Chapter 69 What kind of girl will he like...?
Ever since Si Jiamu's marriage was arranged, Huo Lu has been living in constant fear, afraid that if Princess Sheng Ning backs down, she will think of him again.
Yang Jiarong said, "I can give you a good idea. Our Ayin is also of marriageable age..."
Huo Lu hurriedly said, "Stop! I treat you like a brother, but you want to harm me. Your sister is very famous. If I marry her, I'll be in deep trouble."
Yang Jiarong said, "What are you saying? Although Ayin is a bit spoiled, she is not as bad as you make her out to be. Besides, your family background is weak. If you can get in touch with my family, it will truly be beneficial to you in every way."
Huo Lu said, "A real man should earn fame and fortune himself, not rely on his wife's connections."
He didn't say it explicitly, but now that he and the Crown Prince have such a good relationship, the days when the imperial examination system was established by the late emperor, and the high-ranking officials had no poor families and the low-ranking officials had no noble families, are probably gone forever.
He mocked, "Your newlywed wife is famously virtuous and gentle. You have a beautiful wife yourself, yet you want me to marry your sister. I'm not saying this lightly, but if your sister causes trouble, I won't be able to clean up the mess."
Yang Jiarong thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.
Jia Yin is used to speaking her mind without restraint, and she does everything according to her heart.
Her father had previously considered sending her to the palace, but the Crown Prince is benevolent and wouldn't really do anything to her.
However, after only slightly hinting at this idea to the Emperor, the Emperor immediately declined.
That's fine, Yang Jiarong doesn't want Jiayin to enter the palace either.
Did he know that the Crown Prince and his childhood sweetheart had a very good relationship? If Jia Yin was sent to the palace, she would be fine as long as she behaved herself. But if she really started to compete with him, wouldn't she be destined to lose?
Thinking of this, Yang Jiarong's heart stirred, and she lowered her voice, "I'm really curious. Last year, His Highness was so determined to sever all ties with us. How come after he came back from his trip, he went straight to ask for an imperial decree to grant us a marriage? You've been by His Highness's side all this time, so you should know something, right?"
The two were walking down the street, where pedestrians came and went and vendors called out their wares.
Huo Lu was slightly taken aback, then said calmly, "It's nothing. As the saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns. When you can't see each other, the longing is even deeper, and you can see your own heart more clearly."
Yang Jiarong shook his folding fan, smiling as he shook his head. "In my opinion, that's not necessarily true. You just said you treated me like a brother, but now you're hiding it from me again..."
Huo Lu said, "There's a saying that goes, 'Cleverness can be one's downfall.' You've read more books than I have, so you should know this principle."
Yang Jiarong said awkwardly, "I was just asking casually. It's just the two of us in private, and no outsider would ever know."
Huo Lu thought to himself, "Young masters from aristocratic families are different from me. They have been knowledgeable and ambitious since childhood."
He wasn't as smart as these people, but that was also his advantage. He would do whatever his superiors told him to do without asking a single question.
He didn't want to talk about it anymore and tried to change the subject. "Don't talk about these unfounded things. Today I'm treating you to drinks. You can't refuse. You have to drink until you're drunk."
The two arrived at the restaurant and unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance. Xu Sheng, who had been on leave for many days, was already completely drunk and was still loudly calling for the waiter to bring more wine.
Huo Lu sighed, showing the self-awareness of a superior, stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and frowned, saying, "What's wrong with you? You've drunk so much. I haven't seen you on duty these past few days."
Xu Sheng looked up and struggled to recognize who it was, but without even a greeting, he lowered his head again and gulped down the last glass of wine.
Huo Lu was puzzled. Xu Sheng was now quite famous in the capital for his shamelessness, so why was he suddenly drinking here?
Yang Jiarong waved her fan and laughed, "Don't you know? The second young lady of the Chi family has reconciled with her ex-husband."
So that's how it is.
Huo Lu advised, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, why be hung up on just one? She already has a husband, and Brother Xu is handsome and has a bright future ahead of him, why interfere?"
Xu Sheng initially didn't want to pay him any attention, but after hearing his words, he sneered, "You've never been in love with anyone, so how would you know what I'm thinking?"
Huo Lu remained silent. He had never been in love with anyone. He wanted to, but he couldn't find a suitable woman.
The only people he interacted with most often, besides the two elderly women in his family who did the housework and cooking, were Xiaoman, the naive young man who would tip him off.
The first two are old enough to be his mother, but Xiaoman... although she's not young either, Huo Lu always feels that she's still a child, not a woman.
If he also had a childhood sweetheart, then he wouldn't have to worry about these things.
Although Xu Sheng spoke very rudely, Huo Lu didn't argue with a drunkard and even kindly took him home.
Yang Jiarong disliked Xu Shengshan's bandit background and frivolous behavior, so she had already run away.
Huo Lu had no intention of drinking after returning. He felt that drinking alone would only make him look like he was drinking alone in silence, which was no fun.
The early autumn sun is still quite glaring, but it's not so hot anymore. Spring and autumn are probably the most comfortable seasons.
He was touched by this scene of everyday life, and his heart calmed down. Undisturbed by fame and fortune, and unburdened by romantic love, things didn't seem so bad after all.
I strolled slowly to the side of the street, but little did I know that this tranquility would only last a moment before shattering into countless pieces.
He saw that Chi Yangqing was disguised in Hu clothing, and Xiaoman was not with her. Instead, another maid whose name he did not know was by her side. Both of them looked furtive.
Thinking back on this period of time, I wonder what happened to His Highness again, and his relationship with Miss Chi has become cold again.
The brain became the most fertile soil, and bad guesses sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Could it be that Chi Yangqing was going to run away from the wedding?
Along with this thought, cold sweat also broke out.
If Chi Yangqing really runs away, the Crown Prince will definitely go crazy.
He swallowed hard and cautiously followed.
Nowadays, it's common to see women wearing Hu clothing, so Yangqing wasn't particularly conspicuous.
He followed stealthily behind her, feeling slightly relieved. This wasn't the road out of the city, but the road to the East Market. However, he couldn't let his guard down; she might have other connections.
Ke Yangqing did nothing, no, to be precise, she didn't do anything strange.
He watched as Yang Qing wandered around the street stalls, bought some things, and just strolled aimlessly, looking here and there, doing whatever she pleased.
It wasn't until she sat down at a wonton stall that Huo Lu finally pretended to have bumped into her by chance and said, "Miss Chi, what a coincidence! I never thought I'd run into you here."
He glanced around at her several times in a pretentious manner before asking, "Where's Xiaoman? Is she slacking off again?"
Yang Qing was taken aback at first, but quickly calmed down and whispered, "No, I just don't want to bring her along."
Huo Lu sat down and asked casually, "Why are you dressed like this?"
Yang Qing had spent some time with him and knew his personality. Huo Lu wasn't the kind of person like Yang Jiarong who enjoyed watching the drama unfold.
She said slowly, "Don't go and tell Li Shangxuan that I'm so bored at home. My mother keeps forcing me to embroider my dowry, which is so boring. I wanted to go out, but she wouldn't let me, so I had no choice but to run away by myself."
When he finally got the information, Huo Lu was at a loss. He scratched his head, put the book down, and chuckled a few times, "So that's how it is."
Yang Qing said, "Let me treat you to some wontons."
Huo Lu originally wanted to take his leave. Although it was broad daylight and there were people coming and going, so he didn't have to worry about gossip, he felt very awkward sitting at the same table with the two girls.
But since the future Crown Princess had spoken, he could only obey respectfully. When the wontons were served, he slurped them down in just a few bites.
He could read, but he hadn't read many books and couldn't explain things clearly. He could only say "It tastes good" before drinking half of the soup in one gulp.
Yang Qing was stunned. She only took a bite of half a wonton, while Huo Lu finished the whole thing.
She had met many men before, including Li Shangxuan, her father, and her cousins. At banquets of all sizes, it was not uncommon for men and women to sit together. This was the first time she had sat at the same table as Huo Lu, and the first time she had ever seen such a way of eating.
Huo Lu was even more embarrassed, "I'm a rough person, my table manners might not be very good..."
Yang Qing smiled and shook her head: "It's just eating. As long as it's in your stomach, that's enough. What's the big deal?"
Looking at Huo Lu before her, she suddenly thought of Xu Yanran, who was nowhere to be found, and couldn't help but ask, "Lord Huo, do you have a girl you admire?"
Huo Lu almost choked on his own saliva, his face turning bright red, whether from coughing or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
After finally calming down, he carefully began, "I'm very sorry about what happened to Miss Xu last time, but..."
He was a mercenary man. If Xu Yanran were truly the woman he loved, he would naturally be willing to take the plunge and propose marriage to the Duke's mansion. However, he and Xu Yanran were just strangers who met by chance.
He was genuinely puzzled as to why the other person had suddenly fallen deeply in love with him.
Huo Lu felt that even if there were real feelings, it would take time. Without spending a long time together, and not even knowing what kind of person the other person was, how could one talk about liking or disliking them?
Yang Qing pursed her lips: "Xu Yanran's matter has nothing to do with you."
In fact, both Xu Pianran and she herself later realized that Xu Yanran's so-called love may have been genuine, but it was definitely the mentality of a drowning person grasping at the last straw.
Without a specific time and context, it's hard to say whether she would have liked Huo Lu.
"I'm just curious, Lord Huo, why don't you like Miss Xu? After all, she comes from a good family and is beautiful and gentle. Why aren't you moved by a woman like her?"
Huo Lu hesitated for a moment. He felt it was strange to talk to Chi Yangqing about these things, but since she had asked, he could only reply, "We're really not familiar with each other, and it's hard for me to explain..."
Because I don't know her well, I don't know what I like about her.
Because they weren't familiar with each other, they couldn't even say what they disliked about it.
Yang Qing changed her question: "Then, Lord Huo, what kind of woman do you like?"
Under the intense gaze, Huo Lu stammered, "Just be gentle, have a good temper, treat me well, and preferably be pretty too."
Yang Qing fell silent. In what way did Xu Yanran not fit the description?
If the two really have a chance to get to know each other, Huo Lu and Xu Yanran might actually become a couple.
Unfortunately, there aren't that many "what ifs" in this world.
Once you have one "what if," many more "what ifs" will follow, but the general direction will always be the same.
She squeezed the spoon in her hand, and finally couldn't help but ask, "So, what kind of girl do you think His Highness Crown Prince Li would like?"
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