Before Chapter 120
Ever since the Duke and the Third Young Master left, Wang has been spending all her time on household affairs.
Seeing that the old lady was talking about Xu Shuyao's marriage, she suggested that everyone in the Duke's Mansion go to Xiwan to watch the dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival.
The young lady stays in the house all day long, so how can she have the chance to meet a good man?
Isn’t it because of the help of his father and brother that he was already well-known in the capital?
Then the reason why the Qingyuan Marquisate thought of proposing marriage was because they met during the Flower Festival, right?
When it comes to watching the dragon boat race, Xiao Jinshan is the first to respond.
Even Cui Zhaoran had an excited look on his face at this moment.
After entering the mansion, Cui Zhaoran lived in Yixiayuan, not far from Old Madam Xiao. That place was originally the residence of the eldest daughter Xiao Jinru before she got married.
Xu Shuyao had visited her before. The garden was very spacious and bright, with various colorful peonies planted in the flower beds.
Yixiayuan is named after the sunset and morning glow, both are extremely beautiful.
Xu Shuyao had never seen it with her own eyes.
"Is my cousin going to participate this year?" Cui Zhaoran asked excitedly.
Madam Xiao smiled and said to Xiao Mo, "Really? Tell her about it. She's been looking forward to it for a long time."
Xiao Mo sat there and smiled: "I'm not needed, it's the people below who will participate."
There are more than twelve guards in the Imperial Guard, so naturally they won't send people from every guard, otherwise how will others survive?
So two teams were picked out to entertain the public. Xiao Mo had been there when they were training before, and Cui Zhaoran probably heard about it.
Xu Shuyao had no interest in watching the dragon boat race.
It’s just… like the Duke’s wife said, it’s always good to get out more.
Even if she is not here for marriage, maybe... it can be of some help in finding her relatives?
Therefore, facing the old lady's inquiring gaze, Xu Shuyao nodded and smiled: "Okay, I'll go!"
Something went wrong every time I went out before. Now the old man doesn’t ask or give any suggestions, he just looks at you and waits for you to express your opinion.
Xu Shuyao thought about it and found it a little funny.
She always advises the younger generations to go out more often, but she herself stays in Songhe Hall.
He then teased, "Then... Madam, will you go with us?"
Madam Xiao choked and said, "The old woman can't stand the heat."
"It won't be hot. It was windy that day and there was no sun." It was Xiao Mo who answered.
Cui Zhaoran couldn't help but ask, "How did my cousin know that?"
Xiao Mo smiled and pointed across from her, "Ask your cousin Xu!"
Xu Shuyao looked up at him and saw a faint smile in the man's eyes. He met his gaze without flinching.
"I don't know either." She looked away and said after a while.
Over there, my third cousin Xiao Jinshan rushed to answer, "Because the emperor asked the Imperial Observatory to take a look, right?"
Xiao Mo didn't say yes or no, but looked at the hem of his clothes, his long eyelashes drooping, and he didn't know what he was thinking for a moment.
Xu Shuyao thought of the letters she had exchanged with him in Qinghe.
She complained about the heavy rain in Qinghe, and the prince said that the top of the mountain would still be full of rosy clouds tomorrow.
Xu Shuyao naturally asked him how he knew, "Because I can observe the celestial phenomena."
She wouldn't be stupid enough to say this now.
Then Xu Shuyao listened to the chattering of her two innocent cousins while she made the gourd with the sawed mouth the whole time.
Seeing that she seemed to be in low spirits, Old Madam Xiao asked her to go back and rest early.
Xu Shuyao agreed and stood up to say goodbye.
Not long after leaving Songhe Hall, he saw the prince walking towards him from behind.
"I'll come to see you in the evening." He said this with a calm expression.
Xu Shuyao felt her blood boiling as she listened to this. Her face flushed red and she wanted to say something. She looked up and saw Cousin Cui standing outside Songhe Hall, talking to the maid who was holding the curtain. When she saw her looking over, she waved her hand.
Xu Shuyao raised her hand in the air and shook it, then went straight to Jiyunzhai.
Ever since the other party broke in at night last time, the two maids found a stick and leaned against the window.
Although he was trembling with fear every day, Xiao Mo never came again.
The stick was also thrown away by Madam Zheng who was unaware of the situation.
At this time, Hui Xiang was still behind her and asked, "Should we go find another one of similar length later?"
Qiao Wei didn't say anything.
Xu Shuyao sighed in her heart.
But at night, facing the maid's fear of facing a great enemy, she was actually much calmer.
Let the two of them rest.
Thinking of what happened last time, she felt it was not appropriate to just lie down on the bed.
He leaned on the edge of the bed and took a nap.
Just as she was drowsy, she felt her body lighten. Xu Shuyao turned around blankly and met a pair of eyes with a hint of smile.
Her hand scratched unconsciously.
The other party avoided it and looked at her quietly.
"Put it down!" Xu Shuyao gritted her teeth.
He held her tightly in his arms and whispered in her ear, "I'll take you out to play tomorrow. Find a reason to come out."
Xu Shuyao, who was almost breathless from being restrained, thought, if it was said so secretly, wouldn't it be a secret meeting with a man?
"No need!" She said the words fluently in anger, but in the end she was just strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
"I'll let Wuying pick you up!"
Xu Shuyao: “…”
After the man left, she rolled up the quilt and turned over.
The two maids came over quietly and only saw their master's back.
I don't know whether she slept or not, and I don't dare to ask.
The two looked at each other, shook their heads and went to the ear room.
The next morning, Xu Shuyao was woken up in a daze.
"girl!"
When she opened her eyes, she saw a concerned face.
"What time is it?" He said and turned to look out the window. It was already bright outside.
Xu Shuyao felt suffocated in the quilt for a while and then got up.
Knowing that she was going out today, Qiao Wei brought her a set of new summer clothes made in the mansion, a white embroidered top and an apricot yellow skirt.
Her hair was still tied into a bun on the side, with two small braids at the bottom.
Finally, she reached out and took the two light apricot silk flowers from the makeup box and pinned them on her master.
Xu Shuyao looked at her still delicate and beautiful face in the makeup mirror and felt a little bored.
When the master and his two servants arrived at the second gate, they saw that almost all the masters of the mansion had gone out.
In addition to the women and gentlemen, there are two masters accompanying us today.
What surprised her most was that the old lady who said she couldn't go out yesterday was also among the crowd leaving the house.
The old man was wearing an ochre-brown jacket with a crane pattern. His graying hair was tied into a bun with an emerald jade hairpin pinned to it. When he saw her, he called out, "Yaoyao! Come here!"
Xu Shuyao quickly composed herself and walked over. Madam Xiao then said to her, "You have a quiet nature. Stay with me today. We'll watch the fun. There's a lot of gongs and drums going on over there, so we need to sit a little further away."
Then she pursed her lips at Cui Zhaoran, "She said she wanted to go and help encourage those people."
Xu Shuyao agreed with this deeply. Coincidentally, she also didn’t like too much noise.
She turned to look at the crowd leaving the palace, but did not see the prince. She guessed that he must have gone to Nanyuan in advance.
Thinking about what that man said last night, if I follow the old lady closely, what excuse can he find to get away?
Thinking of this, the corners of Xu Shuyao's lips curled up slightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
