Realizing that something was wrong, Xiao Yuanjin didn't dare to give Yu Zizhen any more suggestions, but Yu Zizhen still bought a lot of things back.
It was not until the two of them felt hungry that Yu Zizhen took Xiao Yuanjin to a teahouse to rest.
She ordered the best tea in the teahouse, and then asked the waiter to serve them eight of the teahouse's signature dim sum.
The waiter agreed and went to the kitchen. When no one else was in the room, the eldest prince asked Yu Zizhen with some concern, "You bought so many things. Do you have enough money in your pocket to pay for them?"
"Enough." But she didn't want to use her own private money to buy gifts for King Zhenbei and others.
Xiao Yuanjin breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He put aside his worries and began to look at the teahouse curiously.
The first floor of the teahouse is filled with individual customers who come to listen to music, while the second floor is all semi-open private rooms where you can look down.
These private rooms are distributed in a circle around the high platform on the first floor. Guests sitting in the private rooms can clearly hear the storytelling, singing and clapping sounds coming from the high platform.
If the guests in the private rooms do not want to share the bustle with others but want to have their own independent space, they only need to close the door to block out other people's sight and most of the sounds in the teahouse.
One of the reasons why Yu Zizhen chose this place as a resting place for their trip was that the private rooms in this teahouse had very good soundproofing measures.
The two of them sat in the private room and listened with great interest to the singing girl singing little songs for a while.
The girl came out to perform with her father. When she was singing, her father sat next to her and played the erhu with a focused look on his face.
Yu Zizhen listened with great interest, and would hum a few lines from time to time.
She thought Xiao Yuanjin would also like the little song sung by the girl, but to her surprise, compared to the little song sung by the girl that was in line with the aesthetic tastes of Yu Zizhen and most people, Xiao Yuanjin actually preferred the unique and charming music played by the girl's father on the erhu.
He pointed at the erhu and asked Yu Zizhen, "What instrument is that?"
In the Great Qi Dynasty, the erhu was introduced by the Hu people, so it has only been circulated in a small range among the people. Naturally, the eldest prince who lived in the deep palace for a long time had no chance to see it.
But this instrument, which is somewhat different from mainstream instruments, attracted his attention the moment he saw it.
Yu Zizhen raised his eyebrows slightly, "It's the erhu. Your Highness, are you interested in this?"
Xiao Yuanjin nodded, "Very special."
Yu Zizhen smiled, "Then I'll give one to His Highness. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon."
Xiao Yuanjin will definitely give her a gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Instead of racking her brains to think of what to give her in return, she might as well take advantage of the fact that Xiao Yuanjin likes something and buy it for him to play with.
However, Xiao Yuanjin rejected Yu Zizhen's suggestion, "I have nowhere to learn after I buy it, and it would be a waste to just put it on display."
Yu Zizhen clapped his hands and said, "That's easy! I'll buy a few of these erhu and place them in the palace. Then I'll find a master who is proficient in this art and keep him in the palace so that Your Highness can learn at any time."
It just so happened that she was planning to take Xiao Yuanjin out more often in the future to give him opportunities to practice martial arts.
Originally, she wanted to make up an excuse to frequently bring people out of the palace, or rather, think of one on the spot, but wasn't this a coincidence? Xiao Yuanjin happened to have something that interested him but was not available in the palace.
As the two were talking, the waiter came with a large tray to bring them tea and snacks.
When the waiter put down the food and walked out, before Yu Zizhen had the chance to introduce to Xiao Yuanjin which one she thought was the most delicious, the eunuch who was serving Xiao Yuanjin picked up the chopsticks, picked up a little bit of each item, and began his poison testing process.
The corners of Yu Zizhen's mouth twitched slightly, but she did not stop the young eunuch from doing this.
Although she had the system closely monitored and it shouldn't be poisonous, she still had to be prepared for the worst. If Xiao Yuanjin was really poisoned, she would never be able to take him out of the palace again.
Xiao Yuanjin looked at Yu Zizhen with an apologetic look on his face, "Sorry to spoil your fun."
Yu Zizhen waved his hands repeatedly, "It's better to be safe than sorry. They are right to be cautious."
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch immediately developed a great liking for Yu Zizhen.
Despite this little incident, Yu Zizhen remained in high spirits while enjoying tea and snacks.
She enthusiastically introduced the restaurant's signature dim sum to Xiao Yuanjin, and made an appointment with Xiao Yuanjin to bring him to taste another signature tea of the restaurant next time.
The two sat in the teahouse for about an hour. Seeing that it was almost noon, they got in the car and returned to the Zhenbei Palace.
At the Zhenbei Palace, Mr. Jiang and the chief steward Yu Tong had been waiting outside the main gate of the palace early.
They were different from the members of the Lu family who became arrogant when they gained power. Even though the one who came was just the eldest prince, a disabled prince who had no chance of becoming emperor, Mr. Jiang and Yu Tong did not show any disrespect.
After receiving the news, they not only arranged personnel to take care of the Zhenbei Palace early, but also ordered the people in the kitchen to fully assist Madam Zhang in preparing the freshest and best ingredients for this lunch, but also planned to open the main gate according to the rules and kneel to welcome the eldest prince into the palace.
This was the first time in the eldest prince's life that he felt such heartfelt respect from someone else.
He was somewhat flattered. As soon as the carriage came to a complete stop, he raised his hand and said to Mr. Jiang, Yu Tong and the others, "No need to be polite. No need to be polite."
Mr. Jiang and Yu Tong then took the lead and stood up. They half-bowed and respectfully invited the eldest prince into the palace.
Yu Zizhen put his face close to the window, shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Yuanjin, "We won't get off the car. We'll meet at Lu Mingxuan later."
The eldest prince had difficulty walking, and Yu Zizhen didn't want him to get out of the carriage and be watched by almost all the servants in the mansion, so he had already instructed the coachman to drive the carriage directly into the mansion.
She even prepared a sedan chair, so Xiao Yuanjin could take it to her Lumingxuan later.
Mr. Jiang and Yu Tong responded yes, then respectfully retreated to the junction of the door and the wall, waiting for the carriage carrying Yu Zizhen and the eldest prince to enter the palace.
Yu Zizhen and Xiao Yuanjin got off the carriage at the doorway between the first and second courtyards. Yu Zizhen waved and called for the sedan chair that had been prepared by her attendant.
Xiao Yuanjin was carried into the sedan chair by the palace guards he brought with him, and the wheelchair on the carriage was taken down by another guard.
The crowd surrounded Xiao Yuanjin and Yu Zizhen and came to the gate of the third courtyard. Xiao Yuanjin got off the sedan chair and changed into a wheelchair. Then Yu Zizhen placed all the guards except the head guard in Ningyuanzhai next to Tingfeng Cottage.
She sent Feng Yuan, the chief guard on her side, to accompany them temporarily. Later, Mr. Jiang and the chief steward Yu Tong would also come over and entertain these palace guards with Feng Yuan.
As for the head of the palace guards, after he sent Xiao Yuanjin to Lumingxuan, Xiao Yuanjin let him stay with his subordinates.
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