Although he didn't understand why he suddenly brought up Huang Minzhi, Song Jiuyuan put aside his own doubts and explained in detail.
“Huang Minzhi is a member of the Huang family in the southern part of the capital,” Yun Lie raised an eyebrow coldly. “Since someone from the Qiu family is engaged to her daughter, then the Qiu family cannot be used.”
Song Jiuyuan was stunned for a moment before remembering the "Huang family of Nancheng" in the capital, "but the Huang family of Nancheng is just a merchant family..."
Xiong Xiaoyi chuckled and patted Song Jiuyuan on the shoulder. "The Huang family previously blocked the Luo family's northern trade route in Songyuan through Huang Minzhi. Huang Jingru, the eldest daughter of the Huang family, has been working hard to antagonize our Princess for many years. Some people are protecting their own, and this is settling scores after the fact."
Last year in the capital, when Luo Cuiwei suddenly approached the Prince Zhao's residence, Yun Lie sensed something was amiss and ordered Xiong Xiaoyi to secretly investigate the Luo family's background. This led Xiong Xiaoyi to learn about the feud between the Huang and Luo families.
"You've got some nerve, huh?" Yun Lie casually grabbed a piece of scrap paper from the side, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Xiong Xiaoyi with a blank expression.
Xiong Xiaoyi laughed and jumped up from his chair to dodge.
Immediately afterwards, Yun Lie suddenly straightened his back for some reason, looking as if he was listening intently, which startled Xiong Xiaoyi and Song Jiuyuan, who stared at Yun Lie with a mixture of nervousness and confusion.
For a moment, the side hall was so quiet that not even a breath could be heard.
Light, leisurely footsteps came from the half-open window, passing through the courtyard and seemingly heading towards the kitchen.
A moment later, Xiong Xiaoyi finally understood. He walked back to the table with one hand on his hip, looking utterly exasperated, and slammed his paw on the surface. "It's just Her Highness the Princess getting up to go out for food, what are you so nervous about?!"
I was terrified! I thought some suspicious person had sneaked into the yard.
Yun Lie gave him a cold glare, then lowered his eyes as if to appear calm, casually flipping through the files in his hands.
But his trembling fingers betrayed his nervousness and anticipation.
Song Jiuyuan smiled knowingly, "Is it because you're worried that the soup won't suit Her Highness's taste?"
Enraged, Yun Lie didn't even bother to crumple up the paper anymore. He grabbed a roll of documents and threw it at Song Jiuyuan's face.
"You've got a clever mind of yours, haven't you?!"
Those two bastards don't even understand the principle of not saying what's on your mind; they deserve a beating.
As Song Jiuyuan pressed his forehead, trying to plead his case, he faintly heard Tao Yin's soft exclamation from outside the window.
Xiong Xiaoyi reacted the fastest, rushing to the window like a whirlwind, pushing it open, and leaning half his body out to take a look from afar.
A moment later, he turned around and stared blankly at the frozen Yun Lie, his dark face full of doubt: "That soup... did you poison it?"
****
As Yun Lie rushed out of the side hall and hurriedly arrived at the eaves in front of the kitchen, he saw Luo Cuiwei leaning against a pillar, taking a bowl of water from Tao Yin to rinse her mouth.
Seeing Yun Lie approach, Tao Yin took a few steps back, sensibly making room for Luo Cuiwei next to her.
Luo Cuiwei looked up with a pale face and saw Yun Lie's helpless appearance. She weakly smiled at him and handed the empty bowl back to Tao Yin.
"Perhaps it's because I've been getting up too late these days and eating one less meal a day, that my stomach is acting up."
She had only been dry heaving for a while, and apart from a few mouthfuls of bile and gastric juice, she hadn't vomited anything else.
She knew Yun Lie had been busy lately and didn't want to disturb him. Tao Yin's loud voice was caught by her, but who knew that Yun Lie's ears were so sharp, they really looked like dog ears.
Yun Lie walked over with a trembling heart, raised his hand to support her shoulder, "Why don't you go back to your room and lie down? I'll send someone to fetch a doctor from Jishetang."
Jishetang also came at the end of September upon invitation. They are currently building a house in the new city and have also asked Yun Lie to buy a piece of land in the hillside forest to use as a medicinal herb garden.
Luo Cuiwei leaned against him and shook her head. "Never mind, it's not a big problem. I used to live like this when I was busy at home and my meals were irregular."
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up and saw Yun Lie frowning in strong disagreement, as if he was thinking about how to persuade her.
She quickly poked his chest with her index finger. "You're not allowed to persuade me. I don't like taking medicine. I get angry when I take medicine, and when I get angry, I want you to build a nest next to the woodshed."
Although Yun Lie's eyes were full of worry, he still pursed his lips under her sharp gaze and temporarily gave in. "If you're still not feeling well later, you have to tell me."
He was still worried, but he was afraid that if he forced her to see a doctor, she would really get angry.
“Well, you go on with your work, don’t keep them waiting,” Luo Cuiwei gestured with her chin to the two people peeking out of the side hall entrance. “I also need to go to the other side of the house to pay the craftsmen their wages.”
As the eldest daughter in the family, she single-handedly took on the responsibility of managing the household affairs after her father's injury. Over the years, she has developed a habit of taking on responsibilities. Normally, if she has a minor ailment such as a headache or fever, she will not pay any attention to it and will continue to do what she is supposed to do.
Yun Lie turned around and glared at the two jerks at the entrance of the side hall, then turned back and whispered a complaint, "Ignore them, let them die of old age. That stupid bear dared to laugh at me for poisoning the soup and making you feel unwell!"
A fleeting hint of melancholy crossed his eyes.
Luo Cuiwei keenly noticed his disappointment and comforted him with a smile, "Don't listen to his nonsense, it's delicious. I just drank it too fast."
His lonely dark eyes suddenly brightened again. "Then I'll get up early again tomorrow and make you something else."
Although Yun Lie was facing away from the side hall, Xiong Xiaoyi and Song Jiuyuan could not see his expression, but they could tell from his suddenly arrogant posture that His Highness Prince Zhao was just like a dog that had been patted on the head and praised, with an invisible tail wagging happily behind him.
“What a loser,” Xiong Xiaoyi gritted his teeth in disdain and snorted, “He wasn’t this smug when we won battles in previous years.”
*****
Knowing that Luo Cuiwei was about to go out, Yun Lie personally went back to his room to fetch her a thicker floral brocade cloak.
The two stood in front of the stone steps in the courtyard. Yun Lie carefully fastened her cloak, then called Tao Yin over to give her some instructions before letting her leave.
After Luo Cuiwei left, Xiong Xiaoyi couldn't help but make a few jokes, which successfully provoked Yun Lie to give him a good beating on the head before he finally calmed down.
After finishing his work and receiving Yun Lie's replies, Song Jiuyuan didn't linger any longer and hurriedly left the courtyard to continue his tasks.
Only Yun Lie and Xiong Xiaoyi remained in the side hall. Xiong Xiaoyi then reported some developments within the defense zone to Yun Lie.
“…Anyway, I feel that the Northern Di people have been acting strangely lately,” Xiong Xiaoyi said, scratching his head in distress. “All of our spies in the Northern Di have lost contact and haven’t sent back any news for ten days. I’m worried that they might have all been wiped out.”