Lu Wuxian handed the empty cup to Lian Mei and asked for boiled water.
Lian Mei silently poured boiling water for him.
"You said something similar last time, and you said it again this time. Do you want me to tell you that I envy you now?"
"How can it be?"
Lu Fusu smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Indeed, now that I'm no longer alone, it's so lively... But on the contrary, I envy you for being able to live quietly by yourself."
"What a willful guy..."
"Yes, you are really willful."
"Haven't you already abolished the harem? Now you only need to please the queen. What's the difference between this and me?"
"At least there's no noise here..."
After practicing swordplay with Wen Zhugeqing in the morning, I finally got rid of the gloom, but now I think of that unpleasant incident again.
Lu Wuxian saw Lu Fusu's face suddenly darken, and he and Lian Mei looked at each other.
"Noise?"
"...the new gardener is a fellow villager of Shui Xinyuan, and he brags everywhere that he proposed to Shui Xinyuan."
Lu Fusu held his chin with one hand and said, Lu Wuxian opened his mouth slightly... and then laughed loudly.
Lian Mei gently poked his shoulder, making Lu Wuxian burst into laughter.
"Ha...haha...you are jealous of the queen's old lover!"
"This is not an old lover."
"Hahaha... It's so pitiful. I didn't expect that even a mere gardener wouldn't take you seriously... It hurts!"
Lian Mei twisted Lu Wuxian's arm, and Lu Wuxian finally stopped laughing.
"I'm sorry, but the Emperor shouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing."
"That's right..."
"He just hates that other men also like his queen. You have to be careful. Even a mere gardener dares to spread rumors. Maybe he can't forget his old love for the queen... It hurts! Sister Lian, please stop pinching me."
"Stop talking nonsense."
… Could it be that the gardener is not reminiscing about the past, but is still unforgettable about his old feelings?
The more Lu Fusu thought about it, the angrier he became.
He sighed heavily and stood up.
"I'm leaving, sorry to bother you."
"It's rare to have a happy conversation, don't leave in a hurry...it hurts so much! Sister Lian!"
Seeing Lu Wuxian laughing like a naughty child, Lian Mei twisted his arm again and opened the door to the garden.
"Your Majesty, I will send you off."
"Okay, if I find something to laugh at Lu Wuxian someday, I will do it again."
"Don't come again..."
Lu Fusu smiled and walked down the stairs, and Lian Mei followed behind him.
The sun has set in the west, and there is a touch of twilight in the sky.
"My maid knows that the emperor is very busy, but if you can come here once a year, His Highness will be very happy. Although he never said..."
"He won't say. Well, next time I find something to talk about, I will come again."
Lu Fusu walked across the small bridge over the river, turned back and said to Lian Mei, "Lu Wuxian said that if I take you away, he will kill me."
"..."
"Did you hear that just now?"
Lian Mei pressed her hair blown by the wind and lowered her eyes.
"Here, if I don't serve his life...that's it."
"So, when I just mentioned that I wanted Lu Wuxian to leave here, you will hate me, right?"
"No."
Lian Mei raised her head and shook her head firmly.
"Although His Highness understands the seriousness of his sins, sometimes his eyes look like he is nostalgic for the past... At that time, I really can't do anything."
Riding horses across the land, countless candles lighting up the night, they all only exist in memory...
"... Even if I give everything I have, I can't take him out of here..."
The setting sun reflected on Lian Mei's slender face, casting shadows.
"Although Lu Wuxian may look back on the past, it doesn't mean that he is unhappy now."
"..."
"Do you still remember the punishment I gave you?"
No matter what happens in the future, you must not leave Lu Wuxian, even if Lu Wuxian leaves here one day...
"One day, when you leave here, your life here will become a memory... But that will be after you leave here. You must take good care of him now and occupy a place in his memories."
Lian Mei suddenly narrowed her eyes, took a step back, and bowed solemnly.
"...Thank you, Your Majesty, for driving me. Please say hello to the Queen on behalf of your maid."
"Okay, I will help you with the message."
Lian Mei kept bending and bowing until Lu Fusu left.
…
Lian Mei returned to the room, and Lu Wuxian drank the boiled water he poured.
"I really can't figure out whether he is broad-minded or narrow-minded. It's so interesting."
"...Maybe it's more special about the Queen, right?"
"It turns out that there are other men asking for marriage...Has anyone ever proposed to you?"
Lian Mei suddenly stopped collecting the tea cups and replied calmly as usual: "No. Because I have been a maid for many years."
"Do you want someone to propose to you?"
"...As of now, I don't think about this kind of thing at all."
Lian Mei took the tray with the tea set and turned her back to Lu Wuxian.
"It's a little cold, please put on your top."
"If I ask you to marry me, will you agree?"
Lian Mei, who was about to walk out of the room, stopped.
"Your Highness, don't make such a joke..."
"I'm not kidding, I'm asking you, will you agree to my marriage proposal?"
Lu Wuxian couldn't see the expression on Lian Mei's face, whose back was turned to him.
The silence lasted for a long time.
"I'm just a maid..."
"Of course I know."
Lu Wuxian's tone was calm when he said this, without any hint of impatience.
"But, you should have heard what he said just now... If one day, I leave here, I will no longer be a prince, nothing, just Lu Wuxian, almost like you."
"..."
"At that time, if you are still a maid, it will be very troublesome."
Lian Mei noticed Lu Wuxian standing up, but she held the tray and remained motionless.
"When I am no longer a prince and just a commoner, I cannot have a maid."
"..."
"I can only have one wife..."
Click, click, click... The sound of hard objects colliding echoed in the silent room.
The tea set and cups on the tray seemed to be trembling with fear.
"Lianmei."
Hearing a deeper than usual voice from behind, the tea set shook even more.
"Answer me, Sister Lian."
"……I do not know……"
"Should I agree or not?"
"..."
Sister Lian was speechless.
My hands, feet and whole body holding the tray were all tense.
An emotion similar to fear made Lian Mei stand still, unable to move.
"Lianmei."
The voice is close behind you.
"If you don't agree...then I will never leave here for the rest of my life."
"Well……"
Everything in his hands slipped from his weak hands and fell into pieces, breaking the silence.
The white porcelain fragments on the ground sparkled in the red sunlight.
Lian Mei covered her face with her hands and almost collapsed. Lu Wuxian hugged her slender body.
"Do you agree... or don't you agree?"
Lu Wuxian's tone seemed threatening and threatening, but also seemed to be crying.
He shook Lian Mei's body vigorously, and Lian Mei couldn't help but punch Lu Wuxian's chest with her fists.
"Did you agree?"
"..."
"When you encounter something you hate, you will say it outright, but when you encounter something you like, you will never say it... I understand, you don't have to answer or nod. After living with you for so long, I
I know best how dishonest you are..."
Two lines of hot tears fell from Lian Mei's eyes.
Lian Mei shed tears and kept shaking her head like a child, while Lu Wuxian slowly stroked her back.
"...Listen to me, I don't want to have dinner anymore. Do you want to take a nap in the next room? Even if you stay up late, you never take a nap. Anyway, there is no one else in the house, so you can occasionally sleep in with me."
"..."
"I will sort it out with you tomorrow. If you leave it alone, no one will talk...because there are only two of you and me here."
The sun is gradually setting, and night is gradually approaching.
"Tomorrow morning, even if you wake up, don't get up first... Every time you get up first and leave, I feel very empty."
"..."
"If you don't answer, I'll assume you agreed. Do you understand? If you get up first, I will be angry."
Without saying a word, Lian Mei rested her forehead on Lu Wuxian's shoulder.
Ranshui Pavilion has restored its former tranquility...