By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 94 Fishing

The next day

When Wen Zongji woke up, he saw Pei Rujing nestled in his arms, staring at him.

A smile played on his lips as he reached out and wrapped his arm around Pei Rujing's slender waist, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up: "Why are you awake so early?"

Pei Rujing placed her small hand on Wen Zongji's chest, resting her chin on it: "Wen Zongji, you scholars often say 'A gentleman's word is as good as his bond,' but you've broken your promise."

Wen Zongji was completely bewildered by her words: "What do you mean by that, Princess?"

Pei Rujing wrinkled her nose: "You clearly promised me that you would accompany me to travel outside the city after the imperial examination, but now the palace examination is over and we still haven't gone."

Wen Zongji smiled: "So that's what it is. I've always remembered, but I've been preoccupied with other matters. Does the County Princess bring it up now because she wishes to go out of town for a stroll today?"

Pei Rujing nodded: "The weather is fine today, perfect for going out for a spring outing."

In the warm spring of March, everything is just right, making it the perfect time for a spring outing.

"Alright, today it is."

Pei Rujing was delighted and immediately pulled Wen Zongji to his feet: "Let's get up quickly and go after breakfast."

Wen Zongji got up with her help.

The two were busy with various things, and after changing and washing up, they sat down together for breakfast.

At this moment, Changdong walked in and presented something with both hands, saying happily, "Young master, the appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel has been delivered."

"Let me take a look."

Pei Rujing eagerly took the document and opened it: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Wen Zongji, of Wanqing County, Shuntian Prefecture, is hereby appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. This is the imperial decree!"

The top three candidates in the first rank were appointed by imperial decree, without needing to go through the selection process of the Ministry of Personnel. Therefore, the Ministry of Personnel directly issued the appointment documents.

Wen Zongji could use this document to obtain one set of court robes and one set of official robes from the Ministry of Rites.

After Pei Rujing finished reading, she handed the document to Wen Zongji, her eyes bright: "From now on, you are Lord Wen."

Wen Zongji glanced at it, then told Changdong to put it away and served Pei Rujing some food: "There's only the county princess's husband here, no adults."

Pei Rujing's heart skipped a beat, and the smile in her eyes deepened: "Husband—"

Wen Zongji nodded in satisfaction: "It would be even better if the county princess called me husband more often and called me by my name less often in the future."

Pei Rujing turned her head away: "No way."

She called Wen Zongji by his given name because she felt he was unworthy to be her husband.

She hasn't changed her tune yet, but she still harbors some girlish thoughts.

Pei Rujing naturally couldn't say this to Wen Zongji, and directly and domineeringly refused.

……

After breakfast, the maids packed their travel belongings, and the two boarded the carriage and rode out of the city.

Outside the capital city, there is a river called Suchuan. The water is crystal clear, and you can see small fish swimming in it from the riverbank.

Spring has arrived, and all things are reviving. The banks of the Suchon River are covered with lush green grass, and you can clearly smell the fragrance of the grass when you stand among them.

This is Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing's destination.

The carriage stopped under the tree, and Wen Zongji helped Pei Rujing down from the carriage.

Pei Rujing immediately ran to the riverbank, took a deep breath of air, and felt her mood instantly improve, feeling refreshed and relaxed.

Wen Zongji strolled over to her, looked at the Suchuan River in front of them, and then looked around: "The environment here is nice, but I don't see what's fun about it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Zongji saw Qinghe and the others move the fishing rods and other items over and place them aside.

"Is the county magistrate going fishing?"

Wen Zongji's eyes were full of suspicion. The county princess really didn't seem like the kind of person who could calm down and fish.

Pei Rujing was displeased with Wen Zongji's suspicious gaze: "How about we have a competition to see who catches more fish?"

She has a bad temper, but she's not impatient; she still has the patience to fish.

Wen Zongji readily accepted the challenge: "Okay."

Before long, the servants had prepared all the fishing gear and baited the area, saving them from the embarrassment of sitting idly for an hour without catching a single fish.

The two sat on either side and cast their fishing rods together.

"Princess..."

Pei Rujing raised her hand to interrupt, placing her finger between her lips and frowning at him, as if to say, "Don't scare my fish away."

Seeing how serious she was, Wen Zongji had no choice but to swallow his words and concentrate on fishing.

Wen Zongji was not a fishing enthusiast. In his previous life, he usually went fishing to accompany clients who liked fishing, which was all for social purposes. He himself did not have much interest in fishing.

I don't know if it's because I haven't fished much and am still a novice, but I have a novice aura above my head.

Wen Zongji had barely sat down when he caught a fish. He weighed it in his hand and estimated it to be about five or six pounds.

Wen Zongji put the fish into the fish basket, glanced at Pei Rujing, and was somewhat surprised to see that she was not looking over and was staring at the river.

The county magistrate is actually quite patient!

For the next hour, the two took turns catching the fish, and when they weighed them, they found that Wen Zongji was still the better fish.

Wen Zongji cupped his hands in greeting: "Princess, you flatter me!"

Pei Rujing pouted: "You're just lucky. Uncle is right, the last person you want to encounter when fishing is someone like you who doesn't know anything about fishing but always manages to catch fish."

"Did the county princess go fishing with the emperor?"

Pei Rujing sat for an hour, her body becoming somewhat stiff. She got up and walked around a bit: "My uncle goes to Xiyuan every year to escape the summer heat, and he often asks me to go fishing with him. He says fishing helps to calm the mind and cultivate one's character, but I don't think it's very useful."

She can sit quietly fishing for an hour, but that hasn't changed her fiery personality.

Wen Zongji smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's only useless to the county princess."

No one could tell that Pei Rujing could fish so quietly.

Emperor Shun'an wanted to use fishing to temper Pei Rujing's temperament, which was a good idea, but unfortunately it didn't work.

Pei Rujing glared at him: "It's useless because I don't need it."

"Yes, yes, the county princess is the most gentle and virtuous, with an exceptionally good temper."

Hearing these sarcastic words, Pei Rujing's fists hardened.

"Wen Zongji, you're finished!"

Before Pei Rujing could finish speaking, she chased after Wen Zongji and started hitting him.

Wen Zongji had been on guard against her all along. The moment Pei Rujing made a move, Wen Zongji immediately turned and ran.

"Don't run away."

"I'm not stupid, I'm not going to just stand there and let you hit me."

"You're making me so angry, what's wrong with letting me hit you a couple of times?"

"I was clearly praising the county princess, but she didn't appreciate it."

"Do you think I'm stupid? Who praises someone like you do!"

"..."

The two chased each other and fooled around for a while before Wen Zongji pretended to be exhausted and was caught up by Pei Rujing, who then punched him twice to vent her anger.

On the other side, Qinghe and the others had already set up a grill, selected a fish they had caught, processed the ingredients, and then put it on the grill to roast.

Before long, the aroma of grilled fish filled the air.

Wen Zongji sniffed it: "It tastes good."

Pei Rujing smelled so good she was hungry, and pulled Wen Zongji over: "Let's try some."

The two of them worked together to eat half a fish!