Chapter 67: Childhood Sweethearts IF Route (Part Two)
Yun Sheng's surprise turned to joy, and she quickly got up and ran towards the windowsill.
Before the window was even opened, she spoke up: "Why are you here? Aren't you...?"
Before he could finish speaking, the window opened, but there was no one outside.
Yun Sheng froze, and just as she was about to call out again, a maid rushed over: "Miss, what happened?"
Yun Sheng choked on the call that was about to come out, her expression changed slightly, and then she returned to normal: "It's nothing, it's hot, I'm just opening the window to get some fresh air."
The maid murmured in confusion, "Is it hot on a spring night?"
Yun Sheng said calmly, "This is none of your business. You may leave."
"Yes, Miss."
After the maid walked away, Yun Sheng looked up again and saw the man squatting on the wall.
The darkness blurred his face, and his originally tall figure became a large silhouette as he crouched down.
Yun Sheng chuckled softly and said in a low voice, "Come down quickly."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xu braced himself against the wall with one hand, nimbly leaped down, and landed steadily without making a sound.
"I had just called you when I noticed your maid had come over, so I climbed back up."
Xiao Xu explained as he walked towards her.
His face gradually became clear in the candlelight by the window, and also gradually reflected in Yun Sheng's bright eyes.
Yun Sheng smiled and reached out through the window to grab his sleeve: "When did you get back?"
"Half an hour ago."
When Yun Cheng got married, the Zhao Prince's Mansion did not receive an invitation, and Xiao Xu did not come to the Yun Mansion to attend Yun Cheng's wedding banquet.
He was leaving the capital for work that evening, so he secretly met with Yun Sheng at the Yun residence before leaving.
They said at the time that his return date was uncertain, but he was seen again after only a few days. Judging by the time, he must have just entered the city gate and headed straight for the Yun residence.
Yun Sheng's fingers slid from his sleeve to his fingertips, hooking his fingers and eagerly pulling them inward.
"Come in quickly."
Xiao Xu grabbed her hand with his other hand, then braced himself against the windowsill with his other hand. With a leap, he skillfully climbed over the windowsill and into the girl's boudoir.
In the past, given Xiao Xu's personality, upbringing, and understanding, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to do something as outrageous as sneaking into a young girl's bedroom at night.
But once this happens once, it will happen again.
At first, Yun Sheng was unhappy that they couldn't see each other often. Even when they finally got to attend a banquet together, they had to hide it from others and find a chance to meet secretly. They had to part ways after only a few words, for fear of being seen by others.
So one night, after Yun Sheng couldn't hold back her grievances and threw a tantrum at Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu came to the courtyard wall of her boudoir at night and, just like the night they first met when they were young, threw gifts and letters into her through the wall.
Yun Sheng refused to listen and said in a tearful voice that if he didn't show up, she would never talk to him again.
And so, Xiao Xu first climbed over the wall and appeared outside her window. The two met at night through the window, and later Yun Sheng used both soft and hard tactics to drag him into the house.
Practice makes perfect, and now I'm completely familiar with it.
As soon as Xiao Xu landed, he embraced Yun Sheng tightly.
Yun Sheng's vision blurred, and before she could get a good look at the man's face, a shadow loomed over her.
She was encircled by the waist and her chin was pinched. As she looked up, he kissed her lips.
The kiss was intense from the start, and Yun Sheng's whole body went limp in his arms. She could only clutch his clothes tightly as he kissed her from head to toe, until her tongue went numb, before he finally let her go.
Yun Sheng pulled her neck back, her brows furrowed, and breathed unevenly.
"You're kissing too hard. What if it makes your skin swell up?"
She pursed her lips with great concern, her lips still burning from his sucking and biting.
I've told him before not to be so affectionate, but he never listens. Once he gets excited, he sucks on things haphazardly.
Yun Sheng tilted her head, wanting to look at the bronze mirror not far away.
Her chin was suddenly grasped by a large hand, and a rough thumb pressed against her lips, rubbing along the firm curve of her lips. The pressure was neither too light nor too heavy, causing the soft flesh to tilt and deform.
"There's no swelling, not even a bite mark."
Xiao Xu's voice, tinged with emotion and hoarse, drifted softly into my ears from nearby.
"Really?" Yun Sheng was skeptical. She stopped looking at the bronze mirror and instead turned to look into his eyes.
Xiao Xu didn't intend to continue discussing this topic seriously with her. He withdrew his fingers slightly from between her lips and teeth, then lowered his head and kissed her again: "I'll come to propose marriage tomorrow, how about it?"
Yun Sheng was startled and pushed him away in surprise: "What nonsense are you talking about? You just got back."
"Then the day after tomorrow."
No, that's not what I meant.
"Then tomorrow."
"Wait, wait."
How time has moved on again.
Xiao Xu frowned and pinched her cheek: "How much longer do we have to wait? I don't want to keep doing this sneaking around like this, like we're having an affair."
"..."
Yun Sheng's heart tightened at the taboo word, and after a moment she whispered, "In any case, let's wait a little longer, it's not appropriate right now."
That year, Yun Sheng was overjoyed to receive the letter that Xiao Xu had thrown into the courtyard at night.
But the next day, Yun Hong, who had been furious with her, took her away from the Xiyuan Palace.
Yun Sheng was intelligent from a young age, and it didn't take long for her to learn from her family and others that Xiao Xu was the heir of the Zhao Prince's mansion, and that her family had a bad relationship with the Zhao Prince's mansion.
At that time, she was still young and did not realize how her family's relationship affected her relationship with Xiao Xu. On the contrary, she found it convenient for her to know Xiao Xu's whereabouts.
Because whenever there was a banquet attended by the Prince Zhao's family, my father and brothers would always complain in a depressed mood before attending the banquet.
She happily attended the banquet, secretly meeting Xiao Xu outside the crowd.
Everyone said that Prince Zhao was cold-hearted and never showed his emotions, and that he had a profound appearance that was not commensurate with his age.
But Yun Sheng knew that Xiao Xu was actually a very gentle person.
He wasn't a man of many words. When they were together, she would talk incessantly while he would only occasionally respond with a few words, but he always listened very attentively.
He never looked down on the childish or cheap gifts she gave him, and he would always give her a thoughtful return gift. She loved every single one of them and felt as if he could read her mind and always knew how to touch her heart.
He disliked complaining and rarely confided his feelings.
But Yun Sheng was perceptive and could always tell whether he was in a good mood or a bad mood.
She tried every way to make him happy, and in the end, she received a sincere thank you from him, thank you for being with me.
The only problem was that she initially didn't know how to tell the time, nor did she know that Xiao Xu could only spend a limited amount of time with her.
She later realized that she had been wasting his time.
He was punished by King Zhao for this, and thus had to sacrifice his sleep at night.
Later, Yun Sheng learned to calculate the time, sometimes a quarter of an hour, sometimes an incense stick's time, and sometimes even less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Although reluctant, she always urged Xiao Xu to leave quickly.
After spending several years together, she reached the age of 18, a young woman just coming of age, while the young man, just past adulthood, was handsome and upright, and their relationship underwent subtle changes.
An awkward atmosphere inexplicably permeates the room when you're alone. If your eyes accidentally meet, you'll instinctively look away. Even if the hem of your clothes touches while you're walking side by side, it will inexplicably stir a ripple in your heart.
Yun Sheng spoke less, and Xiao Xu's ear tips sometimes turned a suspicious light red.
They seemed to have grown distant from each other, and after Yun Sheng turned fourteen, they barely interacted at all.
They no longer met in private, nor exchanged gifts, and even corresponded only once a year.
That year, Yun Sheng could only catch a glimpse of him from afar at the banquet. He never met her gaze, but when she looked away, she felt an even stronger gaze falling precisely on her through the crowd.
When she looked up, she could no longer find his figure; it was as if everything was just a fleeting illusion.
Another year passed, and Yun Sheng, now of marriageable age, attended a summer lotus banquet.
She was unaware that Xiao Xu would also be attending the banquet.
And he appeared in her sight without warning, at a great distance; she was by the pond, while he sat alone in a pavilion on the other side.
Yun Sheng saw him get up and stride over.
Xiao Xu walked up to her, and before she could even react, he went straight to the point and confessed his feelings to her.
He said, "I love you, and I want to marry you."
"Yun Sheng, are you willing?"
Yun Sheng stood there, stunned, and after a long while, she said in a daze, "I think I like you too."
And so, they confessed their feelings to each other, and it seemed that they were now together.
But Yun Sheng was no longer an eight-year-old child, and she had long understood that the relationship between the Yun and Xiao families was no longer as simple as just helping her find out Xiao Xu's whereabouts.
If she and Xiao Xu were to reveal their relationship to their families, the two families would likely set the entire capital ablaze.
So, at Yun Sheng's insistence, this matter was temporarily kept secret.
At first, they seemed to have simply returned to the state before their relationship became complicated, exchanging letters, gifts, and meeting privately when no one was around.
But men and women who have matured and understand each other are different from those in the past.
They were drawn to each other, their emotions irresistible.
Xiao Xu took her hand and, unable to contain himself, kissed her cheek in the moonlight.
Having known each other for so long and being so familiar with one another, we had a naive beginning, but things gradually became more and more out of control.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they first touched lips, and later in corners, alleyways, and empty rooms, and now in Yun Sheng's boudoir, they were intimately inseparable.
But regarding that final matter, Yun Sheng felt several times that it was already an arrow on the bowstring, and she had no choice but to release it, but Xiao Xu was able to endure it each time, never taking a step further, and insisting on waiting until their wedding night.
Yun Sheng didn't know if it was because he had been holding back for too long, or because he had been too restrained, or for some other reason, but now he was becoming more and more eager to get married, and he would bring it up almost every time they met.
This time it was even more outrageous, as she was caught completely off guard when he said he would come to propose marriage tomorrow.
How could I possibly agree to that?
Moreover, after hearing what happened today, she had a feeling that now was definitely not a good time.
Yun Sheng looked up at Xiao Xu, whose face was filled with obvious dissatisfaction.
She chuckled and tiptoed, giving him a comforting kiss: "If you really came to propose marriage so directly, it would infuriate my father. He would definitely try to break us up."
"No one can break us up."
Xiao Xu tightened his grip around her waist and lifted her up with a powerful pull.
Yun Sheng skillfully lifted her leg and wrapped it around his strong, narrow waist, and her arms also encircled his neck, and she was carried into the house by him.
Xiao Xu never touched her bed, and he liked to press her down on her chaise longue and kiss her.
After so many times, she can't help but think of their intimacy whenever she leans on the chaise lounge. Her maids have also noticed her blushing and asking her if she is feeling unwell on several occasions.
Xiao Xu indeed walked straight towards her chaise lounge.
However, he did not lean in and press down on her. Instead, he turned around, sat down, and then placed her on his lap.
Yun Sheng twisted her body on his lap, found a comfortable position, and leaned her head against him, stroking the embroidery on his clothes with her fingers, and said, "If my parents, brothers and sisters-in-law don't allow us to be together, wouldn't we be separated?"
"Shall we elope?"
Yun Sheng scolded playfully, "Who wants to elope with you?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiao Xu slapped his buttocks.
It didn't hurt, but half of Yun Sheng's buttocks were numb, and her face felt hot.
Xiao Xu asked, "Then who else do you want to elope with?"
Yun Sheng snorted lightly: "Why does it have to be an elopement? Can't we just be together openly and honestly?"
Xiao Xu lowered his eyelashes and glanced at her indifferently.
His eyes clearly showed dissatisfaction, as if to say, "Do you see any semblance of being openly together now?"
Yun Sheng chuckled: "So we need to think of a way, don't rush."
"How can we not be anxious?"
Xiao Xu turned his head, his voice lowered, and came out muffledly from her neck.
Yun Sheng sensed his low spirits, reached out and hugged him, gently stroking the back of his head with her hand.
"The person I love is you, and my future husband will only be you. There will be no one else. You are the only one."
Xiao Xu looked up, his heart filled with a dense, bubble-like emotion because of her words.
He couldn't help but kiss her cheek, then her neck, and finally gently bite her collarbone.
It seems that no matter how close he gets, he still doesn't feel satisfied.
But I don't want to wait.
Xiao Xu said, "We can't wait either."
"If you want to get married to someone from your parents, you could search the entire capital and I wouldn't be chosen. I'll just wait, and there's absolutely no chance I'll get the chance to marry you."
Yun Sheng's eyes flickered slightly as she quietly looked at Xiao Xu.
"So I must strive for it, and I can't wait any longer."
Yun Sheng smiled with her lips pursed, then hugged Xiao Xu tightly, swinging her legs excitedly against him: "Alright, I know you're anxious, but we need to think things through carefully and not act rashly."
Xiao Xu lowered his head, his gaze falling on her swaying legs, and said in a low voice, "It's not recklessness, I've been preparing for this for a long time."
But Yun Sheng didn't hear her and changed the subject, saying, "I received an invitation to the Peach Blossom Banquet from the Li family. Did you receive one too? Will you be attending in a few days?"
Xiao Xu did not receive any information about the Peach Blossom Banquet, nor had he ever even heard of it.
This banquet is similar to last year's Lotus Banquet, mostly for enjoying flowers and leisure. If it weren't for Yun Sheng, he would never have attended such a banquet.
Last year at the Lotus Banquet, he broke with his usual behavior by finding his mother, Shen Yuewan, and asking her for an invitation. He then went to the banquet despite his mother's constant questioning, and finally confessed his feelings to Yun Sheng by the pond.
After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Xu said seriously, "I will attend. I'll go and get an invitation later."
Yun Sheng was taken aback: "You want one? Who are you going to ask?"
“We’ll ask whoever organizes it for us,” Xiao Xu said matter-of-factly.
This was the first time Yun Sheng had ever heard of attending a banquet by asking for an invitation.
However, someone of Xiao Xu's status would probably find it easy to get an invitation to any banquet, except for those hosted by the Yun family.
But the thought of actively asking someone for it is rather comical.
Suddenly, she thought of something and asked, "So, for last year's Lotus Banquet, you also asked someone for an invitation?"
Xiao Xu replied truthfully, "Yes, I asked my mother for it."
Yun Sheng gasped, "Then... does the Princess know why you attended the banquet?"
"I don't know yet; I didn't tell her at the time."
It wasn't that Xiao Xu wanted to hide it, but at that time he was filled with nervousness about telling Yun Sheng his feelings.
That was the first time in his life that he had felt so nervous about something that his mind went almost blank, and he didn't answer Shen Yuewan's question at all.
After he and Yun Sheng finally confessed their feelings to each other, Yun Sheng asked him to keep their relationship a secret, so he didn't tell Shen Yuewan.
However, he now intends to formally inform his mother of this matter.
After all, marriage is a major event, and it is important to arrange it by parents and matchmakers. When it comes time to propose marriage, his parents will need to come to the Yun family home in person.
He had persuaded his mother, which was equivalent to persuading his father.
Therefore, this matter should be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
Xiao Xu had already started making his own plans.
But Yun Sheng was unaware of this and breathed a heavy sigh of relief: "That's good. But don't rush to tell the Princess Consort. We agreed to discuss this further."
Someone has already spoken to her.
Xiao Xu didn't answer, but instead held Yun Sheng's waist with one hand and groped around his own waist with the other.
"What are you doing?"
Yun Sheng looked down and saw Xiao Xu take out a slender wooden box from his belt.
Before Xiao Xu could speak, Yun Sheng happily snatched it away.
Is it for me?
Xiao Xu's hands were empty. He smiled helplessly and looked up: "Yes, I bought it on my way out this time."
Yun Sheng's eyes sparkled as she quickly opened the wooden box, inside which lay a delicate and lustrous silver hairpin.
"It's a peach blossom!"
Yun Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and then it continued to beat rapidly.
She looked up happily, her eyes crinkling with a smile as she looked at Xiao Xu.
She said that Xiao Xuding must have mind-reading abilities or the ability to foresee the future.
Otherwise, how would he have known that she was worried about not having a suitable hairpin for the Peach Blossom Banquet? Before she could even choose one herself, he had already delivered it to her.
"Yes, the area we passed through was famous for its silver jewelry, so I picked out a hairpin for you."
"It's absolutely gorgeous. I'll look stunning wearing this hairpin at the Peach Blossom Banquet."
You look good no matter what, you're the most beautiful.
Yun Sheng smiled and said, "You're so cheesy."
As she spoke, she jumped off Xiao Xu with no attempt to hide her joy.
Where are you going?
She moved quite quickly, and Xiao Xu was caught off guard. When he reached out to grab her again, he found nothing.
He had no choice but to quickly get up and follow her.
Yun Sheng went straight to her dressing table: "I want to try it on, I want to see what it looks like."
As she walked to the dressing table, Xiao Xu followed her from behind.
He took the hairpin from her hand: "I'll help you."
Xiao Xu was tall, casting a dim shadow in front of the dressing table.
Yun Sheng couldn't see his expression behind her; she just stood there, letting him help her push the hairpin into her hair bun.
"alright."
Upon hearing this, Yun Sheng couldn't wait to bend down and get closer to the bronze mirror.
She looked at it from left to right. Even though she had removed her makeup and her hair was just the simplest style she wore before bed, she still loved the hairpin that adorned her.
"Brother, it looks so good, I love it!"
"If you like it, that's fine."
Xiao Xu's voice suddenly seemed very close to his ear.
Yun Sheng felt a burning heat on her earlobe.
She had barely turned her head slightly when Xiao Xu grabbed her neck.
Xiao Xu held her slender, delicate neck in his hand, turned her face back, and kissed her.
Behind Yun Sheng was like an impenetrable net, enveloping her in a warm and familiar aura of Xiao Xu.
Their lips and tongues intertwined, producing sticky and ambiguous sounds.
She went from being forced to lean back and be deeply kissed by him while her hands were braced against the edge of the dressing table, to gradually turning around and leaning completely into his arms.
The man's chest was taut and firm, and his heartbeat was strong and powerful.
Her tongue was numb from his swallowing, and her breath was already tinged with the heat of passion.
He kissed her, and her body kept pressing backward.
I could also feel a surge of energy on my sides.
When she first felt it, she was confused, not knowing what it was, only that it was hot and uncomfortable.
The second time, still somewhat bewildered, I felt a bit afraid of that ferocious presence.
And then later.
Xiao Xu was almost completely unable to control himself. Sometimes, even when they were just hugging and hadn't done anything else, he could feel that Xiao Xu was gradually changing.
It's even more obvious when kissing; the heat is so intense it almost burns, and its presence is so strong that it can't be ignored.
So after it happened so many times, she actually got used to it.
His fair and delicate fingers roamed over his arm, gradually moving downwards to brush against his waist.
Before they even arrived, Xiao Xu suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Yun Sheng said in a low voice, "Aren't you going to do it?"
Yun Sheng was picked up, turned around, and placed on a desk to the side.
"I want to eat you first." Xiao Xu's voice was hoarse as he eagerly grasped her knees and tried to lower his head.
Yun Sheng panicked, still vividly remembering her experience at the desk last time.
She was so ashamed that she could no longer sit properly at that desk to read or write.
"No, go to the chaise lounge, not here."
Yun Sheng pressed down on Xiao Xu's head with one hand, stopping him from crawling under the skirt.
Xiao Xu looked up, his eyes dark and his brow furrowed in displeasure.
However, thinking that she could lie more comfortably on the chaise lounge, he finally gave in, took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing, and picked her up again to walk back.
I had only taken one step when I suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
Yun Sheng was suddenly jolted back to her senses from the infatuation, and turned her head to look at the door with a slight stiffness in her body.
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the door.
Then Yun Cheng's voice came through: "Nannan, your brother has something to say to you. Can you open the door?"
!!
Yun Sheng pushed Xiao Xu away instantly and jumped off him in a panic, causing Xiao Xu to stumble.
The strange noises inside prompted another inquiry from outside the door: "Nannan, what's wrong?"
"It's alright, brother, I'm fine."
"Did my brother open the door?"
inside the house.
In her panic, Yun Sheng pushed Xiao Xu by the back, opened the nearest wardrobe, and shoved him inside.
The cabinet door closed, and the bedroom door was pushed open.
Yun Cheng's figure was not in the shadows two steps away from the door; instead, his sister-in-law Ye Fu appeared in front of the door.
"..."
Surprisingly, it was a couple who came together.
Yun Sheng put her hands behind her back, subtly pressed the wardrobe door shut, and then smiled as she went to greet them.
"Brother, sister-in-law, what brings you here?"
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[Dog head carrying rose] Having no official title doesn't affect Xiao Xu's status as a gourmand.
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