"This County of Tashah is so severely drought-stricken, and he's done nothing for so long, he surely can't be a good official," Bai Sheng continued to badmouth County Magistrate Guo.
Prince Yu scoffed, "County Magistrate Guo is holding a lavish birthday banquet tomorrow, even as County of Tashah is filled with starving corpses. How utterly ironic. How about this, tomorrow, you three will accompany me to his banquet. Eat your fill. Oh, and be sure to bring that Judicial Officer Ji. I'd very much like to meet him."
Bai Sheng patted her chest with a confident flourish. "Your Highness Prince Yu, rest assured, this humble girl is a genuine eater and will spare no mercy."
Unbeknownst to Bai Sheng, as she spoke, the gazes of both men inadvertently swept over the slight tremble of her chest, their expressions momentarily dazed.
Lu Ye saw Prince Yu's gaze and immediately thought of the idea of stuffing him into a sack and beating him.
However, he still needed to remind his darling girl when they got back. She shouldn't keep patting her chest like that, as it was far too eye-catching and shouldn't be touched. Moreover, paired with her extremely slender waist and her full, perky posterior, she was simply…
Alas, he wished his darling girl would wear a large sack! That way, he would feel secure.
Prince Yu's ears turned slightly red. He cleared his throat, masking his momentary lapse, "Then it's settled. Come to my manor tomorrow at the hour of the Snake."
"Thank you for giving us a lift, Prince Yu!" Bai Sheng giggled.
Prince Yu and Lu Ye had never heard such a novel expression before, but putting the entire sentence together, along with the preceding context, they could grasp the general meaning.
As the one giving them a lift, Prince Yu felt rather proud.
Lu Ye looked at Prince Yu's face and thought that, for the sake of his friend Ji, he would refrain from stuffing Prince Yu into a sack for the time being.
The two left Prince Yu's manor and immediately returned to Xinghua Street to inform Ji Chenghe about Prince Yu's intention to bring them to the county magistrate's birthday banquet.
"Prince Yu?!" Ji Chenghe shot up from his seat. "You… you actually know Prince Yu?" His two friends never ceased to surprise him in unexpected ways.
"Mhm," Bai Sheng smiled, her shoulders shrugging with a hint of flair.
"Little Sheng, Little Ye, you… you are simply omnipotent!" Ji Chenghe was very agitated, unsure whether to stand or sit.
Bai Sheng pulled him down. "Brother Ji, don't panic, don't panic. Prince Yu is just an ordinary person, he doesn't have three heads and six arms. Let's treat it with a normal mindset, okay?"
Ji Chenghe let out a deep sigh and placed a hand on his chest. "Yes, Little Sheng is absolutely right. I must approach this with a normal mindset, without haste or impatience, without being servile or overbearing, without fluster… Oh, no, no, Prince Yu will definitely continue to ask me that question tomorrow. I… I need to rewrite a memorial! I must use better paper and ink. I… I'll go out and buy some right now!"
Bai Sheng pressed her forehead, exchanging a helpless glance with Lu Ye, and called out, "Brother Ji, it's late at night, all the ink shops are closed."
Ji Chenghe, who had already reached the door, smacked his head and lumbered back. "That's right, look at my memory. Then I'll draft the memorial first and buy the paper and ink early tomorrow morning to rewrite it."
While Ji Chenghe was burning the midnight oil in his room, Lu Ye and Bai Sheng were also "burning the midnight oil" in the space, the intensity no less than a level twelve gale shaking a lone withered branch.
The animals in the space had long since hidden away. They saw no evil, heard no evil. They were beasts, livestock, they were blind and deaf.
After a night's work, Bai Sheng had to admit that her man was an exceptionally powerful individual. Her life was truly blessed with good fortune, ah heh heh heh…
The next day, Ji Chenghe, who had barely slept all night, overslept.
He didn't have time to buy good paper to rewrite the memorial and could only submit the inferior paper.
Bai Sheng, however, felt it was for the better, as she had already established the persona of a poor but honest official for him in front of Prince Yu.
Perhaps, in all of history, Ji Chenghe's persona was truly himself, with no trace of false pretense.
"Brother Ji, do you still have those old clothes?" Bai Sheng asked.
Ji Chenghe chuckled sheepishly. "Yes, I do. Although they're full of patches, they're still a set of clothes, and I really can't bear to throw them away."
Bai Sheng touched her nose. "Put them on. Yesterday, in front of Prince Yu, I told him that as an official of the court, you were so honest that you couldn't even afford to eat and your clothes were patched up over and over. Today, we'll make our appearance as we are."
Ji Chenghe understood immediately and returned to his room to change into the patched clothes.
When the three of them arrived at Prince Yu's manor, Prince Yu's carriage was already waiting outside the main gate.
Ji Chenghe went to pay his respects to Prince Yu first. Although he was wearing patched old clothes, his demeanor was upright and just, showing no timidity. Prince Yu's initial impression of him was quite good.
However, looking at the patches on his clothes, Prince Yu felt a pang of sadness. He hadn't expected that an official in his fiefdom would be so poor!
Bianzhou needed to be rectified.
Upon reaching the county magistrate's residence, the doorkeeper, upon hearing that Prince Yu had arrived, immediately scurried inside to announce him.
County Magistrate Guo, holding the front of his robe, rushed out to kneel and welcome them.
After the formalities and rising, he looked up and saw a person covered in patches in Prince Yu's entourage, which was truly discordant. Upon closer inspection, it was Judicial Officer Ji Chenghe from Tianshui Town!
How did this young man get connected with Prince Yu?
Besides Ji Chenghe, there were two other young man and woman behind Prince Yu, with extraordinary appearances.
County Magistrate Guo dared not stare continuously. He bowed and scraped, ushering the group to the VIP seats at the banquet. Then, all the guests present rose to perform a kowtow to Prince Yu.
After the ceremony, once Bai Sheng and the other two were seated, Prince Yu stated he had matters to discuss with County Magistrate Guo and rose to leave the seats with him.
Bai Sheng and the other two immediately attracted everyone's attention. Firstly, because Ji Chenghe's attire was so worn out, he didn't seem like someone from Prince Yu's retinue, so how could he have come to the birthday banquet with Prince Yu?
Secondly, it was Lu Ye's captivating face. How could there be such a handsome man? And he was Prince Yu's man!
Some of the ladies and young mistresses at the banquet clearly couldn't sit still, and they turned to inquire about which young master Lu Ye was and if he was married.
The murmuring voices reached Lu Ye's ears, making him feel a surge of nausea. He then raised his arm, circled Bai Sheng's slender waist, and said softly with a smile, "My dear wife, would you like a cup of tea?"
Bai Sheng leaned her head onto his broad shoulder. "Thank you, my husband. I'm not thirsty."
Ji Chenghe was not foolish. He immediately laughed loudly, "You two lovebirds are so affectionate! I truly envy you."
The ladies and young mistresses were dumbfounded at this sight. They hadn't expected this handsome man to be married, and the young woman in pink beside him was his wife.
However, some infatuated maidens still shyly glanced at Lu Ye's face from time to time. Bai Sheng didn't mind. If they liked to look, they could look more. As long as they didn't try to snatch her man, looking was fine.