Phoenix Hairpin

The Lu Mansion.

  As soon as Li Jing came, the Lu siblings tacitly disappeared, leaving the unmarried couple alone.

  "Why are you here again?"

  Listen to this slightly disgusted tone.

  Li Jing raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I came today because I was ordered by my father."

  Lu Mingyu's heart moved, thinking of something: "Could it be for Princess Jing'an's ceremony?"

  Li Jingjing nodded: "Exactly. The imperial concubine wanted to make the second sister's marriage ceremony more lively, so she advised the Royal father to invite the three sisters-in-law who had not yet married into the Royal family to watch the ceremony." 

The imperial decree for the marriage was issued, and the dowry ceremony was performed. These marriages were not going to change. According to the customs of the Great Wei Dynasty, it was common for the future sǎozi (1) to go and watch the hairpin ceremony of the future gūzi. (2)

  Lu Mingyu nodded slightly: "That's fine, I'll be in the palace on that day."

  Li Jing immediately smiled and said, "I'll pick you up." 

Lu Mingyu had nothing to do: "If you're free,  just come."

When it was over, Li Jing refused to leave and sat to drink tea leisurely.

  Lu Mingyu couldn't stop laughing, she rolled her eyes and said, "The message has been delivered, why don't you leave? Do you want to stay for lunch?" 

The words were not polite at all, but they also revealed unconscious intimacy.

  It can be seen that his hard work during this time had not been in vain.

  There was a smile in Li Jing's black eyes: "Fourth Miss Lu is really smart, she can guess right."

  Lu Mingyu: "..."

  It was really impossible to deal with a person who was so cheeky.

  Lu Mingyu had no choice but to order the kitchen to prepare a luncheon.

  Every trivial matter in the Lu residence must be reported to Lu Mingyu, and she will make decisions. Li Jing refused to leave, and Lu Mingyu kept talking with him: "You drink tea first, and I will take care of some housework."

  Li Jing smiled and hummed.

  Soon, more than a dozen stewards of the Lu Mansion were summoned to the inner hall.

  Funny to say. In other mansions, there are mostly mothers who are in charge, but in Lu's mansion, there were not many maids and servants, and the people in charge were all men. Most of them were in their 40s or 50s, and their looks were somewhat hideous.

  One of them was missing an arm. There was another one with a hideous scar on his face, and another one was blind in one eye. The rest were mostly the same.

  These were Lu Lin's personal soldiers, who were seriously injured on the battlefield and could no longer fight. Lu Lin asked them to work in the mansion.

  Anyway, most of the people in the mansion were responsible for managing servants or doing shopping. As long as they were not too stupid, they can be employed after a while with a little training.

  They were loyal to Lu Lin and equally loyal to their young lady.

  Lu Mingyu had never been a gentle and good-tempered person, her eyes looked over them, revealing a convincing majesty. This was the demeanor cultivated by being a prince consort and an Empress.

  None of the stewards dared to act recklessly, they stood upright and answered.

  Lu Mingyu handled family affairs very neatly, didn't speak much, and made every sentence decisive. In more than half an hour, the day's affairs were handled properly.

  During this period, Li Jing drank a pot of tea, ate half a plate of snacks, and went out for a walk twice.

  After finishing the family affairs, Lu Mingyu teased, "Did Your Highness not eat breakfast?" 

Li Jing was not at all embarrassed: "It's not that. I had nothing to do, so I just ate and drank to relieve my boredom."

  Lu Mingyu wanted nothing to do with her thick-faced fiancé. So she got up, and said: "Let's go to the mansion for a walk to help your Your Highness to digest, otherwise you won't be hungry for lunch."

  Li Jing laughed softly and got up quickly.

  After entering the garden, Li Jing stretched out his hand naturally.

  Lu Mingyu glanced at Li Jing.

  Li Jing looked frank.

  Forget it, anyway, the last time she held hands for half a day, there was nothing to be pretentious about. Lu Mingyu pursed her lips and put her hand into Li Jing's.

  Li Jing silently raised the corners of his mouth and put his hands together.

  This time, he didn't hold her hand tightly but just held it gently.

  "The Fourth brother was punished for five days and went to the Wenhua Palace to apologize to Father. When Father saw that he was sincere he forgave him." Li Jing said what happened in the palace: "We brothers, recently we have been exceptionally harmonious."

  Lu Mingyu let out a meaningful "oh" with profound implications.

  Indeed, the territory of Great Wei was not yet complete. There was still a tough battle to be fought to conquer Yan and Chu. The heir to the throne was still far away. The princes were not foolish; then why shouldn't they display excessive "brotherly friendship and brotherly respect," right?

  Li Jing and Lu Mingyu looked at each other. They knew each other's thoughts, so they changed the topic tacitly.

  There were some things, but needless to say, they were very clear.

  The position of the crown prince must be contested!

  The blood feud in the previous life must be avenged!

  "How is Li Hao recently?" Lu Mingyu asked casually.

  Li Jing replied: "I can't see the slightest bit of resentment, and he is quite satisfied with the marriage." While talking, he turned to look at Lu Mingyu.

  Lu Mingyu didn't evade: "What do you think you are doing? Want to see if I have any more feelings for him?"

  Li Jing coughed: "Of course not. With your temperament, you can both take it or let it go. If you wanted to turn around, you couldn't have waited until now."

  Having said that, the sourness in his heart was unavoidable.

  Back then, he was very clear about how affectionate Lu Mingyu and Li Hao were.

  Lu Mingyu said lightly: "Knowing how Li Hao is as a person, he will definitely hold grudges in his heart. Especially for you. You should be more careful in what you do in the future."

  Li Jing's heart surged with joy: "Xiaoyu, are you caring about me?"

  Lu Mingyu She didn't look at him, and didn't make a sound.

  Li Jing's heart was filled with joy, like spring waves rippling in the lake: "Don't worry! I will be careful."... 

"I'm so hungry" Lu Xuan muttered in a low voice in the dining room of the Lu Mansion: "Why did the Fourth sister take His Royal Highness the Second Prince to wander around the garden? Why don't they come to the dining room?"

  Lu Mingyue smiled and tapped Lu Xuan on the head: "Wait patiently."

  Lu Minghua pursed her lips and smiled: "It's rare for His Highness to come to the Lu Mansion from the palace. He wants to talk to Fourth Sister alone and forget the time for a while. When they come later, don't make fun of them, lest Your Highness feels sorry for being thin-skinned." 

His Royal Highness, the Second Prince, did not show any thin-skinned appearance!

  Lu Xuan secretly slandered in his heart and finally endured it.

  After waiting for another cup of tea, the figures of the young couple finally appeared in front of them.

  Lu Mingyu wore a plain dress and didn't make any effort to dress up, but for some reason, her cheeks were extraordinarily smooth and her black eyes were extraordinarily bright.

  The same was true for His Highness the Second Prince beside her. He was dressed in the same way, with a smile on his lips, shining brilliantly.

  The two stood side by side, like a pair of pearls, shining brightly, with outstanding demeanor.

  Lu Minghua hurriedly got up to salute.

  Li Jing said with a smile: "There is no need to pay attention to these formalities. I have the cheek to stay for lunch today, you can do as usual. If you are cautious, I will have no face next time." 

The words were humorous. Lu Xuan immediately grinned: "Fourth jiěfū, (3) please sit down."

  Lu Mingyu smiled and gave Lu Xuan a look.

  Hearing the title of the fourth jiěfū, Li Jing frowned and laughed: "Thank you, Sixth brother."

1. Elder brother's wife

2. Husband's younger sister

3. Husband of elder sister