An unprecedented sense of warmth and belonging welled up from Chang Lili's heart. Before, she was like a drifting duckweed, but now she had a home, a place to shelter her from the wind and rain.
For the first time, she felt that meeting Meng Yuxiu was a blessing she had accumulated over several lifetimes.
Thinking about it carefully, Meng Yuxiu is truly a rare and wonderful man. No wonder all the girls in the capital want to marry him.
He was not only the number one general in the Yun Kingdom, but also skilled in both literature and martial arts. He was handsome and rugged in appearance, and had a delicate mind. It seemed that... there was nothing to criticize.
Chang Lili stared at him blankly, thinking to herself that Meng Yuxiu was so perfect that she had never noticed before.
She looked at him, and he noticed her odd behavior and stared back at her.
The two looked at each other, and Chang Lili frowned again. Meng Yuxiu was so perfect and treated her so well, but when she looked at herself, she was so mediocre that she could hardly find any merits.
She was not a pampered young lady raised in seclusion, nor a girl from a modest family. She was not skilled in any of the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and knew nothing about needlework. She had never even touched the precepts and virtues of women.
She realized with shame that the gap between herself and Meng Yuxiu was too great, and that she really didn't seem to be good enough for him.
"What's wrong? You're unhappy because you can eat walnut shortbread? Are you afraid it will get too greasy if you eat too much?" Meng Yuxiu asked, puzzled, with an amused expression on his face.
Chang Lili paused for a moment, then went along with it and said, "Yes...yes, I'm just afraid of getting tired of eating the same things. When you don't have something, you think about it day and night, but if you get it too easily, you won't cherish it."
Meng Yuxiu glanced at her in surprise, sized her up for a while, and felt that there seemed to be some deeper meaning in her words.
"I'm not going to say anything more. I'm going to go and try the walnut shortbread made in the kitchen to see if they've mastered the technique."
Chang Lili ran out as she spoke, but then she heard Meng Yuxiu's voice coming from behind her: "Whether someone cherishes something or not depends on the person. Not everyone who gets what they want will not cherish it."
Upon hearing this, Chang Lili turned her head, frowned, and said, "Are you implying that I don't know how to cherish things?"
Meng Yuxiu was speechless. He sighed and continued reading, thinking to himself that a woman's heart is as unfathomable as the ocean.
Chang Lili said she wanted to eat walnut shortbread, so the kitchen made it immediately and brought it to her room.
Although the auntie in the kitchen wasn't a royal chef, she had mastered the taste of these walnut pastries to a great extent. While not exactly the same, the flavor was just as good.
While enjoying her walnut shortbread, Chang Lili thought about the banquet she was attending the next day. She suddenly realized that she was going to offer her congratulations, and as a well-known imperial foundry and a person of importance, she couldn't go empty-handed.
But what to send her was something that really stumped her.
"Should we go and discuss this with Meng Yuxiu?" Chang Lili asked worriedly as she swallowed the last bite of walnut pastry.
As she spoke, she got up, intending to go find Meng Yuxiu. Before she even left the courtyard, she clapped her hands and stamped her feet in delight, saying, "How could I be so silly? I am a blacksmith, so naturally you should give me something made by my own hands. It would be in line with my status and be respectable."
She had initially thought she would have to go back to the military workshop, but then she remembered that there was a forging furnace in the mansion, so why go to such lengths? She still had to go find Meng Yuxiu.
"You want to make a longevity lock?" Meng Yuxiu, who was about to leave, was called back by Chang Lili. He asked in surprise.
Chang Lili nodded firmly: "Yes, I want to borrow the forging furnace in the manor for a while. Time is tight, so I won't go to the military workshop."
Meng Yuxiu disagreed: "I will prepare the congratulatory gift. You know time is tight. We don't know when it will be finished. You should rest early and come to the palace with me tomorrow."
"But...but you prepared your own. I was fortunate enough to be admitted to the Military Workshop by the Emperor's favor to make this longevity lock. Part of it was to thank the Emperor and return the favor," Chang Lili said shamelessly.
Meng Yuxiu smiled upon hearing this: "There's no need for any reciprocity between us and the Emperor."
"Could you lend me the forging workshop for a moment? I'm itching to try it myself. I've forged a lot of weapons, but I've never made an ornament like a longevity lock before. I'd like to give it a shot," Chang Lili said. She didn't even realize that her soft, sweet voice had unconsciously taken on a hint of coquetry.
Meng Yuxiu, whose arm was being held by Chang Lili's soft, slender hands, couldn't help but smile and said helplessly, "Alright, the forging workshop is there, no one will stop you if you want to use it, but have you prepared the materials for forging things?"
Chang Lili's face lit up with joy, and she immediately let go of his hand, saying, "No, I'll go buy it now."
But Meng Yuxiu pulled him back: "I will arrange for someone to buy it immediately. You go and make preparations."
Chang Lili hugged Meng Yuxiu tightly: "You're so wonderful, Meng Yuxiu!"
The latter was stunned for a moment, then a smile instantly spread across his face. He reached out and hugged her gently, as if he were holding his own precious treasure.
A soft gasp came from inside the house, and Chang Lili saw a little maid running away with a giggle, glancing at her and Meng Yuxiu with ambiguous eyes from time to time.
She was terrified, her neck and face burning up. She quickly pushed Meng Yuxiu away and ran towards the forging furnace without looking back, saying, "I'll go prepare right away."
Meng Yuxiu looked at his hands, seemingly still unsatisfied, and finally could only show a helpless smile.
Before long, Ke Shou brought the items to the forging furnace and handed them to Chang Lili.
When Chang Lili opened it, she found gold ingots for forging and an exquisite gold chain.
"What is this?" Chang Lili asked, puzzled.
Ke Shou explained meticulously, "The general told the girl that once she finished making the gold lock, she could hang it directly on this chain. This way, it wouldn't diminish his sincerity and would also save a lot of effort."
Chang Lili smiled shyly, feeling that Meng Yuxiu was truly considerate.
So she got to work in a flurry of activity, and although she had been working on weapons and small items at the military manufacturing department lately, her skills had not diminished but rather improved.
She became engrossed in her work as soon as she started, and the process went very smoothly. When she held the longevity lock that she had repeatedly hammered and polished in her hands, someone came forward and gently wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Caught off guard, Chang Lili was startled. Looking up, she saw Meng Yuxiu and said, still shaken, "How did you appear out of nowhere? You scared me to death!"
Meng Yuxiu chuckled and put his arm around her, gently squeezing her shoulder to comfort her: "I've been here for a while, you were just too engrossed in your work and didn't notice."
As he said this, he was genuinely jealous, feeling that he was not even as good as the gold nugget that Chang Lili was hammering.
"Is it done?" he asked.
Chang Lili smiled smugly, stretched out her palm, and there lay a small, exquisitely designed, golden lock, which was quite charming.
Meng Yuxiu took it and looked at it, his eyes full of admiration. Although he had already witnessed Chang Lili's skill in crafting exquisite items, he was still surprised.
"Not bad, right?" Chang Lili said, taking out the gold chain he bought, taking the longevity lock from his hand, and hanging the gold chain on it. "All done!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
