Chapter 66 A Gift for My Beloved
A gentle breeze suddenly blew by, and then there was a knock on the door.
Jiang Ru stood outside, calling Pei Wu's name: "Pei Wu, open the door."
The person from his mind just now barged back in. Pei Wu hurriedly got up, the book in his hand was swept to the ground. He looked at the door, which had temporarily fallen silent, and hesitated, not knowing whether to go forward.
However, Jiang Ru raised her hand and knocked twice more, giving Pei Wu no way out, and said, "Open the door. I can see you have the light on. Don't pretend."
Pei Wu's last resort of pretending to be asleep was also blocked by Jiang Ru. The tightly closed door trembled slightly from Jiang Ru's knocking. Pei Wu paused for a moment, but finally moved forward and opened the door.
Because it was time to sleep, he was only wearing his undergarments. Jiang Ru outside had also changed her clothes, but because it was cool at night, she had put on an outer robe.
Fragrant silk threads scatter like clouds, autumn waters ripple like waves. Under the soft moonlight, her long hair cascades down like a waterfall, the clear moonlight casting a gentle glow on Jiang Ru's face. She holds a handful of jasmine flowers glistening with dew, the tiny buds brushing against her cheeks. Jiang Ru's cheeks are flushed, and the jasmine flowers in her arms are about to bloom, yet they cannot compare to the beauty of her face.
Finally, Pei Wu opened the door. Jiang Ru hugged Jasmine tighter and grumbled, "What are you doing? Why did it take you so long?"
As she spoke, she pushed Pei Wu aside and walked into the room on her own. Pei Wu's bedroom always had a vase, but he would only pick flowers and put them in occasionally. Now that the vase was empty, it was convenient for Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru placed the flowers in the vase. The white porcelain vase was as delicate as jade, with a few specks of blue embellishing it. The jasmine in the vase was so full it was about to overflow, and it looked as fresh as if it had just been picked.
Jiang Ru arranged the flowers herself before turning back to look at Pei Wu.
Jiang Ru's eyes, brimming with a gentle light, were fixed on Pei Wu. Pei Wu looked away, noticing that he was only wearing a white undergarment, and froze in place.
He forgot.
Before he could say a word to Jiang Ru, he hastily moved away. Thinking he was going to dodge again, Jiang Ru quickly grabbed him, frowning, "What are you doing?"
The undergarment clung to her body, and Jiang Ru had to grab it several times before she could actually hold onto Pei Wu. It was almost as if only a thin layer of fabric separated them, and Pei Wu's body temperature was transmitted to Jiang Ru's fingertips through this thin fabric.
As if electrocuted, Jiang Ru abruptly stopped.
This was different from before; she touched Pei Wu's back muscles, and even Jiang Ru herself felt it was somewhat impolite.
Her cheeks flushed red all the way to her ears. She exclaimed "Oh!" and lowered her head, saying apologetically, "I didn't mean to."
Pei Wu lowered his eyes and straightened his clothes, only saying, "It's nothing."
Then, he turned and went into the inner room. This time, Jiang Ru didn't stop him. She watched his back as he walked away before letting out a small sigh.
She was used to it, but she didn't expect Pei Wu's clothes to be so form-fitting. Luckily, she touched his back instead of his abdomen, otherwise it would have been even more presumptuous.
Before long, Pei Wu put on an outer robe and walked out from behind the screen, looking neat and tidy. Jiang Ru looked him over a few times, and only after seeing that he was dressed did she take out a sachet from her bosom.
The sachet is lilac purple, a soft and elegant color that matches Pei Wu's official robes perfectly. It was made by Jiang Ru after seeing Song Shu embroidering a sachet a few days ago.
I had originally planned to give it to Pei Wu in a few days, but seeing that Pei Wu wasn't feeling well today, I took it out ahead of time.
The sachet contained calming spices, which had been prepared long ago and were just put in today. However, the sachet was still missing two stitches, and Jiang Ru was in a hurry, so the last stitches were quite rough.
However, Jiang Ru's embroidery skills have never been very good, and she doesn't dare to embroider difficult animals, so she only embroidered a few small flowers on this sachet, which is already the best she can do.
Jiang Ru held the sachet, tied it into a pretty knot, and handed it to Pei Wu: "This sachet can help improve your mood. I hope you get better soon."
Jiang Ru spoke sincerely, as if all unpleasantness could be dispelled by Pei Wu wearing the sachet, urging him on, "Go ahead."
Her hands, holding the sachet, were slender and delicate, with a smooth, lustrous texture. The small sachet filled her palm. Pei Wu reached out and took the sachet away.
He wore the sachet around his waist. The stitching on the sachet was indeed not very good, and it was not as fine as his clothes. Jiang Ru looked at it for a while and then fell silent.
She tentatively reached out her hand: "Why don't you give the sachet back to me? This sachet isn't very good."
However, as soon as she reached out, Pei Wu grabbed the sachet at his waist like a possessive mother, fearing that Jiang Ru would snatch it away, and even glanced at Jiang Ru warily.
Jiang Ru awkwardly withdrew her hand: "What are you doing? I'm not trying to steal it."
He was clearly trying to snatch it from her just now, but now he's saying he won't. Pei Wu stroked the sachet at his waist and said, "I like it very much, there's nothing wrong with it."
Jiang Ru awkwardly said "Oh," and since it was already late and time to go to bed, she said, "Then I'll go back to my room first. Remember to go to bed early."
Pei Wu nodded, and she turned to walk out of the house. Before leaving, she picked up the book that Pei Wu had thrown on the ground and said casually, "You actually threw away your precious book. What were you doing behind my back just now?"
Pei Wu quickly denied it: "No."
Fortunately, Jiang Ru didn't think much of it. She put the book back on the table and left the room. The door opened and closed, but Jiang Ru's scent seemed to linger in the room. The faint fragrance she carried was floral, even more fragrant than the jasmine in the bottle, and it lingered in the room for a long time.
Pei Wu stroked the sachet at his waist. The sachet was filled with spices, and the fragrance was rich. Pei Wu could almost imagine Jiang Ru clumsily but earnestly embroidering, and then putting the sachet in her pocket, thinking about when to give it to Pei Wu.
When a woman from the Great Xia Dynasty gave a man a sachet, it meant only one thing: to express her affection. Even the flowers embroidered on the sachet were peonies, which symbolized love.
But Jiang Ru didn't understand. She just thought that the sachet would help Pei Wu sleep well and make him feel better, so she gave it to him.
The jasmine is small and white, just like Jiang Ru's heart, clear as water, without a trace of ambiguity.
Unlike Jiang Ru, Pei Wu had ulterior motives, so how could he accept Jiang Ru's sachet? He looked down at it for a long time, then untied the sachet and placed it on the bedside table.
The next day, Pei Wu went to Song Pingzhang early in the morning to get the official documents and warrants, and then took Jiang Ru to the Ministry of Rites.
The tributes sent from the South were scattered everywhere, with the majority kept in the examination hall, so they went there first.
There were officials guarding the examination hall. They seemed not to have expected Pei Wu to come so suddenly. The official was from the Ministry of Rites. He looked at the order repeatedly before opening the door to let Pei Wu and the other person in.
The warehouse was huge; the convoy carrying tribute from the Southern Kingdom couldn't even see the end of it, but the warehouse was mostly empty.
The rice sent from the South was piled up in a corner and no one paid any attention to it. Pei Wu asked for the tribute book, which had always recorded the tributes from vassal states. Pei Wu flipped to the records from previous years and found that Liaocheng rice had been included in the tributes from the South for several years.
The Southern Kingdom had always paid tribute, yet no one in the Great Xia knew about Liaocheng rice.
Pei Wu pointed at the Liaocheng rice and asked, "What is this Liaocheng rice...?"
The official glanced at it, not paying much attention: "Oh, this? It's rice sent from the South. It's not very useful. We used it all to pay salaries."
Therefore, once Liaocheng rice arrived in Daxia, it had no chance of being spread outside; it was all consumed internally.
Pei Wu glanced at Jiang Ru, who, having received permission, went to the Liaocheng rice area, lifted all the lids to check, and confirmed that these were indeed Liaocheng rice.
Jiang Ru nodded to Pei Wu. Pei Wu knew that Liaocheng rice was useful, so he said to the official, "Prime Minister Song needs Liaocheng rice. Today I submitted a memorial to transfer this Liaocheng rice away first. Please keep it safe for Prime Minister Song and don't let anyone else transfer it first."
In fact, no one was transferring the Liaocheng rice. Pei Wu only reminded him of this because he was afraid of any accidents. In addition, Song Pingzhang's reputation was very useful, so the official immediately agreed and promised to take good care of the Liaocheng rice.
Then, Pei Wu looked around and casually asked, "The tribute from the Southern Kingdom should have been counted by the Ministry of Rites before being transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. How come there are so many missing items now?"
The official didn't think much of it and replied, "Premier Chen said they were useful, so they were all transferred away."
Pei Wu nodded, then thanked her and led Jiang Ru away from the examination hall.
When the two left the examination hall, they went to the Imperial Treasury and the storehouse. Jiang Ru didn't understand. They had clearly finished looking at what they were supposed to see, and Pei Wu had said he was going to write a memorial. Why did they suddenly change their route?
Although puzzled, Jiang Ru didn't ask any more questions and ran a few laps with Pei Wu.
The capital's granaries were enormous, and with Song Pingzhang's official documents, the two of them had almost no obstacles. Pei Wu inspected several of the warehouses.
Even the Ministry of Revenue reluctantly showed it to Pei Wu, but his words were full of helplessness: "Our Ministry of Revenue doesn't accept everything. Those rice grains have already been distributed. They're all worthless things."
Pei Wu, however, was good-natured: "It won't hurt to take a look. It would be troublesome if something was missed."
These warehouses contain gold, silver, and other valuables collected by the Great Xia Dynasty in recent years. The sheer volume of these items is enormous. As soon as Jiang Ru stepped inside, she felt as if she were seeing priceless treasures, a truly dazzling sight.
The best items from various countries were sent to the imperial palace, while the rest were managed by the Ministry of Revenue and its three departments. However, any items that needed to be transferred required a transfer order, and in particular, they had to be approved by the higher authorities before they could be moved.
The records from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue were well done, but Pei Wu still noticed some discrepancies. The tribute items from various countries all had a rough estimate, and the records from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue were correct. The only discrepancy was in the treasury.
Chen Gou assaulted someone in the street, but this could be covered up because of the need to protect him; it was nothing serious.
But corruption can never be completely eradicated.
With the support of the Three Departments and the Empress Dowager, the Ministry of Revenue was indeed difficult to shake. However, if it were caught embezzling, even the Empress Dowager could not protect it.
After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, Pei Wu took Jiang Ru home. Once home, he wrote a memorial requesting the transfer of rice from Liaocheng, which would be submitted to the Emperor the next day.
As he wrote his memorial, Jiang Ru leaned against the table and watched him. No matter the occasion, Pei Wu's handwriting was always so pleasing to the eye. Staring at his hands, she felt much better and casually remarked, "You seem much better today. Did that sachet work?"
Pei Wu hummed in agreement. In fact, he hadn't slept well at all last night. His thoughts were a jumbled mess all night. He vaguely remembered that he only managed to get a little sleep when it was just getting light.
However, even though he hadn't slept all night, he was still in good spirits, so Jiang Ru didn't realize that he hadn't slept.
Jiang Ru followed his hand and looked down. As she looked, she noticed something was wrong. She reached out and touched the items on Pei Wu's waist. The fish pouch and the net were still there, but the sachet was missing.
She asked in surprise, "Why aren't you wearing a sachet?"
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Author's Note: There will be a second update tonight.
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