Chapter Twelve: Inviting Each Other Is Not As Good As Running Into Each Other

  "This young master, do you know that just now my brother refused the flowers given by many beautiful girls? He was afraid that more girls would come to give him flowers and invite him, so he hid over here!" He Lan Minyue said with a mischievous smile on her face, handing the freshly picked flowers in her hand to the girl. "Young master, we've picked quite a few flowers, they're very pretty, and can be kept for a long time when placed at home, I'm sure you'll like them! On a day like today, my brother met you, of course, he has to give you some gifts, so I'll give these flowers to you on his behalf!"

  He Lan Minyue's actions were unexpected by the young girl, and also shocked He Lan Min. He glared at He Lan Minyue with a hint of annoyance, thinking that just now this mischievous younger sister had said he refused many beautiful girls' gifts of flowers and invitations, but hadn't changed the subject, yet immediately gave away the flower in his hand in his name, what did this mean? Didn't others understand?

  But He Lan Minyue didn't mind He Lan Minzhi's glare at all, and instead gave him a cute white eye, sucking on her little nose.

  The girl hesitated for a moment, then took the flower handed over by He Lan Minyue, and naturally put it under her nose to smell. She smiled shyly at He Lan, "Thank you, sir, for giving me the flower... but I don't have any gift to return..." As she spoke, her face grew even redder.

  The girl took the flower, and He Lan's sudden movement was unexpected. She had a strange feeling in her heart as she gazed at the blushing girl for two moments, then looked at the little maid standing behind her with surprise. With a hint of playfulness in his tone, he said, "Judging from your demeanor, you seem to be an extraordinary person, calm and composed. It's indeed a rare coincidence that we met twice in one day. If we were to part ways now, it would be truly regrettable. Why don't...we join forces and have some fun together? We can chat, talk about poetry, drink wine, and enjoy the scenery. I think...you won't refuse, will you?"

  He Lan Minzhi spoke as he saw He Lan Minyue making a face at him, furrowed his brow in warning, telling his sister not to cause trouble.

  He Lan Minyue didn't mind at all and responded with a wrinkled nose.

  The attendants who were originally prepared to approach had retreated to one side while their masters were speaking.

  The young lady, having grown up in an official family and seen the world, had also come into contact with many people. In He Lan Min's calm speech, she had already forced herself to calm down. After hearing He Lan Min's words of invitation, she thought for a moment, ignoring the soft murmurs of the little maid behind her, and replied with a bow: "Sir, how can I refuse such an invitation... It's not as good as running into each other by chance, so... we... why don't we go on a trip together today?"

  When two cars rubbed against each other on the road, He Lan Minzhi came over to apologize. The girl hoped that this handsome man would invite her to play together. Now she finally heard the person in front of her say the words of invitation. How could she not be happy? But the girl's reserve was still there. When accepting He Lan Minzhi's invitation, she also showed great demeanor and smiled at He Lan Minzhi, as well as He Lan Minyue who had been staring at her all along.

  For some reason, she was really grateful for this girl who was similar in age to her, and a kind of intimacy was born in her heart.

  "This is Xiaoyu's sister, today I'm just dressing like this for convenience..." He Lan Minzhi pointed to He Lan Minyue who was secretly smiling.

  When the girl said "two young masters", He Lan Min couldn't help but want to laugh. The He Lan Min Yue beside him was wearing men's clothing, but no matter how you looked at her, she was still a woman, and even the ornaments on her ears hadn't been removed, completely not disguising her identity as a woman. Could it be that this woman was also pretending to be stupid like him?

  He Lan Minzhi directly broke the news, making the young girl a bit embarrassed, her face flushed with redness, and she said in a somewhat awkward tone: "Oh, so it's the young master's sister, I'm not good at recognizing people..." He Lan Minzhi still referred to her as "young master", and she didn't know whether or not to reveal that she was also a woman.

  "In the lower compound, surname He Lan, name Minzhi, courtesy name Changzhu. This is my younger sister He Lan Minyue. I don't know how to address you, sir!" After talking for half a day without introducing himself, He Lan Minzhi felt that he had been somewhat impolite, so he hastily smiled and bowed to the young girl before introducing himself.

  Nowadays, many people in the imperial court know that Wu Shun is a Korean woman, but Wu Shun has always been low-key and strict with her siblings. Since He Lan Minzhi doesn't hold an official position in the imperial court and hasn't done anything earth-shattering, only people within the palace would know their names. He Lan Minzhi thought that even if this young girl knew his name, she wouldn't know about his family background, so he didn't hide his identity when introducing himself.

  "It turned out to be Young Master He Lan and Miss He Lan, with the surname Yang and the name... Qi, who didn't even have a courtesy name yet!" The young girl responded with a hint of surprise. People with the double surname He Lan were not many, judging from the man's attire and the horse-drawn carriage he took when traveling, his family should be quite well-off, but the young girl who spent her days reading books and painting in the mansion didn't know much about outside affairs, nor did she know if there was a prominent official in the imperial court with the surname He Lan. She thought to herself that she would ask her father when she returned home, her father, an official in the imperial court, would surely know which family the He Lans belonged to.

  He Lan Minzhi saw the girl who claimed to be Yang Qi, and when she heard him introduce himself, she was slightly surprised, but didn't show anything special. This made him put his heart at ease, as expected, this girl did not know that he was the son of the current emperor's sister-in-law, Madame Korea.

  He Lan Minyue also stepped forward and returned the courtesy with a serious expression, her big eyes staring at Yang Xi all the time, making Yang Xi feel very unnatural.

  He Lan Minyue's beauty made the young girl a little jealous, so she also wanted to excel in other aspects than He Lan Minyue, lest she be looked down upon. She tried her best to stand up straight and put on a natural smile.

  "Ah, it's actually Young Master Yang!" Looking at Yang Qi who was pretending to be natural under the gaze of the siblings, He Lan Min smiled and bowed, "Young Master Yang, you must have been out playing for a long time and are tired. The sun is almost at its peak, why don't we find a place to drink some wine, tea, and eat some snacks to fill our stomachs? There's a wine tavern over there, let's go rest our feet and after taking a break, we can go to the nearby scenic spot to play. What do you think, Young Master?"

  Yang Qi followed He Lan Min's hand to look at the wine tower not far from where they were standing, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded in agreement. "He Lan Min said it was true, having walked for half a day, I'm a bit tired too. I was thinking of finding a place to rest my feet, so let's follow He Lan's suggestion and go to the wine tower ahead to take a break and have a chat. Please, He Lan and Miss He!"

  "Yang Gongzi, please!" He Lan Minzhe also made a gesture of invitation, letting Yang Qie go first. At the same time, he nodded his head at He Lan Minyue, who had a rich expression, and let her walk alongside him.

  He Lan Minyue's eyes rolled around in circles, seemingly having come up with some mischievous idea. She walked to the middle of He Lan Minyue and Yang Gui, curiously asking Yang Gui: "Looking at your demeanor, you must be a learned person. My brother also likes poetry and often writes excellent works. The other day, he just wrote two great lines of poetry, 'Spring colors fill the garden, can't be locked up, one branch of red apricot comes out of the wall.' I don't know how many people admire him... Later, you can discuss wine and poetry together. If my brother is in a good mood, maybe he'll give Yang Gongzi some great poems!" He Lan Minyue said with a smile, playfully winking at He Lan Min, who was annoyed, and then hid back to his right side.

  He Lan Minyue's words piqued Yang Qi's curiosity, and she slowed down her pace, looking at He Lan Min with a faint blush. "Just now, Miss He Lan recited two excellent lines of poetry. To be able to compose such outstanding sentences, Mr. He Lan must have exceptional talent. I also enjoy reciting poetry and painting in my free time, but my talent is shallow, and my works are not impressive. Today, I'm eager to see Mr. He Lan's masterpieces! I wonder...I wonder if Mr. He Lan can satisfy my request?"

  He Lan Minzhi felt something was off when he heard He Lan Minyue teasing him. After listening to Yang Qi's words, it sounded even more unnatural. Although in the future he could recite many Tang poems and Song lyrics, if he were asked to "compose", he would rather die than write any poetry. The flat and unbalanced rhythm made his head ache. On that day, he had reluctantly used someone else's famous lines to meet He Lan Minyue's request, feeling very uneasy. Today, Yang Qi's request left him at a loss for words.

  But He Lan Minzhi also knew that being reborn in the Tang Dynasty, living in the poetic kingdom of Tang, if one didn't know how to "make poetry", no matter what, it would be unacceptable, and there would never be an opportunity to become a "famous scholar", and even be looked down upon. On the streets of Chang'an, walking around with a brick in hand, it was possible to hit a poet who wasn't up to par. During the Tang Dynasty, not only did scholars like to recite poetry, but even women in the inner chambers enjoyed this hobby. Historical records show that there were many famous female poets in the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, somewhere it is said that many women in the inner chambers, after reading some famous poets' works, fell deeply in love with them and would recite their poems day and night, developing romantic feelings towards the authors...

  In the Tang Dynasty, where poetry was extremely popular, it was a very normal thing for men and women to interact with each other, and for a woman to ask a man for a poem. He wanted to fully integrate into this era, not be looked down upon, and be admired by beauties, so reciting poems and composing essays was unavoidable. He Lan Minzhi thought that his "scholar" self, which had been elevated by his sister He Lan Minyue, would only be able to secretly plagiarize other people's famous works for the time being, although this was an immoral thing!

  Just as He Lan Min's face showed unnatural expression, He Lan Min Yue chimed in again, "Young Master Yang, please be at ease. Today, encountering a talented person like you, my brother will surely come up with some good poems and even give one or two to Young Master Yang as a gift. Brother, isn't that right?"

  Yang Qi was overjoyed when she heard this and looked at He Lan Minzhi with a more bashful gaze, "Then I'll thank Young Master He first!"

  He Lan Minzhi continued to walk forward, only to awkwardly smile and say, "Young Master Yang is being polite, my sister has said too much. I can only casually recite a few crooked poems, nothing that would catch anyone's eye. Later on, I'll surely disappoint Young Master Yang!" As he spoke, he glared fiercely at the talkative He Lan Minyue, but this little girl simply playfully stuck out her tongue and scrunched up her nose, with an ultra-cute expression that made He Lan Minzhi's anger suddenly disappear.

  "Mr. He Lan is too modest, if his sister says so, it must be true, don't be polite and decline, soon you will have to come up with some good poems, let me open my eyes! Yang Qi spoke hastily, fearing that He Lan Min would not want to show her his poetry."

  Looking at the beautiful woman with a dignified appearance, and then looking at her own sister's eyes with deep meaning, He Lan Min couldn't help but nod reluctantly. "Yang Gongzi says so, how can I dare to refuse? Yang Gongzi, please go ahead..."

  "Mr. He Lan, Miss He Lan, please..."

  The three of them arrived at a wine shop that was slightly far from the official road and quite close to the Bian River, where a young waiter who had been watching their approach came up to greet them with a bow.

  Downstairs, He Lan Min's brother and sister, Yang Qi, and Yang Qi's little maid followed the waiter into this not very crowded, slightly quiet tavern...