Xiahou Ling replied, "Every spring is the busiest time for the eldest daughter. She hardly leaves the house and has to make do with her meals in the study."
The people Xiong Xiaoyi had arranged to keep watch outside the Luo family's gate hadn't left yet, and Yun Lie naturally knew exactly whether Luo Cuiwei had gone out each day.
Upon hearing that she was so busy that she could only eat and drink in her study, Yun Lie immediately stopped caring about her neglect in not being able to visit in person, and instead frowned.
"Isn't Luo Fengming going to help?"
Xiahou Ling was taken aback when he suddenly inquired about the Luo family's affairs. After a moment, she smiled and replied, "The eldest young lady said that she has a fiery temper and is prone to offending people. In recent years, she has handed over the affairs of going out to Young Master Fengming, which can be considered a division of labor."
Is Luo Cuiwei impulsive?
Yun Lie's eyes narrowed, completely unable to imagine what that soft and delicate Thornberry would look like when she got angry.
She never lost her temper in front of him, not even a hint of impatience.
Indeed, everyone has many facets. Luo Cuiwei is different in front of, cough cough, the person she likes... compared to when she's in front of others.
"Will she be able to finish her work before the Spring Equinox?" Yun Lie looked up at the sky, his hands behind his back.
"Well... it's hard to say," Xiahou Ling said cautiously, glancing at him. "Does Your Highness intend to invite Miss Xiahou Ling for a spring outing during the Spring Equinox?"
She felt that His Highness Prince Zhao's expression and posture at this moment revealed a strange excitement and anticipation, but also a hidden tension and trepidation.
It's like a child who did something they thought they could take credit for, but suddenly worries that they might have unintentionally messed things up.
"No, I was just asking."
****
On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, when the imperial envoy's procession arrived at the Luo family's gate and read out the imperial edict that "the Luo family has been appointed by His Majesty to accompany the imperial entourage on the spring hunt at Quanshan on the third day of the second lunar month," Xiahou Ling finally understood why Yun Lie had asked that question that day.
As soon as the imperial envoy left, the Luo family was thrown into chaos.
Being able to travel with the Emperor is certainly a good thing for the Luo family; however, both Luo Cuiwei and Luo Fengming are currently extremely busy, and whichever of them goes means that the person left at home will have to do the work of two.
The Luo family in western Beijing is a large and prosperous family business. Even with Luo Cuiwei and Luo Fengming working together, they are both so busy that they feel dizzy and lightheaded. If one of them were to take on the work of two people, it would be exhausting to imagine working non-stop for almost a month.
Luo Cuiwei is not Zhuo Yu's biological daughter. Although Zhuo Yu tries to treat the three children equally in daily matters, she sometimes has her own selfish desires as a mother.
She called Luo Fengming aside, hesitated for a long time while twisting the silk handkerchief in her hand, and finally said, "Why don't you go? After all, many things are ultimately decided by the eldest sister. You staying at home are not as useful as her staying at home."
Luo Fengming was always obedient to his mother and couldn't say anything to refute her, so he could only say with difficulty, "Let my sister consider it."
The Left and Right Junior Treasurers gave each family two days to consider and report which members of their household would accompany them.
"Then, then the eldest sister will definitely let you stay!" Zhuo Yu said anxiously.
“If my sister wants me to stay, she must have her reasons,” Luo Fengming sighed, unsure how to explain this to his mother. “In any case, it’s definitely not because she doesn’t want to take on this hardship that she wants me to stay.”
Zhuo Yu frowned deeply, her handkerchief almost twisted into a pretzel.
“Fengming, think about it again. Is it appropriate for Eldest Sister to go on an occasion like accompanying the Emperor? After all, unlike you and Cuizhen, she hasn’t received a proper education at the academy. What if she…”
Although Zhuo Yu didn't know much about outside affairs, she clearly understood that "Luo Cuiwei was a ruthless and unruly person when she got serious."
Besides being reluctant to let her son shoulder the heavy workload for a whole month on his own, she was also worried that if Luo Cuiwei accompanied the emperor on his travels, a single mishap could bring great disaster upon the Luo family.
It should be noted that Luo Cuiwei usually interacted with all sorts of people, merchants and farmers, and rarely saw anyone in formal or prestigious settings.
Although she suddenly became close to Prince Zhao's residence before the New Year, and apart from having her New Year's gifts returned, nothing major happened, and Prince Zhao even personally came to apologize, Zhuo Yu thought it was just good luck.
Zhuo Yu felt that Prince Zhao was, after all, a soldier, and was known for his forthright and unpretentious nature. He was not one to fuss over trivial matters, which was why Luo Cuiwei hadn't made any mistakes in front of him.
But when accompanying the emperor on a spring hunt, one is facing His Majesty the Emperor, which is a completely different matter.
“Although my sister never attended an academy, she was raised and educated by our father himself,” Luo Fengming disagreed with his mother’s concerns, his refined and handsome face full of protectiveness. “Although she can be a bit impulsive at times, she always knows her limits in her words and actions and has never made any major mistakes.”
Although Luo Fengming's temperament and skills are still somewhat immature, he is not a fool.
During the years that Father was unable to manage affairs due to his injuries, if it weren't for my eldest sister taking the lead and supporting him as he grew up, the Luo family's situation would have been even worse than it is now.
He didn't believe his elder sister would be so impulsive as to behave inappropriately in front of the emperor; in his heart, his sister was the most clever and understanding person.
Seeing the hint of displeasure in her son's eyes, Zhuo Yu quickly tried to make amends, "Actually, it's not that I'm unwilling to let my eldest sister work hard, but I've already made arrangements to look for some suitable families for her. I was just thinking that once this busy period is over, I'll take her to choose a suitable marriage! If she goes, it will take another month or so to go back and forth, and all the good things will be delayed."
She certainly wouldn't dare say these things in front of Luo Cuiwei, since Luo Cuiwei usually treated her with enough respect, but wouldn't really let her do whatever she wanted.
She knew that Luo Cuiwei cared deeply for her younger siblings, and that she would never refuse any request made by Luo Fengming and Luo Cuizhen.
Therefore, she hoped to persuade Luo Fengming to ask Luo Cuiwei for permission to accompany her on the spring hunt.
After hearing his mother's words, Luo Fengming thought about how his elder sister was not young and had been busy with family matters for the past few years, which had indeed delayed her marriage.
After pondering for a while, he said, "In that case, I will ask my sister to go to the main courtyard with me to hear what Father has to say."
****
Luo Cuiwei's birth mother suffered postpartum hemorrhage, and even though the Luo family spent a lot of money to hire a famous doctor, she could not survive until her daughter was a month old.
Luo Huai mourned his wife for two years before marrying Zhuo Yu under his parents' arrangement. A year later, they had Luo Fengming.
However, Luo Huai had only recently taken over as head of the family and was often away on business. He worried that his daughter would be mistreated by her stepmother when he was not at home, so he took Luo Cuiwei with him and took care of her personally.
Although later events proved that Zhuo Yu was not a wicked stepmother, Luo Huai had become accustomed to having Luo Cuiwei by his side. Unless it was a particularly long or dangerous journey, he would definitely bring her along to feel at ease.
This daughter, whom he had carefully cared for and personally raised, was his most precious treasure.
However, it was precisely because of this that Luo Cuiwei was unable to attend a proper academy and receive education like her younger siblings.