sbdcsierra Chapter 54: Don't lose face, and don't skimp on food!
Chapter 54: Don't lose face, and don't skimp on food!
The prince lowered his eyes to look at his hands, his fingers slightly curled.
"Go tell the kitchen to prepare some of the little girl's favorite foods, and make sure there are plenty."
"Yes, Your Highness, this old servant will go right away." Cao Cheng was almost crying with joy as he quickly left the house.
The prince gently closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
Slightly bent fingers slowly clenched.
Don't rush, don't rush.
This is just the beginning.
He kept telling himself this in his heart until he heard footsteps outside the door. Only then did he open his eyes, and his eyes were calm and clear again.
Lu Yangyang entered the room with Yan Yue. She placed a small bundle on the table, opened it, and inside was something that looked like animal hide rolled up.
"This is your treasure?" Yan Yue leaned closer, his face full of disbelief. "What is this thing?"
He couldn't resist reaching out to lift it, but Lu Yangyang slapped him.
"I know, it's silver needles! You used these from time to time when you gave me acupuncture last time?" Yan Yue guessed.
There were no outsiders here. Lu Yangyang reached out and unfolded the animal skin roll, revealing a row of small blades inside.
"My God!" Yan Yue was so shocked his jaw almost dropped. He asked Lu Yangyang in disbelief, "You, you, you, this is a hidden weapon?"
He stared in shock at the row of small blades, wanting to reach out and pick them up to examine them, but Lu Yangyang glared at him, so he had no choice but to crane his neck to observe them: "I've never seen blades like these before. They're a bit like hidden weapons. I've seen them in the hidden weapon room, but they're not quite the same. Hidden weapons are probably thinner and have a different shape."
“It’s not a hidden weapon, it’s a blade,” Lu Yangyang replied.
She had intended to say it was a scalpel, but then she suddenly remembered that her aunt had told her not to reveal any words like "surgery" or "scalpel."
"What, what is this for?" Yan Yue had a bad feeling.
"It's used to cut open the skin. Different blades are used for different parts of the body, when cutting up a corpse..." Lu Yangyang replied casually, but before she could finish, Yan Yue interrupted her.
"You, you, you, this set of razor blades, could it be, could it be for autopsies?" Yan Yue jumped away with a "whoosh".
"Of course not. I paid for this myself. There was indeed another set of knives for autopsies, but Magistrate Ling took it away. He asked me to help with autopsies, so I asked him to make a set of knives for me. But he was reluctant to give it to me and only allowed me to use it during autopsies. So I had to save up money to make a set myself. It cost me a full ten taels of silver. Do you know how long it took me to save up those ten taels of silver?"
Lu Yangyang still feels a pang of heartache when she thinks about it now. "I worked for others from dawn till dusk, and in my spare time I would go to the mountains to hunt and collect herbs to sell. It took me more than half a year to save up those ten taels of silver."
Therefore, she always treasured this set of knives and was reluctant to take it out to use it normally.
"This, this is only ten taels of silver?" Yan Yue found it unbelievable. "You only managed to save ten taels of silver in half a year. Is money that hard to earn?"
Lu Yangyang rolled her eyes at him: "You'll know when you go out and make money yourself. In the countryside, ten taels of silver is enough for a whole family to live on for a year, but they can't even save ten taels of silver even if they work hard all year."
Yan Yue touched his nose; he really couldn't imagine what kind of life this was.
He couldn't help but ask, "So that's why you insist on staying in the Duke's mansion?"
"Yan Yue!" the Crown Prince called out softly to Yan Yue.
Yan Yue immediately realized he had misspoke and hurriedly explained to Lu Yangyang, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that, I just..."
He looked at Lu Yangyang with some anxiety. He really didn't mean to say that Lu Yangyang was materialistic or a snob, but he didn't know how to express it.
“Yes, why shouldn’t I stay? If I stay here, I can go to Taiming Academy to study. Of course I should stay!” Lu Yangyang felt that she could survive anywhere, so why should she leave the Duke’s Mansion?
If Sheng Yunzhu, who stole her life, can stay and continue to treat her as a thorn in her side, why should she let Sheng Yunzhu have an easy time?
She was determined to outdo Sheng Yunzhu so that she wouldn't end up like she did in her dream. She wanted Sheng Yunzhu to see that even if Sheng Yunzhu took away her parents, family, and everything, she could still be stronger and defeat her!
She doesn't want to lose so badly and be kicked out in a daze!
Yan Yue was stunned. He couldn't help but look at Lu Yangyang. It was noon, and the sunlight was shining in, making Lu Yangyang look like she was glowing.
He had met many remarkable people in the capital, but this seemed to be the first time he had seen such vigorous vitality! Like a wild grass, it was so fragile and vulnerable, yet so stubborn and tenacious, as if nothing could bring it down.
The Crown Prince's gaze also fell on Lu Yangyang, a hint of surprise in his eyes that he himself did not realize.
At this moment, Cao Cheng walked in with a smile and said, "Your Highness, Young Marquis, Miss Lu, lunch has been prepared and is set out in the side hall."
Lu Yangyang's eyes lit up instantly, and she turned to follow, but then suddenly remembered something and said to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, you cannot eat."
The crown prince paused for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Alright."
Yan Yue asked curiously, "Why?"
Lu Yangyang wanted to say that she was going to perform surgery on him later, but then she suddenly remembered that the Crown Prince had asked her to come for acupuncture, so she hurriedly explained, "Because he's going to have acupuncture later, I'm afraid he'll be so scared by his own blood that he'll vomit after eating something."
Yan Yue recalled the scene of him screaming from being stabbed that day, and the basin of blood. His face paled, but he forced himself to say, "Cousin, you wouldn't do that."
The group entered the side hall together. Cao Cheng stood aside, about to serve Lu Yangyang and the others their meal, when the Crown Prince said, "You can go out first."
Cao Cheng responded and went out. Only Lu Yangyang and Yan Yue remained at the dining table in the side hall. The table was filled with dozens of dishes, each in small portions, which dazzled Lu Yangyang.
She couldn't help but swallow.
The prince wheeled himself to the window, picked up a book, turned to the side, and casually flipped through it.
Lu Yangyang felt instantly relieved and grabbed the bowl to eat heartily.
Yan Yue stared in disbelief and couldn't help but lean closer and whisper, "You're still concerned about your image in front of my cousin? You're not letting him eat because you're afraid he'll see you eating? Aren't you afraid I'll see?"
Lu Yangyang didn't even raise her head, silently reciting the dining etiquette she had recently learned from Granny Shen, but her hands didn't slow down at all. Every meal was one less she could eat, so she couldn't lose face, nor could she eat too little!