Zheng Xiao Mistake: The Mistake of Rebirth Provoked the Cold Master

Perhaps the Grand Tutor believed that if a flower is in season, it should be picked immediately. Zhu Zheng did not hesitate and leaned in to smell it. The elegant fragrance was not real. The closer she got, the more hazy it became.

It's similar to the scent on someone's body.

"So this is the scent." Zhu Zheng sighed, but felt unsatisfied, so he took off his hat and hung it around his neck, then sniffed it hard.

When you are close to the flowers, you can only smell a faint scent of grass, but when you take a few steps away, you can catch the faint lotus fragrance, which blends the slight sweetness of grass and soil, and faintly reveals the scent of cedar and sandalwood, which is deeply refreshing.

"No wonder they say their fragrance becomes more fragrant the further it travels." Zhu Zheng suddenly realized that the words in the book were not deceiving.

The pink lotus as big as a jade plate wrapped Zhu Zheng's small face in its petals. The flowers on her hairpin had long been weighed down by the hat and were hanging loosely. It was hot and she was sweating, and her hair on her forehead was wet and stuck to her fair and rosy face.

Rong Yan seemed to be distracted for a while before he said, "This flower is called the Eastern Dawn."

The petals are as pale as watercolor, with only a hint of red on the tips, just like half of the sky dyed red at dawn.

Zhu Zheng thought about it, then looked up and said to Rong Yan, "What a nice and elegant name."

Rong Yan said "hmm" again.

Zhu Zheng tilted her head back and took a close look at Rong Yan's eyes for the first time. His eyes were lighter than those of others. The sunlight refracted into them, and they were as clear as fine amber, faintly reflecting her image.

The lotus flowers swaying in the breeze and the cicadas chirping on the weeping willows in the distance seemed to have stopped at the same time. Amidst my pounding heartbeat, the only thing left was the pair of clear eyes before my eyes.

In this stillness, Rong Yan suddenly raised his hand and moved close to her face.

The sound of wind suddenly reached Zhu Zheng's ears. He startled and took a half step back as if he was scalded.

His hand paused, "Pedigree."

Zhu Zheng rubbed her face quickly, the tender yellow stamens stuck to her palms. She spread out her palms and exhaled randomly.

The stamens were blown away, and bits of golden threads floated in the sunlight, some of which stuck to Rong Yan's clothes.

Zhu Zheng was startled, and immediately patted Rong Yan's clothes. This action was quite childish. Realizing her abruptness, she subconsciously stepped back.

Her arm was suddenly held, and Zhu Zheng was guided by the waist to stand firmly, getting closer to the person in front of her.

"You're going to fall." Rong Yan said.

"Oh, thank you so much." Zhu Zheng thanked him repeatedly, then took a step back suddenly, and said quickly, "Actually, it won't be a big deal if I fall in. I'm a pretty good swimmer, so I won't drown in such a small amount of water."

Grandma God, what is she saying without thinking...

Zhu Zheng felt her face was a little hot, perhaps from the sun or something, and she suddenly put the hat back on her head.

"Aren't you bored?" Rong Yan looked down at her.

It would be better to suffocate to death.

Zhu Zheng didn't say anything, but buried her face in the lotus to cool down. She cleared her throat and randomly found a topic to talk about, "Lotus smells really good. Have you ever smelled white lotus? Its color is lighter, and its fragrance is lighter than that of red lotus?"

Rong Yan leaned over again, pretending to pick a white lotus from the shore and give it to her.

"Sir." Zhu Zheng asked tentatively, pointing a finger into the distance, "Can I have that one?"

Rong Yan looked into the distance along the tip of her finger and saw a white lotus in full bloom among the red lotus flowers.

"Okay." He agreed.

The flower bloomed in the middle of the lake. If you want to pick it, you must first go to the curved bridge and perhaps find a small boat.

Zhu Zheng was just in a momentary mood and did not expect that he would agree so readily. Seeing him walking into the flowers, he was probably going to find his attendant.

The layers of flower shadows quickly separated the two of them. Halfway through their walk, Rong Yan suddenly turned around and looked at Zhu Zheng outside the bridge.

A gentleman stands tall and clear.

It's so clear that we should hire an artist to draw it.

For some reason, he stayed there for a long time. Zhu Zheng was afraid that he would turn back, so she immediately gave him an encouraging smile and raised her finger to point at the flower.

Rong Yan finally continued walking.

After he could no longer be seen clearly, Zhu Zheng turned around and ran away.

All I could hear was the whistling sound of the wind as I jogged around Yaoguang Island. When I was about to run out of breath, I finally saw a figure in white standing under a tree.

Zhu Zheng called out breathlessly, "Master Wen, I finally found you!"

Her voice was originally clear and pleasant, but because she was out of breath from running, this sentence sounded like a little girl's complaint and affection.

Wen Boqiu turned around when he heard the voice, and Zhu Zheng discovered that there was a circular viewing platform in front of him, hidden by the purple flower trees, and not far behind him was the crowd surrounding the viewing platform.

A burst of booing immediately arose.

"So he really brought his family with him." The one who spoke was the eldest son of the Shen family, and he said with a teasing tone, "As expected, beauty can mislead people. Even Brother Bo Qiu can lie."

Apparently, no one believed Wen Boqiu's previous statement, the so-called "sister in the family", anymore. How could a sister call her brother "Master Wen"?

Wen Boqiu was surrounded by the crowd with a red face, and he said incoherently, "No, you misunderstood, don't say that..."

It's really worrying. It's better not to explain this situation if it can't be explained clearly.

Getting away was important, so Zhu Zheng stepped forward, pulled Wen Boqiu out of the crowd, then turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

After running for ten steps, Wen Boqiu suddenly stopped behind him, and Zhu Zheng was also pulled to a stop. She turned back in confusion, but heard Wen Boqiu say, "Master Taifu."

Besides Rong Yan, who else is called Grand Tutor?

... Could it be that Master Taifu could fly? She had clearly run a long way to find Wen Boqiu.

The hat blocked her vision, so Zhu Zheng slowly raised it, and the corner of the crimson-purple robe came into her sight, and her heart suddenly died down.

It’s over, it’s over. Now I’m really like a turtle trapped in the big jar of heaven and earth.

Rong Yan's attendant came forward and asked, "My Lord, have you gone to pick lotus?"

Zhu Zheng then noticed that he was holding a bunch of lotus flowers in his hand, and there were water stains on the hem of his clothes, which turned a deep purple color.

Did he pick them himself?

How could she have the courage to order an official of the imperial court to pick flowers and willows for her... and she even disappeared without a trace...

Zhu Zheng naturally didn't dare to look at Rong Yan's expression. After a moment, a man in a blue official robe and with an exaggerated beard came behind her.

This was Shangshu Chen Shoucheng. She had met him at a palace banquet and had some impression of this handsome man with flowing moustache.

"Lord Rong still has a conscience. He didn't leave me alone and go back to the ship." He joked.

Zhu Zheng didn't dare to move for a long time. Wen Boqiu thought she didn't recognize him, so he gently reminded her, "That's Master Rong from the Imperial Tutor's Mansion, and this is Master Chen from the Shangshu Mansion."

After hesitating for a long time, she had no choice but to bow slowly.

"My daughter greets the Grand Tutor and the Minister."

Minister Chen nodded, but Rong Yan did not respond.

According to Rong Yan's usual way of dealing with people, such silence was normal. No one felt it was strange. Everyone's eyes were still focused on Wen Liu and Zhu Zheng.

Although her face could not be seen due to the hat she was wearing, one could tell from her figure that she was a slim beauty. One of her hands was tightly grasping the sleeve of the Sixth Young Master of the Wen Family, like a lost lamb that had strayed into a wolf's den.

"Why is the girl so shy, holding the lute and half covering her face? Is it true that except for her lover, no one else is qualified to see her true face?"

Zhu Zheng frowned subconsciously at the tone of voice, and didn't even think about talking. Now one problem became two problems. Previously, she only needed to get rid of Rong Yan, but now she had to get rid of this group of people. She had to think of an excuse...

Just when he was in such a dilemma, he suddenly heard Rong Yan's voice.

"Take a seat."

Zhu Zheng didn't even hear clearly what Rong Yan said. Soon, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps from the crowd. The noises around her gradually faded away and soon it became quiet.

"It's time to compete in the six arts of a gentleman." Wen Boqiu explained to Zhu Zheng in a low voice, "Although it's just a fun and elegant event, today both the Grand Tutor and the Minister of State are here, and everyone is waiting to be in the spotlight, so they were all waiting for the Grand Tutor to show up."

It turned out that this group of people were waiting for Rong Yan. She secretly regretted that if she had known that he had something important to do, why would she have gone to so much trouble to get him away.

After everyone dispersed, only Zhu Zheng and Wen Boqiu were left standing. Wen Boqiu quickly found a corner and invited Zhu Zheng to sit down.

The viewing platform is under a huge purple clematis tree, with petals falling in the breeze, creating a very elegant setting.

After the Grand Tutor and the Minister of State took their seats at the top, the first young man came up soon to perform the game of pitching pots, which won the applause of the whole room.

Rong Yan was obviously absent-minded.

Apart from the two words "Take a seat", he did not say another word. On the low table in front of him were a few white lotus flowers, all in full bloom, with a pink one among them.

Could it be the one she dropped on the ground when she ran away just now?

As he was watching, Rong Yan raised his eyes and looked over.

Looking through the crowd, Zhu Zheng suddenly caught his gaze. Her back tightened, and she suddenly felt like those poor lotus flowers, being baptized by the scorching sun.

Pulling down the brim of her hat, Zhu Zheng huddled behind Wen Boqiu, intending to use him to cover herself, not daring to look up again.

She sat there on pins and needles for a long time, still feeling someone's eyes on her. Finally, she couldn't help but make up an excuse to watch the lotus and asked Wen Boqiu if he wanted to go with her.

Wen Boqiu agreed happily.

So the two of them left the table together, avoiding the crowd and going to a secluded place.

In order to prevent him from wanting to go back to the Grand View Terrace, Zhu Zheng tried her best to make small talk, from the egg seller at the East Gate to the coffin shop at the West Gate, and from the top scholar at the North Gate to the new widow at the South Gate.

Zhu Zheng talked until his mouth was dry, and it was not until the sun set that he dared to suggest returning.

When we returned to the ferry, all the pleasure boats had left.

There were only a few clumps of reeds growing at the ferry crossing. In the twilight, a waning moon was rising, and its reflection in the calm lake water made the lake look empty.

Etc., etc……

Empty... ?

...Where are their small and exquisite Wupeng boats? !