Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 430 Take the initiative
After a banquet in Fuqiu Palace in the afternoon, everyone strolled in Fuqiu Garden. The fifth princess wanted to choose a prince consort from those young men, so she did not return to the palace, but followed Yao Shanzhi to find Zhao Wangshu.

The three of them were strolling in the garden with their maidservants.

Walking around the rockery, I saw a few young men writing poems in front of a bowl of lotus. "The lotus in the bowl reflects its deep shadow, standing tall and graceful without being stained by dust. The green leaves and red makeup complement each other, and the breeze blows the fragrance on my face."

The Fifth Princess showed admiration in her eyes. Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu's gaze fell on a few girls standing not far away. They had smiles on their faces and looked at them with charming eyes.

"I remember he is the son of the chief priest of the Imperial College, right?" the Fifth Princess asked softly, with a hint of joy in her voice.

Yao Shanzhi turned and looked at her. "Wang Xin, the third son of Wang Jijiu, is a talented writer and a famous talent in the capital."

The fifth princess nodded, "He is indeed different, with outstanding poetry talent and extraordinary temperament."

Yao Shanzhi pursed her lips and said nothing. As for the Fifth Princess' marriage, it was said that she would be allowed to choose her own husband. In fact, Imperial Concubine Jing had already chosen a candidate and would never let the Fifth Princess marry the son of a minor official.

But even though Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu did not agree with her, the usually timid Fifth Princess still stepped forward.

Noticing the Fifth Princess approaching, Wang Xin and the other young masters turned around and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Fifth Princess."

"Gentlemen, please don't be so polite." The Fifth Princess said, her eyes fell on Wang Xin, "Young Master Wang is very talented, and I admire him. I wonder if you would do me the honor of enjoying the beautiful scenery in the garden with me?"

Wang Xin's talent was ordinary in Zhao Wangshu's eyes. At least the talents of several young men who came to participate in the Lotus Viewing Festival today were not inferior to Wang Xin. However, Wang Xin had a very good-looking face and a scholarly air.

He really fits the image of a talented man in the capital. At this moment, facing the Fifth Princess' invitation, his face showed just the right amount of humility and surprise. He bowed slightly and said in a gentle voice, "I am honored by the Fifth Princess's kindness."

The Fifth Princess's cheeks flushed slightly, revealing a bit of girlish shyness, and she said gently, "Please, Master Wang."

The other princes were all envious when they saw this. The prince consort of the dynasty could also participate in politics. Marrying a princess not only meant wealth and glory, but also was a great help in one's career.

The fifth princess smiled slightly, turned around and nodded to Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu, indicating that they didn't need to follow, and then she left with Wang Xin.

"Fifth Princess, aren't we going to see the Thousand-petal Lotus?" Yao Shanzhi kindly reminded.

Concubine Jing allowed the Fifth Princess to attend the Lotus Viewing Festival just as a gesture, and she definitely did not really want her to choose a prince consort.

The Fifth Princess hesitated for a moment, but decided to be willful for once, "I will go to see it with Master Wang."

"We are all going to see the Thousand-petal Lotus, so why don't we go together?" Yao Shanzhi looked at the Fifth Princess and tried to dissuade her again.

"This is a good suggestion from Princess Yixing. Let's go together. It will be more lively with more people." Zhao Wangshu agreed with a smile.

Wang Xin saw that Yao Shanzhi didn't want him to be alone with the Fifth Princess, so he wanted to back out.

"Mr. Wang, let's go." The fifth princess interrupted him and insisted on getting along with him.

Wang Xin had no choice but to keep up with her pace. The two of them walked side by side in front, leaving Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Honest words are unpleasant to the ear, and good words are hard to persuade." Yao Shanzhi acted straightforwardly and did not hesitate. "Wangshu, let's go pick lotus seeds."

"Okay, pick more and ask the cook to make lotus seed candy for us." Zhao Wangshu said with a smile.

"Let's go quickly." Yao Shanzhi put the Fifth Princess behind her mind. If the Fifth Princess wanted to be willful, she would have to bear the consequences of her willfulness. She didn't care and couldn't control it.

When we arrived at the small pier by the pond, there was only one small boat left.

The boat could seat up to five people. Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu each took a maid on board, and the others stayed on the shore.

"I'll row, I'll row." Yao Shanzhi took the paddle and said.

"Gardenia, I don't want to fall into the water." Zhao Wangshu snatched the paddle from her hand, "Behave yourself outside."

"Okay, I'll be honest." Yao Shanzhi pouted. "Yu'er would laugh at you if he knew you were so naughty." Zhao Wangshu handed the oar to the boatwoman.

"You are not allowed to say bad things about me in front of Yu'er." Yao Shanzhi held the hand of the maid and got on the boat, sitting down obediently.

Zhao Wangshu pursed his lips and smiled, then got on the boat.

The boatwoman paddled lightly, and the boat slowly left the dock and headed towards the center of the pond where lotus flowers were blooming.

The lake surface was sparkling, and the breeze blew, and the lotus leaves swayed gracefully, as if green waves were gently rolling.

The lotus flowers are graceful, some are in bud, some are already in full bloom, the petals are as white as jade, the stamens are golden, and they emit a faint fragrance.

Yao Shanzhi and Zhao Wangshu sat at the bow, each holding a small basket, ready to pick lotus seeds. The boatwoman rowed the boat skillfully and gave them tips on how to pick lotus seeds.

They also saw that the other girls who came on the boat to pick lotus seeds smiled and nodded to each other as a sign of greeting.

"Wangshu, look at this lotus seed, it's so big!" Yao Shanzhi peeled a lotus seed from the lotus pod, excitedly raised the lotus seed in his hand and showed it off to Zhao Wangshu.

"Yeah, they are really big." Zhao Wangshu took the lotus seeds and put them into his basket with a smile, "But you have to pick the plump ones, because they are delicious."

The two of them picked lotus pods and chatted, laughing happily from time to time.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Help! Someone fell into the water."

"Who fell into the water? Who fell into the water?" Yao Shanzhi stood up and looked around.

Zhao Wangshu pulled her, "Hurry up and sit down, do you want to capsize the boat and let us fall into the water too?"

"County lady, do you want to row over to take a look?" asked the boatwoman.

"Row over, row over and take a look." Yao Shanzhi nodded heavily.

Zhao Wangshu did not object, she also wanted to know who fell into the water.

For some reason, she felt that it was Wu Lin'er who fell into the water.

When she really found out that the person who fell into the water was Wu Lin'er, Zhao Wangshu was stunned. Is her sixth sense so accurate?

When they arrived, Wu Lin'er had just been fished out of the water. Her summer clothes were thin, and the wet clothes stuck tightly to her body, outlining her graceful figure.

Although it was the boat girl who jumped into the water to save her, there were not only girls who came to pick lotus, there were also young men, and there were many people on the shore.

Although it is far away and cannot be seen clearly, it gives people unlimited space for imagination.

Several girls who fell into the water like Wu Lin'er huddled together and cried. It was impossible for the other girls to take off their clothes to cover themselves, so they had to return to the shore to change into clean clothes.

"Now Wu Lin'er won't be able to go out for social events for a few months." Yao Shanzhi sighed.

"She wasn't the only one who fell into the water, so we can't punish everyone." Zhao Wangshu took a lotus pod and peeled out the seeds.

Yao Shanzhi raised her eyebrows, "But among them, only she has a confirmed marriage."

"Then her falling into the water is worth pondering." Zhao Wangshu peeled out a lotus seed and asked, "Do you want to eat it?"

"Eat." Yao Shanzhi leaned over and took the lotus seeds from her hand.

"Let's go back to the dock." Zhao Wangshu said.