Chapter 74          Generous Gift

She rested her chin on his shoulder and sobbed in a low voice.

Huo Du sighed silently and asked, “Do you know everything?”

Le Zhi did not answer, just reaching out her hand to wipe away the tears from the end of her eyes. After a while, she slowly released him and distanced herself from him. Because of some gaffes just now, she was a little embarrassed now that she had calmed down.

She lowered her eyes, looking embarrassed.

Suddenly, her lips were lightly touched by his fingertips, and then a piece of honey candy was fed into her mouth. The sweetness spread between her lips and teeth, causing her to raise her eyes in surprise.

“Sweet?” Huo Du stared at her with deep eyes.

The honey candy was crunchy and flavorful, sliding down her throat, trying to surround her bitter heart. She nodded, but her nose was indisputably sour, and tears fell straight down.

Huo Du came closer to her, looked at the residual tears on her eyelashes carefully, and leaned over to kiss her tears away.

He held her tears and savored them carefully. A bitter taste spread on the tip of his tongue.

He frowned and took out another candy of another flavor and fed it to her lips. But Le Zhi shook her head and did not eat it.

“Then don’t cry anymore. Hmm?” Huo Du pinched her face and coaxed softly.

Le Zhi did not answer, just raised her hand and took the candy from his hand and stuffed it into his mouth, “You can eat it too.”

Her voice was low and hoarse, probably because she had cried.

Both of them had not slept all night, and it was hard to hide the slight dark circles under their eyes. Huo Du put his arm around her and let her lean on his shoulder, “Sleep for a while.”

Le Zhi’s arms were encircled by his arm. Hearing this, she raised her hand to cover his eyes with her palm, and said, “You sleep too.”

“All right.” He took her hand and kissed her fingertips on his lips. Then the long fingers passed through her fingers and interlaced their ten fingers.

The carriage went westward. When it reached the mountain road, the horse’s hooves stepped on the uneven crossroad, causing the carriage to be a little bumpy.

Le Zhi was already sleeping uncomfortably, and thus, she frowned and her eyelids trembled as if she was about to wake up. Huo Du had been looking at her eyes that were swollen like walnuts and when he saw this, he supported her side face with his palm so that she would not be shaken.

He kept this posture all the time, worried but not feeling tired.

Gradually, her breathing became shallow and steady.

Huo Du breathed a sigh of relief and quietly watched her tired sleeping face.

He had thought about it for a long time that he could not hide it from her for too long as she would know it sooner or later. But knowing his past was not a good thing for her.

She was already carrying too many heavy burdens, and with his, he was afraid it would crush her. He could not give her a lot of sweetness, and yet he added a bit of bitterness to her heart.

Huo Du felt that his heart was torn in half. On the one hand, he always wanted to make her angry on purpose to test her feelings for him, but on the other hand, when she cried because she felt sorry for him, he felt suffocated. His heart had long been out of his control but varied with her joys and sorrows.

Like this also seemed to be very good too.

—

It was not until twilight that they finally arrived at the first post station of the journey.

The local officials had been waiting outside the inn early in the morning. When they saw the carriage from a distance, they all knelt down to greet them. After the carriage stopped, the head of the local officials kowtowed and reported, “This lowly official welcomes Your Highness Taizi and Taizifei. The post station is simple and would like to request Your Highness move to the city. This lowly official has arranged a proper residence.”

After speaking, the people in the carriage did not speak. The official who reported the words could not understand the Lord’s temper and could not help but sweat a little.

“No need.” An Xuan took a few steps forward and said in a deep voice, “His Highness has ordered that he will rest at the post station today. Lord can go back first.”

“This…”

The officials’ faces were ugly as they had prepared a beautiful lady in the city early on. It was rare to meet the Taizi of the current dynasty. So, this was a good opportunity for them to be promoted, how could they let it go easily?

“Is there anything else, Lord?”

“No, no.” The official looked at An Xuan’s slightly gloomy face and felt terrified. “In this case, this lowly official will send someone to bring the prepared special dishes to the post station, and I hope Your Highness will not dislike it.”

After rushing for a day, An Xuan thought that the two masters in the car should be very tired, and he was too lazy to talk to this person. After casually responding, he sent them away.

Everyone entered the post station and went to their respective room to have a rest.

Le Zhi slept very well along the journey, and now she was in good spirits. She put those heavy past events about him in the bottom of her heart for the time being and no longer showed any sign of anything.

She knew in her heart that the sadder she was, the more she would invoke his memories of the past. Therefore, she had to hide her sadness. Even if it hurts, she had to remain silent.

When night fell, the two came to the dining hall.

Le Zhi looked at the table full of dishes in front of her and could not help but open her lips slightly in surprise, “This is… too much.”

Huo Du frowned as soon as he pulled her to sit down, and when he was about to call An Xuan, An Xuan happened to enter the hall. His face was rather indescribable.

“What’s the matter?”

“Your Highness.” An Xuan hesitated before continuing, “In addition to these meals, Lord Li also prepared for you… prepared a generous gift for you.”

“What generous gift? Bring it in.” Huo Du snorted coldly. What a good exemplary official, only thought about these cheap tricks every day.

An Xuan was slightly startled, he looked at Le Zhi cautiously, and was a little embarrassed, “This…”

Before he could finish speaking, a charming figure entered the hall. This person was dressed in purple, the clothes were transparent and thin and there was a heavy fragrance on the body.

The woman’s waist was slender, her snowy cheeks flushed red. She was a rare beauty.

“Presumptuous!” An Xuan said coldly, “How can you enter without being summoned. Withdraw!”

But the woman in purple turned a deaf ear. After entering the hall, her eyes had always fallen on Huo Du’s face. The bright eyes looked dazzling, and the meaning in her eyes could not be more obvious.

More importantly, it was the self-confidence and fearlessness in her.

When she entered the hall, she glanced at Le Zhi, and her heart tightened a little. This Taizifei, even without makeup on her face, was still better than her, which really made her a little nervous.

But on second thought, was not the most important thing was freshness for men?

No matter how beautiful her face was, he would get tired of looking at it for a long time.

She had been preparing for so long, and today she must climb onto his person with high status and live a prosperous life.

“Pay respect to Your Highness Taizi and Taizifei.”

The voice of the woman in purple was soft. Normally, men were afraid that their bodies would go weak after listening to it.

Le Zhi turned her head to look at Huo Du’s expression, which happened to meet his gaze.

She smiled, completely understanding the woman’s intention. She reached out and tugged at his sleeve and made a silent mouth gesture to him.

“Don’t kill people.”

Then, she stood up, ready to lift her legs to leave the place.

But before she could take a step, her wrist was suddenly pulled.

Le Zhi turned around doubtfully and looked at Huo Du, whose eyes were unclear, not knowing what he was going to do for a while.