Lei Wanxi pushed her away and told her to sit straight. "Can't you drive smoothly?" Lei Wanxi again complained to the chauffeur, who apologized. Lei Wanxi narrowly gazed at Zhu Lin and then looked out of the window.
'I should not have brought her with me. It was strange. I thought I had a heart attack,' Lei Wanxi thought and placed his hand near his chest. 'I need to ask the Royal Physician about this. I cannot risk my health.' Soon they reached the market. The Chauffeur opened the door for them, and the two of them stepped out of the carriage.
The entire market of Luoyang was decorated with various colored lanterns, hanging several feet above the sky. Because the Crown Princess's birthday was on the next day, preparations for that were also done.
."Prince Wanxi," Duan Xie called his name and came to him. He stopped in front of Lei Wanxi and bowed.
"You look good in this uniform of a police inspector," asserted Lei Wanxi and patted his back. Duan Xie lifted his head and looked at Zhu Lin.
"Are you not the same from the other day, Princess of Huan?" Duan Xie asked. "Prince Wanxi, did you reconcile with the Princess?" He was curious to know.
"She apologized to me," Lei Wanxi stated and looked at Zhu Lin, who nodded her head. Lei Wanxi touched the feather on the hat which Duan Xie had worn. "It's beautiful. Alas, I cannot wear such a hat," asserted Lei Wanxi.
"Prince Wanxi's rank is higher than mine. He does not need to wear such hats," Duan Xie proclaimed.
"Inspector Duan, let me rephrase it. Prince Wanxi could not qualify the civil services second stage to receive this kind of hat," Zhu Lin remarked. Lei Wanxi glanced at her with bewilderment.
"What do you mean?" Lei Wanxi asked.
"Nothing," Zhu Lin replied and walked ahead. Duan Xie smiled a little when Lei Wanxi asked him the reason.
"The Princess pulled the Prince's leg. You are not good in physical strength, and this post requires that," Duan Xie explained to Lei Wanxi, whose eyes grew bigger.
"How dare she?" Lei Wanxi gritted his teeth. "I will see you later," he said and went after Zhu Lin. 'She always insults me. I try to be humble, but she does not,' he thought and found her. He ran towards her and caught her arm.
"Why did you say that?" Lei Wanxi queried her.
Zhu Lin pulled her arm from his grip. "Prince Wanxi shall accept the reality. He should not get annoyed by this easily. Do you want to eat Zongzi Rice Dumplings?" Zhu Lin looked towards the food stall where those specials dumplings were being sold. She looked at him and asked about his opinion.
"My stomach is full. I will eat later. You can eat if you want to," Lei Wanxi told her. Zhu Lin hummed. Their attention was grabbed by some upper-class young women, who were coming in their direction.
"Greetings to the Sixth Prince from the daughter of the Minister of Personnel." A young lady bowed in front of Lei Wanxi, followed by others. Lei Wanxi passed her a tiny smile and looked at the others, who introduced themselves to them.
They looked at Zhu Lin but ignored her. Unlike those women, Zhu Lin was not dressed. For a second, Zhu Lin felt intimidated under their gazes. "This is the Princess of Huan Province, Princess Zhu Lin." Lei Wanxi introduced her to them.
Those young ladies greeted her. "Sixth Prince, father had told me that you love rice dumplings. If the Prince permits, then Liao Jia will bring them to the Palace. Liao Jia is good at cooking," the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Liao Jia, told Lei Wanxi, who found it a little strange. Zhu Lin chuckled when Liao Jia noticed.
"It is fine, Sister. I do not want to trouble the daughter of the Minister of Personnel," Lei Wanxi politely refused.
"Sister?" Liao Jia widened her eyes while the friends with her started giggling.
"Did I say something wrong?" Lei Wanxi waited for her answer. Liao Jia smiled and shook her head.
"We shall go ahead. You all shall enjoy," Lei Wanxi looked at Zhu Lin, and the two walked away. Liao Jia turned back and glared at the two.
"I think Sister Liao Jia did not expect that she would be insulted this way by the Sixth Prince," Shun Chao, the daughter of the Minister of Rites, said and laughed along with the other women. Liao Jia glared at them and stomped her foot on the ground.
Oppositely, Lei Wanxi found Zhu Lin was smiling at something, so he curiously asked the reason behind her smile. Zhu Lin halted, and so did Lei Wanxi. "Prince Wanxi, why did you call that young lady a sister?"
"Pardon?" "I called her sister because she is Sister. Why? Is it wrong? I usually prefer to call other women as a 'sister' who are young or a little older to me," Lei Wanxi explained to her.
"Prince Wanxi never called me a Sister," Zhu Lin said out of curiosity.
"You are not a sister. You are an exception," Lei Wanxi affirmed.
"Why?"
"I do not know," Lei Wanxi replied. "How was it hilarious? I called her a sister, and you laughed. Why?" Lei Wanxi inquired from her again.
"Prince Wanxi, she is interested in you. However, you called her a Sister and ended her attraction towards you," Zhu Lin said and started to laugh.
"What?" "Interested in me? So, she flirted with me!" Lei Wanxi was happy upon hearing that. "It is because of my good looks that she fell for my charm. Zhu Lin, I have fluttered the hearts of many women," He added. Zhu Lin was astonished to see the reaction of Lei Wanxi.
"Prince Wanxi, has anyone called you an interesting person?" Zhu Lin suddenly asked.
"No," Lei Wanxi refused when he saw a cart full of grain sacks come in their direction.
"You are an interesting person, Prince Wanxi," Zhu Lin said when Lei Wanxi grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. Lei Wanxi stumbled and fell back, while Zhu Lin fell on top of him.