Both Tao Ti and Xu Wenchan, the bystanders, were stunned, let alone the person involved.
Xu Guangji endured the pain in his back, frowned, and looked down at the little girl in his arms, "Are you okay?"
Qinghe was frightened by the sudden appearance of Polo. When she heard the clear voice above her head, she raised her head in a daze, and her clear eyes looked straight at the man in front of her.
He is so tall.
His nose bridge is also very high.
His eyes are so bright and piercing, like a leopard.
She pondered over these inappropriate things.
Xu Guangji looked at her pretty face, which was as pale as a pear blossom, and suddenly realized something. He quickly let go of her, stepped back a step, and distanced himself from her. He bowed and said, "I offended the county lord in a hurry. Please forgive me, county lord."
Qing He stood there at a loss, "..."
Xu Wenchan ran over in a hurry, "Seventh Brother, how are you?"
She reached out to touch Xu Guangji's back. Xu Guangji frowned, but pretended to be relaxed and said, "Your brother is so big, it's just a ball, what can happen!"
Others may not understand Xu Guangji, but Xu Wenchan certainly understands her own brother. She clearly heard him gasp just now.
Xu Wenchan was so angry that she looked around the racecourse and saw a man in royal blue robe running towards them. She held her breath, picked up the polo ball on the ground and strode towards him.
The man in the royal blue robe was the son of the Minister of Works. He was tall and thin, with a long face and rat eyes.
He originally came to pick up the ball and apologize, but when he saw Xu Wenchan's domineering look, he was frightened.
While he was hesitating whether to turn around and run, Xu Wenchan had already grabbed his collar and glared at him, scolding, "If you don't know how to play basketball, don't come out and embarrass yourself. If you hit someone, will you pay for it with your life?"
Xu Wenchan is not like the noble ladies in Chang'an City who are elegant and reserved. She has been wielding swords, guns and whips since she was a child!
Although the royal blue robe in front of her was high, when she grabbed the collar, it was like a mother disciplining her son.
Seeing this scene, Taoti exclaimed, "Wow..."
Ah Chan is really brave.
Young Master Xie also came to his senses and realized that if Xu Guangji had not been quick, it would have been his sister who was hit. With a stern face, he walked forward and said to Xu Wenchan, "Miss Xu, let me teach him a lesson."
Xu Wenchan turned his head and glanced at Young Master Xie, but his attitude was not very good:
It's a shame that you are so tall. You can't even protect your own sister when the county lord is around. What a shame!
But she didn't want to get entangled with this royal blue robe, so she loosened his collar, slammed the polo ball against him, and then turned back.
Xu Guangji was touched by Xu Wenchan's protective attitude and couldn't help saying, "If your mother saw how fierce you were just now, she would definitely teach you a lesson."
"It's all for you." Xu Wenchan glared at him, "If you dare to complain, you'll be dead!"
Seeing the funny brother and sister quarreling, Tao Ti hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Let's go see a doctor first. I think the injury was pretty serious."
Seeing Qing He still looked frightened, he put his hand on her shoulders and comforted her, "It's okay, it's just a false alarm."
Xu Guangji looked at the county lord who was as soft and cute as a little rabbit, and somehow blurted out, "If you mind if I hug you and it affects your reputation as a nobleman, I... I can marry you!"
Xu Wenchan, "????"
Taoti, "????"
Qing He, "!!!!"
Xu Guangji's cold face flushed red, but his eyes were full of seriousness, so serious that it looked a bit silly. "I'm telling the truth."
Xu Wenchan felt like his scalp was about to explode. He pulled Xu Guangji aside by his sleeve and angrily scolded him, "Seventh Brother, did the ball hit your head just now? Did it damage your brain?"
Xu Guangji said seriously, "It didn't hit the head, only the back."
He is tall, and if it were Qinghe, he would probably hit her on the head.
Thinking of this, Xu Guangji secretly congratulated himself that he had blocked it.
Xu Wenchan: "..."
Taking a deep breath, she gritted her teeth and said, "Have you been driven crazy by your mother's urging to get married? It's only the first day you met the county lord, and you want to marry her. You, you, you...ah, when did you become so reckless! She is timid to begin with, are you trying to scare her?"
Xu Guangji frowned, a little confused, "Did I scare her?"
Xu Wenchan said, "Nonsense."
Xu Guangji pursed his lips.
Xu Wenchan pulled him and said, "Come on, come on, let's go apologize to her."
Tao Ti had just comforted Qinghe, who was frightened repeatedly, but when she saw the Xu brothers and sisters coming back, Qinghe became nervous again. Her fair face was red, and she couldn't tell whether it was because of the sun or the sudden proposal.
Xu Guangji walked up to Qinghe and stood still, lowered his head, and said with a cupped hand, "County Lord, I was rude just now."
Qing He bit her lip and said softly, "No, it's okay."
Xu Wenchan quickly pulled Xu Guangji behind him, smiled at Qinghe with an apologetic look, and pointed at his head, "County Lord, my brother is not doing well here. He stays in the house reading every day and his brain is damaged. I will teach him a lesson when I get back!"
Having said that, she took Xu Guangji and said goodbye.
Young Master Xie came over wearing a royal blue robe to pay his respects. When he saw that the Xu brothers and sisters were gone, he was startled and asked, "Where are the two Xu family members?"
Tao Ti said, "They went back to find the doctor."
Young Master Xie responded, put on his royal blue robe, apologized to Qinghe, and let the man go.
Seeing Qing He's distraught look, Tao Ti said to Young Master Xie, "Qing He may be frightened. Send her back to rest first."
Young Master Xie quickly agreed and left with Qinghe. Tao Ti and Linglong also walked back.
Many people on the court had seen Xu Guangji risking his life to protect the Qinghe County Lord. After they left, everyone couldn't help but start talking about it -
"This Xu Guangji seems to be a man of few words, but I didn't expect that he is actually quite skilled!"
"Don't you think about whose son he is? The Marquis of Dingbei! A tiger father will have a dog son! This Xu Guangji is just like his six brothers, a fierce general on the battlefield!"
"Everyone knows that the Qinghe County Lord is the apple of Princess Jingyang's eye. He saved the county lord this time. Good luck to him."
"Oh, it's a pity that I'm not with the Lord of Qinghe County, otherwise I would definitely rush to save him..."
"Tsk, you are just saying nice things. It's just because the county lord is beautiful and has the support of the Duke of Jin and the Princess..."
There were mostly young men on the polo field, talking to each other, and the topic became more and more off-topic, and finally became an ambiguous mess.
Zhou Shaohui, the third son of the Zhou family, who was sitting not far away, heard these words, narrowed his triangular eyes, and couldn't help but touch his chin -
Putting aside her identity, the Qinghe County magistrate is still very good-looking.
That tender little face, that slender waist that is so thin that it can't be held in one hand, and that frightened and pitiful look, it makes one's heart itch the more one thinks about it.
………
The next day was the day for the elegant gathering.
The so-called elegant gathering is a gathering of literati and scholars to chant poems and discuss philosophical ideas.
In the elegant and quiet garden, there is a long table. In addition to tea, wine, flowers, cakes and fruits, the table is also filled with writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, books, poetry collections, chess boards, guqin and other elegant items.
Apart from being somewhat interested in food, Taoti is not interested in other things.
Anyway, given her status here, no one present dared to ask her to recite poetry or play the piano or compose music. She just had to sit there, appreciate the flowers and drink tea.
Qing He and Xu Wen Chan also arrived one after another. Because of what happened yesterday, they were both a little embarrassed.
But after chatting for a few sentences, the slight awkwardness quickly disappeared.
Soon, the young men and ladies started playing the game of Qushui Liushang -
The wine cup floats along the water flow. Whoever the wine cup lands in front of has to compose a poem. If he fails to compose a poem, he will be fined.
As the most senior person among the younger generation, Tao Ti sat in the seat of honor and did not participate, acting only as a notary.
The game started quickly and in an orderly manner. There were some nonsensical poems, some sour poems with piled-up words, and of course, some excellent works with brilliant literary talent.
For example, Young Master Xie's poem "Ode to Bamboo" moved the ladies present very much, and Pei Lingbi even wanted to glue her eyes to him.
Another example is Xu Guangji's "Frontier Song", which is written in a fluent style, with the flashes of swords and the ruthlessness of the battlefield revealed between the lines.
This poem touched the boys even more deeply, and they nodded in praise.
Tao Ti sat high and had a wide field of vision.
When she saw Xu Guangji reciting a poem, Qinghe quietly raised her eyes, glanced at him quickly, then quickly lowered her head, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this look of young love, Tao Ti raised her eyebrows and laughed: These two people are quite interesting.
After a few rounds of the game, almost everyone present drank some wine. Even if there were some who didn't drink, Pei Changzhou finally raised the glass and said something like "Let's get together and drink from this cup", and everyone drank.
After playing Qushui Liushang, people gathered in twos and threes, chatting about everything under the sun, feeling relaxed and at ease.
Qing He and Xu Wen Chan walked towards Tao Ti hand in hand. Unexpectedly, a little maid holding a teacup passed by, twisted her foot, and fell to Qing He's side.
The next moment, a cup of tea filled Qinghe's arms.
"Oh, I deserve to die, I deserve to die!" The little maid's face turned pale and she knelt on the ground in panic.
Qinghe's dress was all light-colored, and it looked particularly ugly when soaked with tea.
Xu Wenchan reprimanded the maid, then frowned and looked at Qinghe, "Hey...it's all wet."
Tao Ti was sitting in the pavilion. When she saw the commotion here, she was about to get up when she saw Pei Lingbi walking over.
Pei Lingbi scolded the maid harshly, then looked at Qinghe with concern, "Sister Qinghe, your clothes are all wet, go change into another set."
Qing He lowered her head. After all, she was a little girl with a thin skin. She felt embarrassed to get her clothes wet in front of so many people. She wanted to leave here as soon as possible. "Well, then I'll go back to Xiangzhu Pavilion first."
Pei Lingbi's eyes flickered, and she hurriedly said, "The Xiangzhu Pavilion where you live is quite far from here, and it's quite troublesome to go back and forth. There's a Ziying Courtyard in front, where some clean clothes are kept. You can change into them first."
Qing He hesitated, thinking that the place where the gathering was held was indeed some distance away from her residence.
Pei Lingbi persuaded warmly, "You are weak to begin with. If you wear wet clothes for a long time, you will catch a cold easily. How about this, I will go with you."
Qinghe didn't answer immediately. She raised her eyes slightly and saw Xu Guangji looking at her.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her head like a mimosa, and said, "Well, let's go."
Pei Lingbi curled the corners of her lips and hurried forward to hold Qinghe's hand.
After the two of them left, Xu Guangji quickly walked to Xu Wenchan and asked, "Did the county lord get burned? Did she go home? She didn't seem very happy to see me. She looked at me and then moved away. Should I find another opportunity to make amends with her?"
This series of questions made Xu Wenchan's mouth twitch. After a while, he answered them one by one, "The tea is warm, she went to change clothes first... As for apology, it is not necessary. The county lord is not a person who cares about small things. Just stop saying those weird things."
Xu Guangji's brows were fixed with a deep frown.
Xu Wenchan ignored him and went straight to Tao Ti.
In the pavilion, Tao Ti stroked the teacup, seeming to be lost in thought.
Xu Wenchan walked over and muttered, "The county lord has been so unlucky these past two days. First, she was almost hit by a polo ball, and now she was splashed with tea. Is this Zhuyuan Villa unlucky for her?"
Hearing this, Taoti's heart suddenly sank -
Something is wrong. It is so wrong!
The first time was a coincidence, the second time was still a coincidence?
Moreover, this kind of "the maid splashes water, and the young lady goes to change clothes" plot...isn't this a classic routine in house fighting dramas?
When Tao Ti thought about the vicious plot that followed this routine, she could no longer sit still.
She stood up, her eyes bright, "Linglong, follow me."