Chapter 59: Damn, my hands are dirty

After getting on the carriage, Chu Ran was embarrassed to get too close to Li Fu, lest he be suspected of trying to get close to him, so Chu Ran took the initiative to sit opposite him, by the window.

In order to avoid a direct line of sight with Li Fu, Chu Ran opened the curtain and turned to look out the window as soon as he got on the carriage.

But early in the morning, there were few stalls and few pedestrians on the street. It was really deserted and there was nothing to see.

Chu Ran looked for a while and felt bored. He also thought it was stupid that he was pretending to look at the scenery outside while he was actually just avoiding eye contact with the other person. So after hesitating for a moment, Chu Ran put down the curtain and turned his head back.

There were two buns next to Li Fu. They were almost cold, but Li Fu didn't eat them.

It would have been fine if I couldn't see the buns. Now that I could see them, all I could smell was the fragrant smell of the buns. Chu Ran's hungry stomach was shrinking. He licked his lips subconsciously and reminded Li Fu, "The buns won't taste good if they get cold."

He wanted to remind Li Fu to eat the buns quickly so that he wouldn't get hungrier the more he looked at them.

"Um."

Li Fu responded, but did not move.

This person doesn't want to eat and just leaves it there. Is he hungry or not? If he's not hungry, don't waste it and eat it himself. It just so happens that he didn't eat anything in the morning.

However, even though he was hungry, Chu Ran would not act so useless just for the two buns.

Chu Ran closed his eyes and planned to take a nap.

The carriage was moving neither fast nor slow. If you say it was urgent, Li Fu didn't seem to be in a hurry. If you say it was not urgent, why didn't Li Fu skip breakfast before entering the palace?

"I have no appetite." Li Fu said.

Chu Ran opened his eyes.

Li Fu looked at him and said, "Eat it."

Then Chu Ran won’t be polite.

He stretched out his hand to take the bun, but just as his fingertips were about to touch it, Li Fu grabbed his wrist.

Chu Ran raised his head, "Hmm?"

"My hands are dirty."

"Oh oh." Chu Ran subconsciously wanted to pull his hand back, but the other party held it tighter, so Chu Ran didn't move for a while. Then he saw Li Fu took out a clean handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped Chu Ran's fingers that were rubbed black from somewhere.

He lowered his eyes, his expression was cold, but he looked meticulous and focused, as if he was not wiping Chu Ran's hands, but doing something that required serious concentration to do well.

Chu Ran felt a little embarrassed. After all, in his entire life, only his mother had wiped his hands like this when he was a child. Even his father had never done such a thing.

"No need, I can do it myself..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Fu raised his head and looked at Chu Ran, who immediately fell silent.

Why does he look so fierce?

It didn't look like she was wiping his hands, but more like she was going to chop off her fingers one by one.

Could it be that after getting drunk last night, his fingers touched something they shouldn't have touched?

It is possible.

Otherwise there's no way to explain why he rubbed his fingers so hard.

Because his hands are "dirty", he has to rub them hard to clean them.

Oh my god, what the hell did he do last night? Did Li Fu want to kill him at that time?

Maybe he really thought about it, but because of the little bit of affection he had when they were young, he didn't have the heart to do it.

Hey, Chu Ran, ah Chu Ran, you should be more careful in the future.

After finally wiping his hands clean, Li Fu put the bun into Chu Ran's hand.

"Eat." Li Fu said.

Chu Ran felt that what Li Fu said was not "Eat it" but "Eat me until you die."

Chu Ran took the bun trembling with tears, took a bite, then turned his head and swallowed it with tears.

When they arrived at the palace gate, Li Fu let Chu Ran down. Before leaving, Chu Ran did not forget to thank Li Fu.

Although Li Fu asked for a day off, Chu Ran still went directly to Qiluan Palace. Li Dingning was surprised to see him. "Aren't you feeling unwell? What's wrong? Are you feeling better?"

Chu Ran didn't feel unwell. He thought that this was probably an excuse Li Fu made to ask for leave.

"It's okay." Chu Ran said.

"I was planning to come over to see you this afternoon." Li Dingning said, "But I'm glad you're okay."

"Well, nothing happened."

Chu Ran responded, but Li Dingning suddenly said, "What's wrong with the back of your neck?"

"Ah?" Chu Ran subconsciously touched the back of his neck and asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

"It's all red, like it was bitten by something."

The bite was quite hidden, under the hair. If Chu Ran hadn't turned his head, Li Dingning might not have been able to see it.

"Oh, it must be a mosquito bite."

Chu Ran said this, but didn't take it too seriously.

"You're back just in time. I need your help with something. Please follow me."

Li Dingning took Chu Ran's arm and dragged him into a small storeroom nearby, which basically contained Concubine Li's private property, as well as gold, silver, and other treasures that the emperor had bestowed on Qiluan Palace over the years.

"My third brother is getting married soon. I should pick some gifts to celebrate his wedding. Can you help me pick some good ones?"

Although Concubine Li and Concubine Xi had an old grudge, Li Dingning had a good relationship with Li Gaoyou. The main reason was that Li Dingning was a fool. Apart from having a little temper, he didn't bear grudges at all. But it was hard to say what Li Gaoyou thought of Li Dingning.

Since it is to congratulate Li Gaoyou on his wedding, the gift must not be too shabby, but considering that the relationship between the two brothers is not really that good, we cannot take out all the good things that have been hidden in the bottom of the box.

So Chu Ran helped Li Dingning to pick out some things in the warehouse, and finally picked out a few things that were not too expensive but not too embarrassing to show off as gifts for Li Gaoyou's wedding.

During this time, Chu Ran went out for a while, and on his way back, he was bumped into by a little palace maid who was walking in a hurry with her head down.

"S-Sorry."

The little palace maid hurriedly apologized. Chu Ran looked down at her and found that he knew this little palace maid.

Speaking of which, it happened half a year ago. Fu'er was serving in Concubine Xi's palace. When he saw her at that time, she must have done something wrong and was punished. Both sides of her cheeks were covered with red slap marks. Her face was swollen and she was squatting in the corner crying with a wronged look. Chu Ran saw it and went forward to comfort her.

Later, the two met several times. Every time they met, Fu'er would smile at him, and Chu Ran would also smile at her, but in fact, the two did not talk much.

"you……"

Chu Ran wanted to say a few words to her, but Fu'er seemed very nervous and anxious. She bowed to Chu Ran and left in a hurry.

Chu Ran turned around and looked at Fu'er's back as he ran away, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

Fu'er is young and slim, and normally the clothes she wears as a palace maid would look baggy. But today, the clothes she wears are obviously stretched out.

He remembered that the last time he saw Fuer was more than a month ago. How come Fuer has become so fat in such a short time?

After thinking for a while, Chu Ran still found it strange, so he followed.

When he was halfway along the way, he saw Fuer go into the rockery nearby. Chu Ran stood there, wondering whether he should continue following, when suddenly someone patted his shoulder gently from behind. Chu Ran was so frightened that his heart skipped a beat and he turned his head away abruptly.

But after seeing who the other person was, Chu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

"Prince, why are you here?"