Being breathable without the confines of socks or shoes, one benefit of wearing clogs is comfort.
When walking around at home leisurely in clogs, the feeling begotten is rather carefree.
The very picture of comfort – Chu Yu was slowly savoring her lunch. What was particularly enjoyable was a plate of icefish, which she ate more of, not getting enough of its mildly sweet and tender white meat. Meanwhile, her foot tapped rhythmically on the floor, the expensive sandalwood making a bright, pleasant sound.
Waking up naturally; leaving the money counting to others till their hands were cramped; eating meals as lavish as white jade; wearing shoes made of gold…if there was no insurgency on the horizon, life would have been perfect.
With You Lan standing at her side, all Chu Yu had to do was ask and she could eat whatever she wanted. Once she was about full, she put down her chopsticks, sighed and addressed You Lan. "If you wish to say something, say it."
She had noticed You Lan"s hesitant expression from a while ago and knew something was up, but decided to go on with her lunch in case she lost her appet.i.te after hearing whatever the matter was.
You Lan lowered her head in a hurry. "It is young master Rong."
As expected, Chu Yu"s appet.i.te vanished. She frowned. "What has he done again?"
You Lan continued in a timid voice. "I did as the princess requested this morning and asked young master Rong to prepare a few more fragrance sachets…"
Chu Yu tilted her head, recalling such a thing. "Yes, and so, what did he say?"
You Lan answered hesitantly. "Young master Rong said he would wait for the princess to finish her meal first before giving it to her, else she would lose her appet.i.te."
Hearing this, Chu Yu was stunned for a second and could not help but laugh. She could imagine him wearing that veiled smile as he said those words.
Chu Yu wiped her mouth and replied. "You may bring out whatever he has given you. I"ve lost my appet.i.te either way."
You Lan retrieved a folded white silk brocade from her sleeves. It was about a foot wide, its handsome ink-black calligraphy a beautiful contrast to its pristine white surface.
Chu Yu"s face instantly darkened when she read the script. Scared by the sudden change in mood, You Lan"s shoulders cowered as she inwardly complained - Young master Rong, if you and the princess have a tiff you can just squabble it out, but why oh why do you have to get me involved?
Reading the script again and again, it took a while before Chu Yu finally set it down. She wanted to sneer at her predicament, but it didn"t feel enough to express her inner turmoil, so she settled with a huff instead.
Rong Zhi had seen through her completely.
She had wanted him to prepare additional fragrance sachets for two reasons: One - she could get w.a.n.g Yizhi to further investigate its contents. And two - she might be able to retrieve some of the original ingredients from it; even if Rong Zhi tried to smokescreen her by adding fake ingredients, it would at least narrow down the guesswork.
However, what she had gotten from him was a neatly written list of fragrance names, their usage and processing, and a formula for medicinal liquid.
Most of the fragrance ingredient names were already surmised by w.a.n.g Yizhi yesterday. Even the medicinal liquid was spot on, which only proved the depth of his skills. Unfortunately, it also proved how Rong Zhi could read her every move to gauge what she was after.
Just like what happened today.
She was displeased but at the same time, she felt a little… She could not describe her feeling in words. It felt like something moving beneath ripples of water, and between the ripples gleamed rays of light.
Maybe, something like admiration.
The only thing she could not understand was his motive. What was Rong Zhi planning?
He could not have known about w.a.n.g Yizhi, after all, it was pure coincidence for Chu Yu to have met him. Rong Zhi was simply guessing her plan based on her orders for today…Even so, why did he send the formula over?
What did he want?
To prove something? That he could read her mind? That he was extremely smart?
Or was it goodwill? Using actions to prove he meant no harm?
No matter how much she thought it over, Rong Zhi did not seem like someone who would stoop to proving himself. That left only one other option.
If what he had meant was goodwill, what then could he want from her?
Chu Yu folded away the brocade and eyed the dishes spread out before her, feeling her appet.i.te vanish. It wasn"t because she was angry, but because of many mixed feelings and thoughts brewing within, leaving her with no mood to eat.
Remembering what You Lan had said made her laugh, half out of vexation, half finding it a little funny.
She could wrack her mind all she wanted and not know Rong Zhi"s motive. The best solution was simply to ask him herself.
If the formula for the fragrances was correct, she would not reject his requests as long as they were within reason.
Chu Yu stopped ruminating and ordered the dishes to be taken away. She was in no hurry to leave, opting instead to retrieve brush and paper, and pausing a while before writing.
She did not have much time for practice so her script was a little wonky, although when written slowly, they appeared neat and pleasant enough.
You Lan, who was standing beside her grinding the ink, sneaked glances at the script occasionally. Being illiterate, she could not understand what Chu Yu had written, except for a few pictures drawn on the paper, one of which looked like a boiler, others which looked like bowls, and lastly some lines linking everything together which served some unclear purpose.
She did not dare look too much, but every so often her eyes would flit over a few times, until she had committed most of it to memory several glances later. Just as she was peering at the finer details, Chu Yu held up the paper to blow dry the ink. She then folded it carefully and tucked it into her robes.
Done with all these, Chu Yu leisurely made her way out. She had barely stepped out of the east chamber when she noticed Huan Yuan standing at the east chamber"s doorway while talking to a guard.
"Has he waited long?" Chu Yu asked nonchalantly.
You Lan answered out of habit. "About an hour." The second the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake and paled drastically.
Chu Yu halted her steps and smiled at You Lan. "How impressive. You took the risk of ruining my mood to deliver Rong Zhi"s news, yet when it comes to Huan Yuan, you didn"t bother sending a single word." From the looks of it, Rong Zhi"s influence was still a force to behold within the palace.
Sensing the iciness behind Chu Yu"s words, You Lan"s face was drained of all color and she immediately fell to her knees in a shivering panic. "Princess, please have mercy."
Chu Yu gazed down at her condescendingly, smile unchanging, yet making no move to help her up.