Chapter 103: Soft Nights Before the Journey

The three chatted for a while, then Wei Lan and Lu Zijin went to rest.

Over the past few months, they had been rushing and handling matters, and Wei Lan felt her head was about to split.

She hugged Lu Zijin and acted spoiled, wanting to bathe with her.

“How about we bathe together?

It’ll save time and let us get to bed earlier.”

Wei Lan said as she wrapped her arms around Lu Zijin’s waist, nuzzling against her and acting spoiled, without any of the decisiveness she showed when handling matters.

Lu Zijin smiled at her little Qiankun, leaned in, and kissed Wei Lan’s lips.

“Alright.

As you wish.”

“I knew my princess was the best.”

Wei Lan hugged her even tighter, alternately nuzzling against Lu Zijin and kissing her lips.

Lu Zijin smiled and shook her head.

Her little Qiankun was always very enthusiastic when provoking her, but in the end, it was always the little Qiankun who said she couldn’t take it.

Soon, the maidservants prepared the bathwater.

Wei Lan took Lu Zijin’s hand and led her to bathe.

She had Lu Zijin sit on her lap, while she leaned against Lu Zijin, letting her massage her shoulders.

Lu Zijin looked at her little Qiankun with a smile.

Her little Qiankun was almost falling asleep.

She reached out and tapped Wei Lan’s nose, saying softly, “Go to sleep when we get to bed.

Be careful you don’t catch a cold.”

“Mm, okay.”

Wei Lan opened her eyes, looked up at Lu Zijin, and then nuzzled against her.

Her wife was so good to her.

She leaned in, tilted her head back, and pointed to her lips.

Lu Zijin immediately understood what she wanted, bent down, and kissed her gently.

Soon, they were tangled up in each other.

In the end, Wei Lan couldn’t take it anymore and pushed at Lu Zijin.

The two separated, gasping for air.

Lu Zijin looked at her little Qiankun, whose face was flushed, and smiled.

Her little Qiankun’s delicate appearance made her seem even more like a Kunze than she was.

She smiled and pinched Wei Lan’s earlobe.

“Stop playing.

Wash up quickly, or the water will get cold.”

It wasn’t that they couldn’t have the maidservants come in to add hot water; if she were bathing alone, it would be fine.

But bathing together was quite embarrassing.

“Okay.”

Wei Lan acknowledged, then began to misbehave again, splashing water at Lu Zijin.

The two played for a good while longer before finally getting out of the tub.

After drying her hair, Wei Lan went to bed with Lu Zijin to rest.

It was still early.

The two hadn’t been very hungry after the journey and simply slept for a while.

It wasn’t until evening that they got up and ate.

Early the next morning, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin took a carriage to the Lu residence.

By now, the only guard commander left with them was Meng Bai.

But to prevent accidents on the way back to the capital, Wei Lan still kept two hundred soldiers to escort them.

When she and Lu Zijin arrived at the Lu residence, Wei Lan saw that the main gate had been replaced with a new one.

The plaque was also new, and even the size of the characters was the same as before.

The paint splattered on the surrounding walls had long been cleaned off, restoring the original color of the gray bricks.

Lu Zijin looked at the exterior; it was at least much more pleasant to look at than last time.

She and Wei Lan entered the Lu residence.

Lu Feng was leading people in repairing the roads inside the Lu residence and arranging for saplings to be planted in various places.

Seeing Wei Lan and Lu Zijin arrive, he quickly came over to bow.

“This commoner, Lu Feng, respectfully greets the Prince of Ning and Her Highness the Grand Princess.”

Lu Zijin nodded at him.

“Rise.

How are the repairs to the Lu residence coming along?

Take us around to see.”

“Yes, yes.”

Lu Feng’s forehead was sweating.

He knew that the courtyard Lu Zijin used to live in was Jingchen Courtyard.

He had already had Jingchen Courtyard completely restored.

The inside had been cleaned spotless.

All the mahogany furniture and the carved pearwood bed had been newly made by carpenters according to the original designs.

He had even laid carpets and had incense burned in the rooms early in the morning.

Still, Lu Feng was very nervous, afraid that Lu Zijin and Wei Lan might be dissatisfied.

He had heard that Wei Lan had killed many rioters in Jiangnan and had also confiscated property and exiled many people.

He didn’t want to harm his family because of himself.

Trembling, Lu Feng led Lu Zijin and Wei Lan to Jingchen Courtyard.

“Your Highnesses, please.

The inside has been completely restored and cleaned thoroughly.”

Lu Zijin entered the bedroom and saw brand new furniture just like before.

The damaged walls and windows had also been restored, with no trace of damage visible.

The room was also perfumed with incense, the fragrance elegant and pleasant.

Lu Zijin nodded slightly.

Then Lu Zijin and Wei Lan went to the study.

The books had all been taken with them when they left, but the bookshelves, desks, and chairs had been left behind, only to be burned as firewood by those thugs and bandits.

But now, the study had been restored to its former appearance.

Not only were the bookshelves, desks, and chairs all new, but the shelves were also filled with books, and brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were laid out on the table.

Lu Feng carefully observed Lu Zijin and Wei Lan’s expressions as he secretly wiped his own sweat.

“Not bad.

But have you only restored Jingchen Courtyard, or the other courtyards as well?”

Lu Zijin asked coldly.

“All have been restored, all of them.

The bedding for the beds has also been ordered.

It’s just that the quantity was too large, and the merchants haven’t delivered yet.

It should be ready next month.”

Lu Feng bent over, wiping sweat as he spoke.

Wei Lan saw him like this and was so angry she laughed.

“This prince and the princess are very kind people.

We aren’t going to do anything to you.

Why are you so scared?”

“Yes, yes.

This commoner naturally knows that you and the princess are the kindest.

It’s just that this commoner has never met such important people before and is a bit nervous.

Just nervous.”

Lu Feng said with an ingratiating smile.

His words were completely against his conscience.

Wei Lan, kind?

No one in the entire Dazhao would dare to provoke her, would they?

“That’s good.

Come on, let’s go see the other courtyards and see if you have cut any corners.”

Wei Lan said pointedly.

“Yes, yes.”

Lu Feng wanted to cry.

This was Wei Lan’s idea of ‘kind’?

Still, he quickly went ahead to lead the way.

Soon, the group went to the neighboring courtyard.

Sure enough, as Lu Feng had said, the room was cleaned spotless, as if washed with water.

The furniture in the room had all been restored.

The doors and windows were also brand new.

Apart from the large trees missing from the courtyard, everything else was the same as before.

Seeing Lu Zijin looking at the saplings in the courtyard, Lu Feng quickly knelt and said, “Your Highness, trees do not grow in a day.

This commoner truly cannot restore them.

I could only plant these saplings here and let them grow slowly.”

Lu Zijin did not lose her temper.

She nodded and asked, “Have the damaged courtyard walls and the various gates been repaired?”

“They have been repaired.

I will take you to see.”

He said, quickly leading Lu Zijin and Wei Lan to see.

Lu Zijin and Wei Lan were not afraid of getting tired.

In short, the two inspected the grounds and found the repairs to be satisfactory.

Apart from the roads still being worked on, everything else was acceptable.

When they reached Zhao Xinlan’s courtyard, Zhao Xinlan had actually known since yesterday that Wei Lan and Lu Zijin had returned.

But afraid of annoying Wei Lan, she hadn’t gone to disturb them.

Seeing Wei Lan and Lu Zijin arrive, she quickly came out of the courtyard to greet them.

“You’ve come!

Come in and sit down.

Have some tea.”

Zhao Xinlan invited them somewhat nervously, afraid her daughter might refuse.

Wei Lan glanced at Lu Zijin, then nodded to Zhao Xinlan.

“Alright.

Have you been well lately?”

“Fine, everything is fine.

The servants are all very sensible.

With Lu Feng overseeing things, the workers are very diligent.

What about you?

Did you encounter any danger when you went south?”

Zhao Xinlan quickly asked.

Wei Lan shook her head.

“We’re fine.

We have to leave in a few days.

Take care of yourself here in Panyang.

Next year, if Wei Qing wants to come back, I will have someone escort her to visit.”

“Ah, good.

I’ll wait.

I’ll wait.”

Zhao Xinlan’s eyes reddened directly.

She hadn’t seen her youngest daughter in a very long time.

After drinking tea at Zhao Xinlan’s, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin left.

Before leaving, Wei Lan specifically instructed Lu Feng to continue working hard.

Next year, she would have her sister come back to see how the repairs to the Lu residence were coming along.

If it wasn’t good, she would still hold Lu Feng accountable.

Lu Feng wanted to cry, but he still knelt and agreed.

She and Lu Zijin did not leave immediately.

Instead, they went to a gold jewelry shop.

Xi Ye was her personal guard.

Now that she was getting married, she and Lu Zijin would naturally give her something.

The two bought two sets of gold jewelry to give to Xi Ye and Zhou Yufu as wedding gifts.

***

Three days later, both the city lord’s office and the Zhou residence were decorated with lanterns and colorful banners.

Early in the morning, Zhou Yufu, surrounded by a crowd of maidservants and matrons, began to dress up.

Xi Ye was the same.

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin got up early to join the excitement.

Xi Ye dressed early and put on her wedding clothes.

She looked quite striking in them.

Wei Lan smiled and teased her.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you in such a bright color.

It’s really quite lovely.”

Xi Ye usually wore black dresses, with plain hairpins, rarely wearing so many gold hairpins.

Dressed like this, she really did look beautiful.

Xi Ye blushed at Wei Lan’s words.

No, even though the master had become the Prince of Ning, she still loved to tease people.

The group bustled out of the city lord’s office.

Xi Ye rode a horse to escort the bride.

As the witnesses, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin naturally had to stay in the front hall to wait for the couple to arrive and bow.

The people on the streets buzzed with discussion, very curious about this marriage.

“Our city lord is marrying a widow, and a wealthy widow at that.”

“Look, the city lord is quite good-looking.

Why would she choose a widow?”

“What if the city lord just happens to like married women?”

“You never know.

And I heard that the Prince of Ning and the Grand Princess will be their witnesses.”

“Oh my god, two big shots from the capital as witnesses?

They’ll have so much face!”

“No kidding?”

Xi Ye led the wedding procession all the way to the Zhou residence.

She had no idea what the onlookers were saying, her mind focused only on finding Zhou Yufu.

Soon, Xi Ye reached the rear courtyard.

The matchmaker told her to carry Zhou Yufu on her back.

She had Zhou Yufu put her arms around her neck, and she herself carried her steadily on her back.

Her earlobes flushed slightly.

They had already done much more intimate things, yet she was still a bit nervous and shy.

Xi Ye carried her to the sedan chair, set her down carefully, and then led the procession back to the city lord’s office.

With Wei Lan and Lu Zijin as witnesses, the two bowed to Heaven and Earth.

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin stayed for two more days, then left Panyang City.

After all, they needed to report the situation in Jiangnan to Fan Chuan properly when they returned to the capital.

Besides, there were two hundred soldiers waiting for them outside the city; they couldn’t stay much longer.

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