Chapter 414 Warmth

The following afternoon, the sunlight shone brightly through the window lattices onto the floor of Weiyang Palace, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Jiang Huan leaned back on the soft couch, flipping through a leisurely travelogue, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.

Not long after, a series of light footsteps and chattering laughter broke the tranquility outside the hall.

The beaded curtain rustled, and Ayina, Mingzhu, and Heling walked in together, each carrying something in their hands.

"Oh, lying around enjoying yourself?" Ayina, still in her flamboyant manner, pushed an exquisite food box in front of Jiang Huan.

Seeing this, Mingzhu immediately squeezed forward, holding up the sachet: "Your Majesty, please wait! This sachet is the most practical. It contains a prescription personally prepared by the Imperial Physician, and it has an excellent calming effect!"

As she spoke, she was about to tie it around Jiang Huan's waist.

"Wait!" He Ling nimbly stepped between the two, pulling out a small porcelain bottle. "Those things outside are just ordinary items, but this is the real treasure. Walnut kernels with black sesame seeds, one spoonful a day, and I guarantee the little prince will grow thick black hair and be clever and quick-witted!"

Ayina raised an eyebrow: "Nonsense! Food is the most important thing. If you don't eat or sleep well, all the good stuff will be useless!"

Mingzhu stamped her foot in frustration: "Scented sachets can help you sleep soundly every night, but eating too many candied fruits can cause toothaches!"

He Ling retorted, hands on her hips: "Do you know how important black, shiny hair is?"

The three of them chatted amongst themselves, vying to get closer to Jiang Huan like mother hens protecting their chicks.

Jiang Huan was both amused and exasperated: "Alright, alright, if we keep arguing, my Weiyang Palace will probably turn into a marketplace."

Goodness, is this a gift or a sales contest?

As the group was chatting and joking, the door was pushed open, and Huo Lin, dressed in court robes, walked in, exuding a cool and aloof aura.

He heard the commotion inside from outside the door. His gaze swept over the three people arguing heatedly, as well as Jiang Huan, who was surrounded in the middle and looked helpless. His face was expressionless, but the atmosphere around him seemed to have become a bit more oppressive.

[Ha, they're arguing quite a bit, one or two of them, still fighting over whose stuff is better? To me, they're all the same, vulgar things.]

In my opinion, only what I personally send is the best!

He walked straight to the bedside, ignoring the three people, sat down next to Jiang Huan, stretched out his arm and pulled her into his arms, the movement so fluid as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times.

“Candied fruit is too sweet and bad for your teeth, sachets have a mixed smell, and as for black sesame seeds…” He paused, his gaze lingering on the porcelain bottle in He Ling’s hand for a moment, looking quite disgusted, “If eating this could make your hair better, those old ministers would probably have been using it long ago.”

Jiang Huan almost burst out laughing when she heard his words.

The ministers have suffered an undeserved calamity.

With such a sharp tongue, you'll end up with no friends!

Ayina couldn't help but roll her eyes at Huo Lin's blatant act of asserting sovereignty.

"Oh, Your Majesty, did you just come back from court? You immediately pulled someone into your arms. Are you afraid we'll eat your Imperial Concubine? You're even jealous of us women?"

Huo Lin's expression was cold and stern. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard this, and only gave a cold snort as his reply.

[Nonsense, with her occupying my time all day, I don't even have time to be alone with her.]

[Especially Ayina, she talks the most!]

Hearing the roar in his heart, Jiang Huan almost burst out laughing. She quickly squeezed his hand secretly to signal him to calm down, and then smiled to smooth things over: "Your Majesty must be tired after finishing your work. Ayina, Mingzhu, Heling, thank you for coming to see me and bringing so much delicious food. I'm also a bit tired today. How about we get together another day?"

All three were intelligent people. Seeing that Huo Lin's expression was not good and Jiang Huan had spoken, they wisely got up and took their leave.

Before leaving, Ayina deliberately raised her chin at Huo Lin, earning him a cold glare in return.

The hall finally quieted down, and Huo Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the departing figures of the group.

"Finally she's gone. Now I can finally spend some time with her in peace."

He looked down and saw that Jiang Huan looked a little tired, so he said softly, "Are you tired? Lie down and rest for a while, I'll massage your legs."

Jiang Huan did feel her calves were swollen again, so she obediently leaned back on the soft pillow.

Huo Lin skillfully rolled up his sleeves, placed his warm palms on the area, and began to massage it with even pressure.

Jiang Huan closed her eyes, feeling the warmth from his fingertips, her thoughts gradually becoming hazy.

Her breathing gradually became steady and long under the massage, and she eventually fell into a deep sleep.

Huo Lin noticed the change in her breathing and moved even more gently, as if handling a rare treasure.

He lowered his head and gazed at Jiang Huan's sleeping face with almost greedy eyes.

Her long eyelashes, like two small fans, cast soft shadows under her eyelids. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy blush, and her lips were unconsciously pouting slightly. She was completely unguarded, innocent, and alluring.

He carefully stopped massaging her, leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead, as soft as a feather.

I really want to kiss her somewhere else... but no, I'll wake her up.

[Bear with it, Huo Lin.]

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his desire, and simply adjusted his position to make her more comfortable, then quietly held her in his arms.

Time passed quietly, and only the steady breathing of the two remained in the hall.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Huan unconsciously stirred in her sleep.

[She rolled over? Was it because I held her too tightly and made her uncomfortable?]

[Is this pillow a bit hard and might be uncomfortable for her? Should we get a softer cushion?]

[Won't this neck position cause a stiff neck? Should I move her around and adjust it?]

Jiang Huan: ……

She was actually awake, but listening to his concerned thoughts, she decided to keep her eyes closed and pretend to be asleep.

Can this guy please stop having such a vivid inner monologue?

He's just taking a nap, does he have a whole opera troupe running in his head?

She suppressed the urge to smile, her heart softening like a pool of spring water.

Fine, since he's been so well-behaved, I'll let him hold him a little longer.

A few days later, Ayina came to Weiyang Palace alone one afternoon.

Unlike her usual brightly colored northern attire, she wore a simple palace dress today, her brows furrowed with weariness.

When Jiang Huan saw her arrive, she greeted her with a smile, "Why did you come alone today? Didn't you bring your two little followers?"

She was referring to Mingzhu and Heling, who had been hanging out with Ayina a lot lately.

Ayina twitched the corners of her mouth, sat down opposite her, poured herself a cup of tea, but didn't drink it. She just held it in her hands, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the inside of the cup.

"Can't this princess come to talk to you alone?" Her tone was still as impetuous as ever, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused, not as bright and sharp as usual.

Jiang Huan carefully examined her and noticed that something was wrong with her mood, so she stopped joking.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Ayina paused for a moment, seemingly considering her words, and then looked up at the palace servants standing around her.

Jiang Huan immediately understood and waved her hand: "You may all leave now. I need to have a private talk with the princess."

The palace servants silently withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the hall.

Ayina took a deep breath, lowered her voice, and said somewhat irritably, "Jiang Huan, I may not be able to stay in the capital like this forever."