C25

Yu Ge looked at the maid with sympathy, then quickly trotted to follow Li Ruoxi.

Li Ruoxi suddenly stopped, turned around and asked Yu Jiu, "Did the Xia Mansion send out any news? How did they deal with those poisonous snakes?"

"In reply to young miss, I've only heard that Steward Xia ordered some people to search the courtyard, but there's no other news."

"This Xia Yi An isn't a simple character. Since I can't do anything to her now, I might as well look for Zhao Yu Wei. I heard that she went out for a walk." The corners of Li Ruoxi's mouth curled up in a mischievous smile, her gaze full of scheming.

"What does Miss want to do?"

The sun, which was hidden in the thin clouds, suddenly came out. It was slightly dazzling, but Li Ruoxi covered the sun with his hand in displeasure.

"According to father, my cousin the second prince left the city today as well. You made people think of ways to let Zhao Yiwei see him. With cousin's heavenly appearance, she definitely won't be able to resist the temptation."

"Miss, if you want to make Miss Zhao fall in love with the Second Prince, wouldn't it be a burden if the Second Prince marries her?" Yu Jie analyzed.

Li Ruoxi's mood suddenly brightened. She slowly walked forward, and the group of maids behind her followed.

"Cousin, your highness, your highness, your highness, your highness. How could you fancy her? I only wanted to divert her attention. You want to compete with me for the Crown Princess' consort? Dream on."

"Young Miss is wise!"

Li Ruoxi had always thought that the Prime Minister raised her as a queen so that she could marry the crown prince, but in reality, that wasn't it. He was a person from the Second Prince's side, and wholeheartedly wanted to support Cang Lan Ta in his position.

Even though she had calculated all sorts of things, she had still made a mistake in the end. It was a pity that she was so infatuated with someone she shouldn't have loved.

When she was 14 years old and had entered the palace for the banquet, she had met the Crown Prince Cang Lanjie once.

Now that she was past her prime, her father did not intend to tell her about the marriage, as if he was waiting for the right moment. However, she panicked. She was afraid that the position of the Crown Prince's consort would be taken by someone else, so she started to eliminate those who were different from her.

… ….

After leaving Vermillion Bird Street, the tight-uniformed Cang Lan Ta sped up his horse to rush out of the city gates. Everyone moved out of the way, and the guards of the city all knelt down to kowtow.

Guard Zhu Tong followed far behind, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Your Highness, slow down!"

It was rare for him to make a trip out of the palace. After returning from Jing Prefecture, he hadn't left the palace yet. He had been busy dealing with government affairs for his father, so it was about time for him to come out and admire the flowers. Five miles outside the city, there was an unnamed lake. There were many lotus flowers planted in it, making it even more spectacular than the imperial palace. Thus, he decided to take a look.

On the other side, Zhao also pushed aside the guards and brought his personal maidservant, Shuang'er, into the pomegranate forest. It wasn't easy to get out today, and bringing a few bodyguards would affect his mood too much.

The large pomegranate blossoms bloomed passionately. Many people were admiring the flowers and making poems in them. She lifted her skirt through the crowd and hid in a secluded pavilion. Next to the pomegranate forest was an unnamed lake. The lake was filled with pink lotus flowers, just like the color of the season.

"Whooosh."

The horse's hooves were hoisted high in the air. Zhao also heard the noise and looked over. There was a handsome man wearing a purple moire arrow robe standing on the horse. His slender white fingers were gripping the reins.

From her point of view, Cang Lan Ta was looking at her. Her heart tightened as she shyly lowered her head. She took a step forward and gently saluted: "Greetings to Second Prince."

Her voice was sweet and melodious.

Cang Lan Tuo dismounted and stood in front of her with his slender, bamboo body. A trace of doubt flashed across his handsome face: "You are?"

He did not remember seeing the woman in front of him before. Although she was beautiful, she was nothing more than a piece of skin to him. He had seen many beauties, but they were all the same.

"Your highness doesn't remember your highness, Zhao Yiwei, the daughter of the Imperial Physician." Zhao replied shyly with his head lowered.

Actually, even without Li Ruoxi's scheme, Zhao Yiwei still had his own heart. The most scheming prince in Jingchuan Country was incomparably handsome, and a few girls didn't like him.

Now that they met, it was even more coincidental. Li Ruoxi probably didn't think that they would meet without even expending a little effort.

"Oh, so it's the young miss of the Zhao Family." Cang Lan Ta nodded, and no longer paid any attention to her as he directly walked towards the lakeside.

Zhao Yiping looked at his promoted figure and followed him with a warm feeling in his heart. It was not easy to meet him, he could not afford to miss this opportunity.

She deliberately tried to find a topic to talk about, "Does Your Highness also like lotus flowers? This subject's daughter recently made a song about lotus flowers, I wonder if Your Highness would like to try it out? "

He stopped and looked at the dragonfly on top of the lotus, then said to her: "I have long heard that Miss Zhao's zither skills are extraordinary, if I could hear her new song, it would be considered my honor, but unfortunately, Your Highness wants to enjoy it alone, I wonder if Miss would be able to help?"

Zhao Yiping thought he was going to agree, but he said something like that later. His face immediately turned awkward. If she didn't leave now, she would just turn shameless.

"Yes, you've made a slight mistake, but you'll have to leave as well."

Zhao Yi left reluctantly. Navy Tide didn't even nod his head as he continued walking along the lakeside.

Zhu Tong walked over and glanced at Zhao Yiping, who was about to leave: "Your Highness, did you run so fast to meet this Miss Zhao?"

Cang Lan Tuo cast a sidelong glance at him, and asked: "Which faction does the Imperial Physician belong to?"

Zhu Tong immediately reacted, "This servant is speaking nonsense, how could Your Highness come to meet with Miss Zhao?"

"Censor Zhao belongs to the crown prince. This Miss Zhao is of no use to me. I wouldn't spend so much time and effort on her." After he finished speaking, Cang Lan Tuo flew into the lake, stepping on the lotus leaves and breaking off a lotus flower that just happened to bloom.

"His Highness' qinggong is getting better and better. His body is simply as light as a swallow, as if a dragonfly touching the water lightly!" Zhu Tong did his best to flatter her.

Cang Lan Tuo threw the lotus flower to him and walked forward.

"If you can't even flatter me, then what's the use of me? Hurry and take the flowers to the girl in my heart, I'll send you out as soon as possible. "

"Hehe, your servant almost used the wrong word at the moment," Zhu Tong scratched his head and followed, smiling mischievously, "Your Highness, your servant is a eunuch, aren't you making things difficult for me?"

Cang Lan Tuo revealed a slight smile as he turned his head to look at the fiery red pomegranate flower beside him. Suddenly, he recalled the bold girl that he met that day at the Prime Minister's Estate. How long has it been since I last met someone interesting? He slightly raised his head to look at the sky, his index finger stroking the white jade ring in his hand.

"Why hasn't Grand Commandant Xia made his stand yet? "Could it be that standing in the middle is not a wise choice …" He suddenly began to ponder, his mood unfathomable.

Zhu Tong said: "Since Boss Xia is unwilling to choose, His Highness can let him choose. His daughter should be at the appropriate age for marriage. Why don't His Highness make use of this opportunity to win him over?"

Cang Lan Tuo looked at him with satisfaction and teased: "You've learnt shrewdness."