Chapter 317 Your Highness will not take my life, right?
He turned to look at Tang Yuli. Although his body was still shivering, his eyes were full of determination.
She wanted to face it.
They had to overcome this hurdle eventually. Su Rui held Tang Yuli's hand tightly and said to his followers, "Lead the way."
The small boat turned, and Su Rui's flower boat slowly followed towards the big ship. As it got closer and closer, the unruly appearance of the second prince on the deck became clearer.
He looked down from a high vantage point, as if he was about to win, completely shedding the awkward disguise he wore on the day of the Hundred Days Banquet, and turned back into the person he was when he first arrived in Shengjing.
The flower boat docked next to the big ship, the door of the bottom cabin was opened, and after the flower boat was secured with an anchor hook, a wooden bridge was built for Su Rui and others to board the ship.
The bottom cabin was full of boatmen, and there was a wooden fence outside the stairs connecting to the deck, so the boatmen could not see the figures and faces of the people boarding the ship. The boatmen did not dare to look, and they all lowered their heads, fearing that if they raised their eyes, they would offend the nobleman and die.
The oppressive atmosphere made Tang Yuli unconsciously hold Su Rui's hand tightly. Su Rui shook her hand in return, indicating that she was there and there was no need to be afraid.
Going up the stairs, from darkness to light, everything on the deck came into view.
There were many men and women, many of whom were familiar faces.
They were encountered at various banquets, and Su Rui, who had just hosted a hundred-day banquet for the two little ones, was even more familiar with them. Many of them were children of important officials in the court. Now they were either serving as officials in the court or marrying into other noble families, forming a huge network of power and interests among them.
These people should have looked down on the Second Prince, and some of them even sided with Yun Ji. Among them was the daughter of Grand Tutor Zhang, who quickly turned her face away when she saw Su Rui.
It was strange that so many children of important officials had contact with the Second Prince even if their fathers did not come directly. After all, even if they chose the Second Prince, they should be close to Prime Minister Lin and Queen Lin, not the Second Prince.
How could Queen Lin allow the Second Prince to make friends with powerful officials?
"Concubine Su, Miss Tang has done me the honor of coming here. This is a great honor for my humble ship." The second prince said with a smile as he walked forward, his sinister eyes showing arrogance.
Even though Tang Yuli was trying hard to hold on, he was still frightened when he saw the second prince approaching and quickly hid behind Su Rui.
The Second Prince tactfully stopped in his tracks. Looking at the timid, little white rabbit-like Tang Yuli, his heart fluttered. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Second Miss Tang, why are you still so afraid? You and I are supposed to be husband and wife. What a pity."
Feeling the fear in the eyes from the depths of his memory, Tang Yuli hid back again, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Su Rui held her hand tightly and said, "The Second Prince is already engaged to Miss Wang. Talking about these past events now would be disrespectful to Miss Wang's reputation. Besides, if the Second Prince invited us here just to talk about these things, then we'll take our leave."
"Concubine Su has already given birth to two children, but why is she still so irritable?" The Second Prince sighed helplessly, then smiled and said, "We're going to enjoy the scenery on the lake today, so let's not talk about unhappy things. The cabin is fully prepared. Concubine Su, would you be willing to come and see it?"
"Okay." Su Rui agreed immediately.
The second prince nodded with satisfaction and personally led the way to the cabin.
The cabin is extremely large, with one floor connected through it. The windows on both sides are made of glazed glass, allowing you to enjoy the lake scenery without being blown by the cold wind due to opening the windows.
The charcoal stove in the corner controlled the temperature just right, the musicians played the piano to accompany the guests, and two rows of long tables were placed with fruits and snacks. Although there didn't seem to be many people sitting there, the place was big, and even if it wasn't crowded, there were nearly a hundred people.
They are similar to the people on the deck, except that their family backgrounds are lower. However, they all have a say in the court or come from powerful families. It can be said that all the second-generation rich people in Shengjing City are gathered on this ship.
There are even wolf cubs.
He sat at the very end, with his head tilted, not looking at Su Rui.
Seeing Su Rui frowning slightly, the Second Prince said proudly, "The view upstairs is even better. Concubine Su, are you still looking?"
"Oh? Your Highness won't take my life, will he?"
The Second Prince laughed, "Concubine Su, you are joking. How could I dare to do that now? Besides, the secret guards behind you are not pushovers. Or is Concubine Su afraid?"
"Some." Su Rui said without hesitation, "But since Your Highness said so, I believe Your Highness."
"please."
The second prince stretched out his hand and walked up the stairs.
Su Rui let go of Tang Yuli's hand and signaled with his eyes that Liuli should stay and take care of him.
But just as she let go and before she could take a step, Tang Yuli grabbed her hand again and tried to take a step up while trembling.
Hearing the commotion below, the Second Prince turned around and looked at it with interest, saying, "It's no problem to go along with it."
Feeling Tang Yuli's body tense up instantly after hearing the Second Prince's teasing voice, he gently squeezed her hand and whispered, "Don't force yourself. I'll be fine."
Tang Yuli looked at her, then at the Second Prince standing on the stairs. There was a hint of complexity in her simple and clear eyes that had not been there before. Then, she took a step forward and landed on the stairs, indicating her decision.
This was a rare big progress in a long time. Liuli looked at Su Rui with some excitement and fear, not knowing what to do.
Su Rui also hesitated.
The Second Prince is the main culprit that caused Tang Yuli to be in this situation. His heart disease is the most complicated. Perhaps if he fails to overcome this hurdle, it may only make things more stimulating and worse.
"It seems that Miss Tang wants to go and see the scenery up there." The Second Prince was enjoying the fun and tilted his head, waiting for their next decision.
Su Rui wanted to sew his torn mouth shut, but facing the determination in Tang Yuli's eyes, she finally held her hand, turned around and walked up together.
The second prince didn't care about the result. He curled his lips and continued walking up.
There were rooms above, and the second prince walked all the way to the innermost room, which was also the one closest to the deck. He pushed open the door and faced a large transparent glazed wall. Due to the height, the scenery outside was in full view.
The lake, the maple leaves, the reflections, the countless flower boats… You can even see the tall buildings in the distance, towering like mountain tops, and you can reach out and touch the clouds when you stand on them.
That was the altar in the palace. Yun Ji presided over the Buddha's birthday ceremony there. It was also the first time Su Rui met the emperor. If a new emperor ascended the throne, he would first go up to the altar to inform the gods of heaven and earth.
"For the past few nights, Abbot Kongming has been observing the stars in the Observatory. Concubine Su, what do you think he is observing and calculating?" The Second Prince asked as he stood in front of the glazed wall, looking at the back of the altar, where he could only see a corner of the Observatory.
"I don't know how to stargaze, so I'm afraid your Highness has asked the wrong person." Su Rui sat down on the chair without any hesitation, as if she was the owner of this big ship.
The Second Prince looked back and saw that she had already taken her seat. He said meaningfully, "This palace feels that he is looking at the young uncle and calculating the vast territory of the Great Zhao."
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