The street was as lively as usual. Yao Youqing looked around leisurely and suddenly saw a group of people performing acrobatics in an open space.
She wasn't interested in the acrobatics and was about to walk away, but then she suddenly remembered something, her eyes lit up, and a rare playful look appeared on her face. She pointed over there and said, "Your Highness, that's amazing!"
Wei Hong looked in the direction she was pointing, and then his expression froze.
There, a very old and vulgar acrobatic performance was taking place: breaking a large stone on one's chest.
Chapter 54 First Encounter
For a moment, Wei Hong thought Yao Youqing really liked this kind of acrobatics, but he quickly remembered that such acrobatics were performed on the streets almost every day. If she really liked it, she would have said so long ago, so why wait until today?
He turned to look at Yao Youqing and saw that she was secretly suppressing a laugh, with a mischievous look on her face that he had never seen before. He understood what was going on.
Are you teasing me on purpose?
Yao Youqing couldn't help but laugh out loud: "That's really amazing, Your Highness. Would you like to learn it?"
Knowing that Wei Hong would definitely make trouble for her after she finished speaking, she jumped forward a few steps to run away, but it was too late, and Wei Hong grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"I don't know how to do this, but I know some other things. Do you want to try them when we get back?"
He whispered in her ear.
Yao Youqing sensed something was wrong from his tone and shook her head repeatedly, trying to avoid him.
Wei Hong smiled and continued, "Holding Ning'er in my arms is something I'm particularly good at; I guarantee you'll like it."
The ambiguous words, coupled with the fact that it was broad daylight on the street, made Yao Youqing blush immediately. After looking around to make sure no one was listening, she glared angrily at Wei Hong.
"Your Highness, you...you really are..."
"Really what?"
Wei Hong chuckled softly.
Yao Youqing couldn't say anything, and her aggrieved and embarrassed look made Wei Hong burst out laughing.
Someone in a restaurant not far from here heard the laughter and peeked out. They were slightly taken aback when they saw two figures on the street.
"So this is the Princess Consort of Qin..."
The servants behind him also looked outside and said, "Indeed, it's exactly the same as the one in the portrait."
Liancheng shook his head, picked up the wine pot, tilted his head back, poured a mouthful of wine into his mouth, swallowed it, and then waved his hand.
"She's smaller and prettier than she looks in the portrait."
He had known Wei Hong for many years, and his business in Shangchuan and even Shuozhou relied heavily on Wei Hong's help.
He naturally knew about Wei Hong's marriage. It was a marriage bestowed by the late emperor to the daughter of his enemy. Although he couldn't find out what grudge his enemy had against him, it was no exaggeration to say that their relationship was irreconcilable.
With such a father, it would be almost impossible for the princess to gain Wei Hong's favor.
Such a princess is of no use to Liancheng. There is no need to even get acquainted with her, let alone try to please her.
So apart from sending a gift at Wei Hong's wedding, he never made any further gestures.
It wasn't until that time when he met Wei Hong on the terrace of the small bamboo house in Hucheng that he casually brought two bags of pastries, which Wei Hong eventually ate all of them.
He bought the pastries purely for fun, hoping they might cause Wei Hong some trouble.
Little did they know that instead of getting stuck, they discovered something else interesting.
Consort Qin was not as disliked by the King of Qin as he had imagined; on the contrary, she seemed to be quite valued by him.
The people Wei Hong values may be people Lian Cheng has never met, but they absolutely cannot be strangers to, especially women.
Otherwise, what if one day his handsome, vengeful face accidentally attracts someone's attention, and he gets involved with someone without knowing their identity?
So he immediately had a portrait of the Princess of Qin painted and sent to her.
Although his painter was highly skilled, he did not dare to stare at the Princess of Qin on the streets of Hu City. He only glanced at her briefly, made a note of it, and hurriedly went back to draw her from memory.
The people in the painting are almost identical in appearance to the people in front of us, but they lack a certain liveliness and appear stiff and dull.
"I've seen many women whose paintings are more beautiful than they are in person, but it's rare to find a woman who is more beautiful in person than in a painting."
Liancheng sat by the window on the second floor, drinking and appreciating the wine.
The servants, lacking his extensive experience, couldn't understand the situation and simply echoed his sentiments.
"Now that you mention it, she does look better than in the painting, and she does suit the King of Qin quite well."
Liancheng clicked his tongue: "Are you blind? How are they a good match?"
"..."
Are they not a good match?
The servants were puzzled.
Liancheng pointed over there and continued, "If I didn't know they were a couple, I would have thought it was a father with his daughter. What do you mean they're a perfect match? It's like an old cow eating young grass!"
The servant hurriedly whispered a reminder: "Young master, please keep your voice down, or the King of Qin's men might hear you."
Although the King of Qin was some distance away and couldn't hear, this was Cangcheng, and his spies were everywhere, so there must be quite a few around.
Lian Cheng raised an eyebrow: "What use are you to me if you've been overheard?"
He dares to speak here because he knows the surroundings are safe; he can be seen but not heard.
The servant thought it made sense and kept quiet, saying no more.
Liancheng drank a few more sips of wine and saw someone on the street say something to Cui Hao. Then Cui Hao walked over to Wei Hong and relayed it to him.
As Wei Hong listened, he turned his head to look in the direction of Lian Cheng. Upon seeing this, Lian Cheng waved the hand holding the wine pot, said nothing, and just grinned silently.
Someone downstairs saw the commotion, and the woman's shy, hesitant voice rang out.
"Young Master Lian!"
Liancheng then withdrew his gaze, waved to the woman downstairs, and raised an eyebrow. The frivolous gesture, when done by him, exuded a natural charm.
Hearing the noise from this side, Yao Youqing subconsciously turned around, but Wei Hong pressed her head back down.
"It's nothing, there's just a crazy person here, ignore him."
madman?
It doesn't sound like it...
Yao Youqing didn't understand, but she didn't necessarily have to see it. Seeing that he said that, she didn't turn back and left hand in hand with him.
Liancheng saw everything Wei Hong did, went back to close the window, and said to the servant beside her, "Do you know why he won't let the princess see me?"
The servant knew how to answer that question, and immediately replied with a smile, "Because the young master is handsome and dashing, with an extraordinary appearance that is unforgettable at first sight, he is afraid that once the princess sees you, she will never forget you!"
Liancheng nodded in satisfaction: "Anything else?"
besides?
The servant licked his lips, unable to come up with anything more.
Liancheng slammed his hand on the table: "Because he knows he's ugly and not as good-looking as me!"
After saying that, he burst into laughter, which made the servants beside him chuckle awkwardly and wipe the sweat from their foreheads.
Young master, you've really drunk too much today; you're quite tipsy.
...
After returning home, Wei Hong locked Zhou's mother and the others outside the door, preventing them from going in.
Upon seeing this, Yao Youqing instinctively tensed up and subconsciously took two steps back from Wei Hong's side.
"Your Highness, what...what are you going to do?"
Although Wei Hong never left anyone in the room to serve him at night, he would still have Zhou Mama or Qiongyu stay during the day to make things easier for Yao Youqing. If he didn't, then... he was planning to do something bad.
Although Yao Youqing had gradually gotten used to his closeness over the years, she was still quite resistant to doing such things in broad daylight.
As Wei Hong unbuttoned his outer robe, he walked towards her. Just as she was about to bump into the floor-length canopy, he grabbed her waist and trapped her between his chest and the canopy.
"Didn't I just say I'd perform my specialty, juggling, for you when I got back? Hmm? Forgot?"
Yao Youqing shook her head: "This...this is not it..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man captured her lips with a kiss.
Their clothes were scattered from the outer room to the bedside in the inner room.
After relieving himself, Wei Hong pressed down on Yao Youqing and gently bit her collarbone. His expression was not as satisfied as when they first tried, and he frowned and muttered in dissatisfaction.
"When will I grow up...?"
Chapter 55 Admonitions
A horse-drawn carriage sped along the mountain road in late autumn, carrying Ji Yunwan and her maid, Panxiang.
The carriage has been traveling for over ten days, and Panxiang has said less in the past two weeks than he has in a single day.
Ever since the day she was kicked out of the Prince of Qin's mansion, the young lady has been like a different person, gloomy and without a trace of a smile on her face.
Fortunately, they are about to return to the capital. Once they return, the young lady will enter the palace and become an empress, and the past will be forgotten.
Being the Queen Consort of Qin is certainly good, but wouldn't it be even better to be the Emperor's concubine?
Pan Xiang thought this to herself, but dared not show it on her face, for fear that her mistress would get angry if she heard it.
That day, the group encountered another group of people who had come from the capital to welcome Ji Yunwan. Pan Xiang smiled and said to Ji Yunwan, "Miss, look how anxious the master and the others are, as if they are afraid that you will not go back."
Realizing he had misspoke, he quickly covered his mouth and looked timidly at Ji Yunwan.
But Ji Yunwan wasn't angry. She heard the people outside greeting each other, and then they greeted her through the carriage curtain.
"Can't we go into town to rest again tonight?"
Hearing that the visitor would not enter the city that night and would continue on his journey, Panxiang lifted the curtain and asked a question.
There's a town not far from here, and they originally planned to go into town to rest tonight.