"I'll take your money; as for your life, I'll lend it to you to go to Linchuan for now. Just remember to pay me back with interest as soon as possible."
As she spoke, her chin lightly rested on Yun Lie's right shoulder, and her delicate earlobes, seemingly stained with vermilion, brushed against his cheek.
Yun Lie trembled, a sudden surge of heat coursing through his body, and his arms tightened involuntarily.
Noticing this, Luo Cuiwei quickly sat up straight in his arms, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling as she smiled at him, changing the subject, "Where did you get the money?"
As he spoke, he held up the half of the gold seal in his hand and shook it in front of him.
"Is it strange that I, a prince, am rich?" Yun Lie smiled, his long, thick eyelashes concealing the complex thoughts swirling in his eyes. "The Ministry of War has made up for the winter rations owed to the Linchuan army."
Due to obstruction by someone in the Ministry of War, the troops coming to Linchuan have almost never received their quarterly rations and pay on time in recent years.
When Yun Lie first encountered this situation, he had just begun leading troops and had little experience with the intricate undercurrents and complexities of the court. He immediately wrote a memorial in anger, impeaching the Ministry of War for dereliction of duty.
Since the Ministry of War dared to do this, it must have had someone backing it up, and it had already planned and prepared a backup plan.
On the very day that Yun Lie's memorial impeaching the Ministry of War was presented to Emperor Xianlong, the convoy carrying the Ministry of War to reissue rations and pay to the Linchuan Army also set off from the capital.
After reading the memorial, Emperor Xianlong summoned the Minister of War and received their well-prepared, high-sounding, and impeccable explanation. He also learned that the supplementary rations and pay had already been sent out of the capital to Linchuan. On the spot, Emperor Xianlong wrote a red annotation on Yun Lie's memorial, admonishing him to be more considerate and tolerant of the temporary difficulties of various departments in the court, and not to easily submit memorials to impeach him, lest he damage the dignity of the imperial family.
After suffering this setback, the inexperienced Yun Lie learned his lesson. In the future, whenever the provisions were delayed, he would try his best to draw money and provisions from the accounts of his Prince Zhao's mansion to deal with the emergency.
The constant borrowing from Peter to pay Paul inevitably plunged the Prince Zhao's household into financial chaos, causing him, a prince who had already established his own household, to experience the bitter taste of being so poor that he had to struggle to make ends meet from time to time.
"So, although the Ministry of War will delay the distribution of rations and pay, it will eventually make up for it in full?" Luo Cuiwei lazily leaned her head back on his shoulder, somewhat puzzled.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Yun Lie nodded and replied casually.
As she spoke, Luo Cuiwei relaxed silently, her eyelids grew heavy, and her voice became muffled, "Since the money will be paid in full in the end, won't you be able to get back the money you advanced before?"
“Oh, usually when the previous season’s pay arrives, the next season’s pay is already in arrears,” Yun Lie smiled nonchalantly. “Over time, the accounts of the Prince Zhao’s mansion and the Linchuan army become so tangled that I sometimes get too lazy to bother with the details and just let it go.”
“No wonder…” Luo Cuiwei murmured with her eyes closed.
The prestigious Prince Zhao's mansion was so poor that it was almost destitute, simply because His Highness Prince Zhao was too lazy to keep detailed accounts.
This was utterly absurd for Luo Cuiwei.
You must understand that in the Luo family, even among blood relatives, if it's just a small amount like a copper coin, and it's agreed beforehand that it's an advance payment, then it must be settled clearly. There's no reason to let it be forgotten in a muddled way.
In her drowsy state, she pondered that after finishing up with the Luo family's affairs, perhaps she should find a way to sort out the accounts between the Prince Zhao's Mansion and the Linchuan Army...
"Uncle Chen said you haven't eaten anything all day, so I had someone cook you some porridge."
After a long silence, Yun Lie turned his head and glanced around, only to find that the person in his arms was surprisingly unreserved—
She leaned on his shoulder and fell asleep!
Yun Lie glared at the person who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, his resentful eyes expressing strong condemnation and dissatisfaction.
But in the end, he couldn't bear to bother her.
After carrying her back to the main hall's bedroom and gently settling her on the bed, Yun Lie asked someone to bring hot water. He personally washed Luo Cuiwei's face, who was half-asleep, and then patiently coaxed her, removing her outer robe.
When he returned after washing up, Luo Cuiwei had already fallen into a deep sleep, seemingly beyond the heavens.
Yun Lie climbed onto the bed with a grumpy expression, carefully pulled her into his arms, and silently pouted.
He knew, of course, that Luo Cuiwei had been so busy these past few days that she was like a spinning top that never stopped, and was utterly exhausted. She couldn't possibly be as nervous and shy as an ordinary bride. But to fall asleep on her first night in the mansion before her new husband had even had a chance to do anything "indescribable" was really a bit too much.
But what could he do?
Of course, I should forgive her.
****
Perhaps because she was not used to sleeping in the same bed, Luo Cuiwei woke up groggily around 3:00 AM.
She hummed lazily as she turned to her side, and a handsome, unrestrained profile immediately came into view beside her pillow, startling her so much that she froze.
Fortunately, the red candle on the bedside table hadn't gone out, otherwise she might have been terrified.
Yun Lie, who had already woken up, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, remaining silent and unmoved.
As the memories of last night before she fell asleep returned, Luo Cuiwei's drowsiness vanished, replaced by a guilty conscience and apology.
On her very first night at the mansion, she had a major falling out with her new husband, something she had never expected.
"I'm sorry, I'm just... too tired." She bit her lower lip lightly, looked at his profile with pleading eyes, and poked his arm with her hand.
Yun Lie snorted, "Don't try to provoke me."
The way he endured all the grievances yet kept quiet made Luo Cuiwei unable to suppress a chuckle.
Annoyed by her laughter, Yun Lie glared at her fiercely.
"Okay, okay, I won't bother you anymore." Luo Cuiwei quickly stopped smiling, shrank back into the bed, and distanced herself from him, her attitude of admitting her mistake was extremely sincere.
Seeing Yun Lie lower his eyes and glare at the gap between the two of them, Luo Cuiwei looked at him anxiously, "Is this still bothering you? Well, how about I change rooms?"
As he said this, he actually tried to sit up.
Yun Lie stretched out his arms and pressed her down, pulling her into his embrace. He gritted his teeth and resigned himself to his fate: "Go to sleep."
"My head isn't big... Hey!"
Luo Cuiwei was secretly laughing and arguing in his arms, but he suddenly pinched her waist, and she immediately froze, her eyebrows drooping and her eyes wide, not daring to breathe.