He slid one hand down to support the back of her neck, and wrapped the other around her waist and back. "You're going to turn on us after admitting defeat? That's a feigned surrender. If..."
Perhaps seeing that he was trying to pester her again, she hurriedly raised her hand and covered his mouth.
Yun Lie chuckled and pulled her close to his chest, his rapid heartbeat gradually calming down.
After a long, silent embrace, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "I'm afraid you'll try to trick me, so I must make this clear first: if you intend to call me nameless and without status, then I will..."
“Your Highness Prince Zhao is actually chasing after a girl for a title,” Luo Cuiwei was so flustered by his teasing that she laughed and leaned on his shoulder. “Alright, I’ll definitely give you both a title and a status.”
She has always been a very straightforward girl; once she figured out what she wanted, she was fearless.
What does it matter if the Prince Zhao's mansion is penniless?
She was able to take on the responsibility of the Luo family in a time of crisis and manage to hold on until Luo Fengming gradually grew up. She must have a way to help Yun Lie escape the tragic fate of leading his troops to exploit the land.
"So, this is your way of proposing to me?" Yun Lie nodded to himself, as if he were being aggrieved. "Alright, I agree."
Luo Cuiwei was dumbfounded. After a moment, she gave him a light kick, both amused and exasperated: "I really want to see what's going on in your head."
Yun Lie smiled vaguely, looked up at the sky, his ears turning bright red, "Then look in the mirror."
Luo Cuiwei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his shoulder, and laughed.
It turns out that not everything in storybooks is a lie.
She suddenly believed that this scene would become the most tender memory of her prime years.
—I really want to see what's going on in your head.
—Then look in the mirror.
This is the guy, the jerk who always unexpectedly stuffs her with sweets, that's for sure.
She wanted to walk alongside him through the long years, until their hair turned white and their fingers intertwined as they looked back on their youth.
For no reason at all, she just had a premonition—
This may be the biggest business deal she has ever made in her life.
A sure-fire way to make money.
****
The following afternoon, Luo Cuiwei accompanied Yun Lie to meet Emperor Xianlong.
There's really no need for further explanation; the sweet, almost palpable scent between the two is so strong that it could make anyone eight miles away shudder.
Emperor Xianlong had many children, and Yun Lie was not particularly favored by him, but he was still his son after all, and he did not intend to be the bad guy in this matter; the reason why he refused to agree to Yun Lie's request to help him propose marriage was simply because he was not sure what the girl from the Luo family was thinking.
After all, he was the most shameless person in the world. If he was rejected when he asked for a wife for his son, how could he continue to be the emperor?
Seeing the significant difference between the two today, he understood the situation.
Since Yunlie cherished this girl and insisted on handling the matter through a "marriage proposal" ceremony, and the Luo family girl had obviously made up her mind as well, he was happy to make this a happy occasion.
After chatting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yun Lie had roughly figured out what his emperor was thinking, so he took his leave and left the main hall of the palace with Luo Cuiwei.
After walking a distance and seeing that no one was around, Luo Cuiwei approached Yun Lie and said with a hint of regret, "Just now, from what I was hearing, His Majesty's harem... seems a bit too lively. Does he really know who's who?"
Yun Lie scoffed softly and reached out to grasp her fingertips.
"Not to mention the harem, even among the princes and princesses in the inner city, especially the very young ones, he sometimes can't tell them apart."
No one would believe it if I told them, but it's the truth.
However, Emperor Xianlong himself sometimes couldn't tell the difference, but it wasn't a big deal, since he had plenty of people around him who could tell the difference for him.
Luo Cuiwei clicked her tongue inwardly, and after a while, she suddenly turned her head warily and glared at Yun Lie.
Noticing her gaze, Yun Lie didn't wait for her to speak before immediately glaring back at her: "I'm not like him."
“Oh, that’s true,” Luo Cuiwei nodded, looking straight ahead, “You couldn’t afford to support too many wives.”
That was true to some extent. Yun Lie was speechless, and could only give her a helpless smile.
Mentioning this, Luo Cuiwei coughed lightly twice, feeling a little embarrassed, and gently shook the hand she was holding with him.
"You said a couple of days ago that you kept a record of the New Year's gifts and money that others sent to your house, and that you wanted to return them?"
"Um."
Having already decided in his heart that Luo Cuiwei was the one he wanted to spend his life with, Yun Lie became even more open and honest about his poverty in front of her.
“Two years ago, your Linchuan army ‘borrowed’ five cartloads of grain outside Songyuan City,” Luo Cuiwei chuckled in a low voice. “If that’s recorded in your ledger, you can just cancel the record later.”
Yun Lie paused, his face blank for a moment, then he smiled with relief: "It really is yours."
"Who else could you have guessed as the creditor besides me?" Luo Cuiwei was quick-witted and immediately understood the hidden meaning in his words.
In this way, she could understand why Yun Lie had reluctantly agreed to meet with her in the first place.
They only gave her face because they suspected she might be one of the creditors.
"...And Huang Jingru." Yun Lie hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her the truth.
Although he felt that given the terrible relationship between the Luo and Huang families, Luo Cuiwei would most likely get furious upon hearing this name.
As expected, Luo Cuiwei did not "disappoint" him, immediately raising an eyebrow and sneering: "Who is so blind?"