86 Chapter 86
◎Go out. ◎
Three days later, Fusu took a whole day off and took Ying Yue, Ying Gao, Wang Li, and Meng Hua with him, along with the younger generations of the Li, Wang, and Meng families, to go out of the city for a trip.
It was early autumn, the grass and trees were still lush and green, and the branches of the trees were already full of fruits. Before reaching the destination, Meng Hua was already riding on horseback picking fruits to taste.
Seeing this, Fusu called out to Li You, "Go pick some fruit and send it to my sister."
Li You had already learned the purpose of this trip from his father. It was only then that he realized that the reason his marriage had been delayed for all these years was because the king had chosen him and wanted him to be his son-in-law!
"This..." Li You glanced at the carriage behind him, feeling a little embarrassed. "Your Highness, will this be too offensive to the Princess?"
Fusu laughed: "Li You, what are you shy about?"
Li You scratched his head and stammered, "No... Your Highness, I'm a man, naturally I'm not shy, I just..."
"I'll give you two choices. Go pick some fruit for my sister, or I might offend you," Fusu said sternly. "For example, I might have you kicked off your horse."
Li You had no choice but to go, picked the fruits, and gave them to Ying Yue with a red face and stammering voice.
Meng Hua, who was watching, laughed so hard that he almost fell off his horse: "I didn't realize Li You was so... so introverted?"
Wang Li laughed and said, "You are just talking without any worries. When it's your turn, you don't know what will happen!"
"Hey, you sound very experienced. Are you going to get engaged too?" Meng Hua said with a wink and a smile.
Wang Li blushed and said to Fusu, "Your Highness, look at Meng Hua. He first laughed at Li You today, and now he's laughing at me. I don't know what he'll say next!"
Fusu calmly watched them bickering, then waved his hand, saying, "I'm not afraid of him laughing anyway... But today I realize you and Li You share the same temperament. I was shortsighted before. Wang Li, whose family have you arranged your marriage with?"
Wang Li: “…”
"Your Highness, she is the girl from General Yang's family." Wang Li said dryly. He glanced at Meng Hua who was watching the fun, and saw that Fusu looked relaxed, so he knew that Fusu would not mind if he made a joke at this moment.
"Your Highness is of the same age as the eldest princess. Since the eldest princess is getting engaged, your Highness's marriage will probably not be far away." Wang Li looked at Fusu with a smile.
Meng Hua immediately looked at Fusu, curious and shocked: "Your Highness, are you also going to get engaged?"
Fusu remained calm and said, "There's no rush for my marriage. My father said we should wait until I return from Changsha County before deciding."
When it came to going to Changsha County, Meng Hua's attention was quickly diverted because this time he and Wang Li could both follow Fusu.
Wang Li was a little disappointed that he failed to make the prince embarrassed, but he was also very concerned about going to Changsha County, so he followed Meng Hua and was diverted by Fusu.
When they arrived at their destination, Wang Li and Meng Hua were still reluctant to leave Changsha County, but Fusu called for a break.
Fusu ordered the eunuchs to distribute the wild fruits picked on the road to the girls who got off the carriage. Several girls came over and bowed to express their gratitude.
"We're out for fun today, so we don't need to follow these etiquettes." Fusu looked at them with a smile. His eyes didn't stay on anyone for long, just a polite glance. Only when he passed by Shi Lan did he stare at her for a moment.
Ying Yue held Li You's arm and got out of the car. The two of them came over here. Ying Yue happened to see this scene. Following Fusu's gaze, she saw the girl from the Li family.
She was the best looking of the girls, her movements were lively and natural, and her voice was very soft.
Ying Yue raised her eyebrows. It was not surprising that the prince was fond of a girl with such a temperament.
Ying Yue asked Li You softly, "Is the girl in the light pink dress and holding the orchid fan your sister?"
Li You turned around and took a look, saying, "It's my little sister Shi Lan."
"Shi Lan..." Ying Yue smiled, covering half of her face with a fan, "It's a good name."
Li You didn't understand.
But Ying Yue had already asked the girls to go with her to see the fish in the river, and Li You was left there, unable to ask any questions.
Li You moved closer to Fusu and said hesitantly, "Your Highness, the princess... isn't she unhappy?"
Fusu: “…”
Fusu sighed and said, "Li You, you should be glad that you were born at this time."
Otherwise, with this kind of eyesight, you will never get married in this life.
Li You thought for a moment and said, "Thankfully... Your Highness is saying that the princess is not displeased?"
Fusu patted his shoulder and said, "My sister likes to eat fried tofu with vegetable oil. Go and see if the kitchen has prepared it."
Li You responded and went happily.
Fusu laughed.
After all...it's good as long as both of them are interested.
Everyone went their separate ways to play. For them, this was a rare opportunity to go out and relax.
Fusu found a place to sit down, picked some wild grasses and flowers at random, and began to weave a flower basket. This was a skill he learned from the people in Shangjun in his previous life.
Soon, lunch was ready and the servants went around looking for their masters.
Fusu also got up to look for them. He asked a few temple servants and walked to the shade of trees by the river. Sure enough, he saw Yingyue, Shilan and the two girls talking excitedly.
The accompanying guards hurriedly saluted when they saw Fusu. The noise startled the girls over there, and they all turned to look at Fusu.
Fusu walked over steadily, exempted them from formalities, and said with a smile, "The food is ready. Please come and have your meal."
Ying Yue smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. Let's go."
Fusu smiled, stepped aside to let them go first, and handed the flower basket in his hand to them.
"For you."
Shi Lan was stunned by the flower basket that suddenly appeared in her sight. By the time she reacted, her cheeks were already flushed.
"...Thank you, Your Highness." Shi Lan stretched out her hand and let Fusu hang the flower basket on her slender white fingers.
Ying Yue chuckled softly, "Your Highness has this skill, but I didn't even know it. You're too partial. Is Shi Lan the only one who can get one?"
Fusu smiled and said, "If you want it, sister, let Li You learn how to weave it for you."
Ying Yue nodded: "I'll tell you later."
After hearing the conversation between the siblings, Shi Lan's face turned even redder, but even so, her eyes still looked at Fusu with sparkling eyes, without avoiding him out of shyness.
The other two girls smiled kindly, then took Shi Lan's hands, one on each side.
…
After returning to the palace, Fusu washed and changed his clothes before reporting to his father, but he didn't expect that someone would be one step ahead of him.
As soon as he stepped into Ying Zheng's bedroom, Fusu heard Ying Yue's cheerful laughter, and he couldn't help but stop.
My sister is really skillful.
After hearing the announcement from the eunuch, Ying Yue stood up and said goodbye.
Fusu stepped forward and bowed. Seeing Yingyue about to leave, he smiled and said, "Why is my sister leaving right after I arrived? Did I scare her?"
Ying Yue covered her lips and chuckled softly: "If I don't leave now and delay you from talking to father about important matters, Your Highness will be angry with me."
Fusu choked and said slowly, "Sister, take care."
Ying Yue smiled, bowed, and left gracefully.
Ying Zheng laughed and said, "And when you're speechless, come here. Who said there was no rush a few days ago? Why are you so anxious after leaving the palace?"
Fusu muttered, "Father, you said if there's someone you like, you'd let me tell you. I'm here to tell you, but why are you laughing at me?"
"I'm not making fun of you." Ying Zheng smiled and shook his head, pointing at him and said, "You're just too fickle!"
Fusu curled his eyes and smiled, "That's because... I didn't meet Shi Lan at that time!"
"Hmm?" Ying Zheng was puzzled. "This isn't the first time you've seen Li Si's daughter, is it?"
Fusu said confidently: "We were still young at that time. People will change when they grow up!"
"Hmm..." Ying Zheng pondered for a moment. The thoughts of children are as unpredictable as the poems from ancient times to the present. He was too lazy to think about it.
After all, since Fusu liked it, there was nothing he couldn't agree to.
However, Ying Zheng still wanted to tease his eldest son: "I remember that you have never liked Li Si, so why do you like Li Si's daughter?"
Fusu argued, "Father, these are two different things. I've said before that Li Tingwei is Li Tingwei and Li You is Li You. Now it's the same with Shi Lan."
"Oh." Ying Zheng teased, "Although you don't like Li Si, you are willing to let him be your father-in-law. It's not surprising at all."
Fusu: “…”
Fusu said, "Father, I think the wedding of my sister and Li You can be postponed."
Who made Ying Yue come here and tell his father gossip about him? He wants revenge!
Ying Zheng burst into laughter, obviously pleased by Fusu's childish words.
In the last month of the New Year, the Li family had a series of happy events. First, Li Si was promoted from the Minister of Justice to the Prime Minister, then Li Si's eldest son Li You was engaged to the eldest princess, and then there were rumors that His Majesty intended to marry a girl from the Li family to be the Crown Prince's consort.
The last rumor was confirmed when the prince set off for Changsha County after the New Year. After all, if there was no reason, why would the girl from the Li family follow her elder brother to see off His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
——As for the fact that Li You was several steps late in realizing that the prince would become his brother-in-law in the future, outsiders were even less aware of it.
The crown prince's position as heir to the throne is visibly stable. He has been following His Majesty since he was young and has grown up under the watchful eyes of the ministers. No one in the court, civil or military, can say a word against his abilities and conduct.
As the prince grew up, the fate of the princess naturally became an important matter that everyone was secretly concerned about.
However, His Majesty never expressed any interest, and the Crown Prince was completely absorbed in official business. Father and son seemed to have forgotten the matter. Those who were interested in securing the position of Crown Princess for their daughters could only wait patiently, only to discover that while they were waiting, the Crown Princess had already been quietly chosen.
Moreover, why is it another child of the Li family? Your Majesty is too partial to Li Si!
The court officials all looked at Li Si with envy, jealousy and regret. It was unfortunate that all the good things fell into their family!
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