Duanmin County Princess
The most important affairs of the country are sacrifices and wars. This year, there have been frequent wars. The war between the northern border and the Qingning Tuqi tribe has not been going smoothly, and the northwest has been invaded by the Qingning Take tribe. The country is not at peace. The emperor therefore attaches great importance to the last sacrifice at the end of the year. The Ministry of Rites began preparing for the ceremony more than three months ago, and finally everything was basically ready half a month before the ceremony. The emperor, civil and military officials, and scholars participating in the ceremony must fast for half a month, burn incense and bathe to show their sincerity.
The Ministry of Rites was still haunted by last year's final sacrifice. Although the ceremony was not delayed in the end, Grand Tutor Wang lost a grandson. In addition, things were not going well in Xiangping this year. Although the civil and military officials did not dare to say anything due to the power of the Wang family, they could not help but wonder in their hearts whether it was because Wang Zheng had desecrated the ceremony that the gods were angry.
Xiao Luochen was chosen to lead the chant again this year without any surprise. In order to prevent the Wang Zheng incident last year from happening again, the Ministry of Rites arranged for Xiao Luochen to live in the royal temple half a month in advance. There were special people to take care of his food, clothing, and daily life. It was more like surveillance than care.
Although Xiao Luochen was not one for excitement, he was still bored after being confined to the temple for seven days straight. Su Musong had run home crying that day, and no one knew how he was doing now. Although Xiao Luochen had smashed his snow sculpture with such determination, he regretted it deeply when he thought about it afterwards. Although he could not answer Su Musong's question, he could not let go of the friendship he had built with Su Musong over the years. He was angry because of Su Musong, and seventy percent because of himself, but he took it all out on Su Musong. Xiao Luochen felt bad, but he didn't know how to face Su Musong. In addition, his current life as a prisoner made him even more depressed.
The weather this winter is quite strange. A few days ago, it was snowing and bitingly cold, but these past two days, the sky is bright and the sun is shining brightly, giving people the illusion that it is already spring.
Xiao Luochen sat on the rooftop, lost in thought, gazing into the distance. Unable to leave the temple, he could only ascend and gaze into the distance. All he could see were layers of mountains, a dull sight after a while. The warmth of the sun on his body made him feel lazy. Xiao Luochen sat there blankly, his heart still calm. Suddenly, he felt that it would be wonderful to sit there quietly until the end of time.
"What are you looking at?"
This crisp question obviously came from a young girl, and it seemed particularly abrupt in this quiet Buddhist temple guarded by guards, so much so that Xiao Luochen wondered if he was hallucinating.
“Isn’t the scenery up there beautiful?”
It was definitely a young girl.
Xiao Luochen looked towards the courtyard. The girl was wearing a goose yellow dress and had a pretty face. Although she was not as extraordinary as Changsun Chenqian, she was still a beautiful and pretty lady.
"There's nothing but hills upon hills, which is not really beautiful."
"Then it seems you are too bored, otherwise how could you be fascinated by such a boring scenery? I'll go up and accompany you."
The girl was not shy at all. Before Xiao Luochen could refuse, she landed lightly beside him.
"Your Qinggong is pretty good."
"Thank you for the compliment, I think it's good too."
The girl sat down next to Xiao Luochen, took out a bag of melon seeds from her small backpack, opened it and handed it to Xiao Luochen.
Xiao Luochen did not take it and asked
"What do you want from me, young lady?"
"I just came to chat with you."
"A noble lady like you would bypass layers of guards and risk your reputation just to chat with me?"
Xiao Luochen's questioning was merciless, and the look he gave the girl, whose intentions were unknown, was rare and sharp, but the girl did not show any guilt at all.
"I haven't introduced myself yet, so how do you know I'm a noble lady?"
"First, ordinary people can't enter this temple. Second, the hairpin on your head comes from Linglong Pavilion, which only serves officials. Third, the spices used to fry these melon seeds come from a small town in the northern part of Hanyun. The annual production is very small, and only Fangsu Zhai is willing to use it to fry melon seeds."
"I've heard that Prime Minister Xiao is honest, but I didn't expect that your knowledge of the latest gadgets in the capital is no less than that of those playboys."
The girl did not refute, her expression was frank, and she was merciless when teasing Xiao Luochen.
"It's just because a good friend of mine runs this business, and I've seen a lot of it. It has nothing to do with my father, so don't get the wrong idea."
Seeing Xiao Luochen's angry face, the girl realized that she had spoken out of turn and quickly apologized.
"The Prime Minister is known to everyone for his integrity and honesty. I have offended you. Please forgive me, young master."
Xiao Luochen was not a petty person. Seeing the girl's sincere attitude, he no longer cared about it.
"The girl hasn't answered yet, what do you want from me?"
"I really came here to chat with you."
"I only chat with people I know. This girl's background is unknown, so I think it's better for me to stay away from her."
Xiao Luochen was about to stand up after he finished speaking. Seeing this, the girl became anxious and blurted out
"I am the Princess of Duanmin County!"
Princess Duanmin is the daughter of Princess Jingyang and Marquis Wuning. The girl seems to be about the same age as them, but Marquis Wuning is stationed at the southeastern border. Why would the princess come to the capital for no reason?
Seeing Xiao Luochen's suspicion, Duanmin County Master had to explain
"My father went to the northwest to provide assistance. My mother and I arrived in Beijing a few days ago."
The southeast was stable, but the northwest was in a tense situation. It was reasonable to dispatch Marquis Wuning for reinforcement. In order to hold Marquis Wuning, who held a large number of troops, hostage, the emperor ordered Princess Jingyang and Princess Duanmin to be brought back to Kyoto, which was also reasonable.
"So it's County Lady Duanmin. I wonder what you want to talk to me about?"
Xiao Luochen sat down again. His intuition told him that Lady Duanmin was not acting on impulse, but was well prepared.
“I…I am…”
Duan Min changed from her previous calm and composed demeanor to become shy and awkward, leaving Xiao Luochen completely confused.
"What does the county lord want to say?"
"I... I have a crush on someone..."
"County Lady, why did you tell me that you have a sweetheart?"
Xiao Luochen didn't understand why the county lady had a lover and came to tell him something. Could it be that person was him?!
Duanmin County Lady's face was visibly red all the way to her ears.
"Because... because that person is you..."
It was really me! Xiao Luochen was shocked and almost couldn't sit still.
"ah?!"
"It's your good friend Su Musong!"
"Oh, it's Mu Song."
After hearing this answer, Xiao Luochen didn't feel much relieved.
"Why did the county lady tell me?"
He and Su Musong have been almost inseparable over the years, and he didn't even know when Su Musong caught the eye of County Master Duanmin.
Duanmin County Lady was stunned for a moment, then answered
"I want to know more about him, but it's not easy to go to him. You are very close to him, and everyone in Kyoto knows it, so I have no choice but to ask you."
Although this answer sounds blunt, it is reasonable.
"I see. As far as I know, Mu Song doesn't seem to know the county lady. I wonder why the county lady would take him so seriously?"
Duanmin County Lady pondered for a moment and replied
"Well... last year on the first moon, I saw him saving you and teaching Wang Zheng a lesson on the long street. I thought he had the demeanor of a chivalrous man and was considerate and attentive to those around him, so I secretly fell in love with him."
Xiao Luochen didn't expect that there were other people present at the time, but Su Musong and he had never mentioned to anyone that Wang Zheng had injured him, and Wang Zheng was even less likely to publicize it. If County Master Duanmin had not been there, it would have been impossible for her to know the details.
Seeing that Xiao Luochen did not respond, County Master Duanmin felt a little uneasy.
"Sir, don't you believe it?"
"There's no point in believing or not believing something like this. You don't need a reason to like someone. The only reason you need is when you clearly like someone but want to distance yourself from them."
Lady Duanmin listened to Xiao Luochen mumbling about his likes and dislikes, but she couldn't hear what he was saying, nor did she know whether he was talking to himself or to her.
"What are you mumbling about?"
"No, I believe the county lady. I wonder what the county lady wants to know about Mu Song?"
"I heard that you and him have been inseparable since childhood. So tell me your story with him."
Thousands of scenes flashed through Xiao Luochen's mind about the story with Su Musong, and he didn't know where to start.
"Looks like we're going to talk for a long time? Then let's go down first. Although the weather is warm today, the wind up here is still a bit chilly. You're weak, so it's better to be careful."
The county lady didn't look like a considerate person, but unexpectedly she was so considerate, which made Xiao Luochen look at her with admiration.
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