The gluttonous scout nestled against his chest; Su Yao's letters and his sister's nonsense
Back then, she was just like this, being rescued from the beam by him, held in his arms, and warned.
His whole face flushed instantly, even the roots of his ears turned bright red.
"You're such a grown man, and you can't even stand up straight?"
Gu Moran chuckled softly, but instead of loosening his left arm around her waist,
Instead, he pulled her closer to his arms, freeing his right hand to untie the black cloak tied around his neck.
With a whoosh, it was unfurled, completely covering Zhen Meili, arms and all, from head to toe.
The cloak still carried the warmth of Gu Moran's body, instantly keeping the biting sea breeze at bay.
Zhen Meili huddled inside the cloak, her hands pressed against Gu Moran's chest, her fingers unconsciously clenching the front of his python robe.
A mind that usually calculates organizational data more clearly than anyone else.
At this point, everything was completely chaotic, and he stammered as he spoke:
"Your Highness... Why have you come up here?"
"I... I just had a leg ache. The wires are all connected, it definitely won't delay tomorrow morning's important business..."
"I know you won't cause any trouble."
Gu Moran lowered his head, looking at the pretty face in his arms, a face that was usually cold and composed as she fiddled with wooden and iron tools, but now too shy to look up.
He extended his right thumb and gently wiped away the black gunpowder ash from the tip of her nose with the pad of his finger.
"From changing boats in Dengzhou, to building dams on the Han River, and now laying mines overnight,"
Without you, such a great contributor,
"This battle of mine didn't go so smoothly."
The man's thumb was a bit rough, and it sent a tingling sensation through his nose as it brushed against it.
Zhen Meili's breath hitched for a second. She looked up at Gu Moran, who was so close to her, her heart pounding in her chest.
My throat was dry, and I didn't even have the strength to push the person away. A shameful thought even crept into my mind:
Being held by him like this forever would be more delightful than building ten repeating crossbows.
"Hey! Your Highness, you're being way too biased!"
Suddenly, a dissatisfied mutter broke in from the side.
Yun Shuyue, cheeks puffed out, squatted on the steps, gazing longingly at Zhen Meili's large, dark cloak, and shook her wrists, which were red from the cold.
"I was out in the cold wind for half the night, and I even climbed out the window to steal the gold box for you!"
Why did you only put clothes on Sister Zhen?
"You won't even say a kind word to me?"
Gu Moran turned her head and looked at the scout girl who was stuffing osmanthus cake into her mouth like a little hamster, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He freed his right hand and reached over to pinch Yun Shuyue's chubby cheek:
"Alright, our Commander Yun is also the number one contributor."
What are you eating? Share a bite with me!
Before Yun Shuyue could react, Gu Moran lowered his head and, taking advantage of Yun Shuyue's small hand that was raised in mid-air, opened his mouth and snapped off most of the remaining half of the osmanthus cake in her hand.
Warm lips brushed against Yun Shuyue's icy fingertips, leaving a slightly damp sensation.
Yun Shuyue froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, her eyes wide open, forgetting to swallow the crumbs of pastry in her mouth.
Gu Moran chewed the cold, hard osmanthus cake twice and swallowed it, then casually ruffled Yun Shuyue's hair.
With a swift movement of his right hand, he pulled her up as well, directly lifting the other half of Zhen Meili's cloak and tucking Yun Shuyue into his arms, holding her cold little hands and warming them inside the folds of his robe at his waist.
"This osmanthus cake is frozen solid, like a block of iron. How could you even eat it?"
"When you enter the Iwami Silver Mine tomorrow, I'll have the kitchen prepare ten baskets of hot food for you."
In his left arms was Zhen Meili, whose body was stiff, and in his right arms was Yun Shuyue, who was completely dumbfounded.
Yun Shuyue buried her burning face in Gu Moran's chest, listening to the steady and powerful heartbeat inside, and rubbed her fingers against his belt.
This girl has always been carefree and only thinks about eating and running errands.
But smelling Gu Moran's scent now, a thought suddenly popped into my head:
What's the point of being a scout, spending all day in the cold wind eating hard biscuits?
If only I could be like Sister Shen and Sister Meng,
How comfortable it would be to sneak into the prince's bed every day and warm his sleep...
Gu Moran warmed the two maids in his arms for a while, and seeing that their hands and feet had recovered, he patted Zhen Meili's shoulder and said seriously:
"Alright, I have something important to tell you."
I just managed to get the truth out of that silly Wa woman.
"The fleet of the Vice Minister of Ministry of War in the outer sea checks the signal with our Sea-Gazing Tower every half hour."
" Shuyue, go and bring three tallow-colored red lanterns now, and hang them on the horizontal bar directly east of the corner tower. Light them three times, following the 'three long, two short' method."
Zhen Meili and Yun Shuyue quickly scrambled out of his arms, straightened their clothes, and nodded in unison.
After explaining the signal lights used to lure the enemy at the dock,
Gu Moran left the black cloak to Zhen Meili and Yun Shuyue to keep warm, while he himself walked along the bluestone path back to the main hall of the prefect's mansion.
As soon as Gu Moran crossed the high threshold of the main hall, she saw that more than a dozen tallow candles were lit inside, making the room as bright as day.
Gu Moli was sitting cross-legged in the armchair at the head of the table.
She was wearing a crimson jacket with a fox fur collar, and at her feet lay a mud-covered lacquer tube used for urgent courier services.
She was holding three opened envelopes in her hand, swinging her toes as she looked at them with great interest.
Gu Moran glanced at the sealing wax mark on the lacquer tube on the ground; it was a mark used exclusively by the Prince Yi Prefecture's Residence.
He quickened his pace and reached out to take it:
" Moli, is this a letter from Yi Prefecture?"
"Quick, let me see, is this something Su Yao and the others sent?"
With lightning speed, Gu Moli flipped her wrist and hid the three letters behind her back.
She lowered one leg, sat up straight, glanced at Gu Moran from head to toe, and let out a half-snort through her nose:
"Oh, so our busy Prince Yi has finally decided to come out of those vixens' rooms in the backyard?"
He had even taken off his cloak and given it to some wild woman to warm himself.
"Now you seem to remember you have three older sisters?"
Gu Moran stopped, crossed his arms, looked at the girl who reeked of sourness, and raised an eyebrow:
"Stop with the sarcastic remarks. What did the letter say?"
Has something gone wrong in Yi Prefecture?
"There's nothing wrong with that, but your backyard is about to catch fire and rebel!"
Gu Moli slapped the armrest of the armchair, raised her chin high, and began to ramble on with a straight face.
I just checked for you.
The head housekeeper Sister Su, made some very harsh remarks in her letter!
She said you spend money like water while fighting wars outside, and you're also attracting attention everywhere, even embracing a princess from Goryeo and bringing a fool from Wa into your house.
Sister Su said that starting next month, she'll stop giving you supplies. When you get back to Yi Prefecture, she'll tie you up and throw you in the woodshed to teach you a lesson!