The Flirtatious Prince and His Savage Concubine

On New Year's Eve, Lu Lingxi woke up naturally, dressed neatly, and watched them set off firecrackers at the gate of the mansion.

After setting off the firecrackers, the servants began to sweep the snow. The roof and the garden were cleaned thoroughly. Then they hung red lanterns and posted couplets. The people in the kitchen were busy preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.

The originally deserted Marquis' Mansion suddenly became lively. Servants walked together in twos and threes, talking and laughing, but they did not interfere with their work.

This is the first year that Lu Lingxi has spent here, and it feels more festive than any other year. It must be said that a sense of ritual is essential to have a festive atmosphere.

In the past, in the city, firecrackers were not allowed, so they were omitted; there was no roof to clean, so they were omitted; eating at home, cooking and washing dishes were too tiring, so they ate at restaurants instead, and relatives and friends came at mealtime and left after dinner; even worse, some people were busy working during the New Year. Various inherited customs were omitted bit by bit, and the sense of ritual was lost, and the flavor of the New Year became weaker and weaker.

When Lu Lingxi was strolling around the mansion to enjoy the lively atmosphere, he passed by the artificial lake in the garden and saw Lu Yugang bending over the table in the pavilion, his arms moving. He thought he was writing Spring Festival couplets on the stone table. He ran over excitedly and asked:

"Brother, why are you here writing Spring Festival couplets? It's warmer in the study."

When they got closer, they saw that Lu Yugang was not writing Spring Festival couplets, but warming Gu Yaner's hands. When they saw Lu Lingxi coming, they both withdrew their hands in panic.

Lu Lingxi raised her voice in surprise and asked, "Sister Gu, when did you come? I was just at the door, how come I didn't see you?"

Gu Yan'er smiled gently and said, "I just arrived not long ago. I came in through the side door."

Lu Lingxi: "Why did you go through the side door? Did you sneak out to meet your brother? Then... did I disturb you?"

Lu Yugang laughed: "Lingxi! What do you mean by tryst? Yan'er has always been good friends with you. She sent you a visiting card to wish you a happy new year."

Lu Lingxi didn't know about this, and pretended to be innocent: "A visiting card for me? No one informed me when it arrived!"

Gu Yan'er thought Lingxi was unwilling to help, and became anxious. She stood up and tried to explain: "Lingxi, I..."

But before she could explain, Lu Lingxi smiled and said, "Okay, Sister Gu, I understand. Women in the boudoir have many taboos. If they are not careful, their reputation will be damaged. If someone really asks, you must have come to the Marquis' Mansion to find me. I won't say anything nonsense. By the way, did you really sneak out today? Did Prime Minister Gu lock you up?"

Gu Yan'er: "I did come here quietly today, but I didn't sneak out. My father didn't lock me up. He agreed to this marriage. But he told me to be careful and not to have too close contact with the Marquis' Mansion for the time being."

Lu Lingxi was puzzled: "Since Uncle Gu agreed to the marriage, why did he ask you not to have too close contact with the Marquis' Mansion?"

I have to say that Lu Lingxi is a very realistic person. He just called him Prime Minister Gu, but now when he heard that he agreed to the marriage between the two families, he immediately changed his address to Uncle Gu.

Gu Yan'er: "It's because of my cousin, the Prince of Qi. They say that somehow my cousin has become a different person, and he is always gloomy. He doesn't like anyone and makes a fuss over trivial matters. He is also particularly cruel when dealing with servants. In the court, he clearly targeted the Crown Prince and the Zhenguo Marquisate that was about to marry the Crown Prince. He didn't even want to maintain the previous peace. My cousin and I were almost getting married, but he said he was sick and called off the engagement. I married into the Zhenguo Marquisate that he targeted because I was afraid he would do something extreme."

Lu Lingxi didn't take this seriously. The King of Qi wasn't a man of high moral character before he changed. How radical could he be?

After hearing this, Lu Yugang couldn't help but worry about Gu Yan'er's safety. After all, the King of Qi and the Prime Minister's Mansion are related and can visit at any time. What if there is any extreme behavior?

So he asked nervously, "Does the King of Qi know that you have returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

Gu Yan'er: "I know, but my father told others that my illness was not getting better. However, he couldn't bear to see me wandering around alone and helpless as the New Year was approaching, so he brought me back to celebrate the New Year. After I returned home, he isolated me in the backyard and didn't allow me to go out or let anyone get close to me. My cousin wanted to come visit me once, but my father refused because my illness was contagious."

Lu Lingxi: "It's not a good idea to keep dragging this out. You've only been back for more than ten days and I can still keep it a secret, but I'm afraid you won't be able to keep it a secret for a long time."

Gu Yan'er: "Father said he would come and find a solution after the New Year. I didn't expect that after being away for so long, my father didn't blame me too much. He even agreed with me and helped me in every way. It turns out that my father still loves me."

Lu Lingxi said with a smile: "Sister Gu is such a good person, who wouldn't want to love you? Your mother and father both love you, and now your future husband loves you too. You are really the envy of others."

Just as he finished speaking, a gust of cold wind blew over. Lu Lingxi rubbed his hands. He had been concentrating on talking and didn't notice that this pavilion was very cold.

"Brother, Sister Gu, take your time chatting. I won't be a light bulb here. It's quite cold here. Why don't you go back to the house and chat slowly over the charcoal fire?"

Lu Yugang: "Lingxi, what does light bulb mean?"

Lu Lingxi was careless for a moment and forgot that there were no light bulbs at the moment, let alone the derived meaning of light bulbs. He hurriedly explained: "I just don't want to disturb you guys talking about love. Goodbye!" After that, he ran away.

Chunhong and Liulv, who were standing outside the pavilion, reacted for a moment and then ran after him.

Gu Yan'er blushed at Lu Lingxi's "love talk", and Lu Yugang also seemed a little embarrassed.

"Yan'er, should we go back to the room? The cold wind is biting."

Gu Yan'er felt that the mention of "going back to the room" was too ambiguous, and she recalled that day in the Prime Minister's Mansion when she shamelessly said that she was pregnant. She was just in a hurry at that time, and now she was alone with Lu Yugang, she just felt so embarrassed.

The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. Gu Yan'er's cheeks became redder and redder. At first, only her cheekbones were slightly pink, but then her cheeks became redder and redder, and finally her chin and forehead were redder. She even had a few beads of sweat on her face.

Lu Yugang didn't see Gu Yan'er answer, and seeing her like this, he asked nervously: "Yan'er, what's wrong with you? Did you catch a cold on the way here? Do you have a fever?"

As he was about to reach out and touch her forehead, Gu Yan'er quickly dodged and replied in a mosquito-like voice: "I'm fine. Maybe I wore too much today and I feel a little hot now. Just some cool air will be fine?"

Lu Yugang: “Really?”

Seeing that Lu Yugang didn't quite believe it, Gu Yan'er quickly changed the subject: "Yugang, when will you go to the border after the New Year?"

Lu Yugang: "I'm not sure yet, but at least we have to wait until Lingxi and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are married before we leave."

Seeing that she had successfully diverted Lu Yugang's attention, Gu Yan'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief and her complexion slowly returned to normal.

The two of them chatted back and forth again. Although Lu Yugang didn't talk much, he responded to every word Gu Yan'er said. Although they hadn't gotten married yet, they were already as close as guests.