After wiping Chang Lai's body, Chang Fang brought out a basin of hot water and bumped into Xiao Ziwu. Seeing that His Highness's expression was relatively calm, he happily said, "Your Highness is back!"
Xiao Ziwu frowned, his thin lips, which were a little redder than usual, curved slightly, and his cool and handsome face showed a hint of satisfaction: "Well, go to the storeroom later and find that piece of Jinyun yarn."
Jinyun yarn is produced in Lingnan, a capital city called Rongyu in the previous dynasty. The production process of this yarn is complicated, and it often takes ten pieces to produce one piece.
After the current emperor raised an uprising, the first capital city he conquered was Rongyu. After the city fell, the method of making this gauze was lost. Now, it has been driven up to exorbitant prices by noble ladies, with a single piece worth tens of thousands of gold coins.
Because Jinyun yarn was expensive and hard to come by, noble ladies could not afford to use it to sew clothes; they would usually take a small piece and use it as a shawl.
As it happens, among the belongings of Consort Li, a princess of the previous dynasty, was a piece of silk. This silk had been gathering dust in a box for many years, and no one expected that His Highness would remember it one day!
His Highness rarely uses anything from the storeroom. There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, the contents are numerous and valuable, which could easily attract thieves who would covet them. His Highness is weak and alone, and cannot defend them. Secondly, these are all relics left by Consort Li, and His Highness would be moved to tears whenever he sees them. Thirdly, His Highness has never cared about these material possessions, so they have no use for him.
"What does Your Highness intend to do with it?"
Surely it can't be for personal use only? His Highness has never liked these fancy, frivolous things, things that only young ladies would use.
Wait... young lady...
Your Highness wouldn't be giving it to that heartless and ungrateful Miss Shangguan, would you?!
As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw His Highness's face darken, and his dark pupils held a hint of anger as he said, "Didn't I tell you not to speak of her like that again?"
Chang Wang was so frightened that he immediately fell silent, only then realizing that he had unknowingly spoken his thoughts: "This servant has misspoke, please forgive me this time, Your Highness!"
Despite his seemingly cold and indifferent demeanor, His Highness is actually quite lenient with them in daily life and rarely reprimands them so harshly.
Chang Lai secretly grumbled to himself, "Could this Miss Shangguan be a spirit in disguise, capable of bewitching minds? Otherwise, how could she have caused His Highness's temperament to change so drastically time and time again?!"
The gift of the cloth was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Xiao Ziwu. Although he had only glanced at his cousin when she came over to greet him and had not remembered her appearance, he had a particularly strong memory of the pale yellow velvet dress she was wearing.
He had seen the girl wear this outfit once before. Her graceful figure was like a shy kerria flower on a branch in early spring, so he remembered her after just one glance.
The Shangguan family was considered a wealthy family, so they shouldn't be so poor that they couldn't even afford to make their own clothes and that the young girl had to use her own clothes to make up for it.
Although he was unaware of the details, he still silently made a note of it.
To outsiders, the young girl might seem humble and polite, unlikely to fuss over such trivial matters with her cousin. But he inexplicably knew that the young girl was extremely delicate and wouldn't want clothes that had been touched by someone else.
This applies to both clothes and people.
If others covet her things, she may not say anything, but she will ultimately be unhappy. In that case, it's best to give her something even better.
"Go and prepare it." Xiao Ziwu pinched the bridge of his nose, then suddenly remembered, "By the way, how is Xiaoyuer?"
Well, you only open your storeroom once in a million years, and when you finally do, it's only to use it to appease Miss Shangguan...
I thought His Highness had severed ties with her after this trip.
You should try to be more ambitious!
Chang Wang pursed his lips and said reluctantly, "The fish are all fine. This servant will go to the storeroom to get the yarn right away. Your Highness, please go to your bedchamber to rest. You haven't slept for two days and two nights."
Xiao Ziwu nodded slightly and waved for him to leave.
He took off his outer robe and lay down on the soft couch for a short rest, closing his eyes and thinking that the girl would be able to return to the Imperial Academy tomorrow.
There are only five hours left.
...Five hours remaining
※
After the snow cleared in the afternoon, the long icicles under the eaves in the courtyard had not yet melted, and the plum blossom branches in the corner of the wall were still frozen with ice and snow, but the winter sun was warm and it was a good time to go out.
The gatekeeper brought news that Xie Wuyun's carriage was waiting in front of the mansion.
The young girl was worried that the woman was depressed because of the plaster, so she specially sent a visiting card to invite her to the teahouse to listen to storytelling.
She had recently been chased by thieves and was still shaken. Thinking that going to a teahouse to enjoy tea and listen to storytelling would be a relaxing and pleasant experience, she gladly accepted Xie Wuyun's invitation.
However, he was stopped by Shangguan Jingyi when he reached the door.
It's clear that she put in a lot of effort.
She wore a white silk skirt with three layers of brocade, and a chrome-yellow coat over it. Her hair was adorned with silk hairpins and pink jade ornaments, all of which were fashionable at the time. She was completely different from her simple and frugal appearance when she first arrived in the capital.
"Where are you going, little sister?" Shangguan Jingyi steadied the hair ornament on her head and hurried a few steps to catch up.
Trying to secretly meet with the Third Prince again? Don't even think about leaving me behind this time!
Seeing that she was dressed up so extravagantly, her little schemes obvious, Tianyun lowered his eyes and smiled slightly, "The daughter of the Xie family of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion invited me to a teahouse for tea and snacks. Why, does my cousin want to go too?"
Lingqi was seething with anger. This silk-filled jade hairpin was a coming-of-age gift prepared by the madam for the young lady. Recently, this cousin took a liking to it and begged the old matriarch to come and ask for it. The madam gave it to her out of filial piety. Now, she was wearing it in front of the young lady without any hesitation, which was really infuriating!
"Only Miss Xie... no, is there no one else?" Shangguan Jingyi was greatly disappointed.
She pursed her lips slightly: "Cousin, who else would you like to come along?"
"I...I didn't mean that," Shangguan Jingyi said timidly, her face flushed.
Xie Wuyun, who was waiting impatiently in the carriage, couldn't help but lift the thick curtain and peek out, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and get in."
"Please do as you please, cousin. I'll be going now."
"I...I also want to go with you. The capital is prosperous and magnificent, bustling with traffic. I've longed to see it for a long time, but I've never had the chance. I wonder if you could take me with you, sister, so I can broaden my horizons?" She tugged at Tianyun's sleeve and asked weakly. Even without Xiao Ziwu, she would still go with them; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of her elaborate attire?
She couldn't bear to part with the immense wealth of the capital. The exquisite silks, the delicate and delicious food, the priceless hairpins and jewelry—she had never possessed them before and never felt any desire for them, but now all of this was within her reach.
Amidst a dazzling array of flowers, she had made up her mind to stay in the capital! All she wanted was to marry a good man…
She should broaden her horizons. Xiao Ziwu is not the only one who can help her escape Wei County. There are many nobles, nobles, and talented young men in Shengjing City who can be her options. She cannot put all her eggs in one basket!
"If that's the case, then let's go." Since she said that, Tianyun felt indifferent.
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