Compared to her brothers, Liu Panpan has always been more favored. After all, rare things are precious, and she looks more like Liu Yizhu but has a personality more like Li Mingwei, not fond of constraints.
At eighteen, she still doesn't want to get married, but Li Mingwei doesn't care.
While on an inspection trip, Liu Yizhu once received a letter from his mother-in-law, asking him to educate Li Mingwei properly and not spoil the child, as Panpan would become an old maid if left alone.
After arranging his son's wedding in Beijing, Liu Yizhu was approached by someone asking to marry Panpan. He couldn't make the decision himself, so he went back to ask Li Mingwei.
Li Mingwei directly refused: "Panpan said she doesn't like anyone in Beijing, so she won't marry."
"Then where does she want to go to get married?"
"You ask her yourself."
Following Li Mingwei's gaze outside, Liu Yizhu saw Panpan running towards them, with no trace of a daughter's demeanor.
"Dad! Mom!"
"Why are you all sweaty?" Li Mingwei took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her off. "What are you here for?"
"Grandma asked me to go for a matchmaking meeting, but I didn't want to, so I came back."
Frowning, Liu Yizhu was about to say she shouldn't go back on her word, but she added, "Mom, can I go to Jiangnan to find a husband? I heard Jiangnan is prosperous and has many beauties..."
"Beauties?" Li Mingwei glanced cautiously at Liu Yizhu and pinched Panpan. "As a young lady, why are you looking for beauties?"
"I'm not looking for beauties, I'm looking for the son of a beauty," Panpan said. "Mom, since you're beautiful, your child shouldn't be bad-looking either, right?"
Rubbing his forehead, Liu Yizhu sighed, "There are many good-looking people in Beijing too..."
"Nope," Panpan interrupted her father pitifully, "The most handsome man in Beijing is the musician from Aunt Yayin's family, who came from Jiangnan."
Li Mingwei finally understood why she wanted to go to Jiangnan. The musician from Aunt Yayin's family was indeed handsome, but...
"Mom thinks that the grandson of Lord Xu's family is even more handsome."
"He's only twelve."
"Yes, but he's already so handsome at twelve, imagine when he grows up."
Noticing her father's darkening face, Panpan quickly glanced at her mother and then said, "I really want to go."
"Alright."
Panpan's eyes lit up, and she turned and ran off, saying, "I'm going to ask Uncle Cai for money!"
Hearing the joy in her voice, Li Mingwei clicked her tongue, "This child, just like her mother, always happy when it comes to money."
Liu Yizhu knew she was referring to Old Lady Wang, and he chuckled, "Just like you, right?"
"Not at all!"
"If you say so, then it's not."
Li Mingwei pouted, realizing she really wasn't interested in material things before, but it was only during those years in Qingshi Town, spending every day with Older Sister Chunhua, that she was influenced. It's all Chunhua's fault!
With her mother's approval, Panpan went to the accounting room to get money, packed her bags, and set off early the next day. If her grandmother found out, she wouldn't be able to leave.
Leaving the capital city, they headed straight to the hometown of the musician. The young maid lifted the carriage curtain, gazing at the two large characters on the city gate, Lingzhou, and asked, "Miss, we have arrived. Where to next?"
"Just a moment!" Liu Panpan withdrew her gaze, flipping through a book she took out from her side bag, "First, find a place to stay and freshen up."
The maid nodded.
"Then, find a embroidery shop and buy a set of men's clothing."
"Men's clothing?"
"Yes, once we put them on, we can go visit the brothel!"
The maid snatched the book from her hand, eyes widened, "Miss! This is a book of improper stories!"
Furrowing her brows, Liu Panpan said, "If Madam finds out you went to such a place, she will surely scold us to death!"
Startled by the maid's scolding, Liu Panpan pulled her arm, "Alright, alright, we won't go to the brothel. How about we go to the music hall instead?"
Perhaps they could meet a handsome musician there and bring him home like Aunt Yayin did.
Seeing her take a step back, the maid reluctantly agreed.
In the bustling crowd at the entrance of the music hall, Liu Panpan almost stumbled, but the maid caught her and had a few servants escort her into a private room.
She sighed in relief, adjusting her clothes, "So many people!"
"Yes," the maid wiped the sweat off her forehead, sighing softly, "There's a celebrity coming today."
She opened the window, "Look below, it's already packed."
Liu Panpan stood by the window, observing the crowd below. Their box seat wasn't the best, so she peeked her head out to see a musician setting up instruments on the stage.
The musicians and dancers from the Princess's Manor were always top-notch. Liu Panpan was used to the best, so none of the performers caught her attention until the maid mentioned there was one who looked decent. That's when she took a look.
The maid stood by the window, "Miss, here comes the main act."
Liu Panpan stepped forward and saw a woman in a veil, dressed in white, with a hint of coldness, slowly approaching the stage. She delicately placed her hand on the strings of the instrument, instantly quieting the audience.
Creak~
Finally, the window of the adjacent box was opened. Liu Panpan looked up to see three handsome men standing by the window. The one in the middle leaned against the window, and as soon as the music started, he tossed a pearl the size of a fingernail onto the stage.
The string holding the pearl wasn't strong enough and broke mid-air, scattering on the ground. The people below scrambled to pick them up.
The man beside him clapped loudly, exclaiming, "Great! Great!"
Another man kept tossing colorful items outside.
Listening to the slightly halted music, Liu Panpan couldn't tell if they were being supportive or causing trouble.
"I think I've seen you somewhere before. Have we met?" the man who tossed the pearl asked.
Liu Panpan looked up, it was the man who threw the pearl. She stared at him for a moment, shook her head, never seen him before, but he was so handsome, so wealthy, she wanted to get to know him!
"Really?" The man looked puzzled, genuinely feeling like he recognized her from somewhere.
"Yes, it's my first time in Lingzhou."
"Give it up." The man beside him nudged him and teased, "You must be familiar with pretty girls."
Liu Panpan pouted, realizing he was a big flirt, and suddenly he didn't seem as good-looking. She slammed the window shut and sat back in the private room.
"Miss, not listening?"
"All this noise, what's there to listen to?"
"Well..."
Knock knock~
The maid's words were interrupted as she opened the door to the private room, and Liu Panpan glanced over to see the man from earlier.
"What's up?"
"I heard it's Miss's first time in Lingzhou. There's a lotus flower festival at Moon Lake tomorrow, would you like to go see it?"
Liu Panpan looked at the maid, as if she had mentioned it before, but said, "We didn't rent a boat, right?"
The maid nodded, "We arrived late."
The man invited, "Perfect, join us?"
Seeing Liu Panpan hesitate, the man added, "I'm Xiao Yun. My father is the governor of Lingzhou, I would never break the law, Miss can rest assured."
"Xiao?" The maid frowned, "If I remember correctly, the governor of Lingzhou is surnamed Ying, right?"
"I take my mother's surname."
Liu Panpan didn't find it strange, her own brother also took her mother's surname. Since he was an official's son, she believed him to a certain extent and agreed to the invitation.
She looked at the "Xiao" marks on the other boats, blinked, "Are they all from your family?"
Xiao Yun raised an eyebrow, "Yes."
Hmm, suddenly he seemed handsome again.
Later, accompanying Liu Panpan to explore Jiangnan and then following her back to the capital, Xiao Yun finally met her father, and finally understood why he had found her familiar back then.
