Wu Zheng stared at Lin Xue, wondering whether he had heard her correctly.
"Are you rich?"
Lin Xue nodded impatiently. "Yes. That's what I asked. Are you rich or not?"
He studied her serious expression, searching for the slightest indication that she was joking. Finding none, he leaned back slightly.
"I have enough money to live comfortably."
Lin Xue's face brightened. "Really?"
"Really."
"How much?"
Wu Zheng paused.
How much?
In all his years as Emperor, no one had ever questioned him so directly about his personal wealth. His ministers discussed taxes, trade, military expenses, and the kingdom's treasury, but none had ever looked him in the eye and demanded to know how much money he possessed.
He found her audacity almost refreshing.
"Why do you want to know?"
Lin Xue frowned as though the answer should have been obvious. "Marriage is a serious matter. I can't simply marry someone without knowing whether he can afford to take care of himself, let alone his wife."
Wu Zheng regarded her with growing curiosity. "And what exactly do you expect your husband to provide?"
Lin Xue raised one finger. "Beautiful clothes."
She raised another. "Jewellery."
A third followed. "Delicious food."
Then a fourth. "Money for shopping, travelling, and anything else I might want in the future."
She paused, considering her requirements before adding, "And a comfortable house. I don't want to spend my life worrying about where I'll sleep or what I'll eat."
Wu Zheng listened without interrupting. By the time she finished, she was looking at him expectantly, as though she had just presented him with the most reasonable conditions in the world.
"And what will you provide in return?" he asked.
Lin Xue blinked. "What do you mean?"
"If your husband is expected to provide all those things, what will you offer him?"
She considered the question before answering with complete confidence. "Me, of course. What else would he want?"
Wu Zheng's eyebrows rose. For once, he had no immediate response.
Apparently satisfied that she had answered him perfectly well, Lin Xue folded her hands in her lap and turned her attention to the mountain scenery.
He studied her for a moment before posing another question. "Suppose you meet a man who has none of those things. What would you do?"
Lin Xue turned back towards him. "Does he have a good heart?"
"Suppose he does."
"Is he kind?"
"Yes."
"Does he treat me well?"
"Yes."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Then I would cherish him."
Something in her answer surprised him. Beneath her extravagant demands, she seemed to understand that a person's worth extended beyond their possessions.
Then she added, "But we would have to remain unmarried."
Wu Zheng stared at her.
Lin Xue gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You see, love and marriage are two different things. I can love someone without marrying him. Why should we make life difficult for ourselves?"
He slowly turned towards her. "Are you telling me that you would love a man but refuse to marry him because he was poor?"
"Exactly!"
Her enthusiastic confirmation nearly undid him. For a moment, Wu Zheng wondered whether he ought to be offended on behalf of every poor man in the kingdom. Instead, he laughed.
Lin Xue eyed him suspiciously. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"Because you're interesting."
She narrowed her eyes. "You keep saying that. I don't think you understand what interesting means."
"Perhaps you should explain it to me."
Lin Xue opened her mouth, then reconsidered. There was something infuriating about the way he looked at her, as though her complaints and demands were a source of endless amusement. She could never tell whether he was taking her seriously, and his refusal to become annoyed only made him more difficult to deal with.
Deciding that she had wasted enough time on the matter, she returned to her original question.
"Anyway, how much money do you have?"
Wu Zheng sighed inwardly. They were back where they had started.
"I have more than enough."
"That isn't a number."
"What number would satisfy you?"
Lin Xue began counting on her fingers again, calculating the cost of clothes, jewellery, food, outings, and the other necessities she associated with a comfortable life. Wu Zheng watched her, increasingly curious about what she would demand next.