court the previous morning, and the Prince hadn't bothered to debate him. Then, she received a letter from her parents asking her to return home to meet her cousin, who had made a rare return trip to Beijing.

I thought I'd see him at noon, but he was kidnapped by the Second Prince on the way, so I didn't even have much of the lunch I'd been worried about. I quietly asked my cousin, and she just said, "Wait until he comes back, and you can see for yourself."

At this moment, she heard someone arrive and turned to look at the door. The person who came was quite tall, even taller than her husband. He walked with the dashing demeanor of a military commander. He was handsome, and his eyes looked like those of a member of the Feng family.

"Grandma, Huaibei is back. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Chu Huaibei walked straight up to the old lady, knelt down on his knees, and held the old lady's hand, which was so old that only a piece of skin was left.

"Hey, dear grandson, I'm glad you're back."

The old lady touched Chu Huaibei's shoulder, then slid to her back and patted her, as if to check whether the child was hurt.

"Come, get up, this is your second uncle's eldest cousin."

The old lady pointed to the woman sitting in the first seat on the left and said.

"Hello, cousin." Chu Huaibei bowed. This cousin looked more like his second aunt, with almond eyes and a round face, looking festive.

"Hello, cousin." He smiled and bowed gracefully.

"When I return to the North, I will send someone to deliver some more specialties from the North so that everyone can taste them."

Chu Huaibei said to the younger generation in the room, "I've seen that these children are quite particular about food, but it's the etiquette they were brought up with that made them restrained." Chu Huaibei actually felt that children must eat more when they are growing. Even if their growth is horizontal in the early stages, they will grow taller and stronger than others after they grow taller.

As he was speaking, his mother, who had just passed the message with a smile, stood at the door with an anxious look on her face and said, "Madam, the old master sent someone to tell him that the third prince has sent a visiting card to invite the prince to go boating on the lake."

Chu Huaibei was not too surprised. When one of the two brothers came, the other would always come to inquire.

"Don't worry, grandma. Huaibei will be back to have dinner with you in the evening."

Chu Huaibei comforted the old lady, nodded to the younger generations, and then went out and walked towards the main hall of the outer courtyard.

"Grandfather."

"This is a post sent by the Third Prince."

Feng Jijiu placed the gold-embossed carved post in his hand into Chu Huaibei's.

He opened the post and saw a couple of polite words on it, inviting Chu Huaibei to a gathering on the largest pleasure boat in Fengjing City. This pleasure boat was a place where high-ranking officials liked to show off their elegance and refinement, inviting some talented and upright officials to accompany them, and they would cruise the lake on the pleasure boat while reciting poems and painting.

The Third Prince really thinks highly of her. He is not as kind as the Second Prince who treated her to a big meal.

"Grandfather, my two uncles, Huaibei will go to the banquet first and will be back home before dinner. Please don't worry."

Chu Huaibei bowed to everyone, then turned and left the main hall, holding the visiting card. He called Lu Shun and Eleven from the side room, and led the horses out with her.

Lu Shun and Eleven looked at each other. They were leaving tomorrow and had to rush to meet people. The two princes were interesting.

The pleasure boat is easy to spot. Just walk east along the Inner City River and you'll arrive in no time. The main building of the pleasure boat is located on the south bank of the river. Although it's only two stories high, it's no less imposing than the Juquan Building.

There are two vermilion doorposts at the entrance, and a wide, upturned eaves. Each piece of wood is carved with patterns that look like animals but are not, and are intricate and exquisite.

There were two handsome doormen guarding the door. One of them, upon seeing the visitor, approached and asked in a dignified manner, "Sir, do you have a card?"

Chu Huaibei pulled out the Third Prince's visiting card from his pocket and handed it over. The doorman bent down and took it with both hands. He flipped it open and took a look, then handed the card back to Chu Huaibei with both hands.

"Please come in, my dear guest. I will lead the way for you."

The doorman bowed, made a gesture of invitation sideways, then turned around and led the way in front of Chu Huaibei on the right.

Chu Huaibei followed the doorman all the way to the largest two-story pleasure boat docked on the shore. "Dear guests, please come in." The doorman stopped at the boarding gate and gestured for them to board here.

"Thank you very much."

Since no one stopped the two guards this time, Chu Huaibei took them aboard. She knew how to swim in her previous life, and she was quite good at it, but she remembered that Chu Huaibei was a complete landlubber. There were no large rivers in the northern border, and her identity made swimming inconvenient. She didn't know if her previous life's skills could be passed down. If she accidentally fell into the river, she would still need someone to rescue her.

After boarding the pleasure boat, a servant led the way. Well, he looked more serious than the second prince.

The servant took the three of them up to the second floor and then left. Chu Huaibei took in the entire scene on the second floor at a glance. The third prince was sitting at the banquet table in the middle. The windows on all sides were open, allowing him to directly see the scenery in all four directions.

The floor was covered with a carpet with exquisite patterns, on which sat several women holding musical instruments. There were also several other women standing around waiting to be ordered around, and of course, they were all very beautiful...

She had made the evaluation too early. The two brothers were of the same kind and both liked beauties, but their preferences were slightly different. The second prince preferred those with pretty faces and graceful figures, while the third prince was a combination of all types.

"Meet the Third Prince."

As Chu Huaibei was sizing up the Third Prince, he was also sizing her up. He had a good-looking face and looked quite noble, not much inferior to a royal heir, but with a sharper edge.

"Your Highness, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat."

The third prince stood up and returned a half-bow, then extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, indicating that Chu Huaibei should sit in the only empty seat.

Chu Huaibei remained expressionless as he took his seat. The Third Prince was quite good; he'd arranged everything right, neither too far nor too close, but there was no second choice. His thoughts were deeper than the Second Prince's.