A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 3

36

Luyi, who happened to be bringing in lotus syrup, came in and saw Yaotian's expression. She giggled, "As I said before there's no need to bring the lotus syrup in so soon. Princess has just seen the Prince Consort and is completely sweetened. What need is there for external sweetness?"

"Luyi, are you seriously brave enough to make a joke out of me?" Yaotian recovered her spirits and sat dignified. She scolded, "You must have learned that off the Prince Consort." However, she could not uphold her pose and began to laugh again.

That night, Yaotian arrived at the Prince Consort Residence. She got off her horse but did not see He Xia come out. Dongzhuo hurriedly came forward to greet her. "Princess, the Prince Consort has sent me to pass on a message. He has been dealing with national affairs today and will return a some time later. Dinner has been prepared. As the Prince Consort has instructed, they are all dishes that Princess likes to eat. Would you like to eat in the side room of the backyard?"

Hearing that He Xia had not yet returned, Yaotian couldn't help feel a little dismayed. She simply nodded, saying, "I'll leave it to you."

"Then I'll instruct them to take the dishes in the side room of the backyard."

As expected, the dishes were delicious. Yaotian often came to the Prince Consort Residence, so its chefs naturally knew what she liked. They spent a lot of effort in their dishes. The taste was even finer than the Royal Residence's.

However, He Xia was not there and Yaotian had no appetite. She idly moved her chopsticks a few times, raising her head several times to look at the sky as well as ordering Luyi to check things out.

Luyi replied, "I have already sent several people to ask around, even without Princess' order. Although the war is over, there is still things like pensions and rewards, so he remains busy."

Yaotian faintly sighed.

Waiting for a full half hour, Luyi who constantly looked outside finally shouted, "The Prince Consort has returned!"

Yaotian was delighted by this and stood up to gaze outside the window. As expected, she saw the familiar figure valiantly hurrying towards her way. He Xia wiped his sweat the moment he entered the room, smiling while he asked, "Has Princess had dinner yet?"

"Yes, has Prince Consort eaten yet?"

"No time to eat." He Xia handed the white towel he used to wipe sweat off back to the servants before sitting by the table. Yaotian hurriedly ordered the maids to bring over some warm rice and dishes. She personally handed over a pair of chopsticks. He Xia received it and beamed at her. While picking up the food, he explained, "I wanted to return earlier, but if I don't finish today's work, then tomorrow will be even worse. Sorry for making Princess wait; it's all my fault."

"Since military affairs are so busy, then why don't I transfer two officials so some of Prince Consort's load can be shared."

He Xia hurriedly swallowed two gulps of food. He shook his head, "Although we're suffering because there's only a few people working on it, adding two more will bring in additional problems, making us even busier." Seeing Yaotian's confused look, he patiently explained, "Sorting out pensions, rewards and ranking systems are not difficult, but the challenge is that money and grains must be deployed. I don't have any allocation of money or grain specifically as rewards for soldiers, so I must ask for every reward from the national treasury. For every reward, a huge number of officials have to give their approval, as well as huge number of letters to be written. I can wait, but can the soldiers in the army wait? I wasted more than half the day at the national treasury, yet they only approved enough money for five thousand soldiers. I have to go back tomorrow to bargain with them too."