The Flirtatious Prince and His Savage Concubine

In the garden of the Prince of Qi's mansion, many chairs were placed because there were many guests coming and going today. There were many flowers and plants placed around the chairs for people to enjoy.

Lu Lingxi and Shang Concubine chose a corner where there were not many people and sat down to admire the flowers around them. Most of these flowers were species that Lu Lingxi did not recognize. She only knew plum blossoms and Christmas cactus. She might have seen the rest before, but she only knew that they were beautiful and did not remember their names.

Concubine Shang knew a little more than Lu Lingxi, but she was not very interested in these things, so the two of them together could probably only name seven or eight kinds of flowers.

But in Lu Lingxi's heart, she still felt that Concubine Shang was better than herself. She always felt that Concubine Shang must be a beautiful sister who was a top student and understood everything.

So she pointed to a flower nearby and said, "Sister Shangjia, what kind of flower is this? It has three colors. The center is yellow, then white, and the outermost part is a circle of purple."

Concubine Shang shook her head and said, "I don't know him either."

Although Lu Lingxi felt a little regretful, he didn't think it was a big deal. Just as he was about to change the subject, he heard an old woman's voice saying, "This is Primrose."

Lu Lingxi looked to the right, and saw a woman greeting him: "Your servant Su Zhou greets the Crown Princess."

Seeing that the visitor was older than himself, Lu Lingxi gave him a helping hand and said, "Madam Su, there is no need to be so polite."

But she couldn't help but mutter in her heart: The husband's surname is Su, could it be that this is Concubine Su's mother? She heard that her daughter suffered a loss here, so she came to help her daughter?

Concubine Shang knew that Lu Lingxi had never been in the circle of noble ladies in Kyoto before, and she thought that she must not recognize the woman in front of her, so she explained in a low voice: "This is Zhou, the wife of the counselor Su."

Lu Lingxi turned around and moved closer, whispering to Concubine Shang: "Remonstrance Doctor? I remember that the fathers of our concubines Jiang and Zhao were both Remonstrance Doctors. How come there is another Remonstrance Doctor now, Lord Su? But fortunately, he is not Concubine Su's mother."

Concubine Shang also whispered, "The counselors are divided into right and left, four each. They are all fourth rank lower. The fathers of our concubines Jiang and Zhao are both right counselors, and the husband of this Madam Su is the left counselor."

Lu Lingxi nodded in sudden realization: "Oh~ Are the left and right counselors naturally divided into two factions? Whenever there is something, they debate with each other, and whoever wins gets to listen to whom?"

The two of them didn't realize that they were gossiping in front of others, which was actually a bit rude. Su Zhou also felt a bit embarrassed. But after all, she was old and had seen the world, so she smiled and said naturally: "When political views differ, there will naturally be some arguments, but it's not automatic left-right division, just expressing your own opinions. Your Majesty's decision on whose opinion to adopt is not based on who wins the argument, but on his own considerations. Our Majesty is very opinionated."

When Lu Lingxi heard Su Zhou's voice, he smiled awkwardly, then said awkwardly, "Thank you, Madam Su, for clearing up my doubts."

He pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Madam Su, would you like to sit down?"

Lu Lingxi just wanted to be polite, but she didn't expect Su Zhou to sit down so openly. Originally, the two sisters were quite comfortable talking about private matters, but now that there was one more person around, they suddenly felt restrained. I don't know what Su Zhou's purpose was in coming over to talk to her.

Seeing that the Crown Princess and Concubine Shang were silent, Su Zhou continued the topic of flowers, "The three-color primrose is the rarest. It takes top gardeners several years to cultivate it. Generally, pink and white primroses are the most common, and there are also yellow, purple, and blue. These three colors are obtained by gardeners who mixed different colors together and then combined them with a secret method. But what exactly this secret method is, I don't know, it is the gardener's unique secret recipe, and it will never be passed on to others."

Lu Lingxi knew about this, it was just flowers of different colors pollinating each other, it was taught in the nine-year compulsory education, but it was too troublesome to explain, and they might not really care about it, so they didn't say much. She just turned to Concubine Shang and said, "Sister Shang Jia, I see that these flowers are so beautiful, let's plant more in the Prince's Mansion, plant a little of each color, and scatter the seeds randomly. When the flowers bloom, they will be colorful and very beautiful. Let's plant them next to the Diecui Pavilion? It's almost time for a spring outing, we can go on a spring outing on the hillside full of flowers without leaving the mansion."

Concubine Shang interrupted Lu Lingxi's fantasy and said, "My lady, I cannot make the decision on this matter."

Lu Lingxi was puzzled: "Ah? This is not a big deal, right? It's just about planting some flowers and plants on the hillside. Can't we make a decision?"

Concubine Shang nodded and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that there are flowers planted on the hillside over the Diecui Pavilion. They are the poppies that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince loves the most. The weather was too cold before and they haven't sprouted yet. Now they are almost all sprouting. If things go well, they will bloom by the end of next month, and will continue to bloom until July and August."

If she had just said that the flowers were planted for her mother, Lu Lingxi might have misunderstood and thought it was Queen Gu. But when she heard that it was poppies, Lu Lingxi understood that it was planted especially for the late Queen. She was her proper mother-in-law, so she couldn't just pluck someone else's favorite flower.

Lu Lingxi nodded in understanding and said, "I see, poppies are also very beautiful, and there are many varieties of different colors, right? That's great, we don't have to change, I will definitely appreciate them when the time comes."

"Would you mind inviting me to watch it with you? I've never seen such a large piece of Concubine Yu." As the two were talking, Su Zhou interrupted them unexpectedly.

Lu Lingxi was full of questions. What? This? She didn't know. She felt that inviting a lady of high rank to her home alone would easily be misunderstood as forming a clique for personal gain. If everyone was invited, wouldn't it be necessary to hold a large banquet? She really had no experience in this. She didn't know if the Prince's Mansion had ever held a banquet before.

Concubine Shang saw Lu Lingxi's hesitation and answered for her: "Of course, the Crown Princess will definitely send a message to you, Madam Su, when the time comes."

Su Zhou thanked her respectfully, "I, your humble servant, would like to thank the Crown Princess and the Concubine first."

Lu Lingxi said: "Mrs. Su is too polite."

Although she didn't understand what to do next, there was no rush. She could ask Sister Shangjia slowly when she returned. At the moment, it seemed that Su Zhou wanted to interject in whatever she said. It was their first meeting, and after just a few words, she wanted to go to the Prince's Mansion for a free meal. If she said a few more words, Lu Lingxi was not sure if he would have to sell himself to her.

Thinking of this, Lu Lingxi stopped talking. He put his hands on the armrests, tilted his head back, and leaned back in relaxation, feeling the sunlight shining on his face from the upper right, which was warm and comfortable.

The weather is cool in the morning and evening, but it is very good at noon. It has the warmth of the sun but is not too scorching. Especially near noon, the sun is the most comfortable, so comfortable that Lu Lingxi feels sleepy.