Zhao Xiheng sighed for almost half the night while looking at the ginseng seedlings.
It wasn't that she was particularly sad; she just wanted to eat more of the sunflower seed kernels that Wei Li had peeled.
But you can't eat too many sunflower seeds, because they can cause internal heat. The next morning when she got out of bed, she had a boil in her mouth and didn't dare to eat anything except drink some porridge.
Wei Li ate quite a few melon seeds last night, and with the added heat from the heated kang bed, sores appeared on his tongue, making it difficult for him to speak and eat.
When Zhao Xiheng saw that he also had sores, she felt a little better. At least she wasn't the only one who could only stare at the delicious food helplessly; Wei Li was there to keep her company.
It snowed the night before last, and yesterday the snow melted and the temperature dropped again, so it was especially cold at night. When the guards of the warehouse changed shifts, they were so cold that they were shivering and trembling. They accidentally let a mouse slip in. When they went to check the warehouse in the morning, they found that several boxes had been chewed up, and even the cloth inside the boxes had been torn out and used as bedding.
They broke out in a cold sweat when they thought of Wei Li's style and manner, but dared not fail to report it.
Wei Li thought the matter was simple; if things went wrong, he could just throw the fish into Chagan Lake to feed them.
Zhao Xiheng grabbed him and mumbled, "Anyway, the fabric is outdated, so let's just fine him a little."
There wasn't much of value in her dowry. Anything good had been given to Zhao Mingxin as part of her dowry by the Empress over the years. She didn't want to wear those outdated fabrics. She had originally planned to make a couple of outfits for Wei Li or Gou Dan'er, but since they were chewed up, she gave up on them.
"You have a big lisp," Wei Li mocked her.
Zhao Xiheng glanced at him. His current behavior was like a crow perched on a pig, only seeing the blackness of others and not seeing his own.
Since rats have gotten into the storeroom where the dowry is kept, it's not a big deal to pack up the dowry and have someone take stock of it.
Zhao Xiheng took out the dowry list, flipped through it casually, and handed it to the people below.
Wei Li caught a glimpse of two large characters out of the corner of his eye: "Spring Palace..."
What is erotica?
His face flushed.
"I'll go." He reached out his hand, his tongue aching from sores, but he tried to speak as clearly as possible, gesturing for Zhao Xiheng to give him the key.
Zhao Xiheng wanted to ask Wei Li if he was just bored today and that's why he went to help her count her dowry. But she swallowed the words back. She was too lazy to count it herself, so if Wei Li wanted to go, let him go. He was more reliable than anyone else.
"Here, just check it casually, there's nothing valuable." Zhao Xiheng took the key out of the small drawer and handed it to him.
The storeroom wasn't particularly badly infested by rats. The servants opened the boxes and checked each item against the dowry list.
"Two pairs of jade ruyi scepters, and two bushels of pearls."
"Two sets of purple-gold headdresses and six gold bracelets inlaid with jade."
...
All six boxes were opened one by one, and after checking, it was confirmed that there were no errors.
Wei Li nodded slightly, signaling them to lock the box, and the servants continued to check.
When the last box was opened, it contained stacks of flat sandalwood boxes, one after another. Judging from the size of the boxes, they did not contain much, probably books or something similar.
The servant blushed as he looked at the list, unable to speak for a long time. Wei Li kicked him and said, "Speak."
“Thirteen volumes of erotic picture books.” He whispered as he leaned closer and pointed out the line of text to Wei Li. Fearing that Wei Li might not understand the customs, he explained, “These should be the dowry items that the lady keeps at the bottom of her dowry chest. Young ladies would put them at the bottom of their dowry chests.”
Wei Li's face flushed red instantly. Thirteen books? So many?
He quickly closed the last box, then locked it himself, and stepped out, saying, "Now that the inventory is complete, let's go."
He was speaking very quickly at the moment, as if he was avoiding something.
Before leaving, I took one last look at the location of the box.
When he returned, Wei Li's face was still flushed. Zhao Xiheng had just finished selecting the seeds to plant and was dressing the struggling Gou Dan'er in new clothes. When she saw him come back, she was a little surprised, "It's done so quickly?"
Wei Li didn't say anything, but simply opened the bedside drawer, threw in a bunch of keys, gave her a deep look, and then turned and left.
As night deepened, Wei Li went to the storeroom again. He went in empty-handed and came out empty-handed as well, which puzzled the guards.
Zhao Xiheng heard from Wei Li's messenger that the lord would not be returning to sleep tonight, but would be sleeping in the study.
She touched the warm kang (heated brick bed) and didn't find it strange.
Wei Li was so hot from sleeping that he needed to go to the study to cool off for a couple of days. It's good that he's gone; now I have more room to sleep at night.
"Since everyone's sleeping in the study, tell the lord that if he can't sleep tonight, he should read more books." Zhao Xiheng nodded and dismissed the man.
Just as Zhao Xiheng had said, Wei Li was studying hard all night because he couldn't sleep. It was rare for him to be so focused on his studies.
The book in his hand was made in the Jinyang Imperial Palace. It was beautifully decorated, with clear text and vivid and rich illustrations. It was a delight to read, and even someone like him who gets dizzy at the sight of words couldn't put it down.
Practice makes perfect, and Wei Li no longer felt the same agitation as the first time, except that his face was still a little red and hot.
This was his first serious encounter with such books, and he benefited greatly from it.
The thought that Zhao Xiheng had thirteen such books in her box made Wei Li feel somewhat at ease.
But I don't know if she's seen them all.
If she hasn't seen it, then...
Wei Li unconsciously brushed his tongue against his canine tooth; the sore on it touched his tooth, and the pain made him lose all interest in anything else.
Wei Li studied diligently for several days, while Zhao Xiheng was busy cultivating her ginseng. Both of them forgot that Zhao Mingjin's envoy had already been staying at the post station for two days.
During the two days Xie Qingyu rested at the post station, he did not receive any summons from Wei Li. He was fine with it, and even wished he could delay for as long as possible. However, the deputy envoy, who was sent by Zhao Mingjin to keep an eye on him, was deeply dissatisfied and urged Xie Qingyu to request an audience repeatedly.
When the message was delivered, Wei Li was having lunch with Zhao Xiheng.
He studied books all night, and probably because of the heat from staying up late, the sores on his tongue not only didn't go away, but got worse. As for Zhao Xiheng's sores, they healed long ago.
Zhao Xiheng suddenly had a craving for chopped chili fish head and boiled beef in the morning. She ate two extra bowls of rice in front of Wei Li, which infuriated Wei Li. However, Wei Li had a severe sore on his tongue, which made it painful for him to speak and he could not speak clearly. Fearing that Zhao Xiheng would laugh at him, he could only hold back and not say a word.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the table full of food, while Zhao Xiheng couldn't be happier.
She gently and carefully served Wei Li a bowl of white porridge, saying, "Eat more, my lord has lost weight recently." Then she put a piece of pickled pepper on his plate, and after a while, she pretended to be dramatic and put it back into her own mouth, saying, "Oh dear, I forgot that my lord can't eat such spicy food now, what a pity."
"I wonder if the kitchen has changed chefs recently, especially the boiled beef is so delicious."
Wei Li's heart now felt like a pufferfish being squeezed.
After a long while, instead of getting angry, he smiled, grabbed Zhao Xiheng's hand, smiled at her, but still didn't say anything.
After all, she'll have to cry sooner or later.
Zhao Xiheng was stunned when she saw him smile, and she was so frightened that she kept hiccuping.
The messenger would occasionally peek through the curtain, and only when he saw Wei Li smiling would he dare to come in and report back.
"My lord, the emperor's envoys arrived at the post station a few days ago and have been staying there. They are anxious because they cannot be summoned, so they sent someone to request an audience. I wonder when you will have time to summon them?"
Now that Wei Li's lips and tongue are in this state, his temper has become volatile, and he's unwilling to talk to people much. When he's in a bad mood, he's ready to knock people over and start a fight. This is different from when he's facing Zhao Xiheng; he refused to speak to her because he was afraid that his unclear speech would make her laugh at him.
He could kill anyone who laughed at him, but if Zhao Xiheng laughed at him, he would lose all dignity as a husband and would just want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
In short, he was the most powerful in front of Zhao Xiheng.
He nudged Zhao Xiheng's hand and winked at her.
Zhao Xiheng understood and asked, "Did the envoy say that there was anything important?"
"No, I only saw that he brought some women with him."
It's obvious why an envoy would bring a bunch of women on a mission; they serve no other purpose than to present them to Wei Li.
Wei Li felt that he could finally vent the anger he had suffered from Zhao Xiheng over the past few days, so he raised his hand to signal for her to arrange a meeting.
Zhao Xiheng looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Good heavens, she only said a few things to him, both openly and subtly, and now he's already eager to find a mistress?
What? You said you wouldn't see him at first, but now that you hear he brought a bunch of pretty young ladies, you're all set to meet him?
Indeed, Wei Li now controls the entire Pingzhou; he can have any kind of woman he wants. Sure enough, apart from her father, there isn't a single decent man in this world.
"So stingy," Zhao Xiheng muttered to Wei Li in a low voice, then put down her chopsticks and left.
Wei Li didn't hear clearly, so he grabbed her hem, meaning to ask her where she was going.
Zhao Xiheng tore his hand away, and said in a gentle voice, "Go find someone else to play with, I'm going to sleep."
She wasn't angry; she's just that she's been spoiled since childhood and can't change it.
She doesn't like others touching things she doesn't like, and if someone touches them even once, she simply doesn't want them anymore.
She acted the same as before, and Wei Li assumed she really wanted to go to sleep, so he didn't stop her and let her go.
Zhao Xiheng felt a sense of frustration that her possessions were about to be encroached upon, and she couldn't fall asleep during her afternoon nap.
She recently developed a new habit: when she can't sleep, she opens her drawer and counts her keys, and eventually falls asleep while counting.
The drawer contained bunches of brass keys, with a large key attached to a smaller key by a brass ring. The smaller keys were used to open the box.
She casually picked up a key; it was the key to her dowry room.
"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty... sixty-seven..."
Something's not right?
She sat up and rummaged through the drawers, and indeed, the key to a suitcase was missing.
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