A series of beeping sounds came from the receiver, indicating that the person on the other end had already hung up. Li Bingchen gripped the receiver handle listlessly, unwilling to put it down.
After a long while, a soft knock came from the outer room of the high-ranking official's office. Only then did Li Bingchen come back to his senses.
"etc."
As he spoke, Li Bingchen put down the microphone, wiped his face haphazardly, and still feeling uneasy, went to the small washroom in the inner office to wash his face before leaving.
"Fifth Master?" Zhang Yang looked at Li Bingchen, whose eyes were slightly red, with some concern and called out softly.
"It's nothing." Li Bingchen shook his head, then pretended to be nonchalant and said casually, "I'm tired, I'll find a hotel nearby to rest."
"Yes." Zhang Yang didn't ask any further questions, but simply responded in a low voice.
Li Bingchen then walked over to Wang Fuyu, a high-ranking official from Sichuan Province who was 'dozing off' to the side, bowed slightly, and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Wang, I may have caused you trouble."
Wang Fuyu was a student of Li Bingchen's maternal grandfather and a confidant of the king. Hearing Li Bingchen's words, he shook his head indifferently and said, "It's nothing. At worst, he'll just get a reprimand. Not a hair will fall off." He added, "It's getting late. Why don't you come to my house to rest for the night, Your Highness? We can think about it tomorrow."
Li Bingchen shook his head and said, "No need, thank you Uncle Wang. I won't bother you any longer. I'll just find a hotel to stay in for the night."
Wang Fuyu said, "No inn is as comfortable as home. Your Highness, please come back with me."
"It was my father's idea. He told me to find a clean hotel to stay in for the night," Li Bingchen said, shaking his head again, his expression revealing a hint of disappointment.
"Sigh..." Wang Fuyu sighed heavily, reached out and patted Li Bingchen's tender shoulder, then stopped talking.
...
"Little Jiu, shouldn't we go 'collect' some more wild eggs? Or... catch a fatter wild rabbit?" After waking up, Yun Duo heard her grandmother's sighing faintly coming from next door, and she couldn't help but sigh as well.
Grandma is good in every way, except she's a bit too frugal.
Because Li Cheng left early, the eggs borrowed during the day had to be eaten by our family. Grandma was so heartbroken that she almost didn't eat dinner. If it weren't for Grandpa and Grandma's persuasion, she probably really wouldn't have eaten dinner.
She had already woken up, but she could still hear her grandmother sighing. She must be thinking about the eggs from the daytime and was so distressed that she couldn't sleep.
If she collects a bunch of wild eggs or catches a wild rabbit to sell, and sees some income, Grandma probably won't feel so bad, right?
"Okay, Master! How about we catch two? We can eat one ourselves and sell the other." Xiao Jiu happily agreed upon hearing Yun Duo's suggestion.
Because she didn't want to arouse suspicion, Yunduo hadn't let Xiaojiu catch rabbits or pheasants for a long time. Lately, Xiaojiu had only been eating sparrows every day, and it felt like it was becoming bird-like. It desperately needed to eat some other meat to change things up. If Yunduo didn't suggest catching rabbits soon, it would actively urge Yunduo to do it.
Upon hearing Xiao Jiu's words, Yun Duo nodded and said, "Okay, let's catch two. We'll sell one and stir-fry the other with some small green peppers and pickled cabbage." As she spoke, Yun Duo felt her mouth watering. She hadn't eaten meat for almost ten days, and she was really craving it!
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