Fields of Gold

Zhu Junyang felt even more helpless. He was a grown man, so could he not accept these ‘compliments’? However, he felt a somewhat speechless sense of rejoice in regard to the lass’s ‘lust for beauty’, ‘Fortunately, his appearance was enough to get favor with the lass. Otherwise, his road of pursuing his wife would be much longer and more arduous.’ 

“Alright! In the future, just think about these adjectives in your mind and don’t say them out loud, okay?” Zhu Junyang took the second-best option and made this small request. 

“I can’t even praise you when we’re alone?” How could he refuse when faced with the lass’s slightly pouted mouth, cute dimples, and innocent gaze? When they were alone in private? Well, he would just take it as a small amusement between themselves. 

When he turned to leave, Xiaocao made a funny face at his back, ‘Young fellow, do you think I don’t know how to deal with you?!’ It seemed like there would be expected gains from acting cute on occasions. 

“You, this lass!” Holding his personal cup in his hands, Su Ran took a sip of the fragrant tea and shook his head with a smile, “I didn’t expect that Royal Prince Yang, who has always been calm and wise, would actually be under the complete control of you, this little girl. Is this considered ‘there is also one thing to overcome another’?” 

Yu Xiaocao withdrew her arrogant expression and calmly replied to Sir Su’s teasing, “In the relationship between two people, the matter of who subdues whom doesn’t exist. ‘Love’ makes  people change themselves to yield to others. Sometimes, I feel very lucky to be the person who made him change. However, more often than not, I feel that this luck is just an illusion and the person who ends up getting hurt will be me…” 

Su Ran sensed her worry about losing, so he hastily withdrew the joking expression on his face and gently rubbed the young girl’s hair. In regard to ‘relationships’, he was a complete blank sheet of paper. He had long lost the right to like others, and it was even more difficult for him to understand the mentality of people who were drifting in the feelings of love. He could only advise her in a somewhat listless manner, “Don’t overthink it! I have a keen eye for people. Royal Prince Yang definitely isn’t a fickle person! What’s more, the emperor has mentioned promoting the awareness of women’s rights many times. He appointed you as an official to encourage women living the shadow of men to boldly come out and show themselves! In a woman's world, there shouldn’t only be the deep inner courtyard and love. Instead, they should face a broader world. The emperor said that women aren’t subordinates of anyone, and that the ‘the three injunctions and four virtues’ is nonsense!” 

“Pfft!” Yu Xiaocao’s mood changed very quickly. She turned to look at Su Ran and asked, “If the emperor dared to say this in front of those old fogies, do you think it would cause those old officials to complain in tears, and even ‘make threats of suicide to show their stance’?” 

Seeing that she was no longer bemoaning her own fate, Su Ran’s worried heart relaxed, “The emperor’s idea is good, but after all, the view of ‘men being superior to women’ had been around for thousands of years. Thus, it’s not something that can be changed overnight. However, with you as a role model now, many women have come out to display their talents in various aspects. I heard that the second madam of the Zhou Family asked for several shops from her son and has managed them quite well. Her skills in business have been unanimously affirmed by the Zhou Family!” 

Second madam of the Zhou Family? Wasn’t that Third Young Master Zhou’s mother? She hadn’t expected that the gentle and amiable noble madam, who usually grew flora and raised pets, would actually have the talent and potential to be a career woman! 

“Sir Su, what’s your opinion on this? Do you think, like most men, that women are meddling in politics and causing absurdity, and thus will bring disaster?” Since Yu Xiaocao took office in the Ministry of Revenue, she had heard a lot of these remarks. Fortunately, she had the strong heart of a modern person, so the public opinion couldn’t influence her enough to make her lose confidence in herself. 

“Man?” Su Ran mulled over the word for a moment, and then revealed a somewhat pitiful-looking bitter smile, “Even an incomplete person like me can be entrusted with important matters by the emperor. There are numerous women with knowledge and ability in the world. Why can’t they have the opportunity to show their own talents?” 

Looking at Su Ran’s handsome face, the melancholy and sadness that seeped deep into his bones caused Yu Xiaocao’s heart to feel a tearing pain as if it was seized by someone, “Sir Su, you have always been an upstanding and dauntless man in my heart! Because you are loyal, capable, resolute, clever, and wise… You have all the qualities of a true man! I believe the emperor also thinks of you in the same way. You’re not only his subordinate and official, but you’re also his indispensable right-hand man. Not just a mere friend or confidant, but more than that. You’re someone who he can show his back to with complete trust!” 

Su Ran turned around and stared at the young girl for a long time. From her eyes, he could see sincerity and respect. Suddenly, he smiled softly, as if a gentle breeze blew on one’s face and the spring flowers blossomed in an instant, “Lass, sometimes, I think you’re really similar to the emperor. It’s hard for people to understand what you guys are thinking, and from time to time, you two will come up with some weird ideas. The emperor also has this inexplicable trust in you. There’s an unexplainable connection between you two——tell me honestly, are you a lost pearl that the emperor left among the commoners?” 

“Lost pearl?” Yu Xiaocao was taken aback, and when she understood the meaning of this term, she convulsed with laughter. She laughed so hard it almost felt painful to breathe, “Sir Su, I seriously admire your imagination!! How old was the emperor when I was born? Would he be able to father a daughter my age?” 

“You’re fifteen this year, and the emperor has already passed the age of thirty! When you were born, the emperor was already seventeen!” Su Ran also felt that his thought was ridiculous, but the age matched up. 

At that time, the emperor, who was still the imperial grandson, established a shipyard in the area surrounding the capital, and often traveled to Tanggu. At the age of seventeen, one was very hot-blooded. Thus, it wasn’t impossible for him to have an intimate night with a fisherman’s daughter and ended up getting her pregnant! 

“Ah? The emperor is seventeen years older than me?? I can’t tell at all!” Yu Xiaocao mumbled softly. However, she had to defend her ‘innocence’, “When I was born, my eldest grandaunt helped with the delivery. Moreover, I’m twins with Xiaolian and we look extremely similar. People who aren’t familiar with us often mistake us! I’m certain that I’m my mother’s biological daughter!! You wouldn’t be suspecting that the emperor had an affair with a married woman, right?” 

“Of course not!” He knew that the emperor was a slight clean freak. If he wanted to get intimate with someone, he would have chosen a young maiden. Why would he like a peasant woman with an ordinary appearance? In actuality, he was just speaking thoughtlessly earlier. The lass sometimes spoke in a nonsensical manner, so he was also led astray and made a thoughtless comment. 

“I heard that Sir Su was already serving the emperor when he was in his teens. Would you not know about the women he had a relationship with in the past? Or…is the emperor a womanizer who flirts everywhere in your heart?” Yu Xiaocao had no doubts about her own identity. Her parents doted on her even more than her brothers, so she was certain that she wasn’t adopted!! 

“A big promiscuous radish? Can a radish be promiscuous?” Su Ran tried to change the subject to cover up his nonsensical remark. 

Generation gap ah! Yu Xiaocao couldn’t help but explain to him, “A big promiscuous radish isn’t describing the radish. It’s used to describe someone who is very flirty and fickle in relationships…” 

“Is it really alright for you to say that about the emperor?” Su Ran sometimes felt that this girl was very bold. She even dared to joke about the emperor. Wasn’t this a clear display that the emperor was reluctant to punish her? 

“Uh…I didn’t say that the emperor was this kind of a person. Don’t slander me!” Yu Xiaocao was instantly led off topic. Did she call the emperor a womanizer earlier? She didn’t, right? No, right? 

“Don’t worry, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I won’t report it to the emperor. You ah, you should be careful when you speak in the future, lest someone with ulterior motives hears you and stirs up trouble in front of the emperor!” In a seemingly serious manner, Su Ran reminded her with an earnest tone. 

Yu Xiaocao nodded obediently with a confused expression on her face, “Mhm! I will pay more attention in the future! Thank you, Sir Su! You’re such a good person!” 

Chunhua, who heard everything, had the urge to cover her face, ‘My dear Young Miss, you just got led astray by Chief Steward Su! Wasn’t he the one who suspected that you were the emperor’s long-lost daughter? Wasn’t he the one who suggested that the emperor was flirting everywhere? Shouldn’t he be the one who should reflect and correct his mistakes? Why did you two switch roles?’ 

Su Ran cast a warning glance at her and laughed in his heart, ‘This lass is really easy to trick.’ She was fooled by just a few words. The way she thanked him just now was just like what the emperor said——foolishly cute. If he was Royal Prince Yang, he probably also couldn’t help but be attracted by this cute yet somewhat muddle-headed girl, right? Su Ran quietly suppressed the weird feeling that emerged in his heart and shifted his gaze towards the outside of the cave that was gradually darkening. 

“Eh? Why is that fellow Zhu Junyang gone for so long? Nothing happened, right?” Following his gaze, Yu Xiaocao looked towards the entrance of the cave and muttered to herself in a somewhat worried and concerned tone. 

Su Ran turned his head and saw the worried expression on the lass’s face. He finally understood why Royal Prince Yang saw him as an eyesore. At this moment, how much he hoped that the person she was concerned about was him ah! 

“Don’t worry!” He suddenly realized that there was something wrong with the fluctuation of his mood, so he hastily withdrew all his emotions and comforted her by saying, “Royal Prince Yang is strong enough to kill a bear with one punch. The only thing that can hurt him in this mountain would have to be a powerful monster! But, didn’t you call him devilish? The situation of a fight between the same species probably won’t occur. Therefore, your Zhu Junyang is safe!” 

‘Your Zhu Junyang? To be labeled as one who belonged to the lass, that fellow, Royal Prince Yang, is seriously lucky! What’s with this slight sense of envy within my heart?’ Su Ran, who had always been shrewd, felt somewhat confused. 

“Hahaha…” The lass laughed heartlessly and almost fell to the ground, “That guy, Zhu Junyang, has hunted so many foxes recently. Do you think that some fox demon will come to settle accounts with him? The fox demon had originally come to get revenge for its fellow fox descendants, but when it saw that fellow’s appearance, it was immediately attracted by his seductive phoenix eyes and decided to devote itself to him…hehehe… Aiya, this won’t do! My tummy hurts from laughing so much! I can’t continue to think about this!!”