Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

Chapter 126: The Hongmen Banquet (Part )

The driver turned around and said, "Girl, there are so many trees here that we can only go one way. If we turn around, the horses might get hurt by the low branches. If the horses get scared, it will be even harder to drive on this road."

"How can that be justified?" Tao Yao simply moved closer to the driver and said, "Why don't you just give me the whip and I'll drive the horse."

The driver shook his head and said, "I cannot bear the responsibility if I damage your horse."

At this time, Zuoqiu Shen quietly approached Tao Yao, and Lu Che's knife quickly followed and pressed against the back of Zuoqiu's neck.

Zuo Qiu raised his hands in surrender, his face full of flattery, and said, "Young man, you see I am unarmed and pose no threat to this girl."

Tao Yao glanced at him warily and asked, "Young Master Zuoqiu, do you have anything to say?"

Zuo Qiu smiled, lifted the beaded curtains on the carriage window to the sides for Tao Yao, and said, "Look, young lady, this peach forest is so foggy and full of branches that it's hard to see the road. The ground is also overgrown with vegetation and water, making it very easy for horses' hooves to slip. Horses are most likely to be frightened in places like this. In my opinion, since there is only one road here, I think we can follow this road out of the peach forest. Once we are out of the peach forest, we can find another way and turn back. Wouldn't that be safer?"

Zuo Qiu paused, and seeing Tao Yao's skeptical expression, he quickly added, "Old Zhang has been our family's coachman for over ten years. He's been with my father everywhere, from mountain to mountain. No one has more experience in surveying and driving than him. Since Old Zhang thinks this road is passable, there must be no major problems. There's no need for you to worry... Besides, my dear, our lives are all riding on this carriage in this desolate wilderness. Even if someone has bad intentions, they don't have to risk their own lives, don't you think?"

Tao Yao's heart sank, and she turned to look at Lu Che. Lu Che's expression was indifferent, and he gave her a reassuring look in response.

Zuo Tang and Zuo Qiu, the father and son, were eloquent, and it was unclear what they were up to. Now that Tao Yao and Lu Che had been stopped in this carriage, they had no choice but to deal with them. The future was uncertain, so they could only take it one step at a time.

Lu Che retracted his knife and returned to his seat. Zuo Tang smiled and ordered someone to bring out a box of tea leaves. He then had Zuo Qiu personally prepare the tea for Tao Yao and Lu Che. He introduced the tea, saying, "This is the Rain-Previous Longjing tea I recently acquired from the Jiangnan region. It's the first time I've opened it. I happened to meet you two today, so why not share some of it with everyone else?"

Tao Yao secretly observed Zuo Qiu and thought that this young man was really interesting. He seemed to have two faces in front of people and behind their backs. He was so arrogant and domineering when he was snatching the barbecue skewers from her just now, but now he looked well-behaved and obedient in front of his father. She didn't know which one was his true nature.

They say "like father, like mother," so the cunning and treacherous Zuo Tang must have given birth to a cunning and treacherous little Zuo Tang. Even a fox spirit can paint a multifaceted human skin, so this Zuo Qiu must also be a cunning and shrewd person, saying one thing to one person and another to another.

Tao Yao was still trying to figure it out when Zuo Qiu had already handed her a cup of freshly brewed tea. He smiled at her and said softly, "Sister, why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the other two people sitting nearby froze. Lu Che's expression was the most obvious. His face almost fell, and his unfriendly gaze seemed to be shooting thousands of cold arrows, sweeping towards Zuo Qiu.

"No, no..." Tao Yao, who was exposed, smiled embarrassedly. She was so embarrassed that she didn't know where to put her hands. She had to raise her hands to comb her hair again, which was not messy.

Zuo Tang coughed loudly twice and sternly rebuked, "Zuo Qiu, please don't be rude. This is the youngest daughter of General Zhenbei Hou, a few years older than you. Please don't be disrespectful."

Zuo Qiu's face immediately flushed, and he bowed to Tao Yao with a smile, saying, "It's my fault. I hope Miss Shi Er won't take offense. However, I always see Miss Shi Da at palace banquets, but I don't think I've ever seen Miss Shi Er before. She looks very unfamiliar."

Tao Yao laughed dryly twice, and suddenly felt a little uneasy. "Uh, hehe... My father has never taken me to the palace banquet, so it's normal that Young Master Zuo has never seen me."

She paused, then raised her eyes again, meeting Zuo Qiu's gaze without any timidity, and said, "But today, we have finally met."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zuo Qiu also smiled and pushed the teacup an inch closer to Tao Yao's hand. He said, "Since we've met today, if you have free time in the capital, Miss Shi can come and visit me. The tea is getting cold. It won't taste good if you wait any longer."

The teacup was gently pushed into Taoyao's hand, and Taoyao was caught off guard and scalded.

This Zuo Qiu is really full of lies. How can the tea be cold? It's obviously scalding hot.

Despite this, Tao Yao still politely picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Before the rain, Longjing tea was sweet and refreshing, unlike the usual teas that often have a slight bitter taste. Tao Yao put down the teacup, gently shook it in her hand, and suddenly saw that beneath the clear tea, besides a thin layer of tea leaves, there was actually a small sweet date at the bottom of the cup. No wonder the tea had no bitterness, only sweetness.

At that time, Tao Yao raised his eyes from the tea in the cup, but found that Zuo Qiu was looking at him with a smile. He was suddenly startled, and the hand holding the teacup shook unconsciously, spilling most of the tea in the cup.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

In a panic, Tao Yao frantically searched for her handkerchief on her body, but she had specially worn the skirt that Lu Che gave her today, and the skirt had no pockets, so she forgot to bring her handkerchief with her.

Under normal circumstances, Tao Yao would have wiped the spilled tea with her sleeves, but this skirt was a gift from Lu Che, and she treasured it so much that she even had to carefully hold up the hem of her skirt when walking to avoid getting it stained by mud and sand on the ground, not to mention using her sleeves as a rag.

At this time, Zuo Qiu took out a silk handkerchief from his arms and was about to hand it over, but was stopped by Lu Che.

Lu Che pulled up his sleeves, wiped up the tea that had spilled on the table, and said coldly, "Young Master Zuo is of noble status, so there's no need for you to worry about him."

Tao Yao only then realized that there was no sweet date in Lu Che's teacup. The sweet date in her cup was actually given to her by Zuo Qiu alone.