Chapter Ten Mutual Affection

  Liu saw Qing Sang's eyebrows like willow branches, her face as delicate as a peach blossom, and the more she looked at her, the more charming she became. She knew that in the end, she couldn't stay, and marrying the crown prince was neither good nor bad for her. But when she saw that the lovely Princess Jiaren's child had just turned one month old and had specially sent an invitation to Qing Sang, she knew that the fate between the crown prince and Qing Sang was already sealed.

  The Princess Garen is the eldest princess of the Emperor, and her mother is the current Empress. The Empress did not give birth to any children, and the Crown Prince's biological mother was Consort Li De, who died in childbirth. The Crown Prince was then raised by the Empress as if he were her own child, so his relationship with Princess Garen is very close, like that of biological siblings. Princess Garen was married off by the Emperor to He Yan, the grandson of a great general and currently the commander of the Qian Niu Guard, and last month she gave birth to their second child.

  Qing Sang understood in her heart that Princess Jia Ren would invite her, it must be the Crown Prince's intention. At that time, there were many guests, this move was equivalent to announcing to the world the Crown Prince's intentions towards her. However, she had no choice but to go.

  Two days later, the prince sent a carriage to pick her up.

  As soon as she got on the carriage, she was shocked to see Prince Taohao sitting inside, smiling and staring at her.

  Qing Sang didn't expect Tang Hao to come in person, feeling a bit awkward, and seeing that he was only looking at her, she blushed and sat on the cushion closest to the edge.

  The prince gestured for her to sit beside him, but Qing Sang lowered her eyelids and shook her head.

  The crown prince did not force him either.

  Along the way, the prince found some topics to chat with her, Qing Sang answered one by one, but didn't show any intention of talking more, until finally even the prince lost interest and stopped initiating conversation.

  The scene at the General's mansion was lively, with all the guests being high-ranking officials from the imperial court. Seeing the Crown Prince arrive with Qing Sang by his side, they whispered to each other: This demoted Pu Jiayearn will probably return to power soon.

  Qingsang walked in a rectangular step, being careful with his words and actions, not daring to violate the etiquette. This made Princess Jiarin very fond of him, and she nodded at the prince several times in private, indicating her approval.

  This is already Princess Jiaren's second childbirth, and the child born was a 'daughter', so the Empress did not attend in person, but only sent someone to give this granddaughter a generous gift.

  After receiving the imperial edict and gifts, He Yan announced the start of the banquet. In the outer hall, it was usually men and elders who sat down, while Qing Sang, a woman from a respectable family, was led to the inner hall, where she sat at the same table as Princess Jia Ren.

  The nanny brought over the little guy who had just turned one month old, Qing Sang stretched her neck to take a look at the baby in the swaddle, who was sleeping soundly. The small face was white with a hint of red, and was very adorable. Qing Sang couldn't help but curve up the corners of her mouth, revealing a sweet smile.

  On one side, Qing Sang couldn't help but feel affectionate towards the little infant, while on the other side, Princess Jia Ren took the opportunity to carefully examine Qing Sang.

  The blue dress Qing Sang is wearing today was specially made by the seamstress at the request of Empress Liu for her to attend this banquet. The hem of the skirt is embroidered with silver thread, and a light green silk ribbon is tied around her waist. A pale pink ribbon trails on the ground, and the long skirt is embroidered with small, delicate orchids. She wears a purple-red outer garment with a peony pattern. Her face, as white as jade, has a hint of a smile, and her beautiful eyes shine like pearls. Indeed, she is a beauty, no wonder the fifth prince (the crown prince) is so fond of her. Princess Jia Ren couldn't help but admire her! During the banquet, she also had a few more cups of wine with her.

  The green mulberry wine was really bad, and after a few cups of cold wine, he felt dizzy. Under the pretext of "changing clothes", he stumbled alone to the backyard.

  The garden of General's Mansion is full of rare flowers and grasses, the gentle breeze brings a refreshing fragrance throughout the garden.

  Qing Sang, with a hint of intoxication, strolled to the edge of the pond and saw the entire pond filled with yellow water chestnut flowers, which she found quite novel. Typically, large households would plant lotus flowers in their ponds, rarely seen were those that planted water chestnuts.

  Lotus flowers! Qing Sang thought of the purple lotus park near the orphanage in his previous life, where he loved to play. Wang Xun once stood in front of a pool full of lotus flowers and said to Tang Ruolan with deep affection: "The language of lotus flowers is 'Please accept me!' Ruolan, are you willing to accept me?"

  Thinking of this, Qing Sang's heart was like a knife cut. Because the Wang Xun she deeply loved in her previous life eventually married the 'daughter' of Qing Sang's adoptive parents, hurting her deeply.

  The slightly intoxicated Qing Sang leaned out, wanting to pick the nearest water lily in the pond. However, she accidentally stepped on a small stone and her foot slipped, almost falling into the pool. In a split second, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back with force, holding her close.

  Qing Sang raised her head, and what entered her line of sight was a pair of ink-like, jade-like eyes.

  "Ah..." Tong? He took a deep breath, his injured arm throbbing in pain as it was heavily bumped when Qing Sang entered his embrace.

  "I'm going to die." Qing Sang was drunk, but his mind was still clear, he knew he had bumped into Tang Yu and hurriedly tried to struggle free from Tang Yu's arms to apologize.

  Who would have known? Although he was only using one hand to hold onto Qing Sang's waist, the strength behind it was extraordinary.

  The green mulberry branches struggled, and the apricot tree hugged them even tighter.

  Qingsang exerted some effort but still couldn't catch up, and could only lower his head to pant.

  Tang? Sees the green mulberry leaf flying red mist, mouth spitting fragrance, the shy attitude makes him unable to control himself, can't help but lightly 'kiss' her forehead.

  Qing Sang's face turned red with embarrassment, her heart racing wildly as she lowered her head even further. Due to their close proximity, Qing Sang was now leaning against Tang's chest.

  "Your Highness is drunk." Having gotten so close, Qing Sang could already smell the faint scent of alcohol on Tang's body.

  "With you here, wine is unnecessary, everyone gets drunk on their own." Tong leaned his chin against Qing Sang's head, inhaling the fragrance of her hair.

  "Just now you wanted to pick that water lily 'flower'?" Tang asked.

  "Ah." Although Qing Sang knew that if they were seen, it would cause a huge stir, but under the influence of alcohol, she just wanted to indulge her own heart and let herself stay in this warm and spacious embrace for a while.

  In Tong's arms, Qing Sang felt an inexplicable sense of security.

  "Good!" Tang said softly. Reluctantly, she let go of Qing Sang's hand and walked to the edge of the pond, bent down and picked off that water lily flower and handed it to Qing Sang.

  Qing Sang handed it over with a smile, took it and put it in front of her nose to smell the faint scent.

  "Beautiful!" T'ang couldn't help but praise, without knowing whether he was praising the beauty of the flower or the person.

  Qing Sang gazed at Tong, only to see his narrow and long eyes shining brightly, like black jade, with a gentle and affectionate gaze.

  Tang reached out and took her left hand, gently rubbing the base of her fingers and fingertips, softly asking: "It seems that your finger injury has healed, fortunately without leaving a scar."

  Qing Sang was somewhat perplexed, but immediately understood that he was referring to the incident where he cut his finger and fed blood in the 'cave' on that day. It must have been Shizi Tongfeng who told him about it. Seeing him mention it, Qing Sang suddenly felt a heat on his face. Perhaps it was because he had lived in this era for too long, but Qing Sang felt that he was becoming more and more prone to blushing.

  "That's just a minor injury, it'll be fine in a few days, Your Highness doesn't have to worry." Qing Sang Wan said. The wound on his finger was only a small matter, and it would be fine in two days, but he didn't expect him to be so concerned.

  "From now on, don't call me 'Your Highness' or 'servant', you can just call me Tang. And I'll call you Sang Er, okay?" Tang asked gently.

  Qingsang nodded slightly.

  "Now is not the time when the lotus flowers are in full bloom, but when they do, the yellow ones will have a unique charm compared to the white ones." Tang was delighted, holding Qing Sang's small hand, walking closer to the pond, and said with a smile.

  "The lotus boats are rowing in the middle of the lake, and the girls are picking lotus flowers without noticing the young men on horseback. In fact, the most beautiful thing is not when the lotus flowers are in full bloom, but when the lotus fruits are ripe, the elegant and skilled lotus-picking girls sing songs while picking lotus roots in the water, which is a breathtakingly beautiful scene." Qing Sang said softly.

  "Really? Have you seen it?" Tang Qi asked.

  Qing Sang covered up and said, "I've never seen it before, I just heard my father mention it." In this life, she was an official's daughter who had never been out of the house, how could she have seen the scenery of picking lotus flowers? She had to use her father as a shield.

  "It turns out that one day, I will accompany Sang Er to see the beautiful scenery of picking lotus flowers." Tang Lang said, then turned to look at Qing Sang, and Qing Sang was also looking at him.

  Two people gazed into each other's eyes, overflowing with tender feelings, and felt their hearts racing.

  "Do you like plum blossoms?" Tang guessed, seeing her playing with the plum blossom in her hand.

  Qing Sang did not answer directly, but instead asked quietly: "Do you know the language of 'flower'?"

  "What does 'flower language' mean?" Tang didn't understand.

  "Is this what 'flower' represents?" Qingsang said.

  "So that's how it is," said Tong, "what does 'flower' mean in your language?"

  "Please accept me!" As soon as the words were spoken, Qing Sang suddenly realized her mistake and looked at Tang in alarm, only to see him with a joyful expression, smiling as he gazed at her.

  Qing Sang was at a loss for what to do for the time being.

  "I'm afraid I've had too much to drink, I'll take my leave first." Qing Sang was anxious to leave, but her small hand was firmly grasped in Tang's palm.

  "It was agreed that we would no longer address each other as master and servant, but only by name." Tang's face was filled with surprise, and his eyes gazed at Qing Sang with a hint of fervor.

  Suddenly, Táng stepped forward, his thin lips lightly touching the crimson lips of Qīng Sāng, leaving a kiss on her peach-red mouth.

  Qing Sang's breath caught for a moment, her face flushed red as she stared at Tong.

  Tang lightly chuckled and slowly said, "It's been a while since you left your seat, I'm afraid the empress will send someone to look for you. You go back first, I'll return to my seat in a moment." After finishing speaking, he gently stroked Qing Sang's cheek with his hand, the smooth sensation making him reluctant to part.

  Qing Sang quickly turned around and ran to the inner hall, where she finally covered her chest with her hands, letting her heart, which was jumping like a small rabbit, slowly calm down.

  Fortunately, the princess was enthusiastically drinking with her aunt and did not notice anything unusual. Meanwhile, the prince in the outer hall was being persuaded to drink by General He Yan and had no time to pay attention to her. Qing Sang finally put her heart at ease.

  The next day, Qing Sang hurriedly asked his family to prepare a sedan chair and went to the Qian Mansion to visit Zi Yu, who had just become pregnant.

  Just as she was about to get into the sedan chair, a handsome young man with clear eyebrows and bright eyes came forward and asked, "May I ask if you are Miss Pu San?"

  Qing Sang looked at him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, noticing that his voice was unusually high-pitched, suspecting that he might be a eunuch. Could it be that he came from the palace? Qing Sang thought to himself.

  "That's right. And you are?" Qing Sang asked.

  "My young master ordered me to hand this over to you, miss." The boy held out what was in his hand.

  Xue Pan handed it over and passed it to Qing Sang.

  "What's inside?" Qing Sang saw that it was a small, exquisite sandalwood jewelry box, and her mind became even more puzzled, so she asked the young man again.

  "The young master said, Miss will understand once she opens it." The youth nodded and said.

  Qingsang opened the box and found a pair of diamond-shaped earrings.

  Qing Sang's heart was already clear. Smiling at the young man, he said: "Thank you, young master."

  Having finished speaking, he bowed his head and entered the sedan chair.

  Gently stroking the pair of earrings in the shape of lotus flowers that Tang had given her, Qing Sang only felt a subtle unusual sensation slowly spreading and gradually filling her heart.

  Yesterday's sentence 'flower' was definitely let Tong misunderstand, thinking she was borrowing it to express her meaning, but she was unintentional, but was it really unintentional?

  Qing Sang also did not know.

  At this time she was like a young girl who had just fallen in love, unable to see her own heart, only with that indescribable bittersweet feeling.