The person arrived before the voice.
As He Youyou stepped down from the carriage, a tiny figure was precisely placed into her arms.
"Wenqi?!"
She called out instinctively, but then thought, no, shouldn't I call him Second Prince?
Zhao Wenqi lifted his head from her embrace.
"Auntie, why are you only coming back now? I've been waiting for you for ages."
He Youyou squatted down to be at eye level with him.
"Oh, what brings the Second Prince out of the palace?"
Zhao Wenqi felt a little embarrassed when she called him that.
"Auntie, you won't blame me for hiding my identity from you before, will you?"
"It's not your fault, I only blame your fourth uncle. He was the one who concealed it first, you're at most an accomplice."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Changqing's voice came from behind Zhao Wenqi: "It was my fault, please don't blame me, Youyou."
He Youyou looked toward the source of the sound.
Zhao Changqing was dressed in a dark blue jacquard dress, leaning casually against the door frame.
He Youyou stood up and smiled nonchalantly.
He appeared very magnanimous: "Alright, since Your Highness has admitted your mistake so readily and offered such a generous gift, I will forgive you. Thank you for the gifts, ingredients, and... the courtyard, Your Highness."
Zhao Changqing was taken aback.
"Courtyard...courtyard? What courtyard?"
"Hmm, I've been wandering around here for several days now. Do you think I haven't noticed that this little courtyard is surrounded on three sides by the Prince of Yue's residence?"
Zhao Changqing looked embarrassed.
He really didn't expect He Youyou to find out so quickly.
However, He Youyou didn't bring up the issue with him again.
"I will remember this favor."
It was just a small courtyard; it was nothing special, neither to someone as wealthy as himself nor to Zhao Changqing, who was a prince.
Things that are not of high value are not worth taking to heart.
(Yes, given He Youyou's current net worth, the value of this courtyard is negligible.)
"Come on, Wenqi, let's go inside and play."
He Youyou pulled Zhao Wenqi into the courtyard.
Zhao Changqing followed silently behind.
Upon entering the main hall, He Youyou discovered that a charcoal stove was burning inside.
The charcoal in the stove had been burning for an unknown amount of time, and a considerable amount of ash had already been produced.
She asked Zhao Wenqi, "Have you been here for a long time?"
Zhao Wenqi nodded with a wronged look: "Yeah, that's right. I waited for my aunt for a long, long time, longer than copying a piece of calligraphy."
He Youyou smiled and asked Zhao Changqing, "Was this charcoal sent by the Prince?"
She had no recollection of buying charcoal recently.
Zhao Changqing said awkwardly, "Well, the Prince's Mansion has a fixed annual supply of charcoal, which is sent from the palace. The palace sends it out early, in the autumn. There are only a few people at my place, just me, so it would be a waste if we didn't use it all, so... it was sent over... Anyway, you can use it here, so you don't have to buy it again."
"How dare I accept your things every day?"
“It’s alright, you…” Zhao Changqing looked at his nephew, “Wenqi is always coming and bothering us. I’m sorry to trouble you to take care of him. Consider this little something to even things out.”
Nephew, please come more often in the future...
He Youyou had tea served to the King of Yue and snacks served to Wenqi, while she took out a book to read.
Zhao Wenqi peeked over to see what book she was reading.
He Youyou showed him the words on the cover—
"Illustrated Guide to the Daqian Leishi (a type of ancient Chinese plow)".
Zhao Wenqi pointed to the two uncommon characters on the screen: "Auntie, what do you pronounce these two characters?"
He Youyou said, "The plow is a type of agricultural tool used for farming, and can also refer to farming implements in general."
Zhao Changqing asked from the side, "Why are you looking at farm tools again?"
Based on his understanding of He Youyou, he knew that she never acted without a purpose; all her actions were deliberate.
"Well, I wanted to understand the level of productivity here, and looking at the farm tools is the simplest and most intuitive way. Besides going to the bookstore to buy books, I also went to a few blacksmith shops today."
He Youyou opened the book.
This book is an illustrated guide, consisting mainly of pictures with some text.
All kinds of agricultural tools are available, from land reclamation and sowing to harvesting.
It is rich in illustrations and text, and also includes some examples, making it very interesting to read.
Zhao Wenqi pulled his chair next to He Youyou, knelt on it, and sat close to her, heads touching, reading the book together.
Zhao Changqing was extremely envious.
While they were engrossed in watching and didn't notice, he secretly moved his chair over.
Let's watch it together.
Zhao Wenqi pointed to the plow on top: "This looks really fun."
"This is a plow, used for turning over soil, like this."
He Youyou used her palm and fingers to simulate a plow, tracing it across the table: "Plowing like this turns up the soil in the ground, and only after the soil is loosened can we sow seeds and cultivate the land."
"Wow!" Zhao Wenqi's eyes lit up. "This looks so fun! I really want to see it in person!"
He Youyou was overjoyed to see him like this.
Isn't this exactly how men look when they see an excavator?
That's truly a man's romance...
"Okay, I'll take you to the farm tool shop sometime so you can see it for yourself."
Zhao Wenqi exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go tomorrow! I've saved up two days off, so I don't have to go back to the palace tonight."
"Okay, I have nothing to do anyway, let's go to the farm tool shop tomorrow."
“I’ll go too,” Zhao Changqing suddenly said. “It’s not safe for the two of you to go out on the street. I can protect you.”
Zhao Wenqi agreed, and He Youyou did not object.
The itinerary for the second day was thus decided.
The next morning, the little boy, led by his uncle, came and started banging on the door.
The housekeeper was completely stunned by what he saw.
In the capital, farm tool shops and blacksmith shops were separate, but not far apart.
The iron parts of farm implements, such as the plowshare, were made by blacksmiths.
The plowshare is then combined with other wooden parts to form the finished product, which is then sold in farm implement shops.
Although the capital city is a bustling commercial district, there is also a considerable amount of farmland outside the city.
People who farm outside the city often come to the city to buy farm tools.
Besides individual farmers, some large landowners and estate owners would also engage in centralized procurement.
The three of them arrived at the farm tool shop, where the shopkeeper was dumbfounded.
Hey, this family of three—the man is handsome and noble, the woman is exceptionally beautiful, and the little boy is adorable—they don't look like the kind of people who need to buy farm tools at all.
"May I ask what you, sir, madam, and young master, wish to buy?"
He Youyou said with a smile, "Shopkeeper, please let us take a look around first."
Zhao Changqing stood silently to the side, quietly serving as a background figure.
He was dressed in plain clothes today, and he rarely makes public appearances, so ordinary people don't recognize him as the King of Yue.
The shopkeeper was very friendly, smiling and saying, "Alright, madam, please feel free to browse."
Then Zhao Wenqi skipped and hopped in first.
"Auntie, auntie! I found it! It's here! Wow, it's so much fun!"
Shopkeeper: Hmm? Fun?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com