Lu Qian responded to these words with a cold smile.
Lu Hong’s temper flared, and he simply stopped bothering with him. He got out of the carriage first.
Lu Qian refused to be outdone and immediately followed him out.
The carriage driver was busy calming the frightened horse. Seeing the Lu brothers descend from the carriage, he came over with a pained expression to report: “Reporting to both young masters — I was driving the carriage, and the one ahead suddenly swerved around the corner toward us. Fortunately, I had quick eyes and hands and reined in the horse in time, otherwise we would have collided head-on today.”
Lu Hong gave a sound of acknowledgment and looked up ahead.
The capital’s streets were quite wide, and the lanes of the marketplaces were no exception. The Lu Family carriage was not traveling fast. The carriage ahead was one of extraordinary opulence and moved with domineering ease, occupying the center of the road as though oblivious to all others around it.
The driver of that carriage called out with an air of imperious arrogance: “Which estate does the carriage ahead belong to? Are you all blind? If you had collided with our master, watch out for your dog lives!”
A dozen or so robust guards were stationed at the front and rear of the carriage, glowering over with menacing looks.
Lu Qian had never suffered such verbal abuse and unjust humiliation before. His expression shifted, and he made to shout back.
Lu Hong’s instincts were far sharper.
The capital was the foot of the Son of Heaven, where noble figures were as common as clouds. Anyone with the audacity to behave this arrogantly was certainly no ordinary person. Regardless of which side had right on their side, they must not act rashly before determining the other party’s identity!
“Second Brother, stop making trouble!” Lu Hong quietly cautioned. “Look at the markings on that carriage — I don’t know whose household it belongs to. Hold your tongue for now.”
Lu Qian swallowed his bellyful of anger for the time being, and together with Lu Hong squinted to look more closely.
Unfortunately, the two had only just arrived in the capital and could not at once determine whose carriage it was.
But the carriage driver had some experience. After looking carefully, he was so frightened his soul nearly left his body. He came trembling to report: “Y-Young Master. This is terrible — that is the Princess’s mansion carriage.”
The Princess’s mansion?
Princess Changping?!
Lu Qian’s eyes lit up, and the anger in his heart vanished in an instant.
In his previous life, Lu Hong had become entangled with Princess Changping. Having arrived in the capital earlier in this life, he had apparently still not been able to escape this meeting.
Was this what was meant by an ill-fated bond?
How perfect!
“Young Master, we had better go and beg forgiveness now,” the carriage driver said under his breath with a pained expression. “No matter who is sitting inside that carriage, the mere fact of nearly colliding with a vehicle from Princess Changping’s mansion is already a troublesome matter.”
The modest Lu Family simply could not afford to provoke the Princess Changping’s mansion!
Lu Hong had grown up in Jizhou — he was a young nobleman who was looked up to and admired wherever he went. He had never been made to suffer such an ignominious position before. Hearing the carriage driver’s words, his brow immediately furrowed.
Beside him, Lu Qian opened his mouth unexpectedly: “Elder Brother. Let us go together and offer our apologies to the Princess’s household.”
Lu Hong looked at Lu Qian in surprise.
The driver of Princess Changping’s carriage was still hurling abusive insults with overbearing swagger. The townspeople nearby not only dared not come to watch, they instinctively shrank back and kept their distance, which was telling enough of the Princess’s mansion’s fearsome authority.
This was not the moment for lengthy discussion. Lu Hong gave a swift nod, and led Lu Qian over.
The driver, who had been hurling abuse with great self-satisfaction, gave a disdainful cold smile and swept his eyes contemptuously over the Lu brothers. One of the guards who had been seated high on horseback quickly dismounted and went to the side of the carriage, reporting in a low voice for a moment.
From within the carriage came the voice of a young man: “How dare they disturb Her Highness the Princess — truly outrageous! Even if they come to offer apologies, they must not be let off lightly!”
It was the voice of a young man, carrying the arrogance and insolence of one who abuses his connections for personal gain.
Then, from within the carriage came the sound of a woman’s light laughter.
…
Lu Hong pressed down the irritation in his heart, walked near to the carriage, and clasped his hands in a bow: “Just now, the Lu Family carriage was careless and nearly collided with your esteemed carriage. Fortunately, the horse was reined in in time, and no collision occurred, nor were there any casualties. I offer my apologies here, and humbly ask that you not take offense.”
His voice was refined and composed, clear and pleasant to the ear.
Even a man hearing it would find that voice genuinely agreeable, to say nothing of Princess Changping — known for her indulgent, licentious lifestyle and her fondness for keeping male favorites.
Princess Changping, who had been reclining against the plush soft pillows and enjoying the attentions of a handsome male attendant, instinctively sat up straight. A gleam of interest flickered in her eyes.
The male attendant beside her sensed the danger at once and quickly said: “Your Highness the Princess came out today for amusement — please do not let your mood be ruined by this sort of reckless person. This servant will go down from the carriage and send him away…”
Princess Changping’s gaze swept over him, and the male attendant immediately fell silent.
Only then did Princess Changping languidly lift the curtain and look outside.
One glance, and she felt a ripple stir within her.
The young man in the sapphire blue brocade robe stood not far away — his features handsome, his bearing graceful and elegant, his whole person radiating the refined and scholarly quality unique to men of letters.
What a splendid and handsome young man!
Lu Hong was still waiting for the person inside the carriage to speak, when the curtain was lifted without warning, revealing the face of a beautiful, alluring woman of great charm. He was taken aback inwardly as well.
Could this woman be Princess Changping?
Lu Hong reflected quietly, while his outward manner became all the more respectful. He bowed again in apology: “What happened just now was truly an accident.”
“Please do not hold it against Her Highness the Princess.” Lu Qian suppressed the delight rising in his heart and swiftly picked up where Lu Hong had left off.
Princess Changping glanced lazily at Lu Qian behind Lu Hong. Seeing that he was young and his looks were nothing remarkable, she had no interest in him whatsoever. “What are your two names? How did you come to know my identity?”
Before Lu Hong could open his mouth, Lu Qian had already answered ahead of him: “My name is Lu Qian, and this is my elder brother, who goes by the single name Hong. We are brothers from Jizhou, and we are currently staying at the home of our second uncle, Lu Ping. Your Highness the Princess is peerless in beauty and noble in bearing — one glimpse and it is plain to see.”
The last words evidently pleased Princess Changping.
Princess Changping curved her lips upward and smiled with evident pleasure: “For one so young, you certainly know how to make people happy. Very well — today was nothing but an accident, and so it shall be forgotten. You brothers need not keep offering apologies at every turn.”
Her gaze drifted and drifted, and drifted again to settle on Lu Hong.
The more she looked, the more pleasing she found him. The more she looked, the more she liked what she saw.
She had always favored fair-skinned and handsome young men. The male attendants by her side were each more beautiful and gentle than the last. The one presently beside her was the one who had most recently won her favor — rosy lips, white teeth, and quite lovely to behold. Yet placed beside this graceful young nobleman before her now, he was immediately cast into the shade.
Princess Changping’s gaze was altogether too intense and eager.
Lu Hong, though he had not thought deeply into it, felt quite uncomfortable all the same. He clasped his hands and said: “Many thanks to Your Highness the Princess for your magnanimity. Another day, we brothers will surely come bearing gifts to offer our proper apologies.”
Princess Changping’s beautiful eyes shifted with grace, and she smiled with bewitching charm: “Very well — since you brothers are sincerely in earnest, it would be ungracious of me to keep people at arm’s length. In a couple of days, when I am at leisure, you may come to the mansion. Come two days from now.”
Lu Hong assented, and then turned back with Lu Qian.
Princess Changping’s gaze followed Lu Hong’s figure all the while, until he stepped back into the carriage, before she finally let the curtain fall.
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