Chapter 327 Please Teach Me
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Not long after the coachman drove the carriage away from the Ying Wang Mansion, it joined the main road. There were many pedestrians on the street, so the speed naturally slowed down. Mingzhu saw Jing Song catching up and asked, “Are they gone?”
Jing Song respectfully replied, “Once you left, they followed suit.”
Mingzhu sighed, “They’re really a handful. I just slept in, and they blocked me at home. His Highness is truly wise and foresighted.”
Jing Song thought helplessly, if His Highness weren’t wise, we’d probably have caused another disaster today. If Cui Tong had been trampled to death by a horse, not to mention going to the villa, even if he went to the moon, the Longsheng Great Eldest Princess would have stormed over to demand an explanation. Despite not being likable, the Longsheng Great Eldest Princess had a different status and had been cultivated for many years. She had quite a few followers among the imperial clan and many sycophants in the court. If trouble arose, it would be quite a mess.
But Mingzhu laughed, “I knew Yang Dianjun* would intervene in time. I just scared him a little to see if he would dare to act arrogantly in front of me again!”
* title given to a high-ranking military officer responsible for overseeing and coordinating military operations
Jing Song stopped talking. Well, he had been fully utilized. But he was somewhat relieved that Wangfei still knew her boundaries.
The carriage soon passed through the city gate and onto the official road. It was the best season of the year, with clear autumn skies, cool weather without being too hot, and the foliage beginning to turn yellow but not yet withered. Since the autumn harvest had just passed, even the farmers they encountered seemed happier than usual.
Mingzhu looked out the window at the autumn scenery outside, feeling an itch to go horseback riding. After this period, winter would arrive, and riding would become too cold for her face. Unfortunately, the person who loved to play the most was unable to do so.
After a while of traveling, as Mingzhu was dozing off, she suddenly heard Su Lan say, “Your Highness is catching up.”
Mingzhu quickly lifted the curtain and looked back, seeing Yuwen Chu dressed in a dusty cloak, leading a large group of people riding horses swiftly. Perhaps seeing her turn back, he immediately smiled faintly at her, gesturing with his hand and then urging his horse to speed up, galloping past like a shooting star.
Mingzhu knew he wanted her to quickly retract her head, so as not to be seen by others. Although she was reluctant, she had no choice but to do so. Fortunately, not long after, Yuwen Chu caught up. Without stopping the carriage, he directly kicked off his stirrup, grabbed the carriage door frame with one hand, pulled aside the curtain with the other, and swiftly jumped in, displaying remarkable agility.
Mingzhu was startled by him, then became very interested and said, “Your Highness, you have great skills. Can you do it again?”
Jing Song, who had been following the carriage closely, almost burst out laughing when he heard this. He barely managed to hold it in, pretending he hadn’t heard anything and kept his eyes forward.
Yuwen Chu’s expression remained unchanged, and he replied seriously, “No.” He wasn’t performing tricks. Occasionally, doing it once to amuse her was fine, but if he kept doing it, how could he maintain his dignity in front of his subordinates?
“Alright.” Mingzhu took a damp cloth from Su Lan and wiped his face, acting coquettishly, “I want to go horseback riding.”
“Okay, we can discuss it when we arrive at the estate.” Yuwen Chu wiped his face, took off the cloak, and threw it to Su Lan. Su Lan understood his meaning and instructed the coachman to stop the carriage, then went to tidy up the basin and cloth before withdrawing.
Yuwen Chu sat down next to Mingzhu, took her hand in his palm, and pointed to the scenery outside the window, “Have you ever been to the Great Temple? Look ahead, there’s a large lotus field. The lotus roots and seeds in the palace are supplied from here. Unable to grow large areas of lotus and lotus roots in the north, Royal Father had water from the hot springs near Great Temple brought over, allowing the palace to enjoy the freshest lotus roots. It’s the season for enjoying candied lotus roots now, and we might also find some water caltrops and water chestnuts to taste. Do you want to go down and take a look?”
Mingzhu naturally wanted to, but how could she, in her current state? She was afraid that if she went down for a stroll, everyone would know she was pretending to be ill.
“What’s so difficult about this?” Yuwen Chu clapped his hands, and the carriage stopped. Wei Tiande came over eagerly, “What are Your Highness’s orders?”
Yuwen Chu whispered a few words, and Wei Tiande soon brought a package over. Yuwen Chu gestured to Mingzhu, “Open it and see if you like it.”
Mingzhu untied the package, inside was a set of snow-blue male attire, along with a headscarf. It looked simple but was exquisitely made with fine craftsmanship and materials, definitely from the Imperial Tailor. She smiled, “So, Your Highness was prepared in advance.”
Yuwen Chu said, “Taking you to the estate was originally meant to let you relax a bit. Otherwise, what’s the difference between being locked up at home and being at the estate? But you can’t walk around in women’s clothing, so I had someone prepare a few sets of men’s clothing for you. That way, you can go anywhere. Hurry up and get dressed.”
Mingzhu was about to call Su Lan to come in and help her change, but Yuwen Chu covered her mouth and whispered, “What do you need them for? I’ll serve you.”
In broad daylight, Mingzhu twisted the clothing bundle for a while, then bravely nodded as if she had made up her mind. Yuwen Chu was almost pleasantly surprised, but he didn’t show it, remaining serious as usual, and even deliberately made his expression more solemn.
He first removed Mingzhu’s hairpins, then carefully tried to style her hair into a bun. However, he just couldn’t get it right. Feeling embarrassed that even a dignified Ying Wang couldn’t handle a simple male hairstyle, he said, “What did you put on your hair? It’s so slippery. And your hair is too long, too much.” In fact, he wanted to say, “Just admit it, quickly find fault with me, and do it yourself.”
Mingzhu thought he was complimenting her in a different way and laughed softly, “Your Highness is really good at talking. You never praise me the same way twice.” In fact, she suspected that he spoke so little usually because he had to make every effort to come up with different ways to talk to her, to show off his excellent eloquence.
When he earnestly praised her, she said he was shameless, but when he hoped she would disdain him, she accepted his praise with equanimity. Yuwen Chu fell silent for a while, then mustered up the courage to redo Mingzhu’s hair. Several times, he accidentally pulled her hair and thought she would cry out in pain, but she didn’t, sitting quietly with a smile on her lips, waiting for him to finish her hair.
Yuwen Chu’s heart suddenly softened. Perhaps Mingzhu wasn’t unfeeling, but because she was willing to accompany him in play, she was willing to endure the pain. Just like in the past when she knew that Yuwen You didn’t like her, and every time he treated her coldly, she was hurt and sad, but she still waited, still willing to give.
He suddenly felt that Mingzhu was very worthy of being cherished. He gave up on redoing her hair and gently embraced her shoulders, pulling her into his arms and whispered softly, “I can’t do your hair, but I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me, so I’ve accidentally pulled your hair countless times. Now, please teach me how to do it.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
