"You want to visit the temple fair and watch the lanterns at night?" The eldest princess was stunned when she heard this, not knowing what she was remembering.

"It's not me, it's Mingyue, it's Mingyue, mother!"

The young master felt guilty. Although Zhao Hao helped him to cover up his crime of not coming home that day and night, he could not escape the death penalty. His mother ordered him to go home before dark every day, otherwise he would not be allowed to go out even during the day...

"Mom, I told Brother Zhao before the New Year that I would take him to the temple fair." In front of Zhao Shouzheng, Li Mingyue naturally looked like a lady, nodded gently and said softly:

"It happens that tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and big brother hasn't seen the Aoshan Lanterns yet."

"You have to take a look. It's rare to see it." The princess said to her daughter with a smile, "There is only one Lantern Festival a year. Have fun. It doesn't matter if you come back late."

"Well, thank you, mom. You're the best." Li Mingyue was so happy. If Uncle Zhao hadn't been there, she would have kissed him long ago.

The young county lady has been very worried these past two days, wondering if she would be implicated by her brother and not be able to see the lights tomorrow night.

"Keep an eye on your sister, don't just play around." The eldest princess glared at her son and said, "How many days have you not been to the coal yard?"

"Didn't my eldest brother not go either?" Li Chengen muttered softly, "I think if I don't go, it will be of the greatest help to them..."

"Humph, you are quite self-aware." The eldest princess was amused by her son and waved her hand, saying, "Go down."

After her children left, the princess thought for a moment and said to Zhao Shouzheng with a slight stammer: "Brother, why don't we... also... tomorrow..."

"Uh..." Zhao Shouzheng's ears turned red immediately, and Liu Shanggong was still beside him.

Although it was estimated that the old lady knew everything, Mr. Zhao was still very embarrassed and waved his hand quickly, saying, "I have to go into seclusion tomorrow. I'm afraid I don't have time."

"Don't the children want to go see the lanterns?" the eldest princess asked hurriedly.

"Proficiency comes from diligence, while laziness leads to failure..." Mr. Zhao said with a red face and shook his head.

Seeing that Zhao Lang refused to agree, the princess was about to cry and looked to Liu Shang Gong for help.

Liu Shang Gong thought that it would be better not to agree, but seeing the pitiful look of His Highness, she could only sigh and said, "Zhao Xiaolian is wrong. Understanding the people's feelings is the right thing to do."

"Oh?" Mr. Zhao was stunned.

"Yes, I want you to accompany me to understand the people's sentiments." The princess understood immediately and smiled:

"Look, I have been providing relief to the refugees for so long, but I still haven't visited the porridge factory. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, so please accompany me. What's wrong with staying in seclusion for a day later?"

"Is that so..." With a legitimate reason, Zhao Shouzheng finally nodded reluctantly and said, "Well, I am most familiar with the situation of the porridge factory. I will accompany Your Highness tomorrow."

The princess was immediately overjoyed, and in an instant, she had already outlined the route and arrangements for tomorrow's trip. She suppressed her excitement and said, "Brother, don't come to the Tenth Prince's Palace tomorrow. Just wait for me outside the West Gate early in the morning."

"Yes." Zhao Shouzheng didn't dare to ask how early it was. His heart was beating fast and he felt like he was about to faint.

~~

When Mr. Zhao returned on his cotton pad, Lady Liu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Didn't Your Highness say that just meeting and talking like this would satisfy you?"

"Ah, did I say that?" The princess was stunned for a moment, then she took Lady Liu's hand and said pitifully:

"I won't be able to see Zhao Lang for a month. After the Spring Examination, he won't come back to the porridge shop anymore. From now on, even seeing him often will be a luxury...Tomorrow, let me have a good time, okay?"

Liu Shang Gong thought to herself, you are so happy. If the truth comes out, I will be beaten to death. There is probably no other Shang Gong in the Ming Dynasty who keeps his head on his belt all day long...

But since the princess begged so softly, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and said, "Okay, I'll discuss with the old lady later to see how we can help cover for His Highness tomorrow."

"Yes." The princess was immediately overjoyed and counted on her fingers, "Tomorrow I will go to the Chenghuang Temple Market first, then visit Houhai, go to Dongsipai after dark, and finally go to the Lantern Market..."

Liu Shanggong's mouth twitched when she heard this, thinking that it was a good plan. But she had to bite the bullet and remind him, "Your Highness, it seems that the young master and the county lady will also go to the temple fair and the lantern fair tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I have already considered this." The princess's pretty face flushed with excitement, and she spoke very quickly:

"Let's go to Baiyun Temple early tomorrow. When we finish our business, Mingyue and the others will definitely finish visiting the temple fair and go to Dongsi Pai for lunch. We can then visit the temple fair peacefully, then go to Houhai with Zhao Lang to reminisce about the past, and then go to Dongsi Pai after dark. By then, they will definitely have finished visiting Dongsi Pai and rushed to the Lantern Fair to grab a seat. We can eat something at Dongsi Pai, and then go to Donghuamen after the lanterns are lit. By then, everyone will be busy looking at the lanterns, so who will care about people?"

"Uh..." Liu Shanggong didn't expect that His Highness had already made such a detailed plan.

But she still wanted to dissuade the princess from looking at the lights at night - it would be too difficult to do so without being able to hide it from the Jinyiwei who were protecting her highness.

"Your Highness has good intentions, but you forgot that tomorrow the streets will be deserted. The people of the capital will all be gathered at Donghua Gate. If you go too late, you won't be able to see anything. It is better to return home early to be safe."

"So I need you to help me reserve a seat in advance." The eldest princess said with a smile.

"Oh..." Liu Shanggong felt that she should really take a good look at where would be the most suitable place to hang herself.

~~

Chunsong Hutong.

Zhao Hao waited at home for three days but did not receive any invitation from Zhang Juzheng, which made him feel very disappointed.

I couldn't help but wonder, could it be that my idol has changed his mind?

But you can't just rashly visit him/her, as that would seem too much of a pushover and make your idol look down on you.

Besides, what if he was rejected? His fragile heart couldn't bear the blow.

Zhao Hao had no choice but to suppress the matter deep in his heart for the time being, and rely on clenching his fists and pulling out his tendons to adjust his depressed mood.

After more than ten days, under the strict supervision of Brother Gao, he could barely use his left leg to hook his right fist from behind.

Today, I will make a concerted effort to perform the fourth move - 'Continuous Punch and Kick Stance' in its entirety.

Zhao Hao was practicing boxing with Brother Gao in the courtyard.

At the front gate, the Yu brothers who were guarding the gate were talking to a thin, monkey-like young man with rolling eyes.

The young man was also in his early twenties, a whole head shorter than the long-legged brother, but he was wearing a round collar of a scholar. He pointed at the wooden board on the door and asked with a smile: "What do you mean?"

"Don't you understand?" Yu Shensi said in a muffled voice, "You have to understand geometry to be qualified to enter this door."

"That's right. You have to be able to solve at least five problems independently to be qualified to become my master's disciple." Yu Shenxing also explained seriously.

"Hey, you thought it was a very difficult thing." Upon hearing this, the young man took out a book "Geometry" from his sleeve and threw it to Yu Shensi, saying, "I have been in there three times."

Yu Shensi opened the booklet and looked through it. Sure enough, he saw the proofs of more than a dozen propositions written in pencil on the blank spaces of the pages.

"Not bad." Yu Shensi took a quick look and found it to be basically correct. He nodded in appreciation and thought to himself, this junior fellow is better than me...

He knew that his master would be delighted to have such a smart scholar want to become his disciple.

"Can I go in?" The young scholar raised his head.

"Please come in, sir. I have yet to ask your name." Yu Shenxing clasped his fists towards him and stepped aside to make way.

The scholar lifted his robe and walked over the threshold, smiling, "My name is Jin Xuezeng, and I live in the Hangzhou Guild Hall."

"It's Brother Jin." The long-legged brother was about to introduce himself, but he saw that Jin Xuezeng had just stepped over the threshold, then jumped back and jumped out of the threshold again.

"goodbye!"

ps. Second update, please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes~~~