The sun was shining brightly, and the summer breeze was gentle.
Liu Yiyi tugged angrily at the reins, her little mouth pouting high.
"It's really strange! If he just didn't want to go home, that would be one thing, but why won't he even see Wanming?"
Pei Yanqi's fingertips gently tapped on the saddle bridge. After thinking for a while, he decided to make the matter clear.
"Who is Li Wanming... now?" he asked.
"What do you mean 'who'?" Liu Yiyi was confused. "She's just Wanming. We grew up together..."
"I mean, what's her status?"
"Status? She's the third daughter of the Li family..." Liu Yiyi stopped halfway through her sentence. Suddenly, she realized something, and her heart sank. She slowly closed her mouth.
Yes, Li Wanming's current status was not just that of the third daughter of the Li family.
She was also the princess of the Prince of Ning, the niece-in-law of the Princess of Chengping, and the cousin-in-law of the current emperor - a true member of the royal family and a prominent figure in the noble family.
Pei Yanqi looked at the rolling mountains in the distance. His voice was gentle but incisive. "Brother Liu is avoiding not his home or Wanming this time. What he's avoiding is people like us, the intrigues in the officialdom, and the powerful and noble families."
"Brother Liu is a free-spirited person, a real idle cloud and wild crane. He's impatient with dealing with people in the officialdom."
He then turned his head and nodded slightly in the direction of Fujian. His voice was as soft as if he were talking to the mountain wind. "Think about it. Even a Chen Mazi was rewarded so grandly... Not to mention your second brother?"
"He was the one who made the greatest contribution in suppressing the bandit stronghold back then, and now he has helped us capture Yue City. Once this news spreads, the court must reward him. Otherwise, it would seem ungrateful. Given Brother Liu's personality, do you think he wants this reward?"
Just thinking about her second brother being given a title like "Brave Knight" or "Loyal Brother", Liu Yiyi suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Haha! He definitely wouldn't want it! All his life, his greatest love has been to roam the world and visit famous mountains and great rivers... If he were really given an official position and had to report for duty every day, he would be so miserable!"
"So..."
A clear cry of a solitary crane came from the distant mountains, shattering the shadows of the forest.
Pei Yanqi reined in his horse and looked at the green mountains undulating in the sea of clouds in the distance. There were faint ripples in his eyes.
"It's better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than to support each other in hardship. This is the best destination for an idle cloud."
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The convoy slowly drove into the post station, and fine dust rose on the bluestone pavement.
The local postmaster had already received the news. He lifted his robe and trotted forward. Just as he was about to kneel down to pay his respects, he saw their noble emperor had already jumped off the imperial carriage and rushed in three steps to a green-curtained carriage at the back. He personally supported the carriage shaft.
The curtain of the curtained carriage was lifted, revealing a face without makeup. With willow-leaf eyebrows and a pink face, although she was dressed in simple clothes, her natural beauty was hard to hide.
"I am the rule." Zhao Yanke laughed from ear to ear. His bright yellow sleeves fluttered in the wind.
Wanxin had no choice but to cover half of her face with her sleeve and quickly got out of the carriage.
The moment that coarse cloth dress swept across the bluestone slab, the young emperor immediately followed closely behind, looking like a mother hen protecting her chicks. His glaring dragon-patterned regular clothes were particularly eye-catching in the rural post station.
Li Wanming watched the absurd scene in front of her coldly. She gritted her silver teeth so hard that she wished she could go up and break the head of this foolish ruler!
But Zhao Yanke wasn't done yet. He chased after Wanxin to the eaves. Suddenly, he turned around, took the iced plum soup from the attendant's hand, and repeatedly urged, "Wanxin, this soup has been chilled in well water. It's the most refreshing." Before his voice fell, he quickly added, "I've already ordered them to add a little honey. It won't be too sour." He said softly, "I know you don't like sour food. I've specifically instructed them long ago..."
Ugh—
Li Wanming almost couldn't hold it back and vomited!
This was just too overly attentive!
Since they set off, Zhao Yanke had to inquire about every detail regarding Wanxin.
During meals, he would ask, "Is the food to your taste?" When she was resting, he would ask, "Is it comfortable here?" Even for the travel route, he would repeatedly confirm, "Will it be too bumpy?"
At the beginning of the journey, when he saw that Wanxin was going to ride a horse, he even publicly stopped her, saying, "The scorching sun is fierce. A girl's body is delicate. How can she bear it?"
With just one sentence, he completely excluded Li Wanming, Li Wanmo, and Liu Yiyi from the category of "girls" - it almost made the three of them furious!
At that time, if it weren't for Feng Xiao and Xiao Jingnan holding him back, Zhao Yanke might have even offered his own gold-inlaid imperial carriage!
Finally, fortunately, the magistrate of Shou'an County presented a four-horse curtained carriage with a moon-white cloud-patterned brocade curtain hanging down and gilded incense balls hanging from the four corners. It was quite elegant and exquisite, which finally made Zhao Yanke stop.
Zhao Yanke's foolish behavior had made the looks of the people following them along the way towards Wanxin become rather subtle.
The attendants became even more respectful. Their respect was also mixed with a kind of caution and the joy of "if we serve this lady well, we'll be climbing up the social ladder". Obviously, they regarded Wanxin as the future noble consort.
The local officials along the way, on the other hand, had a hint of tacit ambiguity in their respect. Clearly, they regarded this as a romantic affair, thinking that Wanxin was a beauty the emperor had taken a fancy to somewhere during his personal expedition and was going to take back to the palace...
As for the soldiers of the Feng family's army, their familiarity was also mixed with a bit of confusion.
Some of them had a good impression of Wanxin because she had taken care of the wounded in Yanchuan. Some knew that Wanxin was the elder sister of the princess of the heir apparent, so they thought the emperor was just being overly considerate to his subordinates. And the last group had heard some idle gossip, saying that Wanxin was the wife of a high-ranking official in the capital, and the emperor was trying to win over that official...
Li Wanming felt a rush of anger surging to the top of her head!
Her elder sister was a pure and innocent person, but now her reputation was so ruined. She was like a walking peach tree, with peach blossoms fluttering wherever she went - all thanks to Zhao Yanke!
And now, he was still acting so disgustingly and intimately in front of everyone...
The burning looks from all around made Wanxin feel ashamed and indignant. She grabbed the corner of her clothes, and her face was so red that it almost dripped blood. "This commoner girl... is not thirsty..."
"Ah? Not thirsty?"
Zhao Yanke didn't feel anything was wrong at all. He put the plum soup on a small table beside him and continued to be overly attentive. "Then are you hungry or tired? I've specifically ordered them to cook red date and barley porridge, as well as osmanthus-flavored steamed custard..."
Finally, Wanxin couldn't take it anymore. She lifted her skirt and turned around to run. Her lotus-colored skirt swept across the stone steps, and she scurried into the side room like a frightened little sparrow.
"Watch out for the steps!" Zhao Yanke actually lifted his dragon robe and chased after her for a few steps. He shouted, "You rest first. I'll let them prepare some snacks and side dishes and send them to your room later!"