Chapter 165 Can You Think of Me More?

Rong An was guarding the gate, staring blankly at the leaves of the sycamore tree beside him, when he heard the emperor's voice from inside, "Rong An, fetch some water!"

He shuddered and quickly told his apprentice Xiao Tang to get some hot water and brought it in himself.

Entering the study, I saw the emperor standing by his desk, looking refreshed, while the imperial concubine sat on a stool beside him with her back to the door.

This, this means...

He seemed to have seen this situation before.

After all, even the Imperial Concubine has some inconveniences...

Don’t look at, listen to or speak anything indecent!

Rong An muttered these words silently in his heart, and said to the emperor with a smile, "Your Majesty, the water is here, do you see?"

Lu Haozhi nodded, "Put it on the table, go down!"

Rong An left the washbasin on the table, bowed and walked out.

Lu Haozhi wrung the towel twice in hot water, walked up to Meng Yan, and said with a smile, "Yan'er, shall I wipe your hands for you?"

Meng Yan tidied her clothes, glanced at him, and without saying a word, she pulled the towel over and wiped her hands and dress carefully before putting the towel back into his arms.

This was extremely rude, but Lu Haozhi didn't mind at all. He walked over to the wash basin, wrung the towel out again, and came back eagerly with a smile on his face, "Yan'er, do you need more?"

Meng Yan looked at his pitiful appearance of being extremely cautious, and sighed softly after a while, "Your Majesty, we must know when to stop at a certain limit in everything. I can barely lift my arms, but luckily my clothes aren't stained much. Otherwise, how could I have walked out of the threshold of Zhonghe Hall?"

Lu Haozhi said repeatedly, "Yan'er is right, it's all my fault. Tomorrow, I will ask the needlework bureau to make two more skirts for you."

"This skirt is fine, but we need to buy a few new clothes every year." Meng Yan couldn't help but complain, "But Your Majesty should always be sensible in what he does. How can you be so careless when you are such a grown-up? If I had known, I would have refused Your Majesty's request. Your Majesty, please promise me that it won't happen again."

Lu Haozhi ignored this and simply said, "Hangzhou has just sent a bolt of silk as tribute, and it will arrive in the capital in two days. After you present it to your mother, the Queen Mother, you can choose the rest. Autumn is almost here, so you should buy some new clothes."

Guarantee that there won’t be a next time?

He doesn't guarantee it!

You are not joking. Is he stupid?

Meng Yan could well guess what he was thinking. She felt both angry and amused. She didn't confront him directly, so she didn't bring it up again. Instead, she said sternly, "I came here today to discuss a serious matter with His Majesty. Princess He'an will be five this October. According to palace rules, every princess over five years old should begin her education in Xiefang Palace. I can teach her to read and write, but I'm so overwhelmed with my own affairs that I can't afford to hire a teacher to teach her properly, and avoid delaying the princess. But we're all living in the garden right now, and according to the Empress Dowager's wishes, we won't be returning to the palace until the New Year. So I thought, once we've found someone suitable, we'd have them come to Shanghe Garden to teach the princess."

Lu Haozhi listened and nodded, saying, "This is a serious matter. Let's do as you say. You will decide who will teach the princess. If you are really embarrassed, you can ask the Queen Mother."

Meng Yan smiled and said, "I have my eyes on three female teachers. They were all the princess's teachers when the late emperor was still alive. Now there is only Doukou in the palace, so there is no need to mobilize many people. Just invite one of them. Since the emperor said so, I will mention it when I pay my respects to the empress dowager this afternoon."

She had arranged everything properly, and Lu Haozhi had no objections. However, he said with some displeasure, "It's clear that you only care about your children and don't even want to spend any time on me. When you have more children in the future, I don't know where you'll throw me."

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about!"

Meng Yan opened her eyes wide and couldn't help but scold.

I don’t know what’s wrong with Lu Haozhi now. He actually gets jealous of a little kid. It’s really ridiculous.

Lu Haozhi knew that this was not right, but he just couldn't help it. The feeling of being ignored by her before was really uncomfortable.

He walked over to the bench, sat down beside her, and said to her, "Let me settle this with you. All these days, you've only given me a morning glory sachet. If I hadn't looked for you, you wouldn't have come either. The reason I came to Zhonghe Hall today is actually about Doukou. Yan'er, I'm not stingy. Could you, could you please think of me a little more..."

Meng Yan looked at the tangled expression on his face and couldn't help but chuckle. She took his arm, rested her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the princess has grown up after entering school. I will arrange a separate place for her to live and won't let her sleep with me all the time. No matter how many children we have in the future, they will eventually grow up and leave me to start their own families. Only Your Majesty and I will always be together, slowly growing old together."

The soft voice melted away the slight depression in Lu Haozhi's heart.

These simple words made him feel more at ease than any vows of love.

The two of them snuggled together, enjoying the rare quiet time, and chatted for a few minutes about family matters. Meng Yan figured she couldn't disturb him from handling state affairs anymore, so she stood up and left.

Back at Chunzezhai, Ruizhu came to greet them, offering them a cup of Biluochun tea. She then said, "The Duke of Anguo's Mansion sent a message saying that the old lady fell ill after returning home and is now bedridden. I'm afraid the cancellation of the engagement will have to be delayed."

Meng Yan sneered. "In my opinion, they're just trying to hold out until my brother returns. Seeing my brother as a sincere man, who hasn't seen their frivolous tactics, let Zheng Fangchu's sweet words coax my brother into changing his mind. If my brother refuses to break off the engagement, I naturally can't say anything more. They're really hoping for the best. It's no big deal that the old lady is ill. I vaguely remember that the head of the Zheng family is still alive. Have Dong Sanbao take my name card and visit Old Master Zheng's residence, explain the situation, and have the head of the family come forward. Just be absolutely courteous. And when they go, add a message: Miss Zheng San is old, and it's better to make arrangements early. I suspect that as long as the Zheng family still has some dignity, they won't tolerate the mother and daughter of the Duke of Anguo's mansion acting recklessly."

Ruizhu obeyed the order and hurried to explain to Dong Sanbao.

In the afternoon, Meng Yan went to Shou'an Academy as expected and talked to Empress Dowager Jiang about hiring a female teacher for the princess.

Empress Dowager Jiang had nothing to say. She carefully looked at several people with her and finally chose a lady named Su who came from a scholarly family.

This lady was the daughter of a great scholar of the time. In her youth, she was a renowned talent in the capital. She had been a companion to the late Emperor's Princess Ninghua and later married a Hanlin scholar, enjoying a harmonious marriage. Unfortunately, fate had not been kind to her, as the Hanlin scholar had died young. Now a widow at home, she was the perfect choice to tutor the princess.

After the candidate was decided, the Ministry of Rites sent out a letter of invitation to recruit him.

Madam Su, who had been idle at home for a long time, readily accepted this prestigious commission. However, before she could even enter the garden, the epidemic plaguing the capital spread.