****
She gently bit the corner of her smiling lips with her pearly teeth, her eyes reflecting only his image.
Yun Lie maintained a calm demeanor despite his burning face, but his heart was pounding wildly inside his chest.
Although I've known about her feelings for me for a long time... but seeing her like this now...
Ugh, it's a complete mess.
Seeing several teacups on the table, Yun Lie's eyes gleamed, and he walked over, picked up a cup, and gulped it down.
"Hey, that's..." Luo Cuiwei couldn't stop him in time and could only watch helplessly as he drank it all in one gulp.
—That was the cup I drank from.
The atmosphere inside the brocade tent was somewhat ambiguous. Luo Cuiwei didn't dare to speak anymore and could only glare at him angrily with a flushed face.
Yun Lie's face seemed even redder than before.
As he put the empty cup back in its place, his thumb lightly brushed against the rim.
There used to be a faint trace of lip rouge there, but now there is nothing there.
Only the sweet white glazed porcelain shines with a pure and innocent luster.
In this situation, Luo Cuiwei didn't have the courage to look directly at him. Her face flushed, and she turned her head to the side, pretending that she hadn't seen anything.
She always felt that this person was doing it on purpose.
Yun Lie smiled silently, picked up the teapot, and refilled the cup.
Yes, he did it on purpose.
How can a man of strong character always be teased by a young girl until he blushes and his heart races?
You should tease them back occasionally.
After all, no matter what kind of relationship it is, it always needs to be reciprocated to last.
He understands this principle.
hey-hey.
****
Emperor Xianlong's close attendant, Du Fushan, arrived outside the brocade tent, respectfully smiling: "Your Majesty requests that His Highness Prince Zhao come over for a chat."
Yun Lie agreed, glanced at Luo Cuiwei first, and then turned to follow Du Fushan.
Emperor Xianlong thoroughly enjoyed watching the battle today, and his face was radiant, as if he was still immersed in the intense atmosphere just now.
"Fifth Prince has finally unleashed his full potential today," Emperor Xianlong laughed heartily. "Excellent! This is truly the style of the Yun family's descendants!"
The simple and straightforward compliment made Yun Lie slightly taken aback. He thought to himself, "I didn't do this for you. I don't understand why you're so happy."
He thanked her calmly yet respectfully.
"Tell me, what reward do you want?"
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Yun Lie's mind.
He wanted many things, such as the Ministry of War stopping its excuses to delay the payment of provisions; and more compensation for wounded and discharged low-ranking soldiers, preferably with monthly allowances so they wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing after returning home...
But he also knew that he couldn't say these things, as it would be useless and would only anger the old man sitting high in the chair, causing him to turn hostile on the spot and lead to endless trouble.
Since he couldn't say these things, Yun Lie thought for a moment and decided to ask the Luo family for the status of a Golden Feather Imperial Merchant under the Shaofu (a government agency).
"Father..." Yun Lie had only said these few words when his mind suddenly went blank for some reason, as if possessed by something strange, and he blurted out, "Propose a marriage for your son."
It was a marriage proposal, not an imperial decree to grant a marriage.
Emperor Xianlong was taken aback by this precious sentiment.
"Which family's daughter is it that you like so much?" After a moment, Emperor Xianlong asked with a chuckle, a mischievous smile in his slightly aged but not senile eyes.
He doesn't act like an emperor; he's more like an elder from an ordinary family teasing their children and grandchildren, asking questions they already know the answer to.
Yun Lie blushed as if he had been splashed with paint; he really didn't understand why he had blurted out such a sentence.
After a brief pause, Yun Lie frowned, raised his head, his mind still buzzing, and with a righteous and awe-inspiring face, solemnly corrected, "It's her who likes me."
Emperor Xianlong rubbed his temples and looked at his son suspiciously for a long time.
Does this fifth prince think his father is blind?!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After spending half a day at the mountaintop hunting grounds, Emperor Xianlong felt slightly tired after lunch. He then ordered everyone to enjoy themselves as they pleased, and he himself returned to his palace halfway up the mountain for a midday rest.
After the polo match, since it was inconvenient to bathe at the hunting ground camp, the princes only made do by wiping themselves down and changing their clothes. It was not easy to endure being sticky all over for so long, so Emperor Xianlong summoned them to go back to the palace to soak in the hot springs.
Quanshan is a treasure trove of hot springs, and the palace has been meticulously built with many hot spring rooms of different sizes and styles, with exquisite furnishings and complete amenities.
Emperor Xianlong naturally went to the largest Ziying Pavilion, and Prince An, Yun Huan, obediently followed, not forgetting to "please his knees" even while bathing in the hot springs; Princess Jin Hui, Yun Pei, and Princess Huan Rong, Yun Xi, each chose one of the two medium-sized hot spring rooms not far from the Ziying Pavilion, silently expressing their dislike for each other.
At this moment, Yun Lie was filled with unease and just wanted to get away from that "unreasonable old man" in Ziying Pavilion, so he deliberately went to a small hot spring room in the very corner.