The unadorned carriage slowly stopped in front of the small courtyard’s gate.
The person driving the carriage was none other than General Zhao Pingzhi, whom he had met twice before.
However, this General Zhao had now shed his magnificent brocade robes, instead donning a light grey coarse cloth gown with a plain belt tied around his waist.
His square face held a hint of bewilderment and helplessness.
The carriage curtain was pulled aside, and a young woman came into view.
Her eyebrows were like crescent moons, slender as willows; her eyes were like peach blossoms reflecting her rosy makeup; her skin was like congealed fat, her red lips thin; her eyes held an autumn gleam, like a flying swallow.
What a beautiful, delicate, and sickly lady in red.
Her figure was slender, yet her beauty was undeniable.
Her pale complexion, due to her illness, made one involuntarily feel a surge of pity.
Her fingers were slender, white as mutton fat jade, without the slightest blemish.
Her waist was so slender it could be encircled by a hand, swaying like a willow branch.
Her frail figure made one worry… would a gust of wind carry her up to the sky, to become the Moon Goddess Chang’e?
“Mr. Xu, this humble girl has arrived as promised. I hope you will not break your word.”
It seemed she noticed the fleeting look of amazement on Xu Ping’an’s face.
The corners of the woman’s lips slightly curved, her eyes filled with a smile, as she slowly performed a deep bow.
“How dare I?”
“Miss Li, please.”
“Mr., please.”
Hearing this, Xu Ping’an was slightly taken aback.
Seeing the smile in Li Hyu’s eyes, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Heh heh~ Since that’s the case, let’s go together then. I’ve already prepared the west room for you, although you can only use half of it for now. I apologize for the inconvenience, Miss Li.”
“Heh, you’re too kind, Mr. And please don’t call me Miss Li; you can just call me Li Hyu’er.”
Li Hyu’er?
So that was it; the Princess’s original name was Li Hyu’er.
How could he, an outsider, directly call her by that name?
It seemed Li Hyu’er saw the hint of hesitation on Xu Ping’an’s face and covered her mouth with a laugh.
“What? Could it be that even a noble and elegant person like Mr. is mindful of such mundane courtesies?”
Xu Ping’an was surprised.
This delicate beauty was much more open-minded than he had imagined.
“Heh, I dare not claim to be noble and elegant, Miss Hyu’er. You flatter me.”
“How could it be flattery? With Mr.’s divine medical skills, yet you are willing to live peacefully in this remote small town, in the countryside, which is completely unlike what someone of your age should be doing. Besides ‘noble and elegant,’ I truly cannot find any other words to describe Mr.”
“Oh? So, Miss Hyu’er believes, what should someone of my age be doing?”
“Of course, it’s seeking fame and fortune. All living beings in this world, coming and going, are invariably striving for fame and fortune. Only someone with Mr.’s mindset can endure such solitude, right?”
“I am truly undeserving. Miss Hyu’er, please come in.”
As they spoke, the two had already moved from the courtyard to the front of the west room.
Xu Ping’an pushed open the door and gestured with his hand.
“Other than the things on the medicine cabinet behind the screen, which you shouldn’t touch, there’s nothing else. Miss Hyu’er, please make yourself at home. I also found someone yesterday, and the east and west wing rooms will be built soon. But before that, I ask Miss Hyu’er to bear with this slight inconvenience.”
Li Hyu’er’s peach-blossom eyes swept around, revealing a satisfied smile.
“Thank you, Mr.”
Then, she changed the subject.
“Let me introduce you, Mr. This is my maidservant, given the surname Li and the given name Jing. She has followed me since childhood, like a sister. She will stay by my side, and I hope Mr. will not take offense.”
“No offense, no offense at all.”
“Of course not! It would be strange if a dignified princess like yourself came to this humble countryside courtyard without someone to attend to you.”
Little Jing also stepped forward.
Though she appeared to be two years younger than Li Hyu’er, she was equally graceful and blooming.
“Little Jing greets Mr. Xu. Little Jing was disrespectful yesterday; please forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive or not forgive. What happened yesterday is in the past. There’s no need for you to be like this, Miss Little Jing.”
“How dare Little Jing be called ‘Miss’? Mr. Xu can just call me by my name.”
Seeing she didn’t object, Xu Ping’an smiled placidly.
“Since that’s the case, I won’t stand on ceremony. Little Jing, please go with your young mistress and get settled. I haven’t prepared extra bedding. That luohan bed will be your young mistress’s bed. As for yours, there’s an assembly bed next to it that can be used once put together. I’ll show you how to do it in a bit.”
After letting the two women go into the room to organize, Xu Ping’an finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face Zhao Pingzhi, who was standing before him.
Zhao Pingzhi’s face, however, held a bitter smile.
He cupped his fist and bowed.
“Mr. Xu, we meet again.”
“General Zhao…”
“Please don’t call me ‘General.’ I am here on orders to protect the young mistress. In this small courtyard, there is no General, only a servant named Zhao Ping.”
“In that case… Brother Zhao Ping, let’s go talk in the courtyard. After all, the women are in the house, and it’s not very convenient.”
Xu Ping’an glanced at the west room, then at the east room.
His little wife was a heavy sleeper and probably wouldn’t wake up for a while.
It would be better to talk outside first.
“That would be appropriate. Mr. Xu, please.”
“Brother Zhao, please.”
The two walked one after another to the courtyard and sat opposite each other at the wooden table.
Zhao Pingzhi’s face still held that trace of bewilderment and helplessness.
He looked up at Xu Ping’an.
“Mr. Xu knew when you took her pulse, didn’t you?”
“Could it be that Brother Zhao only found out today?”
When Zhao Pingzhi’s bitter smile deepened, Xu Ping’an understood.
This fellow probably just found out today.
When he revealed Li Yu’er’s true identity yesterday, he had asked Zhao Pingzhi to leave to avoid suspicion, and he had wondered then if Zhao Pingzhi had no idea that Li Hyu was a girl.
Now, it was 100% certain: this guy really didn’t know.
Zhao Ping sighed deeply.
“For so many years, I’ve diligently served the Young Master, but I never imagined this Young Master was actually… sigh!”
“It’s truly… fate playing tricks on us.”
It was no wonder this guy would sigh like that; after all, Li Hyu’er was almost sixteen this year.
In other words, this guy had treated Li Hyu’er as the Young Master for nearly sixteen years.
Suddenly, today, he was told that this wasn’t the Young Master but the Princess.
Who wouldn’t be flustered by that?
“Brother Zhao, there’s no need to worry so much. As the saying goes, ‘the boat will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridgehead.’ Everything cannot be forced. Even if she’s a girl, what does it matter?”
Hearing this, Zhao Ping couldn’t help but nod.
“What you said makes a lot of sense, but when you say it, could you please not use that stifled laughter expression? It makes me even more upset.”
“Pfft… cough, cough. Um, Brother Zhao, you’re mistaken. I’m not laughing, really not laughing.”
“You’re not laughing, but your face, red from holding it in, has betrayed you!”
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