"Lu Ye, do you want to follow this king and accomplish a great cause?" Prince Yu asked Lu Ye, slurping his shredded chicken noodles and looking up at him.
Lu Ye shoveled noodles into his mouth, "No."
Prince Yu glanced at Bai Sheng, "Are you just content to live off her?"
"Mm, I really like eating my sweetie's soft rice," Lu Ye said without lifting his head.
Prince Yu looked at him deeply, shook his head, and sighed, "So useless."
Lu Ye slurped his noodles, ignoring Prince Yu.
It was fine to be useless; he was eating his own wife's soft rice, not someone else's.
But Prince Yu was still not giving up, "I can give you a salary of five thousand taels a year. In the future, you..."
Lu Ye lifted his face from his bowl, looked at Prince Yu, and said very earnestly, "Don't say anymore, I won't agree. Working with you means leaving my sweetie, and I don't want to leave her for a moment. I want to stay by her side always."
Prince Yu gritted his back teeth, "Useless!" But if he were Lu Ye, he should... he would probably do the same, after all, it was Bai Sheng.
Slurp, slurp...
They both ate their meals, ignoring each other.
It had been three days, and he still wasn't leaving! Bai Sheng really wanted the dramatic, arrogant king to get lost quickly. She had to personally serve him his food and drinks, and also rack her brains, which was very tiring.
All the necessary discussions were finished. What was he doing at her house every day? And he ate so much. Who had ever seen a king eat three bowls of noodles and five eggs in one morning?
"Qiu, when is your master leaving?" Bai Sheng sidled up to A Qiu and asked him stealthily.
A Qiu looked at his master, who was enthusiastically playing cuju with a group of children in the distance. He shook his head and sighed, "It's difficult, Xiao Bai. You'll have to bear with it a little longer."
In fact, A Qiu didn't want to leave either. Bai Sheng's cooking was too delicious!
Moreover, his master's temper was exceptionally good here. He had never lost his temper. He ate whatever Bai Sheng gave him, several bowls at a time, never being picky, making him incredibly easy to serve.
A Qiu was beginning to suspect if his master had been replaced with someone else.
"He eats a lot, and my family is poor," Bai Sheng's brows furrowed.
*Swish.* A Qiu pulled out a banknote of 200 taels, "This is for the food, Xiao Bai, take it!"
After all, his master's money was all with him. To have a few more peaceful and carefree days, A Qiu was willing to spend a lot.
Bai Sheng didn't take the banknote. Prince Yu was her family's support, after all. It wouldn't cost much for him to eat at her place for a few days. The main thing was, she felt mentally exhausted. "Qiu, for your sake, I'll bear with it a bit longer."
A Qiu gratefully patted Bai Sheng's shoulder. Ah, these good days were to be cherished one day at a time.
When Prince Yu was tired from playing cuju, he collapsed on the sand, panting. The children, led by General Fen, collapsed opposite him, fervently discussing how to defeat the gluttonous Prince Yu on the cuju field.
Granny Zhong, while weaving a bamboo basket, watched them play. As she wove, she moved closer to Prince Yu, "My King, this old woman dares to ask, are you married? Do you have children?"
Prince Yu panted and said, "Not married, no children."
Granny Zhong exclaimed, "Tsk tsk, you are so handsome, a man of talent, and the noble Prince Yu. Which girl is so blind not to fancy you?"
Prince Yu's expression froze. He turned and looked at Granny Zhong inexplicably, saying calmly, "You are mistaken. Girls who fancy this king could circle the capital city three times. It's just that this king doesn't fancy them. Hmph, not every commoner is worthy of this king."
Granny Zhong suddenly understood, "Oh, I see, that makes sense. Indeed, few girls are worthy of you. However, this old woman dares to ask again, what kind of girl do you like?"
Prince Yu's gaze fell on Bai Sheng, who was discussing matters with Du Min not far away. He said without concealment, "I like girls like Bai Sheng."
Granny Zhong was stunned. Heavens, what had she heard? Prince Yu also liked her young madam? But the young madam was already the master's wife, and their relationship was extremely good.
Granny Zhong flinched, "But... my young madam is already... already..."
Prince Yu interrupted Granny Zhong, flashing a devilishly charming smile, "This king doesn't care. Even if she is married, has had children, this king doesn't care." What he cared about was this person.
Granny Zhong was dumbfounded. She had no idea how to respond next.
Prince Yu's gaze, however, remained fixed on Bai Sheng.
"Prince Yu, still want to fight?" General Fen called out provocatively from the other side.
"Of course, we fight!" Prince Yu came back to his senses, patted the sand off his behind, and walked over. Having lost to Lu Ye in the competition the other day, he had to defeat Lu Ye's younger brother today to salvage some of his pride.
Granny Zhong was left in the wind, bewildered.
Oh dear, she really wanted to smash her own wicked mouth to see what trouble it had brought her, a huge, unbearable secret.
If she told the master about this secret, it would surely cause conflict between the two men, perhaps leading to a fight, bloodshed, and a life-or-death struggle.
If she didn't tell, what if Prince Yu snatched the young madam away? At least it would make the master more vigilant and keep a closer eye on the young madam. Prince Yu was a king, after all. If he tried to snatch her, the master might not be able to stop him.
What about telling the young madam? Oh dear, wouldn't that just add to the young madam's worries?
Granny Zhong thought it over and finally decided not to tell anyone anything. It was the young people's business, and they should resolve it themselves.
Moreover, Prince Yu had only said he liked the young madam, not that he would snatch her away. The young madam and the master had such a good relationship; he wouldn't be able to snatch her if he tried.
Granny Zhong decided to be like an old stone that Prince Yu could confide in, with ears but no mouth.
Finally, three more days passed, and Prince Yu left with great reluctance.
When they left, he and his guards had visibly gained weight.
Prince Yu left Bai Sheng a thousand taels of silver notes, and five hundred taels for Ji Cheng He, instructing him to keep good records and to expedite the matter of the towns raising funds to dig wells.
Ji Cheng He repeatedly agreed.
After Prince Yu left, Lu Ye informed Bai Sheng that he was going to the Martial Academy to handle a matter and headed towards the town.
Granny Zhong tightly covered her mouth and buried her head in her work.
Red Tree Slope returned to its former tranquility.
The road construction should commence immediately. Many people registered to work that afternoon.