Chapter 64

"Alright, alright, Mother, we can talk about it later. I have some things to do with Officer Liang." After saying that, she ignored what Jiang Wanrou said and pulled Liang Chengqiu through the archway out of the courtyard.

"Sigh..." What's going on here? So mysterious. I wonder what that unlucky kid is up to now. But with Officer Liang around, I feel at ease.

Xiao Yu pulled the person behind the artificial hill, glanced around to make sure no one was there, and then asked impatiently, "How did it go?"

Liang Chengqiu frowned, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket and handed it over: "Miss Li's recent schedule."

Xiao Yu's eyes lit up and she was about to reach out to take it when the other person withdrew their hand.

"..." Xiao Yu looked at her in confusion.

Three taels of silver.

? !

"I bought this information from a servant of the Li family for a fee."

"..." Xiao Yu looked at Liang Chengqiu, wondering why she hadn't noticed how greedy this person was before. She pursed her lips, expressionlessly counted out three taels of silver and stuffed it into her hand. As soon as she got the slip of paper, she couldn't wait to open it. She hadn't earned much silver, and she was already raking it out.

Are you sure Miss Li wants to go to the temple to pray for blessings?

"That's what the servants of the Li family said."

"..." Even the accuracy of the information is uncertain, yet he asks me for three taels of silver?

Xiao Yu sighed, "Well, at least some news is better than nothing." Xiao Yu began to think about how to befriend Miss Li, when she heard Liang Chengqiu's cold voice with a hint of hesitation: "You can't do this. Even though Miss Song had some unpleasantness with you, you shouldn't be fickle."

"..." Xiao Yu's lips twitched. Was she that kind of person? No wonder her adoptive mother valued her; her thoughts were just as unreliable as hers.

It jumps around a lot.

Xiao Yu glanced at her, then put the note away: "What are you thinking? I'm not that kind of person."

Liang Chengqiu looked at her with a somewhat solemn expression and did not speak.

Is this a sign of not believing in oneself?

Xiao Yu didn't say anything, and returned to Song Luoning's courtyard with the note in her pocket. Cui Zhu came out of the house and bowed to her, but Xiao Yu didn't have time to pay attention to her. She stepped into the house and closed the door behind her.

Is something going wrong that they're in such a hurry?

Cuizhu felt a surge of anxiety. Recalling the scene in the study this morning, her heart clenched. Would the young lady and the young master start arguing again? Looking at the tightly closed door, she paced anxiously in the courtyard.

"Sister Cuizhu, Miss's lotus seed soup is ready."

As Cuizhu was lost in thought, a maidservant came in carrying a tray. Upon seeing her, the maidservant curtsied and smiled broadly, unable to resist teasing her, "Sister Cuizhu, have you offended Miss?" In private, the maidservants would often make harmless jokes.

At this moment, Cuizhu had no time for such thoughts. She took the tray from her hand, put on a stern face, and said, "Go outside and keep watch. Don't let anyone in, especially those from Luoshuang Courtyard. If they come, send them away immediately. Don't let anyone disturb Miss."

"Sister Cuizhu..."

"Hurry up, what are you standing there for?" Cuizhu urged.

What's wrong with these young maids these days? They don't even have this much sense of propriety. How are they supposed to serve their masters well? Looks like I need to find some time to properly teach them manners.

"Oh, okay, I'll go right away." Although she didn't know what had happened, the little maid hurriedly ran out of the courtyard, turning her head to look at Cuizhu with worried eyes.

Cuizhu took a deep breath, walked to the door, and knocked.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yu had just handed the note to Song Luoning when there was a knock on the door. He asked in surprise, "Who is it?"

Hearing that the sounds inside were relatively calm, Cuizhu replied, "Miss's lotus seed soup is ready."

“My lady…” Xiao Yu squeezed the young lady’s hand.

Song Luoning withdrew her hand and glanced at her: "Stop fooling around, let them in first."

Knowing that she was easily embarrassed, Xiao Yu didn't make things difficult for her. He nodded, stood up, and walked to the other end of the soft couch to sit down: "Come in."

Having received permission, Cuizhu glanced at Xiao Yu as soon as she entered the room. Seeing that Xiao Yu was sitting casually on the soft couch and that her mistress was also enjoying tea, she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the young couple had reconciled. She put down the lotus seed soup and quietly left the room.

"Is my lady hungry?" Xiao Yu glanced at the lotus seed soup, wondering. Wasn't there still an hour until noon? Could it be that the young lady hadn't eaten enough for breakfast and was hungry now?

He couldn't help but ask with concern, "Is one bowl of porridge enough? Should we ask the kitchen to prepare two dishes? It's almost noon anyway, we can eat together."

Song Luoning shook her head, intending to refuse, but then she remembered that the person in front of her hadn't eaten breakfast. She tightened her grip on her fingers, but ultimately didn't say the words of refusal. She pursed her lips and said, "I'll listen to my husband."

"Then wait for me, my wife, I'll be right back." With that, he got up, opened the door, gave Cuizhu a few instructions, closed the door, and returned to the soft couch.

"My wife."

"Hmm?" Song Luoning unfolded the note in her hand, looked up at her, her amorous peach blossom eyes were clear and bright, with a gentle smile, as if they contained stars.

Song Luo Ning's breath hitched, and the corners of her lips curved slightly: "What are your plans next, my husband?"

Xiao Yu knew she was referring to Miss Li, so she straightened her expression and said, "The note says that Miss Li is going to a temple in the suburbs to pray for blessings tomorrow. Why don't we go too? Maybe we can find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with her."

"Hmm." Song Luo Ning paused, her face filled with worry. "Husband, aren't you afraid of the danger? Xiao Cheng Ze is just worried about not finding an opportunity. If we leave the capital now..."

It would be good if we could make friends with them, but if we couldn't, and then we encountered danger, it would be a loss that wouldn't outweigh the gains.

Song Luo gazed at her.

Knowing she was worried about him, Xiao Yu smiled, stood up, walked around the low table and sat down next to Song Luoning. He took her hand, pressed it against his cheek, and said earnestly, "Why don't we disguise ourselves and sneak out through the back door? We can also bring some good guards with us. Besides, we haven't gone out for a trip together since we got married. We can take this opportunity to go out for a walk."

Song Luoning's heart softened. After a moment of silence, she nodded: "I'll have Butler Zhang make the arrangements."

The two stood close together, the delicate fragrance emanating from the young lady faintly wafting through the air. Xiao Yu's heart fluttered, and he leaned closer, his forehead pressed against hers, his voice seductive: "I'll go. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

"Husband, you should go and make the arrangements first." Song Luoning leaned back slightly, creating some distance, and placed her hands on her shoulders: "Don't be silly."

Xiao Yu looked at her and smiled, "It's not too late to go after we finish our meal together."

Song Luoning nodded hesitantly and nudged her, "Sit back down."

This time, Xiao Yu didn't tease her anymore. She obediently retreated to the other side, rested her cheek on her hand, and gazed at her with a dreamy smile.

Song Luoning took a sip of tea, her face flushed. She looked up at her with annoyance. This lecherous man was really unruly. Suppressing her embarrassment, she stood up and went into the inner room.

Xiao Yu glanced at the untouched lotus seed soup and called out to the inner room, "Wife, would you like to have some porridge to tide you over?"

"No."

"oh."

Xiao Yu lifted the curtain, her gaze falling on the screen. She could faintly hear rustling sounds. She pursed her lips, lowered the curtain, suppressed her restlessness, and returned to the outer room to sit down at the round table.

Before long, the food was served. Xiao Yu didn't leave any maids to serve her. She had been here for a while and still couldn't accept being waited on in everything. In comparison, she preferred to do everything herself.

The maids all left, and Xiao Yu glanced towards the inner room: "My lady, is it ready?"

"Hmm." A faint voice came from the inner room: "I'm hungry, husband, you can eat first."

Xiao Yu glanced at the food, thinking it wouldn't make sense for her to eat first, and pursed her lips: "I'll wait for you."

Song Luoning changed into her undergarments and came out. Although her health was much better than before, she was still feeling the strain of the past few days due to the many things that had been happening. After having her meal, she planned to take a nap.

After she sat down, Xiao Yu noticed that she had changed her clothes. Usually, the young lady would only wear her undergarments when she was resting. Now that there was still some time before lunch break, she immediately thought of the bowl of lotus seed soup she had just eaten. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that she was hungry and sleepy so early? So she asked anxiously, "Is my wife feeling unwell again?"

"Hmm?" Song Luoning paused for a moment, then shook her head. Apart from feeling a little tired, she didn't feel as uncomfortable as before. She truthfully replied, "I'm just a little tired."

Is that all? Xiao Yu's heart was still pounding with worry as he looked at her anxiously. His heart was clenched tightly. The system hadn't given any more rewards during this time, and the young lady's Qi-replenishing pills should be almost finished.

If this continues, what will happen when the medicine runs out?

Xiao Yu said, "If you're still not feeling well tomorrow, I can go by myself. You should rest at home."

Song Luoning frowned, stared at her, and pondered for a moment before saying, "It's nothing serious, just need some rest."

Nevertheless, Xiao Yu was still worried: "Let's talk about this tomorrow. After you finish your meal, just go to bed and lie down."

Before Song Luoning could respond, Xiao Yu began serving her food.

The dishes sent from the kitchen were all light-flavored. Song Luoning pursed her lips. She knew that the person in front of her liked meat. If it were sent from the kitchen, there would definitely be both meat and vegetables. But there were only vegetarian dishes in front of her. This person must have instructed the kitchen. She silently lowered her eyes, her eyes slightly moist.

"Next time, ask the kitchen to prepare some meat dishes," Song Luoning said.

"What would you like to eat, my lady?" Xiao Yu asked, surprised and looking at her with a puzzled expression. Didn't the young lady always dislike meat? Why...?

Was it because of her? Xiao Yu blinked, and it seemed that only this could make sense. She was overjoyed and couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Song Luoning curved her lips into a smile, a faint smile appearing in her eyes: "It's fine to eat a little bit occasionally."

I don't know if things will go smoothly tomorrow. I've heard from my father more than once that Prince Chang is ruthless, but I never expected that the Prince Chang's heir would completely inherit his father's ruthlessness. If he can successfully befriend Miss Li, perhaps this scoundrel's future will be smoother. But it will also be a real falling out with Xiao Chengze.

However, it's also a case of "no destruction, no construction," or perhaps it's a turning point.

Xiao Yu smiled as she served the food, even happier than if she were eating herself. Just thinking about how the young lady was secretly caring for her made her smile: "Wife, eat more. You should rest well later, as I won't be able to keep you company."

Song Luoning gave a faint "hmm," but felt a pang of disappointment.

After finishing his meal, Xiao Yu hurriedly left the house.

The next day, Xiao Yu first checked Song Luo Ning's physical condition and, seeing that she was alright, then disguised himself and quietly went to the back door with her.

To avoid attracting attention, they only brought two guards with them this time. The steward had carefully selected them from among the guards, and their skills were no less than those of the royal secret guards. Liang Chengqiu naturally brought them along as well.