Chapter 34: Please

After what happened in Qiluan Palace, Chu Ran thought that Li Dingning must have forgotten about the Nine-Ring Chain. However, Chu Ran did not expect that on the third day, Li Dingning suddenly asked Chu Ran: "Have you solved the Nine-Ring Chain?"

Chu Ran: ...

That must be unsolved!

Not only that, if Li Dingning didn't ask, he would have planned to forget about it!

Li Dingning seemed to realize this as well, and looked at Chu Ran dimly, "Don't forget, otherwise, you won't have anything to eat tomorrow."

Sometimes, it's hateful that people have such a good memory.

In order to ensure that he could have food to eat tomorrow, as soon as he returned to his yard, Chu Ran took out the nine-ring puzzle that he had thrown aside and started to solve it with great effort.

Chu Ran sat down on the stool and continued to eat until Li Fu brought the food to the table.

Li Fu sat opposite him, stared at Chu Ran for a while, and said, "Has it not been untied yet?"

Chu Ran shook his head subconsciously and said with a depressed look: "I have only solved five of them now. The remaining four cannot be solved no matter how hard I try."

"Let me see."

Li Fu took the nine-ring puzzle, held it in his hand and pondered it for a while, then lowered his head and began to solve it.

Chu Ran glanced at him, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze to the food in the bowl.

Never mind, let’s eat first.

Chu Ran picked up the chopsticks and put a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, when he saw out of the corner of his eye that the Nine-Ring Chain, which was originally a whole, had broken into two halves.

Li Fu solved the nine-ring puzzle.

He placed the untied nine-ring puzzle on the table.

Chu Ran took the Nine-Ring with a suspicious look on his face. He looked at Li Fu, wanting to say something but stopping himself. There was a big question mark hanging on his forehead.

Why can he solve it so quickly?

He had been trying to solve the nine-ring puzzle for a long time but couldn't, so why was it so easy for Li Fu?

Is this the difference between people?

"Why don't you eat yet?"

While Li Fu was eating, he looked up at Chu Ran and saw that he was still staring at the Nine-Rings in his hand, so he asked.

Chu Ran came back to his senses then, put down the Nine-Ring Chain, picked up the chopsticks to eat, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Li Fu became more and more strange.

After dinner, Chu Ran refused to believe it and stuffed the Nine Rings back into Li Fu's hands.

"Put it back on."

Li Fu said nothing, took the Nine Rings, and in front of Chu Ran, he restored the Nine Rings to its original appearance in a short while.

Chu Ran opened his eyes wide, trying hard to see clearly how he operated it, but unfortunately, he moved too fast. Just as Chu Ran understood the first step, he had already reassembled the whole thing.

Chu Ran pursed his lips and said, "Untie it again."

Li Fu's fingers flew up and down as fast as butterflies flying in the garden. After a while, the nine-ring chain was untied in his hands again.

In this way, Chu Ran was completely convinced, and at the same time, he also understood one thing.

Some people are born different from ordinary people.

The next day, when Chu Ran handed the untied Nine Rings to Li Dingning, Li Dingning was very happy, as if he had untied the Nine Rings himself.

Chu Ran was originally worried that Li Dingning would ask him to teach him how to solve the Nine Rings, but facts proved that Chu Ran was completely overthinking.

If Li Dingning was really so "eager to learn", he would not be so naive at this age.

He should have found foreign aid earlier to save him from spending so much effort.

Winter is here, and all the palace maids in Qiluan Palace have recently received winter clothes and new thick quilts. Concubine Li specifically ordered people to distribute them to their subordinates.

Chu Ran had inquired and found out that except for the people in Qiluan Palace, the palace maids in other palaces did not receive such treatment.

Chu Ran came back carrying thick quilts and winter cotton clothes, and kept praising Concubine Li, saying that she was such a good person, a bodhisattva-like person, and most importantly, that she had a heart of gold.

"Didn't you say before that she doesn't like you?"

Li Fu sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Chu Ran happily trying on his new cotton-padded jacket.

"She doesn't like me, but she doesn't like me because she thinks that being with me won't help the Fifth Prince's academic progress. But she didn't chase me away or make things difficult for me. Look, this time, she distributed gifts to all the servants, and she didn't leave me out just because she didn't like me. Isn't she a good person?"

Li Fu did not comment.

Chu Ran lowered his head and pulled his sleeves, which seemed a little short.

But it doesn't matter, you can wear it just fine.

"Bring me my clothes."

Chu Ran reached out to Li Fu, and Li Fu handed the clothes on the bed to Chu Ran. Chu Ran put them on over his cotton-padded coat and walked out.

After a while, Chu Ran came back from outside. When he came back, he brought some fresh, green and thick leaves. It was the first time that Li Fu had seen such leaves. They were bulging and pointed at the top, as if they were filled with water.

However, it is rare to see such lush green plants in such cold weather.

"What is this?" Li Fu asked.

Chu Ran said, "This is aloe vera. It has the functions of moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, sterilizing, and beautifying the skin." He was worried that Li Fu would not understand, so he explained it in a more understandable way: "Anyway, if you apply this, your face will look better. I sent someone to get it from outside the palace with great difficulty."

Chu Ran took a dagger and peeled off the top layer of skin, revealing the transparent and sticky juice inside. Chu Ran scraped the aloe juice with the dagger and put it in a container.

Li Fu looked at it from a distance and asked, "Is it for Concubine Li?"

"Um."

Li Fu sneered at this, "Even so, she is not worthy of you."

"In the end, it's not for her, but mainly for myself." After thinking for a while, Chu Ran said, "Empress Li is indeed a very good person. If it is just to repay her, it is really not worth my effort. I just thought that using this method, maybe I can please her. Wouldn't my life in Qiluan Palace be better in the future?"