"Ah...it's really enviable that country people are so careless."
"..."
"Listen up, little raccoon cat, we are palace servants! The most important thing is to let those with status notice us. This is a matter of a lifetime!"
"It's no use telling her. Who do you think would notice Shui Xinyuan?"
...His Royal Highness Fusu noticed me.
Shui Xinyuan almost said, "I didn't expect Lu Fusu to give me plum branches," but luckily he swallowed his words in the end.
Those are very beautiful and important memories, and they cannot be spoken out casually just to argue with others.
Besides...
Although Lu Fusu noticed him, Shui Xinyuan didn't think he would fall in love with her at first sight.
She said from the beginning that she was sold into the palace, came from a poor peasant family, was not well-educated, and did not have a beautiful appearance.
...It's all because of his considerate personality.
He just felt pity for me, a little girl who came to a strange place alone, so he invited me into the garden and picked plum branches for me.
Today I am also worried about whether I am doing well or not, so I...
The fact that he asked me how I was doing was proof that we could not develop further.
If Lu Fusu hadn't happened to notice that I was an old acquaintance today and watched me dance out of nostalgia for the past, he might have set his sights on beautiful girls such as Zhuyan or Yaoer, as everyone rumored.
Rather than paying attention to the whole group of girls wearing the same clothes, it is only natural to admire the beautiful woman dancing in front.
It's all because His Highness Fusu is too gentle...
He said he only looked at me, but...
"But it's actually very difficult for His Highness the Crown Prince to notice us and seize the opportunity to enter the harem."
"Oh, entering the harem is more difficult. Officials seem to be better, right?"
"Officials are more practical, maybe Shui Xinyuan will have a chance to win over an official's wife!"
"Oh, little raccoon cat, it's better not to have such big dreams."
"..."
Shui Xinyuan smiled vaguely, raised his head and pretended to drink the tea that he had already finished.
I have long been used to hearing this kind of talk, and now I have nothing to refute.
But today is the day when I finally reunited with Lu Fusu... It was really harsh and heartbreaking.
"Ah...I remembered that I still have clothes to mend." Qing'er, who had been silent all this time, put down her tea cup and stood up, "Shui Xinyuan, come help me, I need to use these clothes quickly."
"Ah... um."
"Oh, are you leaving now? Shui Xinyuan, give me another drink before you leave..."
"You can do such a small thing as pouring tea yourself. Your utensils are much more elegant than Shui Xinyuan's, aren't they? Besides, this tea set is also Chunxiang's."
"Hey, Qing'er..."
"Okay, Shui Xinyuan, hurry up, hurry up."
Shui Xinyuan was dragged out of Chunxiang's room by Qing'er.
Qing'er pouted and walked angrily down the corridor.
"Don't take it to heart. Although you are not a great beauty, at least you are much cuter than those vulgar girls."
"Qing'er..."
"The face is round, and the eyes are even more round. It looks like a civet cat, but it really does look like a civet cat..."
"Qing'er! How can you be so comforting?" Shui Xinyuan couldn't help but laugh, shook his head and said: "Thank you, Qing'er... You are right, 80% of the people here have not been seen before.
Come on, civet cats are much cuter than everyone thinks!"
"Yes! Let's say that in front of everyone next time!"
"Um……"
Qing'er's comfort is comforting.
Shui Xinyuan had no intention of competing with anyone, but he was really not qualified to be compared with Zhuyan, Yaoer, etc.
...But, if I have unrequited love...it should be okay, right?
As long as you don't let anyone know...and of course you can't let Lu Fusu know, and keep it secretly in your heart, you shouldn't have to worry about anyone, right?
"...Qing'er, would you like to drink tea somewhere else?"
"Of course."
The two of them walked towards Qing'er's room with a smile, and happened to see the rising moon from the window.
By tomorrow...the moon will be full...
…
"Then, this is how we handle the affairs of the Ministry of War. Are there any other memorials?"
"I have objections! Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
A man stood up from among the rows of senior officials and bowed respectfully towards Lu Fusu, who was sitting next to the dragon chair.
"What's the problem? Mr. Wang, Minister of War."
"Regarding the topic just now, Wei Chen thinks that it seems that the Ministry of War's ordnance budget has been significantly reduced..."
"The civil strife in Quanzhou has subsided due to the replacement of the governor. In this case, there should be no need to reorganize the southwest armaments again. On the contrary, the Ministry of War has started breeding military horses this year. The overall budget is no different from previous years, but it is used in different places.
So I don’t plan to add more budget. If you have emergency needs, you might as well talk about it.”
"I have no objection..."
The man retreated with a grimace on his face.
"If there are no other questions, today's morning meeting will end here."
After the civil and military officials saluted Lu Fusu, they quietly discussed with each other and walked out of the hall of the Rising Sun Palace.
Lu Fusu came to the side hall and sat in his seat to read the memorial submitted today. Suddenly he raised his head and found a young official standing in front of him.
"What's wrong? Zhuge Qing."
"What your Highness just said was so beautiful."
"What's the meaning?"
The young man named Zhuge Qing smiled meaningfully and relaxed his original stance.
"His Highness said that we need to increase military horses. As long as we withdraw the horses from Quanzhou, we should be able to make up for the insufficient number immediately. In this way, next year's budget can deduct military horse expenses, and the ordnance budget will also be deducted... Anyway, there will be no reduction this year, and next year will be amazing.
The same goes for decreasing without realizing it.”
Lu Fusu glared at Zhuge Qing and returned his gaze to the memorial.
"The Minister of War has known about it for a long time."
"But it seems that the Minister of War cannot accept this."
"If you don't like it, resign!"
Putting the memorial on the table, Lu Fusu placed his elbows on the armrests of the chair and supported his cheeks.
"Yuan Guo has only been in existence for forty years. Now is the time to accumulate national strength and money should not be wasted on war preparations."
"Yes! The people are already tired of war."
"I only need the necessary ordnance. I don't intend to build useless invincible cavalry for the sake of self-satisfaction of a military department!"
"I think His Highness doesn't need redundant staff..."
Lu Fusu squinted at the garden that could be seen outside the door. He saw only newly sprouted trees swaying in the wind, but no one could be seen.
"Was the Second Prince present during the morning court?"
"When I just entered the palace, I happened to pass by His Highness. He took the palace guards' bows and horses, and he must have gone hunting."
"It means that the second prince did not attend the morning court, right?"
Lu Fusu stood up from his chair, pinned the sword on his side to his waist, and stepped down the stairs.
"One day I will reduce redundancy. I want to go back."
"Your Highness." Zhuge Qing stopped Lu Fusu who was about to walk out of the hall, "Isn't it better not to go out from that way?"
"I don't like detours."
"...There's really nothing I can do against you."
Zhuge Qing shrugged and left the hall with Lu Fusu.
Suddenly, Lu Fusu and Zhuge Qing drew their swords at the same time...