Chapter 10 Do You Want Me to Be Satisfied?
Song Lingyi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered Lu Yu's dirty trick, and then she reacted and asked, "Brother Jianzhi, why are you here?"
Pei Zhao stared at her and said calmly, "Just now I saw you and Yang Erlang chatting happily. What were you talking about?"
She hadn't expected him to ask about it, and ask so directly. Song Lingyi's heart was pounding. She wondered if he was jealous, but she was afraid he might misunderstand her, so she hurried to explain, "A few days ago, Madam Yang came to propose marriage. My aunt wanted me to meet Yang Erlang, but I've never met him, so I was thinking..."
"Since we're going to meet someone, an elder should be present." Pei Zhao took a deep breath and spoke seriously, "Chu Yizhou is a sly man. Asking him to help you arrange a date has caused so many people to hear. Gossip is inevitable."
“…”
The slight expectation in Song Lingyi's eyes faded, and her heart ached inexplicably.
This is not jealousy at all, it's clearly like a principal scolding a student who has fallen in love too early.
"I was inconsiderate. Thank you, Brother Jianzhi, for your advice." She said sullenly.
The atmosphere in Haitang Pavilion was a little tense.
As if realizing his rationality was losing control, Pei Zhao's tone became a little harsh. He slowed down and said, "You also met the person. What do you think of him?"
Song Lingyi lowered her head and blinked very slowly. What she wanted to say turned around and said, "It's okay. Anyway, my aunt is quite satisfied."
As soon as she said this, she wanted to bite her tongue to commit suicide.
She had clearly declined, but she still had to say it in front of Pei Zhao. It felt like she was being too stubborn and suffering.
After two breaths of silence, the person in front of him suddenly asked, "What about you?"
Song Lingyi raised her eyes.
Their eyes met silently.
"Are you satisfied too?" Pei Zhao asked.
"I..." Song Lingyi's eyelashes trembled, and she asked tentatively, "Do you want me to be satisfied?"
…
At the same time, Yang Erlang was walking along the corridor towards the courtyard where they were playing tossing pots. He could hear noise from afar. Suddenly, a man jumped out from the side and stopped him. When he looked closely, he found that it was Lu Qian.
"Young Master, is there anything wrong?" he asked.
Lu Qian was in a relaxed posture, squinting at him in the sunlight, with his eyebrows slightly raised.
"What did the dead girl tell you?"
They seemed so happy chatting, could they have secretly decided to spend their lives together?
Yang Erlang was stunned. It took him a moment to realize that the 'dead girl' he was talking about was Miss Song, and his face immediately darkened.
"As an elder brother, the young master should love and protect Miss Song. How can you use such vulgar words to address her behind her back?"
Lu Qian sneered.
Relying on his age difference, he acted like an official in front of him.
"What's there to protect? I've never seen her respect me."
Yang Erlang showed a look of disdain, as if to say, "This child is incorrigible." He said, "Respect is mutual. If you can treat others more kindly, you will naturally gain their respect."
"Come on." Lu Qian said with annoyance, "What did you talk about with her? Is she interested in you? Or are you interested in her?"
After these words were spoken, Yang Erlang's face became even gloomier.
"This is about the girl's innocence, young master, please don't talk nonsense."
Afraid that Lu Qian would misunderstand further, he simply explained in detail what had happened in the pavilion.
"So that's how it is." Lu Qian murmured.
Taking care of grandma? That damn girl is quite good at pretending. She even tried every possible way to get in touch with Pei Zhao before.
Yang Erlang didn't plan to communicate too much with Lu Qian, so he walked around him and headed towards the courtyard.
As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard, I heard a deep male voice piercing the air.
"Come and get the arrow."
Yang Erlang leaned in closer to look inside and vaguely saw a tall, graceful crimson figure taking the arrow, surrounded by many young officials.
Perhaps he didn't expect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to come here, so Yang Erlang stood quietly outside.
Xiao Mingyi caught a glimpse of someone returning and turned to greet him, "I've heard that Yang Erlang is quite good at pitching pots. Come, compete with me."
Everyone around them turned their heads and looked at Yang Erlang with envy. The latter was flattered and nodded slightly, taking a few steps forward. "I don't deserve it. It is my humble honor to be able to accompany His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for entertainment."
Xiao Mingyi had a faint smile on his lips, and said in a neither loud nor soft voice, "I just saw Yang Erlang chatting happily with someone in Haitang Pavilion. I wonder what they were talking about?"
The arrow twirled carelessly between the slender fingers, and then was thrown into the golden pot.
The cheers were loud.
Yang Erlang was stunned for a moment. With his keen intuition from years of investigating cases, he could tell that the Crown Prince was talking about something else. He wasn't concerned about what he had talked about, but about...
"Your Highness, there was a personal matter, but everything has been discussed. It was just a misunderstanding."
While speaking, Xiao Mingyi was touched in both ears again, with a look of pleasure on his face, and it was unknown whether he was listening or not.
It wasn't until an arrow landed outside the golden pot that Xiao Mingyi turned to look at Yang Erlang and handed him the other arrow. With a smile in his voice, he said slowly, "It's your turn."
Perhaps it was because he was too nervous. Just as Yang Erlang was about to hit the mark three times in a row, the last arrow landed outside the golden pot. The young masters present sighed. They had not dared to make His Royal Highness the Crown Prince drink just now, but now they were clamoring to make him drink.
…
Begonia Pavilion.
Song Lingyi raised her head and looked straight at Pei Zhao, waiting for him to express his opinion.
"Jianzhi!"
Outside the pavilion, a female voice suddenly rang out, and her voice sounded a bit anxious.
Princess Changyang strode in, lifting the hem of her frosty skirt. She glanced sharply at Song Lingyi, a hint of inquiry in her eyes. "So it's you! Father is leaving for Yaoquan Palace tomorrow. Why are you taking so long to get a reward?"
They say that a strong first effort weakens the second, and ultimately leads to exhaustion. Song Lingyi's thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted, and her courage to test Pei Zhao faded somewhat. She felt annoyed, and even her curtsy was awkward. She casually replied, "Princess, I don't have anything I want at the moment."
Princess Changyang didn't really care whether she wanted a reward or not. She had just passed by the garden corridor and saw Pei Zhao talking with a woman, so she came over to see what was going on.
"What are you and Jianzhi talking about here?"
Before Song Lingyi could say anything, Pei Zhao spoke first: "Let's talk about some personal matters, but it has nothing to do with the princess."
Hearing this, Princess Changyang frowned and looked at Song Lingyi with an increasingly fierce gaze: "What private matters could you have?"
“…”
Song Lingyi is not stupid and can see that Princess Changyang is interested in Pei Zhao.
But she didn't get a response from Pei Zhao, so she didn't say much. She was even more afraid that Pei Zhao would say something politely to refuse in front of the princess. "It's nothing. I should go back to the side hall."
After saying that, she quickly left the pavilion as if escaping, not noticing Pei Zhao's deep gaze towards her.
The birthday banquet ended as the sun set in the west.
The guests gradually dispersed, and the Duke and his wife were still chatting happily with Pei Tingyou. Song Lingyi was standing aside, fiddling with her fingers, when her arm was suddenly bumped.
"cousin."
Lu Yu came over, pointed to the right side of the corridor, and whispered, "Yang Erlang is looking for you. He said he has something to tell you."
Song Lingyi frowned slightly.
I have already made it very clear today at Haitang Pavilion, why are you still looking for her now?
With doubts in her heart, she walked in the direction Lu Yu pointed, and saw Yang Erlang standing by the corridor pillar with a serious expression.
"cough."
Song Lingyi coughed lightly to remind him from a distance.
Yang Erlang turned his head and looked over, first making a scholar's bow, and then said: "I know it is a bit abrupt to ask Miss Song to meet here, but there are some things that I think Miss Song still needs to know."
"What's the matter?" Song Lingyi's attitude remained neither cold nor indifferent, polite yet distant.
"When I left Begonia Pavilion today, the young master and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked me directly or implicitly what we talked about in Begonia Pavilion."
Yang Erlang wasn't one to meddle in other people's affairs, but since they'd gotten along quite well today, he wanted to give them a heads up. The young master had a bad temper and wasn't someone to be trusted with. The Crown Prince held a high position of power, and with Miss Song's family background, even if she entered the Eastern Palace, it would be difficult for her to stay there long.
"Why are they asking you?" Song Lingyi frowned.
Yang Erlang shook his head: "I dare not speculate. That's all I have to say. Goodbye."
The corridor became quiet.
Song Lingyi was still lost in thought until she heard footsteps getting closer behind her, and then she withdrew her thoughts.
"Lingyi."
It was Pei Zhao's voice.
Song Lingyi turned and looked at him, pursing her lips, "What's wrong?"
Pei Zhao came over just as Yang Erlang was leaving. He was filled with mixed emotions, his dark eyes fixed on her. His voice was gentle, "I spoke a little harshly at Haitang Pavilion before. Don't take it to heart."
So that's what you're talking about. Song Lingyi felt rather bored and nodded slightly, "I see."
Remembering that the banquet was over and worried that her uncle and the others would wait for her too long, Song Lingyi took a breath and forced a smile, revealing the faint dimples on her lips: "My uncle should be done talking, I have to go."
After taking two steps, a force suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Song Lingyi's expression changed slightly, and she looked up and met Pei Zhao's gaze.
"I haven't answered the question you asked in Begonia Pavilion yet."
"..." Song Lingyi's breathing became slightly choked, and she became inexplicably nervous.
If she had some confidence before, it was completely gone after she met Princess Changyang in Haitang Pavilion. A princess, an orphan, anyone would know what choice to make.
"Yang Erlang is a man of integrity. He entered the Dali Temple at such a young age. He is indeed a rare good man in Kyoto. But..." Pei Zhao's voice sounded beside her, calm but firm, "If you want to choose a son-in-law, I hope you will consider someone else."
"Who?" Song Lingyi was stunned.
Pei Zhao glanced at her with a faint smile and said in a gentle voice, "It's far away in the horizon, yet it's right before our eyes."
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