074. Laughing Stock

"What are you looking at?"

Liang Shenyu's voice suddenly rang in his ears, and Rong Se came back to his senses. He shook his head and said, "Nothing."

The affairs of the young couple had nothing to do with him.

"Today," Liang Shenyu whispered in his ear, with a smile and ambiguity in his words, "The whole Jin capital knows that I am the prince's man."

Marquis Dingbei came to the Xi family's banquet with the Prince Regent, and embarrassed Liu Chi in public, which was enough to declare Marquis Dingbei's position to the world.

Rong Se's possessiveness was greatly satisfied by Liang Shenyu's words.

In order to please Liang Shenyu, Rong Jing gave him a golden seal and purple ribbon, and made him a high-ranking official, but so what? A despicable hypocrite like him could only deceive a fool like Cao Haoyun.

Lychee wine was sweet but intoxicating. Rongse drank a little too much, but he himself could not hold his liquor well, and soon his eyes and brows were filled with a hazy drunkenness, his cheeks were rouge, but he was honest, neither making a fuss nor moving. He supported his cheek with one hand, looking at the children of the noble families playing with a confused look, but also distracted, as if he was looking at somewhere farther.

"Liang Shenyu." Rong Se murmured, "They are so noisy."

Liang Shenyu looked at the drunken Regent with interest, and went in to whisper, "How about we go to a quieter place?"

Rong Se liked quietness. His mind was actually still clear at this moment. He even realized that he might be drunk. Drunk people would not lose their reason, let alone lose control of themselves. Rong Se was just more frank than usual and nodded gently: "Then take me there."

"Okay." Liang Shenyu stood up and said to Yun Chu, "The prince is drunk. I will take him to sober him up. You guys stay away and follow him. Don't let others get close."

Yun Chu lowered his eyebrows and responded.

Liang Shenyu turned around and held out his hand to Rong Se, saying softly, "Can you stand steadily?"

Rong Se knew what the situation was, so he lazily held his hand, used it to stand up, then took it back, took two steady steps, and nodded lazily: "You're not so drunk that you can't even walk."

Liang Shenyu raised his eyebrows.

He was quite sober, his pronunciation was clear, his mind was also clear, but he looked a little lazy, which made his already gorgeous eyebrows and eyes look affectionate, and soft light like stars was lingering in his eyes.

"Then - please move aside, Your Majesty."

He walked calmly, and if it weren't for his slightly red cheeks and dazed expression, one would never have known that he was drunk.

Liang Shenyu asked for directions while walking with Rong Se until they stopped at a winding river and mountain scenery outside the courtyard.

The gurgling water rolls down from the mountain wall, the fragrance of osmanthus wafts here, the fragrance of flowers surges, and osmanthus falls into the spring.

There are also beautiful scenes in autumn.

Further ahead is the water pavilion where guests can sober up and rest. It is quiet here, with only the sound of rustling leaves. However, the non-slip gravel road underfoot is rough, and Rongse frowned as he walked. His steps became unsteady and he suddenly stumbled.

Then I fell into a familiar embrace.

The mist-like fragrance of the distant mountains was tinged with the aroma of osmanthus, and a low laugh came to my ears.

"Are you drunk or not?"

Rong Se lay in his arms, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "Drunk."

Liang Shenyu was surprised. He didn't expect the drunkard to admit it himself. He laughed: "Are you really drunk?"

Rong Se nodded.

"If I wasn't drunk, I should push you away now." Rong Se's voice was full of laziness. He buried his face in Liang Shenyu's chest and said sullenly, "You're still outside. Do you really want the world to know about our private relationship?"

Liang Shenyu stroked the hair that fell on his shoulders and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Why not?"

Rong Se was lifted up by someone's chin, and a kiss fell on his lips.

Liang Shenyu plundered Rong Se with a kiss that still smelled of wine, and whispered to her lips, "I'm not afraid."

Rong Se frowned and turned his face away, taking two deep breaths. He was really a little drunk. He turned his head and stared at Liang Shenyu for a moment, then suddenly said softly, "You commanded the Jinbei Iron Cavalry and defeated the Xiongnu several times. You have made great contributions and your position is solid. You could have stayed far away from the Great Wall and didn't need to get involved in the mess between Rong Jing and me."

"Your Majesty, I have never thought of staying outside the Great Wall forever." Liang Shenyu kissed his ear and whispered, "What if I said that from the beginning, my goal was to be above everyone else?"

Rong Se looked up in astonishment, and the alcohol in his body had dissipated a lot in an instant, "You don't want to..."

"Not really." Liang Shenyu placed his fingertips on Rong Se's slightly opened lips and chuckled, "I'm not coveting that position, but I don't want to put my life and property in the hands of others like my father and brother did."

When mentioning this, Liang Shenyu's eyes dimmed slightly.

"Leaving behind only a handful of dirt and two words of praise, he died in an unclear manner."

Rong Se regretted mentioning his sorrow and gently stroked the back of Liang Shenyu's palm, "I'm sorry, I..."

"This has nothing to do with you." Liang Shenyu held his hand and interlocked his fingers. "I don't care about the so-called good reputation, nor am I afraid of being cursed. I chose the path I want to take a long time ago. This path is destined to be full of dangers. But Prince - you gave me another way. If it's for you, there's nothing wrong with just being a Dingbei Marquis who expands the territory."

Liang Shenyu always felt that Rong Se was different. He was gentle, kind, righteous and aloof. He was the most eye-catching pearl among the masses.

"What's more..."

Liang Shenyu laughed again: "It's not bad to share the blame with the prince. When I helped the new emperor ascend the throne, didn't the prince let bygones be bygones?"

Rong Se said nothing.

I thought that this was because the core had been replaced that night at the palace banquet. If it was the original owner, he would definitely fight you to the death.

The two of them hugged each other in silence for a while. When Rong Se's drunkenness had mostly dissipated, Liang Shenyu said softly, "Let's go to the water pavilion to rest for a while. We'll be back home soon."

Rong Se slowly felt a headache and nodded dejectedly, then walked towards the water pavilion pointed out by the servant with Liang Shenyu.

There is also an osmanthus tree outside the water pavilion, with clusters of osmanthus flowers on the branches, and the wind is filled with rich fragrance. Under the tree is a graceful figure in a goose yellow skirt, with a hairpin and pearl flowers in her bun, dancing gracefully under the tree.

Rong Se was silent for a moment. He was sure that this person was not wearing the cross-collared dress of the women of the Dajin Dynasty, but a specially customized dance costume with flying ribbons and exquisite embroidery. The half-naked shoulders were decorated with clusters of osmanthus flowers, and the dress spread around the neck to the lapels.

This situation and scene are extremely strange.

Based on his extensive reading of novels, Rong Se guessed that this person was arranged here early on to wait for the Northern Marquis to take over.

The royalists tried to seize the bargaining chips of Dingbei Hou.

a woman.

Liang Shenyu, who had never understood romance except when he was teasing Rongse, looked gloomy and shouted, "Who are you?"

The woman had clearly seen someone coming, but she pretended to be frightened and turned around gracefully, saying in a soft voice: "I..."

He had just uttered one word when he saw that there were actually two people coming. His eyes widened suddenly and his words were choked.

Rong Se smiled, "When the servant led the way, he said that this was the water pavilion prepared for Marquis Dingbei. You are so brave, are you planning to assassinate him? Yun Chu——"

Yun Chu, who had been following in the dark, suddenly appeared.

"Capture her and send her to Xi Chaoyi. Ask him to explain what happened."

Yun Chu had no intention of showing sympathy to women. After Rong Se gave the order, he immediately stepped forward, twisted the woman's wrist and pushed her down.

"Wait, wait, I'm not an assassin!" The woman seemed to have just come back to her senses from her daze, feeling embarrassed and frightened, "I am, I am the daughter of the governor of Dianzhou! I just saw the flowers blooming here, and I was in a good mood to dance for fun!"

Rong Se was having a headache due to the alcohol, but he was not ashamed of Xi Chaoyi and Liu Chi's messy methods, so he was too lazy to say more and turned to look at Liang Shenyu.

Liang Shenyu understood and winked at Yun Chu, "Hold the person here, and ask Xi Chaoyi and Liu Chi to come over and identify her as the daughter of the governor of Dianzhou. This marquis and the prince will go in and wait."

Yun Chu nodded in understanding, tore off a ribbon on Liu Yuanyuan's body with one hand, tied her hands tightly, tied the other end to the tree trunk, and made a gesture to the darkness.

The secret guard who came carrying a food box and disguised as a servant also appeared.

"Did you hear that? Go ahead and do it."

Rong Se leaned on the short couch in the water pavilion, and could faintly hear the sobbing outside. He said to Liang Shenyu expressionlessly: "What on earth are they thinking? I thought they had some bargaining chips to win you over, but this is it?"

Liang Shenyu was already a high-ranking official. If one wanted to win him over, one had to offer generous conditions, such as increasing the military pay for the Jinbei Cavalry, or granting him a title of king and a fiefdom. But, this was the result?

Rong Se tried to please Marquis Dingbei himself and provided him with three meals a day and snacks.

Liang Shenyu was also somewhat helpless. He sat on top and held Rong Se in his arms, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "...To be honest, I never thought of that either."

Marriage is indeed the best way to stabilize the relationship between the two families, but they are not allies. What does he want this woman for? Feed horses or fight?

Someone was trying to seduce Liang Shenyu, so Rong Se was naturally not very happy. He grinned and sneered: "Governor of Dianzhou, the Liu family is not done with this."

First, she was disrespectful to him and Yan Shuang, and then she tried to seduce Liang Shenyu. The Liu family hit Rong Se's traps one by one. Rong Se rarely loses his temper because it is unnecessary, which does not mean that he really has no temper.

What's more, he cares so much about Liang Shenyu.

Rong Se glanced over, smiling but not smiling, but speaking softly: "Sanlang, you are quite attractive."

"…Unfair." Liang Shenyu massaged the acupuncture points on his forehead and coaxed him, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. Apart from you, no one else can win my heart. Why should I be angry with them?"

Having said this, Liang Shenyu was secretly happy.

Anger and concern for Rongse.

"Knowing is knowing, being angry is being angry, these are two different things." Rong Se was rubbed comfortably by him, closed his eyes and snorted, "They asked for this shame, of course I have to help them."

Soon, Xi Chaoyi, Liu Chi and others hurried over, along with the rest of the young men and women who wanted to see the excitement, and arrived at the water pavilion in a mighty procession.

Then he saw Liu Yuanyuan tied to a tree like a horse.

Liu Yuanyuan was crying so hard that her delicate makeup was ruined, her exquisite hair was scattered, and even many of her expensive gold hairpins fell off. When she saw people coming, she wanted to cry to her cousin and brother Xi Chaoyi, but she was surrounded by a group of people and cried even more miserably.

Xi Chaoyi's face was extremely ugly. Even though he had guessed it, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat after seeing it with his own eyes. He almost asked a question through his teeth, "What... is going on?"