Chapter 64, first published on Jinjiang (2nd update) "Fourth Master wants to accompany..."

After viewing the lanterns, it was almost midnight.

Ruan Yu was already half asleep by the time she got to the end.

Chao Lu walked to her side, bent down and picked her up. Ruan Yu didn't wake up; she just adjusted her position and continued to sleep in his arms.

There were bedrooms on the painted boat. Ruan Yu had slept there for a while during the day. Now, Chao Lu was carrying her and put her on the couch.

Gazing at the person's innocent, sleepy eyes, Chao Lu sat there for a while before getting up to tidy up the things on the deck.

She washed up, closed the doors and windows, and went back to her room.

Ruan Yu was asleep in the middle of the night when she suddenly felt a little hot.

That feeling of being enveloped came back.

She couldn't help but move slightly, but in the next instant, someone suddenly pressed her against something. Ruan Yu instantly snapped back to reality and turned her head to look—

Chao Lu stared intently at the person, showing no sign of sleepiness whatsoever.

"you……"

Before Ruan Yu could speak, she was cut off.

For a moment, Ruan Yu thought that Master Liaokong had made a mistake in his judgment—that Chao Lu's poison had not been cured at all.

It's a full moon now, so he couldn't be...

"Yuyu..."

Chaolu suddenly bit her ear and whispered something.

When Ruan Yu heard him call her name, she understood.

The person is conscious and has not had an attack.

But their hearts are black; it's intentional.

Ruan Yu wasn't going to be polite with him anymore, and raised her foot to kick him—

She had no idea what was wrong with Chaolu; he liked to confine people, preferring to be in a stuffy, oppressive place. Sometimes, Ruan Yu was driven crazy by this feeling of confinement, and she would kick him.

When I was a child, I practiced dancing, so my body was particularly flexible. This move was effortless for me, and I kicked him directly in the chest several times. It was quite satisfying to kick him like that.

But this time...

It's as if they've gained experience.

As soon as Ruan Yugang kicked, Chao Lu's large hand encircled her ankle.

"……open."

Ruan Yu's feet were pressed against his chest, a gesture that added a touch of ambiguity.

"No," the man refused outright.

Not only did it not loosen, it even lifted up a bit.

Ruan Yu blushed: "Chao Lu, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chaolu shifted his waist.

Both of them groaned. Chao Lu seemed to have discovered a new world, as it was much easier for him to lift his leg.

"Yu Yu, you give it a try..."

Ruan Yu bit her lip and looked away. Two-legged beast!

...

In the center of the lake, the painted boat remained largely still, but the ripples on the water spread outwards in concentric circles.

It's not obvious, but it sparks the imagination.

Ruan Yu didn't know when she had fallen asleep.

But when she disembarked the next day, she still felt a little unwell and didn't want to walk any further, so she got into the carriage.

Seeing Chaolu still acting as if nothing had happened, giving instructions and explanations to Afu, she was so angry she wanted to bite someone.

-

Everyone seemed to be in a good mood during the Lantern Festival. When they returned to the Wei residence, both their father and mother were there.

Khuril showed off his new clothes, yet he showed no trace of the Great Khan's majesty.

This left Ruan Yu somewhat dazed.

She glanced at her mother-in-law, but her expression remained unchanged; she was smiling, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Chaolu, your father Khan and I are going back today."

Chao Lu was a little surprised: "So soon? Aren't you going to stay a couple more days?"

Hurile also seemed a little regretful: "There are too many things to do, I still need to go back to take charge of the overall situation, and your second brother is also coming back from Aohan."

Now Aohan is eyeing us covetously, Karl is in chaos, and the grasslands are in turmoil. And this Khan is still alive! It's time to take some action!

"Will the matter concerning the Internet Market Supervision Bureau be resolved in about a month?"

Chao Lu nodded solemnly: "Alright. By the way, Father Khan, Pei Du asked me to help him capture some people. What do you think of this matter..."

"This is a small matter. Our relationship with the Emperor of Chang'an has been quite good in recent years. We will help with these matters if you can. As for the Great Wall construction, I have read his letter. We will send someone to the grasslands to discuss it later."

Chao Lu nodded.

Char suddenly said, "Father Khan, about the matter of Great Khatun..."

He seemed to hesitate halfway through his sentence, and everyone looked over. Charles smiled and said, "Although it doesn't concern me much, I just want to know about my mother..."

He said those things to Yuzhu that day, but he must have been a little worried inside.

Hurile glanced at Chaolu, knowing in his heart that they were all very curious.

"Benhan is determined to remove her from her position as Great Khatun. As for Naren, she will not be implicated if she has done nothing wrong."

Madam Qiu lowered her eyes.

A hint of surprise flashed in Ruan Yu's eyes.

Is it ruined?

But the power behind Kesaren is not to be underestimated. Ruan Yu originally thought she would be imprisoned, but she never expected...

Ruan Yu glanced at her mother-in-law again, a vague guess forming in her mind, and a sense of tension rising within her.

"The carriage is already waiting outside, so we'll be going now."

Madam Qiu said with a smile.

Chaolu and Ruanyu both got up to see him off. Since Haila hadn't taken Buhe with him when he went to Karl, he was in a hurry to go back and wouldn't stay in Lingzhou any longer.

Only when the carriage had gone far away did everyone return to the courtyard.

Turing: "Fourth Brother, the yamen said they have time to go there this afternoon. A few new county magistrates have arrived."

Chao Lu: "It's troublesome. The official system in the Central Plains is full of formalities and extremely inefficient."

After he finished speaking, Ruan Yu suddenly glanced at him.

Chao Lu: "...Never mind, never mind, let's go."

Turing smiled: "Alright, let's go together then."

Ruan Yu smiled, said nothing, and went back to her room.

Qingguo smiled and whispered, "Fourth Master wants to keep Madam company."

Ruan Yu: "...Let him go out for a while longer."

Her lower back is still a little sore.

-

Ruan Yu returned to her room and sat silently for a while before asking Qingguo to prepare paper and pen.

It must be said that yesterday's lanterns left a deep impression on her.

She wanted to draw it.

Turning around, Ruan Yu went to change into clothes suitable for painting, only to discover when she opened the closet—

She still hasn't given the bracelet to Chaolu!

There have been so many unexpected events and things going on lately, I'm completely overwhelmed.

It was supposed to be a New Year's gift, but it was delayed until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Well, although the New Year has passed, Chaolu's poison has been cured, so it's okay to send it now.

Ruan Yu planned to give it to him tonight, so she found a box to put it in and placed it on her desk.

Then, she devoted herself entirely to preparing to draw.

Lakes, painted boats, and sky full of Kongming lanterns.

Just thinking about it made her feel that the scene was quite nice, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up.

Seeing that the lady was engrossed in her work, Xuan Niang and Qing Guo quietly withdrew and closed the door.

As Ruan Yu continued painting, she became so engrossed that she forgot to eat and sleep. By the time she got up, it was already dark.

Her wrist was a little sore, so she put down her pen.

It's not finished yet. I only sketched the draft today. I'll continue tomorrow.

Ruan Yu rubbed her wrists and then went outside.

"Qingguo, has Fourth Master returned?"

Not yet.

"Then let's get ready and wait for him to come back for dinner."

"Eh."

-

Chao Lu was busy in the suburbs at the moment. The matter of the border market supervisor could have been finished long ago, but today, in addition to repairing the Protectorate, Pei Du also had the responsibility of disaster relief, and also to deal with those corrupt officials.

One person does the work of three.

Today, there was a shortage of manpower for disaster relief, and a fight broke out among the homeless in the suburbs. Chaolu couldn't stand it and took the initiative to help them.

At this moment, Chao Lu led his men to the outskirts of the city and indeed saw several refugees lodging in the fields. He immediately took action and drove them away.

Pei Du arrived shortly afterward.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Chao Lu stared at him strangely: "You, as an inspector, don't even have this many men under your command? You need my help for this?!"

Pei Du gave a wry smile: "Indeed, I am a little ashamed, but right now, the Protectorate General's Trade Market Supervisory Office and Liangzhou both need manpower. Today's incident happened suddenly, and I could only temporarily transfer people from outside. I really thank you all."

The people of the grasslands are all tall and imposing, which really intimidated many people.

Chaolu curled his lip in disgust: "We don't even have as many people as you on the grasslands, and we don't do things like this. These refugees... where did they all come from? They're practically bandits."

Pei Du: "Liangzhou, right? Last year, Liangzhou suffered a famine, and there were many refugees."

The food problem is also one of the major problems on the grasslands, and Chaolu remained silent.

Pei Du suddenly said, "By the way, there's a new type of wheat in Chang'an that can be grown in the northern deserts. I was planning to present it to the Great Khan during this discussion, but since Your Highness is in charge of the trade supervision, why not give it to Your Highness first?"

Chao Lu was taken aback: "Why didn't you say so earlier? You really think he can survive?"

The grassland has a well-developed animal husbandry industry, but arable land has always been limited.

"You can give it a try."

"By the time you get to the grasslands, spring planting will be over. Just give it to me as payment, and I'll help you clear out these refugees!"

Pei Du smiled: "Okay, it's a deal."

Chao Lu: "It's a deal!"

but……

After Pei Du turned and left with a smile, Chao Lu suddenly realized what was happening.

"Did he trick me?"

These wheat seeds were supposed to be given out anyway!

Turing laughed and said, "Nothing of the sort, Fourth Brother, don't overthink it."

Chaolu scratched his head, glanced at the time, and rode off to return.

...

Ruan Yu had been painting so intently in the afternoon that she was a little tired. When Chao Lu came back for dinner, she leaned against the soft couch and dozed off.

Chao Lu entered and happened to witness this scene.

Chao Lu subconsciously slowed his pace and walked over slowly.

It was clear that Ruan Yu was truly asleep; her lips were slightly parted, making one want to kiss her directly.

But Chaolu, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted the painting spread out on the desk.

I understand.

He tiptoed over and looked down—

Her eyes widened slightly, and she froze on the spot for a moment.

He leaned slightly forward, watching intently.

Ruan Yu slowly opened her eyes, and was stunned for a moment when she saw the person. She then immediately got up and put on her shoes: "Why didn't you call me when you came back!"

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She wondered how proud she would be to have been seen drawing the scene from last night!

Chaolu indeed blocked the people, while he continued to watch.

“You were still asleep when I came in, why did I wake you?”

"It's not finished yet, don't look."

Chao Lu: "I didn't touch it, I just looked at it."

"That won't do either!" His gaze was almost tangible, pressing against her cheek inch by inch!

"Tsk, you're so domineering. I was just trying to give you some advice."

Ruan Yu: "? What's your opinion?"

She stared at the person suspiciously.

“Look, this painting only has scenery and no people, it’s incomplete. You should paint the two of us in, right here, sitting side by side, preferably like yesterday, with me holding you like this, and so on. It would definitely be a masterpiece.”

Ruan Yu: "..."

She remained silent for a long time, her cheeks flushed red.

Does he even understand the beauty of negative space? This proportion is clearly meant to emphasize the sky, so the people naturally appear smaller, and they're even embracing...

Shameless! Utterly shameless!

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Author's Note: [Milk Tea]