Chapter 284 – Luo Gui?

During the days in solitary confinement in the dark room, aside from often feeling empty-minded, Luo Wei managed to live a peaceful life. As long as Sima Qingsha didn’t appear before him, he didn’t ask for anything more, especially since Aunt Hu and her daughter would come to accompany him. Although Aunt Hu rarely showed up, Yan’er would come by every few nights to chat with Luo Wei. The little girl had a chatty nature and couldn’t stop talking. She also loved to smile, her eyes sparkling when she laughed. Even though what the girl talked about mostly revolved around clothes, food, and palace gossip among the palace maids, Luo Wei would listen to her patiently. When the little girl was happy, she would even sing a song or dance on the spot, which made Luo Wei happy.

Luo Wei felt that when Yan’er grew up a bit more, she would definitely be a beauty, nothing like her mother, Aunt Hu.

Watching her daughter happily skipping around, Aunt Hu told Luo Wei, “Yan’er looks like her grandmother.”

Luo Wei asked, “Is her grandmother also in the palace?”

Aunt Hu replied, “She passed away many years ago.”

Luo Wei didn’t inquire further. From Aunt Hu’s expression, he knew that Yan’er’s grandmother wouldn’t have died of old age.

“Your Highness,” Aunt Hu hesitated before saying to Luo Wei, “Actually, this servant hopes that Yan’er will have a chance to return to Great Zhou.”

Luo Wei also looked at Yan’er, who was happily dancing around. “Yan’er’s temperament is not suitable for staying in the palace.”

Aunt Hu said, “I also think so. I hope that the merits of our three generations can give a way out to Yan’er.”

“Why did you come here in the first place?” Luo Wei asked.

“After committing a crime, there was nowhere else to go,” Aunt Hu replied.

The mention of “crime” by Aunt Hu stirred something in Luo Wei. “Three generations of atonement should be enough.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness.”

From then on, Luo Wei began to contemplate taking Yan’er back to Zhou with him. He focused on watching Yan’er’s spontaneous dances and didn’t notice the fleeting guilt in Hu Aunt Hu’s eyes.

Luo Qi sent two more letters to Luo Wei in quick succession.

When the third letter reached Luo Wei, it was already midwinter in Northern Yan.

Sima Qingsha also knew that Luo Wei was sensitive to cold, so when autumn came, he ordered the palace to burn charcoal in Luo Wei’s chambers. Thus, while Luo Wei stayed in the chamber, he felt none of the outside cold.

Luo Qi’s third letter discussed the child still in Ye Xiu’s womb. Luo Wei initially read it with relish. His elder brother had always been serious, but when it came to writing letters, he was full of wit, often making Luo Wei laugh. However, this time, when Luo Wei saw that Luo Qi wanted to name the child Gui, calling him Luo Gui, Luo Wei couldn’t find it amusing anymore.

“Your Highness,” Aunt Hu looked at Luo Wei, who suddenly seemed as if he had swallowed bitter bile, his face twisted in discomfort, and asked, “Is there bad news?”

“He wants to name the child Luo Gui,” Luo Wei sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Isn’t he afraid that the child will resent him when he grows up?”

“Return ?” Aunt Hu said. “This is Commander Luo hoping that you will return, Your Highness.”

“Others might only hear the name and not see the characters, how could they know it means ‘return’? Who would name their child ‘turtle’?” Luo Wei glanced again at Luo Qi’s letter, his face full of disgust.

“Turtle?” Aunt Hu couldn’t help but laugh.

“His Highness gege is so clever!” Yan’er clapped her hands when she saw her mother laughing.

“How am I clever?” Luo Wei didn’t understand.

“You made my mother laugh. My mother never laughs,” Yan’er said.

“Don’t be silly!” Aunt Hu became uncomfortable this time, slapped her daughter, then turned back to Luo Wei. “Your Highness, Commander Luo was just mentioning it to you. The child’s name hasn’t been decided yet, right?”

“If my elder brother wrote it like this, it’s almost decided,” Luo Wei said worriedly. “My sister-in-law must stop him. How could he give the child such a name?”

Aunt Hu asked with interest, “When Commander Luo names the young master, doesn’t he need to consult Lord Luo? The Senior Chancellor probably won’t agree to this name.”

“In our family, only the names of the eldest sons of each branch are chosen by the grandfather,” Luo Wei said. “My father won’t interfere in this child’s name.”

“In that case, His Highness can send a letter to Commander Luo, asking him not to choose this name,” Aunt Hu suggested earnestly. “The name Luo Gui doesn’t sound good and could lead to misunderstandings.”

Luo Wei hesitated for a moment before asking Aunt Hu, “Is it safe for you to send out the letter?”

“I’ll send it out the same way I brought it in, Your Highness. You can rest assured, nothing will happen,” Aunt Hu reassured him.

“What if someone finds out?”

“I would never bring trouble to Your Highness,” Aunt Hu said immediately.

“That’s not what I meant,” Luo Wei interjected. “I just think it’s better to avoid unnecessary risks.”

“Commander Luo has always been worried about Your Highness’s stay in this palace and wants to have news about the Prince. This servant have heard that Commander Luo was very suspicious of the news that are spread,” Aunt Hu explained.

Luo Wei just smiled and didn’t mention writing letters to Aunt Hu anymore.

Aunt Hu thought she couldn’t persuade Luo Wei this time, but three days later, Luo Wei sent a message through Yan’er, asking for paper and pen. That same evening, Aunt Hu brought paper and pen to Ninglu Palace to see Luo Wei.

Luo Wei pondered for three days before deciding to write a letter to Luo Qi. During these days, he was accompanied by the Hu mother and daughter, and he had come to trust Aunt Hu. Luo Qi’s three letters revealed his guilt and self-blame for failing to protect Luo Wei. Luo Wei wanted to assure Luo Qi, who was far away in Yunguan, that he was safe. He didn’t want Luo Qi to worry about him all day long.

“Your Highness gege,” Yan’er leaned on the corner of the small table, watching Luo Wei write the letter, and said to Luo Wei, “Your handwriting is really nice.”

Luo Wei replied, “With practice, anyone can write well.”

“Can Yan’er learn too?”

“Of course.”

“Can His Highness gege teach Yan’er?”

“Yan’er!” Aunt Hu called out to her daughter, who was about to be too forward.

Luo Wei smiled and said, “We’ll see if there’s a chance.”

In this palace chamber, Luo Wei couldn’t teach Yan’er to write. Talking here was fine, occasionally writing a letter posed no problem. But teaching someone to read and write would leave traces, even just an ink dot, and they couldn’t afford to be discovered.

“Okay,” Yan’er didn’t understand the master’s and her mother’s concerns, but as long as Luo Wei agreed, she was happy.

Luo Wei didn’t dare to write a long letter this time, just one page. He only mentioned that he was well in Northern Yan, asked Luo Qi not to worry, and urged him not to name the child “Gui”, as it would invite ridicule.

“Your Highness,” Aunt Hu requested beside Luo Wei, “you should write something only you and Commander Luo know, even if it’s just one line, to make Commander Luo believe that this letter is truly written by you.”

“Okay,” Luo Wei agreed. If it weren’t for Aunt Hu’s reminder, he almost forgot about this. After some thought, he added a sentence at the end: “Regarding the matter of the Gale Escort Bureau, younger brother hopes elder brother will pay more attention to it and not let it go unnoticed.”

Aunt Hu sealed the letter in front of Luo Wei and said, “Your Highness, rest assured, I will send this letter out of the palace as soon as possible.”

“You must be careful,” Luo Wei cautioned. “If anything happens, just leave the letter and run away.”

“Your Highness?”

“Sima Qingsha won’t kill me, so I’ll be fine. But you still have to take care of Yan’er. Compared to that, it’s better for you not to take too many risks,” Luo Wei said to Aunt Hu, and handed a candy from Imperial Physician Chu to Yan’er.

“It’s filled with red bean paste,” Yan’er exclaimed joyfully as she bit into the candy and tasted the bean paste, smiling at Luo Wei.

“I know you like eating bean paste,” Luo Wei said, smiling at Yan’er.

Aunt Hu watched Luo Wei’s smile at that moment, feeling the weight of the letter hidden in her sleeve as if it had suddenly become a thousand pounds.