Chapter 131
The two were welcomed into the garden where the Zuo Xiaoya sisters had arranged the food.
The Zuo family’s garden was also a masterpiece in the capital.
In the past, they had spent a lot of money and had specially invited someone to build it.
This garden was extremely exquisite, with the finishing touches of carved beams and painted rafters everywhere.
Lu Dieqing just looked around and noticed that the Zuo family’s garden had a unique and quiet beauty. Although it was not as large as the one in the imperial palace, it was unique in its own way and had its own charm.
Seeing her looking so seriously, Zheng Xuening, under the cover of her drooping sleeve, squeezed the girl’s hand.
“Do you like this garden?”
Lu Dieqing nodded without thinking.
“It’s beautiful.”
Zheng Xuening couldn’t help but start to seriously consider the feasibility of moving out of the palace and having a separate residence for herself and Qingqing.
Mmm.
After a little bit of divergent thinking, her mood couldn’t help but become wonderful.
The thought of leaving the dull atmosphere of the imperial palace, and having a residence in this world that was tinged with her and Qingqing’s aura, a little home that belonged only to the two of them.
Zheng Xuening’s heart was so joyful it couldn’t stop.
A place in her heart that had been empty was slowly being filled, as if it were being filled up bit by bit.
Where this residence should be, how it should be decorated, what kind of layout it should have…
These small details quickly flashed through Zheng Xuening’s mind, making her a little dazed at this moment.
Even after cultivating the art of puppetry, she had also guided qi into her body and had half a foot into the gate of immortal cultivation, knowing that she would have a longer life in the future. But at this moment, what she cared about most was still everything related to Lu Dieqing.
The moment Zheng Xuening was in a daze, her little girl immediately noticed.
“Ningning, what are you thinking about?”
Zheng Xuening came back to her senses, pressed her lips together, and looked at the girl.
“Guess.”
She seemed to have found some beloved toy and was almost eagerly waiting to arrange the residence.
In the past, Zheng Xuening had had everything. Sitting in that position, without her giving orders, there would be a large group of people bustling about, arranging everything.
Including the Yunxi Hall that her mother, the Empress, had left for her.
But it was precisely because of this that the thought that had suddenly popped into her mind became so alluring.
—A home that belonged only to her and Qingqing.
The Zuo sisters anxiously arranged everything and came to receive Lu Dieqing and the other.
On the way to the garden, Zuo Manzhi and Zuo Xiaoya had also been observing the two of them from the corner of their eyes.
It was clear that Lu Dieqing was still the same as before, with a very friendly smile that invisibly made people relax.
And the Crown Princess was like a stabilizing pillar, following by the other’s side, silent, but with a full sense of pressure.
Zuo Xiaoya only said a few words to Lu Dieqing before she didn’t dare to make a sound.
It was Zuo Manzhi who first introduced the topic.
“Today, Your Highness and Miss Lu have come to our residence. We are not well-prepared. Please don’t laugh at us later.”
Lu Dieqing waved her hands repeatedly. “Of course not. I think everything here is very good.”
“Sister Manzhi and little sister Xiaoya have clearly put a lot of thought into it.”
Whether these words were sincere or polite, at least on this occasion, the Zuo sisters both breathed a sigh of relief and had a way to step down.
But only Zheng Xuening knew that every word her little rabbit said was the truth.
Lu Dieqing, who had grown up in a remote palace, had never had such a good courtyard.
Perhaps in the other’s heart, there was a longing for the lives of those outside.
The Zuo sisters led the two to sit down, and soon, a serving lady came up and served the flower wine one by one.
Zuo Xiaoya peeked at the silent Crown Princess, then smiled at Lu Dieqing.
“This is the flower wine my elder sister personally made. It tastes excellent. Have a taste.”
If the Crown Princess were not here, Zuo Xiaoya would have sat down next to Lu Dieqing.
“It’s delicious,” Lu Dieqing said after taking a sip of the wine cup.
It was sweet, and there was no bitter taste of wine at all. On the contrary, it was a little fragrant and mellow.
Only after drinking it did she remember that she had been drinking a little too frequently these past few days.
Before, she had had a cup of wine at the Third Princess’s place. After she came back at night, she had watched Ningning dance and had also had some wine.
Finally, at dawn, a new day, she had come to the Zuo family as a guest and had started drinking again…
Lu Dieqing was really afraid of getting drunk.
But fortunately, there was already spiritual power circulating in her body. As long as she forced the intoxication to the surface of her skin, she could let it dissipate into the air and thus remain clear-headed.
However, this method was a bit of a cheat.
But! Staying clear-headed was very important.
The girl finished the flower wine. While praising it, she secretly forced out the intoxication, thinking that she had done it without anyone noticing.
At the side, Zheng Xuening had seen everything.
The wine cup in her hand spun, her fingertips stroking the pattern on it. She lowered her head and chuckled without a word.
“I never would have thought that we could gather here today.”
Zuo Manzhi, seeing that the atmosphere had become harmonious, suddenly said this.
Lu Dieqing immediately looked up and nodded.
“That’s right, that’s right.”
One sentence had awakened all the days she had lived before.
Lu Dieqing secretly made up her mind to master absolute strength.
After she went back this time, she would study the art of puppetry well and cultivate well!
The bright road was right in front of her. This was something she had dreamed of in the past. If she were to just sit here and waste her time, it would be a waste of the powerful immortal legacy she had obtained.
With Lu Dieqing engaging in conversation, the emotions in Zuo Manzhi’s heart settled a little.
She raised her wine cup, stood up, and said respectfully to Zheng Xuening, “This is not an occasion for an apology, but to have this opportunity to see Your Highness today, I think it is time to be frank and ask for forgiveness. I hope Your Highness can be magnanimous and forgive everything our Zuo family did in the past.”
Although they had not directly stood against the Crown Princess and done anything to attack her, they had indeed followed the Second Prince and had not failed to cheer him on.
Now that the Second Prince was crippled and had fallen, and the matter of the Crown Princess inheriting the throne seemed to be set in stone, lest she settle old scores in the future, everyone at court was in a state of panic.
Everyone knew that the Crown Princess was not a good-tempered person.
Zuo Manzhi maintained her bowing posture and did not dare to look directly at Zheng Xuening’s eyes.
She understood that what she had just said was actually a bit presumptuous.
After all, today’s occasion was that they, as friends, had invited Lu Dieqing over for a small gathering. In such a relaxed atmosphere, to directly state the Zuo family’s intention to apologize was indeed a bit like using this friendship.
But if she didn’t say it now, she was afraid that there would not be such a good opportunity in the future.
And she believed that Lu Dieqing would not be angry with them for this.
The atmosphere seemed to have frozen at this moment.
Zuo Xiaoya understood her sister’s thoughts in her heart and couldn’t help but look at the Crown Princess with wide eyes.
Lu Dieqing also vaguely sensed something and looked at Zheng Xuening, pressing her lips together.
Zheng Xuening ignored everyone’s gazes, except for her little rabbit’s.
As the two of them met each other’s gaze, Zheng Xuening slightly raised an eyebrow.
A moment later, under the girl’s watery, almost pleading gaze, she finally lowered her eyes to look at Zuo Manzhi and moved her lips.
“No need to mention the past.”
One sentence had gently let the Zuo family, who should have been benched, off the hook.
Zuo Xiaoya was so happy she almost jumped up.
Zuo Manzhi’s heart also breathed a great sigh of relief, and her shoulders relaxed.
She didn’t remember what she had said to Lu Dieqing and Zheng Xuening afterwards. She only knew that when the two of them left the Zuo family, Zuo Manzhi had turned back and hugged her sister, her voice choked.
“Only now do I feel a little real,” Zuo Manzhi’s crisis was finally over…
Zuo Manzhi had always been dignified and calm. She had never been so emotional before.
This made Zuo Xiaoya a little stunned, and then her heart was filled with guilt.
It was she who had been too insensible in the past, which was why all the burdens of the Zuo family had been shouldered by her sister alone.
“Sister…” Zuo Xiaoya wanted to comfort her, but the other stroked her head.
“I’m fine, sister. In the future, our Zuo family will no longer be involved in this kind of court struggle,” Zuo Manzhi said, as if she had made up her mind and had figured something out.
The Crown Princess was not the type to let people off easily, but this matter had indeed turned around because of Lu Dieqing.
Such opportunities were not many, and could even be said to be very rare.
“Xiaoya,” Zuo Manzhi’s tone paused for a moment.
“I’m thinking of joining the army.”
She had also studied martial arts for many years, but her family had always been thinking of how to send her to the imperial palace to become the Second Prince’s consort, so that she could stand in the position of the empress in the future.
But today, she had finally seen it clearly.
She did not like that kind of life in her heart.
Compared to schemes and intrigues, and relying on a marriage alliance to attach herself to a superior, it was better to serve in the army and prove something.
