"Hibiscus Tent" 81

The courtyard of the Hou Mansion was brightly lit, and there was endless laughter at the banquet.

The banquet in the mansion of this aristocratic family has always been a social occasion for the ladies and ladies. After all, the friendship between women is maintained by the compliments and gossips exchanged between you and me.

As for the gentlemen of each family, they were drinking for fun, and those who were more serious took the occasion to compose a poem, which was expected to be spread throughout Kyoto tomorrow.

Shen Shiting changed her clothes and stood on the porch, watching from a distance.

She had been back to He Mansion for half a month and had never seen such a lively dinner, so she couldn't help but take a second look.

Suddenly, her eyes paused and she bumped into the man at the waterside pavilion.

Lu Jiuxiao was wearing a dark purple robe and leaning dangerously against the railing.

Shen Shiting heard several women around him who had not yet left the court talking about him in low voices. The sound of talk brought her back from her thoughts, and she quickly turned her head to avoid the man's burning gaze.

Just listen to the laughter around you getting louder and louder——

"Hey, that person in purple on the pavilion is Prince Lu?"

"With that appearance, who else besides him?"

"Have you met him?"

"Well, I met him at the palace banquet the year before last."

The woman in green covered her lips with a fan, "My mother-in-law said that it is most untrustworthy for a man with a peach-faced face. I was still wondering at first what this peach-faced face looked like, but I understood it at a glance the year before last."

Several people covered their lips and laughed.

Shen Shiting eavesdropped seriously, with a rosy face...

The image of a man leaning over with a smile appeared in her mind. It would not be an exaggeration to describe his eyes as "all kinds of charming", and the word "desire" was written all over his eyebrows and corners of his eyes.

However, this color is the most popular among girls.

Shen Shiting thought, if Lu Jiuxiao was not the kind of person who wandered around the world, I am afraid that with his status and appearance, everyone in the capital would be flocking to him.

Thinking about this, she thought of fennel and hurriedly collected her thoughts.

Another gong and drum sounded on the stage, and a song was changed.

She glanced at the sky and was about to leave the table on the grounds of headache and discomfort, but was stopped by Lu Wan first——

"Why don't you come? They have all gone to throw the pot, and my mother-in-law even bought a lottery ticket. You should go and try it too."

After saying that, Lu Wan pulled her to the lawn, and sure enough, there was a copper pot placed three feet away.

The girls were having a little fight, but Mrs. Yuan took it very seriously. She sent Aunt Bai, who was at her personal service, to judge, and even won a prize, which was a blue coral bracelet, a tribute from the Western Regions last year. Very beautiful.

Lu Wan handed her the arrow with its head removed.

Seeing this, everyone stepped aside. Aunt Bai smiled and said, "Can the third girl know how to throw the pot?"

Shen Shitiao nodded sheepishly. A small family was no better than a large family. Flower viewing, night banquets, and lake tours were very luxurious to her. Instead, they spent more time playing pot throwing.

Therefore, Shen Shiting raised his arm and threw an arrow at the mouth of the table.

By the fifth, sixth, and seventh arrows, only one of them missed the mark, but the number of hits was already far ahead.

Everyone covered their lips in amazement, and Aunt Bai smiled and presented the lottery.

After all, she is a sixteen-year-old girl, so she is very happy to have won the lottery, and the corners of her mouth are slightly raised.

However, when she turned her head, she saw Lu Wan frowning and looking towards the pavilion.

She subconsciously followed her gaze and saw Lu Jiuxiao with his back leaning against the pillar. Even in the dark sky, she could tell that the person opposite him was Fenxiang.

After a while, the two of them avoided everyone and went to the corridor opposite.

Shen Shitiao quickly looked away.

----------

In the corridor, Lu Jiuxiao glanced over Fenxiang's shoulder and towards the lawn.

The man said impatiently: "Tell me."

Fenxiang stiffly raised the corners of her lips, took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, I haven't been to Baixi Tower for a long time. I was leaving in a hurry that day, so I haven't given this to you yet."

As she spoke, she handed over a beautifully styled medicine bag.

As soon as it came out of her sleeves, there was a faint herbal fragrance.

"Your Majesty has been having trouble sleeping. I asked many famous doctors to make this medicine bag. I think it will be effective if you wear it every day."

After finishing his words, Lu Jiuxiao lowered his eyes and focused on her.

The man was silent for a long time, Fenxiang's heart seemed to be clenched tightly.

"Prince——"

"Weren't you pretty smart before?" Lu Jiuxiao twitched the corner of his mouth.

Fenxiang froze immediately, and the fingertips holding the medicine bag were trembling secretly.

She used to be the best at figuring out what he was thinking, knowing what was right and never going too far. But recently, she couldn't read Lu Jiuxiao's thoughts. For half a year, she had only seen him a handful of times.

Fenxiang knew very well that she had retreated in the past to get closer to him, but if she retreated again now, she would really be out of Lu Jiuxiao's sight.

This man's heart is no longer in the romantic field.

Thinking about this, her eyes turned red, "Your Majesty, I'm just worried about you..."

Lu Jiuxiao hated people crying the most, so she didn't dare to shed the tears, and kept them in her eyes.

However, Lu Jiuxiao is not a person who shows mercy to others.

He curled his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes, "Are you worried about me?"

"Who do you think you are? You dare to worry about me?"

Fenxiang looked steadily into the man's eyes, but saw that there was no trace of friendship in them, and her hair seemed to be frozen to the root.

"Your Majesty..."

Lu Jiuxiao took two steps closer, his voice and expression darkened, "Who allowed you to enter the Marquis' Mansion, eh?"

If he were an ordinary actor, he would be fine. But there is an unwritten rule here in Lu Jiuxiao. People who have met outside are never allowed to step into his backyard. Not to mention the Hou Mansion, even if he is in Kyoto,

No girl from Qinlou and Chuguan has ever entered the private residence.

In other words, he, Prince Lu, has circled a territory for himself to be romantic, but outside of that territory, you can’t even lay a finger on him.

Whether cool or ruthless, isn't Lu Jiuxiao this kind of person?

But doesn’t Fenxiang know this? She knows it better than anyone else.

She bit her lip and said, "It's my fault, but I really can't help but want to see the prince."

"How do you think you are different from those prostitutes and actors?"

Fenxiang paused, there really is nothing more hurtful than this sentence.

She clenched her palms tightly, "In the past three years, I have rejected everyone. I have never even touched my hand. I thought..."

"Did I ask you to do it?"

Lu Jiuxiao was very generous in this regard and never asked the girl to serve him wholeheartedly.

Thinking of this, the man sneered, took off the jade pendant from his waist and threw it over, then turned and walked towards the courtyard.

Fenxiang held this piece of fine mutton-fat jade pendant blankly, feeling sour in her heart.

The money was cleared, he was right.

She turned sideways and looked at the girl that Lu Jiuxiao had glanced at just now. Was it her...

----------

Shen Shitiao won the lottery, so she couldn't leave early. After thanking Yuan, she had to stay a little longer.

Li Guo's popular leaf cards are played by almost every girl, but Shen Shitiao has never touched this game.

Lu Wan taught her for a while, and after losing five games in a row, she finally figured out some tricks.

When she was enjoying herself, Lu Wan brought her a pot of fruit wine to try.

The aroma of the wine was sweet but not spicy. Shen Shiting couldn't help but drink a few more glasses, and her head started to feel heavy.

Seeing this, Lu Wan covered her lips and whispered: "There is a fat, white rabbit in my yard. It was the one you raised when you lived in my house. Do you want to come with me to see it?"

Hearing this, Shen Shiting paused and nodded in agreement.

She certainly remembered that because she wanted to leave Beijing that day, she gave the rabbit she had just acquired to Lu Wan.

Now that we see each other again, even though it is only half a month later, I feel like I have not seen each other for three years.

Lu Wan had raised this rabbit so much that it had gained a lot of weight. It was small at first, but now it requires both hands to hold it. Even the cage was changed to a larger one.

Lu Wan poured a glass of fruit wine and said, "This rabbit cage was custom-made by my brother."

Shen Shiting was stunned for a moment before taking a serious look at the cage.
To be continued...