As the old saying goes, people can't stand being talked about.
Sure enough, just as the two of them were mentioning Shang Mozheng, the man himself showed up.
"What a grand entrance, Your Highness. You even need so many guards just to visit a teahouse?"
The deep voice echoed through the private room. Lu Yinxi and Shang Luoshu instinctively glanced at each other. They both saw the same surprise in each other's eyes, along with a sudden rise in alertness.
Before they could say anything, the same voice came again. "Luoshu, did you not hear me? Or perhaps you don't want to see your uncle?"
"Uncle, you misunderstand. Nephew wouldn't dare."
Shang Luoshu opened the door himself, putting on his usual fake smile. "Uncle, please come in."
"Miss Lu Si is here too?"
As soon as he entered the room, Shang Mozheng noticed the young girl standing nearby, her head bowed. The sunlight cast a shadow at her feet.
Lu Yinxi was confused by the familiarity in his words but still bowed respectfully.
"This subject's daughter pays respects to the Regent King."
The Regent King replied, "When out and about, there's no need for such formalities."
The three of them took their seats, and the private room fell into silence. No one was willing to speak first until Shang Mozheng broke the ice.
"Come to think of it, this king and Miss Lu Si are quite fated."
Fated?
The young girl lifted her chin slightly, a look of confusion crossing her face.
"Has Prime Minister Lu ever told you that when you were young, you almost became this king's adopted daughter?"
Adopted daughter?!
Both Lu Yinxi and Shang Luoshu were shocked.
The Regent King, and an adopted daughter?
As if unaware of their reactions, Shang Mozheng continued, "It's a pity that due to certain matters, it didn't work out. But since we're fated to meet today, it's not too late to recognize each other now, is it?"
The hands folded on her abdomen tightened suddenly. The strange behavior of her mother and second sister that day flashed through her mind again. Although she didn't know the reason, Lu Yinxi knew that she had to decline.
Just as the young girl was about to stand up and speak, someone beat her to it.
"Uncle, I'm afraid Xi'er can't agree to this."
The sudden change in address caught Lu Yinxi off guard. Shang Mozheng's eyes darkened a bit, but his face still wore a kind smile.
"Luoshu, what do you mean?"
"If you recognize Xi'er as your adopted daughter, then nephew and she would be cousins. Do you think I can agree to this?"
Shang Luoshu's words were straightforward, but the way he said "Xi'er" made them sound rather ambiguous.
Even a fool could sense the hidden meaning in his words.
The Regent King was no fool, so he understood. His eyes grew darker, and even his smile faded a bit. "This king didn't know that Your Highness had such feelings."
"This is a private matter. I wouldn't dare to trouble Uncle."
The man's answer was confident, leaving Shang Mozheng speechless.
Beside them, Lu Yinxi still kept her head down, as if she were shy.
The Regent King's calculating gaze lingered on them for a long time. Finally, he waved his hand and left with his servants in a grand manner. Only Lu Yinxi and Shang Luoshu were left in the private room.
"This was a last - resort move in a hurry. Please forgive me, Miss Lu Si."
Although his words didn't make it explicit, the man knew that his actions might damage the young girl's reputation.
If Shang Mozheng decided to expose the fact that they were alone in a room, Miss Lu of the Prime Minister's Mansion might never be able to get married.
"No need. I should thank you for helping me out."
Lu Yinxi wasn't ungrateful. She knew that if it weren't for Shang Luoshu, the Regent King wouldn't have left so easily.
As for her reputation, she didn't really care. What she cared about most now was what had happened between the Regent King and the Lu Mansion!
"Your Highness, the King of Jing, I have something to do. I'll go back first."
"Okay."
Shang Luoshu could tell that she was in no mood to stay, so he didn't stop her. Instead, he arranged for Chen Guang to send her back.
Lu Yinxi didn't refuse. She took the carriage of the King of Jing's Mansion back to the Prime Minister's Mansion. The first thing she did was rush to find Lady Lu.
At the same time, Lady Lu was coming out of the small Buddhist hall.
When she saw her daughter, she quickly stepped forward to check. After making sure that her daughter was unharmed, the straight line of her lips slowly curved up, and her whole demeanor softened.
"Had your fun? Now you remember to come back?"
All the changes in Lady Lu's expression were seen by Lu Yinxi. Just because of this look, all the questions she had on the carriage were left unasked.
She still remembered clearly Lady Lu's失态 when they returned from the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion. It was as if she was on the edge of a desperate abyss, one step away from falling.
"Xi'er?"
Not hearing a response from her daughter for a long time, Lady Lu felt strange. A trace of worry appeared on her face.
"Xi'er, did something happen to you outside?"
"No, Mother, you're overthinking!"
Suppressing the struggle in her eyes, the young girl affectionately held her mother's hand and leaned her head on her shoulder.
"Daughter was just recalling the storyteller's story. It was so wonderful. Mother, you should go and listen to it some other day!"
Seeing her daughter back to her usual self, Lady Lu finally relaxed. "Mother doesn't like those places, but if Xi'er tells me, Mother is willing to listen."
"Then I'll go take a bath and change my clothes first. I'll tell you at dinner, okay?"
"Okay."
After soothing Lady Lu, on her way back to the Luoxia Courtyard, Lu Yinxi's smile disappeared completely.
"Hongmei, did you tell Lu Hu?"
"Don't worry, Miss. This servant has already told him not to tell Lady Lu about today's events."
As night fell, the story - telling in the Luoxia Courtyard was coming to an end, but the study in the Prime Minister's Mansion was still brightly lit. Prime Minister Lu was still dealing with official business.
Accompanying him was a shadow in the corner of the study.
Prime Minister Lu asked, "When Miss went out today, did anything happen?"
The shadow replied, "Miss Lu Si met the Regent King."
The inkstone was suddenly knocked over. Ink spilled all over the table, soaking a stack of official documents. But Lu Wenhan didn't care about that.
"Is Xi'er okay? Did he do anything to Xi'er?"
"Don't worry, Prime Minister. The King of Jing was there at the time. The Regent King didn't do anything. He just said he wanted to recognize Miss Lu Si as his adopted daughter."
Hearing this, the Prime Minister let out a sigh of relief. He slumped into the armchair, looking listless as if his soul had been taken away.
"After all these years, he still wants to use this trick."
Knowing that this was his master's self - talk, the shadow didn't respond.
After a long time, the Prime Minister spoke again. "Lu Hu, do you want to go back to Longxi?"
The shadow stiffened slightly. A slight crack appeared on his usually expressionless face.
"If I ask you to take Xi'er back to Longxi..."
"Prime Minister," the Prime Minister's words were suddenly interrupted. "The Regent King won't allow it."
Yes, he won't allow it.
He shouldn't have been soft - hearted and let Xi'er come back.
His eyes closed heavily. When he opened them again, the old figure had transformed back into Prime Minister Lu of the Great Qi.
"This Prime Minister understands. You may leave."
As spring grew stronger, the spring imperial examination came to an end. Along with it, Lu Jinran's confinement also ended.
The reason was simple. The princess of the Qi Palace sent an invitation, specifically inviting the two young ladies of the Prime Minister's Mansion to attend the spring banquet.