"Since Grand Aunt has generously offered her treasured item, let me add some excitement as well."
Xiao Youcheng untied the emerald peace knot from his waist and placed it on the sandalwood tray. The emerald was a rich green, like the tender leaves of spring, radiating vitality.
Several noble ladies exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with determination.
Under the peach blossom tree, the young noblewomen showcased their talents, each displaying their unique skills.
Zhou Qingyuan and the others, in the prime of their youth, seemed to be strutting like peacocks in spring. Their exaggerated poses during arrow-throwing and archery were so theatrical that even Lu Chao couldn't bear to watch. Yet, when the admiring gazes of the noble ladies swept over them, the young men grew even more spirited and exhilarated.
One young lady, particularly ingenious, had brought an exquisite kite for the early spring outing. As her maids ran about, the kite accidentally got caught on a tree branch. Just as everyone sighed in regret, unable to think of a solution, Zhang Qing stepped forward with calm composure. Hands behind his back, he lightly tapped the ground with his toes, leaped into the air, and with a single swift motion, plucked the fluttering kite from the branch.
His effortless display of skill instantly drew gasps of admiration from the noble ladies, their eyes filled with awe. Zhang Qing, however, merely tilted his head nonchalantly, waved his hand as if it were nothing, and walked away—though his ears burned bright red.
"What a bunch of fools."
Lu Chao couldn’t help but chuckle. If only he had a phone—he’d have loved to capture this moment and tease them about it decades later.
Xiao Youcheng glanced sideways at Lu Chao, noticing that his attention wasn’t on the noblewomen at all. The garden full of beauties seemed far less interesting to him than the antics of Zhang Qing and the others. Tentatively, Xiao Youcheng asked,
"Among these young ladies, is there anyone who catches your eye?"
Lu Chao finally skimmed his gaze over the crowd.
"Didn’t pay much attention. They’re all fine. You pick for yourself."
After all, the Emperor had already shortlisted a few candidates for the Prince of Kang. Unless something unexpected happened, Xiao Youcheng would choose one from among them. No wonder Zhou Qingyuan and the others didn’t dare even glance in that direction.
Xiao Youcheng sighed inwardly. Usually so sharp, how could Lu Chao be so dense now?
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to arrange things properly for you. You won’t be wronged."
Lu Chao, misunderstanding his concern, thought Xiao Youcheng was troubled by the judgmental stares from others. Amused, he teased,
"How kind of you to remember my grievances. You’d better take care of your dear junior brother, then. You know my temper—if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have held back. Ah well, I’ll endure it for now."
Xiao Youcheng: He knew it. Lu Chao was definitely bothered. Men understood these things. Sympathetically, he patted Lu Chao’s shoulder.
"Don’t worry! I’ll assign you a few more in the future. She won’t dare say a word!"
Lu Chao: Huh?? Assign what?? If others point fingers at me, I’ll point back??
Before Lu Chao could voice his confusion, a palace attendant interrupted.
"Your Highness, Old Madam Song requests your presence to admire Miss Song’s painting."
Lu Chao glanced at the gathering under the peach tree, smirked at Xiao Youcheng, and waved him off.
"Take your time, Your Highness!"
"You’ve got nothing to do here anyway. Why not come along?"
Lu Chao shook his head.
"Can’t. I’m a man with commitments now. Take those peacocks with you instead. Don’t waste all the effort they put into grooming themselves this morning."
Xiao Youcheng burst into laughter, rolling his eyes before turning away. His retreating figure carried the faint exasperation of a man who’d been thoroughly outwitted.
As soon as Xiao Youcheng left, most of the palace attendants who served around him dispersed.
Lu Chao looked up and thought that Taoyuan Mountain really lived up to its reputation as a famous place for enjoying flowers.
The peach blossoms halfway up the mountain were like a rosy cloud, making it seem like a fairyland on earth. Since he was bored sitting there, why not really enjoy the flowers?
"Madam, I wonder if my servant and I can take a walk around here?"
Nanny Qingyu showed a bit of hesitation on her face.
"Sir, please wait a moment. I still need to ask Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess for permission."
Lu Chao bowed and apologized.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, madam. I really like the scenery of Taoyuan Mountain. Please tell Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess that if she is worried about disturbing the guests, see if she can send a palace attendant to lead us. We will definitely stay close and never act recklessly."
Seeing that he was good - looking and well - behaved, Nanny Qingyu didn't mind the trouble and sent a little maid to ask the Grand Princess.
The Grand Princess was always lenient towards beautiful people. Anyway, the female guests were all on the middle of Taoyuan Mountain, and she had told the palace attendants to guard them. So she waved her hand generously.
"Let a palace attendant take him for a walk. Just don't disturb Miaoguang."
Lu Chao walked forward with his hands behind his back, and Liu Yao closely followed behind him. The master and servant slowly strolled along the winding path under the guidance of the palace attendant. As they walked and stopped, they were once again secretly shocked by the extravagance of the ancient aristocrats at the luxurious sights they saw.
Each of the stone steps under their feet was carefully carved with intricate and delicate patterns. And the auspicious beasts standing at intervals of about a hundred meters were actually carved from white marble. They were in different postures, and the patterns of dragons and phoenixes, flowers, birds, fish and insects on the eaves and brackets were so vivid that they seemed to be guarding this place.
"What's that place over there?"
Lu Chao pointed to the magnificent palace in the distance. It was surrounded by peach trees with their branches climbing, creating an interesting contrast, which made Lu Chao think of "The Peach Blossom Spring".
"Sir Lu," the leading palace attendant bowed slightly and apologized. "That's a restricted area. It's not convenient to enter. Let's go somewhere else."
Lu Chao nodded in understanding and said to the palace attendant.
"All right. But I seem to see someone on the peach tree?"
Liu Yao squinted and looked carefully in the direction Lu Chao pointed, then nodded seriously.
"Indeed. Judging from the figure, there seems to be a girl on the tree. Sir! Could she be the Peach Blossom Fairy?"
Lu Chao patted Liu Yao on the head.
"Silly! She should just be a naughty maid. We've walked for so long. Let's go back."
It seemed that the Grand Princess, who looked kind - hearted, was also very lenient towards the maids. How could she allow a maid to climb a tree in the restricted area?
Just as Lu Chao and his party were on their way back, they saw Nanny Qingyu leading several palace attendants in a hurry to look for someone.
"Madam, you seem so anxious. Has something happened?"
"The second daughter of Vice Minister Mo is missing. I'm leading people to look for her. Did you meet anyone on the way, Sir Lu?"
Lu Chao shook his head.
"We didn't see any strangers along the way with the palace attendant."
Nanny Qingyu frowned tightly.
Why did Miss Mo run around for no reason? If something happened to her, it would surely damage the Grand Princess's reputation.
"Woohoo! Second sister has been lively and unrestrained since childhood. Now she ran up the mountain again after a disagreement. I hope nothing bad happens to her!"
Lu Chao then noticed a young girl with an oval face behind Nanny Qingyu, sobbing into her handkerchief.
"Third Miss Mo, did your elder sister leave any instructions when she left? If you tell us, it'll be easier for us to find her."
"No. She left in a fit of anger and disappeared in the blink of an eye."
"I... I'm just worried that maybe my sister... she..."
Suddenly, Lu Chao thought of the figure in the tree and had a hunch in his mind.
