The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

The Princess's Mansion was built when the late emperor was alive. As the late emperor's only legitimate daughter, she was naturally treated exceptionally well.

It covers a large area and has a Lotus Lake in the center, where many lotus flowers are planted.

In early April, the lotus flowers have not yet bloomed, but the round lotus leaves of different sizes are spread in the water and exposed above the water. The whole view is green.

The breeze blew over the lake, rippling the blue water. It was obvious how spectacular and beautiful the scene would be if all kinds of lotus flowers bloomed.

There was a small boat parked by the lake, which must have been used by the old women for their daily cleaning of Hefeng Lake.

Duan Ning avoided all the maids and took Shen Baozhao on board.

The gentle breeze caressed his cheeks, and standing in the middle of the boat and looking out into the distance, he felt relaxed and happy. Shen Baozhao also felt that the pent-up energy in his heart was swept away.

Duan Ning was a playful kid who took off her shoes and socks and put her white feet into the lake. The clear water reflected her round and plump toes, which was very cute.

She was still not satisfied and insisted that Shen Baozhao take off his shoes and socks like her.

Shen Baozhao couldn't persuade her, so he also put his feet into the lake. The little fish touched his feet, and the tingling feeling was very comfortable.

The two of them lay flat on the boat, looking at the white clouds floating in the blue sky.

Princess Duan Ning finally couldn't help asking, "Bao Zhao, do you know if Lord Mei has a wife?"

"Is it Master Mei? There shouldn't be any." Shen Baozhao remembered that he still suspected Mei Qianhe was the one who passed the note.

Duan Ning felt relieved after hearing Shen Baozhao's answer.

Shen Baozhao was puzzled as to why Lady Duanning seemed to be very concerned about Master Mei. "Why are you asking whether Master Mei has a wife? Could it be that you..."

Before Shen Baozhao could finish his words, Duanning County Lady covered his mouth with her hand and said, "Don't say it."

Shen Baozhao nodded curiously, and Princess Duanning put her hand down.

But he was dejected: "I saw him once when I was with you in the Colosseum."

"When I saw him calmly confront that cold-faced Dali Temple official, I felt that he was very extraordinary."

"But I also know that I have no right to decide my own marriage. It's just a fantasy in my mind."

Shen Baozhao turned around and saw Princess Duan Ning smiling bitterly. Although she seemed to be happy and carefree every day, she was very clear in her heart.

Shen Baozhao didn't know how to persuade her, so he just held her hand tightly and said, "Nothing can be absolute. We should still hold on to a glimmer of hope. Maybe the princess doesn't object."

"Then aren't you just asking for trouble by being so sad now?"

Duan Ning was a very easy-to-please person, her emotions came and went quickly. After a while, she forgot about Mei and only talked about everything with Shen Baozhao.

The two of them lay side by side and covered their faces with lotus leaves. They had not enjoyed this comfort for long when they were interrupted by a voice.

"Duan Ning, you know how to enjoy yourself. I looked at you from afar and thought it was a woman slacking off. I didn't expect it was you."

Hearing Xue Sheng's voice, Princess Duanning and Shen Baozhao immediately sat up. Shen Baozhao even covered his feet with lotus leaves and shrank back.

Duan Ning frowned and scolded unhappily: "How can you come here uninvited?"

Xue Sheng saw that there were other girls there, and he also noticed that Duan Ning's calf was exposed, so he turned around quickly.

Shen Baozhao hurriedly put on his shoes and socks, secretly annoyed with himself for being careless and shouldn't have been so careless in someone else's house.

Duan Ning saw his brother turned around and realized it, so he quickly put on his shoes and socks.

On the other side, Xue Sheng was still nagging and accusing Duan Ning of being too unrestrained.

Duan Ning was so angry that she also started a quarrel with him: "I am far inferior to you. Everyone knows that my good brother, Master Xue, is a frequent visitor to Wangchunlou."

"My mother should have found me a sister-in-law to take care of you."

Xue Sheng had just been humiliated by the princess today, so it would be nice if Duan Ning could just bring up something that was not relevant.

"The woman who can control me, Xue Sheng, has not yet been born. Duan Ning, stop using my mother to pressure me."

After saying that, he suddenly remembered something and changed his tone. He said to Duan Ning in a flattering manner: "Good sister, how about you help your brother to say a few good words in front of mother?"

"As long as you can convince mother to give up the idea of ​​me marrying Feng Feiyan, that domineering and vicious woman, I will agree to any request you make."

"Don't you like Persian cats? I'll find one for you. How about it?"

Princess Duan Ning chuckled, "Persian cat, didn't I send you to Miss Shishi because I liked you? Do you still remember that you have a sister?"

Shen Baozhao looked disgusted when Xue Sheng mentioned Feng Feiyan, but in her eyes, although Feng Feiyan was not a popular person, she was also a woman who knew right from wrong and good from evil.

She couldn't bear to see him say that, and couldn't help but ask, "How did Master Xue know that Miss Feng was so domineering and vicious?"

Xue Sheng thought that Shen Baozhao, like the other followers of Princess Duanning, was surrounding his sister.

The sudden question came out loud, somewhat unexpectedly.

He answered perfunctorily: "Of course, there are several women in Kyoto with worse reputations than her. She is disrespectful to her elders and at odds with her family. Moreover, she committed a crime in the street yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be false?"

"Is seeing it necessarily the truth?" Shen Baozhao asked.

Xue Sheng was always tolerant of good-looking women. Even though Shen Baozhao refuted him, he did not get angry.

Instead, he said with a smile: "If seeing something is not necessarily believing it, then why does the Dali Temple need to find eyewitnesses when trying a case?"

Shen Baozhao did not answer him, but pulled a lotus leaf stem from the lake and asked, "Excuse me, Master Xue, is this lotus leaf stem straight or curved?"

"Of course it's straight." Xue Sheng didn't know what Shen Baozhao was keeping in suspense.

"Okay, look carefully." Shen Baozhao casually stretched the lotus leaf stem into the lake.

Under the clear lake water, you can see with the naked eye that the lotus leaf stem is actually split into two parts.

"So, Master Xue, do you think the lotus leaf stem is still straight?"

Xue Sheng was speechless. Shen Baozhao pulled the lotus leaf stem out of the water again, and it was still straight.

Shen Baozhao did not ridicule him, but said to him seriously: "Master Xue had a fight with Miss Feng in the street yesterday, and I was there too."

Xue Sheng was surprised that he didn't see her. But he was only concerned with getting rid of Feng Feiyan's entanglement yesterday and had no time to care about anything else.

“It all started when Miss Shishi bumped into a child and demanded fifty taels of silver as compensation, claiming that the child had soiled her clothes.

Miss Feng Er just spoke up to help her when she saw her bullying the weak.

Young Master Xue slandered her without any reason and also defended Miss Shishi, who seemed weak but had a mind more cunning than a honeycomb.

That’s the whole truth.”

Xue Sheng thought it was impossible: "Miss Shishi is as noble as the snow lotus on the top of the mountain, how could she bully the weak. And I have known Miss Feng Er since she was a child, she has a naughty temper.

Could it be that this girl is good friends with Miss Feng Er and is making excuses for her?"

Shen Baozhao was furious when he saw Xue Sheng was still stubborn and said, "My words don't count. Master Xue could have gone to find someone on the street who witnessed the whole incident instead of listening to the opinion of a brothel girl.

If everyone says something favorable to Miss Feng Er, then it's impossible for everyone to be friends with her, right?"

Shen Baozhao also mocked: "If Miss Feng Er was on good terms with everyone, her reputation wouldn't be like this, right?"

Xue Sheng seemed to be thinking about something.