When Lan Xiuyuan walked in, he saw Shu Lingxi already sitting properly to the side, holding a teacup and gently watching the petals floating on it.
With a smile that perfectly suited him, Lan Xiuyuan strode up to Shu Lingxi and bowed respectfully, saying, "Nephew greets Aunt!"
Shu Lingxi looked up at Lan Xiuyuan, slowly placed the teacup in her hand on the table, and said with a smile, "The Prince has arrived! Please sit down!"
Lan Xiuyuan stood up, sat down to the side, and said with a smile, "What do you mean by 'Prince'? Auntie, it's better to just call me Xiuyuan. Otherwise, people will think I'm being presumptuous!"
As soon as Lan Xiuyuan sat down, the people below quickly brought him a teacup, placed it in front of him, and then bowed and withdrew.
Shu Lingxi looked at Lan Xiuyuan, her smile becoming even more gentle and beautiful: "Alright! Since Xiuyuan says so, I won't bother with those court rules. After all, we're all family. It's better to talk in the house in a relaxed atmosphere!"
Lan Xiuyuan nodded with a smile: "That's exactly right!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Shu Lingxi looked at Lan Xiuyuan with some curiosity and asked, "Xiuyuan, what brings you to your aunt's today? You children are all grown up now, and you have so many things to do. Is there something you need?"
Lan Xiuyuan smiled gently, then seemed a little embarrassed and said shyly, "Auntie, hearing you say that makes me feel a bit ashamed! Actually, I came here today because I have something I'd like to ask you for help with!"
"Oh? You need my help? That's strange! I wonder what could possibly require our dashing Fifth Prince to seek assistance?"
Actually, Shu Lingxi wasn't being deliberately curious; it was simply that Lan Xiuyuan had never needed to ask for help before. Not only was he a prince himself, but he also had Hu Tianyong as a powerful figure behind him, so there was really nothing he needed to ask for assistance with.
Lan Xiuyuan blushed almost instantly after Shu Lingxi said that, and lowered his head, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Auntie, if you put it that way, I'll be even more embarrassed to speak!"
Shu Lingxi chuckled as she watched Lan Xiuyuan put on an act in front of her. "Alright! What's there to be embarrassed about in front of your aunt? Hurry up and tell me, your aunt is dying of curiosity! Or I'll just say, that's your only flaw, you're too shy. You get so embarrassed whenever you open your mouth. You should learn from your brother, look at Lin Xue, when has she ever been embarrassed!"
Qin Kou'er was eavesdropping from behind when she heard Shu Lingxi say such things about her beloved, and she couldn't help but smile wryly.
That's right, no wonder people say that about Lan Linxue. She's so thick-skinned that she doesn't know what embarrassment or shame is!
Just as Qin Kou'er was straining her ears to hear what Lan Xiuyuan wanted to ask for, another head suddenly popped up next to her, startling her so much that she almost slapped it away.
As soon as she opened her eyes wide, she saw Lan Qingtian make a shushing gesture, then, with an even more puzzled and gossipy expression than her, she pressed her ear hard against the curtain.
It was obvious that Lan Qingtian, who had been overlooked, also knew about Lan Xiuyuan's visit to Shu Lingxi, which is why she came over to eavesdrop.
Qin Kou'er secretly smiled, and then she and Lan Qingtian tacitly lay down behind her, eavesdropping intently.
Hearing Shu Lingxi say this, Lan Xiuyuan looked up and earnestly said, "Auntie, it's like this. As you know, my grandfather's birthday is in five days. I've been anxious these past few days about what gift to give him. I thought about going out to buy something, but nothing seems quite right. It doesn't seem like I'm showing him enough respect. So, I thought about getting him a special gift. But I just can't come up with anything..."
When Shu Lingxi heard Lan Xiuyuan mention this, she nodded in agreement. "The Prince and I are also struggling with this issue! This year is Lord Hu's sixtieth birthday. No matter what, we are relatives with the Hu family, so we should at least present a gift from Xiangyang to show our sincerity. However, the Prime Minister has seen it all, so I'm worried about what to give him!"
As she spoke, Shu Lingxi let out a long sigh, sounding somewhat troubled.
Lan Qingtian couldn't stand his wife sighing. When he heard her worrying about that bastard Hu Tianyong, he clenched his fist in anger.
Bah! What should I give him? Would it be unique enough to send him the execution of his entire family? I'm afraid he'd dare to give it, but wouldn't dare to accept it.
Seeing Shu Lingxi frown slightly, Lan Xiuyuan quickly smiled and comforted her, "Auntie, please don't be like that! You said it yourself, we are all related by marriage after all, so what we give is appropriate! Besides, we are, after all, members of the royal family, while Lord Hu is just a court official. It is already a great favor that we can go. As for what we give, that is not important! The Prime Minister will not care about such things!"
Shu Lingxi nodded with relief as she watched Lan Xiuyuan use "our" repeatedly, clearly defining the relationship between them. "Xiuyuan, what you said is insightful. But even so, we should still send something decent. Otherwise, wouldn't others laugh at us for being impolite?"
Lan Xiuyuan looked at Shu Lingxi, his eyes flashing. "Auntie, you've thought of everything perfectly! How about this, Auntie? A few days ago, someone sent me a mountain of eight-treasure coral and pearls. It's nothing special in itself, but what's remarkable is that this coral is covered with pearls, which look exceptionally dazzling under the candlelight. Moreover, the pearls aren't small, and they're all naturally distributed, densely packed, like a mountain of pearls. If Auntie doesn't mind, I'll have someone send it over right away. Consider it a gift from Auntie and Seventh Uncle to Grandpa. What do you think, Auntie?"
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