Sheng Li pinched the nose of Ying Lili. "Lei Wanxi's acts need to be corrected. That's why I did that," he clarified his point. His back rested on the pillar behind him and pulled her closer to him.
"Let's sit in the royal garden for some time," Sheng Li suggested to her.
"Don't you have to go to General Wang's house?" "He is your close, childhood friend," she stated.
"I will go in the evening. I have sent a message with Xing-Fu's hands about my visit," Sheng Li answered. "When he told me that he loves Princess Bai Yaling, it surprised me for a second. But then, love happens unexpectedly. Wang Hao was shy around the women."
"Is it so?" Ying Lili asked to confirm.
"Hmm. Do you want to know more?" Sheng Li curiously gazed at her. Ying Lili nodded her head. He carried her up in his arms, thus startling her.
He started to walk and told her to hold him tightly. Soon, they reached the garden. Sheng Li put down Ying Lili and then made her sit on the chair. He adjusted the royal umbrella over her head.
"Call the servant," Ying Lili said.
"I am done," Sheng Li stated, passing a smile to her.
A maidservant came running and bowed before him. "Bring the fresh fruits for the Empress. Also, is this water good?" He asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the maidservant replied. However, Sheng Li did not trust her words. He poured the water into the silver glass and drank it first.
"Go and bring the fruits," Sheng Li ordered her. The maidservant left the place while he filled the water into the glass.
"Drink it," he said.
"You still think that someone will dare to poison me," Ying Lili brought the glass to her lips and started to drink it.
"I cannot take any risk. Who knows the enemies are still present! You know how my mother was poisoned," Sheng Li said with an upset look and sat down on the chair next to her.
Ying Lili put the glass on the table and gazed at him. "The situation was different that time. Now, everyone has changed," Ying Lili said and placed her hand over his. She caressed it for a while.
"Our babies will be safe, Sheng Li. Also, your prayer to Lord Buddha will not let anything happen to me. Why do you worry so much?" She peered into his eyes. There was a troubled expression in his eyes which Ying Lili was not able to comprehend.
Sheng Li, on the other hand, recalled the prediction by the Royal Astrologer. Though he should not believe in those things, he could not help.
"What happened, Sheng Li?" Ying Lili waited for his answer.
"Nothing," he lied while quickly wearing a smile on his lips. "Where is this servant?" He muttered and turned to look back when saw her coming.
"You can share it with me," Ying Lili opined. He turned his head to look at her. "You are bad at lying. You can fool the entire world but not me, Sheng Li. I can read your eyes," she stated.
The maidservant silently placed the tray on the table and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought the fresh fruits."
"Leave," Ying Lili commanded her and she left the garden.
"Tell me else I will not have these fruits. I will not either take my dinner," Ying Lili affirmed.
"There is nothing, Lili. Don't say about skipping your dinner. Also, these fruits are necessary for you," he still was not ready to tell her, because she would get stressed. Why did he even act that way? He should have been careful around her. He cursed himself internally for making such a mistake that Ying Lili noticed it.
"Mandarins," Sheng Li said delightedly and stood up from his seat. He picked the bowl and sat down on the grassy ground near her feet
"Sheng Li," with a shocking expression, she called out his name. "Get up and sit here," she told him.
"It's good here. Now, stay quiet," he said.
"Then, I will also sit–" before she could complete her words, Sheng Li pushed the peeled mandarin in her mouth.
"Stay quiet and eat," he said with a smile. "Wang Hao and I had been to the military campaigns for a long time. We were in undercovers too. Wang Hao is six years older than me. He was supposed to marry earlier, but he did not. His shyness was the biggest hindrance to it. When we were in the Eastern Province, a young nineteen years old woman had fallen for him. He helped her and he even forgot about that.
Wang Hao's father told him to marry, but he refused. He was 20 at that time. The woman was nice but Wang Hao hardly used to speak. She used to come to the tent house every day bringing homemade food for him."
Sheng Li laughed a little while recalling those days.
"You will laugh after you find out how he rejected her feelings," Sheng Li stated. He handed the peeled mandarins to Ying Lili, who quietly ate them.
"What did General Wang do?" She curiously waited for the answer.
"He told her that he has a woman in Luoyang," Sheng Li replied, "but he forgot that his father, the Ex-General had already gone to her house and informed her that Wang Hao was shy towards women and a few other things. He was badly stuck at that time."
"How did General Wang escape that?"
"The young woman stepped back as she understood that Wang Hao was not comfortable around her," Sheng Li answered.
"That's why it was shocking for me when he said that he would marry Princess Bai Yaling. However, he confirmed his feelings, so I got assured," Sheng Li stated and put the bowl on the tray. He then picked the apple and cut it into slices.
"I will do, Sheng Li," Ying Lili told him.
"You cannot touch sharp objects," Sheng Li reminded her.
Ying Lili smiled as Sheng Li was pampering her like a child.
"Wang Hao was with me not only in my good times but also in my worst time. He is the person whom I can trust with my eyes closed," Sheng Li stated and placed the slices on the plate. He forwarded it to Ying Lili.
"General Wang is indeed a nice man. Being a General, he should be stoic and cold to people around him, but he is the opposite," Ying Lili too praised him. Sheng Li agreed with her and rested his chin on her lap.
Ying Lili brought the apple slice near his mouth, who lifted his head and ate it while she ate the other slice.
Xiao Zhan and Commander Yang looked at the two from the pavilion. "Let's inform the Emperor later.. He is busy with the Empress," Commander Yang suggested to Xiao Zhan, who nodded his head and the two walked away.
