Chapter 208 Chance Encounter
When did the prince see something made by the county master himself, he didn't look hungry and anxious.
The prince had that expression because he liked to eat food made by the county master himself.
Of course, they didn't dare to tease the county lord in front of him, otherwise, the county lord would kick them out of the kitchen.
Less than a quarter of an hour after Chu Jingqi left, she wandered in. The jujube cake had just been put on the steamer, and it would take some time before it was ready to be eaten.
"I'll fry some meatballs for you first. That's quick." Seeing that he was hungry, Xia Zihan felt a little sorry for him.
Chu Jingqi smiled and nodded sharply, "Yeah, let's fry more and let's eat together."
By the time it was time for dinner, Chu Jingqi had already eaten all afternoon, and his stomach was already bulging. Zhuo pointed at his nose angrily and cursed, "I haven't seen you eat like this before even when I cook. It's really weird." If you lose your sister, you will forget your mother.”
When you have a daughter-in-law, you forget about your mother.
Chu Jingqi curled her lips and replied in her heart.
The next day, Xia Zihan went to Sanyuan with the Chu family.
At this season, the leaves in the Maple Garden are not red yet, so there is nothing interesting to see, but the Lotus Garden and Baiyuan Garden are at the peak of their blooms, and are also the time of year when there are the most tourists.
Shengdi finally squeezed in and bought sixteen tickets for four masters and twelve servants.
"Master, when I bought the ticket just now, I seemed to have met the Crown Prince of Song." Shengdi secretly whispered in Chu Jingqi's ear, "There is a girl beside him."
"But we know each other?"
"I know you." Shengdi lowered his voice so that only Chu Jingqi could hear, "It's the fourth girl of the Dai family."
In the past ten months, due to Xia Zihan's hint, Chu Jingqi's people have been monitoring the Dai family, Lu family, Song family, Pei family and Shi family without interruption.
Shengdi and Ma Bao had met Dai Yumin and both knew her.
It's just that in the past few months this year, Dai Yumin has stayed at home and never left the house, so Shengdi and the others have relaxed their surveillance of her a lot.
Unexpectedly, I would accidentally see Dai Yumin and Song Huai walking together today. When I saw them just now, Shengdi thought he had seen them wrongly.
But upon closer inspection, it was indeed Song Huai and Dai Yumin.
"How did the two of them get involved together?" Chu Jingqi was also wondering.
During this period of time, Song Huai had never escaped from his supervision, but how could he and Dai Yumin be together? Didn't they know each other?
Dai Yumin grew up in Yi'an, Jiangnan, and has only been back in Beijing for less than a year.
"Go and keep an eye on me." He ordered Shengdi.
Shengdi said yes and quietly left everyone.
Xia Zihan and his group entered the lotus garden.
What comes into view is the endless lotus lake. On the lake, there are lotuses of various shapes standing upright. Some are in bud, some are graceful, and some are in full bloom.
Colorful and wonderful.
Of course, the lotus is accompanied by lotus leaves. The emerald green lotus leaves are crowded together and cover the entire lake. Some of them are higher than the water surface, and some are rolled up, like green jade plates. , there are round crystal pearls rolling around in the plate.
Xia Zihan squatted down happily and stretched out his hand, wanting to catch the water droplets that were about to roll out of the jade plate.
Chu Jingqi turned pale with fright and hurriedly grabbed her other hand and said gently, "Be careful if your clothes get wet. If you want to play with the water drops in the lotus leaves, let's go home and go boating. There are too many people here. It's very dangerous for you. What if you fall into the water?"
Because there were too many tourists, the court was worried that tourists would damage the beautiful scenery of the lake, so it was forbidden to go boating in the lake.
There are also lakes in Anguo Gongfu and Chu Residence, and there are also lotuses planted in them, but there are not many and they are not as spectacular as here. However, it is still possible to take a boat and play with the water drops in the lotus leaves.
Seeing that she was having a lot of fun and was very happy, Chu Jingqi suggested, "How about I pick a lotus leaf for you?"
"Look, one hundred taels of silver for a lotus leaf is too expensive." Xia Zihan pointed to a sign posted on the lakeside to show Chu Jingqi.
There are some systems written on it to prevent tourists from causing damage, including one that stipulates that those who pick lotus leaves will be fined one hundred taels of silver.
Chu Jingqi touched her nose and said disapprovingly, "If you like it, it's worth a hundred taels of silver, ah..."
As soon as Chu Jingqi finished speaking, Mrs. Zhuo slapped him on the back of the head.
"Prodigal child, there are so many lotus leaves at home, and you came here to buy lotus leaves for me, one hundred taels of silver each, why don't you grab them."
Xia Zihan pursed her lips and smiled.
Chu Jingqi curled her lips, not daring to reply to Mr. Zhuo.
Humph, didn't you see that his father was watching eagerly from the side? If he said something back, his father would definitely give him a kick.
Maybe even kick him directly into the lake. But fortunately, it's so remote here that no one can see her. Otherwise, it would be really embarrassing for her to be beaten by her mother at such a big age.
"Ayu, stop playing around. The water here is not clean. It's all fertilized."
Mrs. Zhuo ignored her son who was rubbing the back of his head and turned to look at Xia Zihan who had already stood up.
Xia Zihan smiled and stepped forward to hold her arm. The two of them walked affectionately along the lakeside, and even deliberately chose some remote places to avoid people.
Mrs. Zhuo smiled and said, "You like lotus leaves. Come to Anguo Palace one day, and I will ask Aqi to take you boating. There is a large lake in Anguo Palace, with lotus, water chestnut, arrowroot, and Manchurian flowers planted in it. I even went out to pick water chestnuts a few days ago and ate them.”
Zhuo said with a happy face, not realizing that Chu Xuanyu behind him turned gloomy when he heard her say that she had gone boating to pick water chestnuts.
After Chu Jingqi felt the cold air radiating from his father, he silently took a step back and lit a candle for his mother in his heart.
Hey, mother didn't pay attention to what she said again. It seems that mother will be severely punished by father again tonight.
"I think we should set a time, the day after tomorrow. How about I ask Aqi to pick you up at Chu's house the day after tomorrow?" Mrs. Zhuo said excitedly, and her impatience was revealed again. She said that wind is like rain, so Xia Zihan Go boating at Anguo Gongfu.
"Okay." Seeing that her aunt was in high spirits, she didn't want to dampen her spirits.
However, it is obviously summer, why does it feel a little cold?
Xia Zihan touched her arm in confusion and saw half of the corner of the pavilion exposed behind a huge stone not far away. She pointed to it and said, "Auntie, look at the small pavilion over there. Let's go there and rest." "Have a rest."
"Okay."
A group of people walked towards the somewhat remote pavilion.
"Hey, is there someone?"
Before they even got close, they heard voices in the small pavilion on the other side of the boulder. A group of people subconsciously silenced and their steps slowed down.
When a group of people walked past the boulder and saw the people in the pavilion, they were all shocked.
"Cousin Huai, how could it be you?" Xia Zihan stared at the two people in the pavilion with a shocked face, "Miss Dai Si, you... long time no see."
His tone was extremely cold.
Dai Yumin didn't seem to feel it. The corner of her mouth was slightly raised, and there seemed to be a trace of pride in her eyes. "County Master Chuyu, we are really destined. How come we can meet in such a big city."
She knew that Xia Zihan didn't like her, and she didn't like Xia Zihan either, and even hated her, so there was no need to be polite between the two of them.
The moment Song Huai saw Xia Zihan, he first looked surprised, and then a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. Especially when Xia Zihan and Dai Yumin greeted each other in a familiar tone, he was even more surprised and shot Dai Yumin quickly. Yu Min glanced.
And only he himself knows what the gloominess in his eyes expresses.
Song Huai took two steps forward, first saluted Chu Xuanyu and Zhuo, and greeted Chu Jingqi. After making sure that he was not rude, he walked to Xia Zihan and looked at her with concern, "Didn't you say you were feeling unwell yesterday? Why did you come out? Are you feeling well?”
With a worried and anxious look on his face, people who didn't know would have thought he was very nervous Xia Zihan.
"I just feel a little uncomfortable in my stomach. I felt better yesterday afternoon." Xia Zihan said lightly, and looked at Dai Yumin again, "So cousin Huai and Miss Dai know each other?"
"I...I just met her by chance. We just met in the pavilion. I came to the pavilion to rest. I didn't know that she was there...I was about to leave, and you guys came."
Is the explanation too far-fetched?
Song Huai himself seemed to realize it, and he quickly changed the subject, "I wanted to see you yesterday. I drank too much at Dou's house, so..."
Song Huai's ears turned red for some reason, "I was drunk all night, and my head still hurts this morning, so I wanted to go for a walk."
So, I met Dai Yumin by chance?
Xia Zihan didn't believe it in his heart, but the fact that these two scumbags, Dai Yumin and Song Huai, could meet together was an unexpected gain.
However, it is still necessary to pretend on the surface.
"Cousin Huai, you... why didn't you bring the boy?" Xia Zihan glanced at Dai Yumin stubbornly again, his face seemed a little nervous, scared and a little sad.
With that expression, Hong Guoguo had caught her husband, Hong Xing, cheating on her, but she didn't dare to question her husband.
"I haven't seen Cousin Huai for a long time." To express it again, she missed him.
A trace of guilt flashed in Song Huai's eyes, which turned to be full of affection, "I will go to the Chu family to visit you tomorrow."
Damn, who wants you to come?
Xia Zihan felt like he shot himself in the foot.
The couple from the Chu family had already sat down on the stone bench. They looked elegant and gentle, but actually they were watching a show with a smile, watching the play of a few young people.
As for Chu Jingqi, the moment she saw Song Huai, she regained her previous cold iceberg expression, exuding a strong air-conditioning that made people stay away from her. Compared with the gentle and smiling person before, she was as tender as spring breeze. A big block of ice three feet deep in the cold wind.
The two temperatures with the biggest gap were interpreted by Chu Jingqi without any gaps, almost like a switch. It should be cold when it should be cold, and it should be warm when it should be warm. Xia Zihan admired him very much.
(End of chapter)