Although her father treated her even better after her mother and brother passed away, she was already a grown woman by then, and it wasn't appropriate for her to always cling to her father and act spoiled towards him.
Moreover, her father had many things to do, and she didn't want to cause him any trouble, so she became even more obedient and sensible than before. She would do whatever her father asked her to do, and she would not do anything he forbade her to do.
She herself couldn't remember the last time she had tugged at an elder's sleeve and acted coquettishly, listening to the elder laugh and comfort her.
Song Shi couldn't stop smiling because of Yao Youqing's words. There was no trace of her former stern and cold demeanor. She patted the girl's hand and said, "It's good that you don't find it boring."
...
"My master's wife is very happy, so my master is also very happy. I really have to thank the princess."
At the border camp, Douzi happened to run into Wei Hong and said to him with a smile.
In the letter Li Tai wrote to him, he talked a lot about Yao Youqing's recent interactions with Song Shi, mainly from Song Shi's perspective, saying how happy Song Shi was and how she always had a smile on her face.
“In the past, when Master wrote letters, he would only give a few simple instructions and ask about my recent situation. This time, he wrote a full three pages, which shows that he was in a really good mood.”
"I heard that the princess is also preparing to make a set of clothes for the teacher's wife, and the fabric she chose is in a very bright color."
"Ever since the passing of Master's and Mistress's daughter, Master's wife has never worn brightly colored clothes again. She wears simple clothes every day, even during festivals."
Douzi excitedly recounted the changes in Li Tai and his wife, her joy overflowing.
He was taken in by Li Tai when he was five years old. Although they have always addressed each other as master and disciple, he has long regarded Li Tai and his wife as his parents in his heart.
Now that they were happy, Li Dou was naturally happy too. When he saw Wei Hong, he couldn't help but say a few more words. It was only after Cui Hao kept giving him meaningful glances, telling him to shut up, that he stopped, not understanding why, and ran away with a random excuse.
Wei Hong returned to his tent with a sullen face, feeling a lump in his throat that he couldn't exhale.
Although he had learned some information about Yao Youqing's recent situation from Cui Hao, it was mostly about how well the princess was doing and how she often visited the Li residence to keep Lord Li and his wife company. It wasn't as vivid and detailed as what Douzi had told him.
That's clearly his wife, yet she lives on in someone else's letters. How is that possible?
Moreover, in all the time he and Yao Youqing had been married, Yao Youqing had never written him a letter or sent him anything when he left.
It was one thing before, since they weren't close back then, but now...
Now, apart from not having consummated their marriage, aren't they no different from any other couple? Why doesn't she think to write him a letter to inquire about his well-being or have someone send him something to show her concern?
Or does she simply not care about him at all? Even now, she still feels that he forced her into this marriage, and that she was unwilling to accept it?
"The princess still cares about the prince."
Cui Hao said from the side.
"Look, the clothes she sewed for you are thicker than your other clothes, which shows that she was afraid you would get cold."
When Yao Youqing packed Wei Hong's luggage this time, she also brought the clothes she had made for him.
Wei Hong was reluctant to wear it when he went out on inspections, and only wore it when he was in the camp.
Once, when all the generals were in the tent to discuss matters, Wei Hong tugged at his clothes and said he was hot, asking someone to move the charcoal brazier further away.
After saying that, she added, "Women are such a hassle, making such thick clothes."
So everyone knew that the clothes were made for him by the princess. Some quick-witted people immediately said that the prince and princess were a loving couple, and that the princess made the clothes so thick because she cared about the prince.
Wei Hong was happy to hear that back then, but he's not happy now.
She only did it because her mother told her to; it wasn't something she wanted to do herself.
But the clothes she made for Song were definitely something she wanted to make herself; he knew that without even asking! Just like when she made clothes for Yao Yuzhi.
Although Wei Hong didn't say these words, Cui Hao could roughly guess them.
Because when Wei Hong went to the backyard in a fit of rage that day, he followed him and stood outside the door, overhearing the conversation inside.
Cui Hao didn't know how to persuade her, and only hoped that the people he sent to Cangcheng could arrive as soon as possible and bring back the princess's letter.
...
"A letter from home?"
Yao Youqing frowned slightly as she looked at the person in front of her.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a letter from home,” the man said with a smile. “Anything else is fine too. As long as it’s something you want to give to the Prince, you can give it to me.”
"I just happened to be back on business. When I went to Lord Li's place earlier, they asked me to take some things back to Douzi. The families of my other brothers also asked me to take some things. I was thinking of asking you here if you have anything to give to the Prince. I can take it back now and save myself the trouble of delivering it separately later."
As he spoke, he patted the bulging bundle he was carrying in his hand to show that many people had asked him to carry things for them.
Everyone else was concerned about the gifts sent by their relatives at the border, so Yao Youqing naturally couldn't refuse to send any, otherwise it would seem like she was sulking with Wei Hong.
So he could only nod and tell him to wait, while he went back to his room to write a letter.
Actually, she had thought about writing a letter to Wei Hong a few days ago, but when she thought about how he took her undergarment before he left, she got angry and put down her pen without writing a single word.
Now that someone has asked her, she thinks there's no need to stay angry anymore.
Although the prince was quite unconventional in his sexual affairs, always doing things that embarrassed and annoyed her, he was otherwise good.
With that thought in mind, Yao Youqing wrote down some words of concern from the bottom of her heart. She finished writing the letter in no time and gently blew on it to dry it.
Just as she was about to put it in the envelope, she remembered something, her eyes darted around, and she picked up her pen to add a sentence at the end. After adding it, she carefully sealed the envelope. Just thinking about Wei Hong's expression when he saw the last sentence made her want to laugh.
The visitor took the handwritten letter and a cloak to keep warm, smiled, and took his leave, speeding back to the border camp.
Wei Hong was handling official business at the time. When he heard that Yao Youqing had delivered a letter and a cloak, he paused slightly but did not look up.
"Just leave it there, I'll check on it later."
Cui Hao nodded, put the things down, and left.
As soon as the curtain was drawn, Wei Hong eagerly reached out to take the letter from home.
No sooner had he reached out than the curtain, which had already been lowered, was lifted from the outside. Cui Hao poked his head out and said, "Your Highness, I forgot to tell you earlier, Young Master Lian sent someone to deliver this year's earnings. He said that you should check them and reply to him as soon as possible. He may have to leave for a while and won't be back for a while."
As the curtain was lifted, Wei Hong quickly withdrew his outstretched hand as if stung by a bee, touched his head, and pretended to tidy his already meticulously combed hair: "I understand."
Cui Hao then lowered the curtain again and left. After the curtain fell, he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Inside the tent, Wei Hong waited a while longer to make sure no one would disturb him before taking the letter home, unfolding it, and reading it word by word.
Yao Youqing is not good at hiding her thoughts. If she is asked to write words of concern, they will be full of loopholes and easily seen through.
However, the letter was fluent and coherent, without any trace of deliberate effort, and it was indeed written in her usual tone, indicating that it was truly written by her without any interference or guidance.
The tightness in Wei Hong's chest finally eased, and a smile gradually appeared on his lips.
The smile froze when he saw the last sentence, and his expression became slightly stagnant.
At the end of the letter, which was full of concern, the girl asked: "Did Your Highness change your socks today?"
He looked at the characters, which were slightly larger than the others, and quickly realized that Yao Youqing was deliberately trying to annoy him. He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, then grabbed a piece of paper, wrote a short reply, and had it sent back that same day.
Yao Youqing received a reply, which contained only two sentences.
I haven't changed it yet. I'll wait until I get back and give you a piece of my mind.
Yao Youqing laughed out loud when she saw the letter and wrote an even shorter reply.
When Wei Hong opened it, the first thing he saw was three words: Stinky Prince!
The character for "stink" was written exceptionally large, taking up half the page.
Chapter 58 Interesting Stories
Wei Chi's expression immediately changed, and with a bang, he ripped open the cage door, intending to grab the parrot inside and strangle it.
The little creature was quite clever; it seemed to sense that he was about to harm it, and as he reached out, it pecked him hard in the tiger's mouth with its sharp beak.
Wei Chi winced in pain and instinctively withdrew his hand. Looking down, he saw that the spot where he had been pecked was bleeding profusely.
The palace servants were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they shouted for someone outside to summon the imperial physician.
Wei Chi caught a glimpse of the parrot flying out of its cage out of the corner of his eye and shoved it away.
"Grab it! Grab it for me!"
But the parrot eventually flew away, leaving nothing but a wound on his hand.
The official who sent the parrot intended to curry favor with Wei Chi, but instead, he was implicated by the bird.
He repeatedly protested his innocence, saying that he had never taught the parrot to say any foul language.
But this parrot had only been delivered a few days ago, and apart from Wei Chi, only his close palace servants could serve it; ordinary people couldn't even touch it.
The palace servants knew that this was Wei Chi's parrot and that it was impossible for it to have been taught to say something like "fart." Therefore, Wei Chi was certain that the parrot had learned the word before it was sent to the palace.
The official was speechless and had no choice but to accept the punishment.
...
The internal strife in the Jin Dynasty brought peace to the Shangchuan border, sparing the people from the suffering of war.
Wei Hong stayed at the border camp for a while longer, and after making inquiries from various sources and confirming that there would be no major battles this winter, he returned to Cangcheng.
He didn't inform Yao Youqing in advance when he went back, because he wanted to give her a surprise. But when he arrived, he found that Yao Youqing wasn't home at all, but had gone to Li Tai and his wife's place.
"...Is she planning to stay there?"
Wei Hong muttered to himself, then turned and went to the Li residence.
The Li family mansion was usually very deserted; if you didn't see people inside, you would think that no one lived there at all.
But as soon as he stepped into the inner courtyard, a burst of playful noise came from inside. If he hadn't been sure that this was the Li residence, Wei Hong would have thought he had gone to the wrong place.
He slowed his pace, causing the servants behind him to stop as well, and peered through the flower-patterned windows in the courtyard wall.
They saw the medicine boy, Guo'er, with a straw mouse tied to the end of a rope, dragging it around on the ground. Little Ke'ai was chasing after him, while Yao Youqing and Li Tai watched and chuckled.
Not far from them was Li Dou, who had recently returned to Cangcheng with Wei Hong. It was likely that he was the one who made up the story about the rat.
Sometimes Guo'er would deliberately stop, and just when the little cutie was about to catch the mouse, she would pull the rope forward again.
Just as the mouse was about to be caught, it ran away again. The little cutie cried out in panic and started chasing after it again with its short legs.
Wei Hong frowned and muttered casually, "Stupid dog."
His voice wasn't loud, but the dog inside suddenly stopped, pricked up its ears, and looked around warily. As it looked around, it backed away and shrank towards Yao Youqing's feet, whimpering softly.
Mr. and Mrs. Li were puzzled: "What's wrong with our little cutie?"
Guo'er's eyes darted around, and she said something innocent to the mouse.