"The hot spring pool is just a somewhat interesting slave."...

A servant was unusually present at the door. When he saw Ah Chou returning with tears in his eyes, his eyes lit up and he stepped forward to stop him from entering the house.

"Your eyes are practically swollen from crying, aren't you afraid that Wang Zun will be unhappy?"

The speaker, Xiping, was an old resident of Wang Zun's courtyard. He was tolerant, humble, and well-liked. When A Chou first arrived to serve in the courtyard, she was unfamiliar with the affairs of the courtyard, and Xiping helped her a few times. A Chou remembered his kindness.

Ah Chou wiped his eyes, looking at Xi Ping for help, at a loss.

Xi Ping smiled kindly, "Brother A Chou, Wang Zun and Aunt Pan are talking inside. They said they want to eat milk cake later, so I'll have to trouble you to go to the kitchen to get it. While you're at it, wash your face and calm down."

Ah Chou nodded in agreement without much thought. There was no mirror to see her face, but she figured that sneezing all the way would look terrible.

A strange thought lingered in her mind: she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Jiang Yanhui again.

Watching Ah Chou's departing figure, Xi Ping breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued to help keep watch outside.

After the torrential rain stopped, the scorching sun dried the air, so there was no need for dehumidifying spices. Instead, the air was filled with the faint scent of wood emanating from the furniture.

Aunt Pan stood respectfully to one side of the soft couch, skillfully adding medicinal tea, and reported the information she had gathered to Jiang Yan Hui in great detail.

"We sent people to inquire along the Duoluo River, but we didn't find anything that might be related to A Chou's background. If we investigate further, we might have to go beyond the Duoluo River..." Aunt Pan paused, then looked at Jiang Yan Hui, "Then it's related to the You tribe."

When they first met, A Chou had a wooden pendant on his waist engraved with the words "You Tribe," and it was not uncommon for people from the You Tribe to be sold into slavery and sent to the inland. Therefore, Jiang Yan Hui did not investigate it further.

Dr. Zhang's diagnosis of Ah Chou's unusual illness and his intense reaction when attacked make Ah Chou's background worth pondering.

Of course, Jiang Yan Hui herself didn't know why she had to spend so much effort and manpower to investigate Ah Chou's background. She simply and bluntly concluded that she didn't want to leave any hidden dangers around her.

Jiang Yan held the letter between her two long, slender fingers and slowly brought it closer to the burning candle, letting the flame consume it completely.

The warm yellow firelight illuminated her bright and flamboyant features, her dark eyes sparkling. She chuckled with disdain and said, "The new leader of the You tribe has taken the throne. She is the least favored successor among the twelve sons. The first thing she did after taking the throne was to imprison the other eleven brothers and the opposition. She is an interesting person."

Aunt Pan's expression was solemn. Her ruthless behavior revealed her character; she was definitely not someone to be trifled with. It seemed that Lingzhou would soon be engulfed in war again.

"Let's put the investigation on hold for now. Have my men keep a close eye on Lingzhou's movements." Jiang Yanhui's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as she dusted off the ashes on the table. "Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

No sooner had Aunt Pan left than Ah Chou, who had washed her face and was carrying milk cakes, returned. She tried to cheer herself up, but her spirits were still low, and her eyes drooped softly, revealing a faint sadness.

Jiang Yan glanced at A Chou's swollen, thin eyelids and said in confusion, "You seem to have an endless supply of tears."

Ah Chou thought she had unknowingly shed tears again, so she wiped her face, leaving her hands clean.

Jiang Yanhui was already used to his silly behavior and asked, "What are you carrying?"

Ah Chou placed the food box on the table and opened it. The aroma wafting out made him twitch his nose and sniff.

"Eat."

Jiang Yanhui's simple two words, "A Chou," conveyed a profound meaning to A Chou, whose sense of shame had long since vanished under Jiang Yanhui's daily feeding.

He pinched the pastry and put it in his mouth. The sweet milk flavor spread on his tongue. While feeling satisfied, he also felt a strong sense of grievance. He couldn't chew the remaining half piece no matter what, and stared longingly at Jiang Yan Hui.

"What is this now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ah Chou's eyes visibly reddened, and he looked pitiful, as if he was about to cry.

Jiang Yan sighed, showing unusual patience with the little mute, and raised her chin, saying, "Go write it down."

Jiang Yanhui also taught Ah Chou to recognize and write characters for a few days. Jiang Yanhui had never taught anyone else, so she was unsure if everyone could learn as quickly as Ah Chou. Ah Chou's progress brought Jiang Yanhui a sense of accomplishment.

Ah Chou calmly walked to the table, picked up the brush, and her technique of dipping the brush in ink and her posture of holding the brush were impeccable. The rounded and blunt characters revealed the brushstrokes upon closer inspection, but if someone familiar with Jiang Yan Hui's handwriting were to examine them, they would be able to find traces of her own style.

As Ah Chou wrote, her eyes grew redder and redder, and she sniffed her sore nose.

When the ink had slightly dried, he picked it up, walked to Jiang Yan Hui, and held it up, tears already welling up in his eyes.

"Xiao Le." Jiang Yanhui paused, taken aback by Ah Chou's pitiful gaze, raised an eyebrow, and asked in surprise, "Who is it?"

The sadness that was about to be released was extinguished by Jiang Yanhui's casual question, "Who put out the fire?" A Chou blinked blankly.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. How could someone as powerful as Jiang Yanhui possibly remember the name of an ordinary servant? In her eyes, only men who catch her eye are worthy of her remembering their names; everyone else is just labeled as A, B, C, or D.

Ah Chou rolled up the Xuan paper and stuffed it into his sleeve. Brushes, ink, and paper were all expensive consumables, and he could only get his hands on them because of Jiang Yan Hui. So, no matter how well he did after practicing calligraphy, he would always bring the paper back and keep it safe.

Jiang Yanhui didn't understand his behavior, but she didn't stop him.

"I'm going to the hot springs tonight." Jiang Yan didn't want to find out who Ah Chou was writing about. She stretched lazily, propping her head up with her hand, her upturned eyes exuding charm. She pointed at Ah Chou from afar and said, "You come and serve me."

When the weather was too cold, Jiang Yanhui would not go to the hot spring to bathe, lest the cold wind enter her body and aggravate her old injuries. The hot spring area was always cleaned by servants, keeping it spotless and tidy, and the surrounding plants were even more lush and beautiful with the arrival of spring.

As the sun sets, the bamboo lanterns hanging around the hot spring pool light up, casting swaying shadows of trees on the stone path, and wispy white mist lingers, truly making it feel like entering a fairyland.

Ah Chou lowered his head and only dared to look at the bottles and jars on the tray. He was so confused that he couldn't remember the order in which Uncle Ban taught him to use which bottle first and which jar next. His mind was filled with the slow-motion scene of Jiang Yan taking off her coat.

Even though he lowered his head in time, and even though they had already been completely honest with each other, Ah Chou still couldn't help but blush, and his head was steaming.

A splash of water made my heart pound even harder.

“Ah Chou, look up,” Jiang Yan replied.

Ah Chou subconsciously raised his head, only to be met with a burst of water that drenched his face, dripping wetly down his chin. Caught off guard, the first thing he heard was Jiang Yan Hui's triumphant laughter.

Ah Chou wiped her face in a flustered manner. The scene in front of her left her momentarily stunned, and her silly expression only made people laugh.

Jiang Yanhui was usually indifferent, and when she occasionally raised the corners of her mouth, a closer look at her eyes revealed no smile. She rarely laughed so heartily.

Jiang Yanhui's smile was radiant and captivating. Her already exquisite features were fully revealed, making her even more mesmerizing. Her curved eyes seemed to hold the starry sky of the night, so dazzling that Ah Chou couldn't take her eyes off her.

Jiang Yan Hui saw Ah Chou's silly and foolish appearance and was tempted to play again. With her bright red lips curled up in a smile, Jiang Yan Hui swam to the shore. Her long and strong arms grabbed Ah Chou's ankle unexpectedly and pulled her down with a force.

With a splash, Ah Chou thrashed about in the water on all fours, his comical appearance causing Jiang Yan Hui to burst into laughter again.

As the rippling water gradually calmed down, leaving only bubbling bubbles, Jiang Yanhui's smile froze. She cursed under her breath, then dived into the water and pulled Ah Chou, who had sunk to the bottom, back up.

Ah Chou, who could breathe air again, opened his mouth wide and hugged Jiang Yan Hui tightly in fear, wishing he could coil around her like a snake.

Jiang Yan helped him towards the shore, patted A Chou's back as he coughed in fright, and murmured, "He's a landlubber."

One was naked, the other's spring shirt was soaked with water, they were face to face, so close that Jiang Yanhui could hear A Chou's heart pounding like a drum.

Ambiguity was awakened in a moment of eye contact. Jiang Yanhui gently rubbed Ah Chou's lower back through his clothes, clearly feeling the obvious changes in the other's body.

"I've never tried it in the water before," he said curiously.

Once Ah Chou regained her senses and realized what Jiang Yanhui was about to do, a blush spread from her cheeks all the way down to her neck, and even the skin on her chest turned a light pink.

I kept looking at the winding paths around the hot spring pool, feeling like someone might appear at any moment.

Ah Chou was nervously worried, while Jiang Yanhui had already impatiently taken off his clothes, which were barely enough to cover his face. His gaze fell on the scar under Ah Chou's collarbone.

"No one will dare to come in without my order." Jiang Yanhui shifted her gaze away from the scar, unexpectedly not wanting to talk about scar removal for the time being. She bounced around a couple of times to bring Ah Chou back to her senses, who was trying to force her thoughts to wander.

In matters like this, Ah Chou never had the right to refuse. Afraid of water, she could only cling tightly to Jiang Yan Hui's shoulders and was quickly dragged into the vortex of desire, no longer caring whether anyone would pass by.

All I know is that Jiang Yanhui looks exceptionally beautiful under the mist, like a bewitching rose blooming in the hazy morning, so alluring that one forgets the meaning of the world and only wants to spend the rest of one's life with her.

The water in the hot spring pool rippled constantly, and the waves crashed against the stone wall. Just listening to the sound of the water made one blush with embarrassment.

Jiang Yanhui was so caught up in her antics that she didn't care about anything else. When she looked up again, the moon was high in the sky, shining brightly on them.

Jiang Yanhui's clothes were safely placed on the shore, while poor A Chou huddled in the hot spring pool, clinging to the pool wall, gazing mournfully at the culprit.

The culprit showed no remorse, and even looked on with a smug look of enjoyment at the person's predicament in the pool. If left out any longer, he might really anger the person. Jiang Yanhui then slowly said, just as Ah Chou was about to get angry, "I'll go and ask Ban... Xiping to get you some clothes."

Upon hearing that it wasn't Uncle Ban, Ah Chou breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a sense of gratitude.

Realizing what was happening, she quickly interrupted the terrible thought, covered her still-blushing face, and completely admitted defeat, giving up any resistance.

It was a slave who dared to approach the hot spring pool, but Jiang Yan ordered Xi Ping to fetch clean clothes for A Chou. Their relationship was already common knowledge, so it was hard not to have impure thoughts.

The one most affected was Dou Yu, who had been refused by Jiang Yan Hui multiple times and had never been able to visit the hot spring. Upon hearing the news, he immediately rushed to Jiang Yan Hui in a huff to demand an explanation.

Before entering, Dou Yu scanned the room and, not seeing Ah Chou, asked, "Cousin, you're so biased! Why can't I enjoy your hot spring too?"

Dou Yu's complexion had become much rosier, suggesting that the assassination attempt hadn't left too much of a shadow on his mind.

He plopped down on the other side of the soft couch without any ceremony, sized up Jiang Yan Hui who didn't intend to pay any attention to him, and asked curiously, "Aren't you a germaphobe? Why do you still discriminate between people?"

Jiang Yan glanced at him indifferently and hummed in response.

Dou Yu's curiosity reached its peak at this moment. She scratched her head, wanting to know what stage the relationship between Jiang Yanhui and A Chou had reached. Her eyes rolled around, and she deliberately probed, "Cousin, you haven't really fallen for A Chou, have you?"

The air was silent for two seconds, then Jiang Yanhui suddenly laughed, with undisguised sarcasm, looking at Dou Yu as if she were a fool spouting naive nonsense.

He lazily propped his chin up, lowered his eyes, and said disdainfully, "Just a somewhat interesting slave."

Dou Yu, not getting the answer she wanted, pouted, then thought about it and realized that it was no wonder that someone as aloof as Jiang Yanhui could fall for anyone.

But there is one point he agrees with.

Dou Yu said, "A Chou is indeed an interesting person."

The temporary house was not as big as the original main house, and the two spoke without any restraint, each word clearly reaching Ah Chou's ears as he stood dumbfounded at the door.

Ah Chou blinked very slowly, trying to use his limited experience to savor the meaning of Jiang Yan Hui's eleven words, tears belatedly welling up in his eyes.

The rekindled affection was shattered once again, as the person involved said in person.

His hands, hanging limply at his sides, went numb for a moment. The stabbing pain in his chest made him want to break down and scream, but unfortunately, Ah Chou was mute and could only bite his lower lip and silently shed tears.

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Author's Note: The plot is about to enter the next stage~ [Sunglasses]