****
When Luo Cuiwei woke up again, the light of a thin blue sky shone through the window, and the red candle by her bedside burned out.
Feeling weak all over, a large, warm hand with calluses was patiently massaging her aching muscles with just the right amount of force.
Seeing that she had woken up, Yun Lie chuckled in a low voice, "With your looks, you still dare to say that I can 'do whatever I want'?"
His deep, slightly hoarse voice sounded like a mixture of heartache and pride.
Luo Cuiwei's soft, raspy voice was thick with nasal tones: "What... threatened..."
She was clearly exhausted from last night; her mind was still a bit muddled and confused, and all her usual eloquence had vanished.
Seeing that she looked extremely tired and miserable, Yun Lie got up from the bed, casually put on some clothes, wrapped her tightly in a large brocade robe, and then carried her to the clean room.
Fortunately, it was still dark at this time, and most of the people in the mansion had not yet gotten up, otherwise Luo Cuiwei would probably have been too ashamed to face anyone.
Yun Lie first helped her sit on a chair in the outer room of the clean room, then went to the water-filling room next door and woke up the servant on duty.
After the hot water was prepared and poured into the inner pool, Yun Lie picked her up again and carried her around the screen into the inner room.
Seeing him reach out to lift the robe wrapped around her, Luo Cuiwei couldn't help but shrink back, pleading in a hoarse voice, "You're injured, please don't, please don't do anything rash."
She was so exhausted that she would love to take a quiet, "clean" bath; but if he started to "act recklessly," she probably couldn't handle it.
Yun Lie scanned her up and down with his deep gaze, then grinned mischievously and threatened her, "If you weren't going to do anything reckless, why would I have carried you in?"
As expected, Luo Cuiwei was so frightened that she jumped, her face turned bright red, her ears felt hot, and her heart pounded rapidly.
They couldn't even utter a word of begging for mercy; all they could do was pitifully shake their heads.
Yun Lie removed her robe, gently submerged her in the hot water of the square pool, and sat on the edge of the pool, giving her a knowing, amused glare.
"You're spineless." He maliciously scooped up some water and splashed it on her face.
The warm water reached over her shoulders, and Luo Cuiwei comfortably closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. Her head rested limply on the edge of the pool, too exhausted to care about his childish harassment.
Her voice was soft, languid, and tired, "In this kind of thing... I haven't planned to... be very ambitious..."
"Don't sleep yet, I need to talk to you about something." Yun Lie reached out and pinched her cheek.
Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Luo Cuiwei tilted her head back and gently opened her eyelids a crack.
"If I were to request that Linchuan be granted fiefdom, would you agree?"
Chapter 52
At this moment, Luo Cuiwei's mind was still a little fuzzy, and it took her a while to understand what he meant.
"How could you possibly think of... discussing such serious matters here?" Luo Cuiwei tilted her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“Because the scenery is so beautiful, if we don’t talk about serious matters,” Yun Lie turned his head away helplessly and with restraint, sighing softly, “I’m afraid I’ll do something improper.”
"What wind..." Luo Cuiwei straightened up and lowered her eyes, instantly becoming fully awake.
The water in the pool was crystal clear.
Clear to the bottom.
No matter what the "scenery" is, it is all laid out before you.
Immediately afterwards, His Highness Prince Zhao was, unsurprisingly, taken by his queen—
They were driven out of the clean room with scornful and indignant looks.
****
Despite the lighthearted banter, requesting fiefdoms was a significant matter for any royal household and naturally required serious discussion.
When Luo Cuiwei woke up from her afternoon nap, she was finally refreshed. She went to the study with Yun Lie and ordered someone to bring her a pot of jujube tea before they began to seriously discuss this important matter.
On the desk in the study was a map of the entire territory of Dajin.
"So, you've already decided that as soon as you get the chance, you'll request a fiefdom and avoid getting involved in the succession struggle?"
Luo Cuiwei stood in front of the table, asking the question calmly and rationally, as if the "seat of succession" was just a business deal of moderate size.
Yun Lie, who was following behind her, walked over and wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind, chuckling, "If you want me to fight for it, then I..."
"Am I that stupid?" Luo Cuiwei turned her head away from his embrace, giving him a playful and mischievous look. "If you become the crown prince, it means you will become the emperor in the future; if you become the emperor, then wouldn't I have to compete with many beauties in the harem for you? I won't do a deal that's obviously going to result in a huge loss."
"I knew you couldn't bear to part with me," Yun Lie said, his eyebrows raised and his eyes sparkling with smugness. "Don't worry, I guarantee you'll make a profit."
"Thank you so much."
Luo Cui smiled and gave a perfunctory reply, then turned back to examine the geomantic map thoughtfully, reaching out towards the plum-green teapot on the right side of the table.
Yun Lie gently patted her hand, and under her questioning gaze, he picked up a small pot, poured her a cup of fruit tea, and fed it to her lips.
"Unlike Yun Chi and Yun Xi, I don't have the support of my maternal family; nor am I as good at currying favor with the Emperor as Yun Huan. If I were to get involved in the struggle for the throne, my chances of winning would be slim; even if I managed to win, I might not be able to hold onto the throne."
Yun Lie patiently explained in her ear, "I understood long ago that requesting a fiefdom before the succession was decided was my best option."
However, his mother was confined to the inner palace her whole life, with a narrow and limited perspective, and never thought about these things.
Therefore, his mother was always disappointed by his "lack of competitiveness".