Duke Jing's younger sister

Shen Beiqi walked to the couch and sat down, looking at her slightly unnatural expression, "It's common in the North, so I've certainly seen it before."

Shen Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

So that's how it was. She thought he had seen the silk handkerchief she had lost.

Shen Beiqi took in all the subtle changes in her facial expression. He curled his lips slightly and asked, "What's so special about this flower?"

How could she like it so much?

It should be embroidered on handkerchiefs and purses.

And when you mention it, you seem a little nervous?

The North has dry summers and extremely cold winters.

This flower is just a not very famous wild flower that grows in the fields.

No gardener would grow it specifically to sell. Since she has never been to the North, where did she see it?

The night wind blows, and the shadows of the trees dance outside the window.

The lattice window was half open, and on the desk, a candle flame swayed in the wind.

Under the dim candlelight, the woman's eyebrows were soft and her deer eyes were clear and bright.

She stroked the unfinished flower on the brocade with her fingertips and said, "This flower is called Lixing Grass. Li is the same character in my name, so I like it."

Lixingcao has another name, but few people know it.

She didn't know that this flower grew in the North.

She met her in the yard of the uncle next door when she was a child living in the Jiang family in Changzhou.

The old man is a doctor. He said that Ligusticum chuanxiong is a medicinal herb and its fragrance can also repel insects and flies.

She explained half-truthfully, and Shen Beiqi didn't suspect anything.

"Let's go, I'll take you somewhere."

Shen Li raised her eyes to look at him, then looked at the sky outside which was almost dark, "Are we going out now?"

"Well, I'll wait for you in the yard."

Shen Li tidied herself up a bit, still wearing a simple cross bun with only light-colored silk flowers.

She changed into a light blue summer gauze dress, the elegant color made her look even cleaner and clearer.

The material of the dress was soft and draped, and when she walked, her steps were like the wind, and her skirt was swaying. She was like a fairy in the jungle, beautiful and pure.

"You can go now." She stopped in front of him and smiled.

Shen Beiqi looked at her for a moment, then told Xingping not to follow him.

Xingping was somewhat reluctant, but since the Duke had spoken, she dared not disobey.

He could only stand in the yard, feeling aggrieved as he watched his girl disappear into the night.

They did not go through the front door, but went out through the back door in the alley.

Yue Yang was standing outside the door, leading a tall horse with snow-white fur.

Shen Li recognized it; it was Shen Beiqi's horse, and he named it Qiuyue.

In the dim light of the lantern under the eaves, Shen Li looked around.

There were no carriages and no spare horses.

Could it be that two people have to ride on one horse?

The facts were just as she expected. Shen Beiqi first helped her onto the horse, then climbed onto the horse and sat behind her, holding the reins and holding her in his arms.

"Sit down."

He whispered in her ear.

"Yeah." She nodded slightly.

"drive--"

The snow-white pony ran out of the alley, avoiding the bustling main street and Xing'anfang, and taking a detour through the sparsely populated streets.

After a moment, he headed towards the city gate.

"Going out of town?" she asked.

"To the villa," he said, and added, "The Royal Villa."

Royal Villa.

Shen Li had heard that the royal villa was built on the bank of Jiangyang Lake and had beautiful scenery, but she had never been there.

It's getting dark now. What are we going to do at the Royal Villa?

They galloped in the night for a while, and at a fork in the road, Shen Beiqi pulled the reins to stop the horse, and quickly carried Shen Li off the horse.

Then he slapped the horse's butt hard, and the white horse neighed and continued to gallop forward.

Shen Beiqi held her hand tightly and took her to jump. The two of them stood steadily on the trunk of a tree with dense branches and leaves.

Shen Li almost screamed out loud and subconsciously covered her mouth.

The crescent moon hung high in the sky. The moonlight was not very bright, but she could still vaguely see that she was in a high place.

She felt dizzy and her heart was tight. She clung to Shen Beiqi's waist tightly for fear of falling.

Shen Beiqi seemed to be enjoying it very much. He put his arm around her back to support her and said softly, "Hold tight, don't fall down."

The person in his arms was indeed obedient. The arms around his waist became tighter and tighter. He curled the corners of his lips slightly, and pulled out a smile in the night.

A burst of hurried horse hooves sounded from afar.

Through the gaps between the dense branches and leaves, Shen Li saw in the faint moonlight that two people on horseback caught up with them and stopped at the fork in the road.

Shen Li subconsciously held her breath. No wonder he deliberately slapped the horse away. It turned out that he was trying to escape.

The two men lay on the ground and listened for a while, then jumped back on their horses and chased in the direction Qiuyue was running.

After the two of them walked away, he hugged her and jumped down from the tree.

Back on the ground, Shen Li finally felt the happiness of being "down to earth".

By the way, when she was a child, she loved to climb up and step on others. Whenever her father saw her, he would sigh and scold her for not behaving like a daughter.

After scolding her, he quickly and gently coaxed her down, fearing that she might fall down if she wasn't careful.

Later... she gradually restrained her nature and became well-behaved and sensible. Now when she stood on a high place again, she felt uncomfortable and a little scared.

Shen Beiqi held her hand, and the two of them walked along another road in the moonlight. After walking for a while, they saw a carriage parked on the side of the road.

When the driver saw them, he got off the carriage and hailed them, then went to the back of the carriage and took down the horse stool.

Sitting in the carriage, Shen Li couldn't help but wonder.

Why does going to the royal villa feel like being a thief, having to hide and dodge, and use roundabout tactics?

If you don’t know, you might think that they are not going to the royal villa tonight, but to some shameful place or doing some shameful thing.

However, she didn't know what he was up to tonight.

No matter how many times she asked, he just smiled and didn't answer.

The carriage soon arrived outside the royal villa. The majestic vermilion lacquered gate looked a little dark in the night.

The lanterns under the eaves were pitch black, and it didn't look like there was anyone in the yard at all.

After entering the gate and passing through several doorways, you can see the bright fire in the open garden in front, and the faint aroma of barbecue slowly drifting in with the night breeze.

Several young men and women sat around a brown dining table.

Servants were roasting venison and some birds for them on one side.

Seeing that there were people around, she subconsciously wanted to take back the hand he had been holding all the way.

Unexpectedly, he held it tightly and refused to let go no matter how hard she tried.

"Someone!" she muttered softly.

What if others see it?

Shen Beiqi raised his eyebrows, "So what?"

“…They will see.”

Shen Beiqi: "Then let them see!"

They are not some shameful lovers. The man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried. Why can't they be seen by others?

What's more, he just wanted them to see it.

Not only them, but everyone in Jiangdu City will see that Shen Li is his, Shen Beiqi's woman.

Shen Liyu was choked up and could only let him lead her and walk towards the crowd.

In addition to five or six busy servants, there were a total of five people sitting at the dining table.

She only recognized the third prince Xiao Wencong and Luo Jue, and Shen Beiqi's deputy general Liang Bo was also there.

There was also a pretty woman sitting next to the third prince, tearing the meat from the deer leg with her fingers and eating it.

Finally, the man in light gray robe had his back to her, and she couldn't see his face clearly.

The back view also looked unfamiliar, so I must have never seen him before.

Luo Jue was the first to notice them. "Shen Hengzhi, you're so slow. Drink three glasses of wine as punishment!"

Before Luo Jue finished her words, the man with his back to her turned around, saw the joy in her eyes, and then stood up.

Shen Li was suddenly startled and stopped moving forward.