Chapter 45 I have something to tell you

Chu Ran couldn't help but rub his face hard with his palms.

Oh, it’s no big deal.

How does the saying go? People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes; it is impossible to have everything in life. This shows that from ancient times to the present, there is no banquet that will last forever.

Just as Li Fu had told him before, there will always be a day when they will part.

What's more, he had known for a long time that Li Fu would leave one day, and he had actually prepared himself mentally.

If that's the case, then why should he be unhappy?

He should be happy. Besides, Li Fu hasn't left yet. Maybe it's just an ordinary family letter. They can still be together for a few more years.

Chu Ran comforted himself in this way.

He felt that he had almost resolved himself.

Furthermore, he appeared to have figured it out.

He no longer had a gloomy face while working. When he returned to the place where he lived with Li Fu, he started to act like before, joking and talking with Li Fu whenever he had nothing to do.

However, while Chu Ran had returned to normal, Li Fu suddenly spoke less and always looked like he was troubled.

Until he came back from work again, Chu Ran saw Li Fuzheng working at his desk, writing something with a pen.

Chu Ran knew what he was writing.

He stood in the yard, watched from a distance, took a deep breath, made preparations, and then entered the house.

He turned his back and pretended to do something else, but in fact he was giving Li Fu some time to put away the letter he had written.

He thought that Li Fu probably didn't want him to know about this, otherwise Li Fu would not have hidden it from him. If that was the case, he should be tactful and not mention it on his own initiative.

Just be happy every day and don't think about things that haven't happened yet.

Chu Ran thought so, as if it gave himself some kind of faith and determination. When he turned around, there was a smile on his face.

"I brought back some fresh pastries today. Would you like to try some?"

Li Fu had already put the letter back on his body. He walked towards Chu Ran and asked curiously, "What kind of cake?"

So Chu Ran opened the paper package and showed it to him.

Li Fu reached out and took one of them, lowered his eyes, and took a light bite.

When he lowered his eyes, Chu Ran also lowered his eyelids at the same time. He looked at Li Fu in front of him. For some reason, his originally bright eyes seemed to become dim in an instant, and revealed an inexplicable sense of frustration and loss.

At noon, Chu Ran had finished his lunch and felt a little sleepy, so he lay down on the stone table in the yard and took a quick nap.

A palace maid was walking past him in the corridor, carrying a red lacquer tray.

"The Qianqiu Festival will be in a little over a month. By then, many officials and royal relatives from other places will come to Beijing to meet the emperor. In order to entertain these adults, it will be very busy. Other palaces have already started to get busy. I estimate that it will be the same in our palace soon."

"Didn't we just celebrate Qingming Festival a while ago? Oh, there are so many festivals here and there. It's really annoying."

Whenever there is a festival, the people in the upper levels feel uncomfortable, but the most uncomfortable ones are the people below. Each of them is like a diligent and selfless worker ant. After finishing one job, there is another job, as if there is never-ending work to do.

Moreover, the festivals in the palace were said to be small, but compared with those in the private sector, which one was not extravagant? Didn't it cost a lot of money? Didn't it use a lot of manpower? Moreover, the Qianqiu Festival, the emperor's birthday, was the most important festival of the year, so it must be celebrated in a grand manner.

"Can you just say that? Shut up and don't say that again."

After being scolded like this, the palace maid didn't dare to say anything anymore, and the two of them walked away soon.

After hearing this, Chu Ran changed direction, basking in the warm sun above his head, and continued lying there.

But even though his eyes were closed, he was not asleep.

What the two palace maids said just now did remind him.

The Qianqiu Festival is coming soon. At that time, princes and officials from all over the country will come to Beijing to congratulate the emperor on his birthday. Will Li Fu's uncle come as well?

Chu Ran has recently figured out that Li Fu's uncle is Dingbei King Qin Yuxiao, who is the first king of a different surname to be conferred in this dynasty. People in the palace don't seem to know the relationship between Li Fu and Dingbei King, and they don't even know that Concubine Rou and Dingbei King are actually brother and sister.

It is intriguing that no one in the palace knew about this.

However, as the Qianqiu Festival approached, Li Fu began to leave home early and return late, and his movements became inexplicably more frequent.

Like a stone thrown into the water.

Chu Ran's heart, which had just calmed down, began to ripple uncontrollably again.

The emotions that had been suppressed before now surged up again.

Prince Dingbei's visit to the capital, coupled with Li Fu's increasingly abnormal behavior recently, made Chu Ran think more.

He even began to wonder, if the day of separation really came, he would ask first or Li Fu would take the initiative to mention it to him.

Will Li Fuhui leave with him without saying goodbye?

Chu Ran didn't know.

But slowly, he seemed to have begun to accept the day when the two of them would eventually go their separate ways.

There is still half a month to the Qianqiu Festival. Basically, officials from all over the country have already arrived in Beijing one after another, except for those who have to travel a very long distance, but they will arrive in the capital in the next day or two.

As early as three or four days ago, Chu Ran found out that King Dingbei had already entered the capital with his men and was currently living in a house in the city.

That night, Li Fu came back very late as usual.

In the past, Chu Ran would not wait for him, but would just lie down and go to sleep. But tonight, Chu Ran lit a candle and sat in the room patiently waiting.

He had a premonition.

Li Fu should have something to say to him tonight.

It was almost the second watch, but Li Fu had not returned yet. Chu Ran supported the bed with both hands, closed his eyes, and was on the verge of falling asleep.

He nodded his head from time to time, and finally, after waking up again, the door was pushed open, and Li Fu walked from the thick darkness outside the door into the bright room illuminated by candlelight.

He first turned around and closed the door.

When he turned his head, Li Fu met Chu Ran's eyes, which were forced to perk up.

Li Fu didn't expect that Chu Ran was still awake. Even if he saw the candlelight in the room, it didn't mean that Chu Ran was still awake. Because Chu Ran knew that Li Fu came back very late recently, so he always left a candle for him every night.

He thought Chu Ran had gone to bed.

Chu Ran straightened his back, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and said, "You're back."

"Yeah." Li Fu entered the room, walked to the bed, then sat down next to Chu Ran, turned his head and looked at Chu Ran seriously.

He pursed his lips, but did not ask Chu Ran why he had not rested yet at this hour.

Because he had something to say to Chu Ran.

He had wanted to say these words to Chu Ran for a long time, but he didn't make up his mind until tonight.

"Chu Ran."

"Um?"

Chu Ran's eyes turned red from rubbing them himself. He raised his hands slightly in front of his eyes and looked sideways at Li Fu.

"I have something to tell you."