Ji Yunwan smiled, said goodbye, and left.
After she left, Wei Hong looked at the house and murmured, "It really hasn't been repaired in a long time..."
Cui Hao immediately chimed in, "Yes, Miss Ji is right. This front yard is the face of our Prince's Mansion, and it should be carefully repaired."
"However... once construction begins, it will likely cause quite a stir and disrupt Your Highness's work. I think Your Highness should move to the backyard temporarily and move back once the frontyard is repaired."
Wei Hong hummed in agreement and nodded reluctantly: "That's fine then."
Chapter 33 Ning'er
“Then I’ll have someone prepare a larger courtyard for the Prince.”
Yao Youqing said this after learning that Wei Hong was moving to the backyard.
"this……"
Cui Hao looked somewhat troubled.
"The best courtyard in the backyard is the main courtyard. After all, the prince is the head of the prince's mansion. It would be inappropriate to let him live elsewhere."
The implication was that Wei Hong should live in the main courtyard.
Yao Youqing quickly said, "It's not that I insist on occupying this courtyard. It's just that it's all arranged the way I like, and there's no time to change it in a short period of time. I'm afraid the Prince won't be used to it, so I wanted to make room for him elsewhere. Since that's the case, then I..."
"No, not at all."
Before she could finish speaking, Cui Hao interrupted her with a smile.
"Your Highness is never picky about where you stay. You should have noticed that when you were traveling with us. I'm only saying this because it's inappropriate for someone of Your Highness's status to stay elsewhere while living in your own courtyard."
"Also, it's inconvenient for servants to come and go in the inner courtyard, and the prince is not used to having maids serve him closely. So, the princess will have to take care of his daily life. Please bear with me for a while. I will come to invite the prince back once the front courtyard is repaired."
In other words, Wei Hong not only had to move into the inner courtyard, but also had to live with her, so Yao Youqing had to give up her idea of moving elsewhere.
“Alright,” she nodded, “then Lord Cui, have someone move the prince’s things over. I don’t know what the prince’s habits are, so you can arrange it as you see fit, and I’ll have someone make room for him.”
Cui Hao agreed and immediately had Wei Hong's belongings moved over.
Wei Hong actually had quite a lot of things, but not many were used in daily life. In the end, apart from some official documents and books, he only brought a few sets of clothes for daily change.
The clothes were placed in the inner room, and the official documents and books were placed in the study. After everything was arranged, Yao Youqing's place remained basically unchanged, just like before.
"That's about it. If Your Highness needs anything else, I'll have it sent over."
Cui Hao said.
Since we've only agreed to stay temporarily with Yao Youqing, it's not appropriate to move all our belongings here now. We can move them gradually later.
Yao Youqing didn't think much of it. After everything was settled, she asked Wei Hong some questions about his daily habits, whether there was anything special that needed attention, so that the two of them wouldn't have any disagreements over trivial matters during their time living together.
Cui Hao answered each question, and Yao Youqing had them written down. Only after confirming that there were no other questions did she have him sent out.
"Qiongyu, have you remembered everything Lord Cui just said?"
After Cui Hao left, she asked a question.
Qiongyu nodded and handed her the list.
The record contained everything from Wei Hong's eating habits to his daily routine. Yao Youqing instructed her to send the food information to the kitchen in the backyard and to inform the servants of his schedule so that they would not neglect him during his stay, thus causing Wei Hong displeasure and also incurring their own punishment.
Qiongyu responded and left, while Zhou Mama accompanied Yao Youqing back to the inner room. After Yao Youqing sat down, she asked, "Is the Princess willing to let the Prince move in?"
“Of course I’m willing,” Yao Youqing said. “Anyway, it’s only for a short period of time. Once the front yard is repaired, the prince will move back. Why wouldn’t I be willing?”
"Besides, after the prince got married, he gave me this inner courtyard and moved to the front courtyard himself. He just wants to come back and stay temporarily now, so how can I be so petty about such a small matter?"
Seeing that she didn't take the matter to heart at all, Zhou's mother shook her head and chuckled.
"But won't the princess feel uncomfortable with someone suddenly being in the room?"
Yao Youqing picked up a half-finished garment from the side, frowned, and said, "There will definitely be some things I'm not used to, but since I'm already married to the Prince, what does it matter if I'm not used to it? Just like the Prince isn't necessarily used to having another person like me in the Prince's mansion. There's nothing we can do about it, we can only bear with it."
Then she turned to ask Zhou's mother if the stitching on that dress was a little crooked and if it needed to be altered.
Helpless, Zhou's mother smiled and talked to her about the clothes, then dropped the topic.
...
Wei Hong went out during the day and didn't return until evening.
The servants in the main courtyard had clearly been instructed, and they were not surprised to see him come in, nor did they ask him what he had come for as they usually did.
He returned late. Yao Youqing had already finished bathing and was playing with the little cutie in the room. Hearing the noise, she got up and came over, looking up at him with her little face and saying, "Your Highness, you're back."
Wei Hong hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on her delicate face before quickly sweeping over her slender shoulders and willow-like waist. He then looked away, walked to the clothes rack, and raised his hand.
When Zhou's mother went to help him change his clothes, he glared at her and told her to get out.
Mrs. Zhou was taken aback: "But..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Wei Hong's gaze and realized he didn't want to repeat himself, so she bowed and left. Before leaving, she glanced at Yao Youqing with a worried look in her eyes.
Yao Youqing had heard from Cui Hao that Wei Hong disliked maids serving him closely, and seeing that she had chased Zhou Mama out while she herself was still standing in front of the clothes rack with her hand outstretched, she understood that he wanted her to help him change his clothes. So she went over and reached out to take off his outer robe.
She had never served anyone before. Although she had learned before getting married, she had never done it herself, so her movements were very clumsy. It took her a long time to untie her belt.
In fact, Wei Hong only used to be served like this when he was in the palace. After he came to his fiefdom, he often ran between the battlefield and the military camp, and he no longer had such troublesome habits.
But as soon as he saw Yao Youqing, he inexplicably stood by the clothes rack and opened his arms.
This was Yao Yuzhi's pampered daughter. She clearly had never done anything like this before, and her movements were somewhat clumsy. If it were any other servant, she would have been scolded and sent aside long ago.
But now he felt that taking it slow was fine. He looked down at the top of her hair, which was almost touching his chest, and smelled the familiar fragrance that wafted to his nose as they got closer. He wasn't in a hurry at all.
She was so thin that she looked even thinner because she was only wearing a single layer of clothing before going to bed. Her slender waist looked so delicate that it seemed like it would break at the slightest pressure.
Despite her slender figure, her body underwent some changes as she grew up, with her clothes slightly bulging and revealing subtle yet undeniable curves.
Wei Hong slightly lowered his raised hand, making a gesture of closing it, as if he were estimating how much she had grown. His gaze gradually lingered on that spot, unable to look away, until the girl looked up and he followed suit, looking elsewhere.
After taking off his outer robe, he had someone bring in water to prepare for a bath.
After the servants fetched the water, he dismissed them and walked into the washroom without closing the door, waiting for Yao Youqing to come and serve him as before.
But girls are shy, and she hesitated in place for a long time without moving.
Wei Hong waited for a long time but no one came. He knew that this was really too difficult for her, so he had no choice but to go back, close the door, and take a bath by himself.
Seeing that he didn't force her, Yao Youqing breathed a deep sigh of relief, stuck out her tongue, and turned to look at the little cutie. She found that the little cutie was pacing back and forth anxiously in the room for some reason, and occasionally letting out a low whimper.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Yao Youqing asked.
The little cutie barked twice, seemingly trying to express something, but unfortunately, humans and dogs don't understand each other, and Yao Youqing couldn't understand it at all.
It grew increasingly agitated in the room, whimpering incessantly. When it heard noises from the bathroom and the door opened and the person inside came out, the dog froze, then quickly darted to its bed, grabbed it, and headed for the door.
Unfortunately, the dog was small and its kennel was large, making the task quite difficult for it. It twisted its body and dragged and pulled for a long time before finally managing to get its kennel to the door, then turned around and scratched at the door.
Yao Youqing finally understood: it wanted to move out and didn't want to live in this house anymore.
She gave Wei Hong an awkward smile and explained in a low voice, "My little cutie is probably used to living with me and isn't used to having another person in the house all of a sudden."
Wei Hong didn't say anything, but walked over and opened the door.
The little cutie immediately jumped over the threshold and turned back to grab its doghouse, but the doghouse got stuck on the threshold. It pulled and pulled for a long time without success until Zhou's mother looked down and saw it and pulled it out.
As soon as the dog and its kennel were outside, Wei Hong closed the door again without saying a word, and pulled Yao Youqing back to the bedside: "Go to sleep."
After saying that, he blew out the candle in the room.
Yao Youqing usually leaves a dim nightlight on when he sleeps, but he turned off all the lights.
The room was plunged into darkness. She groped her way down and sat down, about to ask him which side he preferred to sleep on, when she heard a deep male voice from the darkness: "Go inside."
Yao Youqing nodded, took off her shoes, lay down on the inside of the bed, and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt.
Wei Hong lay down beside her and covered her with another blanket they had prepared in advance.
The two lay on the same bed, covered by two blankets, staring blankly at the top of the tent. They were both a little nervous, and neither of them fell asleep immediately.
Darkness subconsciously heightens one's senses. The eyes strain to see things clearly, the ears perk up to hear sounds, and even the nose becomes more sensitive than usual, unconsciously taking a light sniff of the faint fragrance emanating from the side.
Wei Hong's body began to feel hot again in the fragrance, and his emotions, which he had been able to barely control, gradually became restless.
He shifted slightly, frowning, and said, "What kind of face powder did you use? Don't use it again."
Yao Youqing paused slightly, then murmured softly, "I didn't use any face powder..."
It didn't work?
"Then what's that smell on you?"
The girl shrank back at his words, pulled the blanket up to cover half her face, and looked very embarrassed.
Although he couldn't see clearly because of the darkness, he still felt that she must have blushed.
“I… I was born with a fragrance when I was little, so my mother wanted to give me the nickname Xiang’er or Xiangxiang.”
"But Father thought it was too common, so... he gave me the nickname Ning'er, which means... fragrance lingering in the bones."
As she spoke, she pulled the blanket up a little higher and muttered softly, "If you ask me, it would be better to just call her Xiang'er."
Wei Hong looked at her two eyes peeking out from under the covers, which were fluttering slightly with shyness. Her eyelashes were like light feathers, which made his heart tremble and his breath catch in his throat.
"Ning'er..."
He repeated the sentence.
"It sounds beautiful."
Chapter 34 Indigestion
Although she was a little shy when mentioning her nickname, Yao Youqing smiled with her eyes crinkling when she heard Wei Hong say it sounded nice.
Her tense mood eased a little because of the brief conversation. Thinking that Wei Hong didn't like the smell on her, she moved further to the inside of the bed.
"I'll stay away from the prince so he won't be able to smell it."