Chapter 33 "What did you say he was...?"
"What do you think he means? He's already here, and he's the one who invited us to meet here, but he just left us here like this. Is he trying to intimidate us?" Looking at the crowd in the garden, each one barely able to contain their excitement, Wang Heng felt more and more irritated with every glance.
“Eunuch An was specially dispatched by His Majesty, so it’s quite normal for Prince Cheng to see Eunuch An first. Brother, have some patience.” Su Mingyue played chess with her left and right hands with ease, seemingly enjoying herself quite a bit.
Seeing Wang Heng's furrowed brows, he suggested, "If you're really bored, why don't you call that dancer from before in to perform a few songs? Doesn't she quite please you?"
"She's just a dancer, how can she be worthy of my affection?" Wang Heng said dismissively.
"If he continues to act tough, humph!" That's what he said, but considering that Wang Heng had previously clamored to leave, yet he's still here in the observation tower waiting, it's clear he's just being stubborn.
"What's with all this pretense? He is His Highness the Prince. According to the rules, if he doesn't summon us, we certainly don't have the right to meet him." Su Mingyue remained calm, as if he didn't care about this slight disrespect at all.
“Yes, he’s shaking too. If it were back then… I have to go find him.” Thinking of the contrast between the past and the present, Wang Heng became increasingly restless.
"Brother Wang, please calm down. This is not what it used to be, and we are now traveling. Do you still remember that this is the prefect's garden?" Finally, a hint of impatience flashed in Su Mingyue's eyes, but it was not because of waiting. Rather, being in the same room with a fool like Wang Heng made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
"So what?" Wang Heng arrogantly raised his chin, looking down on the prefect.
Indeed, he came from an obscure family and only climbed to the position of prefect by flattering the current ruler. He had neither substance nor integrity. How could such a person be worthy of the attention of the Wang family members?
Even Su Mingyue, if it weren't for his reputation, wouldn't necessarily be qualified to sit at the same table as him among the other members of the Su family.
"Sigh." Looking at the arrogant Wang Heng, who seemed to think he was above everyone else, Su Mingyue sighed heavily: "Even if you look down on him, kicking his two children out of his own home is still against the principles of a gentleman."
“How is that against the way of a gentleman? When I asked Liang Er to write a poem to try and get a recommendation from Prince Cheng, wasn’t that for his sake? When I asked Miss Liang to go back to her mother, it was because I felt that it wasn’t appropriate for a young lady like her to be hanging out with us here. Wasn’t that for her reputation?”
When Wang Heng really got angry, he still had some sense, and when he started to argue, he came up with a whole repertoire of clever words.
"Never mind," Su Mingyue waved her hand helplessly, "It seems that Brother Wang meant well. I misunderstood, and they are just being ungrateful."
"Absolutely." Wang Heng nodded frankly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a clear voice announced from outside: "Gentlemen, His Highness the Prince requests your presence. Please come with me."
......
At this moment, Qin Ji was flipping through a poem:
Half the autumn lotus outside the city is yellow, and sparse willows still reflect in the pond. How beautiful is the scenery on the south bank of the Yangtze River? When the wild geese arrive, there is no frost yet.
The poem is signed by the name of Miss Xiao Er.
"Didn't the Third Miss compose a poem?" Qin Ji's gaze turned to Wei Sa.
"No."
Qin Ji was quite satisfied with the answer.
Today's events are a signal from Prince Cheng to recruit talented individuals, but they are also a test, a test that targets both Miss Xiao and Xiao Yan Hui.
The reactions from the two were exactly what he had expected.
Before her transmigrator identity was exposed, Xiao Yan Hui was able to tolerate the temptations of profit, so it's normal that she still chooses not to be tempted by the excellent offer from Prince Cheng.
Moreover, he could roughly understand what Xiao Yangu was wary of. Having such a discerning, self-controlled, and intelligent future partner was indeed a good thing for him.
Slowly letting out a breath, Qin Ji, who had been in a bad mood all day, felt a little happier than usual.
"The Third Miss has been admiring the flowers. She seems quite interested in the flower wall, but she hasn't gone to admire the withered lotus or picked up a brush," Wei Sa added. He knew his master would ask about the Third Miss, so he had his men take a closer look, and they were right.
"A flower wall?" Qin Ji thought for a moment, then lowered her eyelashes slightly, and the mood she had just felt seemed to instantly drop back down.
He remembered Wei Sa saying earlier that the flower wall was specially prepared by the prefect's wife; it was beautiful, with openwork details, and very ingenious.
So, who is she looking at?
......
“No wonder… Miss Liang was so agitated before.” After a long while, Xiao Yanhui let out a soft sigh after seeing the figure walking by through the flower wall.
By this time, all the poems about lotus flowers had been collected by someone, and the women had dispersed in twos and threes to admire the flowers and chat.
Although unexpected circumstances diverted much of everyone's attention, many still remembered that the purpose of the trip was a disguised blind date.
After the poem was finished, the prefect's wife waved her hand and ordered all sorts of paints, musical instruments, chess pieces, and other toys to be brought out, in addition to the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. She said that everyone should have a good time and relax, but everyone knew that this was a subtle display of some kind of talent.
Meanwhile, the young men who had come to admire the lotus flowers earlier hadn't left yet; instead, they started chatting about poetry and songs.
Of course, both men and women sometimes leave the lakeside and head to other parts of the garden, perhaps hoping to encounter a special destiny.
Just then, the viewing tower, which had been the subject of everyone's curiosity, also stirred, and two figures slowly emerged. However, for some reason, the Liang siblings were not among them, presumably having left from elsewhere.
The two, who were said to be nobles from the capital, were indeed impeccably poised. As they approached, more and more eyes fell on them through the flower wall.
"Wow!" There was no sound around, but Xiao Yan felt that she could hear the exclamations of the girls around her.
"Sometimes you have to admit that there are some people in this world who are so beautiful that they seem to be on a different level from everyone else." Through the tender green leaves and delicate petals, Xiao Yan looked at the person who, even just from behind, was still as graceful as a bamboo, and sighed in her heart.
It was only after seeing that figure that Xiao Yan Hui realized she could understand Miss Liang a little better.
“Miss, that’s not it,” Green Moth whispered in Xiao Yan’s ear, correcting her.
"Miss Liang didn't choose this one? Could it be the one walking in front?" Xiao Yan asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.
Green Moth nodded: "I heard it from the maids in the garden."
"Ah...this." Xiao Yan exclaimed in amazement once again. She was just amazed by Miss Liang's taste, and she was still amazed by Miss Liang's taste now.
So, when the two were put together, Miss Liang actually took a liking to the one in front, the proud little rooster that seemed to have arrogance etched on its forehead.
"I wanted you to see the young master of the Huo family, but where are you looking?" The first wife was lightly patted on the back, but her lips did not move; the words were almost squeezed out from between her lips.
"Oh, oh! I see it." Xiao Yan's gaze fell on where the First Madam was pointing. After hesitating for a moment, she still praised, "Young Master Huo is indeed very robust."
"He's almost 1.9 meters tall!" Xiao Yan Hui blinked, still unable to hide the amazement in her eyes.
She was truly amazed many times today. Such a burly man, nearly two meters tall, was really rare. For Xiao Yan, not counting those he had seen on TV in her previous life, this was the first time she had ever seen one in person. It was normal for her to be amazed.
"So... robust!" After a pause, the First Madam also used the word "robust." But it seems the First Madam was also looking at handsome men just now, otherwise she wouldn't have used such a tone.
They exchanged a glance, and both mother and daughter chose to keep quiet about what they saw.
"What do you think?" the first wife asked in a slightly cautious tone.
"I feel too oppressed." Xiao Yan felt she couldn't handle that towering figure.
After seeing the world, I suddenly realized that fellow villagers are actually quite nice. Thinking back to the day I first arrived, the demeanor of my fellow villager seemed just as impressive as that slender bamboo I just saw.
I should try to find out more information from Xiao Quexian when I get back. If it's not a fatal flaw, marrying him seems like a good choice, considering his looks and the freedom promised by my fellow villager.
......
"My lord, shall we declare Miss Xiao's poem the best of the day?"
Qin Ji's momentary distraction was brought back by Wei Sa. He picked up the paper and looked at the poem Xiao Er had written again. It was a perfect fit for the theme of withered lotus flowers today.
Although it wasn't the poem by Li Shangyin that I had originally guessed, this poem was still in my mental poetry library.
Qin Ji remembered that this was the work of a Song Dynasty poet, but the poem had been slightly altered from the original.
The original line is "How beautiful is the scenery south of the Yangtze River?"
If I were to use this poem myself, I would probably change "Jiangnan" to "Jiangzuo".
First, there were the membership card rules that leaked from Xiao Er, which were more in line with his own ideas than the first draft he had written. Then there was the poem about withered lotus that he would make the exact same changes to. Combined with some previous tests, Qin Ji was now almost completely certain that Miss Xiao Er had been reborn.
Otherwise, it's impossible that he and Xiao Er were of one mind and thought of the same thing.
Based on the information we have so far, it is inferred that in the world before Xiao Er's rebirth, there should also be a time-traveling Qin Ji, but in that world, Xiao Yan Hui was just a genuine ancient girl.
So what is it now? Xiao Yan Hui is a newcomer, he is on a parallel timeline, while Xiao Er is going through a second timeline? In her first timeline, she should have married him, but she was unhappy.
Qin Ji concluded after analyzing himself that he had most likely either placed or disposed of the item himself.
So, is she here in this life to turn everything around and seek revenge?
With these extremely modern ideas swirling in his mind, Qin Ji couldn't help but chuckle: "They're really interesting."
His way of thinking hasn't been that modern for many years.
"So, what should we do with this Miss Xiao Er next?" The first thought that came to mind was still murderous intent.
However, he quickly abandoned this idea. Qin Ji rarely reflected on himself. He shouldn't have used such a crude and unskilled method to satisfy his insecurity and desire for control.
There are clearly greater benefits to be gained from Miss Xiao Er. Besides some money-making methods that already belong to her and some insignificant poems, the most important thing is when exactly she died.
Does she know about the future trends? What natural disasters and man-made calamities might occur in the future, what major changes in the court are significant enough for the common people to know, and whether there will be any unusual movements in neighboring countries? These are all things Qin Ji wants to know.
"So how do we obtain this intelligence?" Qin Ji tapped the table lightly, lost in thought.
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The author's note: Quoting: "Outside the city, half the autumn lotus is yellow, only sparse willows remain, reflecting in the winding pond. How beautiful is the scenery south of the Yangtze River? When the wild geese arrive, there is no frost." —Han Yuanji, Song Dynasty, "Autumn Thoughts, No. 5"
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