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The cold wind blew against his ears, causing them to hurt. Luo Yao was dragged for a long distance.

The fire faded away and the two stopped at an intersection where lanterns were hung. Bei Zhenting's heart was pounding, his temples were throbbing, and cold sweat was oozing from his forehead.

"What are you doing there?!" Bei Zhenting yelled, his expression terrifying.

Luo Yao had just come back to his senses when he heard him yell, and his heart suddenly jumped into his throat. He subconsciously grabbed the things in his hands. He found that he was holding Bei Zhenting's hand. Just as he was about to let go, he was pulled into a strong and broad embrace.

Lying in Bei Zhenting's arms, Luo Yao could hear Bei Zhenting's heartbeat.

Bei Zhenting's heart was beating so fast...

Luo Yao knocked on Bei Zhenting's shoulder, "Today is Chunxin Festival, and the village is holding a Lantern Festival to celebrate. Why did the prince come back? Have you dealt with the urgent matter?"

No one from Bei Zhenting responded to him. In the cold wind, Luo Yao could only hear the sound of a rapid heartbeat in his ears.

"Your Highness's heartbeat is so fast, he must be feeling unwell..."

A hot kiss fell on the corner of his mouth, and Luo Yao's unfinished question was blocked in his mouth.

"Well……"

Unable to struggle free, Bei Zhenting held his waist with one hand and stroked the back of his neck with the other, deepening the kiss.

Kissing is poison. The sound of kissing amplified by the forehead bone makes one blush, heartbeat and scalp tingle.

Luo Yao's face and ears turned red, and his hands and feet were weak. The forced kiss became gentle at this moment. Luo Yao's legs and feet became weak, and the temperature on his face became higher and higher.

After the kiss, Luo Yao's heart was pounding as if it was about to jump out of his chest. He lowered his head and didn't dare to look at Bei Zhenting at all.

Bei Zhenting stroked his chin and asked him to raise his head. Under the warm light of the lantern, Luo Yao's watery eyes blinked helplessly, his slightly open mouth was swollen and red with water, and his small ears were red.

I didn’t cry this time, Bei Zhenting thought.

"Let's go home." Luo Yao heard Bei Zhenting say as a kiss as light as a feather fell on his forehead.

Bei Zhenting walked forward, holding Luo Yao's hand, and felt the hand he was holding tightening his own. Bei Zhenting turned his head to look at Luo Yao, who lowered his head, his short bangs obscuring his expression.

Bei Zhenting's eyes fell on Luo Yao's not-so-long hair, and he said sternly, "Don't go near that kind of fire in the future! Not even celebrating!"

Bei Zhenting was frightened when he saw the fire. Ever since the fire in the palace, he has been afraid of fire.

Even though he knew Luo Yao was not in the capital during the civil unrest, every time he went to the battlefield and saw a fire, he would feel palpitations and fear, and his hands and feet would become cold. Especially when using gunpowder, he would have nightmares all night long.

"Did you hear that?" Bei Zhenting's voice was very stern.

Luo Yao was a little confused, but he didn't dare to disobey Bei Zhenting's words and nodded obediently.

We walked hand in hand on the dirt road in the countryside. There were lanterns hanging on both sides of the road. After walking on a long and empty road, the noise of the Lantern Festival was left behind, and there were more houses on the roadside and at the bottom of the road.

Every household hangs lanterns of various shapes. It is still early and people are still playing at the lantern party and have not returned home yet. The surroundings are very quiet, with only the occasional barking of dogs as the noise.

From afar, I saw two huge red lanterns at the gate of my yard. I also arrived at the richest place in Pear Village, and there were more and more lanterns on the roadside.

After returning home and sitting down in the living room, Luo Yao suddenly remembered that he had followed Bei Zhenting home without telling his grandfather and brother...

"Don't worry, grandpa knows I'm back, he should be able to guess it." Bei Zhenting touched Luo Yao's head.

Hearing this, Luo Yao stood up and said quickly, "Your Highness, we caught snails and lobsters today. I'll make them for everyone's midnight snack!"

Watching Luo Yao run away, Bei Zhenting felt helpless.

In the afternoon, salt was added to the snails to let them spit out the sand. Now they all stretched their necks. Luo Yao handled the snails skillfully, thinking about what Bei Zhenting had just said in his mind.

grandfather?

Suddenly feeling a little happy, Luo Yao slowed down his movements.

"Princess, you're back so early!"

The man who came was Uncle Ma, the groom who followed Grandpa south. He now takes care of Grandpa's daily life and is responsible for his diet.

"Ah, Uncle Ma, didn't you go to the Lantern Festival?"

Uncle Ma is not young anymore, but he doesn't have a wife. The Fire Lantern Festival can be considered a matchmaking event. Who knows, maybe he can even bump into someone wonderful...

Ma Xing shook his head, looked at the black snail in Luo Yao's hand, and quickly took it.

"Princess, this thing is too dirty, let me do it, please don't do it!"

"Okay, you take care of this, I'll go to the kitchen and prepare the shrimp."

Luo Yao actually hates handling food ingredients. Vegetables are okay, but he really can't stand smelly meat.

Fortunately, the shrimps were all dizzy after being marinated in wine, and did not crawl around when the lid was opened. Otherwise, Luo Yao would never have been able to tolerate the sight of such a large bucket of shrimps crawling around.

Luo Yao handled two shrimps delicately. There were eight crayfish on his index finger, and he didn't want to touch them. After handling a few of them, he couldn't wait to wash his hands in clean water.

When Bei Zhenting came in, he saw Luo Yao's look that said "I hate dealing with crayfish".

The fishy smell in the kitchen was unpleasant. Seeing Luo Yao's cautious appearance, Bei Zhenting endured the discomfort and went over to take the shrimp from his hand. "How to wash it? I will take care of it. Don't touch it."

Luo Yao made way in shock.

The crayfish were soaked in salt and white vinegar as soon as they were brought back from the fields. When they went out, they changed the water and added an appropriate amount of wine to soak them. After Luo Yao's preliminary cleaning, they now need to be further scrubbed clean, the stomach removed from the shrimp head, and the shrimp thread can be pulled out from the tail.

Bei Zhenting was not very good at it but he learned quickly. After he learned it, he never let Luo Yao touch crayfish again.

Luo Yao was overjoyed and took a wooden potato scraper to pick up a dozen potatoes and peel them.

Bei Zhenting told him what happened today.

Luo Yao felt a sense of elation as he listened to Bei Zhenting's halting explanation for breaking his appointment. However, he didn't know what to say to Bei Zhenting's explanation and apology, so he could only say "oh" dryly.

They started cooking, Luo Yao was in charge and Bei Zhenting was helping.

The spicy crayfish and spicy potatoes are fried together, and the aroma dilutes the fishy smell in the kitchen.

The portion was huge, and Luo Yao's hands were sore from holding the spatula, so Bei Zhenting took over the task of stir-frying.

"Yaoyao, I'm sending you to the northwest. Are you really unwilling? The case has made some progress. I can't stay here any longer. I have to leave early tomorrow morning..."

Are we leaving tomorrow... Luo Yao's hand trembled as he sprinkled chopped green onions into the pot.

If Bei Zhenting forced his brother and grandfather to go to the northwest, he might feel fortunate...

But if he had to choose, he would be stuck in a dead end...

People who have been lost for too long will not be able to find their way on their own.

Luo Yao secretly wished there was someone who could tell him what to do...and decide all the important matters for him.

Don't ask him anything... just give him orders, the more compulsory the better... orders will give him a clear direction and a wonderful sense of power and belonging.

Seeing Luo Yao shaking his head, Bei Zhenting felt annoyed.

If Luo Yao was unwilling to send Lord Luo Xingchen and the Duke to the northwest, even if he sent more guards and secret guards to protect the Luo family, they would not be as strong as the iron wall of the northwest.

As for Luo Yao, Bei Zhenting didn't want him to be in danger, but on the other hand, he wanted to keep him by his side, because he would not feel at ease no matter where he sent Luo Yao!

"Since you want to live here with Grandpa, I will send guards here to protect you."