Chapter 293: Lake Cruise
After hearing Meng Xi's words, Xiao Jun pretended to be enlightened and leaned forward to ask:
"Xi'er, are you saying that if there is no divorce letter, then the oath is useless?"
"Yes, Mengxi cut her hair and swore an oath in order to get a divorce letter. Second Master was being stubborn and refused to write it, so he stayed in Xiao Mansion for a few more months. Later, you wrote the divorce letter, and the oath naturally took effect."
As if afraid that Xiao Jun didn't understand, Meng Xi patiently explained word by word. When Xiao Jun heard Meng Xi accusing him of cheating, his face turned red and white. He pondered for a while and said doubtfully:
"So that's how the divorce letter is used. If I hadn't written the divorce letter, wouldn't there be no such oath?"
Mengxi listened, laughed secretly, and said in a melancholy tone:
"Second Master is right, but there is no if... Second Master has written a divorce letter, so the oath has taken effect. Because of this, Mengxi is extremely heartbroken. Mengxi loves Second Master terribly, but because of the oath, she has to live a lonely life. But Second Master, don't worry, Mengxi will only have you in her heart throughout her life."
Mengxi spoke the last two sentences with extreme tenderness.
Even though he knew Mengxi was teasing him, Xiao Jun couldn't help but shudder when he heard her say with her own mouth that she loved him terribly and that he was the only one in her heart for the rest of her life. He stared at her infatuatedly, his lips moving, but he couldn't utter a word.
Seeing Xiao Jun like this, Meng Xi asked with a smile:
"Does Second Master understand now?"
Seeing Xiao Jun nodding foolishly, Meng Xi's face suddenly changed and he said coldly:
"Zhiqiu, show the guests away!"
"Miss, you..."
After hearing what the young lady said, Zhiqiu was shocked and couldn't help but scream out. Meeting the young lady's cold gaze, he quickly closed his mouth and looked at Xiao Jun with a worried expression.
It took Xiao Jun a long time to come back to his senses. Seeing Meng Xi's cold face, he slowly stood up and said:
"Xi'er is busy, so I won't disturb her. Xi'er should go to bed early."
Xiao Jun said as he walked towards the door. After taking two steps, he suddenly turned around and came to Meng Xi. He put his ear close to hers and said in a hoarse voice:
"Xi'er loves me so much, I am so heartbroken, how can I bear to let you be struck by lightning ..."
"you……"
Seeing Mengxi's expression change, Xiaojun's eyes flashed with a sly smile, and he walked quickly to the door. Mengxi grabbed the book on the table and threw it at him. Xiaojun turned his head and dodged. Xiaojun's hearty laughter came from outside the study...
Long before the Dragon Boat Festival, several maids had been arranging to watch the dragon boat race. As the great mourning period had just ended this year, Emperor Jin went to Luding Lake in person to watch the dragon boat race. The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the road to Luding Lake was under martial law by the Imperial Guards, and the entire Luding Lake was surrounded tightly. Although Mengxi had a badge given by the prince, she lost interest when she thought about watching the dragon boat race with the prince and those dignitaries in an orderly manner.
Early in the morning on the eighth day of May, Cheng Yuan came to ask Mengxi to go watch the dragon boat race, saying that because the Emperor was coming in person, there were twice as many dragon boats, colorful boats, music boats, and painting cabins this year as in previous years. It would take half a month to stay before going, so now would be the perfect time to go.
Remembering that several maids were clamoring to go, Mengxi readily agreed. However, Zhichun had diarrhea early in the morning and could not go. Zhidong insisted on staying to take care of Zhichun. Mengxi only took Zhiqiu, Ying'er, Haitang and Chengyuan out of Canghai Cottage. Just as they arrived at the gate of Zhanyuan Garden, Zhiqiu suddenly remembered that she had not collected the herbs and flower petals that were dried in the morning. She was afraid that it would rain during the day, so she had to go back to collect them. According to Mengxi's idea, she could just tell someone, but Zhiqiu was worried, saying that those herbs were new varieties carefully cultivated by Ouyang Di. If something went wrong, Ouyang Di would be distressed.
Seeing Zhiqiu mention Ouyang Di, Mengxi squinted, tapped her head and said:
"Ouyang Di's words are like an imperial decree. They are much more important than me, the master."
"Young lady, you are making fun of me again. Young lady, please go ahead with Third Madam, and I will follow you..."
"Go quickly. It 's still early. It's only half an hour away from Luding Lake..."
Seeing Yangyang finish a small box of cake she made, clapping his hands and staring at her with his dark eyes, and Zhiqiu was still nowhere to be seen, Mengxi picked up Yangyang and complained:
"What's wrong with Zhiqiu? It takes so long to collect herbs. If he has a child in this time, he should be able to get married."
Cheng Yuan, who was teasing Yang Yang, burst out laughing and said:
"Who knows what happened? Don't wait for me, sister. Let's go while it's still cool. It will be hot when the sun comes out soon..."
Seeing the young lady nod, Ying'er said:
"I will go back and take a look, and then I will come with Zhiqiu to catch up with the young lady and the third lady."
Without waiting for Mengxi to speak, Cheng Yuan said:
"Go quickly. It would be wrong for me not to take her with me on the lake cruise. Zhiqiu has been following me since she was little. I can't let her go even if I have the slightest advantage."
Ignoring Cheng Yuan's half-hearted words, Meng Xi said to Ying Er:
"That's fine. You and Zhiqiu don't have to rush. If you can't catch up with us and get separated, just go around on your own. Remember to go to Deyue Tower at noon. We will gather there."
Ying'er responded and turned around to walk back. The nurse had already taken Yangyang over, so Cheng Yuan and Mengxi simply squeezed into a carriage and headed towards Luding Lake.
After walking a few steps, Xue'er caught up with him, panting. Mengxi called for the car to stop, and Haitang opened the curtains. Xue'er came to the front of the car and said:
"My lady, Zhiqiu said she originally planned to come after she had collected the herbs, but when she went back to take a look, she found that the herbs were too fresh. If she collected them in such a hot day, they would go bad. If she didn't collect them, she was afraid of a heavy rain. After thinking for a while, she decided to stay at home. That's why she asked me to tell my lady and Third Madam not to wait for her."
This Zhiqiu, when did he become so stupid? Just tell a maid to watch over it. After hearing this, Mengxi felt something was wrong, but couldn't figure it out for a moment, so she asked casually:
"Where's Ying'er? Is she there with you too?"
"Ying'er, Miss, I didn't see Ying'er."
Seeing Mengxi's face darken, Cheng Yuan said:
"Forget it, sister. I think we took the wrong road. Ying'er saw that Zhiqiu didn't come , so she probably can't come either. Let's go first. I got up very early today, but the sun is almost up, and we haven't seen the shadow of Luding Lake yet."
Originally, I came out today for the sake of the girls. Now, only Haitang followed me. Seeing Cheng Yuan urging her, Mengxi thought about it and decided to let them go out alone some other day so that she wouldn't feel constrained. Anyway, the dragon boat and pleasure boat would not be withdrawn for more than ten days, so she said to Xue'er:
"When you see Ying'er, tell her it's late today and she doesn't need to come. When Zhichun is better, we can play together another day."
Seeing Xue'er's agreement, Cheng Yuan had already lowered the curtain. The coachman shouted, and the carriage slowly moved towards Luding Lake.
When we arrived at Luding Lake, we looked around and saw all kinds of colorful dragon boats, colorful boats, music boats and painted cabins on the lake. The sounds of silk music, gongs and drums and ditties came from afar, accompanied by the shouts of vendors from the lake. It was so lively and lively. The little master was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, clapping his hands, looking here and there. In a short while, his two little hands were full of toys. Even the nurse's hands were filled. Dongmei followed the little master closely, not daring to relax for fear of any mishap.
Mengxi and Cheng Yuan walked along the lakeside promenade, stopping from time to time, when they came to the pavilion. They leaned on the railing and looked at the lotus fields and enchanting lotus flowers in the lake. The various dragon boats and colorful boats were vying for beauty. Mengxi suddenly felt like taking a boat ride, and Cheng Yuan applauded. She was about to ask Ouyang Di to rent a colorful boat when a huge, gorgeously decorated colorful boat came over and stopped not far away. The Xiao family's unique crescent-shaped logo was engraved on the bow. Xiao Jun and Xiao Yun both came out of the cabin. Xiao Jun stood on the side of the boat with a folding fan in his hand, looking at her with a smile.
Mengxi turned her head sharply and saw Cheng Yuan waving at the boat. When he saw her turn around, he stuck out his tongue and called out coquettishly:
"elder sister……"
Seeing that Xiao Yun had already taken Yang Yang on board, Meng Xi suddenly realized that all this was premeditated. Her face changed slightly, and she was about to turn around when Cheng Yuan grabbed her and said,
"Sister, we are all here..."
During the stalemate, Xiao Jun jumped over and picked her up. He turned around and leaped onto the colorful boat. He gently put her down and called softly:
"Xi'er..."
Although Mengxi's anger had subsided, she still felt like she was being plotted against when she saw Xiao Jun looking at her with a smile. When she saw him trying to talk to her, she pretended not to see him and turned around, walked to the side of the boat, and looked at the scenery on the lake.
"There are many flower boats this year. I heard that Miss Li didn't come for the Dragon Boat Festival, so my second brother asked Yuan'er to ask you out. Don't be angry, Miss Li. My second brother just wanted to give you a surprise..."
Seeing that Mengxi ignored Xiao Jun, Xiao Yun explained that Xiao Jun had caught up with her and stood on the side of the boat with Mengxi in his arms, accompanying her to watch the colorful boats and dragon boats shuttling across the lake. Mengxi was about to break free when she suddenly heard the elegant sound of a guqin coming from the cabin. It was her favorite song, "Piao Miao Li Meng Qu". She knew that Xiao Jun had put some thought into it, and she turned her head to look at him.
Seeing Mengxi turn her head, Xiao Jun whispered in her ear:
"I have long wanted to go boating on the lake with Xi'er. Xi'er just standing there without saying anything is also a beautiful sight. The lake is beautiful, the boat is beautiful, and the girl is even more beautiful..."
The low and slightly magnetic voice made Mengxi feel dizzy. The awkward Xiao Jun actually started to say sweet words. He was finally willing to spend time to coax her. He no longer cared whether she liked it or not and just gave it to her in a domineering way. A sense of warmth surged in her heart. Mengxi leaned softly on his shoulder.
The Third Master dragged Cheng Yuan and everyone else quietly back into the cabin.
The colorful boats were floating in the rippling lake. Xiao Jun gently embraced Meng Xi and pointed out the various dragon boats, music boats, and painting cabins on the lake. The two talked and laughed with relish...
Spring | The water is bluer than the sky, music is played on the pleasure boat, the person on the side of the boat is like the moon, her white wrists are covered with frost and snow, the blue sky, white clouds, and blue lake, the pleasure boat and the two people hugging each other on the side of the boat, accompanied by the faint sound of piano music, form a sweet and attractive scenery, which makes the tourists on the lake envious.
They swam until noon, and then they had lunch on the boat before leaving the boat and going ashore. Xiao Xia had already prepared horses and was waiting there. When Meng Xi saw her carriage, she was about to step forward when Xiao Jun picked her up and jumped onto the horse's back. Meng Xi's body froze, and she looked back. She saw Xiao Yun had already carried Yang Yang onto the horse, and Cheng Yuan had also jumped onto a little red horse. Seeing Meng Xi looking back, she said loudly:
"Sister, we are going to Tianzhuxia Waterfall. The whole way is a plank road. It is more convenient to ride a horse than a car. Let the carriage wait here first, and we can change the carriage to go back after we come back."
When she heard that they were going to see the waterfall, Mengxi frowned. She had been to the waterfall many times in the past two years, but there was really nothing to see. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Xiao Jun say in her ear:
"Xi'er, sit down. I'll take you to a good place."
