Chapter 87: Love
Ten days passed in a blink of an eye. Chu Li did not dare to rest along the way. Three horses died from running, but he finally arrived in Chang'an.
He finally arrived at the Lu Mansion, but learned that Lu Weiqing was not at home, but had taken his wife to the horse farm in the western suburbs.
Chu Li didn't want to wait in vain, so he immediately turned his horse around and headed towards the western suburbs.
When he arrived at the place, he did not see Lu Weiqing, but saw a young girl with an elegant temperament, riding a Ferghana horse, pulling a bow to the full extent, and hitting the bull's eye.
Chu Li cheered and rode forward. When he got closer, he could see clearly that the girl was wearing brocade, which was only available in the palace.
If she was a concubine, she naturally couldn't leave the palace at will. Her demeanor didn't make her fit to be a palace maid. Chu Li guessed that she was most likely Princess Le'an.
He dismounted and bowed, "Greetings to Princess Le'an."
The princess saw that he was dressed like a frontier general, but recognized her and was surprised, so she signaled him to not be polite.
"Princess, may I ask where Prime Minister Lu is now?"
When this matter was mentioned, the princess's face instantly turned cold. She came to play with Jiang Ran specially, and happened to see them preparing to go out, so she followed them desperately.
She only spoke a few more words with Jiang Ran on the way, and after playing for a while at the horse farm, the old fox Lu Weiqing tricked her away.
It's boring to leave her here alone.
The princess wanted to tell him, but when the words were on the tip of her tongue, she changed her mind.
"Have a fight with me, and I'll tell you if you win." She raised the bow in her hand.
Chu Li couldn't refuse, so he picked up a bow from the side.
He was used to fighting on the battlefield, so of course he was good at riding and shooting.
If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely think of giving way to the princess, but Chu Li was a little stupid. As long as there was a competition, he would not give less than his all.
The princess was also very accurate in archery, with nine out of ten arrows hitting the bull's eye.
Chu Li only pulled the bow twice, and both times five arrows were fired at once, hitting the bull's eye.
"Thank you."
Just as he was about to ask the princess, he saw someone riding a horse towards him in the distance.
"General Chu, it's really you. I thought I was seeing things." Jiang Ran started calling him from a distance, his face full of joy.
Chu Li's father was her father's deputy general, and her mother was a female doctor. The loving couple went to guard the border together, leaving him behind in Chang'an.
When Jiang Ran's mother was alive, she took pity on him being alone and poor, and often called him to her house to cook for her, so they knew each other very well.
"Yes, it's me. A'Ran, you still remember me?" Chu Li smiled brightly, as if being recognized by her was a great reward.
"Of course I remember. Is my eldest brother here too? Where is he now?"
Jiang Ran thought they must have come together, so he stuck his head out to look behind him, but he didn't see his eldest brother.
Chu Li scratched his head. Because the princess was present, he couldn't elaborate. He just said vaguely, "He won't arrive until a few days later. I'm here to discuss some things with Prime Minister Lu first."
"He's over there. I'll take you there."
Jiang Ran kicked his horse's calf and led the way. The princess saw that they had something important to discuss, so she tactfully chose not to follow them and instead found a spot under a tree to cool off.
After bringing the person there, Jiang Ran walked away consciously to talk to the princess.
The princess seemed to be very interested in Chu Li, and six or seven out of ten sentences were about him.
Jiang Ran explained everything and jokingly said, "Why does the princess keep talking about him? Could it be that she has taken a fancy to General Chu?"
The princess nodded and said frankly, "I do like it."
Jiang Ran suddenly heard this and swallowed the candy in his mouth. He stroked his chest for a long time before he felt better.
"Have you, Princess, met General Chu before?"
"I don't know him."
Jiang Ran was even more surprised. So love at first sight really existed in this world? The princess, despite her wealth, had fallen for Chu Li at first sight.
Princess Le'an had no intention of hiding anything from her and told her about her recent worries.
Ever since the news of the peace talks between Southern Chu and Chu arrived, there have been rumors that the delegation came this time to ask for the princess' hand in marriage.
The princess had long heard that the Emperor of Nanchu was obsessed with beauty and alchemy, and had long been drained of his body by wine, sex, money and power.
What's more, the Emperor of Nanchu is several years older than her father! She doesn't want to marry him.
Jiang Ran's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, and he quickly asked her, "The delegation hasn't arrived in Chang'an yet, so there's still time. Princess, do you have any plans?"
The princess sighed, "Don't even mention it. I've written letters to all the young masters of the Zhang, Li, Wang, Xu, and Chen families... but to no avail."
Jiang Ran's pupils trembled in shock. She didn't expect that the princess would not care about her reputation and write letters to so many people at the same time.
But on second thought, she understood the princess very well. If she could avoid the fate of marrying off as a foreign prince, a few comments wouldn't matter.
"It's all my brother and Lu Weiqing's fault. Now everyone thinks I'm obsessed with that old, domineering old man, and they're unwilling to discuss marriage with me."
The princess pursed her lips in grievance, grabbed Jiang Ran's hand and shook it, "A Ran, you have to help me."
Seeing her eyes filled with tears, Jiang Ran felt uncomfortable, so how could he refuse?
Seeing that she agreed, the princess immediately stopped crying and smiled slyly.
"Then it's settled. Ah Ran, help me tomorrow and get that young General Chu out. It would be best if we could capture him in one fell swoop!"
"Isn't this... too hasty?"
Seeing her ambitious look, Jiang Ran didn't want to discourage her, but he couldn't help but persuade her.
"Aran, good Aran, you promised to help me."
The princess' eyes turned red again and she looked at her pitifully. Jiang Ran finally nodded.
"Alright. Princess, don't worry too much. I'll ask my brother about it later. Maybe the situation isn't that dire."
The two of them gathered together to discuss for a while, and then they saw that Lu Weiqing and Chu Li had finished their discussion and were walking towards them.
Chu Li completed the task and said goodbye to them with a fist salute.
The princess quickly winked at Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran glanced at Lu Weiqing beside him and felt inexplicably guilty, but after all, he had promised the princess, so he could only grit his teeth and move forward.
"General Chu, it's a rare opportunity for you to come to Chang'an. I'll prepare a banquet at Zuixianlou tomorrow to welcome you. Is that okay?"
Chu Li's eyes flickered slightly, as if he didn't expect Jiang Ran to invite him, and then he readily agreed.
Having already agreed, he seemed to have just come to his senses and said to Lu Weiqing in a clear voice: "Aran and I are old friends. It's a rare occasion for us to get together. I hope the Prime Minister doesn't mind?"
Chu Li was, after all, a young man full of vigor and vitality, and he was not intimidated by him. He deliberately emphasized the word "old friend".
Before Lu Weiqing could answer, Jiang Ran took his hand and said flatteringly, "My husband is not such a stingy person."
After she finished speaking, she looked up at Lu Weiqing and asked, "Isn't that right?"
Lu Weiqing nodded calmly, and after Chu Li rode away, he glanced at Princess Le'an with a gloomy face.
The princess was really afraid of him. This man always seemed to see through her.
She pretended to be calm, spoke a few more words to Jiang Ran, and then left in disgrace.
Now that they were alone, Lu Weiqing held Jiang Ran's hand in his, carelessly tapped the back of her hand, and asked softly, "Madam, do you have anything to tell me?"
Jiang Ran shook his head without hesitation.
As if afraid that he wouldn't believe her, she added, "No!"
She said no, but didn't dare look at him.
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