On the afternoon of the third day of the ninth lunar month, Luo Cuiwei, who was alone at home, took her usual half-hour nap before getting up and sitting in the side hall, fiddling with the abacus beads and thinking about her next plans.
A short while later, the maid Tao Yin respectfully announced outside the side hall door, "Your Highness, Young Master Gao Zhan has arrived at the village entrance."
"Welcome in, welcome in," Luo Cui said with a broad smile and a long sigh of relief. She put the abacus and account books aside, stood up, and smoothed her skirt. "Never mind, I'll go and greet them myself to show my sincerity."
Accompanied by Tao Yin, Luo Cuiwei arrived at the village entrance and was taken aback by the scene before her.
"...I...I only asked you to help oversee the construction of the Prince's Mansion..." Luo Cuiwei composed herself, pointing to the long convoy behind Gao Zhan that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, "You brought so much luggage?!"
Gao Zhan jumped down from the carriage shaft, his noble and elegant face filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion. "Only five cartloads are my luggage; the rest are for you!"
This young master was always a carefree person, and he didn't care about his refined image. He happily ran over and stood in front of Luo Cuiwei.
“Xiao Weiwei,” he looked at Luo Cuiwei’s face with a mixture of sympathy and emotion, “you’ve lost weight…”
As he spoke, he inexplicably reached out to her, wanting to pat her shoulder.
Before Luo Cuiwei could react, Gao Zhan cried out "Ah!" and pulled his hands back to his chest, his handsome features contorted in pain.
She quickly turned around and saw Yun Lie staring coldly at Gao Zhan as he strode over. She couldn't help but smile.
“Xiong Xiaoyi,” Yun Lie stared coldly at Gao Zhan, then turned to Xiong Xiaoyi behind him without turning his head and said, “Chop off his hand.”
Gao Zhan was startled by Yun Lie's gaze and said in a tight voice, "Your Highness, I... I still need to draw up the construction plans for your new palace!"
"Don't worry, I will have someone teach you how to hold a pen with your feet," Yun Lie said with a serious expression. "It's always good to have more skills, young man. It's never a bad thing to learn more."
----2018/3/27 1:12:32|53077290----
Chapter Sixty
In fact, Luo Cuiwei was also startled by Gao Zhan's sudden gesture of reaching out to her. However, she had dealt with him before when she was in the capital and knew that he was simple-minded and playful. She also knew that he would always be more friendly in front of familiar people, so she didn't think he had any malicious intentions.
Seeing that Xiong Xiaoyi behind Yun Lie was already rolling up his sleeves in a very serious manner, seemingly about to go up and tie someone up and chop off their hands, Luo Cuiwei sighed helplessly and gently tugged at Yun Lie's sleeve.
“It’s not right to be so harsh on a guest,” she paused, then lowered her voice and said, “You just kicked a pebble and hit his hand, that counts as teaching him a lesson.”
After all, Gao Zhan was someone she had specially invited from the capital to help her; he was, after all, her guest.
Yun Lie lowered his eyes to look at the slender fingers clinging to his sleeve. His annoyance subsided slightly, and he composed himself, saying calmly, "It was just a slip."
His Highness Prince Zhao cannot admit that he just committed the childish act of "kicking a stone to ambush someone".
Having escaped unscathed, Gao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief and then respectfully bowed to Yun Lie and Luo Cuiwei.
The luggage Gao Zhan brought from the capital filled ten carriages, half of which were entrusted to him by the Luo family to bring for Luo Cuiwei.
Jewelry, cosmetics, new clothes for all seasons, and newly published novels from the capital... The entire Luo family was clearly worried that Luo Cuiwei would not have a good time in Linchuan, and they had taken care of all her needs for food, drink, and entertainment.
However, the Luo family clearly underestimated the desolation of Linchuan. They never expected that Luo Cuiwei was still stuck in a small village with fewer than a hundred people. Her many expensive clothes were currently of no use to her.
What made Luo Cuiwei want to roll her eyes the most was that her stepmother thoughtfully prepared a carload of baby clothes and toys for her.
"So much stuff, where to put it is a big problem." Luo Cuiwei muttered with a wry smile, turning to Yun Lie for help.
Yun Lie lowered his eyes, concealing his worries, "Let's put those that we don't need for now into the granary at the threshing ground."
Not to mention that it's not yet harvest season in the village, even when it is harvest season, the granary has never been full. It could easily hold ten or eight cartloads of luggage.
Luo Cuiwei nodded, leaving the matter of settling the luggage to Yun Lie, while she, accompanied by Tao Yin, took Gao Zhan to settle into his accommodation.
Following Yun Lie's instructions, Xiong Xiaoyi immediately gathered some men to transport the luggage to the granary in the threshing ground.
"Move the things in this cart to the courtyard," Yun Lie instructed Xiong Xiaoyi, pointing to the cart loaded with baby clothes and toys.
"Didn't we just say that anything we don't need for the time being should be moved to the granary?" Xiong Xiaoyi scratched his head in confusion. "Could it be that Her Highness the Princess...?"
Yun Lie gave him a cold glance: "Stop talking nonsense. Just do as I say."
You can never be sure what a child can do. After all, he's always "trying his best," and who knows, he might suddenly need it someday?
****
As night fell and they got into bed, Luo Cuiwei, unusually, didn't wait for Yun Lie to come and rescue her; instead, she snuggled into his arms.
The candle by the bedside was still lit, and in its flickering light, Yun Lie's profile was clearly defined, his dark eyelashes drooping slightly. Although his eyes were closed, the way his arms were suddenly wrapped tightly around him indicated that he was not asleep.
"You seem troubled today," Luo Cuiwei said with a slight frown, gently brushing aside his long, drooping eyelashes. "What's wrong?"
Yun Lie didn't open his eyes, but simply hugged her tighter, his throat bobbing several times, but in the end he said nothing.
His appearance made Luo Cuiwei even more uneasy, so she simply used two fingers to press against the upper and lower eyelids of his right eye to pry it open. "What kind of hero keeps his mouth shut?"
Seeing her persistent questioning, Yun Lie simply rolled over and pinned her down, his gaze fixed on her with a forlorn look, and spoke in a low, deep voice.
"Weiwei, do you feel...wronged?"
Although he was a prince, he had been stationed on the border for ten years and was often short of money. He had long been accustomed to the simple life in Linchuan and did not find it particularly difficult.
But the things the Luo family brought to Luo Cuiwei today reminded him once again that he really owed her a lot.
"Why are you suddenly being so dramatic?" Luo Cuiwei glared at him with a smile, then put her hand on his shoulder. "There aren't many couples who only share wealth and happiness but don't share hardships. I don't feel wronged, so don't overthink it."
Yun Lie's gaze swept over her face several times, and only after confirming that there was no trace of her forcing a smile did he say guiltily, "From now on, I will give you the best of everything."
"Okay," Luo Cui smiled and nudged him, "Go to sleep quickly. We'll both be busy afterward, and we'll probably have to schedule our time to get a full night's sleep."