Every time the prince opens his eyes, he sees

Through the window of the private room, you can see people coming and going on the second floor of Chu Ji Inn opposite. Although it is noisy, it has a unique atmosphere of urban life.

Xie Qingchen held a white porcelain teacup in his hand and gently blew away the rising hot steam, but his eyes seemed to penetrate the hustle and bustle and fell on an unknown distance.

"Your Highness, I heard that the Empress Dowager and Consort Shu have been using various banquets to look for suitable candidates for the Crown Prince's wife. Does Your Highness have any favorites?"

Xie Qingchen avoided talking about this kind of topic and turned to other topics, "Gu Huai, this time we won a great victory on the border. The emperor was very pleased. Not only did he give you a thousand taels of gold, he also personally bestowed upon you the title of 'General Zhenyuan'. Your father was also promoted to the first-class marquis. This is truly a cause for celebration."

Gu Huai put down his sword and instead picked up his teacup, clinking it lightly with Xie Qingchen's. He smiled and said, "Your Highness, you know my character. I have never cared about fame or material possessions. But Your Highness, it's been three years since the incident with Miss He, and I still rarely see you smile. I wonder when you will be able to move on from that past?"

Before Gu Huai finished speaking, he saw a familiar figure appear on the second floor stairs of the inn opposite.

Xie Qingchen followed his gaze and looked over:

A woman in light green clothes and a veil on her head walked into the second floor of the inn. She walked lightly and her temperament revealed a calm and arrogant aura.

Xie Qingchen's heart trembled inexplicably.

My heart then began to ache uncontrollably.

Who is she and why does he feel so strange when he sees her?

Gu Huai also noticed that Xie Qingchen was looking at Lu Yaoyao across from him, so he explained to him, "The girl in green is Lu Yaoyao, the third daughter of the Lu family, who has been talked about by the dignitaries and common people in the capital these past two days."

"Yaoyao? The same name as hers!" Xie Qingchen complained inwardly, and his eyes became darker as he looked at Lu Yaoyao.

But he clearly couldn't find any resemblance to her in her.

She is not like her. Their temperaments are even two extremes. One is gentle and well-behaved, while the other looks aloof and arrogant.

Xie Qingchen's deep dislike for Lu Yaoyao was magnified infinitely, and he said maliciously, "What's so good about a woman with a bad reputation, who is also rude and lowly?"

Gu Huai knew very well that Xie Qingchen had not yet gotten over his previous relationship, so he had no interest in other women. He tactfully stopped talking about Lu Yaoyao with Xie Qingchen.

He and Xie Qingchen turned their conversation to military affairs and politics, but he couldn't help but notice Lu Yaoyao out of the corner of his eye.

Lu Yaoyao stopped outside a guest room, knocked on the door a few times, and after the door was opened from the inside, she walked in.

About half a cup of tea later, a fat man with a terrified look, as if he had been extremely frightened, suddenly ran out of the room that Lu Yaoyao had entered.

Gu Huai took a closer look. It would have been fine if he hadn't looked, but once he did, he couldn't sit still anymore.

"Li Zan, why is it him again?" Gu Huai stood up in shock. Not caring about being rude, he quickly clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I have some urgent matters to attend to at the inn across the street. Please wait here for a moment."

"Go ahead." Xie Qingchen naturally wouldn't bother with this little impoliteness with his lifelong friend Gu Huai, but Gu Huai would take the risk of offending him and go across to find the notorious Lu Yaoyao.

This forced him to re-examine Lu Yaoyao.

What charm did she have that made Gu Huai, who was used to seeing the well-educated and talented noble ladies in the capital, look at her differently?

Gu Huai rushed into the private room, and Lu Yaoyao was putting the curtain back on for him.

"Miss Lu, are you okay?"

Her wrist was unexpectedly grabbed by someone. Lu Yaoyao looked up and saw Gu Huai's handsome face that could not hide his worry.

Lu Yaoyao smiled faintly, "I'm fine. But General Gu, why are you here? Did you just happen to be the hero saving the damsel in distress again this time?"

A faint blush appeared on Gu Huaijun's face. His eyes fell on the hand that was holding Lu Yaoyao's wrist. He suddenly realized that he had overstepped the bounds of propriety. He put his hand down awkwardly and smiled awkwardly, "I'm a little late to this scene. Miss Lu has become the hero herself. Miss Lu, could you tell me what just happened?"

Lu Yaoyao said lightly, "It's just that Li Zan still has evil intentions towards me and is trying to marry me as his concubine. The matchmaker even came with the betrothal gifts, so I specially asked him out today and smeared him with snakeberry juice that will cause a rash all over my body. He mistakenly thought I had a serious illness, so I threatened him and successfully scared him away."

"Is Miss Lu feeling unwell right now?" Gu Huai asked worriedly.

"nothing."

Gu Huai heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Miss Lu is truly clever. I can't help but think of someone."

"Who is it?" Even Lu Yaoyao didn't realize the nervousness hidden in her pretended curious voice.

"That person is gone, alas..." Gu Huai hesitated, "Let's not talk about her anymore. Miss Lu, are you going back now?"

"It's still early, I'll go to the teahouse across the street to listen to some opera and drink some tea! General Gu, are you willing to join us?"

Now that she had met him, she naturally had to find a way to stay with Gu Huai for a while.

Although she hasn't completely forgotten Xie Qingchen, she has to take care of the present.

"Sorry, I have an appointment with a friend, and he doesn't like to be with strangers, so we can't have tea and watch opera in the same private room." Gu Huai thought that the prince didn't seem to like Miss Lu, so he politely declined.

Lu Yaoyao nodded, "It's okay, I'll ask the boss to book a private room for me."

"Then let's make an appointment next time."

The two of them chatted and laughed as they came to Yipinju together. When they went up to the second floor, Gu Huai discovered that Xie Qingchen had come out at some point.

He originally didn't want the two of them to meet, but now, there is no way to avoid it.

"Your Highness, this is Miss Lu Yaoyao." Gu Huai hurriedly introduced her to Xie Qingchen.

Xie Qingchen's eyes were sharp as he stared at Lu Yaoyao, who was wearing a veil.

Lu Yaoyao's cheeks turned red when he looked at her, and she almost couldn't stand.

Although I had already prepared myself mentally to meet Xie Qingchen one day, I didn't expect that this day would come so suddenly.

She only glanced at him once and then quickly lowered her head, fearing that he would recognize her.

She didn't want to recognize him at all, and now she has completely given up on him.

Xie Qingchen couldn't see the expression on Lu Yaoyao's face through the curtain, but from her trembling shoulders, he was sure that she was just a timid concubine's daughter who was not presentable.

"Are you Lu Yaoyao?"

The voice that was intimidating without anger came down, and Lu Yaoyao responded with a trembling voice, "Yes."

"Nothing special."

Lu Yaoyao: “…”

"Alright." Xie Qingchen said indifferently, "Gu Huai, I still have some official business to attend to, so I'll go back to the East Palace first. Please do as you please!"

"Farewell to Your Highness."

Gu Huai and Lu Yaoyao responded in unison.

Xie Qingchen walked away, but Lu Yaoyao's eyes were still fixed on him.

Gu Huai looked at her dazed look, and a pang of pain welled up in his heart, though he himself hadn't noticed. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so handsome and heroic, even Miss Lu would be unable to take her eyes off him!"

Lu Yaoyao slowly withdrew her gaze and looked back at Gu Huai with a faint smile, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is certainly good, but General Gu is full of vigor and vigor, and has fought on the battlefield, invincible. He is also a unique person in the world."

This praise made Gu Huai very happy, and the smile on his lips was harder to suppress than a spear.