"Miss, are you alright?"
Yang Qing shook her head: "It's nothing!"
But the maidservant thought she didn't seem to be alright.
Meanwhile, after returning, the Crown Prince instructed, "Investigate the person we met today."
The Crown Prince wasn't blind; he could easily tell that the man was dressed as a woman. Even in men's clothing, her beautiful appearance was undeniable, so the Crown Prince was naturally interested.
So I helped out when no one else was in trouble.
The next day, the Crown Prince found out who the beauty he had met the day before was. It was quite a coincidence that he had just made friends with Lord Yang, and now his daughter had caught his eye. In the Crown Prince's eyes, there couldn't be a more coincidental thing.
The Crown Prince was naturally pleased. Yang Qing's appearance was rare to see, and the two had met by chance again. The Crown Prince had taken a liking to her.
The eunuch serving the crown prince then said, "Your Highness, there is a flower-viewing banquet at the Yang residence this afternoon, and we have sent you an invitation."
The invitation was sent a few days ago. At that time, the Crown Prince was naturally not interested in the flower viewing banquet, but now it's different. There are people in the Yang residence who are of interest to him, so he will naturally have to go.
"Prepare the carriage, let's go to the Yang residence."
"Yes, sir."
While the Crown Prince was thinking that everything was alright, the Fourth Prince had seen the whole story of the Crown Prince's heroic rescue of the damsel in distress.
"Sir, would you like to attend the flower-viewing banquet at the Yang family's residence?"
The Fourth Prince shook his head: "I'm not going to join in the fun."
The Fourth Prince learned of Yang Qing's identity before the Crown Prince. After seeing her yesterday, he immediately sent people to follow her, never expecting that she was actually a young lady from the Yang family.
Originally, the Fourth Prince just wanted to see if the person was someone with ulterior motives who did it on purpose. After all, there are no such things as coincidences. Who knew it really was just a coincidence.
As for the Yang family, the Fourth Prince avoided them as much as possible. Compared to the Crown Prince and the First Prince, who had been making friends with officials these days, the Fourth Prince hadn't interacted with any officials since arriving. Instead, he spent most of his time wandering around Yangzhou Prefecture, which allowed him to see many things clearly. For example, he noticed that the Prefect of Yangzhou, Lord Yang, seemed to have some problems.
The Fourth Prince is outnumbered and outmatched. The Crown Prince is close to Lord Yang. Even if he has good intentions, if he jumps out at this time to criticize Lord Yang without any evidence, he will inevitably be disliked by both sides. He is not the kind of person who would do anything for the Crown Prince and disregard his own safety.
The Fourth Prince naturally avoided the Yang family residence, and he naturally wouldn't participate in the flower-viewing banquet either.
He doesn't get involved, but others do.
The Yang family's flower-viewing banquet was originally just an ordinary banquet, but because the Crown Prince was going, the First Prince and the Third Prince also got the news and naturally wanted to go and see it.
This made the Yang family's flower-viewing banquet quite lively.
The Yang family, including Madam Yang, did not expect that the Crown Prince, the First Prince, and the Third Prince would also come. However, it was not a bad thing. She quickly instructed the servants in the mansion to treat them well and not to neglect them.
They are not ordinary people; we can't afford to mess with them.
Both men and women can attend the Yang family's flower-viewing banquet, but it is held in two separate courtyards. To put it bluntly, it is more like a matchmaking banquet, but in a more subtle way.
"Sir, everything is arranged."
The crown prince nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.
This arrangement was for nothing other than to provide an opportunity for the Crown Prince to meet Yang Qing.
I don't know what the Crown Prince is thinking. Given his status, if he really told Prefect Yang that he had taken a liking to his daughter, Prefect Yang really wouldn't dare to disobey. But the Crown Prince is a bit special. He wants to do something special and doesn't plan to be so direct.
That's why they arranged today's chance encounter.
The Yang residence was quite large, and the male and female guests were not close to each other. At this time, everyone in the residence was greeting guests in the two courtyards, which gave the Crown Prince an opportunity.
When Yang Qing heard that her aunt had asked her to come out, since her aunt couldn't show her face at the flower viewing banquet, she assumed it was something urgent and hurried out.
On her way to her aunt's courtyard, Yang Qing bumped into the Crown Prince.
Yang Qing's maidservant quickly asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince immediately showed a look of surprise: "I came to attend the flower viewing banquet, had some wine, and felt a bit bored, so I came out for a walk. I apologize for being so abrupt to the lady."
The Crown Prince spoke these words with great politeness, and given that he was a prince, he possessed the demeanor cultivated by the royal family, so even if it was an act, it seemed very sincere.
At least Yang Qing's maid wasn't making such a fuss.
Yang Qing looked up at the Crown Prince and recognized him. Then, blushing, she lowered her head. She hadn't expected to run into her benefactor in her own backyard.
She wanted to express her gratitude, but then she remembered that she had gone out disguised as a man yesterday, so she didn't say anything.
While Yang Qing was still in a daze, the Crown Prince spoke up: "I feel that you look familiar, young lady. Have you seen me before?" After saying this, the Crown Prince said nervously, "I didn't mean to say that. I really do feel that you look familiar."
Yang Qing's maid felt that this person was talking inappropriately, but Yang Qing's face turned even redder. Of course, he looked familiar. The two had met just yesterday. Although there were some differences between men's and women's clothing, the differences were not particularly large, so it was normal for him to look familiar.
The prince looked at the blushing, shy beauty and was very satisfied.
"I feel a connection with you, young lady. May I ask your name?"
A young lady's name cannot be casually revealed to a man. Upon hearing this, the maidservant immediately became angry and said, "How can you be like this? How can our young lady's name be casually given to a man? You lecher!"
Although Yang Qing also felt it was somewhat inappropriate to tell him his name, he had helped her yesterday and she didn't think he was a lecherous man, so she said, "Yunxia, you must not be rude to the young master."
The women around the Crown Prince were either palace maids, who naturally obeyed him, or women who entered his harem after being selected in the imperial concubine selection. They would also not hold back in their affections and would do everything they could to please him.
He seemed to have forgotten about the issue of a woman's reputation outside the palace.
"I apologize for being too presumptuous."
Yang Qing felt his sincerity and quickly replied, "It's alright. My surname is Yang, my given name is Yang Qing, and I am the third young lady of the Yang family."
Upon hearing this, the maid Yunxia stared in disbelief: "Miss?!"
How can a young lady's name be known to outsiders so casually? If the master and mistress find out, it will likely cause a lot of trouble. Moreover, this is very bad for a woman; if others find out, it could affect her marriage prospects.
Yang Qing glanced at Yunxia and said, "Alright, this young master has no ill intentions; it's just a form of address."
Yunxia lowered her head in grievance. How could a woman's name be just a title?
The Crown Prince realized that Yang Qing also had feelings for him, and this conclusion made him feel much better.
After exchanging a few more words with Yang Qing, the Crown Prince bid her farewell, leaving Yang Qing looking reluctant to part.
Yunxia waited until the person had walked away before saying, "Miss, we don't even know who that person is. Why did you tell him his name so casually? Besides, telling him so much is not good for your reputation."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
