Fortunate Young Gentleman

Tang Ning sat at a table in the courtyard of the Prince Xin's mansion and asked, "What kind of soup is this? It tastes good."

Li Tianlan sat opposite him, wiping the dusty sword with a white handkerchief, and said, "Lily bird's nest soup."

After she sheathing the sword, she looked up at Tang Ning and asked, "Why did you come to Chu?"

Tang Ning finished drinking the lily bird's nest soup and said, "I said I would come to see you if I had the chance. I happened to come here to escort the princess on a diplomatic mission this time."

Li Tianlan looked at the courtyard wall and asked, "Why don't you go through the main gate?"

Tang Ning He explained, "I came here yesterday, but someone in your palace said you were away from home, so I had to climb over the wall to come in and take a look."

Li Tianlan raised his eyebrows and asked, "I've been in the palace the whole time. When did you go away?"

"I don't know about that." Tang Ning shook his head and said, "You should ask the guard at the door."

Li Tianlan thought about it and didn't ask about it anymore. He said, "Let's go out for a walk."

Although they haven't seen each other for a long time, it always feels strange to sit face to face and just chat without doing anything. It's better to talk while walking.

Tang Ning nodded and said, "I'll wait for you outside."

He put down the bowl, wiped his mouth with the handkerchief handed by Li Tianlan, then put it in his arms and flew over the courtyard wall again.

A figure walked in from outside the courtyard and asked, "Lanlan, who are you talking to?"

Li Tianlan said, "No one, just me."

"Strange, I just heard someone talking in the courtyard." Princess Xin said in surprise, looked at the empty bowl on the table, and asked, "Is the lily bird's nest soup today okay?"

Li Tianlan nodded and said, "Not bad."

She looked at Princess Xin and said, "Mother, I'm going out for a while."

"Go." Princess Xin nodded and said, "I'll go out with you."

"Mother, go first, I, I need to change clothes." She said hesitantly, and then walked into the room.

After a while, Princess Xin looked at her who had changed into a long dress and walked out of the room, with a look of surprise on her face.

Because of her martial arts training, she usually wears tight clothes, and wears less clothes for girls.

When Li Tianlan walked out of the courtyard gate, he turned back and said, "Mother, next time you go to Puji Temple, remember to donate 1,000 taels of incense money for me."

After she said that, she left quickly. Princess Xin was stunned. She never believed in gods and Buddhas. What kind of incense money was this?

After a long time, Princess Xin turned around and looked at a maid behind her and asked, "Has the princess met anyone recently, or encountered anything?"

The maid shook her head and said blankly, "I don't know..."

Tang Ning stood outside the wall of Prince Xin's mansion, waiting for her to fly out of the wall. After waiting for a long time, she was wondering why she took so long when a voice came from behind.

"Let's go."

Li Tianlan stood a few steps behind him and said, "I'll take you to a place."

Tang Ning's eyes stayed on her for a while. He was used to her neutral dress, and it was a bit uncomfortable to see her wearing women's clothes.

The night had begun to spread, and the two walked on the street, with lights in front and behind them.

Li Tianlan raised his head, looked at the sparse crowd under the night sky, and suddenly asked: "How do you know my identity?"

Tang Ning said: "What is there to guess? There may be many Li Tianlans, but there is only one Princess Changning who is both civil and military. A princess is a princess, what's so great about it? You were hiding it before..."

Li Tianlan shook his head and said: "At that time, I thought we would never see each other again."

"Maybe this is fate." Tang Ning looked around and asked: "Where are you taking me?"

"We're here."

Li Tianlan walked into a small shop on the street. Tang Ning followed her in and found that it was a noodle shop. Although the place was small and there were only a few tables and chairs, it was tidy and clean. There were no customers in the shop at the moment.

Li Tianlan sat down at a table and said, "Granny, give me two bowls of noodles."

"The princess is here." The shop was divided into two parts, the kitchen inside and the shop outside. An old woman came out and looked at Tang Ning with a surprised look before saying, "Princess, please sit down for a while. The noodles will be ready soon."

Li Tianlan said, "Granny's noodle shop has been open for 20 years. I used to eat noodles here when I was a child."

She looked at Tang Ning and explained, "Granny's noodles are a specialty in Kyoto, but not many people know about it. You will know when you try it."

After not seeing each other for a year, the first thing she did when they met again was to invite him to eat noodles. Could this have some special meaning in Chu?

After a while, the old woman brought out two bowls of hot noodles and said with a smile: "The princess hasn't been here for a long time."

At this time, several figures walked in from outside the door, sat down at the door, and said: "Grandma, give me three bowls of vegetable noodles, put more vegetables, more noodles, and more chopped green onions."

The old woman walked over and said: "Let's go, we're closed today. Come back tomorrow if you want to eat."

The man was surprised and said: "It's closed so early today, isn't there still more than an hour..."

The old woman pulled them up from the chair and said impatiently: "The old woman said it was closed, so it was closed, stop talking nonsense, hurry up and go..."

After driving away several guests, she sat at the door and said with a smile: "Princess, eat slowly. I'll watch here and make sure they don't disturb you."

I didn't expect that the princess would have the special treatment of clearing the place at this old lady's place selling noodles. Tang Ning first drank a mouthful of soup with a spoon, and her mouth was full of freshness. The noodles were moderately soft and hard, and very elastic. To make noodles with this taste, the kneading method and the control of the heat are extremely high. No wonder she has been thinking about this little shop since she was a child.

Li Tianlan ate the noodles slowly and asked: "Not bad?"

Tang Ning nodded and said: "This is the most delicious vegetarian noodles I have ever eaten."

Li Tianlan did not continue the topic. He looked up at him and asked: "This time, you came here not only to send the bride, but also to propose marriage. Are you here to propose marriage for Prince Kang or Prince Duan?"

"Cough!"

Tang Ning covered her mouth and almost choked on a mouthful of soup.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, saying, "I don't agree with this matter."

Li Tianlan looked at him and asked, "The marriage between the two countries is a major event that is beneficial to the stability of diplomatic relations. Why don't you agree?"

"What kind of character are Prince Kang and Prince Duan? Don't you know?" Tang Ning looked at her and said sincerely, "With our relationship, can I watch you jump into the fire pit?"

Li Tianlan put down his chopsticks, looked at him and asked, "What is our relationship?"

Tang Ning thought about it, looked at her and asked, "At least we have lived and died together, so we can be regarded as friends of life and death, right?"

Li Tianlan looked at him, picked up the chopsticks again, and said, "It seems that many things have happened to you since I left. Tell me, how did you become a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and how did you become a wedding envoy..."

In the year since she left, too many things happened, and it's a long story.

Kyoto has a strict curfew. Tang Ning had only said less than half of her words when the street cleaning drum sounded. The two walked out of the noodle shop. Tang Ning looked at her and said, "It's late today. Let's talk about it another day."

Li Tianlan looked up and asked, "Which day?"

Tang Ning thought for a while and asked, "How about tomorrow?"

Li Tianlan nodded, "Okay."

...

Prince Xin's Mansion.

Li Tianlan walked into a hall. Prince Xin looked up at her and asked, "Why are you back so late? Come and have dinner."

Li Tianlan walked forward and said, "Father and mother, please eat. I've eaten outside."

She thought for a while and said, "By the way, I'll accompany father to the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow."

Prince Xin's expression changed, and he immediately shook his head and said, "No, don't force yourself if you don't want to go."

"I'm by your side, and I can guarantee father's safety." Li Tianlan looked at him and said, "If it's like today again, and father encounters an assassin when he's alone, it's not good."

Princess Xin's face changed, Asked: "What, the prince encountered an assassin again today, where are the guards, why is the prince alone?"

Prince Xin glanced at Li Tianlan obscurely, and then hurriedly explained: "Just a few small thieves, it's no problem..."

Princess Xin looked at him and said: "If you want to go somewhere in the future, even if you don't bring guards, you must let Lanlan follow..."

Prince Xin looked at her and said helplessly: "I know..."

After comforting the princess for a while, he looked outside and asked: "Do you feel that Lanlan is a little different today?"

Princess Xin was surprised: "Does the prince feel the same way?"