Chapter 149

Chapter 149: How Are You Here

Gu Yuan Jia truly could not understand.

Back at the Gu Manor, he had not exactly treated Yu Zhu like a rare jewel, but he had treasured her very much.

Qingyi Lane had a shabby house and a mother?in?law who did not look like a good person. If Yu Zhu had lived well after leaving him, Gu Yuan Jia would have said nothing, but what kind of life was she living?

Huo Zheng cut in with a calm reminder: “No matter what, she is a married woman now.”

Gu Yuan Jia’s smile faded as he shot back with a hint of challenge: “Prince, that was not what you said when you took a bride by force in Dongzhou.”

Huo Zheng glanced at him without emotion and asked neatly: “Did you come today just to say this to me?”

Gu Yuan Jia laughed once and admitted the truth: “Of course not,” for he had come for real business and had only happened to run into Yu Zhu.

Huo Zheng straightened and ended the detour with authority: “Then put away these thoughts and speak about the matter.”

Since Prince Chang’an had already spoken, Gu Yuan Jia could only comply. Outside, the sun was bright and birds skimmed past the eaves. He set aside his feelings and began to talk business with the prince.

After Chun Zhi coaxed Little Xing Hui to sleep, she called the steward and the steward matrons over to ask about household affairs in the Prince’s Manor.

Everyone had gone before the princess consort to receive a reward on the second day after the wedding, and now they came to report. Each person was extra careful and wide awake.

Chun Zhi had been back at the Mu Residence for just over a month and had not learned very much yet. Both her mother and Huo Zheng told her to grasp the big matters and let the small ones go. So she had the steward stand at her side while she listened to the different steward matrons explain all kinds of affairs in the manor.

Even though they only chose the most urgent parts to report today, she still felt a little sleepy and had to sip tea to keep her spirits up.

Luckily, Steward Cheng Wen was young and very capable under Huo Zheng. Helping from the side and noticing Chun Zhi’s drowsiness, he suggested sensibly: “Let us stop here for today and continue tomorrow.”

The steward matrons all answered together: “Yes,” then withdrew.

With fewer people watching, Chun Zhi finally yawned, stood up, and spoke with a grateful smile: “Thank you for your help today, Steward Cheng.”

Cheng Wen answered with modest honesty: “Princess Consort, you flatter me. Affairs in the Prince’s Manor are many and messy. When I first took over, I felt lost too. This cannot be rushed. Please take it slowly.”

Chun Zhi gave a small hum of agreement and dismissed him kindly: “I will rest for a while. Steward Cheng, you may go back to work.”

Cheng Wen replied at once: “Yes,” and left.

Chun Zhi asked the maids to leave as well, then secretly stretched her back and sighed in her heart: [Being a princess consort is not easy. Learning to manage the household already makes my head spin, and even my actions and words are watched.]

When Chun Zhi walked out of the hall, the sun had shifted west and the heat was lighter. She went to the study, but Huo Zheng was not there. She asked the attendant serving in the study with a quiet voice: “Where is the prince?”

The attendant answered promptly: “An hour ago, the prince and Young Master Gu left the manor together.”

Chun Zhi nodded and waved the attendant away.

The Prince of Chang’an Manor was surprisingly large. Since her marriage, Chun Zhi had only moved between the main rooms, the front hall, and the back garden. She had not yet toured the whole place. Earlier, Huo Zheng had shown her a map of the manor and explained the use of each place. Chun Zhi remembered the basic layout. She cut through the back garden and started to stroll.

The sun set behind West Mountain, and the evening glow spread across the sky.

Pavilions and towers, small bridges and waterside pavilions lay everywhere in lovely scenes.

As she walked and looked, she realized she no longer knew where she had gone.

Suddenly, a shabby little courtyard appeared before her. It did not match the rest of the Prince of Chang’an Manor at all. It was exactly the same as her tofu workshop in Linshui Town. Even the bricks and the raised short wall were no different.

Chun Zhi stepped up and pushed open the gate, and at once heard a donkey braying from where it was tied in the yard.

When the gate swung open, one person and one donkey looked straight at each other.

Chun Zhi froze for a long moment before calling in disbelief: “Lucky Fortune?”

The donkey that had been lazing around perked up at once, its ears standing tall.

Chun Zhi strode forward in surprise and affection and asked like greeting an old friend: “So it really is you, Lucky Fortune. Did I not send you to Auntie Li’s house? How are you here?”

Lucky Fortune could not speak. Seeing Chun Zhi walk near, it kept sniffing and nudging her arm.

Chun Zhi patted Lucky Fortune’s head and asked again in a softer tone: “How are you here?”

From the moment she saw the little courtyard, a feeling she could not describe rose in her heart. After seeing Lucky Fortune, her feelings grew even more mixed.

After petting the donkey for a while, she let go and walked deeper inside.

She pushed open the door of the room where she had once lived. Everything inside was the same as it had been in Linshui Town: the bed, the curtains, the chest.

Chun Zhi walked to the bed, reached under it, and felt for the chest where she hid her money. She pulled it out and opened it, and saw the bundle of gold she had hidden on the day she left Linshui Town. She untied the cloth and saw the full one hundred taels of gold inside.

She sat on the edge of the bed and stared for a long time. She did not know how Huo Zheng had moved these things into the Prince of Chang’an Manor. The room had been cleaned carefully. Lucky Fortune was fed every day. Everything was just like when they still lived in Linshui Town.

Chun Zhi sat there a long while until the sky grew dark. Someone came carrying a lamp, and the light warmed the room.

When she looked up, she saw Huo Zheng. Holding the lamp, he walked to her and gently touched her face as he asked in surprise: “How did you come here?”

Chun Zhi called him in a low voice and asked with mixed feelings: “Huo Zheng, why did you move my tofu workshop here? And Lucky Fortune, what are you feeding him? He does no work all day and is fat like a pig.”

Huo Zheng smiled and explained in a quiet voice: “Back then, when I could not find you anywhere, I told myself I would find you someday. You cared so much about your tofu workshop and your money, so I had to bring them too. Maybe when you saw these, you would feel a little happier.”

Chun Zhi did not know what Huo Zheng’s days had been like when he could not find her. Everything in the room was in the exact same places as before. She wondered helplessly: [How can someone be this stubborn?]

Chun Zhi stood and said with a tight throat: “My tofu workshop does not match your Prince of Chang’an Manor at all,” and she felt the distance between them in her heart as she added silently: [Just like you and me.]

Huo Zheng asked back without hesitation: “What does not match? I think the tofu workshop looks quite good placed in the Prince’s Manor.”

For a moment Chun Zhi could not find any words and thought in a rush: [How can you do this?]

Seeing her struggle, Huo Zheng ended the argument himself with a soft admission: “This was all my own decision. It was my fault.”

Chun Zhi shook her head and corrected him quickly: “I did not say you were wrong.”

Huo Zheng took her hand to lead her out, but Chun Zhi stood still and would not move. With her nose stinging, she said half with blame and half with emotion: “You even hid my tens of thousands of taels of gold in the chest.”

Huo Zheng asked in return with simple logic: “Was that not the chest where you hid your money?” Then he added, as if that settled everything: “You always kept your money there.”

So when Chun Zhi was not around, he did the same as she used to and put her gold back inside. That way it felt as if Chun Zhi were always at his side, as if she had never left.