"Hey, it seems you really have your eye on that woman, you're completely out of your mind?" Hongzhou nudged Hongli, pulling him back from his daze.
Hongli said, "She's the first woman to look down on and mock us brothers in the street. We have to get our face back."
Hongzhou knew that Hongli was always very proud, and indeed no one had ever mocked him before. He felt a little worried for the woman he didn't know.
Hongzhou lost interest in shopping, and the image of the figure standing under the yellow wintersweet tree kept lingering in his mind, so he pulled Hongli and said, "Hongli, let's go back, otherwise your mother will be angry, and my mother will worry too."
Hongli looked at the bustling street with some reluctance, but remembering that he had promised Lanqin an hour, he could only nod in agreement.
Seeing that the two princes were about to leave, Tursuo immediately said, "Young masters, let's go back, otherwise the prince and his concubine will worry."
Meanwhile, the woman who had just said on the street that Hongli and Hongzhou were unsophisticated was now walking towards the street that Hongli and Hongzhou had come from, supported by her maid. Hongli and Hongzhou were turning back to look for their carriage, and they were heading in the same direction as them.
Women's strides are naturally much shorter than men's, and given the woman's young age, she couldn't walk very fast. Hongli, Hongzhou, and Tursuo, all martial arts practitioners, caught up with the two women in no time.
Hongli saw that the woman was wearing a pinkish-green cheongsam, with a moon-white blouse trimmed with white fox fur over it. Her hair was styled in two buns, with a tassel hairpin on one side, which made the girl's beautiful face look very charming.
"Hongli, the woman you've fallen for is right ahead, why don't you hurry up and chase after her?" Hongzhou continued to tease. He hadn't forgotten how Hongli had mocked him in the pavilion earlier that day, and now that he could get his revenge, he wasn't about to let it go.
"Don't talk nonsense. I just feel that this woman..." Hongli didn't know why he cared so much about this woman he had just met. Could it be that he had really fallen in love with her?
When the master and servant realized that the young man from before was actually following behind them, they suddenly felt nervous.
"Princess, those two young gentlemen seemed to be following us just now?" the maid Zijuan said to her princess.
"Don't talk nonsense, maybe we're going in the same direction!" Fucha Mingyu scolded lightly. "Let's hurry up and go find Steward Luo."
This woman was none other than Fucha Mingyu. Her great-grandfather, Hashtun, served as a minister of state during the reign of Emperor Shunzhi; her grandfather, Misihan, was the recently retired head of the Imperial Household Department; and her father, Li Rongbao, was currently the governor of Chahar. Her uncle, Ma Qi, was the Minister of War and concurrently a minister of state, making them a renowned family that had served three emperors in the capital.
When Fucha Mingyu and Zijuan reached the intersection of the street, they spotted their own carriage. The two young women immediately ran after it, as if some ferocious beast were following them. Hongli and Hongzhou had deliberately slowed their pace, following closely behind them.
"Alright, she's already in her own carriage. Have you had enough of looking?" Hongzhou continued teasingly. They had deliberately slowed down to keep up with the woman from earlier.
"It's from the Fucha family!" Hongli ignored Hongzhou's teasing and finally saw the two words on the carriage. It turned out that he had deliberately slowed down and followed behind Fucha Mingyu to see which family she belonged to.
"Is it the Fucha family, the tutor of the deposed crown prince?" Hongzhou asked, his joking expression now serious.
"I hope not!" Hongli said, his expression hardening.
The steward of the Fucha family immediately spurred the carriage, changed direction, and hurriedly drove away. He had been told by the princess to leave quickly when she boarded the carriage.
As the carriage passed in front of Hongli and Hongzhou, Fucha Mingyu opened the carriage window and caught a glimpse of Hongli's face flashing past her, along with the expression on his face.
"You two idiots! Have they taken a fancy to the princess?" Zijuan teased, noticing a slight blush on Fucha Mingyu's face.
"You brat, how dare you make fun of your master!" Fucha Mingyu said coquettishly, raising the handkerchief in her hand as if to hit him.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Please don't hit me, Princess. But those two young men who looked like gentlemen didn't seem to be from ordinary families," Zijuan quickly begged for mercy.
“Hmm, they must be from an official family. Look at the guards behind them, they’re Manchus,” Fucha Mingyu said.
“Princess, this servant thinks that the young master who looks rather imposing seems to have some interest in you?” Zijuan said.
"You still dare to talk nonsense? I'll tear your mouth apart!" Fucha Mingyu grabbed Zijuan's shoulder in anger.
“Princess, I’m not joking. You’re almost of marriageable age, and your master and mistress are going to arrange a marriage for you,” Zijuan said. “If it’s someone you like, that would be great, but I’m afraid that you might be married off to someone you don’t like. That would be terrible.”
"You silly girl, I've been too lenient with you all this time, letting your tongue run wild like this, haven't I?" Fucha Mingyu pretended to cut off her tongue.
Zijuan's words were a complaint made by Fucha Mingyu herself in front of her, so when Zijuan looked at Hongli and Hongzhou and saw the expression on her princess's face, she boldly spoke up.
Fucha Mingyu had just caught a glimpse of Hongli's face flashing past her window, and a strange feeling welled up inside her. She could tell he was no ordinary wealthy young man; judging from their attire, they were likely relatives of the imperial family. She also knew she could never marry casually; as the eldest daughter of the family, her future was tied to the future of the clan. Fucha Mingyu had known this since she was very young.
Meanwhile, Hongli and Hongzhou had also found their own carriage. Along the way, the two brothers each had their own thoughts.
“Hongli, I heard from Mother that Second Brother’s marriage has been arranged,” Hongzhou suddenly said.
Hongli seemed to be thinking about something, and when he heard Hongzhou mention it, he casually said, "Why are you concerned about his marriage?"
Because Hongshi usually had a serious and unsmiling demeanor, he never interacted with his younger brothers, treating them as if they were strangers.
"I heard that the Fujin's niece originally wanted to marry my second brother!" Hongzhou's voice sounded a little low.
Hongli glanced at him, then grabbed Hongzhou's shoulder and said, "Tell me quickly, have you taken a fancy to the Fujin's niece?"
Hongzhou blushed when Hongli saw through his thoughts and said, "Don't talk nonsense. We're not that old. On the contrary, you were staring at that girl's handkerchief. That was really rude of you."
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