Chapter 340 Can this thing be eaten?

Xiao Qingyuan shook his head: "No, I won't go today. Huayi is pregnant and needs someone to take care of her. I have to go back."

Yuan Zheng: "Seriously? You're really treating Huayi so well? She's pregnant and you still have to take care of her personally? Don't you have any maids to look after her?"

“The two maids in my courtyard are clumsy and don’t know how to take care of people at all. Moreover, Huayi is clingy to me. Without me, she can’t eat or sleep well.”

Yuan Zheng: "..."

Why does Xiao Qingyuan's state seem so familiar?

It seems like he was just like this when he was pursuing Chu Yanluo, always saying that Chu Yanluo couldn't live without him, and self-righteously declaring that he would give everything for her.

Could it be that Xiao Qingyuan has stopped being infatuated with Chu Yanluo and has instead become infatuated with a maid?

Yuan Zheng hissed as if he had a toothache. He might as well be infatuated with Chu Yanluo. At least Chu Yanluo was a young lady from an official family, with talent and looks. What did that maid have?

But Xiao Qingyuan ignored his thoughts and walked out of the restaurant carrying the brocade box.

Yuan Zheng looked at his back and couldn't help but shake his head: "What a waste of such a good-looking face and a good background! He's infatuated with women all day long. The Ning Prince's Mansion will definitely fall into his hands in the future, even if he has the surname Xiao."

The shopkeeper was startled and quickly reminded him, "Young master, please keep your voice down, lest someone hear us!"

"What's there to be afraid of? There's nobody here anymore."

Yuan Zheng stood up and stretched: "I'm so smart to have married the daughter of the Minister of Personnel. Even if I don't have a title in the future, my father-in-law will protect me. And when my wife gives birth to a son, I won't have to worry about his career!"

The shopkeeper was extremely impressed with him: "Young master is right. Madam comes from a prestigious family. Her future son will be taken care of by his maternal grandfather and will surely live a life of great wealth and honor, without any worries!"

Yuan Zheng laughed: "Of course, I'm not like a fool like Xiao Qingyuan, who got his maid pregnant before the legitimate son was even born. Wouldn't that just cause trouble for his wife and the unborn legitimate son?"

"Yes, yes, yes, what you say is absolutely right, young master!"

"Although I, Yuan Zheng, am unrestrained and dissolute, I've had my fill of all the pleasures I've had. Those maids and beauties are all just skeletons now! Humph, those lowly things are not worthy of bearing my son!"

"Then... young master, are you still going to the brothel? If you go, what if Madam finds out..."

Yuan Zheng subconsciously touched his ear. Although his ear no longer hurt, he would start to experience phantom pain whenever the word "Madam" was mentioned.

He hesitated for a while before finally saying, "Forget it, I won't go. It's pointless for me to go alone. I'd better go back and keep my wife company. Xiao Qingyuan already has a child; I can't fall behind, can I?"

The shopkeeper was overjoyed: "Then I wish you and your wife a speedy birth of a son and a house full of children and grandchildren!"

Yuan Zheng chuckled, raised his head, and walked away.

The shopkeeper secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him leave.

He took out a money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and was quite satisfied.

This money bag contained fifty taels of silver. It was given to him by Cheng Zhiyue. She looked plainly dressed, but she was extremely generous.

Of course, so much silver couldn't be given away for nothing. Cheng Zhiyue asked him to keep an eye on Yuan Zheng for her. No matter where Yuan Zheng went, he had to report to her truthfully. If Yuan Zheng was going to Wan Hua Lou, he had to dissuade him, otherwise the manager of Qingyun Lou would have to be replaced.

The shopkeeper dared not offend either of them, putting him in a very difficult position.

Now that Yuan Zheng has voluntarily given up going to Wan Hua Lou, it has truly solved his big problem, and he can explain it to Cheng Zhiyue later.

——

Prince Ning's Mansion.

Xiao Qingyuan took the lychee and stepped into his courtyard.

As soon as he entered, Huayi greeted him with two maids: "Young Master, you're back."

Her eyes and brows were filled with tender affection, which softened Xiao Qingyuan's heart: "Why did you come out? It's cold outside, go back inside."

“I’m not cold.”

As Hua Yi spoke, she stepped forward and hugged Xiao Qingyuan's arm.

Xiao Qingyuan pressed his face against her soft chest, and he felt half-melted.

As he walked through the painting, he handed over the brocade box, saying, "Look, what did I bring back for you?"

Hua Yi's eyes lit up: "Did the young master buy this for me? What's inside?"

"Your favorite lychee!"

"What? Lychees?!"

Hua Yi was overjoyed. She quickly took the brocade box, opened it, and found something wrapped in gold paper inside that looked very valuable!

She opened the gold paper with anticipation, but her expression froze when she saw the lychees inside.

Is this a lychee?

Half black and half white, is this thing edible?

Xiao Qingyuan was also stunned when he saw the lychees: "How did these lychees turn this color? When they were packed in the box, half of them were clearly red!"

An indescribable emotion welled up in Huayi's heart.

He said that when he was assembling it, half of it was red, but he didn't say what color the other half was. I suppose it was either black or white, but definitely not red.

She's eaten lychees before, so naturally she knows what good lychees look like.

In the summer, Princess Ning always gave her maids bright red food; any food that was slightly blackened was thrown away.

She had heard from experienced nannies that eating lychees like that would upset her stomach.

Xiao Qingyuan, the heir of the Ning Prince's Mansion, couldn't possibly not know what fresh lychees look like, nor could he not know that lychees that have turned black are inedible, yet he still brought her back such lychees.

In his mind, did she, a mere maid, not deserve to eat good lychees? So he brought back a bad one to fool her?

In Shen Wantang's courtyard, frozen lychees were distributed to Qin Xin and the others. Qin Xin even came over to show off, saying that the ones they ate were all red!

Hua Yi took several deep breaths before forcing a smile: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, for bringing me lychees. I suppose these frozen lychees are different from summer lychees; they turn this color after being frozen!"

Xiao Qingyuan felt a little uneasy: "Well, maybe... perhaps! If you don't like it, just throw it away!"

"Oh dear, this was specially brought back for me by the young master. It's a token of his affection. How can I throw it away?"

The more she said that, the more guilty Xiao Qingyuan felt. He couldn't help but say, "Forget it, just throw it away. The color looks really off. You're pregnant, don't get an upset stomach. I'll buy you a basket of them when summer comes, you can eat as much as you want!"

Hua Yi held the lychee with a tender expression: "I won't throw it away. I can't even bear to eat it. The prince is so good to me. I would die happy if I could!"

"Don't talk nonsense about dying. Just throw it away, I'm going to take a shower first."

After Xiao Qingyuan finished speaking, he turned and went into the bathroom.

The tenderness on Huayi's face quickly disappeared. She called her maid in and said, "Chundie, this lychee is for you. You can eat it."