ebookland Chapter 422 Rowing
Chapter 422 Rowing
Luo An continued, "Suddenly one day, the tortoise disappeared. The king was furious and intended to behead the tortoise keeper. My father said that the divine tortoise had completed its mission and would naturally leave, which was an auspicious sign, so he spared the tortoise keeper."
Later, the Empress felt that "Turtle Garden" sounded unpleasant, so she renamed it "Osmanthus Garden" and planted osmanthus trees there. However, she still carved a large star-shaped tortoise beside the Osmanthus Garden, which was used for offerings during festivals.
Nianyao speculated, "Uncle Liu must be familiar with the turtle keeper. He probably persuaded the turtle keeper to help him steal the turtle, planning to let me play with it for a while before returning it."
Luo An glanced at her, offering no comment.
Nianyao straightened her back: "That must be it. Traitors are usually involved in murder and treason. If a traitor were to use it to steal a turtle, that would be a huge waste of talent and resources."
Luo An picked up a medical book and sat by the window to flip through it, casually praising, "You use idioms quite well. You've improved a lot from being around people of good character."
Nianyao chuckled: "That's right, the Xue family is full of cultured people. Especially Lexi, who is gentle, virtuous, well-read, and a first-rate talented woman."
The pattern on the roof of the awning boat was carved by Nianyao using the most common bamboo pattern, a simple and mechanical repetition. She got distracted while carving.
If what Luo An said is true... Well, there are no ifs, what Luo An said is definitely true. Then those two are truly destined for each other.
If she hadn't thrown the giant star tortoise away back then, and had raised it properly until Luo An came to Chongming Island, would Luo An's expression upon seeing the giant star tortoise have been one of surprise or anger...?
A sharp pain shot through her fingertip, and Nianyao instinctively cried out. Looking down, she saw that the carving knife had cut the pad of her middle finger.
Fortunately, carving the intricate details didn't require much force, and it was only a superficial wound. If the carving tool had been different, it could have easily severed the finger.
As Nianyao watched the blood beads emerge, before she could react, Luo An grabbed her finger.
Luo An frowned, and without thinking, put her finger in his mouth. The salty taste of blood went straight to Luo An's heart.
Nianyao stared at Luo An in shock, unable to process what was happening for a moment: Luo An was such a clean person, yet her fingers were covered in wood chips and dust...
It sounded like someone was calling her name outside the door. Nianyao looked up and saw Zheng Chu and Madam Xue passing by the door.
Nianyao pulled her finger back and rushed towards the door without thinking: "My aunt is looking for me, I'll go see her."
Luo An grabbed her, and Nian Yao stumbled backward and bumped into Luo An's arms.
Nianyao blurted out, "What are you doing?"
It's fine to be unrestrained in private, but flirting in front of outsiders? Not to mention that Luo An couldn't do such a thing, even she, a woman of the martial arts world, was not used to it.
Blood seeped from Nianyao's fingertip again. Luo An took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it around her fingertip, finally tying a neat knot.
His round, bulging middle finger looked like a plump white radish. So exaggerated and pretentious, Nianyao held back her argument: "I'll go out and take a look."
Nianyao ran out without looking back, staggering as she went down the steps.
Luo An smiled as he picked up the awning boat from the pile of sawdust and continued carving patterns with his carving knife.
Zheng Chu and Madam Xue had already walked far away when Nian Yao caught up, panting, calling out, "Aunt, Lord Zheng!"
Madam Xue glanced at Zheng Chu and couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "Slow down, we're in the palace."
Nianyao stopped abruptly, her demeanor and expression unconsciously becoming more composed.
Zheng Chu smiled and said, "It's alright, the rules for the Crown Princess are the rules for the harem."
Seeing that her finger was bandaged so badly, Madam Xue asked with concern, "What happened to your hand?"
Nianyao didn't care: "I was stabbed by a sharp knife, but it's nothing serious. Back on Chongming Island, we got these kinds of superficial wounds all the time, and they healed quickly. None of us would worry about them."
Zheng Chu said, "Now someone is taking the Crown Princess's concerns to heart."
Nianyao was caught off guard by this question and looked slightly embarrassed: "Is there something you need, Lord Zheng?"
Zheng Chu said, "I am aware that the Crown Princess is new to the palace, so I intend to show her around and help her get familiar with the palace."
Nianyao didn't plan to stay in the palace long-term, nor did she want to or need to become familiar with it. But refusing Zheng Chu was definitely not a wise choice.
Nianyao followed Zheng Chu from front to back and left to right, circling around for an hour before finally returning to Ciming Palace. Before even stepping into the palace gate, she heard the clear laughter of a little girl.
Xu Chengyou placed the awning boat in the huge water vat in the courtyard, and used a wooden stick to paddle around the lotus leaves, and the awning boat moved around the lotus leaves.
Nianyao looked around but didn't see Luo An. She figured he must have gone to the front hall to handle state affairs, so she sat on the stone bench and watched Xu Chengyou row the boat.
Xu Chengyou rowed round and round without stopping, showing that he really enjoyed it.
Nianyao thought that Xu Chengyou had been angry that morning, so she decided to coax her: "You like rowing so much, how about your sister-in-law takes you to row a real boat?"
Xu Chengyou immediately jumped up with joy: "Yay! Yay! Yay!"
The wet nurse quickly intervened, saying, "Your Highness, you mustn't! His Majesty and the Empress have ordered that the Third Princess not be allowed near the water."
Xu Chengyou threw down the wooden stick in his hand and shouted, "Let's go boating, let's go boating, let's go boating... Big brother and second brother both go boating, I want to go boating too..."
Nianyao was puzzled: "Why not?"
The wet nurse whispered, "Your Highness, you may not know this. The Imperial Advisor once calculated the fate of the Third Princess and said that she is incompatible with water in her Five Elements and that she should not be near rivers, lakes, or seas before the age of six."
Nianyao grew up on a boat by the water and never believed in such things, so she didn't take her wet nurse's words to heart.
She saw Xu Chengyou pouting and looking very aggrieved: "It's alright, we'll just take a ride on the Emerald Moon Lake in the backyard. I'm very good at rowing, I can handle any river. There's absolutely no chance of anything happening on this calm lake in the backyard. It's rare that the weather is so nice and sunny today, it's just the right temperature for boating."
What could the wet nurse say? She could only follow Nianyao and Xu Chengyou outside.
Nianyao untied the boat rope tied to Cuiyue and lifted Xu Chengyou onto the boat, placing him in the middle: "Sit still and don't move around."
The wet nurse followed anxiously onto the boat and sat next to Xu Chengyou. Seeing Nianyao pick up the bamboo pole, she quickly instructed, "Your Highness, please be careful, I'm terribly afraid of water."
Nianyao stood on the boat as if it were flat ground. With a gentle stroke of the bamboo pole, the boat sailed away from the shore. It was indeed very stable.
Once the boat reached the middle of the lake, the wet nurse's heart slowly calmed down: "The Crown Princess's boat-rowing skills are truly remarkable; this boat doesn't rock at all."
In her area of expertise, Nianyao is very confident, and her smile is particularly bright: "I started steering big ships when I was very young. I have been to all the major rivers and lakes and have never had any accidents."
Xu Chengyou praised repeatedly, "Sister-in-law is amazing, sister-in-law is amazing, sister-in-law is amazing."
Xu Chengyou's chubby, youthful face shone in the sunlight, making even the tiny downy hairs clearly visible. Nianyao couldn't help but exclaim, "Children are just so adorable."
The wet nurse stroked Xu Chengyou's hair: "The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince are so outstanding in both appearance and ability. If they have children in the future, they will probably be no less than the First Prince and the Third Princess. I wonder how many people will envy them."