On the upper level of the restaurant diagonally opposite to and a distance away from Sui Yuan Club, two people watched the entrance doors of Sui Yuan Club close shut.
“Master, I never imagined that Miss Du would actually be so amiable,” Mo Zi said.
Seated right before the window, Zhao Zhen turned the ornamental thumb ring in his hand and said, “To think that there exists a woman like this in this world. She grew up in a village, yet she was bestowed with the t.i.tle of princess just within four months of her arrival at the capital.”
“Master, do you really think she grew up in a village?” Mo Zi felt it was somewhat inconceivable. “Where would there ever be a village girl like her, who knows how to do everything? Her medical expertise is outstanding. She won first place in dance. She even knows how to run a business. Although she’s not extremely wealthy, she’s much wealthier than ordinary merchants. The most important point is that she’s only 13! If it isn’t because I’ve witnessed it personally, I wouldn’t believe such a person exists even if someone were to beat me to death!”
“I am also very surprised,” Zhao Zhen said. “If I had known she would create so many problems for our plans, I would have had her eliminated from the first moment I found out about her existence. But now, I kind of can’t bear to do it anymore. Such a capable young girl is a rarity that only appears once in many years. It would be too much of a pity to kill her.”
“But Master, she’s Han Mingyi’s fiancée,” Mo Zi said.
“So what if she’s Han Mingyi’s fiancée? Doesn’t that mean she hasn’t gotten married yet?” Zhao Zhen smiled. No matter how one looked at it, this smile on his face seemed somewhat gentle and warm.
“Master, it can’t be that you’ve fallen for her, right? She’s still just a young girl!” Mo Zi said in astonishment.
“So what if I have and so what if I haven’t? What does a living person seek? Care about? Not care about?” Zhao Zhen said faintly.
“But, Master, didn’t you say previously that you wanted to marry Princess Changle
?” Mo Zi said.
“Yes? I didn’t say I wouldn’t marry her!”
“But now you’re…” Mo Zi was driven into confusion by Zhao Zhen.
“Nor did I say I would marry this little girl!”
“Master…”
“You don’t need to understand your master’s world. You just need to watch,” Zhao Zhen said with narrowed eyes. “There are some things that you have to do even if you can’t. Moreover, doesn’t Han MIngyi like this little girl a lot? I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out about this.”
“What reaction could he possibly have? Isn’t watching the only thing he can do?”
Zhao Zhen took a sip of wine and said, “We’ve already discussed the other conditions. Today, I’ll go into the palace to settle this matter and head back a little earlier, lest that group of good-for-nothings messes up my scenario again.”
“Yes, Master,” Mo Zi replied.
“This Han Mingze is actually rather clever to think up of such a way to win over a talented person. There has never been a precedence of someone outside the imperial household getting bestowed with the t.i.tle of princess in Feng Ming’s entire history. By doing this, he allowed Du Xiaoli to become a member of the imperial household and roped Du Yunhan over to his side. There’s also Han Mingyi. This Han Mingze truly can’t be underestimated…”
Du Xiaoli distributed all the taels of silver that the emperor conferred to them. Then she sat in the carriage and headed back to the manor. However, the carriage suddenly could not advance anymore when it pa.s.sed through a city center.
Xia Yuan opened the carriage door and asked, “What’s the matter?”
The coachman jumped down to have a look and said, “Miss Xia, there’s a bit of a problem with the wheels. They can’t move!”
“The wheels can’t move?” Xia Yuan jumped down from the carriage and saw that the nails on one side of the carriage’s wheels had snapped, causing it to come loose
.
Du Xiaoli pulled open the curtain of the carriage’s window and asked, “Xia Yuan, how is it?”
“Mistress, the nails have snapped. This carriage can’t run anymore,” Xia Yuan answered.
Du Xiaoli let go of the window curtain and jumped down from the carriage. She looked around to gauge their location, and it just so happened that they had stopped midway through their return journey. There was still a bit of a distance to go before they would reach the Prime Minister’s Manor.
“Mistress, why don’t we have lunch at a restaurant at noon today? In the meantime, we can let the coachman return, get a new carriage, and then come back here,” Xia Yuan said.
“Mm, that’s all we can do now,” Du Xiaoli said with a nod.
They were currently in the city center where there were more people walking around. If it were in the past when no one knew her, she would still be able to walk home. But now, it would humiliate her family if others were to find out she had walked this road home. Moreover, there were quite a few restaurants just up ahead, and it would soon be lunchtime. It was not a bad idea to go have lunch while waiting for someone to fetch them.
At this time, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of them. Before Du Xiaoli was able to figure out which family this carriage belonged to, Zhao Zhen alighted from it.
“Princess Anle,” Zhao greeted while cupping his hands towards Du Xiaoli.
“Marquis Zhen?” Du Xiaoli recalled the figure of the person who sat beside Han Mingze during the contest back then and gave a slight curtsey.
“It seems that you already know of me, Du Xiaoli.” Zhao Zhen was not at all surprised when he heard Du Xiaoli say his name. “What are you doing here, Your Highness?”
“There’s a bit of a problem with the carriage, and it came to a stop here,” Du Xiaoli said helplessly.
“Oh?” Zhao Zhen said and examines the carriage wheels for a moment. “One of the wheels has broken down. It looks like this carriage can’t continue on. Since Your Highness wants to return home, why don’t I give you a ride there?”
Du Xiaoli smiled and replied, “Many thanks for your kind intentions, Marquis Zhen. We’ve decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants up ahead while we wait for a new carriage to be brought over. So we won’t need to trouble you, Marquis Zhen.”
“In that case, could I dine with Your Highness?” Zhao Zhen asked.
“I don’t think that would be too appropriate,” Du Xiaoli declined tactfully. “Marquis Zhen, you are Feng Meng’s guest, how could I let you dine at any old restaurant? Moreover, it would be suspicious for a man and a woman to dine alone together, much like meeting in a melon patch under a plum tree. I’m afraid others would drown me in spit. Xiaoli is timid, so I won’t trouble you, Marquis Zhen.”
“Is that so? Then that’s truly too much of a pity. When I saw Your Highness dance that day, it gave me a very favorable impression of you and even made me want to get to know you more. However, it is true that Feng Ming’s customs are not as open as those of the Northern Yuan. Then I won’t make things difficult for you anymore, Your Highness. But I’ll be leaving in two days, so I guess I won’t be able to actualize this wish of mine.”
Du Xiaoli smiled without saying a word.
References
1. — This is referring to the original Princess Changle, not Du Xiaoli. 2. — I’m not entirely sure, but I’m a.s.suming it’s a two-wheel carriage. So when the nails on one side break and loosen one wheel, the whole carriage goes out of commission. MoonWhisperer, TWIP"s Thoughts
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