Chapter 16: “Borrowing” Some Seeds

Shu Ruohua had a constant smile on her face.

Her mind was working extremely fast at the moment.

“Look, we’re already so familiar with each other. Last time, we even fought side by side. You could say we’re brothers who didn’t die together, but almost did.”

She walked up to Xiao Che with a grin—trying to build rapport.

Xiao Che frowned.

Shu Ruohua was clearly reminding him that she took a stab for him last time.

He didn’t respond and instinctively took a step back.

But Shu Ruohua followed closely behind.

She once again scooted up beside Xiao Che, smiling and raising her brows at him. “Since we’re already brothers, if your little bro’s got something going on, shouldn’t big bro lend a helping hand?”

She very naturally placed herself in the position of the younger brother.

After all, she was about to ask for a favor—naturally, she had to act the part.

Xiao Che: “…”

His face remained cold and expressionless. He really didn’t want to hear another word from Shu Ruohua.

“Ketchup? I don’t have any!” He refused her directly and decisively.

This woman was saying all this—getting chummy, calling him big bro—just to ask for some ketchup.

But he had never even heard of ketchup before. Where was he supposed to find any for her?

Shu Ruohua’s face immediately took on a pitiful look.

Just as she was about to say something, Xiao Che abruptly cut her off, “This room is stuffy. Since your injury is fine, I’m leaving now!”

He dropped those words and turned to leave.

If this went on any longer, who knew what else Shu Ruohua would try to mooch off him.

However…

Of course Shu Ruohua couldn’t just let him walk away like that.

Before he could get out, she darted to the door.

When Xiao Che came out, she once again bounced up beside him. “It’s not stuffy out here, right?”

Xiao Che: “…”

“What exactly do you want?!”

Now he finally understood—because he’d eaten one of her fries, he couldn’t leave unless he paid for it with dozens of fries’ worth of return.

Shu Ruohua still had that beaming smile.

“Hey, don’t make it sound so serious. What could I possibly want?”

“I just want to borrow—just borrow—a few things.”

Xiao Che’s expression remained blank. “Borrow what?”

Seeing that he seemed to agree, Shu Ruohua’s mental gears spun faster.

“I’d like to borrow some tomato seeds, cucumber seeds, long bean seeds, chive seeds, scallion seeds, eggplant seedlings, and maybe some chili seedlings…”

She listed off all the vegetables she liked to eat and that could be planted in this season.

Xiao Che listened calmly.

He memorized everything she said.

When Shu Ruohua finally finished, he asked, “That’s all?”

Shu Ruohua nodded furiously. That was pretty much all she could think of right now.

The rest—she could bring up later when it came to mind.

The corners of Xiao Che’s lips curved up slightly into what seemed like a satisfied smile.

He glanced over at Qian Ning, who had been standing by the door ever since he’d sent her out earlier. “Go get paper and ink.”

Qian Ning was momentarily stunned.

Shu Ruohua was also stunned.

The two of them looked at each other—expressionless and completely speechless!

They both knew exactly what Xiao Che wanted the paper and ink for.

It was because Shu Ruohua had used the word “borrow.”

Xiao Che clearly intended to write an IOU.

Qian Ning frantically shot Shu Ruohua looks, hinting that she should say something nice to the Crown Prince and try to get him to change “borrow” to “give.”

Shu Ruohua blinked her bright eyes, feigning ignorance as she tentatively asked, “What do you need paper and ink for?”

She really couldn’t believe it—this man, this supposedly high-ranking imperial guard who looked like someone very wealthy, could actually be so stingy!

Xiao Che replied, “Didn’t you say you were borrowing?”

Shu Ruohua: “…”

She was speechless.

Were ancient men all this tight-fisted?!

She stared blankly for a while before finally snapping out of it.

Fine then.

She kept consoling herself in her mind: He’s not related to me. Last time he already gave me a whole sack of potatoes—that was generous enough.

This time, it’s only right to pay for what I get.

Even if… I have no money right now!

She turned and gave Qian Ning a look, signaling her to go fetch the writing materials—she was giving up the fight.

Qian Ning was panicking inside.

She really wanted to tell Shu Ruohua that the man standing in front of her was the Crown Prince himself, and that her lady didn’t need to borrow anything from her own husband.

But when she snuck a glance at the Crown Prince, she saw that his gaze was sharp enough to kill.

She didn’t dare speak, and instead obediently ran off to get the paper and ink.

There was an old study inside Lengfeng Pavilion.

In it were an inkstone, some aged paper, and a brush.

Qian Ning quickly brought them over.

Xiao Che took the materials and told Shu Ruohua to grind the ink for him.

Out of habit, he smoothed out the paper until it lay perfectly flat.

Then, he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and skillfully wrote down the list of seeds and seedlings Shu Ruohua had just recited.

Once he was done, he handed the paper to Shu Ruohua. “Sign it.”

…

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(End of Chapter)