Going through the entire stock of adornments that the shopkeeper and his assistants brought took up much of their time. Xuan Xu Chen was adamant to have her pick another ornament aside from the moonstone hairpin but she stubbornly refused.
"You already gave me such an expensive gift. That's enough.", she reasoned out.
Only when she promised to go shopping with Xuan Xu Chen again did he acquiesced. Lou Yi breathed a sigh of relief then.
"It seems that it has gotten dark before we knew it.", Xuan Xu Chen casually said as he looked up to the sky. They were currently standing at the doorway while their carriage came to pick them up.
"Indeed."
"Shall we go eat dinner?"
"We've eaten quite a lot of snacks today.", Lou Yi subtly refused. "I don't think I could eat more for tonight. Besides, I am quite tired and would like to go home to rest now."
Xuan Xu Chen's disappointment was obvious on his face, but taking into account that the princess did indeed look tired, he nodded. He assisted the princess into the carriage before getting inside himself.
Xiao Cui, who had painstakingly made herself invisible throughout her master's date, sat next to the coachman. She then heard the Prime Minister gave the order to go home to the princess' manor. The carriage steadily advanced on the road. It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.
"I hope you had fun today.", the Prime Minister said to Lou Yi as soon as the coachman announced their arrival.
"I did.", Lou Yi smiled. "It has been a long time since I strolled around carefreely."
Xuan Xu Chen then thought about the rumors of the three Zhao princesses being confined in their palace. The princess must be thinking about that. His gaze turned even more gentle as he made a solemn vow to himself. If he can, he'll take Lou Yi out as often as possible.
If Lou Yi knew of Xuan Xu Chen's thoughts, she probably wouldn't know whether she would cry or laugh. This Prime Minister is overthinking things, ah!
"If the Second Princess is okay with it, I can take you out again sometime.", the man offered.
"Aren't you busy with work? Will His Majesty not reprimand you for being too lax?", Lou Yi asked with concern.
"I do my job well so His Majesty cannot censure me.", Xuan Xu Chen replied. "Besides, we won't be going our frequently. Only when I have the time."
Lou Yi nodded in understanding. "If that is the case, then there should be no problems."
"I'll send a message to you ahead of time if I want to invite you out. I hope you won't turn me down."
"That's a matter of course."
Under the assistance of the Prime Minister, Lou Yi got off the carriage and bid her farewells. Only when the gate of the manor closed did Xuan Xu Chen climbed up the carriage and left.
Lou Yi was greeted by Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning by the door of her courtyard. Once she entered her room, she took off her outer robe and handed it to Xiao Mei before giving out orders.
"Xiao Mei, prepare a bath for me. Xiao Ning, guard the door. Xiao Cui, come."
Lou Yi sat on the nearby tea table with a dignified expression on her face so her maidservants knew that their master will have a serious talk with Xiao Cui. Of course, Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei have their own tasks to do and they didn't dare dilly dally, especially now that the Second Princess has a serious air around her.
"Do you still remember what are those two hairpins on shopkeeper Xiao Han's tray?"