Chapter 5 Birthday Party
On the day of Pei's birthday banquet, the house was packed with guests.
The Duke's family set out at noon. Lu Qian rode alone on horseback and arrived a little earlier than the two carriages.
The two carriages stopped one after another, and the servants came forward to set up the stools.
Lu Yu lifted the curtain and saw Lu Qian leaning against the side of the carriage, frowning in surprise: "Brother, what are you doing here?"
Lu Qian didn't explain. He stretched out a hand and raised his chin slightly: "Come down."
“…” Lu Yu was stunned for a moment.
Is this still her brother? How could he be so kind as to help her get out of the car?
"Hurry up." Lu Qian urged lazily.
Lu Yu curled her lips, took Lu Qian's hand doubtfully, stepped on the stool and jumped out of the car, then turned around and handed him her hand.
Song Lingyi got out of the car right after her and looked at the two hands reaching out to her, unable to make a choice for a moment.
Both brother and sister looked at her eagerly.
After hesitating for two seconds, Song Lingyi chose to take Lu Yu's hand. The latter smiled brightly and stuck out her tongue provocatively at her brother.
Lu Qian's face darkened, but he didn't say anything.
The three of them then followed the Duke and his wife into the mansion to celebrate the birthday. The hall was filled with relatives and friends of the Pei family.
Wang first presented the gift prepared by the Duke's Mansion and said a few words of congratulations, "...and Lingyi, this is her first time visiting the old lady at the Pei Mansion. She heard that today is the old lady's birthday, so she specially prepared a gift for you."
Mrs. Pei smiled kindly and beckoned Song Lingyi to come over. She took her hand and looked her up and down, sighing with emotion: "Good child, you must have suffered a lot recently."
"I haven't seen Yan Xian for many years, but when I saw you today, I remembered you again. You two look so alike..."
Faced with the elders' enthusiastic greetings, Song Lingyi was actually a little uncomfortable and could only maintain a faint smile.
Lu Qian stood by, looking at the girl's motionless and well-behaved appearance, and chuckled at an inappropriate time.
Everyone in the hall looked at him in unison. Wang turned her head and looked at him with a reproachful look: "Why are you grinning like an idiot, kid?" She had no tact at all.
Song Lingyi also looked at Lu Qian. Their eyes met. The arc of her auspicious phoenix eyes was very beautiful, as if there were stars suddenly appearing.
"nothing."
Lu Qian's voice was scattered. He took the gift from Qingyue and handed it directly to Madam Pei. "I wish you good fortune like the long-flowing waters of the East China Sea and a long life like the evergreen pines of the Southern Mountains. This gift was prepared by Lingyi and me. I hope you will accept it."
The young master was known for his unruly behavior, but Old Madam Pei liked him very much. She accepted the gift with a smile and said kindly, "You are so thoughtful."
Wang never thought that the cousins who had been incompatible with each other before would give gifts to Madam Pei together today.
With Lu Qian attracting Madam Pei's attention, Song Lingyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was not good at chatting with elders, let alone meeting an elder for the first time.
As for this birthday gift, Lu Qian dragged her to the market to pick it out. After walking around for half a day, her legs were tired and sore.
As more and more guests came to the banquet, a few younger generations were finally able to leave the hall, either to the East Courtyard or to the Sifang Pavilion.
As soon as they went out, Lu Yu took Song Lingyi's arm and kept asking about the gift-giving.
It's not that she blamed them for not telling her about the gifts, but she was surprised. Her brother and cousin had been at odds for a long time, and it must be strange that they suddenly gave each other gifts today.
Song Lingyi didn't know how to answer, so she just laughed it off. "Nothing. He happened to see me when I was choosing a gift. He thought that by giving a gift alone, he seemed disrespectful to his elders, so he threatened me to bring him along."
"Really?" Lu Yu touched her chin. "That's pretty much how my brother acts. Next time he bullies you, we'll go find grandma. He listens to her the most."
Song Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief as her little cousin was simple and easy to deal with.
Afterwards, the two sisters went to the Sifang Pavilion. The noble ladies chatted and laughed for a while, then suddenly heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Princess Changyang had arrived at the Pei Mansion, and the discussion became even more lively. Furthermore, during the banquet, another noble lady went to the East Courtyard together, hoping to have a chance encounter.
Song Lingyi didn't like to join in the crowded place, and originally planned to stay in the Sifang Pavilion with her cousin and Wenxuan. However, after Princess Changyang took the table, she asked the girls to paint. Song Lingyi was not good at painting, so she had to slip away using the excuse of having a stomachache.
The light and shadows in the long corridor are slanted, and servants are rushing around.
The large banana trees in the yard block some of the sunlight, and the breeze brings cool and comfortable shade.
Soon, Song Lingyi strolled to the Begonia Pavilion, which was close to the main hall in the front yard. Many flowers and trees were planted around the pavilion.
She was sitting on a gooseneck chair, bored, and broke off a willow branch to play with in her hand. When she heard footsteps approaching from behind, her ears twitched slightly and she immediately became alert.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Song Lingyi gripped the willow branch tightly and swung it back suddenly.
Snap——
Lu Qian grabbed the willow branch accurately before it touched the flesh.
He tsk-tsks playfully, his gaze shifting from the willow branches to the girl's face. "Your reaction is pretty quick this time."
"Why are you here instead of going to the East Courtyard to play touhu and cuju?!" Song Lingyi frowned, but was afraid that he would be unruly like before, so she silently moved back to keep some distance.
But how could her little thoughts escape Lu Qian's eyes.
He turned around and sat down, leaning against Song Lingyi, his eyelashes drooping as he said nonchalantly, "It's too boring over there, so I came out for a walk."
Actually, it’s not just a casual walk.
He heard that the Crown Prince had come to the Pei Mansion, and fearing that Song Lingyi might run into the Crown Prince, he came looking for her. In the first dream, Song Lingyi married the Crown Prince. Although he didn't know what had brought them together, he had finally managed to coax Song Lingyi into giving him a chance, and he absolutely couldn't let the Crown Prince snatch her away.
"Why don't you stay in the Sifang Pavilion? Lu Yu is busy chatting with her sisters and ignored you?" Lu Qian asked.
"No."
Song Lingyi pursed her lips, not intending to lie to him, "Princess Changyang asked everyone to paint, but I don't know how to paint. I was afraid they would laugh at me, so I came out to hide."
"Oh~" Lu Qian smiled knowingly, "Their painting is nothing more than a small trick. A casual painting is enough to get by. My aunt is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Didn't she teach you?"
“…” Song Lingyi was speechless.
She should have been taught, but she is not the original owner and does not have so many skills.
Fortunately, Lu Qian was thinking about how to prevent Song Lingyi and the prince from meeting, so he asked casually without further investigation.
Each of them had their own thoughts. Lu Qian said, "It's boring to sit here. There's a horse farm in Pei Mansion. Do you want to go and have a look? I can teach you how to ride."
There are few people at the racecourse, so the prince probably won't go there.
"Are you so kind?" Song Lingyi narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious.
This guy wasn't going to throw her onto the horse and then leave her alone to watch her make a fool of herself.
Lu Qian snorted coldly, "Forget about going. Those noble ladies not only paint, but also write poetry and prose. How long can you hide?"
“…” What he said made sense and was hard to refute.
Just as Song Lingyi was hesitating about whether to go to the horse farm, Lu Qian stood up and walked out, saying lazily, "Forget it if you don't want to go. I'll go by myself. Pei Ling will ask someone to take you back later. Don't come looking for me."
He was playing hard to get, but Song Lingyi fell for it and immediately followed him and grabbed his arm.
"I'll go. I'll go."
Took the bait.
Lu Qian curled his lips, feeling secretly happy.
"Then you will teach me how to ride a horse later. Don't leave me alone or be impatient." Song Lingyi didn't see Lu Qian smiling, and was still worried that he would think she was stupid if she went to the horse farm. Little did she know that he was more afraid that she would break away and not go.
"Don't worry, am I such an impatient person?"
"That's hard to say."
Lu Qian's face darkened: "If you keep complaining, I really won't take you with me."
"No, you promised to teach me how to ride a horse, how can you go back on your word..."
The two of them went towards the racecourse arguing with each other.
Passing by a long corridor shaded by large banana trees, I suddenly heard people talking on the path, and from the sound of footsteps, I could tell that quite a few people were coming.
Lu Qian had sharp ears and recognized Pei Zhao's voice.
The Crown Prince is attending a banquet today, and Pei Zhao will inevitably accompany him. The Crown Prince might also be among them.
Thinking of this, Lu Qian's heart sank. He grabbed Song Lingyi's wrist and urged her, "Why are you walking so slowly? Hurry up! If you keep dragging your feet, I won't wait for you any longer."
When Song Lingyi heard this, she immediately stopped.
"How could I be walking slowly? It's obviously you who has the problem!"
She didn't leave, but Lu Qian was the one who was panicking.
But he didn't dare to urge her anymore, so he could only coax her with a smile: "My honorable Miss Song, how about I carry you on my back to save you from getting tired."
"snort!"
Song Lingyi turned away angrily, intending to delay leaving for a while because she also heard Pei Zhao's voice and wanted to say hello.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Lu Qian really carried her on his back.
“Hey!”
"What are you doing?! I haven't agreed yet!"
Lu Qian was too lazy to argue with her. If she didn't leave now, it would be disastrous when the prince came.
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