The emperor couldn't stand the Prince Rui's clinginess to the princess, so he finally found a job and assigned him to go on a business trip out of the capital.
As soon as they left, Su Yi suddenly felt refreshed and the sky was half bright.
However, only two or three days later, she began to miss Gou Zi's kindness again. After all, it was too easy to degenerate when someone peeled grapes for her, someone held her when she went to the fields, and someone rubbed her waist at night.
The weather was getting hotter, so she asked someone to move the couch to the waterside pavilion, which was surrounded by bamboo curtains. The wind from the lake and mountains blew over, passed through the bamboo curtains, and gently caressed her face.
Su Yi was drowsy, but without someone to cushion her, even her nap was a bit boring.
She simply turned sideways, propped up her head, and looked at Qinglian sewing a small dress sitting next to her.
Qinglian's belly was five months old, and her belly was bulging. Since Su Yi knew she was pregnant, she would not let her serve him. It was not until two months ago, when Qinglian had morning sickness and could not sit still, that she was allowed to come and talk to Su Yi from time to time.
She has always been clever and deft. In her hands, a piece of cloth not much bigger than a palm was turned into a piece of exquisite small clothes and shoes in a short time.
They were prepared for the child in Su Yi's belly. Princess Rui was pregnant, so naturally there were many gifts in the palace, and many things for the child were given. In addition, Su Yi's sister-in-law Liu came to visit her before and said that she was already sewing clothes for the baby.
Qinglian knew, of course, that the future little master would not lack a few clothes from her, but this was her intention, and even Su Yi could not refuse it.
Previously, Su Yi asked her to prepare for her child, but Qinglian was embarrassed and said that her mother-in-law came to the palace from the farm to see her a while ago and brought a large bag of things prepared for the child. The old lady sewed several quilts by herself. She started making them secretly since Qinglian got married and never let anyone know until she was pregnant.
Su Yi heard this and felt more reassured about Qinglian's in-laws. That family really loved her.
Seeing her turn over, Qinglian stopped what she was doing and leaned over to ask, "Princess, are you too hot to sleep?"
Su Yi shook her head, "It's not that hot, but a little boring."
Although the troupe still lives in the mansion, no matter how wonderful the play is, you can't help but listen to it every day. In the past two days, the troupe owner has been rehearsing a new play intensively to meet the princess's request.
After hearing this, Qinglian smiled and said, "I have a bold guess, is the princess missing the prince?"
Su Yi hummed lazily twice, neither saying yes nor no.
Qinglian then said, "I heard that the prince will not be far from the capital this time, and he may come back in a day or two. If the princess is worried, you might as well write a letter and ask someone to deliver it."
Su Yi said, "What letter? He will be annoying when he comes back."
Qinglian covered her mouth and laughed secretly, not wanting to expose the fact that the princess was missing the annoying prince.
The two were chatting casually, and Qingxing trotted over from the corridor on the lake and said excitedly, "The prince asked someone to bring a message to the princess, and he will be able to return to the capital today!"
Qinglian heard it and said to Su Yi with a smile, "It seems that it is not the princess who misses the prince, but the prince who misses the princess."
Su Yi let her laugh, sat up from the couch, and asked the person who brought the message to come in.
The one who made this trip was the Seventh Prince. Su Yi asked some questions and estimated the King of Rui's pace. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be able to reach the capital in the afternoon.
She asked the Seventh Prince to go back and rest. She changed her lazy look and suddenly felt like going out: "Let's go and listen to stories."
Now that she was a princess and pregnant, she couldn't go out as casually as before. The palace was busy, and they had to arrange who would accompany them and who would protect them secretly.
But when they really went out, the group was not eye-catching. They looked like ordinary women from wealthy families. Su Yi wore a veil and didn't take it off until they entered the private room of the teahouse.
The private room they booked was facing the street. On one hand, they could listen to the storytelling of the old gentleman downstairs, and on the other hand, they could watch the prosperous scene of the capital with heavy traffic.
Su Yi was listening attentively, when she suddenly heard Qing Xing's small "hmm", and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"Isn't that..." Qing Xing pointed to the street downstairs, and the word "two" had already come out of her mouth. After thinking
for a while, she changed her words and said, "It looks like the second young lady of the Shen Mansion." Su Yi remembered that it was the mistress trapped in the Shen family. When she left the Shen family, the young lady looked envious. She said, "Go down and see. If there is no one else, ask her to come up and sit."
Qing Xing went downstairs, and soon she returned with two people, Shen Shuyao and her little maid, who looked nervous.
In the past, when Su Yi was in the Shen Mansion, Shen Shuyao was a little restrained in front of her. Now that she has become a princess, she doesn't know where to put her hands and feet.
Su Yi interrupted her gesture of greeting and said, "No need to be so polite,
please sit down." Shen Shuyao finished her greeting halfway and sat down.
"It's been a while since we last met. How have you been recently?" Su Yi asked.
Shen Shuyao said, "Thank you, Princess, for your concern. Everything is fine with Shuyao."
Su Yi saw that she seemed to be thinner than before, and it didn't seem like everything was fine. However, since the girl didn't say anything, she didn't ask any questions to avoid embarrassment, and only talked about other topics.
Shen Shuyao lowered her head slightly, and while answering, she couldn't help but secretly look at her.
A year had passed since they last saw each other. Although she was in the backyard of the Shen family during this year, news about them kept coming in. It wasn't because the people below were too gossipy, but because her experience made people both surprised and envious.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, she met the Prince of Rui and fell in love with him at first sight. A few months later, she married into the palace and became a high-ranking princess as a second bride. A few months later, she became pregnant, which severely slapped the faces of those who secretly mocked her for being infertile.
Each of these is more exciting than a play.
Shen Shuyao knew before that the second wife of their family would have a more brilliant future after leaving the Shen Mansion, just like a bird out of a cage, but she did not expect that she could be so brilliant. On the other hand, although she lived a new life, she was still struggling in the mire, which was really far from others.
The two of them didn't have much to say. Su Yi invited people up because she thought that in the big melting pot of Shen's mansion, only this little girl had not been soaked. She still had outstanding qualities, which made people willing to stay in the same room with her.
She finally said: "We have met for a while. If you encounter anything in the future and need help, come to the palace to find me."
"Thank you, princess." Shen Shuyao bowed again and prepared to leave, but her face was hesitant. Obviously, she had something else to say, but she didn't know whether to say it.
Su Yi said: "What's the matter?"
Shen Shuyao hesitated, bit her lip after a while, and said with determination: "Shuyao is brave, princess, please let me talk for a moment."
Before Su Yi expressed her opinion, Qing Xing was the first to disagree, fearing that she would harm the princess.
But with Su Yi's ability, not to mention a little girl, even King Rui could not hurt her at all.
Moreover, she was a little curious about what Shen Shuyao was going to say, so she asked the people around her to retreat outside temporarily. When they were the only two left in the private room, Shen Shuyao said: "A few days ago, Shuyao had a dream, and the dream was like reality..."
Su Yi listened and was a little surprised that the other party was actually reminding her to be careful of King Rui's accident.
Obviously Shen Shuyao remembered the death of King Rui in her previous life, but she was trapped in the backyard for many years, and in the years after she got married, she was even more confused. Her memory was not very clear, and she could not remember in which year King Rui had an accident.
But Su Yi knew that what she said was probably about King Rui who was injured by miasma and poisonous insects when he went south to suppress bandits. The real King Rui was indeed dead, and her dog was the one who was alive now.
Shen Shuyao used the dream as an excuse to reveal to her some things he knew about his previous life. Although it was a thing of the past, Su Yi still thanked him.
After she left, Qing Xing came in immediately and looked Su Yi up and down before she felt relieved.
Su Yi said happily: "Do you think she, a little girl, can really do anything to me?"
Qing Xing pouted and said: "You can't judge a person by his appearance. Princess, don't blame me for being narrow-minded. Some things have to be prevented. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens, won't the prince skin us alive when he comes back?"
"What does your prince want your skin for? To make boots? It's not as good as cowhide."
Su Yi teased her deliberately, causing Qing Xing to stamp her feet.
Suddenly, there was a noise on the street. Qing Xing looked out and immediately smiled and said: "The prince is back!"
Su Yi was not surprised. If she hadn't expected to meet him, why would she go out today?
She walked to the window and saw the tall figure of King Rui standing on his horse from a distance. Because they were in a busy street, they had to walk slowly and approach this side. On both sides of the road, young girls and wives all looked at him with red faces.
This scene was somewhat similar to the Dragon Boat Festival last year.
Su Yi was casually playing with an almond on her fingertips. When the person on the horse passed by the teahouse, the almond popped out from her fingers.
Almost at the same time, King Rui stretched out his hand to stop him, but unexpectedly failed to stop him, and the almond hit his head.
He was stunned for a moment, but reacted in a blink of an eye. The only person in this world who he could not stop or avoid was that person.
Looking up, he saw someone leaning against the window on the third floor. The face hidden under the veil must be stunning and cunning.
Everyone on the street saw that the prince's horse stopped, and a slight smile appeared on that face that made people both respect and fear.
Although it was fleeting, it was like the birth of spring water and the cracking of ice.
Prince Rui stepped on the horse and soared into the air. In the blink of an eye, he was outside the window fence. Then, amid Qingxing's screams, he slowly landed on the ground holding his princess.
Su Yi's veil was blown up by the wind, revealing her beautiful face underneath, but unfortunately it only flashed by quickly before the prince covered it up.
He carried the person onto the horse, carefully protecting the princess's face in his arms, and then rode away with the princess, leaving behind the anxious Qingxing and a group of servants, as well as pedestrians on the street who were unable to recover for a long time.
One can imagine what kind of legends will appear in the capital about Prince Rui and the Princess after today.