It's really baffling.
Chapter 23
Although Yun Lie came alone today and did not deliberately show off his identity, the name "Yun Lie" alone was enough to shock many people in the Luo family and leave them at a loss.
After all, although Emperor Xianlong had many children, only five princes held official positions; Yunlie was weak and powerless in the court, and his position was awkward; however, he had a reputation for integrity and uprightness among the people because of his meritorious service in defending the border.
Earlier, the gatekeeper of the Luo family was stunned and did not realize that the "Yun Lie" who came to block the door early in the morning and "demand an audience" with his eldest daughter was actually the famous "Prince Zhao, Yun Lie".
But this doesn't mean that everyone in the Luo family is slow to react.
When Zhuo Yu, the matriarch of the Luo family, learned that "His Highness Prince Zhao has come to visit the eldest daughter," she was at a loss for what to do. Not wanting to disturb her husband who was recovering from his injuries, she could only ask someone to call her son, Luo Fengming, to discuss the matter.
"It's almost noon, will His Highness Prince Zhao stay for lunch?" Zhuo Yu twisted the silk handkerchief in her hands, her brows furrowed even more deeply since the morning. "Should this hospitality be more elaborate, or more casual?"
To her surprise, Luo Fengming was even more flustered than she was. "This... the main problem is that we don't know what he's here for..."
Before the New Year, Yun Lie had just accepted the Huang family's invitation and met Huang Jingru, but immediately returned the Luo family's New Year's gifts. Luo Fengming knew this better than anyone else, and had long since given up hope for friendly exchanges with the Zhao Prince's Mansion.
To Luo Fengming's surprise, Yun Lie came to visit in person, leaving him completely bewildered.
Seeing that her son had no idea what to do, Zhuo Yu could only pace around in circles.
Just then, Luo Cuizhen sneaked into the main courtyard to talk to her mother, which was like walking into a trap.
"Look at your slovenly appearance, with your hair uncombed and face unwashed," Zhuo Yu, usually gentle, rarely put on a stern face. "Your older brother and sister are so busy, but all you do is laze around and sleep."
"Where did I slack off? I read for a long time last night and didn't lie down until before dawn, so I only slept for less than three hours..." Luo Cuizhen was stunned by the scolding, and then belatedly realized that she had washed her face and combed her hair!
She's just a child! It's the New Year right now, and the academy hasn't reopened yet. What can she do besides eat, drink, play, read, and sleep?
She wanted to help look at the account books, but her mother wouldn't allow it!
Seeing that she was still talking back, Zhuo Yu was slightly annoyed: "Not sleeping at night and not getting up in the morning, what kind of talk is that! You just..."
Seeing that her mother was about to start nagging, Luo Cuizhen clutched her head and threw up a lifeline: "Gao Zhan is here, having tea in the front hall!"
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Gao Zhan came to the Luo family's house and stayed all day. Luo Cuizhen and he became acquainted.
Gao Zhan was a cheerful and easy-going person. Luo Cuizhen called him by his full name, just like her older siblings, and he didn't mind at all. So Luo Cuizhen just started calling him that.
Zhuo Yu and Luo Fengming were both dumbfounded upon hearing this, wondering what kind of luck they had encountered this year.
Even when Luo Huai was in charge of the family, the Luo family had no connections with the important families in the court. That's why the Huang family, with just a minor county magistrate from Songyuan, managed to cut off the vital trade route to the north. Today, two people who would normally be impossible to invite have arrived one after the other. Now, they are having a headache about how to entertain them properly.
Zhuo Yu immediately lost the will to scold her youngest daughter and looked at her son with a worried expression.
Luo Fengming rubbed his temples and pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he pulled Luo Cuizhen over.
"Go quietly and ask your sister if she wants the guests to stay for dinner at our house; if she does, should we entertain them together with Gao Zhan, or should we have a separate table for them?"
It was already past 9 AM; if they didn't make preparations soon, there wouldn't be enough time for lunch. However, Luo Cuiwei and Yun Lie were still talking privately in the study, and it would be impolite to disturb them abruptly—
Such a rude thing seems less abrupt if a child does it.
"oh."
Luo Cuizhen didn't want to stay any longer to listen to her mother's angry nagging, and without asking who her sister's guest was, she obediently rubbed her sleepy eyes and dragged her steps toward her elder sister's courtyard.
****
Xiahou Ling had two people waiting outside the study. When they saw Luo Cuizhen coming over, they assumed she was bored and came to visit Luo Cuiwei, so they quickly stopped her.
Luo Cuizhen, still grumbling from her mother's scolding, was too lazy to listen to Xiahou Ling's explanation. Yawning, she yelled at the study—
"Sister! Mother and Luo Fengming asked me to quietly ask you if the guests want to have lunch at home!"
That earth-shattering shout was surprisingly "quiet".
Luo Cuiwei smiled apologetically at Yun Lie, got up and opened the study window, glaring at Luo Cuizhen outside with a smile: "What are you yelling about? Are you asking for a beating?"
"Uh," Luo Cuizhen finally came to her senses, a sheepish, ingratiating smile plastered on her fair, round face, "My apologies, my apologies."
Luo Cuiwei ignored her and turned to Yun Lie, asking, "Would you like to stay for lunch?"
Yun Lie came in a hurry today, only eager to clear up the misunderstanding and restore "friendly relations" with Luo Cuiwei.
The misunderstanding has been cleared up, and I have also told her that the Huang family knows Luo Cuiwei's whereabouts very well, reminding her to be careful of whether there are any Huang family spies in her home. There is nothing else to do for the time being.
But just as he was about to speak, he heard Luo's younger sister call out from outside again: "Oh, by the way, sister, Gao Zhan is here too. Luo Fengming asked if your guests are at the same table as Gao Zhan, or if you want to have a separate table?"
Yun Lie immediately swallowed the "no" that was already on his lips and met Luo Cuiwei's gaze. "Then I'll have to bother you."
Everyone came uninvited, so why is it that Gao Zhan gets to eat while he can only drink tea and leave?
That doesn't make sense.
****
Despite Luo Cuiwei and Luo Fengming's best efforts to smooth things over, the atmosphere at the meal remained strange and somber.
Yun Lie was never a smooth talker; he always had a cold and indifferent expression in front of strangers and was very sparing with his words.
In fact, Gao Zhan and he knew each other, but they had no contact, so Gao Zhan was categorized as "unfamiliar" to him. Among the Luo family members at the table, apart from Luo Cuiwei, the only person he had met before was Xiahou Ling, but that was all. To him, she was no different from a passerby.