Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Rogue Shen Qingchen

Jiang Hexue had never heard Shen Qingchen's voice like this before.

His voice was originally cold and low-pitched, like the palace sound of a long zither played in winter.

This cold voice was filled with tender affection, softer than the tail feathers of a little parrot in his palm, and fell into his ears along with his cool breath.

Lighter than the white flowers falling from the plum branches.

But for no reason, her heart felt numb.

Jiang Hexue blinked slowly and reacted belatedly.

Shen Qingchen...was he actively bowing his head? Was he coaxing her?

She slowly turned her head and met his gaze.

His earlobe was so red it was almost transparent, and the pretty little mole on the right side added a touch of allure.

Jiang Hexue pinched it without hesitation and used force.

"When I teach you, you don't learn, and recite the 'Pure Heart Sutra' with me. When I don't teach you, you use such repetitive words?" She snorted, hiding her chaotic heartbeat. "Do you like to go against me?"

"Not really." Shen Qingchen let her pinch him, moved his lips, but did not explain further.

"So what?" Jiang Hexue didn't let him go.

Shen Qingchen looked at her for a moment, and the blush on the edge of her ears spread to her cheeks little by little.

He moved her hand, stood up straight, and turned his eyes away, not daring to look at her again.

Jiang Hexue looked at him and asked tentatively, "Did you recite the 'Pure Heart Sutra' just now for yourself?"

Shen Qingchen agreed.

Jiang Hexue couldn't help laughing and joked, "It turns out that even our pure-hearted little deity is not immune to worldly desires."

“So,” Shen Qingchen sighed softly and gently pinched her knuckles. “Qiong Qiong, let me go.”

"There's a long way to go, let's take it slow."

-

Of course Jiang Hexue was unwilling to take it slow with him.

Fishing certainly requires patience, but she admits she is not a patient person.

No matter how delicious the fish is, if it is hanging in front of your mouth but you can't eat it, you will lose interest in it after looking at it for too long.

But, if that fish is Shen Qingchen...

Jiang Hexue was distracted and exerted more force on his hands, causing the petals of the wintersweet flower that were being gently wiped by the gauze to suddenly bend a little.

She sighed in frustration, and seeing that the number was almost there, she simply threw away that one, added snow water according to the proportion, sealed the ceramic jar, and cold-brewed the flower dew.

Tao Weng was about to seal the door tightly when his maid Xuemei arrived with a message: "Princess, His Highness has been urgently summoned to the palace. He is told that he will not be able to return tonight. Please do not worry."

"Who cares if he comes back?" Outside the window, heavy snow began to fall again. Jiang Hexue glanced at it, muttered, and then smiled at Xuemei. "I understand."

She glanced around the room boredly, her eyes set on the little parrot she had just named: "Little Qionghua, come here."

"Let me teach you how to speak." Jiang Hexue pinched a handful of cornmeal that Xuemei had brought and fed it to the dog. "Peace and happiness."

Little Qionghua pecked at the corn crumbs and didn't respond to her.

"Don't want to learn? Try another one." Jiang Hexue patted its head. "Have fun every day."

Little Qionghua still didn't respond. She pecked the corn crumbs clean from the palm of her hand, and then pecked at the porcelain Gu that still contained the corn crumbs.

"Greedy." Jiang Hexue said, pinching another handful to feed it. "All you want to eat and not learn is a scoundrel."

Perhaps because she was full and satisfied, Xiao Qionghua agreed with her: "Rogue."

"You're quite clever." Jiang Hexue's eyes lit up. "I won't talk about you anymore."

After receiving the praise, Xiao Qionghua rubbed the back of her hand again.

"Learn another name." Jiang Hexue wanted to teach it its own name, but caught a glimpse of the falling snow and changed his mind. "Chen Qingchen."

Going out in the wind and snow without worrying about freezing... She shook her head in disapproval.

This pronunciation is a little difficult for Xiao Qionghua: "Shen Qi Chen."

"Chen, Qing, Chen." Jiang Hexue corrected seriously.

"Chen Qingchen!" Xiao Qionghua had learned it this time. "Rogue Chen Qingchen!"

Jiang Hexue was thoroughly amused by this: "How come you're still able to answer the question yourself?"

"Rogue, rogue!" Little Qionghua didn't understand what she said. Perhaps because she saw her smile, she flapped her wings and repeated it. "Chen Qingchen!"

-

Shen Qingchen's nose was itchy for a long time, and he turned his back and sneezed unbearably.

"Have you caught a cold?" Emperor Hengshun asked with concern. "I know you and Hexue are newlyweds, but due to the unrest and the instability of the people, I need you to go to the outskirts of the capital."

"The snow is falling so fast, the winter hunt has to be postponed..."

"The 25th," Chen Qingchen said. "Within three days, the snow will subside, and it will be sunny from the 22nd onwards. Therefore, the hunting will not be affected by the enclosure on the 25th. Your Majesty, please choose a date from now on."

Emperor Hengshun clapped his hands, laughed, and agreed.

"I still need to go to the library to look for an ancient book. If my royal brother has nothing else to do, I will take my leave." Shen Qingchen bowed, got his permission, and turned to leave the hall.

-

"Your Highness." Outside the library, the Jinwu Guards bowed. "It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Your Highness wishes to enter the library?"

Shen Qingchen nodded, stepped into the library through the open door, glanced at the ancient government books that had been flipped through by Emperor Hengshun, and slowly walked towards the bookshelves inside.

Suddenly there was a slight noise on the roof.

"Aye, there are too many Jinwu Guards guarding us. Can we make it?" The girl's soft, low voice was filled with anxiety. "It would be terrible if we were discovered. We'll do it another day..."

Shen Qingchen raised her eyes and subconsciously dodged and hid behind the bookshelf.

This voice... Rongchang?

Why was she so restless in the middle of the night and sneaking into the library?

"I'm here, Princess, don't be afraid." On the roof, the young man's voice, which was also suppressed, was heard. It was hoarse and magnetic, and the tone was somewhat like Jiang Hexue.

Shen Qingchen immediately determined that the person traveling with him was Jiang Heye, so he did not move and listened attentively.

The Jinwu Guards outside the house must have been knocked unconscious, the window paper was pierced, and the two men fell to the ground quietly.

"I remember the book was called 'Embroidery of Myriad Brocades'. Maybe there's a clue there..." Chen Chuning muttered. "Aye, your embroidery pattern is so novel. I've seen so many embroidery patterns, and I don't have the slightest clue..."

"If you can't find out, then so be it," Jiang Heye replied nonchalantly. "I've been searching for over ten years and still have no clue. The princess can't be blamed."

Shen Qingchen's finger unconsciously tapped the edge of the bookshelf.

The compass was not at hand, and there was not even a copper coin in the library, so he could not tell fortunes. He did not want to disturb them, so he just continued to eavesdrop on them.

"I'll help you find out." Shen Chuning swore. "I promised you."

"Princess, you are so trustworthy. Could you possibly agree to something else for me? For example, a gift? A bracelet, how about that?"

Shen Qingchen frowned.

"That's a gift for your sweetheart." Shen Chuning reminded in a muffled voice across several rows of bookshelves.

"Is it not counted?" Jiang Heye asked with a smile. "Princess, if I can't count, who can?"

"Princess, if you refuse to acknowledge me, I will seek your answer in a different way—for example, like this?"

An ambiguous and charming sound.

Shen Qingchen's frown relaxed.

Jiang Heye is now not only Shen Chuning's poison guard, but also her lover...

Qiong Qiong must have known about this, which is why she was so hesitant and unwilling to tell him everything.

He must not want to separate the two and hurt Jiang Heye's feelings, and he also does not want to see him go to Qingyuan with Rongchang and put his life in danger.

He understood Jiang Hexue's concerns and then pursed his lips uncomfortably.

She didn't know that Rongchang's marriage to Qingyuan was a lie he had told her.

He had predicted that Rongchang's true love was not in Qingyuan.

Even her marriage to Qingyuan was considered an ominous omen, but Emperor Hengshun had already known about it and would never give in.

However, Shen Qingchen had no intention of confessing to Jiang Hexue at the moment.

He knew clearly that to her, his value only depended on recognizing Jiang Heye.

He must win her heart back before she achieves her goal.

He couldn't lose her again.

-

The wintersweet flower dew was cold-extracted. Jiang Hexue was thinking about the sweet almond oil in the palace, so she didn't stay in the hot spring inn for long.

She heated the sweet almond oil in a copper cauldron over low heat until it was slightly hot. She added wintersweet petals, agarwood, and sandalwood powder, stirring and simmering it, letting her mind wander.

The snow outside the window was getting heavier, falling like pieces of paper. The newly built swing was swaying gently in the wind in the red plum forest.

Jiang Hexue counted and found that he hadn't seen Chen Qingchen for three days.

She knew that he was busy with disaster relief work outside Beijing, but she still felt a little uncomfortable... a little, missed him?

She recalled his gentle "Qingqing" that day, and how his ears would turn red with embarrassment until they were almost transparent every time she kissed him.

How can she be so innocent and pure, and so charming without knowing it?

It makes people feel that there is nothing wrong in spending a lifetime with him.

Except for being too chaste.

Jiang Hexue pursed her lips and smiled. Seeing that the color of the petals had been boiled to a light color and the oil had fully absorbed the aroma, she turned off the fire and waited until the oil temperature cooled down before pouring it into a porcelain jar, sealing it, and placing it in a cool place to release the fragrance.

However, after seven or eight days, this man still had no time to accompany her. He left the house before she got up in the morning and returned after she went to bed. It was also heard that there were sometimes days when he was so busy that he did not return home all night.

Jiang Hexue understood, but still couldn't help feeling dissatisfied.

He also promised her that they would have a long time to live together, but now they can't even see each other. Who would want to have a long time to live with him?

Then again, they weren't a loving couple, so it was normal for them not to see each other... But she always felt that they weren't a couple who respected each other as much as guests.

Jiang Hexue added borneol powder and beeswax to the prepared wintersweet fragrance, adjusted the softness and hardness, and then pressed it into the prepared scented comb mold and sighed.

She had never been married, so she didn't know what to do.

"He's really going too far." Jiang Hexue caught Xiao Qionghua and fed her some cornmeal, saying smugly, "It's been days, and your father hasn't even taught you a word."

Xiao Qiong ate all the food and ignored her.

"Today is the 22nd." Jiang Hexue glanced at the calendar on the table and tapped Xiao Qionghua's head. "I'll teach you one more thing."

"Happy birthday."

Little Qionghua didn't learn. She ate all the corn crumbs in her palm and paced back and forth on the table.

"It's my birthday today, you should learn it." Jiang Hexue moved the scented comb into the drawer and then took it back out. "Happy birthday."

Perhaps the little Qionghua found it difficult to learn, so she flapped her wings and flew up to the beam, stretching her head to look down at her.

The man and the bird looked at each other for a moment, and Jiang Hexue pursed his lips.

"Forget it." She said dejectedly. "If you don't learn, Shen Qingchen is not here, and I am eating longevity noodles alone on my birthday this year."

Fang pulled on the fox fur and wanted to go to the kitchen, but he heard three knocks on the door.

"Come in." She thought it was Xuemei and answered casually. "What's the matter?"

After waiting for a while, no one answered. Jiang Hexue raised her eyes in confusion: "Xue... Zhaohua, why are you back?"

"I'll have longevity noodles with you."

"Qiong Qiong, happy birthday."

The author has something to say:

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1. The title is fictitious