The Empress had mixed feelings about the Crown Prince's return. On one hand, she was naturally happy that her son had returned safely; on the other hand, the "dust" he brought back from Jiangnan and his obvious estrangement made her unhappy. What worried her even more was that the position of Crown Princess was still undecided, and Luo Qingrou's move had to be settled as soon as possible.
Every "chance encounter" meticulously planned by the Empress for Crown Prince Xiao Chengjing and Luo Qingrou inevitably turned into a talent show or an unexpected accident scene for Lu Zheng, the heir of the Duke of Dingguo. This close friend of the Crown Prince seemed to have a radar installed on him, always able to appear precisely at any crucial moment when a "third wheel" was needed, in all sorts of unbelievable yet plausible ways.
The Empress specially arranged for the Crown Prince to "review memorials" in the Imperial Study, and "coincidentally" had Luo Qingrou, on the orders of Prime Minister Luo, deliver several rare and precious ancient books. Today, Luo Qingrou specially wore a moon-white palace dress embroidered with silver orchid patterns, elegant and refined. When she entered with the books, her steps were light and graceful.
"Your Highness, my father heard that you have been searching for this rare book for a long time, so he specially ordered Qingrou to send it over." Luo Qingrou's voice was clear and melodious as she presented the scroll.
Xiao Chengjing put down his vermilion brush, his expression calm: "Thank you, Miss Luo, for conveying my gratitude to the Prime Minister."
The Empress sat to the side, watching with a smile, about to speak and let the two exchange ideas about the contents of the ancient book.
"Oh dear! Chengjing! I've been looking for you for ages!" Lu Zheng's voice preceded his arrival, rushing in like a gust of wind, holding a blooming black chrysanthemum in his hand. "Look, look! The 'Ink Lotus' in the Imperial Garden is in full bloom this year! The color, the petals, tsk tsk tsk, it's like it stepped out of an ink wash painting!" He completely ignored the Empress and Luo Qingrou, rushing straight to the desk and shoving the chrysanthemum in front of Xiao Chengjing, almost brushing against Luo Qingrou's sleeve.
Xiao Chengjing accepted the flowers expressionlessly and casually placed them into an unused brush washer next to him: "Hmm, acceptable."
Lu Zheng, however, became very interested and began to talk at length about the flower: "What do you mean by 'acceptable'? Look at the curl of the petals, the layers of the flower's center, and the hint of dark purple showing through the ink color, it's amazing! Miss Luo, don't you think so? You girls have good taste, give your opinion!" He suddenly turned to Luo Qingrou.
Caught off guard, Luo Qingrou could only manage a forced smile: "Young Master Lu has such refined tastes. This flower... is indeed extraordinary."
“Right!” Lu Zheng slapped his thigh, getting even more excited. “I knew it! Your Highness, you shouldn’t always be burying your head in these rubbish…” He casually picked up a memorial, “‘Flood in such-and-such place,’ ‘Tax revenue in such-and-such state’… How boring! Come on, come with me to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the chrysanthemums! Miss Luo, why don’t you come too? The more the merrier!” He extended the invitation enthusiastically, as if he were the master of this Imperial Study.
The Empress's smile faltered, her fingers gripping her handkerchief tightly. Xiao Chengjing rose to his feet and said to the Empress, "Mother, I'll accompany Lu Zheng for a stroll in the Imperial Garden." He gestured to Luo Qingrou, "Miss Luo, please feel free to do as you please." He was then practically dragged away by Lu Zheng. Luo Qingrou was left standing there, clutching the ancient book, utterly mortified.
The Empress, unconvinced by any superstition, arranged another "chance encounter" at the royal horse ranch. She figured the young riders' impressive skills would surely spark something. Xiao Chengjing, dressed in black riding attire, stood tall and straight, riding a jet-black steed, exuding a cool and aloof air. Luo Qingrou, in fiery red riding attire, looked dashing and spirited, having specially chosen a gentle chestnut horse, and rode up to Xiao Chengjing's side.
"Your Highness's horsemanship is superb; Qingrou admires it greatly." Luo Qingrou tried hard to find a topic to talk about.
"It's acceptable." Xiao Chengjing uttered those same two words, but his gaze was fixed on the distance, as if he were lost in thought.
Just then, a series of exaggerated hoofbeats accompanied by shouts came from afar: "Chengjing! Wait for me! Your 'Chasing Wind' is too fast! Are you bullying my 'Treading Snow'?!" Lu Zheng rode a magnificent white horse ('Treading Snow') at lightning speed, almost colliding with Luo Qingrou's chestnut horse!
"Watch out!" Xiao Chengjing frowned and subconsciously reached out to pull on Luo Qingrou's reins. But at the critical moment, Lu Zheng suddenly pulled on the reins, and "Ta Xue" neighed loudly, its front hooves raised high, and it stopped narrowly next to the chestnut horse, kicking up dust that covered Luo Qingrou's face.
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry! Miss Luo, you've been frightened!" Lu Zheng apologized repeatedly, looking annoyed. "It's all my fault, 'Snow Treader,' which gets excited when it sees 'Wind Chaser'! I hope you weren't hurt?" He nimbly dismounted and stepped forward to ask with concern.
Luo Qingrou was still shaken, her face covered in dust, her carefully styled hair disheveled, looking utterly disheveled. Looking at Lu Zheng's face, which was full of "sincere apology," she couldn't even muster any anger, and could only force a smile and say, "It's...it's alright, Young Master Lu, just be more careful next time."
"Definitely!" Lu Zheng patted his chest to assure her, then turned and pulled Xiao Chengjing, "Come on, Chengjing, let's race! Let Miss Luo catch her breath!" Without another word, he dragged her away. Luo Qingrou was left alone in the wind, bewildered, her carefully planned "riding side by side, dashing and heroic" plan completely ruined.
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