Now that Gao Zhan has arrived, she will no longer be as idle and lazy as before.
Upon hearing her mention it, Yun Lie seemed to realize what she meant. The slightly heavy sadness and guilt he felt earlier were immediately forgotten, and his eyes shone brightly.
"you!"
Luo Cuiwei's beautiful eyes widened suddenly, and she hurriedly pressed down on a large, restless hand under the covers. "No, it was just last night..."
“Weiwei,” Yun Lie said seriously, with two small flames seemingly burning in his eyes, “a cartload of children’s things were delivered to the family today. We need to put them to use as soon as possible so as not to let down the family’s good intentions.”
Luo Cuiwei's cheeks flushed, and she smiled helplessly and turned her head away, "I have things to do tomorrow, I can't be too tired..."
She believed that her family wouldn't mind either, really.
“Then you can sleep, you don’t need to exert yourself,” Yun Lie said with a wicked smile, his thin lips resting on her neck. “I’ll sleep, I’ll do my best.”
As expected of His Highness Prince Zhao, who always kept his word, did his "best" and tormented Luo Cuiwei until she was almost in tears and begging for mercy before he finally stopped.
“…I’m scared of you,” Luo Cuiwei curled up weakly in his arms, her hoarse voice still trembling with sobs, “You beast.”
"Hmm?" The satiated man resembled a leopard that had eaten and drunk its fill, clutching his food tightly to his arm. "You didn't call me that just now... um."
He was elbowed in the abdomen.
"Shut up and go to sleep!" As if remembering something, Luo Cuiwei weakly kicked him from under the covers, gritting her teeth as she said, "I mean, go to sleep peacefully and innocently."
****
The next day at dawn, when Luo Cuiwei struggled to get up with her aching body, Yun Lie had already gone out to attend to important matters, looking refreshed.
After Luo Cuiwei had tidied herself up, Gao Zhan arrived.
The two ate a little breakfast prepared by Tao Yin, and then went together to make a final confirmation of the several house-building sites that Luo Cuiwei had previously scouted.
Along the way, the two discussed matters concerning building a house and talked about things in the capital, and did not feel tired at all.
Yesterday's "show of force" from Yun Lie was clearly effective. Today, Gao Zhan was much more restrained than before, and he was also very careful to maintain a proper distance from Luo Cuiwei as he walked.
Around noon, the two met Song Qiuqi on the road. At her warm invitation, they went to Qi Lao's house, where she was temporarily staying, for lunch. Afterward, they continued their journey without stopping.
They kept busy like this until sunset.
Seeing that it was getting late, and thinking that she should do her part as a host, Luo Cuiwei invited Gao Zhan to the courtyard for a meal.
When I returned to the courtyard, Yun Lie was sitting at a table under the shade of a tree, staring thoughtfully at the sand table in front of him.
In the afternoon, he called Song Jiuyuan and others to the courtyard to brainstorm and review the previous plans for the construction of the new city.
Both he and Song Jiuyuan had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't quite put their finger on what the problem was.
After racking their brains all afternoon without any results, Yun Lie told everyone to go home first.
Hearing footsteps, Yun Lie looked up and saw Luo Cuiwei bringing Gao Zhan back again. He guessed that the annoying guy wanted to freeload at his house, and his thin lips immediately pursed into a straight line.
"It's getting late, I'll go help Tao Yin so we can eat sooner." Luo Cuiwei smiled with a faint warning in her eyes, mouthing Yun Lie not to mess around.
Yun Lie nodded in agreement, and unexpectedly waved to Gao Zhan.
****
"Sit down." Yun Lie gestured with his chin to the chair opposite him, his expression calm and composed.
Gao Zhan offered him a thank-you gift and reluctantly sat down at the table across from him.
Although the Prince Zhao's Mansion and the Duke He's Mansion in the capital were not far apart, for some reason, the two mansions had never had any close contact, so the two had not had much direct interaction in the past.
Compared to his familiarity and ease when facing Luo Cuiwei, Gao Zhan was as reserved as a quail in front of Yun Lie. "Yesterday I was reckless and lost my composure. I will be more careful in the future. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
This refers to the incident yesterday when he reached out to Luo Cuiwei.
Yun Lie leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched out, toes touching the crossbar under the table, arms crossed over his chest, coldly nodding, "There won't be a next time, understand?"
"Thank you, Your Highness." Hearing that this meant "the matter is over," Gao Zhan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.
His gaze inadvertently fell on the sand table on the table, and Gao Zhan couldn't help but frown. A look of doubt appeared on his handsome and elegant face, and he blurted out "Eh."
"Huh? If you see anything wrong, please point it out."
As if unsurprised by his reaction, Yun Lie sat up straight and stared directly at him with bright eyes. "I heard that you are quite knowledgeable in construction. I called you over earlier to ask you to help me see if there is anything wrong."
Gao Zhan looked up in surprise, speechless for a moment.
"You traveled all the way to Linchuan, is it really just to do Weiwei a favor, help build a house, and then head back home?" Yun Lie snorted lightly, seemingly having already seen through many secrets.
After a long pause, Gao Zhan smiled and sighed in defeat: "No wonder my second brother told me before I left that His Highness Prince Zhao is seemingly rough but actually meticulous, and he would definitely ask me about my true intentions."
“It’s no wonder Gao Yu served as the Commander of the Imperial City Guard for so many years; he does have a good eye for people,” Yun Lie said, raising an eyebrow slightly and maintaining a calm expression. “Speak frankly.”
Although Gao Zhan was nominally invited by Luo Cuiwei, the Duke of He's mansion had always been considered part of Princess Huanrong Yunxi's faction in the court. Now that Gao Zhan had come to Linchuan alone, Yun Lie could not possibly ignore his intentions.
Since he had made his point so clear, Gao Zhan knew he couldn't be fooled, so he frankly said, "I have never liked studying since I was a child, nor have I ever wanted to become an official. All five of my older brothers are successful, which makes me look like a spoiled brat in everyone's eyes."
“Although it was Xiaowei… no, it was Her Highness the Princess who invited me first, I originally only planned to come and leave after accepting this favor,” the young man’s clear smiling eyes shone with a faint light of hope, “Last month, Fengming told me that Linchuan had issued a recruitment order.”
Everyone in the capital knew that the young master of the Duke of He's mansion was the apple of everyone's eye, and he had five successful older brothers who brought glory to the whole family. All he had to do was live a life free from worries about food and clothing.
But he clearly didn't want to live a life of luxury and toil until his death.
"Whether Your Highness believes it or not, my visit to Linchuan this time has absolutely nothing to do with my family's stance."