Chapter 18 Awakening... A faint sweet fragrance, plump and round...

After these words were spoken, neither of them responded.

Lin Meizhu had said it in anger, and she regretted it immediately. She didn't believe that Shen Changfeng didn't hear the sarcasm in her words, but then she thought, what if he understood? Would a man like him apologize to her? Seeing him silent at this moment, she thought she had hit the nail on the head.

It was difficult to get off the tiger's back, so Lin Meizhu gritted her teeth and reached out to touch the white jade belt hook with a dragon head carved on his waist.

He grasped that fair wrist, and with his warm fingertips he held her chin, and lifted her face irresistibly as she tried to turn it away. Not surprisingly, he saw a pair of stubborn, slightly red eyes.

He knew that if he continued to harass her, there would be a potential conflict, so he brought up another topic. He then heard Lin Meizhu's angry and resolute voice and realized that she had misunderstood his meaning.

"What are you thinking about?" Shen Changfeng pressed his thumb against her slightly sunken dimple and gently stroked it. "The doctor said you have a cold constitution. Once your body is clean, you can slowly take supplements. Otherwise, you will be in pain in the future."

His eyes were surging like a dark river. Under his gaze, which was as real as a substance, her body began to sweat. The faint musk scent mixed with her body temperature, turning into strands of sweet warmth, blending tenderly into their gradually intertwined breaths.

Lin Meizhu hurriedly turned around and pulled back her clothes, then knelt on the couch to pick up the cinnabar lotus bra draped over the other end. Her voice returned to its usual gentleness, the last syllable trembling slightly as she said, "The prince is thoughtful."

She bent her waist, the curve of her waist was as soft as the blue waves, and the waves below her waist were high and round like white jade. Shen Changfeng calmed down before he remembered what he wanted to say.

"Although yesterday was a misunderstanding, both you and the people around you are responsible." Shen Changfeng said, "It's time to take charge of the people in your courtyard. Today it's a book, who knows what it will be like tomorrow? How can I trust you to hand over the palace to you when you are like this?"

Lin Meizhu dressed, got down from the bed and bowed gracefully, lowering her head and frowning: "I know I was wrong, please punish me, my lord."

Shen Changfeng had intended to speak more forcefully, waiting for her to object, and then carefully explain the seriousness of his words to her, so that she would learn her lesson. But she simply didn't want to argue, taking all the blame, which made all his prepared remarks useless.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Let's just forget about it this time! Think twice before you act, and don't cause any more trouble!"

Lin Meizhu bowed again: "I will follow the instructions of the prince."

I waited and waited, but she didn't say a word.

Shen Changfeng looked at her submissive appearance, silently displeased, thinking: He originally thought he had wronged her and let her vent her anger twice, but who knew she would still be so ungrateful, respectful on the surface, but secretly eager for him to leave immediately? What a little woman! Giving her a little color is like running a dyeing factory!

He was about to leave when a servant asked if he wanted to have dinner.

Originally, Lin Meizhu was upset last night, and Shen Changfeng accused her in public. Even a clay man would be angry. But seeing that the kitchen didn't ask about it earlier or later, but just when Shen Changfeng was about to leave, she sighed silently in her heart.

The moment Shen Changfeng raised his foot, Lin Meizhu asked, "Have you had your meal, my prince?"

Shen Changfeng had already decided which restaurant to go to, but suddenly changed his mind and said, "Not yet! Let's set up the meal!"

He sat down on the round stool, but saw Lin Meizhu still standing. He asked, "What are you standing there for?"

Lin Meizhu said, "I will serve the dishes to the prince."

"I have hands and feet, so I don't need you." Shen Changfeng pointed at the table and gave an order: "Sit down!"

Lin Meiju was indeed hungry, so she stopped being polite with him and sat down next to him.

A stream of delicacies was brought to the marble-inlaid square table with carved patterns. The maids came in and out with brisk steps. Qing'er was even more delighted. She even winked at Lin Meiju secretly when adding more dishes.

Lin Meiju suddenly remembered that this was the first time she had dinner with Shen Changfeng since she married into the palace.

This was clearly the most ordinary daily routine between a couple, but she waited for twenty-seven days and experienced so many ridiculous things in the meantime.

She had thought she would be very happy, after all, she had always dreamed of such a plain, yet genuinely heartwarming scene. But when she actually sat in this position, she felt her smile was a little forced.

She no longer had the same feeling as when she first liked him.

She picked up a mouthful of food at random and swallowed it with great effort. The food was a little hot, and it made the corners of her eyes red.

The candlelight danced in the blue and white lantern shade, casting a hazy, porcelain-white glow on her face. Shen Changfeng glanced up and saw her taking the nearest piece of cherry flesh into her mouth. Her lips were glistening with sweet juice, and her cheeks bulged with movement.

He suddenly remembered the snowball hiding under the ewe's belly and chewing alfalfa when he first went to the hunting ground.

Basking in the sun, quietly eating small bites of food.

But this little lamb was obviously a little irritable, probably because it ate too quickly. Its nose wrinkled when it swallowed, and even the corners of its eyes were red.

When she raised her hand to take the ice cream, the two bracelets knocked against each other and made a light tinkling sound. He remembered the lamb's ears suddenly twitching when it saw him.

As her tongue licked the milk foam on her lips, she quickly glanced at Shen Changfeng.

Shen Changfeng pretended not to notice her little action, lowered his eyes to hide the smile that appeared in his eyes, and his throat rolled unconsciously.

Her breasts are three times more translucent and plump than the one on the table.

Most of the ice cream on the opposite side was gone, so Shen Changfeng pushed his own over.

But in the end, Lin Meiju didn't take much action. She slowly scooped up the milk from the edge with a small spoon.

Shen Changfeng: "Don't like it?"

Lin Meizhu was a little embarrassed: "This is cold, it's not convenient to drink it these two days."

This was the first time he knew about this.

"Then why did you drink just now?"

"...I don't want to waste it." The other dish on the table was ice and licorice soup. They were both cold things, just about the same.

The servants standing outside the house were frightened. You know, these meals were prepared according to Shen Changfeng's preferences. As for Lin Meiju, they couldn't be said to be neglectful, but they didn't really take her to heart either.

Shen Changfeng had obviously noticed it as well. He put down his chopsticks, looking uneasy. Just as he was about to ask, Lin Meizhu spoke first, "They didn't know anything about it either. It was my concubine who forgot to tell the kitchen today."

Lin Meizhu knew that the eunuchs and head cooks who worked in the palace were likely related to the Shen family, so if anyone was truly to blame, the kitchen staff and servants would likely bear the brunt. Aunt Zhang, the head chef in the kitchen, was also from the south, having come to the capital from Lingnan with her six children to make a living. It took her ten years to qualify for employment in the palace. Lin Meizhu understood the hardships this presented to a woman who had emerged from the mountains. She advised, "Besides, it was just my greed. Your Highness, please don't blame them."

Since she said so, he couldn't blame her anymore, so he said, "Just tell the people below what you want to eat, and eat as much as you want. Why force it?"

Lin Meizhu was honest about not wanting to waste food. Her early life made it impossible for her to waste food. Rather than Shen Changfeng ordering his servants to bring all the delicacies to her, she would rather he ask, "Why do you have such a habit?" or "What do you really like to eat?"

Then she must have told him seriously.

But he didn't, so she simply said yes.

After finishing their meal, the two of them walked back to the main room.

Shen Changfeng strolled leisurely in the garden, and Lin Meizhu slowly followed his steps. She wanted to talk to him about something, but every time she opened her mouth, she felt that he would not be interested in what she said. She also didn't know what he wanted to talk about, so she chose to keep silent.

The evening breeze blew like a jar, heavy and muffled, making even the paper lanterns on the porch pillars too lazy to stir. The dark mass of tree trunks gave rise to the endless chirping of cicadas, each tree chirping endlessly. This did nothing to dispel the awkwardness that permeated the two of them, and instead made Lin Meizhu feel that the time was even more unbearable.

"Prince..."

"What's this?"

Shen Changfeng turned slightly to the side and just happened to see her panic when she was distracted and suddenly called out and had no time to hide it.

"Ah? Ah, that's the little garden I asked someone to plant." Lin Meizhu followed the direction he pointed, looking at the lush green shoots that had just sprouted. "I was thinking of planting some grass... ah, flowers, and growing a flower garden in my free time."

She suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked him about this matter yet, so she added, "...Is it okay?"

Shen Changfeng smiled, with an indifferent look on his face, "You are the mistress of this courtyard, so make your own decision."

It was because he smiled so beautifully, or maybe it was because what he said was nice, anyway, Lin Meiju couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth, and suddenly she felt that getting along with him was not difficult.

Back in the main room, Qing'er told Lin Meiju that the festival money had been distributed.

Shen Changfeng was busy reading on the side. After Qing'er left, he said, "Speaking of Dragon Boat Festival, I suddenly remembered that there is a temple fair at Keats Temple. Many officials will also hold banquets and watch dragon boat races in Linjiang. People from the second house will definitely go to join in the fun. If you have time, go and watch them and make sure they don't cause any trouble."

Lin Meizhu had naturally received many invitations, but except for a few from families close to the Shen family, she had already declined all the others. Firstly, she had been very busy recently, and if given the chance, she would rather stay home and sleep all day. Secondly, no one outside liked her, and she didn't want to be in the spotlight.

"Okay, I'll reply tomorrow."

Shen Changfeng keenly caught the hesitation that flashed across her brows and added, "I'll find time to go over after my shift."

Will he go too?

Lin Meizhu looked up, meeting his gaze, clearly seeing the anticipation in his eyes. He seemed to really want her to say she would go? Why?

She rarely stared at him like this, her eyes full of curiosity and cautious exploration. Shen Changfeng felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, turned his face away, put down the book, and said, "Qingsong, fetch some water!"

Lin Meiju watched him stride away, and two words slowly emerged in her mind: awkward.

She realized later that whether he was helping her apply medicine, pushing his ice cream to her, or inviting her to the temple fair, he was apologizing for what happened yesterday.

He will never admit that he is wrong, but he will make up for it with actions, and will secretly observe after each action to see if you feel better and are no longer angry with him.

She was sarcastic to him when he was applying medicine, so he changed it to an ice cup; she didn't eat his Sushan, so he asked her to go out for a walk.

Lin Meizhu's dimples trembled, and she sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "What an awkward man."

When Shen Changfeng came out of the shower, Lin Meizhu hugged a quilt and said, "I haven't slept well these past two days. I'll sleep on the small couch tonight..."

When Shen Changfeng heard this, he felt unhappy, "No need, who will pour me water if I drink like that?"

Lin Meiju thought so and put the things back.

At midnight, Shen Changfeng was no longer sleepy.

Hearing the steady breathing of the person next to him, he turned over. With nothing else to do, he decided to start looking at the sleeping face of the person next to him.

Raven hair, long eyelashes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, a tender neck, delicate collarbone, a red mole under the collarbone, a faint sweet fragrance, and a plump and round body that can fill the gaps between fingers... Okay, stop!

Shen Changfeng took a deep breath, propped himself up and reached for the cups on the high table at the head of the bed.

After drinking two cups of cold tea, I felt much calmer.

Then he rested his head on his forearm, his eyes wandering around, and somehow they landed on her again.

Lin Meiju was sleeping on the outside and could almost fall off the bed if she turned over, but she slept very quietly, so he could rest assured.

Her back was bent into a soft arc, her knees almost curled up to her abdomen, and the back of one hand was placed on the other palm, like a child seeking shelter. It was such a hot day, but she seemed to feel cold, even her toes were hooking the corner of the quilt.

This posture evoked certain memories in his heart. He vaguely remembered that he had had such a moment when he was very young.

Later, Aunt Liu came, held him in her arms, coaxed him gently, and sang a soft nursery rhyme for him.

He couldn't understand why she felt sad. She wasn't sick and wasn't unwanted.

Of course he wouldn't coax her, let alone hum a song for her.

He stood up again and took a sip of tea.

When he lay down, he accidentally touched her feet, which were so cold. But he did not move away immediately.

As expected, the pair of little feet quickly came up.

Shen Changfeng raised the corner of his mouth and waited patiently. Soon, a warm and soft body came into his arms. He breathed a sigh of relief, naturally put his arm around her waist, and lowered his head to carefully smell the top of her hair.

Although no one paid attention to his feelings, he felt it necessary to reiterate that he had no intention of hugging her.

This was all because she felt cold and he happened to be a little hot, and they each got what they wanted.

Shen Changfeng buried his face in her shoulder and fell asleep contentedly.

The medicine Lin Meizhu took today contained Schisandra chinensis and Ziziphus jujuba seeds, which are very effective in promoting sleep and soothing the mind. Furthermore, she hadn't slept all night and had been exhausted all day, so she fell asleep soon after lying down.

She was sensitive to cold, and even during her period, her hands and feet felt cold in the summer. She dreamed of herself, lightly dressed, napping beneath a maple tree. The autumn breeze was chilly, but she was too tired to even turn over. Suddenly, a maple leaf as big as a palm leaf fan landed on the back of her foot, and she was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a leaf that could generate heat.

She thought, if only more leaves would fall and bury her, she could sleep well.

Then the leaves fell down and covered her whole body. The moment they covered her body, the maple leaf turned into a big drum skin, which stuck to her from behind and wrapped her up. It was warm and comfortable.

Lin Meizhu was overjoyed and curiously approached the magical drumhead. What kind of drumhead was this? Could it generate heat?

The drum surface is uneven, sometimes loose, sometimes tight, and occasionally vibrates slightly. If you listen closely, you can hear the roaring sound of the drum inside the drum surface.

She had a good sleep on the drum, when she suddenly felt the drum surface transform into a large stone, covered with many deep and shallow grooves. The strangest thing was that the stone suddenly cracked, and a thick stalagmite grew out of it.

She was pricked so hard that she reached out and grabbed the unsightly stalagmite in dissatisfaction, trying to pull it out.

The sleepy Shen Changfeng suddenly opened his eyes wide.