Chapter 238: Going on a Picnic
Halfway through the meal, an unexpected guest arrived.
I saw that man was wearing a blue shirt, he was neither tall nor short, with regular features, and looked very elegant.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, Chu Yichen spotted the man with his sharp eyes, and he quickly stood up to greet him.
Chu Lan'er saw the man coming in from the door from afar and her face immediately blushed.
Qianhuan looked at Chu Lan'er with the look of a little girl and suddenly felt curious.
"Lan'er, you look so shy, could it be that the man at the door is your fiancé who you are about to marry?"
Chu Lan'er nodded shyly, "Yes, it's him."
Song Zhe knew that today was the day his eldest brother-in-law's restaurant was opening, so after finishing his official duties he hurried over with gifts to show his support.
Chu Yichen asked the waiter to add a seat and a set of bowls and chopsticks for Song Zhe.
Song Zhe glanced at the people at the table and was shocked.
Although he was only an eighth-rank minor official, his reputation as the God of War General was well-known, and every official in the capital knew him.
And this young Marquis of Pingyang was also a favored figure in front of the emperor, so he naturally recognized him.
Song Zhe was about to kneel down and salute the two of them, but the prince spoke up in time to stop him.
"Sir Song, today is a gathering among friends. There is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat quickly."
The prince has information about everyone in the capital, so he knows them all, whether they are high-ranking or low-ranking officials.
But Meng Yuanzhou didn't pay much attention to what was happening in the court. He looked at Song Zhe and said that he didn't know him at all.
But he still echoed the prince and said, "Yes, today is just a gathering among friends, there is no need for so many etiquette."
Song Zhe never thought that the great God of War General actually knew him. He was extremely terrified and said, "Thank you, my Lord, and thank you, my Young Marquis."
Song Zhe couldn't help but look at his brother-in-law with a new respect. He didn't expect that when his restaurant opened, even the God of War General and the Young Marquis would come to support it.
If Chu Yichen knew what Song Zhe was thinking, he would definitely say helplessly: I am only relying on Qianhuan's help.
Then Song Zhe also sat down. After he sat down, he secretly glanced at Chu Lan'er.
But Chu Lan'er was too shy. She kept her head down and pretended to eat, not daring to look at Song Zhe at all.
Song Zhe and Chu Lan'er had met before under the arrangement of Mrs. Du. They both fell in love with each other and were a pair who were in love with each other.
Qianhuan looked at Chu Lan'er and couldn't help sighing in her heart: These ancient women are really too thin-skinned. They don't even dare to look at their fiancés.
Comparing myself in this way, I seem a little shameless.
Seeing that everyone was a little reserved, Qianhuan couldn't help but stand up to liven up the atmosphere.
"Come on, fill up your glasses, and let's drink together. This first drink is to celebrate the grand opening of Zuixianju."
Meng Yuanzhou was the first to agree, "Okay, let's drink together."
"Adong, quickly fill up my wine glass."
When everyone's glasses were filled, they clinked their glasses and drank up the wine.
Qianhuan filled the second glass of wine.
"We should drink this second cup together as well. Meeting each other is destiny. Since we can sit at the same table and eat together today, we are destined to be together. For this destiny, let's drink one cup together."
"Okay, for this fate, we must drink one."
Meng Yuanzhou's heroic voice of agreement rang out again.
As the wine started to flow and the conversation started, the atmosphere became more lively and everyone became less reserved.
The meal was finally finished amid laughter and joy.
Today we just had a few drinks, no one was drunk, just a little tipsy.
Qianhuan was happy. She looked at everyone and said, "After dinner, does everyone have anything to do this afternoon?"
Chu Lan'er was the first to answer: "Qianhuan, I have nothing to do today. Do you want to do something after dinner?"
"Well, Lan'er, you really understand me. I heard that the scenery around the suburbs of Beijing is very nice. I have been in Beijing for so long, but I haven't seen it yet. If you have nothing to do today, why don't we go to the grasslands outside Beijing to ride horses? When we get tired, we can just have a picnic outdoors."
The prince was puzzled, "What is the purpose of outdoor picnic?"
"Outdoor picnic refers to cooking or barbecuing in nature. There are many mountains and forests in the suburbs of Beijing where we can have a barbecue. Picnics not only allow us to eat delicious food, but also enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature. It's very interesting."
Meng Yuanzhou immediately perked up when he heard this. "Okay, okay. I haven't been to the outskirts of Beijing for a long time. I'm very interested in the horseback riding and picnic activities you mentioned. Let's set off now."
"Brother Yuanzhou, we can't leave so soon. We still need to prepare the ingredients and wooden sticks. I also have to go back to the teahouse to get the barbecue stove."
The prince said considerately, "Qianhuan, I'll ask Chiying to prepare the ingredients and wooden sticks you requested. We can go riding first."
"Okay, Brother, I'll listen to you. We can set off first and wait for Chiying and Yinhua to deliver the things later."
The prince turned his head and said to the young marquis with a cold face, "Cousin Meng, His Majesty asked you to prepare a performance to welcome the foreign envoys. I'm afraid you don't have time to go picnicking with us?"
Meng Yuanzhou got a headache when he heard about this. "Forget it for now. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Let's go out and play with you guys first."
Qianhuan chimed in, "Brother, everyone is in the mood today. Besides, it will be more fun with more people. You can ask Brother Yuanzhou to go with us."
The prince's face turned even colder when he saw Qian Huan speaking for Meng Yuan Zhou. He snorted coldly, "Okay, I'll do as you wish today, but you can't be lazy tomorrow. His Majesty has given me full authority to supervise this matter."
Meng Yuanzhou quickly assured, "Okay, cousin Ziyu, don't worry, I will definitely not come out to play tomorrow."
Chu Lan'er said with an embarrassed look on her face, "But Qianhuan, I don't know how to ride a horse at all. Otherwise, you guys go and have fun, and I won't hold you back."
Qianhuan just thought Chu Lan'er was a little stupid and couldn't figure it out. Wasn't her fiancé standing right next to her?
"You don't know how to ride a horse, but don't you still have Lord Song? Why don't you let Lord Song take you on a ride together?"
Chu Lan'er looked at Qianhuan and said coquettishly, "Qianhuan, would it be too much trouble for Master Song to give me a ride?"
Qianhuan looked at Chu Lan'er and felt anxious for these ancient people. The two of them were about to get married, but they were still afraid of bothering others and were so tactful when talking about love and dating.
She looked directly at Song Zhe and asked, "Sir Song, do you think it's troublesome to ask you to take our Lan'er on a horse ride? If you think it's troublesome, then I won't let Lan'er participate in our activities."
Song Zhe became anxious when he heard this. He finally had the chance to spend time with his sweetheart, so how could he bear to not let her attend?
He shook his head like a rattle, "No trouble, no trouble, I would love to take Miss Lan'er for a ride."
When Chu Lan'er heard what Song Zhe said, she felt sweet in her heart.
She glanced at Song Zhe secretly, and immediately lowered her head shyly.
Although Qianhuan's question seemed a bit bold, she was really grateful to her in her heart. Otherwise, with her personality, she would never let Song Zhe ride a horse to carry her.
Qianhuan winked at Chu Lan'er and said, "Look, this solves the problem."
"Then let's all go home and ride out our horses, then we'll meet at the city gate and set out together."
Several people answered in unison, "Okay."