Chapter 63 He kissed the white crane and the deer.
Lu Wensheng smiled and waved to the young lady upstairs, then casually picked up a handkerchief sprinkled with perfume powder.
She needs to be more high-profile these days to lure out those who want to kill her as soon as possible, saving manpower. Maybe Shen Hegui will even praise her and reward her!
As noon approached, the streets became increasingly crowded. The streets near the government office, which were not usually bustling, were now teeming with people because of Lu Wensheng's presence.
Yingniang clutched the carefully wrapped wedding invitation, her hair loosened from squeezing through the crowd, before finally arriving behind Lu Wensheng.
"No unauthorized personnel allowed near!"
Naturally, Yingniang was stopped by the guards.
Having no other choice, Yingniang called out, "My lord, I've come to bring you something."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Lu Wensheng turned around, his eyes lighting up. He immediately waved away the guards and said, "We're family, let her in quickly."
As Lu Wensheng personally pulled Yingniang into the human wall formed by the Imperial Guards, hushed discussions immediately arose.
"Who is she? And why? She's not even as good-looking as me!"
"I'm so envious! I want my father to arrange a marriage for me!"
...
Xue Xunyuan shook his head, his expression a mixture of emotions, a pain that seemed to say, "I know everything, yet I can say nothing."
Yingniang first handed the wedding invitation to Lu Wensheng, telling her to keep it safe. Then she handed her the package on her back: "My lord, here are the clothes that Madam prepared for you. Madam also asked me to pass on a message to you: Go to work with peace of mind before the fifteenth of March and don't worry about home."
She casually tucked the wedding invitation into her bosom and patted the dust off Yingniang's skirt. "I know. Where did you fall? You're covered in mud."
Yingniang's expression was slightly unnatural for a moment: "Madam suddenly decided to make salted duck eggs. I went out of town this morning, and when I was digging mud, the dew was heavy, and I accidentally slipped and fell. Anyway, I still have to mix the mud and salt when I get back, so I decided not to change my clothes."
Lu Wensheng, unsuspecting, took out the jade buckle he had just taken from the palace: "Take this, go change into a pretty dress. When a girl goes out, she should dress up neatly and beautifully."
"Thank you, my lord. I'll be going now."
Turning her back, Yingniang let out a heavy sigh.
At dawn today, a guest arrived at our home. A middle-aged man who looked like my husband entered the house with a woman and two children, saying that he had come to find his relatives.
She, her wife, and Cheng Sang spent considerable effort to tie everyone up and lock them in the woodshed. At the same time, they learned that the middle-aged man was Lu Yunzhi, the biological father of their son.
Although her husband was a girl, he was so outstanding. She couldn't understand why her father asked him to resign from his official post as soon as he came to visit. He also said that the young master and young lady of the clan had already set off for Yanjing and wanted her husband to help with marriage and to visit famous teachers.
Having followed her husband for so many years, she had seen a lot of the world, but she had never seen anyone so shameless.
Hopefully nothing unexpected happens and my husband can return home tonight. I hope the people at sea can come quickly and take this trouble away and lock him up as soon as possible.
After entering the Ministry of Rites, Lu Wensheng focused on his official duties, occasionally glancing out the window to estimate the time.
At the exact hour of You (5-7 PM), as soon as the drum sounded, Lu Wensheng couldn't wait to put down his brush and rush outside.
Although Xiao Yuan's possessions were confiscated, the mission still needed to be completed. She had already planned it out: she would take Shen He back for drinks later, and if she had the chance to drug him, she would knock him unconscious; if not, she would get him drunk.
Anyway, we must kiss for a hundred seconds tonight, and we must also hand over the marriage certificate to Shen Hegui.
After hastily signing his name on the exam form, Lu Wensheng headed straight for the Magpie Bridge.
Tonight, unusually, there is no curfew and the city gates are wide open. Before it even gets dark, the city is already brightly lit and filled with people like stars.
I don't know if Shen Hegui has arrived yet, but I hope she has arrived first.
Seeing that Lu Wensheng's clothes were made of luxurious material, a vendor took the opportunity to step forward and sell: "Young master, would you like to buy a lantern? It will be dark soon."
Once it happens, it will happen again.
Seeing that Lu Wensheng had slowed down, the quick-witted ones also came over.
"Would you like to buy some pastries, young master?"
"Would you like to see the sachet?"
Lu Wensheng disliked sudden entanglement and was about to refuse them when his gaze inadvertently fell on the hairpins on the opposite stall, causing him to stop in his tracks.
That carving depicts deer antlers and a crane; it's quite creative!
She turned and went to the hairpin stall across the street.
"How much is this hairpin?" Lu Wensheng casually pointed to a wooden hairpin.
"Twenty coins."
Lu Wensheng nodded, pretending to look at it casually, and then asked, "Your peach wood hairpin is quite exquisitely carved, especially the deer antlers and crane. What is the price of that?"
"Three hundred coins."
"...Why is there such a big difference? Can you make it cheaper?" It's a bit pricey.
The stall owner sized up Lu Wensheng's clothes and said arrogantly, "This is the price. Take it or leave it. This style will sell out!"
Nowadays, people with some wealth prefer gold and jade hairpins, while wooden hairpins have always been unpopular, costing at most a hundred coins. She had never seen a peach wood hairpin sold for such an expensive price.
"Take two and wrap them up." A clear, crisp voice came from behind.
Lu Wensheng was slightly surprised: "Your Highness... Young Master, what are you doing here?" Seeing the stall owner about to pack the package, Lu Wensheng quickly stopped him: "We don't want it, are you trying to slaughter us like pigs! It's not precious wood, and peach wood is easy to break."
As soon as Lu Wensheng spoke, the stall owner was immediately displeased, then suddenly realized: "Didn't you come to buy this after reading 'White Crane Perching on Deer'?"
"What?! What white cranes are bullying people on the road?! What the hell?! She only worked a few days straight, and she's already so out of touch?!
The stall owner looked on in surprise: "Storybooks! They sell very well, and you've never heard of them?"
Lu Wensheng choked up. No wonder he dared to sell it for 300 coins; it turned out to be a peripheral product of the storybook.
Shen Hegui smiled and continued to say to the stall owner, "Two for you."
The stall owner, seeing Shen Hegui's smile, immediately realized that he was someone who had read the book, and said, "This young master beside you must have read it. You can borrow it from him. How about this, I see that you two look very much like the main characters in the book, so I'll reduce the price by two coins. Good things come in pairs."
Lu Wensheng: "..." They really know how to do business! And they even look remarkably like the main character, they're really good at making things up!
The stall owners who had been selling lanterns and sachets dispersed immediately when they realized that Lu Wensheng wasn't the kind of rich kid who would spend money easily.
The crowds were dense, and the two walked side by side for a few steps on the bustling street.
Lu Wensheng played with the peach branch hairpin, then turned around and stuck it into her hair.
The design is really beautiful. My boss bought it, so I might as well take it. After all, it was bought with blood and sweat!
However, Shen Hegui is very busy with many affairs of state, so he certainly wouldn't read storybooks, which are just for passing the time.
"I'm a little hungry." Lu Wensheng turned his head and suggested, "Shall we go to a restaurant for a meal before we go sightseeing?"
Shen Hegui's gaze fell on the wooden hairpin, and his tone was calm: "You eat first, I still have some things to take care of."
He was wondering how to bring it up.
Shen Hegui took the longsword handed to him by the plainclothes guard and gave it to Lu Wensheng. "Take good care of yourself. I'm going to transfer half of the people I've placed around you."
Lu Wensheng took the sword in a daze. The cold scabbard touched his palm, and an inexplicable unease welled up inside him. "What happened?"
Shen Hegui didn't intend to hide anything: "The official ships in the east of the city, fully loaded with grain, have caught fire, and the fire has spread to the adjacent ships and the temporary warehouses on the shore."
Her heart suddenly felt empty.
A large grain barge could carry hundreds of bushels of grain. A single fire could spread to the granaries, and at least several thousand bushels of grain would be destroyed. This was equivalent to wiping out the entire year's tax revenue of an entire county, or even several counties.
Moreover, the cost of building cargo ships was not cheap.
Why on the Shangsi Festival of particular? She refused to believe it was an accident.
Shen Hegui raised his hand and patted Lu Wensheng's shoulder reassuringly: "Don't worry, I can handle it. I just have to spend the Shangsi Festival with you later."
Lu Wensheng felt a warmth in her heart and was somewhat moved. Shen Hegui cared too much about her; even when things were urgent, he still came to find her first.
"The greater good is at stake, Your Highness, please go. I'll wait for you at the first restaurant under the bridge." Which bastard is going against her, choosing to set a fire just when she's about to complete her mission! How despicable, burning grain!
After watching Shen Hegui leave, Lu Wensheng admired his newly acquired sword for a while.
Fine sword, with smooth blade lines and evenly distributed blood groove!
Seeing that Shen Hegui had left, Chen Si, who had been lurking behind her, hurriedly urged Li Yun to hurry up.
"My royal brother is gone. Quickly go and bring Lu Wensheng here. This princess is determined to make this a fait accompli today!"
"Wouldn't it be inappropriate to be in front of so many people? Lord Lu is not what he used to be. If things get out of hand, it will be difficult to handle. Besides, I felt that His Highness the Crown Prince looked at Lord Lu strangely just now." But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about him.
Chen Si glanced around with a strong sense of unease. "There are quite a lot of people. Let's wait a bit longer."
For some reason, she sent flower banquet invitations to Lu Wensheng's house, but did not receive a reply. She thought of taking a step back and delivering them in person, but she could never find the opportunity. She even ran into her eldest brother a few times and was scolded for not doing her job properly.
She was even more wronged than Dou E. In her previous life, she worked hard and died young. This time, she gave up and wanted to find a good man to marry, but he turned his back on her and even hired a bunch of tutors for her.
Li Yun: "It moved! Lord Lu moved!"
Chen Si: "Shh! Don't be too loud. There's a saying that birds of a feather flock together. If Lu Wensheng's hearing is as good as my brother's, we're doomed! Keep up."
The closer they got to the bustling city center, the more surging the crowds became. The clamor of voices, the dazzling lights, and the groups of friends calling to each other were both disorderly and orderly. Lu Wensheng was thinking about Shen Hegui, so he didn't notice the little tail following behind him.
Instead of going into the reserved private room, she set up a table by the window in the lobby, ordered some pastries to tide her over, and sat there alone until dark.
On the stone steps across the river, a group of men, women, and children gathered, playing and laughing, exchanging willow wreaths and flower crowns, and sharing the peonies and peonies they had just bought. Some children cried and wanted the malt candy on the bundle of grass, and their parents, unable to resist their pestering, had no choice but to give in.
She suddenly felt a little lost and lonely.
Before coming to Yanjing, she was busy surviving and taking the imperial examinations. Every minute and second was precious, and she had no time to celebrate festivals. After coming to Yanjing, she had Shang Lian and Huo Qian to accompany her, and the three of them could talk about anything.
At this moment, I want to find someone to keep me company, but I find that none of the people I know are suitable to invite.
She had no friends in officialdom, no confidants in Yanjing, and all the bustling activity around her was irrelevant to her.
Lost in thought, Lu Wensheng noticed that a newlywed couple had taken up seats at the next table. They were whispering sweet nothings to each other, their affectionate interactions making Lu Wensheng envious.
I suddenly want to have a sweet romance, the kind where we come together when we're happy and part ways when things go our way.
"Hey, look! The sky over the east side of the city is already red!"
"Really! Have you finished eating?"
"That's about it, let's go take a look!"
Lu Wensheng's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden burst of discussion, and his heart skipped a beat.
Shen Hegui went there personally, and since it was near the water, the fire should have been contained.
Lu Wensheng suddenly got up and rushed to the door. Looking up, he saw that half of the sky was dyed black and red, and he could vaguely smell the scorched grass and trees.
Such a huge fire probably isn't even out! Where's Shen Hegui? Did something happen to him? She hasn't finished her mission yet!
Without time to think, Lu Wensheng gripped his sword and ran towards the east of the city.
The waiter was dumbfounded. The man was dressed so elegantly, yet he ran away without paying and ate the snacks for free.
He quickly chased after him, shouting, "Sir, you haven't paid for your snacks! If you don't, the manager will deduct money from my monthly pay!"
The dark alley across the street.
Li Yun excitedly shook Chen Si: "Princess, Lord Lu has run away! Get up, don't sleep!"
Startled awake by her shaking, Chen Si instinctively snapped, "Then why aren't you chasing after them!"
I have a bad feeling, like I'll get cold while I'm sleeping. This weather is awful, so hot during the day and so cold at night.
Li Yun seemed to wake from a dream: "Oh, okay."
She blew her nose and slowly stood up, intending to follow, but when she came out of the alley, she found that she didn't recognize any of the people in the alley.
She inexplicably recalled Shen Hegui's mockery of her in her previous life: "Find an honest man to marry as soon as possible, or find a cunning husband who loves you to death, do more good deeds, and try to be more cunning in your next life."
Chen Si murmured, "Oh no, I messed it up again. I spent the whole afternoon squatting for nothing." But Lord Lu is really handsome! I want him!
A fire raged, changing the very landscape, and many people flocked to the east of the city.
When Lu Wensheng arrived, the Imperial Guards had already surrounded the scene, preventing civilians from entering.
Lu Wensheng squeezed forward and flashed his ivory token: "I have important business to attend to, let me in!"
Staring at the faces of the ivory tablet and Lu Wensheng, the Imperial Guards at the gate hesitated.
This Lord Lu is His Highness's darling; what if something were to happen to him...
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Lin Shoubai, whose face was covered in soot, happened to pass by. His gaze lingered on Lu Wensheng's face, and then he ordered in a deep voice, "Let him in."
"Thank you." Lu Wensheng put away the ivory token and was about to ask where Shen Hegui was when he found that Lin Shoubai had already left quickly.
She followed the direction Lin Shoubai had come from, and along the way she saw charred broken wood and busy soldiers, and occasionally she could see wounded people being hurriedly carried away.
The flames roared, the heat was intense, and a deep sense of worry gradually gathered in my chest.
"Boom!"
A loud crash came from afar; it was the final, mournful cry of a broken log, unable to withstand the ravages of the fire.
"Quickly carry the water to His Highness's side, there's been a discovery there!"
Seeing them run towards the area where the fire was most intense, Lu Wensheng immediately gave chase.
The male lead is just different. Instead of keeping the crown prince in check, he actually runs into the fire, as if he doesn't want to live!
Worry and anger surged into his heart at the same time, so when Lu Wensheng found Shen Hegui in front of the raging fire, he was somewhat irrational and forgot about hierarchy.
With a slight twitch of his earlobe, Shen Hegui hesitated for a moment before turning around: "Why are you here?" He thought it was a hallucination.
"What? Can't I come to see His Highness?" she said matter-of-factly. "The sky is half red, I was so worried about you!"
Lu Wensheng carefully examined Shen Hegui and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness he's not injured."
Grayish-black debris was flying everywhere, and the ground was covered in water stains and mud. Lu Wensheng had run all the way here, and not only his clothes but also his handsome face were dirty.
But Shen Hegui didn't find it offensive; on the contrary, he found Lu Wensheng very attractive at that moment.
This is the first time someone has ever cared about his life or death; so this is what it feels like.
He wouldn't be seriously burned by the fire, but Lu Wensheng would be. Yet she still came, for his safety.
Driven by his heart, Shen Hegui lowered his head and gently kissed the corner of her lips, saying apologetically, "It was my fault."
Lu Wensheng: "?!!"
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Author's Note: I was so focused on getting to the exciting part of the story, and then... I forgot to check the time, and I haven't even gotten to it yet! [crying emoji] I hate my awful typing speed... [melting emoji]
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