Chapter 50 "How can you sleep?"...

Seeing that everyone had left, the princess warmly took Feng Mian's hand and invited her, "We prepared some new dishes today, but the prince has had something come up and can't come back. Why don't you stay here and have lunch with me instead of going back to your courtyard?"

Then she can't keep going hungry!

Although she was very tempted by the princess's suggestion, Feng Mian couldn't stay, otherwise she would have gone hungry for nothing. She leaned closer and whispered that she wanted to take advantage of the prince's absence to try and research some foods that could rival instant soup noodles.

"Although I have enough money to buy food to help the disaster victims, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish." Feng Mian took the princess's arm and said apologetically, "So I'm afraid I can't have dinner with Mother today. Once I figure it out, I will definitely let Mother taste it first as an apology."

The princess naturally wouldn't blame her and happily agreed, "Then I'll wait patiently."

But once she got past the princess, Liu Ying and Wu Liu wouldn't be so easily fooled. Feng Mian's eyes darted around, and upon returning to her bedchamber, she made an excuse: "Last night, the prince's snoring was so loud that I couldn't sleep a wink. I need to catch up on some sleep. You two, please keep an eye on the door for me and don't let anyone disturb me. Don't bother me at mealtimes either; let me sleep until I've had enough."

"Remember, no one is allowed to come in and wake me before I wake up, or I'll get angry."

Liu Ying and Wu Liu never expected that Feng Mian said this because he didn't want to eat, and so they were stopped outside the bedroom.

Liu Ying was a little confused: "But didn't the princess say before that the young master doesn't make any noise when he sleeps?"

"Perhaps she's tired." Wu Liu pulled Liu Ying to sit down on the corridor. "Let the princess rest. While we have nothing to do, let's pick out some patterns for her. The weather is getting warmer day by day, so it's time to make some new clothes."

"That's right, that's right." As the two most trusted maids of the princess, they had to take good care of the princess's food, clothing, housing and transportation.

*

When Lu Mingzhu heard from a servant that someone from the princess's entourage had arrived, he thought it was the princess herself and tidied his appearance before stepping out the door.

These past few days, he has been busy helping the princess decide which towns around Yunzhong County to open branches first.

He wondered if it was because the princess's words about "misfortune may be a blessing in disguise" had taken root in his heart, but he felt that he hadn't been so unlucky lately.

You should thank the princess properly in person!

Lu Mingzhu hurriedly walked out, her steps as light as a bird on a branch, mentally rehearsing her speech.

He was also thinking of reporting on the progress of the branch site selection. Before this matter was completed, he was too embarrassed to bother the princess.

I never expected the princess to come herself today...

Lu Mingzhu's excitement came to an abrupt halt when he saw the tall young man standing before him. He was utterly astonished: "Brother Gu?!"

He suddenly stopped and subconsciously looked up to glance behind Gu Chunwen, but did not see any familiar figure.

Gu Chunwen took in his subconscious reaction, narrowed her eyes, and quickly scanned him, noticing that he had clearly tidied himself up. Her gaze paused slightly when it fell on the jade pendant with the words "Qingping" engraved on his waist.

When he looked up again, his expression had returned to normal, and he teased, "Brother Lu seems quite disappointed to see me. Who are you hoping for?"

"Not at all, I just didn't expect Brother Gu to come to the Northern Frontier." Lu Mingzhu felt a little disappointed. He lowered his eyes to calm himself down, then smiled awkwardly and stepped forward. He didn't notice the slightly protruding brick under his feet, tripped, and stumbled forward. The jade pendant pouch hanging from his waist swung in the air.

Gu Chunwen quickly helped him up, saying, "Hey, even if it's an apology, there's no need for such a grand gesture."

Lu Mingzhu laughed out loud. After a brief laugh, he hurriedly lowered his head to check if the jade pendant at his waist was damaged. He carefully and gently stroked the engraving on the jade pendant before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, isn't this the princess's jade pendant?" Gu Chunwen pretended to have just noticed the jade pendant and teased casually, "How did it end up in your hands? If His Highness the Crown Prince sees it, he'll probably be jealous."

Lu Mingzhu's fingers, lightly touching the jade pendant, stiffened slightly. Unable to conceal his thoughts, he glared at Gu Chunwen. "Brother Gu, you should be careful what you say. The princess entrusted me with this jade pendant because she has important matters to discuss with me. Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince..."

The words stuck in his throat. He hadn't seen the prince for several days, and he really couldn't say whether the prince's feelings for the princess had changed. After all, the princess was such a good person, and it would be only natural for him to develop some affection for her after spending so much time together.

If there is not even a tiny bit, then the young master is truly blind.

Thinking this, Lu Mingzhu bit off the words he was about to say and asked, "So, Brother Gu, why did you suddenly come to the Northern Frontier? Could it be because of the matter of including instant soup noodles in the military supplies?"

But wouldn't it have been easier to simply send a decree to the King of Qin? Why bother the top scholar to make the trip?

As he spoke, he led Gu Chunwen through the courtyard.

Gu Chunwen chuckled and nodded. This was a small matter he could take care of on this trip, but he didn't continue. Instead, he asked, "It's been a while since the princess's wedding. Do you have any plans to return to the capital?"

Lu Mingzhu's trip was merely to serve as a master of ceremonies; once the grand wedding was completed, he should return to the capital on a chosen date. Half of the Imperial Guards were in the same situation.

But until Gu Chunwen brought it up today, neither Lu Mingzhu nor the commander had thought of this matter.

Lu Mingzhu's mood darkened further, but he had a legitimate reason to stay: "The things the princess instructed me to do are not yet finished. It will take at least a month or two to complete."

Before leaving the capital, His Majesty instructed them to follow the princess's orders in everything. Since there was no decree to recall them from the capital, it would be fine to delay for another two months.

Thinking of this, he suddenly looked at Gu Chunwen with a sense of alertness. Could it be that Brother Gu has come with an imperial decree to summon him?

"His Majesty has sent me to deliver an imperial edict."

Lu Mingzhu felt a chill in his heart.

"His Majesty has granted the Princess permission to open trade with the Northern Barbarians in the Northern Frontier and has ordered us to accompany her. I'm afraid you and the Imperial Guards won't be able to return to the capital for another two months." Gu Chunwen deliberately observed Lu Mingzhu's expression, splitting his sentence in two. Sure enough, he saw Lu Mingzhu's expression fluctuate wildly, changing several emotions in an instant. Gu Chunwen felt both amused and sorry for him.

It seems Brother Lu is truly stuck and doesn't want to leave.

Looking at Lu Mingzhu, the words "misery loves company" couldn't help but come to mind.

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingzhu's gloom vanished, and he smiled broadly, "Oh, that's such a pity."

Then she let out a soft exclamation, her eyes lighting up, "The princess is going to open a trade market?"

His heart surged with excitement. If this were accomplished, it would be a major event that would benefit the people's livelihood. "We should not delay. Let's go and talk to the princess in detail."

"Alas, the princess is currently unavailable." Gu Chunwen stopped him, and seeing his blank expression, she raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

Lu Mingzhu, who had been secluded for several days, shook his head blankly. When he heard Gu Chunwen say that the princess had injured her foot and was unable to walk, he wished he could go to the palace to visit her immediately, but he couldn't. He had to take Gu Chunwen to tour the northern frontier. He could only turn all his worries into praise for the princess and talk incessantly about all the "heroic deeds" the princess had done since arriving in the northern frontier, and eagerly awaited the next day.

Baili Xunzhou, on the other hand, was also worried, so after finishing his work, he went directly back to the Prince's Mansion from the government office.

As dusk fell, he stepped into the courtyard and saw Firefly and Willow standing outside the bedroom.

"Why don't you go in and serve them?"

The two people, who were standing on tiptoe peering into the house in worry, were startled by the sound. They turned around and saw Baili Xunzhou, and rushed towards him as if they had seen a lifeline.

"Your Highness, you're finally back! The princess has been sleeping all day and hasn't eaten anything. Please go and wake her up."

Baili Xunzhou: "...You're just going to let her sleep like this?"

Liu Ying said anxiously, "The princess ordered that if she doesn't wake up, no one is allowed to call her, or she will get angry."

The princess rarely gets angry and almost never punishes them, but they can't take advantage of her kindness and disobey her orders.

Baili Xunzhou: "...If I go and call her, she won't be angry anymore?"

Wu Liu: "Although the princess said that no one else is allowed to go in and disturb her, Your Highness, you are the princess's husband. How can you be considered an outsider?"

These words did indeed please Baili Xunzhou.

Wu Liu pressed on, saying, "Princess, you only ate a few mouthfuls of porridge this morning and didn't eat anything else. How can you go to bed hungry like this?"

Baili Xunzhou couldn't stay still any longer and pushed open the door to go inside. Even disaster victims have three bowls of thick porridge a day. If the princess only ate that little bit this morning, she should have woken up hungry long ago, no matter how sleepy she was. There's been no movement for so long; could she be sick?

He quickly walked around the screen, lifted the light-blocking bed curtains and peeked inside. Feng Mian was lying on the bed with his head tilted to the side. Even in the dim light, his face was pale and there seemed to be cold sweat on his forehead.

"Princess? Princess? Feng Mian!" Baili Xunzhou called out several times but she didn't wake up. He reached out to check her pulse, which was weak and slow.

This isn't asleep, it's clearly passed out!

"Someone come quick!"

After a period of chaos, Feng Mian, who had been fed a bowl of sweet water, groggily opened his eyes and saw Baili Xunzhou's enlarged, sour face with a gloomy look in his eyes.

She shrank back in fright, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Awake?" Baili Xunzhou put down the porcelain bowl of sugar water in his hand with a dark face.

Feng Mian licked her lips, the sweet taste still lingering in her mouth, when Baili Xunzhou's gaze made her feel a little bitter. "I just took a nap, why are you looking at me like that?"

Her gaze darted to the side, and she saw the room was brightly lit. Well, she must have slept until dark; it must have been a bit too long.

Looking up again, I saw Liu Ying's crying face and Wu Liu's cold face, and I was startled again.

"What's wrong...?"

A cold laugh rang in her ears. Baili Xunzhou turned her head back as if deflecting an arrow, his cold eyes meeting hers. He gritted his teeth and said, "You slept? You must have fainted from hunger!"

Oh no...

Feng Mian pursed her lips, lowered her eyes guiltily, but was then lifted up by his chin and forced to continue being stared at by his cold eyes.

Do you feel hungry when you go to sleep?

Seeing Feng Mian's gaze flicker for a moment, Baili Xunzhou knew the answer and became even angrier.

God knows, his heart nearly stopped when he found her unconscious! How could she possibly be sleeping?

But seeing her pale face after waking up, he could only put on a cold and intimidating expression to intimidate her, and couldn't really get angry. He could only ask her repeatedly, "Why did you starve yourself?"

"You're starving, why don't you get up and eat something?"

How can you sleep?

She slept soundly, but fainted suddenly, which was really frightening.

Feng Mian's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't answer. She slowly bent her legs, hugged her stomach, and her wandering gaze returned to focus. She opened her wet almond-shaped eyes and looked at Baili Xunzhou, beginning to show weakness, "I'm so hungry... Can we eat something first?"

Baili Xunzhou: ...

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Author's Note: Baili Xunzhou: First you spread rumors about me, then you tried to trick me [crying emoji]