Private Talk
"That was all thanks to His Highness secretly helping the Consort; otherwise, if anything went wrong at the banquet, it would have been a disgrace to the royal family." Xueya placed sliced fruits on a wooden platter and put it into the pool.
“That’s true. Perhaps this is His Majesty’s test for Your Highness.” Jiang Jin picked up a refreshing fruit and took a bite. “No wonder it’s a tribute; it tastes better than anything from outside.”
"Did you use the pills A-Wan gave you yesterday?" Lou Xuan asked, taking a bite of fruit and looking at the mark between Jiang Jin's collarbones.
"I used it. Please thank Awan for me." Jiang Jin put the leftover fruit peels on the shore and swam towards the other side.
"This spring water will help me relax; I was exhausted yesterday." Jiang Jin swam a few times, then found a smooth rock face to lean against.
"Father is aware of this matter, but since it wouldn't be appropriate to publicly reprimand the Fourth Prince for your sake, he has secretly dealt with some of his henchmen." Lou Xuan waved his hand, and Xueya took the wooden tray and retreated.
"Is Yun Fan still at the manor?" Lou Xuan asked, noticing that Jiang Jin's face was somewhat obscured by the mist.
"Probably, but I told him to leave early. If someone found out, I might have to clean up the mess, which wouldn't be worth it." Jiang Jin's hair was wet and hanging down her back as she cupped her fingers and stirred the spring water.
"I'll have someone keep an eye on the Yun family. Also, Xueya has drawn up a list of people familiar with your personalities." Lou Xuan was also worried about Ziyuan, but for the sake of the bigger picture, she couldn't take too many actions.
“Ziyuan wrote to us a while ago saying that although she was trapped, her life was not in danger. I think that person wants to use her as leverage to threaten us.” A cold glint flashed in Jiang Jin’s eyes.
“I killed that person inside, and Ziyuan was kidnapped outside. It's possible my every move inside was being monitored. No wonder killing him was so easy for me; even though Zhai Wan had several people protecting her, not a single person came to her aid.” Jiang Jin touched the bracelet on her wrist, looking at Lou Xuan.
"Why weren't they killed? I was clearly like a fish on a chopping board!" Jiang Jin wondered, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.
"Or perhaps that person was a pawn to be discarded, and you're just stepping in to eliminate them." Lou Xuan had seen many schemes that killed two birds with one stone in the palace, so he wasn't surprised.
"I didn't bring many people with me, just Yi Yi and His Majesty's secret guards. If they really wanted to capture me, it would be extremely easy." Jiang Jin shifted his posture and looked at Lou Xuan seriously.
“You know it’s dangerous yourself, so you can’t do something like this again.” Lou Xuan glared at Jiang Jin. “If you go missing, it will involve many people. Wei Shu will definitely do everything he can to find you. And Father, you are his handpicked female official. This is a provocation against Da Yan. I think the people behind the scenes don’t want to confront us so soon, so they let you go.”
Lou Xuan, seeing that it was almost time, left the pool. "Hot springs are nice, but don't soak for too long. Our people are well hidden in Sangzhou; your sister Wei Shu has been very careful in protecting them." Lou Xuan clapped her hands, and Xue Ya came in carrying two clean sets of clothes.
"It hasn't been that long, and Third Sister is engaged and Fourth Sister went to the temple. Your Highness, do you think the Jiang family is experiencing good fortune or bad luck?" Xueya asked with a smile as she helped Lou Xuan dry his hair, seeing Jiang Jin lying on the rock.
"It seems Madam Jiang has started to believe in these things. Not to mention, Madam Jiang herself is definitely having good luck, the best luck in the entire Great Yan." Xueya helped Lou Xuan put on her clothes and urged Jiang Jin on.
"My lady, hurry up and get out of here. If you faint in this pool, there will be no one to carry you back." Xueya smiled suggestively, making Jiang Jin's face flush.
"Fine, now everyone's making fun of me!" Jiang Jin went ashore, closed her eyes, and let Xueya do whatever she wanted to her.
"My lady, please don't be so formal. If I may presume to say something, there's nothing to be embarrassed about in knowing each other since childhood." Xueya helped Jiang Jin change into a new cloak.
"This garment is stained with blood, so I brought a new one." Xueya placed a warm hand warmer in Jiang Jin's hands.
"It's chilly outside, my lady, holding a hand warmer will make you more comfortable." A charcoal fire has been lit outside; although not as warm as inside, it's not icy cold either.
"Alright, I'll take my leave now, Your Highness." Jiang Jin put on his hat and stepped into the snow. Lou Xuan watched Jiang Jin's retreating figure and sighed.
"Let's go, I think she went to see Yun Fan." Xueya draped a cloak over Lou Xuan's shoulders.
"Madam Jiang is always cautious and needs to confirm things. Your Highness, should we go back?" Xueya asked, looking at the snowflakes falling outside.
"Let's go back. Chang Yi is still at the estate." Xueya held an umbrella to shield Lou Xuan from the wind and snow. "Your Highness, most people's eyes are on you now, I wonder..."
Lou Xuan patted Xueya's hand, "Don't worry, Father has his own way. If Father doesn't take action, then we will."
Lou Xuan looked at the swirling snow, his cloak still maintaining the temperature of the hot spring. "Have someone send a message to the people in Sangzhou, keep an eye on Wang Juesong's youngest son, and protect him if necessary."
"Yes, Your Highness." The two walked halfway but found that the snow outside had stopped. Lou Xuan leaned out of his umbrella and looked at the pavilion not far away, saying, "Let's rest for a while. This snow won't be falling again anytime soon."
"Your Highness." The pavilion was warm and inviting; Chang Yi was brewing tea and waiting for Lou Xuan.
"Your Highness, it's cold outside, why don't you come in and have a cup of hot tea?" Chang Yi placed the brewed tea on one side of the table.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be staying at the manor?" Lou Xuan glanced at the burning charcoal fire and knew that Chang Yi had been waiting for a long time again.
"Your Highness, I'm not made of wood. These legs are part of my body, and I can't control them if they want to come into this pavilion!" Chang Yi looked at Lou Xuan with a somewhat shameless expression, seemingly certain that Lou Xuan wouldn't do anything to him.
"Why are you in such a hurry to see me? Has something happened at the estate?" Lou Xuan sat down next to Xue Ya, who stayed close behind her.
"If something happens on the estate, it's not my place as the future prince consort to interfere." Chang Yi was well aware of his position; he only hoped that Lou Xuan would trust him a little more.
"Then what are you doing here?" Lou Xuan couldn't understand why he would leave the warm manor in this freezing weather and come to this drafty pavilion.
“We were waiting for Your Highness. Your Highness didn’t take a carriage when you left the estate, and later it started snowing outside, so we thought we’d wait for you on the only way back to the estate.” Chang Yi held out his palm. “I’m adding some charcoal to the fire for Your Highness.”
Lou Xuan glanced at him and placed the hand warmer in his hands. "You don't need to do this. As long as our interests align, we won't fall apart. You don't need to fawn over me like this." Lou Xuan watched Chang Yi add charcoal to the fire without saying a word.
"Your Highness, do you, as a member of the royal family, know how ordinary couples get along?" Lou Xuan pulled his warm fur cloak tighter to ward off the chill.
"I don't know, and I don't need to know. We can never be an ordinary couple." Lou Xuan looked at the hand warmer with newly added charcoal on the table.
"This hand warmer is worth four years' worth of rice for an average family of five. Chang Yi, do you think it's extravagant?" Chang Yi's gaze fell on the small hand warmer, its gilded exterior adorned with numerous gemstones, each one likely worth a fortune.
"Your Highness is of noble birth; even the most precious things in the world are merely embellishments on you." Chang Yi understood that these were just things Lou Xuan used casually. As a princess, although she wasn't as extravagant as a prince, she was certainly not frugal either.
"This hand warmer can be taken apart and made into a new one. The gemstones on it can also be inlaid into hairpins. As long as the people in the palace use some ingenuity, it can be made new again. The price to pay for being outwardly glamorous but inwardly frugal is that you can never make a wrong move." Lou Xuan warmed his slightly cool hands again with the hand warmer.
“Ordinary couples can quarrel and separate, but you and I cannot. You cannot have concubines, and of course I will not keep male lovers.” Lou Xuan raised his hand to help Xue Ya up.
"Is Commandant Chang going to stay here in the cold wind?" Lou Xuan glanced at Chang Yi's attire and seemed to know that he was neither cold nor hot, unlike the other fools who were concerned with their appearance.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask for a favor." Chang Yi, contrary to his usual behavior, did not follow Lou Xuan's lead. "Your Highness said that I do not need to flatter you, but I sincerely want to carry Your Majesty back to the estate."
Chang Yi stood up and stood beside Lou Xuan. Everyone said that Princess Zhaoyang was kind-hearted and a rare bodhisattva, but he could see the ambition and hardship in her eyes.
"It's easy for shoes and socks to get wet outside. If the princess catches a cold while out with me, His Majesty will surely punish me." Chang Yi squatted down, and soon a pair of soft arms wrapped around his neck.
"Let's go." Lou Xuan didn't mind Chang Yi's touch. Although he was a military general, he was less menacing when he wasn't carrying a sword.
"Does Your Highness like snow?" Chang Yi asked, feeling Lou Xuan's steady breathing on his back.
"So-so." Lou Xuan looked at the endless snow in front of him with a bitter expression. "They say that a timely snowfall promises a good harvest, but too much snow is not good either. People will be displaced, and next year's grain tax revenue will be even less."
"Does Your Highness have any thoughts?" Chang Yi knew that Lou Xuan wouldn't say these things without reason; there must be something he needed to do.
"It's snowing in Bianzhou too. People are distributing porridge and charcoal fires outside the city. The charcoal fires for the orphanage need to be better; the children and elderly might not be able to handle ordinary charcoal." Lou Xuan then thought of Wang Juesong's courtyard in Bianzhou.
"The main reason for auctioning Wang Juesong's courtyard in my name is to let those wealthy merchants know that the money they offer will be used to repair houses and bridges in Bianzhou and improve the lives of the people. Those people have always wanted to figure out my temperament, and they won't let go of such an opportunity to curry favor with me." Lou Xuan rambled on, and Chang Yi listened attentively.
"Does Your Highness require me to oversee this?" Chang Yi understood that he was Lou Xuan's person in name only, and these matters naturally required his involvement.
"Our wedding is in March. I hope you can go to Bianzhou the day after tomorrow. Once you've finished these matters, we'll get married." This was Lou Xuan's final test for Chang Yi, and also an essential step on the road to becoming partners who would weather any storm together.
"Alright, Your Highness, please wait for me in the capital. I will definitely not let you down." Chang Yi carried Lou Xuan through the wind and snow. The moon emerged from the clouds, and the snow gradually stopped.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com