Zhou Youchen looked at Zhu Lu, and then at Gao Fuli, his dark eyes turned, and he turned around and walked away as if he had an idea.

Zhulu and Gao Fuli breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him walking away. "It's really hanging, Fang Cai's words, can't you let the ninth master hear it...... This ninth master, why is he always so elusive every day. ”

Zhulu gently pushed Gao Fuli and said: "Outside affairs, you have to do it, I won't say a word on the master's side." ”

Gao Fuli nodded silently, and his heart was heavy.

The chirping of cicadas on summer nights is always the most disturbing. The palace maids lit the incense to repel insects in the courtyard, and the bitter fragrance wafted all the way into Meng Xilan's bedroom.

It was already past bedtime, and Meng Xilan still didn't feel sleepy. She put down the silk fan in her hand, sat up, clasped her hands on her knees, and looked at the crescent moon outside the window, her heart ached sharply. Although it was only a little painful, it was still clear.

"Are you alright?"

Suddenly, a voice broke into her ears, Meng Xilan raised her eyes and found Zhou Youchen standing outside, looked at her and said, "Your face looks like you're going to cry?" ”

Meng Xilan smiled slightly: "You are wrong. ”

Zhou Youchen was silent for a moment before he said, "I just stopped by to take a look." He knew she didn't like to be like a shadow, ready to show up.

"Good night." Meng Xilan didn't teach him a lesson, nor did she ask him where he wanted to go, but just waved goodbye to him.

Zhou Youchen also waved to her, with a slightly lost expression on his face.

Meng Xilan gently closed the window, and when she was about to close it, she suddenly hesitated, reopened the window, looked at Zhou Youchen and said, "Don't wander around, go back early, I'll take you out of the palace for a walk tomorrow." ”

Zhou Youchen was stunned when he heard this, and he didn't react for a long time: "Really? ”

Meng Xilan nodded, "Really." ”

The emperor and the queen mother are not there, there are very few people in the palace who can restrain her, and with the queen mother's waist card, she can take Zhou Youchen out of the palace to see.

Zhou Youchen snapped his fingers at her happily: "Great." ”

Meng Xilan looked at the smile on his face, a little helpless. Since you want to go out of the palace so much, why didn't you go to the palace to escape the summer.

Early the next morning, Meng Xilan went to Changqing Palace early. The Internal Affairs Office originally prepared a few sets of civilian clothes for Zhou Youchen, but it still looked too gorgeous.

Meng Xilan shook her head slightly: "Let's dress like this for the time being." When you get out of the palace, let Xiao Lizi go to Mengfu to find you a simple dress. ”

Zhou Youchen was a little puzzled, but it was just clothes, why was he so picky.

Meng Xilan explained to him: "The more we dress low-key and inconspicuous, the more comfortable we can play outside." ”

Holding the queen mother's waist card, Meng Xilan went smoothly all the way. After leaving the palace gate, Meng Xilan turned her head to look at Zhou Youchen beside her, but found that he looked nervous and sweated on his forehead.

"Why is it so hot?" Meng Xilan was slightly surprised.

Zhou Youchen bit his lower lip and didn't speak, embarrassed to tell her that he was actually a little nervous.

Zhulu immediately took out a handkerchief and handed it over, "Although it's a little hot today, it will be good to get to the Meng Mansion later." ”

Zhou Youchen took the handkerchief and wiped his face, but threw it back to Zhulu in disgust: "I don't like the smell of fat powder." ”

He still likes Meng Xilan's handkerchief, there is no fat powder, only a touch of sandalwood.

Zhulu knew that he was not good at serving, so she put away the handkerchief and said, "Then the slave will fan you." ”

There was a big piece of ice in the copper basin in the car, and in order to relieve the heat, helplessly, it was not far from the palace gate, and the ice in the basin had already melted one-third.

Zhou Youchen stretched out his hand to pry the ice water in the copper basin, but was stopped by Meng Xilan: "Even if it's hot, please don't be impatient." ”

Jiao Changqing had told him before that Zhou Youchen's body should be hot rather than cold, and in the future, he should try to touch less cold things in his food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Zhou Youchen withdrew his hand and sat silently, his eyes drifting to the gap outside the curtain.

The noise of the street could be heard from afar, and the corners of his lips were slightly raised, and he was in a very expectant mood.

Mrs. Meng just entered the palace yesterday and walked around, but she never expected that Meng Xilan would take the ninth master back to the house early this morning. Zhou Youchen's identity is special, so Mrs. Meng has to be careful.

Zhou Youchen's personality has always been eccentric, and he doesn't like to deal with strangers, so when he saw Mrs. Meng, he just nodded slightly, even if he said hello, and then looked at Meng Xilan and said, "You want to drink sour plum soup." ”

Mrs. Meng smiled a little awkwardly and hurriedly instructed the maids to prepare.

Meng Xilan specially advised: "Don't add ice cubes, just room temperature." ”

At this time, his father Meng Zhenglu and brother Meng Xizhao have not yet returned, and now, the prince stays in the palace and acts as an agent for the government, so he inevitably wants to make some achievements. Therefore, these days, he often summons the civil and military ministers of the court to discuss state affairs, and he is very diligent.

Mrs. Meng held the teacup and secretly looked at Zhou Youchen while drinking tea.

To be honest, in terms of appearance and temperament, he is definitely not the most outstanding among the princes. Xu is, the reason why he grew up in the cold palace since he was a child, there was a faint chill between his eyebrows and eyes, rejecting the indifference of thousands of miles away, the kind of indifference that first distanced you with his eyes without waiting for others to speak.

Mrs. Meng slowly retracted her gaze, feeling from the bottom of her heart that he was an unpleasant child. But Meng Xilan attaches great importance to him, and the two of them have a deep friendship in the palace.

Zhou Youchen quickly drank a bowl of sour plum soup, and without waiting for the maids to hand over the cups for gargling, he took the lead in standing up and said, "Can I go around?" ”

Mrs. Meng hurriedly put down the teacup, then got up and said, "Of course, the old body will order ......"

Before she finished speaking, Zhou Youchen raised his hand and interrupted; "No hassle. I just want to walk around. ”

After all, this is Meng Xilan's home, where he grew up.

Meng Xilan tapped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, got up and said, "Grandmother, let me accompany the ninth master for a walk." ”

Old Mrs. Meng pondered for a moment before she said, "It's okay." Just remember to hide from the sun to avoid heat stroke. ”

Meng Xilan nodded slightly, there are not many places to enjoy at home, and you can see a small pond in the corridor, and you won't get sunburned.

Zhou Youchen stared at the surface of the pond for a long time, as if he wanted to know if there were any fish in it.

Meng Xilan tugged at his sleeve lightly and said, "There are no fish here, and my pond has never raised fish." ”

Zhou Youchen was a little puzzled: "Why?" ”

"No why? It's just that no one raises it, and no one likes to raise it. ”

Zhou Youchen lowered his head: "I like fish very much, because it can swim around freely, as long as there is water, it can go." ”

Meng Xilan smiled lowly when she heard this: "You are really still a child." ”

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, since you want to leave the palace so much, why didn't you go to the palace to escape the summer in the first place?" Meng Xilan suddenly asked.

Zhou Youchen stretched out his finger without thinking about it, pointed at Meng Xilan and said, "In the future, as long as you don't go to the place, I won't go." ”

A thin and small person, when he speaks, he is full of momentum.

Meng Xilan was slightly stunned when she heard this, as if she had been hit by something, but she deliberately asked in a somewhat joking tone: "Then if I leave the palace in the future, what will you do?" Are you going to follow me all the time? ”

Zhou Youchen was silent for a while, but he actually had the answer in his heart. Of course he had to follow her.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Meng Xilan reached out and touched his head: "My yard is about the same, let's go out and play." ”

Even if it's only half a day, she hopes that he can play freely like a child.

The bustle of the market is the noise that Zhou Youchen has never experienced, and when he is in it, he can hear all kinds of sounds and taste all kinds of tastes. Just seeing the noodle seller stretching the dough into long noodles was enough to make him so amazed that he couldn't open his mouth and speak.

Meng Xilan sat on the side and drank tea, looking at his stunned appearance, she couldn't help but bow her head and smile.

Zhu Lu sighed softly and said, "Master, the slave maid used to think that the Ninth Master was a bit scary. Looking at it now, he is really just a child who has not grown up, no wonder his master always treats him so well. ”

Hearing this, Meng Xilan turned her head and glanced at Zhu Lu: "Where is the ninth master terrible?" ”

Zhu Lu shook her head slightly: "The slave can't say it, maybe it's because the ninth master has been different from others since he was a child." ”

Obviously he is not a person who is very deep in the city, but he can't guess what he is thinking in his heart. This is the case at a young age, and when you grow up, I am afraid it will become more unpredictable.

In the evening, before the palace gate was locked, Meng Xilan instructed Gao Fuli to send Zhou Youchen back to the palace, while she herself went back to Meng's mansion and prepared to stay for one night before leaving.

When Mrs. Meng saw her coming back alone, she said the words that she had pressed in her heart during the day: "If you bring the Ninth Master out like this, wouldn't it be troublesome if you let the Queen Mother know?" ”

"Don't worry, grandmother, the Queen Mother also loves the Ninth Master very much."

In fact, it is not so much love as accommodation.

Mrs. Meng groaned slightly, and then said, "Seeing you and him getting closer and closer, I really don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing?" ”

Meng Xilan's eyes were clear, and she said calmly in her heart: "Grandmother, he and I are friends who can trust each other. Perhaps it was fate that I saw him on the first day I entered the palace. ”

She couldn't talk to her grandmother about the little details of how the two got along. However, she thought that her grandmother could understand that the existence of Zhou Youchen, a friend, was very important to her.

Old Lady Meng sighed meaningfully: "Speaking of which, he is also a poor man, if you treat him as a friend in trouble, it will not hurt." Grandmother has no intention of stopping you, but she doesn't want you to be burdened by others anymore. By the way, is the matter of the setting moon still rumored in the palace? ”

Yesterday came and went in a hurry, and there was no time to say a lot of words, and besides, I had to avoid those minions with sharp eyes and sharp ears.

"There are many nobles in the capital, and there are many absurd things, and our family is really nothing. It's just that Concubine Ning made fun of me for this matter. "Meng Xilan doesn't care about those rumors." By the way, grandmother, you can prepare some supplements and send them to the Hou Mansion. The child is gone, we can't say nothing. ”

Mrs. Meng frowned and said, "Yes, you can send it, but no matter how many supplements she takes now, she can't make up for the child." ”

"She is still young, as long as the second son loves her, maybe she will have children." Meng Xilan replied lightly.

Old Madam Meng looked at her and said, "It's still not the best." Looking back and waiting for Xi Qiao to get married, the two sisters will not be angry. ”

This inner house is uneasy, and the outer house must be in trouble, and it is better to have more than one thing than one less. Meng Xiqiao held back a fire in her heart, Xiyue's child was gone, and most of the anger in her heart could be dissipated, and she would not be too stiff if she lived under the eaves in the back.