Chen An had been by Yun Lie's side since he was five years old, and he still vividly remembered all of Yun Lie's small, unattainable wishes.
“Uncle Chen,” Luo Cuiwei sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead, “His Highness is an adult now, he can’t be treated like a child…”
If someone were to run up to Yun Lie right now and say, "Come on, be a good boy and come with me to the street, I'll buy you candy," he would probably punch them in the face.
The old steward looked up at the sky, pondered for a moment, then slapped his forehead and came up with another idea.
****
"A lantern market?" Yun Lie's eyes clearly showed some surprise.
After talking with the head steward for a long time, Luo Cuiwei was no longer nervous, but now, standing in the courtyard in front of the kitchen facing Yun Lie...
Her palms started sweating again.
Luo Cuiwei secretly clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands, trying her best not to smile too stiffly: "Uncle Chen said that he hasn't had time to buy a lamp yet."
Before the New Year, every household changes their lanterns, and on New Year's Eve, they also hang small lanterns of various shapes under the eaves to add color.
“The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. There are too many things to do today, and it seems that there are not enough people in the manor. Uncle Chen’s idea is to ask Your Highness…” Luo Cuiwei suddenly choked and swallowed.
Yun Lie stared at her for a long time, his long fingers hanging at his side twitched, but in the end he did nothing.
"Your face is very pale," he frowned slightly, his thin, resolute lips pressed into a straight line, and after a moment he said in a low voice, "Is it because you applied too much face powder?"
Luo Cuiwei instantly forgot her nervousness, her eyes widening suddenly—
There are probably very few girls in the world who would like to hear such words.
Especially since the girl wasn't wearing any makeup at all.
This is utterly humiliating! Disrespectful! Provocative!
Seeing the sudden rage in her bright eyes, mixed with a hint of resolute determination, Yun Lie felt a chill run down his spine. He took a small step back warily, his voice softening: "What are you glaring at? Are you afraid of me?"
He hadn't figured out where the problem lay, so he could only habitually issue challenges to establish his authority.
Although his guilty and uneasy appearance and tone of voice lacked any real presence.
Seeing that he showed no remorse for his outrageous mistake, Luo Cuiwei angrily took a step closer and grabbed his large hand—
It was pasted onto that clean and gentle face.
Not only that, she grabbed his slightly rough hand and rubbed it hard against her soft cheek twice.
Then, in a huff, she threw his hand back.
Her sudden action left Yun Lie completely dumbfounded, staring at her in disbelief.
"I didn't wear any face powder today! I'm just naturally this fair-skinned!"
Yun Lie could hardly understand her strong sense of pride in defending the authenticity of her beauty to the death.
After his throat bobbed several times, he slowly raised his right hand, stiffly showing her his palm—
"I was kneading dough in the kitchen just now."
Before I even had a chance to wash my hands, all five of my fingers were covered in flour.
Now it was Luo Cuiwei's turn to be dumbfounded.
She was so embarrassed she wanted to cry, but forced a smile: "I mean, I haven't been this stupid in a long time, do you believe me..."
Yun Lie was unsure whether he should answer this question; a strong sense of crisis was reminding him—
You should shut up; the more you say, the more mistakes you'll make.
His considerate silence did indeed offer Luo Cuiwei some comfort.
She raised her hand to wipe her dejected face and whispered, "I heard you've sculpted swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks?"
Yun Lie remained speechless in the face of this strange question and could only nod.
"Just lend me anything..." She wanted to use it to slit her throat and commit suicide.
At this moment, Luo Cuiwei was so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head, hanging her neck so that Yun Lie could see the top of her black hair.
Yun Lie lowered his head, suppressing a laugh, feeling as if an embarrassing white smoke might rise from her head at any moment.
He cleared his throat and kindly suggested, "Why don't you go wash your face first... and then we can go to the lantern market together?"
Luo Cuiwei nodded, then turned and ran.
After Luo Cuiwei turned around and ran away in a disheveled state to find water to wash her face, Yun Lie looked down at his right hand, which was covered in flour.
I belatedly recalled the sensation I had just felt.
She suddenly blushed.
Chapter 12
The lantern market is very lively during the Lunar New Year.
Even though it's broad daylight, merchants and vendors are still generously lighting up all sorts of lanterns for display, hoping to attract customers' attention.
With only two days left until Lunar New Year's Eve, families who hadn't had time to buy lanterns put down their work and rushed over, and the streets and alleys were teeming with people.