Chapter 85: Xiaohu borrows someone to meet Chunhua
Yuan Ji and Xiao Qinggu chatted ramblingly, but never got to the point.
Finally, Xiao Qinggu lost his patience.
"You invited me here for tea all afternoon and brought me five plates of cakes. What on earth do you want to do?"
She still has to go back for dinner. Why would she eat after drinking so much?
Yuan Ji smiled and said, "Your Highness, Princess, have something to ask of me, Yuan?"
This remark hit the nail on the head, but Xiao Qinggu and Shang Yuwan had been through so much, so how could they be at a disadvantage and inferior to others?
"Master Yuan, don't you want to rise to a higher level?"
Xiao Qinggu was not afraid of him at all. He recalled in his mind the smiling face of Shang Yuwan when he spoke differently to different people.
"The merit of following the dragon? Your Highness the Princess is really confident." Yuan Ji shook his head, his handsome face was no different from a smiling tiger.
"Everyone in Dayu knows what Her Royal Highness has been doing recently. I consider myself not stupid. I know what Her Royal Highness wants, and I can persuade you to give Her Royal Highness a chance to prove herself."
"But." Yuan Ji changed the subject, his eyes slightly curved. He was clearly smiling, but one couldn't tell that he was happy.
"What Her Royal Highness can take out is not stable, nor heavy enough. Compared to what Yuan can give Her Royal Highness, it is too light."
Xiao Qinggu knew what he was referring to. After thinking about it, he decided to let Shang Yuwan and Xiao Qingxu solve it.
"I'm tired. Let them talk to you." Xiao Qinggu pretended to be "too lazy to talk" and threw the difficult question to the two people who had been silent for the whole afternoon.
Shang Yuwan took over the conversation, "What does Lord Yuan want? Why not speak frankly?"
She remembered that Yuan Ji served as the Chief Censor in the imperial court, serving as deputy to the censor, Baili Pu. He had come to Yuecheng because Baili Pu had been ordered to temporarily resign and return home to recuperate. Fortunately, the Censorate was staffed by Baili Pu's disciples, all upright officials. The other Chief Censor was also still around, so even if these two left Kyoto in the short term, nothing would have happened. Otherwise, Emperor Chengming wouldn't have let Yuan Ji go so easily.
Yuan Ji had been hesitating for so long, just waiting for Shang Yuwan to speak.
There was a hint of sincerity in his smile, but he didn't say it directly.
"Mr. Shang can certainly give what Yuan wants, but Mr. Shang may not be willing to give it to me."
Xiao Qingxu keenly sensed Yuan Ji's hidden meaning and asked, "You want someone?"
I originally thought Yuan Ji wouldn't recognize Shang Yuwan, but now that she's like this, could it be...
Shang Yuwan obviously thought of this as well. She was stunned for a moment, then recovered and said, "I'm not Miss Shang."
Yuan Ji nodded, "Yes, you are not Princess Qi."
Xiao Qingxu: "......"
Shang Yuwan: “…”
Xiao Qinggu stood aside with his ears perked up and his eyes wide open, listening and learning, and couldn't help but sigh.
What a powerful rhetoric. She denied that Shang Yuwan was her sister-in-law, but did not deny her identity as the young lady of the Shang family.
Xiao Qinggu shook his head silently in his heart.
But Yuan Ji was probably going to be disappointed. This Shang Yuwan was indeed not her sister-in-law.
Seeing the two of them fall silent, Yuan Ji asked with a smile, "Is it really not possible?"
Shang Yuwan's face darkened. "Master Yuan, are you treating me as someone else's replacement?"
"Isn't that what you meant?"
Yuan Ji asked back, with a smile on his face that became even wider.
"Same name, same clothes, even the tone of your voice...everything you say and do is so much like her."
Shang Yuwan's eyes narrowed. She didn't expect Yuan Ji to understand her so well.
That's not right. She clearly remembered that she didn't have much interaction with this person in her previous life. How could he be secretly spying on her?
Yuan Ji ignored the murderous aura that Xiao Qingxu couldn't help but release, and continued, "Isn't it your intention to imitate her and learn everything from her?"
As he spoke, a hint of hatred flashed in Yuan Ji's eyes. He hid it very well, and no one noticed.
"You are so self-righteous, don't you want to be her?"
"Well, Lord Yuan, you misunderstood." Xiao Qinggu saw that the situation was not right and interrupted to say something.
Yuan Ji concealed a trace of hatred and chuckled: "What is your opinion, Princess?"
Xiao Qinggu coughed twice, "It's a good name for her, but she certainly doesn't want to become Prince Qi's Consort."
"Is that so?" Yuan Ji smiled. "But I still want to borrow this person from Your Highness."
"Just one hour tonight, okay?"
Yuan Ji was very calculating and smiled so brightly that his teeth were visible. "Your Highness, the princess needs support, and I can give it to you."
"As long as Your Highness helps me deal with those Qu Qi people. And this person, tonight, during the Spring Flower Festival, will accompany me for an hour."
"Don't follow me."
Xiao Qingxu spoke faster than Xiao Qinggu: "One for two, it's inevitably a bit unfair."
You won't let me follow? What do you want to do?!
Yuan Ji turned his eyes and chuckled, "I've gone from needing people to borrowing them. Besides, what I've given is far more valuable than a person. Why is the host so stingy?"
It would have been fine if Xiao Qingxu hadn't said this, but as soon as he said it, Yuan Ji became suspicious.
"Could it be that she is really Miss Shang?" Yuan Ji's face changed slightly, and he looked surprised. "This is a crime of deceiving the emperor..."
Shang Yuwan's eyes darkened, and Xiao Qinggu couldn't help it anymore. He slammed the table and said angrily: "Yuan Ji, don't go too far!"
If you tell anyone, you will be beheaded!
Xiao Qinggu never expected that helping the Shang family clear their grievances would be a slap in the face of Emperor Chengming and would also risk being beheaded.
Xiao Qingxu exuded a sinister and fierce aura that could not be concealed no matter how hard he tried.
Yuan Ji seemed to have just reacted, and he apologized repeatedly, bowed his body, and his eyes were full of suspicion.
Looking at the appearance of these two people...it seems that this "Shang Yuwan" really has a secret.
Shang Yuwan was very calm, "It's only an hour, I accept it."
Although he said this, he was actually thinking about how to pry open Yuan Ji's mouth to get some useful information.
This person becomes much more sharp when speaking to the OP, maybe he knows something.
Shang Yuwan has already agreed, and no matter how reluctant Xiao Qinggu and Xiao Qingxu are, they cannot object.
Yuan Ji invited them to have dinner with a smile on his face, but Xiao Qinggu immediately threatened to return to the City Lord's Mansion.
Xiao Qinggu pulled Shang Yuwan away. She would never let Shang Yuwan and Yuan Ji have dinner together. This man was a deep-minded person. What if he poisoned her?
"Don't forget, sir. We'll see you at 10 p.m." Yuan Ji smiled and saw him off, then turned around and went back to find Baili Pu to tell him that he had an appointment tonight.
"But which girl do you like?" Bailipu's hair and beard are snow-white. If you ignore the wrinkles between his eyebrows that have accumulated over the years, he looks like a kind old immortal.
He is strict with others, but much gentler in front of Yuan Ji.
The Spring Flower Festival in Yuecheng lasts for three days. Every time this happens, there will be many men and women in Yuecheng trying to pair up. When Baili Pu heard that his disciple, who had never been interested in women, had a date tonight, he naturally expressed his concern.
"Sir, you're joking." Yuan Ji didn't explain. Seeing this, Baili Pu didn't ask any more questions. This child has been a person with his own ideas since he was young, and he never gave him any worries.
Bailipu urged him, "Go ahead and come back early. After the Spring Flower Festival, we should return to Beijing the day after tomorrow."
Yuan Ji bowed and said, "Yes, disciple will remember this."
At the hour of Xu, Yuan Ji came directly to the door. He changed into a dark green robe with bamboo patterns embroidered with silver thread and wore a silver jade crown on his head. He looked even more radiant than in the afternoon, and it was obvious that he had dressed up well.
He saw Shang Yuwan who had just stepped out of the vermilion lacquered gate, and he ignored the two people beside and behind her, smiling dashingly, causing the women passing by to blush.
Yuan Ji raised his arm and waved: "I'm here."
Shang Yuwan changed back into his cyan outfit: "......"
How could a grown man be so flamboyantly dressed? This Imperial Censor was a peacock? Why hadn't I seen that in my past life?
Ji Suxian, who came over to join in the fun, raised his eyebrows.
Brother Xiao has met his match.
Xiao Qingxu, who was standing behind Shang Yuwan, remained silent, but his face under the mask was so dark that ink could drip out of it.
Yuan Ji greeted Shang Yuwan with a smile, and glanced at Xiao Qingxu and Ji Suxian. "You two want to visit the Spring Flower Festival too?"
Xiao Qingxu was about to nod when Ji Suxian interrupted him: "No."
She pulled Xiao Qingxu, who was as stiff as a log, away and said, "You guys play, you guys play."
Ji Suxian ventriloquized, "Don't interfere with her plan!"
After having dinner at the City Lord's Mansion, Shang Yuwan told them that she wanted to get some information from Yuan Ji, and this was an opportunity.
Only then did Xiao Qingxu calm down and follow in silence.
Yuan Ji ignored the people who followed them out of the City Lord's Mansion in the dark, and took Shang Yuwan to the busiest Chunhua Street.
As long as it's not obvious and doesn't get in the way, he'll ignore it.
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