CH 21.1

Chapter 21.1 – It Would Be Nice to Plant Some Green Bamboos (1)

Qi Yang had waited outside Hanlin Academy for a long time, naturally not for the matter with the mansion. The thing about selecting a mansion was just a cover.

She came to support Lu Qipei. With the brightly shining sign of her identity hung outside the carriage, the people in Hanlin Academy would know that the new little compiler had someone backing her; Princess Qi Yang. They would have to consider it before trying to bully her.

It was a pity that Lu Qipei left a little late today, so she didn’t manage to catch a good timing to show her face in front of them. But that didn’t matter. Her carriage will always be parked there, and can be seen by anyone. After a few days, everyone who should know will know.

Qi Yang supported her chin with one hand and tepidly stroked the edge of the tea cup, but her eyes were on Lu Qipei beside her. She leisurely watched Lu Qipei as the latter ate the whole plate of milk cakes. After thinking for a bit, she also took out a plate of hibiscus cakes and placed them on a small table. Then, she looked at Lu Qipei, as if expecting her to eat them.

Lu Qipei lightly blushed when she saw it. She didn’t have a large appetite in the first place, plus she had already eaten a plate of milk cakes.  She didn’t have the cheek to take the hibiscus cakes as well. Instead, she took the tea that Her Royal Highness The Princess had poured for her and sipped it slowly.

Qi Yang didn’t care and continued looking at Lu Qipei with a smile, as if she wanted to make up for the days she couldn’t smile at her.

Lu Qipei felt awkward, and her ears turned more and more red. Her blush even started spreading to her white cheeks. Finally, she couldn’t stand Qi Yang’s straight gaze and wanted to say something, but the moving carriage suddenly stopped.

The coachman outside reminded, “Your Highness, we’ve arrived at Cheng’en street.”

Only then did Qi Yang retract her gaze and solemnly say as if nothing had happened, “We’re here, let’s go down and take a look.”

Lu Qipei put down her tea and nodded. For a while, she didn’t know what to say, so she just got up and followed Qi Yang to exit the carriage.

The coachman had already placed a stool beside the carriage, and Qi Yang stepped on the stool neatly while holding the hem of her skirt, not needing anyone’s assistance. Then she put down her skirt and turned around, extending her hand towards Lu Qipei who was still inside the carriage…

The coachman by the side felt like their roles had been reversed; it was clearly Her Highness that should be supported when getting off the carriage.

Lu Qipei inside the car looked the white and slender hand and pursed her lips. She wanted to say no, be she couldn’t refuse Qi Yang’s serious eyes. She just wanted to go along with whatever Qi Yang wanted, so finally, she helplessly took her hand.

Not daring to actually lean on Qi Yang’s hand at all, Lu Qipei carefully got off the carriage. But when she intended to let go, she found that the hand holding hers didn’t intend to let go at all. Qi Yang held her hand with one hand and pointed to the mansion in front of her with the other while saying, “This is one of the mansions that the Ministry of Works selected for me. There are also other members of the imperial family living in the mansions next to it. Come with me inside to see how it is.”

Half of Lu Qipei’s mind was still on their hands. She looked around as if she felt guilty of being a thief, and was relieved to see that the street was quite empty and there was no one else around other than the coachman.

Not daring to shake off Qi Yang’s hand, Lu Qipei absent-mindedly nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll accompany you.”

Qi Yang’s smile deepened when she heard this. She led Lu Qipei to the mansion’s front door and rang the door knocker twice. The red-colored door was quickly opened from inside.

It wasn’t the gatekeeper who opened the door, but a minor official from the Ministry of Works. He especially waited here after knowing that Her Highness would come to see the mansion today.

But this minor official didn’t expect that after waiting here the whole day, the one who came was not just Princess Qi Yang, but also a “man” that she was leading around. It had to be known that the princess was not married yet, and there were countless people who had an interest in this marriage. Now, it seemed that someone had won the race. After all, she even brought him to choose the princess’s mansion.

The minor official gave a respectful salute and curiously stole a glance at Lu Qipei’s face. Seeing her jade-like appearance and elegant demeanor, he could not help secretly praising her look. Seeing that she was wearing a sixth-grade official’s robe, he could tell that she came from a noble family somewhere.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anyone she might have been when he tried searching his memory.

But setting aside being curious and thinking about it, he could not delay the job he had to do. The minor official only gave Lu Qipei a glance, then consciously started leading the way, giving Her Royal Highness The Princess an introduction of the mansion along the way.

In fact, there wasn’t actually much to introduce. Halls and pavilions, terraces and waterside pavilions – there was probably not much different between regulated mansions. The minor took both of them for a walk, but they didn’t find anything new. There was only a small peach blossom forest at the corner of the mansion. It was the season for them to bloom, and the two of them stopped for a while. But a peach blossom forest was not rare, and the trees were not hard to transplant, so it was not really a reason to choose this place.
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