Two light words, yet they fell with the weight of a thousand pounds.
A surge of grievance and anger welled up in Li Tingyuan's heart.
After toiling for three days and three nights, all she received were his two words: "Recalculate."
And what she had asked for—the "simple" matter he had spoken of—was now being used by him as a bargaining chip… to make things difficult for her.
She even began to suspect that he might not merely be making things difficult but deliberately mocking her.
Li Tingyuan suddenly raised her head and glared at him. Tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes, blurring his expression from her view.
But she was certain he must be expressionless, or perhaps arrogant and aloof.
She gritted her teeth. "Pri—"
"If you can't even endure this little grievance, what do you think you can do once you leave Cuifu?"
Li Tingyuan's voice caught in her throat. Her indignant glare slowly turned into astonishment.
After what felt like an eternity, she suddenly grasped the meaning behind his words. A wave of scalding shame silently crept up her cheeks.
Her thoughts churned like turbulent waves.
Indeed, he was only asking her to recalculate the accounts.
And what they had agreed upon was precisely "to calculate without error," in exchange for his promise to grant her one request.
Now, it was her own mistake that had led to this. What right did she have to feel so indignant?
As Li Tingyuan calmed down, the heat gradually faded from her face.
She could feel his gaze fixed on her.
She stepped forward, picked up the account ledger and the dagger resting on it from the table, lowered her eyes, and said solemnly:
"Thank you, Prince, for your guidance today. Since the dagger is a gift from you, I shall accept it with gratitude. As for this account ledger, I will present it anew in two days. If there are any further errors, I will never again mention asking you to make connections for my brother."
Cui Zhuo had already picked up a document from the table and was reading it. Hearing her words, he casually lifted his eyelids to glance at her and turned a page.
"Go."
When Li Tingyuan returned to Qingning Yuan, she saw Cui Yueyao waiting for her at the entrance.
She snorted, hugged the account book, and walked past her, heading back inside.
Cui Yueyao hurried after her, grabbing the hem of her clothes and following silently.
Just as they were about to enter the room, Li Tingyuan suddenly stopped, swatted her hand away, and said, "I'm going back to my room. Why are you still following me? It's still so early—has the young lady of Cuifu already finished her studies?"
Hearing this, Cui Yueyao immediately threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Li Tingyuan's waist and whining:
"Oh, dear sister, I was wrong, alright?! I shouldn't have run off and left you alone that day. I just… I just…"
Cui Yueyao wriggled in her embrace, rubbing against her. "I just felt strange talking to her. I didn't like her…"
Li Tingyuan was tickled by her movements around her waist. The corners of her lips, which she had deliberately kept stern, curled upward, and she couldn't help but laugh:
"Cui Yueyao! Can't you stop touching my waist!"
Hearing her laugh, Cui Yueyao let out a long sigh of relief and pitifully extended the back of her hand:
"Look, my skin is so fair and tender. How could you bear to hit it? It's all red now."
Li Tingyuan pressed her lips together, trying to hold back her laughter, and beckoned her with a finger.
Cui Yueyao leaned in curiously, only to hear Li Tingyuan chuckle softly in her ear:
"Then come in quickly and let me see just how fair and tender it is."
Cui Yueyao exclaimed in surprise and playfully tickled her:
"Oh, Li Tingyuan! I never knew you had such a naughty heart!"
The two of them entered the room laughing and joking, with Cui Yueyao sitting to the side peeling an orange.
A sweet, refreshing fragrance instantly filled the room.
Cui Yueyao placed half of the peeled orange on a plate, then popped a segment into her mouth. Watching Li Tingyuan busy herself grinding ink and spreading paper at the desk, she mumbled indistinctly:
"What's been going on with you these past few days? Last time I saw you, you were also busy calculating accounts."
Li Tingyuan shot her a glare. "You think everyone is like you, Miss Cui, spending every day strolling around and listening to tunes, never having to worry about food or clothing for a lifetime?"
Hearing this, Cui Yueyao tossed the orange segment in her hand into her mouth and clicked her tongue:
"Aren't you the same now? Once you're in Cuifu, could they possibly short you on food and clothing?"
Li Tingyuan paused her hand as she dipped the brush in ink.
Seeing her remain silent, Cui Yueyao clapped her hands, took the damp towel handed by Yun Xiang, and wiped her hands while asking:
"By the way, I've made plans with Jiang Xuxian to go on an outing tomorrow. Are you coming?"
Li Tingyuan looked up at her words. "You're still in contact with him?"
Jiang Xuxian was the second-place scholar in Huaizhou's provincial examination that year. On his way to the capital for the metropolitan examination, he was robbed by bandits who took all his belongings and left the barely alive Jiang Xuxian by the roadside.
Coincidentally, that day Cui Yueyao was returning to the capital from her maternal grandparents' home and secretly rescued him.
Later, as the two spent time together, affection grew over time.
Jiang Xuxian had lost a leg and was disabled. Knowing he had no hope in the civil service examination, he simply became a teacher at Qinghui Academy in Tong'an County outside the capital.
Back then, Cui Yueyao often used Li Tingyuan as a cover to secretly meet Jiang Xuxian.
Li Tingyuan had also met Jiang Xuxian a few times, but for some reason, she could never bring herself to like the man.
Li Tingyuan had privately advised Cui Yueyao to cut ties with him, as their families were not well-matched, and the Cui Family would certainly not approve of this marriage. Even Jiang Xuxian himself had said he was unworthy of her and wanted to end the relationship.
But Cui Yueyao, as if bewitched, stubbornly refused.
Cui Yueyao moved a chair over to help Li Tingyuan grind ink, her tone downcast:
"I plan… to spend a little more time with him properly, then completely break it off."
Li Tingyuan took her hand:
"I know you've had feelings for him for so many years, and ending it would feel like having your heart torn out. If you truly can't bear to part… why not ask the Prince to help you take a closer look?"
"My brother has already met him."
Li Tingyuan paused. "What did the Prince say?"
Cui Yueyao lowered her eyes, her lashes quickly glistening with moisture:
"My brother said the same as you: 'This man is definitely not a good person.' He told me it's better to endure short-term pain than long-term suffering and to end it sooner. But I… I just think Xuxian is such a good person…"
By the end, Cui Yueyao's voice was choked with tears.
Li Tingyuan's heart ached, and she hugged her tightly. "When you go see him tomorrow, I'll go with you."
Cui Yueyao nodded in her embrace.
After a long while, she calmed down, took the handkerchief Li Tingyuan handed her, wiped the corners of her eyes, and asked:
"By the way, after I left that night, what did you talk about with Liu Mengyuan? You just arrived at the residence, and she came right over. She really acts like the lady of the house."
Li Tingyuan picked up her brush and dipped it in ink. "Nothing much, just chatted casually."
"Right, you two don't even know each other. What could you talk about?" Cui Yueyao nodded.
Li Tingyuan felt somewhat restless. She stared at the account ledger for a long time but couldn't calculate a single figure.
She simply set down her brush and looked at Cui Yueyao. "Can you tell me about her?"
"What's there to say about her? Who knows when she quietly got involved with my brother. If it weren't for my mother accidentally discovering that handkerchief in my brother's room the other day, and him finally admitting it was Liu Mengyuan, we'd all still be kept in the dark."
Cui Zhuo admitted it himself?
He treasured Liu Mengyuan so deeply, hiding her away, unwilling to let even his own mother know a thing.
Li Tingyuan suddenly recalled the question Cui Zhuo had unexpectedly asked her earlier in the study.
He asked if Liu Mengyuan had gone to see her.
Could it be that he thought she would make things difficult for her? Or that a delicate girl like Liu Mengyuan would suffer at her hands?
Li Tingyuan pursed her lips lightly. "It seems Cuifu will soon have a joyous occasion."
Cui Yueyao gave her a strange look, sensing something off about her tone.
But before she could dwell on it, a maid came in to announce that the mistress was asking for her.
Cui Yueyao bid farewell to Li Tingyuan, who stared at the sunlight spilling across the desk for a moment before picking up the account book again, reading it carefully word by word.
Early spring brought alternating warmth and chill, and a light rain began to fall at night.
The pattering of raindrops tapped against the dark tiles of the roof, droplets rolling down the eaves.
Li Tingyuan sat on the soft couch by the window and pushed it open.
A damp, cold breeze mingled with fine drizzle brushed against her face.
She took a deep breath of the crisp air, her gaze settling on the distant tree branches sprouting tender buds. Unconsciously, her thoughts drifted back to that midsummer banquet three years ago.
That day was the Lotus Appreciation Banquet hosted by Princess Jingshu.
Though called a Lotus Appreciation Banquet, anyone with eyes could see it was actually a welcome banquet Princess Jingshu had arranged for Cui Zhuo, who had just returned to the capital after half a year in the south.
After all, everyone in the capital knew of Princess Jingshu's admiration for Cui Zhuo.
Li Tingyuan had no right to attend such a banquet, but as it happened, she had gone to Cuifu that day, and Cui Yueyao invited her to join.
Thinking of Cui Zhuo, Li Tingyuan swallowed the refusal on the tip of her tongue. Unable to resist the longing in her heart to see him once more, she nodded under Cui Yueyao's expectant gaze.
It was her first time attending such a grand banquet, and she couldn't help but feel both nervous and excited.
She was sharing a pastry with Cui Yueyao when the gathering suddenly fell silent.
She looked up and saw the man who had arrived late.
Surrounded by a crowd, Cui Zhuo walked leisurely through the moon gate. Dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, he looked as pure as frost and snow, ethereal and aloof like an immortal descended to earth.
Perhaps spotting Cui Yueyao, he made his way directly toward the two of them, bypassing the crowd.
Li Tingyuan had thought that after half a year apart, the secret stirrings in her heart would have long since faded.
Yet seeing him again, watching him approach her step by step under the gaze of everyone present, her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
Even though he only glanced at her briefly before speaking to his sister.
Li Tingyuan lowered her eyes, her palms damp with sweat. Apart from the frantic beating of her own heart, all she could hear was the clear, jade-like sound of Cui Zhuo's voice.
Later, as the banquet reached its third round, Cui Zhuo left his seat.
Li Tingyuan, having been persuaded by Cui Yueyao to drink a few extra cups, felt a bit unsteady and went to a side room to rest.
But the moment she entered, she sensed something was wrong.
—The scent in the room was too overpowering, and by the bed in the inner chamber, a man seemed to be leaning against it.
Li Tingyuan was startled and was about to leave when she suddenly fixed her gaze, cautiously probing:
"Prince?"
The man inside was breathing heavily. Li Tingyuan stood at the doorway, struggling for a long time before forcing herself to inch closer.
As soon as she rounded the screen, she froze in place.
Author's Note: