CH 76.1

Chapter 76.1 – Picking a Peach Blossom

They had breakfast in the mansion, then took a short break.

In the middle of the day, a carriage finally drove out from the princess’s mansion, followed by guards and attendants.

Qi Yang leaned against Lu Qipei inside the carriage, while lifting a corner of the curtain to look at the scenery outside. She watched as the carriage moved from the street where powerful people lived towards the bustling downtown, and was greeted by the bustling noise full of life.

Qi Yang looked at it for a while before growing bored again. After putting down the curtain, she turned towards Lu Qipei and suddenly asked, “About that… what was that child’s name again? What are your plans for her?”

Lu Qipei pursed her lips and replied, “Her name is Lu Sheng.” After saying that, she lowered her gaze and said, “I’m going to take care of her for now.”

Lu Sheng was less than three years old this year. She was Lu Qicheng’s child that Qi Bo arranged for back then. Unfortunately, she was born a girl, and just like Lu Qipei who was not valued back then, the child also lost most of her value in Qi Bo’s eyes.

It was so much that there was almost no mention about her existence in the past three years, and even Lu Qipei almost forgot that she existed.

A month ago, Lu Sheng’s biological mother died of illness. It was not clear what he was thinking, but Qi Bo sent her to the princess’s mansion. There was a lot of trouble back then; because Lu Sheng looked very similar to her, people thought that she was Lu Qipei’s illegitimate child.

Hearing that, Qi Yang caught a strand of Lu Qipei’s long hair on her fingertips and played with it for a moment, but her face was showing some hesitation. “Are you really just raising her for now? I think that child look pretty close to you.”

Lu Sheng had not received any attention ever since she was born. Her biological mother who had great expectations for her became really cold towards her after knowing that she had given birth to a daughter.

The maid with low status didn’t know that if she had given birth to a boy, she probably wouldn’t live past that day. Because she didn’t know, she resented Lu Sheng who shattered her dream and basically ignored her for the past two years.

Most children that grow up under such circumstances would crave affection. When she found that she looked similar to Lu Qipei, the latter naturally grew close to her in her heart, so this wasn’t the first time she secretly watched Lu Qipei.

Lu Qipei also felt a little helpless when she thought of the child. Lu Qipei had always been soft-hearted, and this was not something that would change, no matter how much time pass.

Towards such a young child, she naturally couldn’t harden her heart. However, her connection to Lu Qicheng did make her worry. After all, she was the one who planned his death. If you take it a step further, they were also mortal enemies in their previous life. She and Lu Qicheng were no longer close siblings.

After thinking about it, Lu Qipei asked Qi Yang again, “Do you not mind Lu Sheng’s background?”

Qi Yang looked down and thought for a moment. “I don’t like her father,” she replied. “But she looks so similar to you, and my heart feels soft whenever I see her.”

Members of the Lu family seemed to resemble each other a lot. This had been the case with Lu Qipei and Lu Qicheng, and this was also the case with Lu Sheng now.

Not to mention that Lu Sheng was a girl – she looked like a soft little fuzzball, and she looked so timid and full of expectations whenever she looked at them. It really made people’s heart go soft.

Plus, looking at the young Lu Sheng also made Qi Yang think of Lu Qipei’s appearance when she was younger, and she was filled with the urge to watch her as she grow up.

But after saying this, Qi Yang frowned and said again, “But her lineage really is a problem. Qi Bo must have known what happened back then, but now he has sent her to you to raise. What do you think he has in mind?”

Lu Qipei half-embraced Qi Yang and rubbed her fingertips between the latter’s frowning eyebrows. “It doesn’t matter what he has in mind. What matters is what we think about it. But don’t worry, we can take our time to think about this matter.”

Lu Sheng was only two to three years old now. Even if Qi Bo wanted to borrow her hand to do something, he would have to wait at least ten more years.

As for what would happen ten years later, Lu Qipei didn’t know. But she knew that she and Qi Yang wouldn’t stay dormant for that long.

Once the dust settles, all those problems would no longer be problems.

Both of them were confident about this, so they stopped thinking about this problem. As they continued gossiping, the carriage drove out of the capital and headed towards Qingshui river.

It was March in the season of Spring. Grass grew, and the kite birds flew.

Qingshui river was already covered with greeneries and flowers in full bloom.

When their carriage arrived, they could see from the distance that the peach blossom forest had been in full bloom again. The white and pink flowers were in full bloom, making the people there feel like they were in a painting.

The young men were smiling and the young women were strolling around, making for a lively picture.

Qi Yang still loved this peach blossom forest, and lifted the carriage’s curtain to watch it from a distance. It wasn’t until the carriage drew near and she saw the royal palace attendants waiting outside that she put the curtain back down and withdrew her gaze, then put on a dignified look.

When kings and princesses go out, they would not mingle with others, so they had a separate spot cordoned off by guards.

Qi Yang didn’t come too early. By the time she arrived at Qingshui river, most of the kings and princesses had already arrived.