Lord Shen naturally had no interest in folk architecture. He looked coldly at her before turning his head to continue looking straight ahead.
Feeling rebuffed, Taohua rubbed her nose and pouted. As she turned her head, she met Lu Zhilan’s meaningful gaze.
“Hehe.” Taohua smiled at her and lowered her eyes, intending to play her role as a companion quietly. However, she heard Lu Zhilan say, “The feelings between the lady and the minister are excellent.”
Good feelings? Shen Zaiye and Jiang Taohua both looked at her with strange expressions.
“Don’t be so surprised, I’m stating a fact,” Lu Zhilan said calmly. “How often does the minister speak so harshly to others in daily life? You’ve always treated that courtyard full of women gently. As for the lady, even when the lord is so fierce with you, you’re not upset at all. I suppose you understand his habit of being tough on the outside but soft on the inside.”
Shen Zaiye was fierce to her because he was a psychopath! She wasn’t upset simply because she was used to it. It had nothing to do with understanding him! Feelings were indeed like drinking water – only the drinker knows if it’s cold or warm.
Taohua sighed.
Frowning at her, Shen Zaiye turned to Lu Zhilan and said, “I’m harsh with her because she does things no normal person would do. As for her endurance, it’s because she indeed did wrong.”
You’re the one who did wrong! Your whole family did wrong! Taohua fumed silently, turning her head away to sulk in the corner. How could admiring the scenery be wrong? Why didn’t he just tear down all the nearby houses?
“Cursing me again?” Shen Zaiye narrowed his eyes.
Taohua’s body stiffened. She turned back with a fawning smile, “You’re overthinking, my lord. How would I dare to curse you?”
Lu Zhilan’s eyes flickered as she said softly, “Indeed, one shouldn’t dare. I haven’t seen anyone who disrespected the minister in the past anymore.”
A chill ran down Taohua’s back. She hugged her arms tightly and flashed a silly grin at Shen Zaiye, “My lord is magnanimous. How could he bother with a mere woman like me?”
Just as she finished speaking, the carriage suddenly made a sharp turn, nearly throwing Taohua out!
Grabbing the cushion in fright, she looked back to see the other couple—no, the divine lovers—already holding each other tightly.
“Are you all right?” Shen Zaiye asked with a frown.
Lu Zhilan shook her head. As if remembering something, she sat directly in his arms.
Shen Zaiye stiffened slightly. Jiang Taohua glanced at them twice before turning away. The carriage instantly fell silent, creating an awkward atmosphere.
“What’s wrong? Am I too heavy?” Seeing his expression, Lu Zhilan spoke unhappily, “Can’t you bear it?”
“No, that’s not it.” Placing his hands on either side, Shen Zaiye instinctively looked towards the woman beside him, only to find she had turned to look out the window again.
Rubbing his temples helplessly, Shen Zaiye asked the woman in his arms softly, “Are you missing the late emperor?”
Only the late emperor would hold her like this in the carriage. He had never been this close to her himself.
Lu Zhilan was stunned. Then her entire face darkened, “I hope my lord won’t mention others again.”
The tone was sharp, making even Taohua’s heart skip a beat. She couldn’t help but curse Shen Zaiye for his stupidity. How could he mention a woman’s late husband while holding her? What was he thinking?
Chuckling lightly, Shen Zaiye lowered his eyes and said nothing more. Lu Zhilan, however, moved from his lap to sit beside him, though still very close.
They soon arrived at the Matchmaking Temple. Shen Zaiye directly carried Lu Zhilan down. Jiang Taohua climbed down the carriage shaft by herself, following behind them.
“The fortune-telling is over there.” The crowd was bustling. Lu Zhilan oddly refused to bring guards, so Shen Zaiye could only frown and protect her as they moved forward. However, after just a few steps, he turned back to find Jiang Taohua had disappeared.
His heart skipped a beat. Shen Zaiye quickly turned to search, but Lu Zhilan in his arms stumbled. He had to reach out to steady her. When he looked up again, even Taohua’s shadow was nowhere to be seen.
“Why is she so short!” Shen Zaiye gritted his teeth and turned to instruct Zhanlu, “Go find her and bring her back.”
“Yes,” Zhanlu responded, pushing through the crowd to head back.
Taohua had been following closely behind Shen Zaiye, using him as a shield to part the sea of people. But someone bumped into her, forcing her to step back. In an instant, she was pushed further out by the crowd.
She wanted to call out, but Shen Zaiye was focused on protecting the person in his arms and didn’t notice her at all. It was too noisy around them for her voice to be heard. Thinking it futile, she decided to wait outside the door, since they would have to come out eventually.
Looking down at her dirty shoes, however, Taohua felt a bit upset, “They were just made! New satin, so hard to clean!”
No one had come out to look for her yet. Taohua thought for a moment and found a less crowded place to squat down, silently blaming Shen Zaiye.
Next time he dragged her out, couldn’t he bring Qingtai along too? One in each hand would help maintain balance. Leaving her alone like this was miserable!
She picked up a twig and drew circles on the ground, muttering to herself. Before long, a pair of black boots stopped in front of her.
Taohua was startled. She looked up and met Li Jin’s shocked face.
“It is you.” Li Jin frowned, “What are you doing here?”
She wanted to ask him the same thing! Throwing away the twig and standing up, Taohua said expressionlessly, “I came with Prime Minister Shen. I’m just waiting for him here.”
“Shen Zaiye?” Li Jin was stunned, his eyes complex, “I can’t believe he would accompany you to a place like this.”
Of course, he wasn’t accompanying her, but Jiang Taohua didn’t bother to argue. Instead, she looked at his empty surroundings and asked, “Are you alone?”
Li Jin nodded, “The new emperor has ascended the throne and has already said what needed to be said to me. He asked me to stay in the capital for half a month. I was bored and thought to come to seek fortune.”
Unable to hold back an eye roll, Taohua said, “You, the imperial son-in-law and Prime Minister of Zhao, coming to seek a marriage fortune? Aren’t you afraid Jiang Suhe will break your legs if she finds out?”
Li Jin looked at her deeply and said, “There are some doubts I can’t resolve on my own. I can only seek help from others. It seems Prime Minister Shen won’t be out for a while. Why don’t you accompany me to interpret the fortune?”
Scoffing twice, Taohua glared at him and said, “What kind of close relationship do we have? Interpret fortunes? I’m being merciful by not uprooting that matchmaking tree over there and beating you to death with it!”
“Taohua,” Li Jin sighed, “Meeting is fate. Can’t you be a bit gentler? Besides, how could he leave you alone here to wait? With all these people coming and going, and you being so… there might be danger.”
Taohua looked down at herself. She wore simple clothes and hadn’t applied much powder today. How could there be danger?
While she was thinking, Li Jin had already grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the fortune interpretation area under the matchmaking tree.
“Let go!” Taohua’s face darkened in anger, “If you don’t let go, I’ll bite you.”
“Then bite,” Li Jin said softly. “Even if you bite my hand off, I won’t let go.”
“…”
She didn’t want to dirty her teeth!
There were many fortune interpretation stalls. Li Jin chose an empty one and sat down, handing over the fortune slip.
The interpreter looked up at the man and woman pulling at each other, then at the slip in his hand. He smiled and said, “This gentleman’s love fate is quite turbulent.”
“Oh?” Li Jin frowned, “What do you mean?”
“‘The wind blows but the flower doesn’t fall, the flower falls but flows with the water.’ This means you once had a good match. That lady also liked you quite a bit, but you didn’t make a firm decision. In the end, you missed the opportunity, and that lady was probably promised to someone else.”
Are fortune tellers these days so impressive? Taohua was amazed. She stopped struggling and leaned in to ask, “Then did that lady he missed end up living well?”
“That, this old man doesn’t know,” the interpreter smiled. “The fortune slip doesn’t say. But according to the latter part, this gentleman’s love life seems to have been rocky. He doesn’t cherish the relationships he has, and in the end, it’s all for naught.”
This explanation seemed quite reasonable to her. Taohua nodded and forcefully shook off Li Jin’s hand. She looked at him sideways and said, “See? This is karma!”
Li Jin’s face paled. He looked at the interpreter and asked, “Is there any way to change this?”
“There is.” The interpreter pointed to a rack hanging red sachets nearby. “One tael of silver each. Hang it on the matchmaking tree, and your love life will be smooth sailing.”
Who would believe this? Taohua rolled her eyes. It was just opening your purse and saying, “Fool, come throw your silver!”
The fool in front of her took out two taels of silver and put them in the interpreter’s purse. Then he took down two sachets and tried to stuff one into her arms.
“I don’t want it.” Taohua threw it back in disgust and frowned, “Prime Minister Li, we have no relationship anymore. There’s no need to continue together, right? Goodbye.”
“Taohua,” Li Jin frowned, “I just feel that your days in the Prime Minister’s mansion may not be easy, so I wanted to help improve your fate in love. Why are you being so stubborn?”
Improve her love fate? Taohua laughed, looking at the two red sachets in his hand. “If these things worked, why would there be so many lovelorn men and women in the world? Fate in love depends on oneself. If Prime Minister Li is afraid of wasted efforts, then cherish what’s in front of you. Don’t keep dwelling on the past.”
Li Jin’s lips paled. After some thought, he still stubbornly stuffed the sachet into her hand and pulled her towards the matchmaking tree.
“I’m warning you,” Jiang Taohua was truly impatient now, “This lady carries a dagger. Don’t push me!”
“Kill me or cut me as you wish,” Li Jin said. “I’m just trying to help you.”
What could be done with such a person? Taohua was so angry she trembled. If she cursed him, it would make her seem ungrateful. If she didn’t, she wasn’t the type to forget the pain after being hit. Why couldn’t this person just stay far away from her?
After Lu Zhilan finished seeking her fortune, she looked back. Shen Zaiye’s face showed no expression, but his eyes revealed his anxiety.
“Impatient?” Lu Zhilan raised an eyebrow. “The safety charm I gave you back then was also obtained through three kneels and nine kowtows.”
Shen Zaiye frowned slightly and asked, “Are safety charms and marriage fortunes sought the same way?”
“No,” Lu Zhilan smiled. “But what I gave you back then was a marriage fortune. You just never opened it to look.”
(End of Chapter)