Chapter 240: Chapter 144: Willing, Even With a Hoarse Voice!

Ceremonies and red tape are for shackling pedants. It’s one thing to be proper on formal occasions, but in private, it’s much more comfortable to just relax.

Gu Ziye was overjoyed. This was the first time she had ever snuck out on her own as a young woman.

When people get excited, they tend to talk more, asking about this and that.

She looked at Lu Yuan and asked, "I heard you don’t just treat illnesses—you also invented a corn-shelling machine for the Court. That’s so amazing!"

Lu Yuan smiled and said, "It’s nothing special. I just know a little, and it happened to work out."

Gu Ziye leaned forward, getting closer. Looking at Lu Yuan, she said, "I also heard you can make all sorts of fun things. Is that true?"

Sitting across from her, Lu Yuan’s gaze happened to land right on the neckline of Gu Ziye’s dress.

It wasn’t that Lu Yuan wanted to look; it was just that Gu Ziye had suddenly leaned so far forward that he honestly didn’t know where else to avert his eyes.

Through the opening of her clothes, Lu Yuan could vaguely make out something, yet it also seemed like he could see nothing at all.

A shallow ravine...

’A far cry from Su Liyan and my two aunts,’ he thought. ’And she especially can’t compare with Zhao Qiao’Er.’

’When Zhao Qiao’Er gets excited, she could bury my whole head in there.’

’Gu Ziye is just too young. She has no experience of the world, and in her excitement, her attention is completely elsewhere.’

’She has no idea that her current posture might be giving someone an eyeful.’

’Of course, at not even twenty years old, what is there to see, anyway? Nothing at all.’

’Thinking about it that way, it doesn’t really matter.’

Su Liyan, however, was experienced. Seeing Gu Ziye’s posture, she couldn’t say anything directly, so she just shot Lu Yuan a look and shook her head slightly.

Lu Yuan paused for a moment before saying, "That’s right. I wonder what you’re looking for, Miss Yue’Er? I do know how to make a few little gadgets."

"Well, I want to listen to music. You know, that box that plays songs, the one my nephew wears on his belt," Gu Ziye said after a moment’s thought.

’Well, I’ll be. This young lady has really done her homework.’

’How does she know everything? She’s perfectly clear on what I’ve been doing these past few days in the Imperial Capital, even what I’ve invented.’

’Even for the Emperor’s daughter, it makes no sense for her to be this well-informed.’

Lu Yuan didn’t dwell on it for long. It was just a radio, after all. No big deal.

Radios had already become widespread in the Northern regions; they were no longer a rarity.

You could say that nearly every well-off family in the North already owned one.

In the south, however, they were much rarer.

Only merchants traveling from the North would bring a few radios south with them.

Initially, there were no relay stations set up in the south, so the radios didn’t work there.

It was only after stations were built in the south that the radios started working again.

Now, radios were in extremely high demand in the south, with prices having multiplied dozens of times over.

Some merchants saw the business opportunity and began traveling north to procure radios to sell in the south.

Even so, very few were in circulation in the south.

As it happened, Lu Yuan had a radio in his carriage, which he used to stave off boredom on the road.

With a radio, you don’t even have to listen closely to what’s playing. You just turn it on for the background noise.

Lu Yuan opened a chest, took out a radio, and handed it to Gu Ziye.

Gu Ziye took it with both hands and turned it over and over. "Yes, this is it! Now I have one too. This is wonderful."

"From now on, if anyone dares to bully you, just drop my name."

Her words made Lu Yuan chuckle.

’Just a few minutes ago she was saying she had to avoid revealing her identity at all costs, and now I can drop her name?’

’What a little greenhouse flower.’

’She’s never been outside the Imperial Capital, has no idea how treacherous the world can be, yet she dares to make such a bold claim.’

’She’d probably burst into tears if she ran into a common Xingzi.’

Hearing the chatter and laughter from the carriage behind them, Gu Gaoxu knew that Gu Ziye was getting along splendidly with Lu Yuan and the others, with none of the usual formalities...

「In the Imperial Capital」

The Emperor listened to a report from a Jinyi Guard. "The Thirteenth Princess is currently with Gu Gaochi’s party, heading north. We presume their destination is Yandu."

The Emperor was fully aware of Gu Ziye’s movements. She was his most beloved daughter.

Gu Ziye was one of the Emperor’s younger daughters, and her cheerful personality and disregard for stifling palace etiquette made her stand out from her sisters. For this, she was all the more cherished.

Perhaps it was like growing tired of exotic delicacies and finding a simple peasant’s soup to be a rare treat.

Gu Ziye was very much to the Emperor’s liking, which was why he was kept apprised of her every move.

The Emperor murmured to himself, "My daughter’s all grown up, of age to be married. Since she doesn’t want to marry early and settle down, if she wants to go out and see the world, then let her go."

Several of Gu Ziye’s older sisters had already been married off at her age, but not all of them had found happiness in their marriages.

That was why Gu Ziye had no desire to be traded away like a commodity. She hadn’t had her fill of fun yet.

And so, Gu Ziye traveled north with Lu Yuan’s party for several days, eventually crossing into the Qilu region.

They had reached the fork in the road where they were to part ways...

"No! I want to go with Yuan~ to have fun in Taiping City! I wanna go~" Gu Ziye whined coquettishly to her nephew, Gu Gaoxu.

Over the past few days, Gu Ziye had grown quite close with Lu Yuan, but she still wasn’t sure what to call him.

After all, Lu Yuan was older than her, and her nephew, Gu Gaoxu, called him "Brother Lu."

That meant Gu Ziye couldn’t also call him ’Brother,’ but she couldn’t very well call the man ’Nephew’ either.

So, the quick-witted Gu Ziye decided to just call him "Yuan~," dragging out the syllable.

It was the sort of name a child might use to sound important, but in her case, her seniority was genuinely higher.

She called Su Liyan "Sister~," ignoring the fact that Gu Gaoxu called her Sister-in-Law. They each had their own way of addressing people.

Gu Ziye tugged on the corner of Gu Gaoxu’s sleeve, whispering, "Let’s not go to Yandu~ If my fourth brother finds out I ran away from the Imperial Capital, he’ll definitely send me straight back the moment he sees me. Let’s go with Yuan~ to Taiping City and have fun instead."

Watching this display, Gu Gaochi simply shook his head at his younger brother.

Gu Gaoxu thought for a moment, then said to Gu Gaochi, "Eldest Brother, you head back first. Tell Dad I’ll be back in a couple of days!"

With that, Gu Gaoxu pulled the young princess onto his horse and galloped off in the direction of Taiping City.

Gu Ziye’s four Personal Guards and Gu Gaoxu’s two servants spurred their horses to keep pace behind them.

"This..." For a moment, Gu Gaochi was at a loss for words. He turned, offered Lu Yuan a cupped-fist salute, and said, "Then I must trouble you, Lord Lu, to look after the Thirteenth Princess and my younger brother."

Gu Gaochi remained as formal as ever with Lu Yuan, a far cry from his carefree younger brother.

Perhaps that was simply the way of a scholar.

Lu Yuan could only reply politely, "Crown Prince, you are too kind. It’s my duty. Please rest assured. Take care, Crown Prince!"

Su Liyan and Su Liyan’s mother stood slightly behind and to the side of Lu Yuan, joining him in bidding Gu Gaochi farewell.

"Take care, everyone!" Gu Gaochi said, then returned to his carriage.

Then, the convoy split into two groups. One headed Northwest, the other Northeast, and they went their separate ways.

In his carriage, Lu Yuan held Su Liyan in his arms while on the phone with Zhao Qiao’Er in Taiping City. "Aunt Zhao, have you missed me?"

"My dearest sweetheart, Auntie has been thinking about you constantly~ You’ve been gone so long and didn’t even tell me when you’d be back. I’ve missed you to death," Zhao Qiao’Er replied, her tone dripping with the allure of a young madam.

"Auntie, I’m only two days away. When I get there, I’ll have to get a taste of you," Lu Yuan teased.

On the other end of the line, Song Meiqin snatched the phone and said to Lu Yuan in a tone of mock indignation, "Stop teasing your Aunt Zhao. If you’ve got something to prove, bring it to me. I can handle it."

"Shoo, shoo! My darling sweetheart wants a taste of us, what are you butting in for?" Zhao Qiao’Er said, trying to snatch the phone back.

Song Meiqin held the phone away and landed a critical hit. "Girlfriend, with our bodies, the only mouths that still work properly are the ones on our faces. Or are you looking to be hoarse for a few days again?"

"Hmph! I’m willing, even if it makes my throat hoarse!"