Lingxi looked at him for a long time.
"About that....."
He Yu patiently waited for her to construct the perfect excuse.
"I was going to do it but then He Yan showed up and after our conversation, I forgot", she said.
She paused for a second and leaned closer to him, "you claim you love me but who reminds his lover of their punishment?"
She looked wronged.
He Yu was impressed by her acting skills. "I'm the unreasonable one, all right?" he teased back.
Lingxi smiled as he made the fire and began grilling the fish. Soon, the fish was ready. He handed one to her.
She took a bite, "delicious", she complimented him with a wide smile.
"As long as you like it", He Yu responded and took a bite from his own fish.
Lingxi reached beneath her sleeves and brought out a small jar. She opened it and sprinkled its contents on the fish.
"That is...?" He Yu asked.
"Chili powder", she answered, "you can't handle spice so I can't give you"
"You really are a foodie. You carry even seasonings around", He Yu said.
"Not every dish is perfect so you have to make it suit your taste. I like spicy food so I always carry chili powder around", Lingxi explained.
He Yu looked at her, "just chili?"
Lingxi met his gaze for two seconds, "and maybe other seasonings too. I also carry some honey and candy too", she added.
He Yu scrutinized her from head to toe and she noticed.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"So, you mean, you are carrying different things on you right now?"
"Anything wrong?" she asked.
"Not really. I just realized I've not been very close to my wife", he said.
"Close?" Lingxi did not understand what he meant.
He Yu did not answer her but instead stood up, walked up to her and lifted her up to her feet. Before Lingxi could fully comprehend what he was trying to do, she found his hands wrapped around her waist and shoulder. He Yu was hugging her with his chin resting on her shoulder. He pulled her closer and his eyes closed for a second to inhale her scent. Lingxi was still surprised by the sudden hug. He Yu released her and went back to sit.
"There is a scent of honey on you. If I'm not mistaken, the honey is kept inside your hair", he said.
Lingxi sat down still in surprise. So he had hugged her to figure out where she hid things or had he just wanted to hug her?
"There are also a few thin straps round your waist. You have the best hiding places for food and self-defense", He Yu said.
Lingxi let out a sigh and arranged her hair backwards. He Yu noticed, "is Zhizhi shy?" he asked.
Lingxi scoffed, "who is shy? You suddenly hugged me. I'm just surprised"
She arranged the strands in front of her hair again to hide the fact that she was flustered.
He Yu laughed lightly, "now that I think of it, this is the first time I have hugged Zhizhi. Since Zhizhi is not used to it, how about I hug you more often", he suggested in a teasing voice. "Dream on"
[The Next Day]
The Commandary Princess Carriage had passed through the city gates and successfully reached the capital.
Meanwhile, in Lotus Fragrance Pavilion, Lingxi was writing her final draft for the event. Qin Yan was sitting opposite her.
"Commandary Princess Anning has arrived in the capital", he said.
"I know", Lingxi replied.
"You went to see her last night. Is everything fine?" he asked.
"I knew someone was following me", Lingxi said. Of course, she was not worried about it because she knew it was him.
"You don't want to welcome Sang Xue'er so the empress won't use familiarity to her advantage" Lingxi nodded lightly.
While Lingxi was busy with Qin Yan, there was an issue on the road.
Two carriages were meeting at different intersections and there was not enough space for both carriages to enter the path they both wanted to take. One had to give way. The question, however, was who would? Both carriages stopped for a long while and the people in them began to wonder what was going on.
Sang Xue'er was the first to ask. "Why aren't we moving? Find out what is going on", she said.
Qingtong nodded and looked out the window. She noticed the situation.
"There seems to be another carriage heading in the same direction as us but the space is only wide enough for one of us to go through", Qingtong explained the situation.
"What is Prince Jing doing?" Sang Xue'er asked.
Qingtong looked outside more time and saw He Rui giving a signal for their carriage to give way.
"Prince Jing is...."
Before she could complete the sentence, they both felt the carriage moving backwards. Were they the ones giving way?
"Stop!" Sang Xue'er ordered.
The carriage stopped moving.
"Tell the other carriage to move aside", she said but there was no action.
Then He Rui's voice came through, "Your grace, things don't always end up going your way"
"Prince Jing, as an escort, you are resorting to publicly humiliate me. I wasn't aware this was in the scope of your work", Sang Xue'er replied.
"My duty was to escort Your Grace to the capital and I have done that. I am merely taking the initiative to escort Your grace home. If Your Grace is not satisfied with my arrangements, you may feel free to do as you please", He Rui said.
Sang Xue'er was not pleased with his words. With the help of Qingtong, she alighted the carriage. She did not spare a glance at He Rui and directly called on the person who was in the carriage.
"Young master, could you step aside?" she said with a firm voice that didn't look like it was asking for a favor but more like that of giving someone an impossible choice.
There was a short moment of silence before the 'young master's' voice came through.
"Oh? Why did no one tell me it was a beautiful lady in the way?" a soft masculine voice came from inside the silver carriage.
"Her carriage is blocking our way. As basic courtesy demands, she should give way to Your..." a guard who was riding on a horse in front of a carriage said but was interrupted.
"What makes you think you can make decisions for me? Isn't it basic courtesy to give way to a lady?" he asked but his voice did not look like he was reprimanding.
His voice shifted to Sang Xue'er, "as the ancients say, 'a gentleman should not contend with a lady'. Miss, you may proceed", he said.
His carriage moved backwards to give way to hers.
Sang Xue'er did not understand who he was and why he gave way quickly without knowing who she was. Anyways, with her confusion, she stepped into her carriage to continue her journey.
"Your grace, don't you think that man is suspicious?" Qingtong asked.
Of course, Sang Xue'er noticed. Although she did not see his face, his voice was calm, scholarly and even lazy with a hint of teasing in it.
"For Prince Jing to let us give way to him, could he be an imperial prince?" Qingtong added.
Sang Xue'er also thought the same thing but decided not to dwell on it.
"If he is an imperial prince, will find out soon enough", Sang Xue'er replied as their carriage disappeared out of sight.
He Rui, on the other hand, had fulfilled his mission and stayed behind. He rode his horse slowly towards the carriage and stopped next to it.
"It seems Prince Ning is still unaware of his title. Giving way to just anyone isn't surprising", he said.
He Xuan shifted the curtains sideways to look at him.
"A gentleman shouldn't argue with a woman. Second brother, what you did just now was quite rude. How could you let a beautiful lady give way?" He Xuan said in his usual cheerful but lazy tune. He was holding his usual white folding fan.
"Third brother, you are already famed for being lazy and indifferent to your duties. Are you sure you want to add a ladies' man to the list?"
"What's wrong with being a ladies' man? I am already infamous. One extra title will make no difference", he did not seem to care and even seemed a little excited about the title.
"You have always hated politics and the court the most. Father shouldn't have called you back", He Rui said.
"Exactly my thought. I'll just go through the basic formalities and sneak back to Nanning again", He Xuan joked. He was the territorial prince of Nanning.
"I don't think it would be easy for you this time", He Rui commented.
"We shall see about that", He Xuan said and added, "I haven't seen my granduncle and grandaunt in a while. I miss both of them, especially grandaunt. I'll go see them first", he said before his carriage began to move in the direction of the palace.