Chapter 56
In the back garden of Prince Cheng's mansion, chrysanthemums of all varieties bloomed in the breeze, a dazzling display of color. Guests gathered in groups of three or four to admire the chrysanthemums and chat. Yi Luoyue, dressed in a white and blue skirt and a white jade hairpin, and Gong Yuchen, accompanied by Xiaoyueer, wearing the same outfit, chatted with Prince Cheng and his wife.
"Is she Xiaoyue?" Princess Cheng asked beside Yi Luoyue. Princess Cheng did not attend Yi Luoyue's birthday party a few days ago because she was not feeling well.
"Yes, it's this troublemaker!" she said with a smile.
“She’s so cute!”
"What do you think? Am I right?" No wonder this child is so loved by his father. He looks very similar to the emperor's younger sister when she was a child, King Cheng continued.
"Thank you, uncle and aunt." They were two familiar faces again. Xiaoyue looked at them sweetly. She would be very happy as long as someone praised her.
"Why do you call me uncle? Shouldn't you call me uncle?" He is indeed a sweet-talker, and his temperament is unique.
"Because you are my grandfather's son? Shouldn't you call him uncle?" There is really nothing wrong with this explanation.
"Uncle, you are so handsome. Do you have any gift for Xiaoyue?" She continued to flatter.
"Hahaha, kid, tell me, what do you want? As long as your uncle has it."
"Hmm... Let me think... How about uncle granting Xiaoyue three wishes?"
"Three wishes?" He thought she would ask for gold, silver, jewelry or something.
"Yeah, Xiaoyue can't think of what she wants now, so uncle, please give me three wishes! I'll tell you when I figure out what I want, okay?" Her big eyes twinkled, so cute.
"Okay, I agree." How big of a deal could a child's wish be? King Cheng agreed generously.
"Thank you, uncle. You're the best." Flattery never wears out. She understood this principle very well.
"You!" Yi Luoyue looked at the girl helplessly.
"I hope my child will be as smart and beautiful as this one in the future." Princess Cheng caressed her belly, looking at the lively and adorable Xiaoyue'er. Since the last birthday banquet, Prince Cheng had been praising the child non-stop since returning, and seeing him today was truly a delight.
"That's not right! Boys can't be called beautiful!" Xiaoyue looked at Princess Cheng and corrected her words.
"A boy? How does Xiaoyue know it's a boy?" Several adults looked at the little elf with amusement.
"Not just one! They're two boys!" Xiaoyue continued to correct seriously.
"Hey! How did this little kid know there were two?" King Cheng and Princess Cheng were astonished. Princess Cheng's father, the head physician of the Imperial Hospital, Li, who was already four months pregnant, had just diagnosed that she was pregnant with twins.
"It really is twins?" Yi Luoyue and Gong Yuchen looked at King Cheng and his wife.
King Cheng and his wife nodded repeatedly.
The four adults looked at each other and then at Xiaoyue'er. This child was a little weird sometimes, but that didn't stop her from being likable.
"Lunch is about to start, let's go."
Princess Cheng took Yi Luoyue's hand and led them towards the banquet hall.
"The prince of Xiyi is here too." King Cheng whispered to Gong Yuchen.
"It's normal for him to come to this kind of occasion. I just hope he can behave himself and not have any inappropriate thoughts."
"Liefeng, keep a close eye on him." Gong Yuchen warned him.
"yes."
The gentle breeze of Juyue swept over the treetops, passed through the courtyard, and caused ripples on the lake surface cast by the sun. It was impossible to tell whether it was golden sand scattered into the lake or the dancing of fish.
The two princes were accompanied by their principal wives and their respective legitimate sons and daughters. Those princes and heirs who had yet to marry their principal wives were seated with their concubines. The wives and daughters of powerful officials and nobles were also invited. Only Yi Luoyue and Gong Yuchen, led by Xiaoyue'er, sat in side seats. Their presence piqued everyone's curiosity.
"Is this Princess Yue? You know what, sitting together with the Crown Prince of Xiyi, they are truly a perfect match.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but recently at every banquet Princess Yue has attended, Prince Xiyi has also been seen!"
"Hey, you're right, it really is true. This princess wouldn't want to marry the Western Yi prince to be her husband, would she?"
"It's really hard to say right now."
"I heard that Princess Yue's golden purse wasn't given away at the last tea party. We were all speculating that the consort would be the Second Young Master Li, but unexpectedly, His Majesty arranged for him to marry a young lady from the Gong family."
"But I heard that Lord Gong wants to marry his daughter to the Crown Prince of Xiyi, right?"
"No way! It was Second Young Master Li who personally went to His Majesty to ask for this marriage. I heard he knelt for several hours!"
"Then doesn't it mean that Mr. Li really loves Miss Gong so much that he doesn't even want the position of consort?"
"That's right! Hey! I don't think I saw them today?"
"It seems that the Wu Chengfu came to the palace to propose marriage today. I heard that the betrothal gifts were lined up for a mile. I want to tell you something." One of the ladies lowered her voice.
"I heard that the virtuous king also gave Miss Gong ten more beauties!"
"Hey! Doesn't the virtuous prince have a bad relationship with the Prime Minister and Lord Gong? Why would he add more makeup?"
"I heard this from my Lord."
"What?" The ladies were idle every day, and their fun came from all kinds of gossip and rumors in the circle.
"It was said that the virtuous king spread rumors, saying that the second son of the Li family and the young lady of the Gong family were committing adultery in the palace, so he went to catch them, and the result was..."
"What happened? Oh! Tell me!"
"It turned out that there was no such thing. One of them was in the Princess's residence, and the other went to the Prince of Xiyi's residence. The allegation of defilement in the palace was completely fabricated, so His Majesty punished them."
"Hey! Is there such a thing?"
"That's right. Fortunately, His Majesty granted the marriage in advance, otherwise this matter would be difficult to say."
The luncheon passed by quickly as everyone chatted. The weather was beautiful, so after dinner, everyone moved to the back garden to continue admiring the chrysanthemums and sipping wine.
Yi Luoyue and Xiaoyue'er were strolling slowly in the garden admiring the flowers. Princess Cheng had gone back to rest as she was pregnant. Behind them were some ladies and young ladies from aristocratic families who liked to join in the fun, while the men were chatting elsewhere.
Hate it! Yi Tianya, along with her maidservant and her cousin, "Princess Wenjin," has been following behind her and her aunt. It really makes people uncomfortable.
"Auntie, this flower is so beautiful." But why is it this color? Black and red? I've never seen it before!
"This is a black chrysanthemum, a rare treasure."
"Black Chrysanthemum?" Xiaoyue stretched out her little hand and gently stroked the petals. The petals felt so smooth, smoother than silk.
"Xiaoyue'er really likes flowers?"
"Yeah, I like it. The flowers in Xiaoyue'er's house are so beautiful. The flowers in other places have fallen, but the flowers in Xiaoyue'er's yard can still bloom for a long time!"
As she spoke, her hands continued to caress the chrysanthemums around her. Miraculously, the flowers she touched looked more colorful and energetic.
"Mom said that Xiaoyue is a fairy child!" The little guy looked at Yi Luoyue with a proud smile.
"Xiaoyue loves your mother very much?" For some reason, she envied Xiaoyue'er's mother so much, and she wished Xiaoyue'er was her child.
"I love you very much, I love you very much, I love you as much as Aunt Ai!"
"You sweet-talking little devil." Yi Luoyue pinched her cheek happily.
"I'm a fairy! Not a ghost." The little guy was still unhappy.
"Okay, okay, it's the little fairy."
Lady Wenjin, who had been following behind, slowly walked to Yi Luoyue with a fake smile on her face.
"Princess Yue, although this black chrysanthemum is nice, there are even better colored chrysanthemums across the pond. Why don't we go over and take a look?"
Yi Luoyue looked at her, then looked over at the pond, where there seemed to be a few nice colorful chrysanthemums.
"Okay, let's go and take a look." After all, there was a large group of people accompanying her, and if they wanted to see, they just had to walk a few more steps.
"Xiaoyue'er, shall we go over there and see Caiju?"
"Okay!" Xiaoyue took Yi Luoyue's hand and walked towards the plank road in the flower bed.
The flower pond is full of chrysanthemums, and even the plank road is decorated with several pots of precious chrysanthemums. The scenery is really beautiful. A group of people walked on the plank road in the flower pond, taking a walk and looking around.
"Your Highness, look at this 'Cloud Snow' plant. It's as white as snow. Doesn't it resemble the clouds in the sky?" Then she pointed to another golden chrysanthemum. "This 'Sunshine' plant has layers of petals. Doesn't it resemble the sun in the sky?"
Princess Wenjin moved towards Yi Luoyue as she spoke.
Yi Luoyue was about to reply when she noticed that County Master Wenjin's steps were a bit unsteady. Before she could react, she suddenly slipped and bumped into her.
"Ah!" Yi Luoyue screamed, lost her balance, fell forward, and fell straight into the water, splashing water three feet high.
"Auntie!" Xiaoyue, who was closest to Yi Luoyue, reached out to grab her with a cry of surprise, but unexpectedly she also fell down. However, she clearly felt that someone pushed her.
Princess Wenjin and Yi Tianya fell to the ground, pretending to be panicked and crying for help.
"Oh no! Someone come quickly! Her Royal Highness the Princess has fallen into the water!"
The guests around heard the shouting and ran towards the flower bed.
"Be careful!" Gong Yuchen opened his eyes wide in surprise. He had just finished talking with King Cheng and came to find them. He was standing not far away. Just as he was about to walk over, he saw Yi Luoyue. She swayed twice and fell into the lake, splashing a huge splash and sinking. Then another scene appeared that made him tremble with fear. Xiaoyue also fell into the pool.
Gong Yuxian, who had been waiting by the flower pond, rushed over immediately upon seeing this, ready to jump into the water to save the man. But just as he was about to jump into the water, a white figure rushed over like an arrow, faster than him, and jumped into the water with a "splash".
Gong Yuchen dove into the flower pond, swimming swiftly. Damn it! Yi Luoyue was nowhere to be seen on the surface. Without time to dwell, Gong Yuchen dove back in. When he emerged, Yi Luoyue, who had been submerged, was now nestled safely in his warm, strong arms.
"Xiao Yue'er!" Gong Yuchen, who surfaced, continued to look for Xiao Yue'er.
"Dad, I'm fine. I can swim. Please take Auntie up."
Xiaoyue'er, who was still in the water, slapped the water frantically with her hands. The splashing water disturbed the vision of Gong Yuxian, who had also gone into the water, and separated him from Yi Luoyue and the others.
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