Chapter 156

Chapter 156: Who Else Would I Hold?

Back in Linshui Town, Chun Zhi had already felt that Gu Yuan Jia could not let go of Yu Zhu. After Chun Zhi secretly sent Yu Zhu away and then left herself, she later reunited with Huo Zheng, returned to the Capital, and even heard faint rumors that Gu Yuan Jia had never stopped looking for Yu Zhu.

Now both Gu Yuan Jia and Yu Zhu were in the Prince of Chang’an Manor and ran into each other often, and Nian’er, Yu Zhu’s daughter, was here too. With Gu Yuan Jia’s sharp eyes, it would not take long for him to notice that Nian’er had everything to do with him.

Chun Zhi wanted to ask if Yu Zhu had ever thought about making things right with Young Master Gu. In the past, Chun Zhi had only been a tofu seller in Linshui Town and could only help Yu Zhu run away. Now that Chun Zhi was the Princess Consort of Chang’an, if she formally recognized Yu Zhu as her sworn sister, then Yu Zhu marrying Gu Yuan Jia as his principal wife would not count as reaching above her station.

But Yu Zhu did not give Chun Zhi the chance to say all this. After a long silence, she said in a low voice: “How could he possibly not take a wife.”

Seeing Yu Zhu’s mood turn heavy, Chun Zhi dropped the topic and instead played with Nian’er and Little Xing Hui.

Watching the two little ones play so happily, Yu Zhu also began to smile. No one knows what the future will bring, so holding on to the good in front of us matters most.

Thinking of how Nian’er would need a bigger space now that she was brought over, Chun Zhi set aside a courtyard near the main house for Yu Zhu. At first Yu Zhu would not accept it, but Chun Zhi said it was for Nian’er. Living closer would make it easier for her to be Little Xing Hui’s playmate. Only then did Yu Zhu agree.

In the days that followed, Chun Zhi had Yu Zhu bring Nian’er over each day to play with Little Xing Hui. The two little ones got used to each other quickly and stuck together from morning to night.

After his wedding, Huo Zheng stayed home a few days, then went back to morning court and the busy routine of state work. Chun Zhi began learning to manage the Prince’s Manor. She started with daily chores and slowly moved to checking and balancing the accounts. She only went to the accounting room when Little Xing Hui was asleep. One evening, after lulling the child to sleep, she ate a little by herself and then went to go over the ledgers.

When Huo Zheng returned, it was already late. The main house was bright with lamps, but Chun Zhi was not there. He went to the side room where Little Xing Hui slept and saw the child fast asleep with the wet nurse at the bedside. He raised his hand to tell the wet nurse not to make a sound, stepped out, closed the door, and called in the courtyard: “Qing Ye.”

Qing Ye came at once and said: “This maid is here. What does the prince command?”

Huo Zheng asked: “Where is the princess consort?”

Qing Ye answered quickly: “The princess consort is in the accounting room. I will go invite her back right now.”

“No need,” Huo Zheng said: “I will go myself.”

It was a hot summer night, the cicadas crying without pause. Huo Zheng crossed the galleries and reached the accounting room. No one else was around. A single lamp burned inside. Chun Zhi sat at the desk, moving the abacus and studying the ledger in the lamplight, serious and focused.

Huo Zheng stood outside the window for a while, but she did not notice him. He gave a quiet cough, stepped in, and stopped in front of the desk so his tall figure blocked the light and wrapped her in his shadow.

Only then did Chun Zhi realize someone was there. She looked up, saw it was Huo Zheng, and her lips curved as she said: “You’re back.”

Huo Zheng reached to take the ledger from her hands and said: “It’s almost midnight. If I hadn’t come back, were you not planning to rest?”

“I haven’t finished,” Chun Zhi said, quickly pressing her hand on the ledger.

“Do it tomorrow,” Huo Zheng told her.

“No,” Chun Zhi said firmly: “Tomorrow has its own things. Today’s work should be finished today. I can’t drag it to tomorrow.”

Huo Zheng smiled with a touch of helplessness and said: “Then I will finish today with you.”

Standing at her side, he opened the ledger in front of her and asked: “Where are you up to?”

“Page twenty-three,” Chun Zhi said, pointing to a line with one hand while moving the abacus with the other. Her abacus work was a bit slow, but very careful.

In Linshui Town she earned only a little money selling tofu, and she could count that by hand without any abacus. But the ledgers of the Prince of Chang’an Manor piled up like mountains. She could hardly read through them all.

Standing behind her, Huo Zheng guided her hands on the abacus beads, teaching her how to use it faster and better.

Chun Zhi could not help glancing up at him. He laughed and said: “Why are you looking at me? Look at the ledger.”

“Oh,” Chun Zhi said, and lowered her head again. With him teaching, it was much better than anyone else.

“You are a prince,” Chun Zhi said in surprise: “Do you really use the abacus yourself to check ledgers?”

“More skills never hurt,” Huo Zheng said.

“True,” Chun Zhi said. She also felt she should learn as much as she could.

They stayed there a long time. Night wind drifted in, warm with summer heat. The lamp flame by the desk jumped and wavered.

Chun Zhi grew sleepy and could not help a yawn. Huo Zheng said: “Let’s stop here for today and go rest.”

She looked up at him and thought: [Will we really rest after we go back?]

Meeting her eyes, Huo Zheng understood at once what she was thinking, yet he still smiled and asked: “Princess consort, why are you looking at me like that?”

Not saying it straight, Chun Zhi answered: “There are only three pages left. I’ll finish them and then we can go back.”

“Then I will wait here,” Huo Zheng said. He had taught her enough for the night and stood by fanning her.

With a “famous teacher” guiding her, Chun Zhi’s fingers sped up on the abacus, and she began to look like an old hand. The last three pages were done in no time.

She slid the beads back to their places, put the ledger away, and rose to stretch, but before she could speak, Huo Zheng scooped her up in his arms.

He had carried her often by now, so she no longer startled. She only looked up at him and asked: “Why did you suddenly pick me up?”

“Because I wanted to,” Huo Zheng said easily: “You are my princess consort. If I don’t hold you, who else would I hold?”

Chun Zhi laughed. She really was tired tonight, so she looped her arms around his neck and leaned into him as she said: “Then I’ll trouble the prince.”

Huo Zheng liked how openly she accepted him. Ever since the day Chun Zhi discovered the tofu workshop had been moved into the Prince of Chang’an Manor and he laid his heart bare, nothing stood between them. Now they fed Lucky Fortune together, played with Little Xing Hui together, and looked at each other with feelings that could not be hidden.

When he carried her out of the accounting room, it was deep night, and even the maids around the manor were already asleep. He held her as they passed through the long summer corridor filled with cicadas, and they went together to the bath.

Huo Zheng drew the water himself, poured it into the tub, and took Chun Zhi by the hand as he said: “The weather is hot. Let’s wash and then sleep.”