Chapter 40 Return Gift.

November arrived in the blink of an eye. Winter days are short. After lunch, Daiyu had only been reading for a while when she looked up again and saw Zijuan bringing over lit candles.

Zijuan laughed and said, "It's hard on the eyes, but you should rest too, or your neck will hurt."

Daiyu closed the book and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's past 3:45 PM," Xueyan said as she came in from outside. "Miss, it looks like it's going to snow."

"A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest," Daiyu said with a smile.

Zijuan smiled and said, "It's just that the roads are slippery in the snow, so it's not good for us to go out."

Xueyan blinked: "Even if it doesn't snow, you shouldn't go out too much. It's so stuffy inside. You should go out for a stroll when the sun is shining again."

Daiyu took a sip of warm water and said, "It's so heavy to wear so many layers of clothes when we go out. Let's wait until it gets warmer."

Upon hearing this, Zijuan burst out laughing: "Miss, I must speak up for you."

Daiyu coughed lightly and lowered her head to drink water to cover it up.

Xueyan asked curiously, "Sister Zijuan, who are you speaking up for?"

"Are you stupid?" Zijuan tapped her forehead. "The furs that the prince sent are both light and warm. If you say they're heavy, isn't the prince being unfairly accused?"

Xueyan suddenly realized: "That's right, Miss, you have so many good winter clothes this year. I haven't seen you wear them much since you've been cooped up indoors all day. But is it warmer inside than in previous years, or is it just too cold outside this year?"

Xueyan had a new question, and Daiyu took the opportunity to say, "This year the underfloor heating is hot, and there are more incense burners and braziers, so it's naturally hotter than in previous years."

She tried to gloss over what she had just said, but Zijuan said with a grin, "This is all thanks to the Prince. The charcoal used in the incense burner today was sent by the Prince!"

Because Prince Duan was constantly worried that Miss Lin wouldn't have a good winter and sent her all sorts of gifts, the Jia family naturally didn't dare to take him lightly.

Daiyu blushed: "Zijuan, if you say another word, you won't be serving me tomorrow!"

The young lady blushed as she reprimanded someone, which lacked any authority. However, Zijuan knew that if she continued, the young lady would truly become embarrassed and angry. Therefore, she quickly bowed and said, "This servant will stop here. Please have another cup of water, young lady."

It's hot and dry inside, and you'll easily get a sore throat if you don't drink enough water.

Daiyu lowered her head and drank another cup of water. It took a while for the blush on her face to fade.

Chu Heng did not visit again in the past two weeks, but their correspondence continued, and Zhao Qing, one of the two nannies of the Prince of Zhao, had already found out the truth.

Both Zhao Wang and his brother were from the west and had many relatives. However, they had chosen to remain in the palace after their marriage and hadn't seen their families much in years, so they didn't have much affection for each other. They also didn't expect their brother's children to support them in their old age.

Over the years, they have received many rewards in the palace and are not short of money. Their only worry is that they lack a powerful backer. The Empress Dowager favored them because they were unattached and not easily threatened.

The benefit the Empress Dowager gave them was that it truly resolved their worries. They were concerned that it would be unsafe for them to be old with a lot of money on them and no one to rely on. Was there any more reliable support in the world than the Empress Dowager?

Chu Heng and Daiyu both thought it was acceptable.

The Empress Dowager is almost fifty, while the Prince of Zhao and his brother are not yet fifty. How many years can they rely on the Empress Dowager as their patron? Once the Empress Dowager is buried in the imperial mausoleum, will they still have the ability to find another patron for themselves?

Although Prince Duan and his wife cannot match the Empress Dowager's power, they are young. When Prince Zhao and his wife pass away, they will still be young and strong, and will be able to protect them for the rest of their lives.

Not knowing if the Empress Dowager had any other tricks up her sleeve, Daiyu didn't openly mention turning the Empress Dowager against her. Instead, she mentioned to her former nannies that she would take care of them when they got old, and that she would also need to make a plan with the Prince so that the old servants in the household would be taken care of.

Whether the King of Zhao and his companion will be tempted remains to be seen.

Najib has set the date for November; this visit is just a formality, after which he will begin preparing for the Chinese New Year.

As December arrived, Chu Heng visited again, this time to deliver New Year's gifts to Daiyu.

Daiyu knew he would definitely come, so she prepared a return gift in advance. Unlike Chu Heng's several large trunks, she only had a small trunk.

Chu Heng exclaimed in surprise, "For me?"

Besides the return gift from the betrothal ceremony, Daiyu later gave him a purse, which Zhao Qing brought back. Chu Heng regretted it for a long time, and he wanted to receive it from Daiyu himself.

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's the New Year, and I can't keep accepting Your Highness's gifts for nothing. Please don't mind that my gifts are meager."

"I don't mind..." Chu Heng blurted out, then realized he had said something wrong and quickly corrected himself, "Miss Lin, what are you saying? It's not about the weight of the gift, but the sentiment behind it."

Daiyu's smile deepened: "I'm glad Your Highness doesn't mind."

Chu Heng hurriedly said, "I cherish it so much..." But that didn't seem right, so he stopped himself and rubbed his fingers together. "Miss Lin, I will be going to the palace to stay in a few days and won't be able to come out until after the Lantern Festival."

If he continued, Chu Heng feared he would say something inappropriate, so he quickly changed the subject.

Daiyu was a little taken aback, and after a moment she said, "There are many things to do during the New Year, Your Highness, please be careful in everything you do."

Once he entered the palace, he was completely under the Empress Dowager's watchful eye. For Chu Heng, every day must have felt like an eternity.

This interruption made Daiyu forget to delve into the words Chu Heng blurted out in his haste.

Chu Heng said in a deep voice, "You too."

For more than a month, they had been unable to communicate. If anything happened to Daiyu, Chu Heng could not immediately take care of her. This was what worried him the most. His aversion to living in the palace had become secondary.

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's getting late, I'll see the Prince off."

Chu Heng nodded and said to the numb Grandmother Jia on the bed, "Grandma, farewell."

As Grandmother Jia watched them leave, she sighed wearily. The old woman beside her advised, "Grandmother, it's always a good thing that the Prince has Miss Lin in his heart."

"The prince has Lin's heart, but Lin's heart doesn't belong to this family. In the end, she's useless," Grandmother Jia said dejectedly.

The old woman continued, "The old lady and Miss Lin are blood relatives after all. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. You should coax her well and treat her better in the future. The relationship can always be salvaged."

Grandmother Jia shook her head: "Whether it's a compromise or not, Lin's mind remains unchanged. Whether it's good or bad, that's how it is."

"Old lady..." The old woman leaned closer, "We should always keep the Prince's family as relatives. Whether the Prince helps us or not is another matter. It's better to treat Miss Lin well than not. The Prince isn't a magnanimous person. We can't let him hold a grudge against us."

Grandmother Jia glanced at her. Because of the discussion about Daiyu, the servants in the house always looked at Prince Duan with trepidation, fearing that he would one day fly into a rage and find fault with them. After all, they had no idea what Miss Lin had said to Prince Duan in private.

They were terrified and dared not flatter or fawn over Prince Duan, so they urged their master to do so.

However, one sentence truly resonated with Grandmother Jia: she genuinely didn't want to antagonize Prince Duan, but... wasn't Daiyu being treated well enough at home?

Even I, her ancestor, am no match for her!

Daiyu, who was outside, couldn't hear Grandmother Jia's thoughts, but even if she did, she would have nothing more to say.

"Your Highness, please rest assured, I am doing well now. There is no need to worry about the servants at home or the two old women of the Empress Dowager." Daiyu's eyes were filled with worry. "There are many troubles in the palace. Compared to me, Your Highness should be more careful in everything you do."

Seeing that Daiyu cared about him, Chu Heng's heart softened instantly. He said softly, "I lived in the palace for so many years, I know everything, so don't worry."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I've been in this mansion for more than a year or two, Your Highness, please rest assured."

Chu Heng smiled helplessly: "Yes, Miss Lin, I'll rest assured. Take good care of yourself."

Daiyu nodded and smiled, "See you after the festival."

Chu Heng traced her eyebrows and eyes, and said softly, "Okay."

Having agreed, Chu Heng remained motionless, his eyes still fixed on Daiyu.

Daiyu's ears burned, and she lowered her eyes, asking softly in confusion, "Your Highness?"

Chu Heng finally came to his senses. He pinched his earlobe, which had been burning hot for a moment, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll go back first."

Only after Chu Heng turned around and his footsteps faded into the distance did Daiyu look up at him.

Prince Duan was born with a pair of amorous eyes.

...

When they got off the carriage back at the Prince's residence, Chu Heng insisted on carrying the small box that Daiyu had given him. Zhao Qing anxiously said from the side, "Your Highness, don't hurt your hand, give it to me..."

Chu Heng said impatiently, "What injury? Even if I'm weak as a chicken, do you think I can't even lift something this small..." He suddenly paused, "When I was little, I listened to my wet nurse tell stories, and I even said to myself... that when I grew up, I would learn martial arts so that I could become a great general."

Later, Chu Heng became weak due to poisoning and suffered from constant illnesses, making it impossible for him to practice martial arts again. As a result, no one remembered these childish words from his childhood.

Zhao Qing sensed something amiss in his master's tone and immediately fell silent.

Chu Heng carried the box into the house, carefully opened it, and was stunned when he saw it.

Chu Heng's zither playing was excellent, and Daiyu had expressed her appreciation for it. Therefore, he found all of his zither scores and gave them to Daiyu in their entirety. For the incomplete scores, he discussed with Daiyu how to complete them to make them more perfect.

Daiyu copied these musical scores, and the scores that the two of them had completed were all in this box. Chu Heng carefully opened one of them, and he suddenly looked forward to the day when he would pluck the strings and let Daiyu hear these tunes.

That day was not far off, Chu Heng thought, taking out the sheet music one by one and arranging them carefully, not realizing there were others underneath.

During this time, Chu Heng also gave Daiyu many chess manuals. When they were at Longhua Temple, she had brought up playing chess on her own initiative. Later, Chu Heng asked her about it in a letter, and she confirmed that she did indeed like chess.

Chu Heng's chess skills were terrible, but he had a lot of ancient chess manuals in his library. When he had nothing to do, he would take them out and have Zhao Qing give them to Daiyu one by one.

Some of these chess scores were incomplete, but Daiyu has now completed them, copied them, and given them to Chuheng.

Chu Heng was speechless for a moment, then chuckled softly.

Does she mean that Chu Heng's chess skills are too poor, and she is afraid that she will have no one to play against in the future, so she wants Chu Heng to practice his chess skills so that he can play against her in the future?

Chu Heng muttered to himself, "This is really too much for me."

Even so, the smile on his face lingered for a long time, clearly delighted by Daiyu's slightly mischievous surprise.