Female martial arts fanatics only love to fight, while men fight for their lives.

Li Huaiqing's gentle face cracked for a moment, but his good upbringing allowed him to recover quickly.

The maid beside him hurriedly tidied his clothes carefully. After not finding the bugs that Lou Xiao mentioned, she shook her head at him slightly and bowed and left.

Now there are only two people left in Yuxiu Pavilion.

As he had no official title, he bowed his head and saluted, "Li Huaiqing greets the Duke of Zhenguo."

The woman in front of him did not come close to support him as he had imagined. Instead, as soon as he finished speaking, she pointed to the stone bench in the pavilion and said, "No need to be polite, sit down."

Still, she performed with full courtesy and graceful posture, "Etiquette cannot be abolished, Miss is generous."

He lifted his robe and sat down, his back straight.

Lou Xiao leaned lightly against the white jade railing, obviously more interested in the newly served snacks.

Li Huaiqing paused for a moment with the folding fan in his hand, and smiled as he introduced the snacks of Li Mansion to her.

"This is the peach blossom pastry specially made in the mansion. It has a few more processes than other pastries, and the texture is crispier. Miss, you can try it."

Lou Xiao picked up a piece, took a bite of the crispy crust and it fell off. She caught it with her other hand and it was indeed delicious.

After eating a few bites, she turned her eyes to Li Huaiqing, "It is indeed special, but is there anything else?"

"Of course," he called the maid and ordered the kitchen to bring each snack to the Duke of Zhenguo.

Lou Xiao was so focused on the snacks that she completely ignored the handsome man next to her.

Li Huaiqing was very well-mannered. He not only carefully explained to her the stories and advantages of each dessert, but also carefully observed her expression and remembered her favorite ones.

"Young Master is really knowledgeable and talented, he seems to know everything," Lou Xiao praised him sincerely, "I never thought there are so many ways to describe dim sum."

The Li family has a long history, and naturally they have more and more special dim sum recipes than any other family.

Lou Xiao thought that she would have to receive more messages from the Li family in the future.

"Miss, you are too kind," Li Huaiqing remained calm, perhaps because he had heard too many compliments.

He seemed to have long forgotten what his original plan was, and threw away all his poems and style.

The topic always revolved around the snacks on the table, and the two of them seemed to be having a great time and were in harmony.

After listening to the servant's report, Li Yanfan nodded and asked him to continue watching.

The man behind her sneered, "She's just a greedy little girl, why should Huai Qing go and investigate."

The voice came from a man in a brown brocade robe, who looked to be no more than thirty years old. He was the strategist that Li Yanfan brought from his own clan.

"Be careful. Your Majesty's mind is unfathomable. She came out of nowhere, so it must not be that simple."

Unlike others, Li Yanfan has been an official for more than ten years and is a steady, experienced person.

"Aren't you afraid that this young lady will fall in love with Huai Qing and cause trouble?"

Similar things have happened before. Few people can resist Li Huaiqing's charm.

Among the women he found in the countryside and the men he had ever met, who could compare to the treasure of the Li family, Li Huaiqing?

So he vowed, "You'll see, in a few days, there will be rumors in the capital."

"If so, it may not be a bad thing. She is favored by His Majesty. If Huai Qing is with her, it will also be good for the clan."

Li Yanfan actually disliked this strategist for a long time, but he was sent by the clan, and she didn't want to fall out with the clan, so she had to endure it.

"Nonsense, how can a fool like her be worthy of him?" He should be the one sitting on the throne of the Phoenix King, ruling the world together with the Queen, so how could he be with a greedy fool?

The Duke of Zhenguo? It was just an empty title, and she only had a nominal position without any real power.

The mind of the emperor is unpredictable. Who knows if you will lose everything and be driven out of the capital in the next moment?

At this time, "clunkhead" Lou Xiao had already finished countless plates of snacks, and Li Huaiqing also ate a lot with him. He took a sip of tea, trying to get rid of the sweet taste in his mouth.

"Why don't you eat anymore?" Lou Xiao asked him with a smile, and finally stopped eating.

Li Huaiqing didn't want to force himself anymore, so he could only say honestly, "My lower abdomen is full, and my appetite is not as good as Miss."

"By the way, why did you come to see me? Is there something wrong?" Lou Xiao seemed to have just remembered this.

"It's nothing serious. I just wrote a few poems and wanted to show them to you, young lady."

The maid brought the manuscript in time, and Lou Xiao flipped through it hastily. She could understand it, but she didn't have the ability to comment on it.

She didn't pretend and returned it to him apologetically, "I'm not qualified to let you taste it. I heard that the Grand Secretary is here, why don't I let him take a look?"

Unexpectedly, she returned the manuscript to him without even a word of courtesy. It seemed that she was really not interested in this.

"Miss, there is no need to belittle yourself. It's just a manuscript." His jade-white fingers were sorting out the manuscript of the poem, and the paper was not even whiter than his fingers.

"I have no research on poetry and songs," her understanding of poetry was limited to the level of her previous life. In this life, she devoted the first half of her life to martial arts.

"Then..." Li Huaiqing asked tentatively, "What kind of books do you read, young lady? Do you have any preference?"

At most, she was forced by her senior sister to read some books when she was young, and later on, she just read some travel notes.

"I flipped through some randomly, but didn't find anything I particularly liked," she murmured, "I still need to read some poetry..."

In order to prevent him from changing the topic to poetry, Lou Xiao glanced at the sky and apologized,

"It's getting late. It's time to go home. We'll talk next time."

Li Huaiqing was caught off guard and saw her implicit refusal, so he finally made an invitation.

"Miss, you haven't been to the capital yet, right? Would I have the honor to travel with you tomorrow?"

Lou Xiao, who had already stood up, nodded and said "Okay" very simply.

Looking at her leaving back, Li Huaiqing's smile disappeared.

She told the servant to pack up her favorite snacks and send them to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, then she opened her paper fan and returned to the study.

When he opened the door, Li Yanfan and the strategist were playing chess. They both stopped playing when he arrived.

Before the Minister of Revenue could speak, the strategist Li Chang asked, "Is that young lady a straw bag?"

There was a hint of gloom in Li Yanfan's eyes, but he smiled when he looked at Li Huaiqing, and was also waiting for his evaluation.

After eating a lot of snacks due to etiquette, the First Young Master finally showed signs of discomfort when he sat down.

"Your Majesty summoned her to the capital, and there is nothing to be seen from this side."

"How can you not tell? You ate it from beginning to end. Could it be that you were a peasant before and never saw good food?" Li Chang laughed.

"You are too cautious. How can a country village produce a genius?"

Li Huaiqing looked at him expressionlessly and smiled. Li Chang suddenly felt awkward and lowered his eyes when he met his eyes.

"Don't blame me, sir. I am shallow."

Li Yanfan, who was standing by, had a look of sarcasm in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it and put away the chess piece.

"Let's take another look...don't be careless."

The handsome young man turned his head to look at the spring scenery outside the window, and the scene of her looking at him sideways appeared in front of him again.

He knew that was not the kind of partner he wanted.