On Gao Zhan's side, due to the age and status difference between him and Yun Lie, they had nothing to talk about except for exchanging greetings; in addition, he was wary of Yun Lie's presence, so he did not dare to chat and laugh with the Luo family at the dinner table as usual, and could only eat in silence.
The two distinguished guests remained silent, so Luo Fengming, as the host, had no choice but to break the silence and whisper to Gao Zhan with a smile, "Today was supposed to be your family hosting guests, how come you ended up coming to my house to freeload?"
"Don't even mention it. There was some strange noise last night, and when I woke up this morning, all I saw were withered flowers everywhere," Gao Zhan was more childlike in nature, and he felt relieved as soon as someone started talking to him. "It's so annoying that we're having such bad luck right at the start of the new year."
Yun Lie secretly curled up a smug smile, thinking to himself, "Who told you to post random things like this?"
Seeing Gao Zhan's gloomy expression, Luo Fengming quickly comforted him, "Perhaps the wind was too strong last night?"
“It’s a pity that my few pots of Phalaenopsis orchids, which I’ve been carefully watering, were blooming so well,” Gao Zhan said, looking up at Luo Cuiwei sitting opposite him with a pitiful smile. “I promised to show them to you properly, but I should have kept them hidden in the room.”
Luo Cuiwei was amused by his appearance and comforted him, "It's okay, the flowers will always bloom again."
Hearing that she seemed to still have expectations for the flower viewing banquet at the Duke of He's mansion, Yun Lie silently snorted in his heart: Even if they bloom again, they will still wither.
As long as he's around, let alone flowers, if even a neat patch of grass could grow in the Duke of He's mansion, it would be a sign of his incompetence.
Because Yun Lie's face clearly said "I don't want to chat," and Gao Zhan was an outgoing person who would respond to anyone who tried to talk to him, the conversation naturally gravitated towards Gao Zhan.
Yun Lie was happy to have some peace and quiet, but seeing Luo Cuiwei occasionally smiling and saying a few words to Gao Zhanye, but not giving him a second glance, a little bit of simmering anger inexplicably ignited in his chest.
Feeling frustrated, he scooped up half a bowl of soup and, too lazy to drink it slowly with a spoon, gulped it down in one go.
Thinking of helping the masters relieve the greasiness of the past few days, the Luo family's chef specially prepared a soup of pickled bamboo shoots and sliced pork, and even added rice vinegar to it.
Having spent a long time in the army, Yun Lie wasn't too picky about food, except for avoiding anything with a sour taste.
He gulped down the mouthful, and felt like his teeth were about to fall out.
Not wanting others to notice anything amiss, he didn't show any outward signs, but a wicked thought inexplicably arose in his mind.
Seeing Luo Cuiwei reach for the small soup bowl in front of her, he quickly took it first, filled the bowl to the brim, and put it back beside her.
I told you not to even look at me! We'll share the hardships! I'll make you cry with envy!
The whole process took only a moment, flowing so naturally and smoothly as if it were commonplace, yet it left everyone at the table speechless.
Of course, no one dared to stare at Yun Lie, the "perpetrator," and instead turned their shocked gazes to Luo Cuiwei, who was equally astonished.
—What incriminating evidence have you found against His Highness Prince Zhao?!
Shocked, bewildered, and embarrassed, Luo Cuiwei blushed slightly and glanced at Yun Lie sitting next to her.
Noticing the gaze directed at him, Yun Lie looked back at her nonchalantly and said casually, "Your arms are too short, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach it and you'll spill it all over me."
Everyone lowered their heads and suppressed their laughter.
It turns out that His Highness Prince Zhao condescended to serve soup to others simply to show off his long arms.
Luo Cuiwei closed her eyes with immense patience, suppressing the urge to smash the bowl in his face. She gritted her teeth, brought her head closer to him, and whispered, "If you can't speak, then don't speak."
Who's saying they have short arms?!
****
After the meal, Luo Fengming and Gao Zhan enthusiastically suggested that they go fight Ye Zige.
The gameplay of Leaf Card involves drawing cards in turn, with larger cards able to draw smaller ones. Before a card is played, it is held face down in the hand as a hidden card, so that others cannot see it. After a leaf is played, it is placed face up, and the player must deduce the unplayed cards from the revealed cards to compete.
Playing the game of Dou Ye Zi is best done with three to five people.
Yun Lie naturally wouldn't join in this, and Luo Cuiwei wasn't very patient with it either, so Luo Fengming decided to invite Xiahou Ling along.
Before he could speak, Luo Cuizhen, the most idle member of the Luo family, jumped out and recommended herself.
Luo Fengming laughed and spat, "I don't want to play with you. You're just a little kid. When you lose, all you do is cry and look like a little chick with a plague."
"You're the one who's acting like a crazy little dog!" Luo Cuizhen snapped, jumping up to hit him. "I'm an adult!"
The year passed, and she turned fourteen, an awkward age where she was neither a child nor an adult. Luo Fengming loved to rub salt in her wounds, teasing her every now and then, which always made her jump up and scream.
"Oh, you're an adult, so do you have money?" Whenever Luo Fengming had free time, he would feel genuinely uncomfortable if he didn't provoke his younger sister a few times a day. "You take your own seal to the accounting office, can you get money out? Heh."
"Sister! You should kick him out to beg for food!" Luo Cuizhen turned to her elder sister for help, her face flushed with anger.
Luo Cuiwei was having a headache from all the commotion. She rubbed her temples helplessly and smiled at Xiahou Ling, "Ling, why don't you go play with them? And give Luo Cuizhen some change while you're at it. If she loses it all, tell her to go back to her room and read."
This is why Luo Cuizhen liked her older sister the most.
No matter how big or small the matter, her older sister would never reject her wishes outright. Instead, she would draw a reasonable line for her beforehand to prevent her from being too young to exercise self-control.
Unlike her wretched older brother Luo Fengming! He only knows how to bully her every day, treating her like a child!
Gao Zhan muttered to Luo Fengming with envy in his eyes, "If you can let me have Xiao Weiwei as my older sister, then I can call you brother."
Luo Fengming was astonished by his strange request and terms of exchange: "You've got some pretty good ideas."
The two of them huddled together and whispered to each other. Luo Cuiwei didn't hear them clearly and was too lazy to pay attention to what they were chattering about.
Ke Yunlie, a veteran of many battles, was naturally accustomed to listening to all sides.
The nickname "Xiao Weiwei" made him want to punch someone.
Does the Duke of He's mansion have no manners at all?! What kind of insolent brat have they raised?
24. Chapter Twenty-Four