584 At least a month
Li Hua was standing on the patio of the residence. After resting for the entire day, she felt fresh. But because the rain was pouring, she could not go out. She did not either disturb Lóng Wei, who was still in bed.
The valley of peace was a beautiful place. The great mountain on one side and numerous hills surrounded the other sides of the valley. In the day, when they were on the way to the valley, it was covered in a mist. The valley was covered with greenery wherever a personâs eyes would fall.
Li Hua extended her hand out and the raindrops from the slanted roof fell on her hand. She looked up at the sky and found it was still dark. A smile formed on her lips and she lowered her hand.
She stood up from the top stair of the patio and locked her hands behind her back. âI should cook dinner for everyone today,â she murmured. However, before Li Hua could turn around and she felt arms around her belly. She was pulled behind and she tilted her head over her shoulder.
âPrince Lóng Wei!â She whispered his name.
His eyes were closed and his chin was resting above her shoulder. âWhy were you not on the bed?â Lóng Wei muttered.
âMy sleep broke an hour ago,â Li Hua said.
Lóng Wei opened his eyes and gazed at her. âWhy did you not wake me up? Did you enjoy the rain without me?â He asked.
âPrince Lóng Wei did not rest well for the past few days. I thought to let him rest more,â Li Hua replied and turned around. She rested her hands on his chest. âThis place is like paradise. Earlier, the mist had appeared outside,â she stated.
.....
âI agree with you. We will go out later after the rain stops,â Lóng Wei said and quickly kissed her lips. He then placed butterfly kisses over her cheeks, making her giggle.
Li Hua pushed him gently and said, âPrince Lóng Wei should bathe. I already had a bath.â
âYou should have waited for me. It has been long since we two bathed together,â Lóng Wei complained and pulled his hands back. âDid you ask the servant to prepare the bathhouse for me?â he inquired.
âI will do it now,â Li Hua said. âI have decided to make dinner for everyone. What special His Highness would like to have in the dinner? Also, does he know what his fatherâs favorite dinner meal is?â She asked curiously.
âI do not know what my fatherâs favorite dinner meal is,â Lóng Wei replied. âFor me, you can cook anything you want to,â he said.
âBut arenât you tired?â Lóng Wei asked her.
âNo. I feel fresh after sleeping since morning,â Li Hua stated.
âI will help you with cooking,â Lóng Wei said.
âWill you?â She was amused to know that he wanted to help her. âTo my knowledge, Prince Lóng Wei does not know cooking,â she asserted.
âIt is the time I should learn it and be an ideal husband for you,â Lóng Wei said.
âBut His Highness is already an ideal husband for me,â Li Hua affirmed.
âNot in my eyes. I do not know household chores and I have never cooked anything for you,â Lóng Wei asserted. Li Hua smiled to hear him and told him that she would wait for him.
âTake a bath and then we will head to the kitchen,â Li Hua said and told him that she would inform the servant first.
âI will do it. You should watch the rain,â Lóng Wei said and walked out of the room. When he entered the bathhouse, he found there were two bathtubs. He was a little confused and asked the servant about it.
âPardon me, Your Highness, but one of the bathhouses is under maintenance,â the house caretaker, Gu Peizhi, informed him. âFeng Lao also asked me to prepare the hot water in the bathhouse for him, so I thought to place one more bathtub here. For Princess Consort the bathhouse is kept separate from the others,â he asserted.
âTell Feng Lao to take bath later,â Lóng Wei said.
âPrince Lóng Wei shall consider it a public sauna,â Feng Lao said, who had entered. He removed his upper robe and quickly got into the bathtub before Lóng Wei could stop him.
âAyee, Feng Lao, how could you do that?â Lóng Wei got annoyed.
Feng Lao closed his eyes while waving his hand into the water. âPrince Lóng Wei, there is nothing to shy about. We are men,â he said.
âThat is not the issue. I am the prince,â Lóng Wei said.
âYour Highness, Feng Lao is right. Consider it as a public sauna,â Gu Peizhi finally spoke and told Lóng Wei to adjust.
Lóng Wei sighed and nodded at him. Gu Peizhi left and closed the door behind him.
Lóng Wei untied the knot on the upper robe and put it into the basket. He got into the bathtub and took a deep breath.
âHow long will we stay here?â Feng Lao asked and opened his eyes to look at the prince.
âAt least a month,â Lóng Wei replied and washed his arms with the water.
âIt is a good place to live for a long time,â Feng Lao stated.
âWhy? Do you plan to live here for a long time?â Lóng Wei asked.
âNo.â
âFeng Lao, if you still have a sleep problem, then you should meet the great acupuncturist, about whom Yuze had told me,â Lóng Wei asserted.
âI do have trouble sleeping,â Feng Lao said. âIt is unbelievable sometimes to see Prince Lóng Wei acknowledged me as his closest friend,â he stated.
Lóng Wei turned his head to gaze at him. âYou are right. But you are not my closest friend. It is Chang Shi,â he stated. âBut I am glad that you stayed alive.â
âMy life could have ended the day when my father was summoned to the palace. Prince Lóng Wei protected me, and then he is the one, who ended my differences with Li Hua,â Feng Lao said.
âYou still shamelessly pronounce her name,â Lóng Wei said. Feng Lao chuckled and then smiled.