Chapter 28: Need Money

Chapter 28: Need Money

Lu Lingyun could tell from his expression that he had been arguing again.

Indeed, love is one thing, but life is another.

Love alone cannot shield one from the trivialities of daily life; arguments still happen.

"Prince," Lu Lingyun pretended not to notice and looked at Cheng Yunshuo with a cheerful smile.

"What is it?"

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and I've prepared a gift list based on our usual exchanges. Is there anything you want to add?"

Cheng Yunshuo glanced at it casually, "These should be enough."

"Alright." Lu Lingyun put the list away. Besides the relatives and friends the Marquisate usually exchanged gifts with, this year she added the Lu family and the Wang family. Among noble families, even if they didn't visit each other during festivals, they still exchanged gifts.

"Also, Father's health isn't great, so it's inconvenient for him to travel. I was thinking we could go to the secondary residence to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with our parents. What do you think?"

Cheng Yunshuo had no objections, "You can arrange it."

"I'll make the arrangements then." Lu Lingyun said no more and instructed someone to take care of it.

After finishing her work, she noticed Cheng Yunshuo still sitting there, sipping tea, unlike before when he would leave immediately after talking.

"Is there something else, Prince?" Lu Lingyun asked.

Cheng Yunshuo had nothing else.

He simply did not want to go back.

Having just argued with Xing Dairong, he felt reluctant to return to Yaoguang Pavilion. Sitting here with Lu Lingyun, who always remained calm and never argued with him, brought him a sense of peace as he drank his tea.

"There's nothing much," Cheng Yunshuo looked at Lu Lingyun, trying to make small talk, "I see you're quite busy managing the household."

Lu Lingyun could see through his intentions but chose not to point it out. She sat beside him, sipping tea, "It's fine. There aren't many worries in the household. My parents have gone to the secondary residence for recuperation, and with fewer people around, there's less to worry about."

"Do you have many relatives?" Cheng Yunshuo found an opening to continue the conversation.

"Yes," Lu Lingyun nodded, "I have three brothers and six sisters, and there are also many uncles and aunts. During festivals, the house is always bustling with activity."

"Are they the ones you saw last time?"

"Yes."

"There are quite a few." Cheng Yunshuo hadn't paid much attention to who was there, only remembering the crowded room full of women, "Don't you find them annoying?"

Lu Lingyun held up her teacup and gave him a rare smile, "Prince, do you want the truth or a lie?"

Cheng Yunshuo was taken aback by her smile and laughed along.

He chatted with Lu Lingyun, feeling lighter after their conversation. Talking with her was different from talking with Qiu Ling or Xing Dairong.

Talking with Qiu Ling, she always tried to please him, saying exactly what he wanted to hear.

Xing Dairong, on the other hand, was sweet sometimes but bitter most of the time, often requiring him to accommodate her.

With Lu Lingyun, there was no need to force accommodation, nor did she flatter him. Her calm demeanor made him feel like old friends, bringing him a rare comfort.

He stayed until dinner time approached, when Chunhe came in to remind him, "Prince, will you be having dinner here tonight?"

Cheng Yunshuo lifted his teacup, "No, thank you."

He still needed to go back.

At this moment, he looked at Lu Lingyun and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Xiao Jun, could you lend me some money? Consider it an advance."

He was still thinking about Xing Dairong needing new clothes.

He needed to find some money to buy clothes for Xing Dairong.

Lu Lingyun looked at him, guessing his intention, "How much do you need?"

"Ten taels should be enough."

Lu Lingyun did not ask why he needed the money, only giving Shuang Hong a nod. Shuang Hong immediately handed over a purse containing ten taels of silver.

"If it's not enough, let me know."

Lu Lingyun handed the money to Cheng Yunshuo.

The feeling of giving and receiving money was entirely different.

It was different from the usual financial support from Qin Shi.

Cheng Yunshuo looked at Lu Lingyun with a newfound appreciation. She had given him both dignity and face without asking questions.

"I'll be going now."

He said to her.

"Mm."

After Cheng Yunshuo left, Chunhe couldn't help but say, "Young Lady, the Prince probably wants the money for that vixen."

"No problem."

After all, it's the marquisate's money, and it's still within his allowance. Lu Lingyun hasn't lost anything.

"Madam, this time you could have taken advantage of the situation and made that vixen an attendant," Chunxing said, her eyes darting around. "Yaoguang Pavilion doesn't provide for her, and the crown prince has no money to support her. This would have been a good opportunity to control her."

"It's too early."

Lingyun smiled.

Even if Xing Dairong becomes an attendant and she offers her tea as a junior consort, they need to bring it up first.

Why should she be in a hurry?

She looked at Chunxing. "Go back to Aunt Qiu. Tonight, she'll have another chance."

Cheng Yunshuo returned to Yaoguang Pavilion with satisfaction after getting the money.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he asked, "Where is Dairong?"

"Miss Xing is in the room."

"Crying?"

"She's not crying anymore." Qiuhua looked at her own crown prince; she actually wanted to say that not crying now was scarier than crying.

She didn't know what Dairong was doing, but she trembled whenever she approached her room.

"Go get the seamstress and let Dairong choose her own fabric for clothes." He tossed the bag of silver to Qiuhua.

"Yes."

Cheng Yunshuo was in a good mood. Having money made a difference. He went to knock on Xing Dairong's door and gently coaxed, "Dairong, open the door. I was wrong this afternoon; I came to apologize."

The room was silent.

Cheng Yunshuo continued knocking. "Let's talk things out calmly."

The room remained silent.

Cheng Yunshuo lost patience and, imitating Xing Dairong from earlier, kicked the door open. As soon as it opened, a basin of cold water was thrown over him.

Xing Dairong, with disheveled hair and red eyes, held the basin and glared at him angrily.

She had been locked in the room all afternoon, crying and raging until only a deep hatred remained in her heart.

She felt wronged and hated. Cheng Yunshuo was all she had in this world, yet he locked her up and went to see another woman by himself for the whole afternoon. He was a scumbag; all his promises to her were lies, all deceit.

He was a complete liar and scumbag!

She must take revenge, she must!

This wasn't just water; it was all the tears she had shed!

The icy water dripped down Cheng Yunshuo's head, and in that moment, Xing Dairong felt an unprecedented sense of relief and satisfaction.

She laughed aloud.

And Cheng Yunshuo, standing opposite her, turned cold after a few breaths and said, "You've really gone mad."