Shared bathing
The two were ushered into the mansion by a servant. Although Master Qian did not crave luxury, the mansion was exquisitely decorated, and the servants were all working in an orderly manner.
The servant led the two to the main hall, had a maid serve tea, and then excused himself to fetch Master Qian.
Before he arrived, his voice preceded him. Qian Gu was a burly man with a very prosperous appearance, but his laughter was hearty.
"You two have been waiting for a long time." Qian Gu bowed to the two men, but was genuinely surprised when he saw Zhao Youyi's face. "General Zhao...?"
Zhao Youyi curtsied slightly: "Master Qian, I am Zhao Youyi, the twenty-ninth head of the Zhao family. I have come here to discuss the purchase of grain with you."
Upon hearing such a similar name and seeing such a similar face, Qian Gu suddenly remembered that Zhao Youli had indeed mentioned having a younger sister.
"So it's General Zhao." Qian Gu sat at the head of the table, carefully examining the newcomer. "I understand what you mean, General, but now that General Zhao is dead, and you... you're just a woman, sigh!"
He sighed deeply as he finished speaking.
Chu Chanyin's gaze sharpened as he swept over him, and he said in a calm voice, "So what if she's a woman? So what if she's a man? My cousin is now the commander of the Zhao family army. We are here representing the entire Zhao family army. Master Qian, you should think this through carefully."
"And who is this...?" Qian Gu turned his gaze to him, his eyes filled with a probing look.
Zhao Youyi introduced, "This is my husband. He is straightforward and speaks his mind. Please don't mind him, Master Qian."
Qian Gu was not an ignorant wealthy merchant who was oblivious to what was happening around him. Everyone in Jiangzhou knew that the orphaned Zhao girl had been betrothed to His Highness the Prince of Chu. Since Zhao Youyi said that this was her husband, then this must be His Highness the Prince of Chu.
Qian Gu hurriedly tried to kneel down to pay his respects, but was stopped by Chu Chanyin with a look.
"We have come here with sincerity," Zhao Youyi said calmly, then took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it to Qian Gu.
Seeing her resolute and calm expression, Qian Gu could easily discern her ambition from her eyes. He was willing to take a gamble, and from then on, Qian Family Village would still be protected by the Zhao family. Moreover, judging from Zhao Youyi's appearance, he felt that this woman was of immeasurable nobility. In addition, she had His Highness the Prince of Chu behind her... In this chaotic world, he, a wealthy merchant, was unarmed and could not protect so much grain. He might as well sell it to the Zhao family army. From then on, the two of them would have a new friendship.
After weighing the pros and cons, Qian Gu gritted his teeth and agreed: "General, I agree, but I have one request."
Zhao Youyi raised an eyebrow slightly, knowing that things weren't that simple: "Why don't you tell me?"
"I hope that when chaos is imminent, General Zhao can send some men to garrison Jiangzhou," Qian Gu said.
Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin exchanged a glance. Seeing that there was no objection in each other's eyes, Zhao Youyi agreed, "I sent some of my men over a few days ago to discuss the purchase of grain with you. They will handle the rest of the procedures for you."
Zhao Youyi handed him a large stack of silver notes.
Qian Gu counted the number of guests, nodded, and said, "General and Prince have come a long way. Why don't you rest at my humble abode for the night and set off again tomorrow?"
Zhao Youyi really didn't want to wear wet and then dry clothes to the next place, so she simply agreed.
Qian Gu was overjoyed: "That's wonderful! I'll have my servants prepare guest rooms right away. Tonight, I'll definitely prepare a feast for the General and the Prince and drink to our hearts' content."
Chu Chanyin agreed and beckoned to the servant outside the door. The servant hurriedly ran over and said, "Greetings, esteemed guest. What can I do for you?"
"Go to the manor and ask if there are any clean clothes, one set for men and one set for women," Chu Chanyin said.
Upon hearing this, Qian Gu slapped his forehead and suddenly realized: "General and Prince, you must be tired from your journey and would like to take a bath, right? Fortunately, there is a natural hot spring in the back mountain of our area. I will have the servants prepare fine wine and fruit to welcome you both and wash away the dust of your journey!"
Zhao Youyi did feel exhausted, and it would be troublesome to have the servants boil water at this time, so he agreed without much thought.
Chu Chanyin, who was standing to the side, blushed upon hearing this. Before he could say anything, Qian Gu led Zhao Youyi toward the back mountain, and Chu Chanyin had no choice but to follow.
Upon arriving at the natural hot spring, Zhao Youyi realized why Chu Chanyin had hesitated to speak earlier—because there was only one large pool here!
Although the area is shrouded in white mist and nothing can be seen clearly, is it inappropriate for them to bathe together?
But... she just told Qian Gu that Chu Chanyin is her husband, so there's no reason for them to be separated. It's just that their marriage is fake!
She admitted that revealing Chu Chanyin as her husband was to increase her bargaining power, since the King of Chu was a decorated general with a reputation for virtue, making him more convincing than a rising star like herself.
But she absolutely did not intend to take advantage of him!
Zhao Youyi glanced back at Qian Gu, and Qian Gu exchanged a look with her, smiled knowingly, told the maid to put down the wine jars, fruit, and clothes, and then led a large group of people away.
At this moment, Zhao Youyi felt so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear into the ground.
After thinking it over, she decided to explain, "Cousin, I didn't know at the time..."
Chu Chanyin shook his head and tentatively asked, "Why don't you go first, cousin, and I'll go out and keep an eye on things for you?"
Zhao Youyi was too embarrassed to do that, so she quickly grabbed his arm and said, "How can this be? Your clothes were wet and then dried, it must be uncomfortable to wear them, why don't you wear them together?"
Chu Chanyin stared at her with wide eyes, somewhat incredulous. "No! Men and women shouldn't touch each other!"
Zhao Youyi was initially quite embarrassed, but seeing how embarrassed Chu Chanyin was, she calmed down. The more this old-fashioned man kept shouting that men and women should not touch each other and that this was unreasonable, the more excited she became.
She pointed to both sides of the hot spring and said, "You go this way, I'll go that way, and we won't bother each other, is that alright?"
Chu Chanyin hesitated, "This is really unreasonable."
Zhao Youyi really wanted to push him into the water. "Chu Huaicong, if you don't listen to me, I'll personally help you take off your clothes."
Upon hearing this, Chu Chanyin quickly took a few steps back, looking at her warily: "Alright, I agree, but it's agreed that we'll both turn our backs on each other and not look at each other."
Zhao Youyi nodded indifferently and walked to the other side of the hot spring to remove his hairpins and outer clothes. As soon as he turned his head, he saw his jade-like back appearing and disappearing in the white mist. His long black hair was also damp with some water vapor. Because of his injured right arm, he rested his right arm on the shore and did not notice that Zhao Youyi did not turn his back but stared straight at him.
Zhao Youyi casually picked up a glass of wine, stared at Chu Chanyin's back, and drank it all in one gulp. He felt a strange sense of anticipation at this moment.
In the end, Zhao Youyi was the first to get ashore and put on her clothes. Looking at the clothes of the man next to her, she smiled slightly and decided to kindly deliver them to this cousin.
“Cousin.” Zhao Youyi walked up to him, his footsteps extremely light. Chu Chanyin almost didn’t notice him. His wariness, honed on the battlefield, made him instinctively reach out to grab his neck. But when he opened his eyes and realized who was in front of him, he couldn’t stop his strength. Zhao Youyi was no pushover either. He bent down and dodged backward, grabbing Chu Chanyin’s hand in the process.
“Cousin, you’re being disobedient.” Zhao Youyi looked at him with a smile. “Not only did you open your eyes to look at me, but you also tried to touch me.”
Chu Chanyin stared wide-eyed innocently, feeling more wronged than Dou E. "I didn't! You came here first!"
Zhao Youyi pretended to be sad and wiped away a tear. "I was just trying to help my cousin deliver the clothes. I didn't expect my cousin to think of me like this. He not only thinks I'm lusting after your good looks, but he also thinks I'm crying wolf."
Chu Chanyin broke free from her grasp and muttered, "Isn't that right?"
Zhao Youyi smiled and said, "Cousin, although I'm not strong enough, my ears are still perfectly fine."
Chu Chanyin rubbed his slightly reddened wrist and glanced at her: "You call this not big enough?"
“This was a subconscious action of mine, just like when you tried to choke me just now,” Zhao Youyi explained, raising an eyebrow.
Chu Chanyin didn't know what else to say, since he had indeed struck first, and to be honest, he was in the wrong.
Seeing that he had calmed down, Zhao Youyi put down the clothes and asked in a seemingly considerate manner, "Cousin, your right arm is injured. Shall I help you get dressed?"
Chu Chanyin quickly shook his head: "No! Men and women should not touch each other!"
Zhao Youyi shook her head and continued his sentence: "This is really unreasonable. Cousin, Your Highness Prince Chu, can you please put it another way? Besides, we are a proper married couple who have already bowed to heaven and earth. I am a woman and I don't mind, so why are you so bothered?"
“First of all, our marriage is a temporary measure, and the fact that we are cousins cannot be changed,” Chu Chanyin said earnestly. “Secondly, since you don’t mind, I will naturally do my best to fulfill my duties as an elder brother. Your not minding means that you consider me your brother deep down, so how can I betray your trust?”
Zhao Youyi was completely defeated by his logic. After staring at him for a moment, she shook her head and said with feigned regret, "Cousin, you are such a good person, so handsome and dashing, why do you have such a rigid mouth?"
Chu Chan glanced at her and said naturally, "It's probably because I don't need to deal with so many emotional complexities, so I'm naturally not as eloquent as my cousin."
Zhao Youyi knew he was subtly bringing up Gu Zeyu's matter, and she felt that her cousin's sarcastic remarks were no less outrageous than those of the most unreasonable Mrs. Li next door.
Zhao Youyi stood up and stretched, deciding to let him go this time. However, she didn't turn her back, but stared straight at him.
Chu Chanyin felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and said shyly, "Cousin, could you please turn around?"
Zhao Youyi smiled and said, "Why? Aren't we the closest cousins? Why should I avoid you while you're getting dressed?"
Chu Chanyin was stunned by her sophistry and his eyes widened: "That's different!"
"How is it different? Where is it different?" Zhao Youyi looked at him with a smile, her gaze sweeping over him from head to toe. "Cousin's physique is indeed... very different from others."
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