Someone immediately laughed and called for a halt: "In a battle between two armies, envoys should not be harmed. Let's call a truce for now!"
Steward Chen smiled and pointed at them, but didn't scold them. He simply asked Yun Lie to go to a quiet place.
"I've been so busy these past two days that I forgot to report to Your Highness," the courtyard commotion started again, and Steward Chen could only raise his voice slightly, "Yesterday the Luo family sent New Year's gifts again, which seem excessively generous. What does Your Highness think we should do?"
Chief Steward Chen was an old man who had followed Yun Lie out of the inner city palace to establish his own residence. He had seen many things, but he had never seen such a large box of gold ingots used as a New Year's gift before.
“After all, it’s a holiday season, and it would be embarrassing to refuse a New Year’s gift delivered to someone’s door on the spot,” Steward Chen explained. “His Highness was busy at the time, and the people from the Luo family seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so I accepted it first. Your Highness, what do you think we should do in return with a gift of equal value, or…?”
Yun Lie looked up at the row of lanterns of various shapes under the corridor and smiled silently.
Is that Luo Cuiwei only good at using the "spend a fortune to win a smile" trick? She's a complete spoiled rich kid.
After a helpless smile and a long sigh, Yun Lie said to Manager Chen, "Such a large sum of money could accomplish a lot if used properly. There's no need to exchange it for worthless items as a return gift. Just send the money back to the Luo family in full."
The immediate crisis in Linchuan has been temporarily alleviated. According to custom, the Ministry of War should also issue the winter pay after the spring. He really did not want to incur new debts while the old ones were still outstanding.
Yun Lie pondered for a moment, his eyes gleaming, and then changed his mind, saying, "I'll just personally deliver it tomorrow; it'll seem more formal."
“How can that be?” Steward Chen gave him a disapproving glare. “Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. If Your Highness arrives without sending a formal invitation, it will disturb the family’s reunion and be against etiquette.”
Yun Lie awkwardly touched his nose, like a child who had been taught a lesson, "Then, shall we send the visiting card first tomorrow? And then I'll go?"
Steward Chen finally laughed in exasperation: "Why send a greeting card on the first day of the Lunar New Year? How about this, I'll arrange for someone else to deliver the box tomorrow, say hello, and leave. That way, the Luo family won't need to make a special trip to receive you."
Given Yun Lie's status, regardless of whether he sent a visiting card in advance, as long as he personally went to the Luo family, according to the rules, the other party should at least have the whole family come out to greet him with proper etiquette. How could anyone have a peaceful New Year?
Yun Lie suppressed the faint regret and disappointment in his heart, and nodded calmly, "That's fine too."
****
Even on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yun Lie still woke up at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM) as usual.
Whether in Linchuan or in the army, regardless of holidays or ordinary times, he always kept in mind the principle that "practice makes perfect" and practiced his skills diligently every morning without fail.
After washing up and changing his clothes, he walked unhurriedly toward the small training ground behind the palace, and noticed that several pots of purple-backed sunflowers that he had brought back from Linchuan had already bloomed.
In the soft light of dawn, the purple flowers glistened with dew, beautiful and elegant.
"Uncle Chen." Yun Lie caught a glimpse of Steward Chen's hurried figure out of the corner of his eye and called out to him.
Upon hearing the sound, Chief Steward Chen stepped forward and asked with a smile, "Does Your Highness have any orders?"
“I remember that the Fourth Princess sent some New Year’s gifts a few days ago,” Yun Lie said. “We haven’t returned the favor yet, have we?”
"I can't decide on a suitable gift to give back right now."
Yun Lie nodded, pointed to one of the flowering purple-backed sunflowers, and said matter-of-factly, "I remember that Fourth Princess loved flowers when she was little, so let's give her this one!"
If it weren't for the fact that today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and everyone's words and actions need to be auspicious, Steward Chen would have rolled his eyes and foamed at the mouth right there and then.
Princess Jin Hui sent a priceless jade pendant with a dragon-tail design, and you returned a pot of flowers?
Although purple-backed sunflowers are not very common in the capital, compared to these two... it really is a case of "a small gift with great meaning".
Seeing Steward Chen's restrained expression, Yun Lie smiled nonchalantly: "It's alright, Fourth Princess knows how poor I am, it's just a token of my appreciation."
After listening to this, Steward Chen thought about it carefully and realized that it made some sense.
Princess Jinhui's Yuancheng navy was also struggling financially, so how could they not understand the Zhao Prince's family's tight situation? They probably wouldn't care about the value of this return gift.
Moreover, while everything in the capital is desolate in winter, the blooming of spring flowers at the beginning of the new year always brings joy to people.
Even the little princesses living in the inner city, whenever the flowers first bloom in early spring, can't help but huddle around those few scattered blooming flowers, their eyes shining and their smiles beaming.
Chief Steward Chen also remembered that Princess Jin Hui seemed to be like this when she was a child.
Once I changed my mind, I realized that the gift was indeed very thoughtful.
So Steward Chen nodded in agreement.
"Oh, right, weren't we supposed to send that box of gold ingots to the Luo family?" Yun Lie cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and asked casually.
"Let's also get one of these as a return gift. After all, we've received a lot of favors from them before, so it's only right to give back in kind."
Manager Chen didn't think much of it at the time and agreed.
Only after watching Yun Lie leave did Steward Chen belatedly frown, look back at the pots of purple-backed sunflowers with a puzzled expression, and mutter to himself.
"When did Your Highness and Princess Jinhui become so close, like siblings, that you even remembered to return the gift?"
The old man couldn't figure out the mystery, and shook his head as he walked, finding it increasingly strange.
For no apparent reason, he had a lingering, subtle feeling in his heart—
I always felt that Princess Jinhui's potted plant was just something that was "incidentally" added.
Chapter 18
On the first day of the new year, the Luo family's custom is to stay home and not do anything else, but simply eat, drink, laugh, and play leisurely.
Luo Cuiwei slept until the sun was high in the sky before getting up.
For the past two days, she seemed to be in a gloomy mood, feeling frustrated, depressed, lost, and embarrassed. All sorts of complex emotions piled up, causing her usual tough and assertive demeanor to collapse completely.
However, ever since she cried in front of her father and received his guidance, she has felt much better. In addition, she had a lively drinking session with her family on New Year's Eve and slept well today. All the bad things seem to have vanished with the sound of firecrackers from the old year.