"Hey! Goodness, you can't grab this! You little pig that looks like a water tank, don't you know any manners?!"
Seeing the orange cat, which had been lying by the ice basin, reach out its paw to pounce on the pigeon, Zhan Xinjia hurriedly stopped it, protecting the little white pigeon on the windowsill with one hand and giving Jide two quick taps on the head with the other.
She frowned and scolded it.
After being beaten, Ji De angrily returned to the ice basin, lay down, curled up into a big chicken leg, and began to sulk.
This commotion disturbed Shen Suqing, who was concentrating on his official duties, and he couldn't help but look up.
Looking up, the background is a large expanse of lush green bamboo outside the window, and the bright sunshine in front of the window reflects on the little girl's eyebrows and the corners of her eyes, and also gilds her half-tied, fluffy black hair with a thin layer of golden light.
She smiled and raised her wrist. A snow-white dove was perched obediently on her fingertip, occasionally pecking at its feathers with its beak.
The little girl looked over with a smile, her bright eyes and white teeth shining through.
"It looks like a carrier pigeon, Master Shen. Did someone write you a note?"
Shen Suqing felt a surge of tenderness in his heart, and even in the most ordinary daily routine, he could feel an immense warmth that filled his heart.
The fatigue from dealing with tedious and boring official duties immediately dissipated, leaving only a sense of peace.
He threw down his pen.
"That's strange, it seems like no one would write this kind of thing for me."
"Who could it be..."
She took the note, released the pigeon, and muttered to herself in confusion as she walked towards the young man.
When she walked up to him, she hadn't said anything yet. The young man was taken aback, and couldn't help but cover his lips with his fist to suppress his laughter.
Zhan Xinjia was stunned.
"What are you laughing at, Lord Shen?"
The next second, the young man's cool knuckles touched her face, bringing a refreshing comfort to her sunburnt skin. He gently stroked her cheek with his slender fingers, his voice filled with undisguised amusement.
"Silly child."
Standing up, Shen Suqing pushed her toward the bronze mirror.
There was no mirror in the study originally, but after he learned how to comb Azhi's hair, he simply put one there. The study was well-lit and airy, making it perfect for the little girl to look in the mirror.
Zhan Xinjia sat down in front of the mirror with suspicion, and looked at it with wide eyes.
She must have been too sleepy and drowsy earlier, because half of her sunburned face was pressed into the bamboo pillow with distinct marks, as if she had been severely beaten with bamboo sticks.
She was stunned for a moment, touched her face, and felt a little embarrassed.
Never mind!
Holding the letter high, Zhan Xinjia smiled and changed the subject.
"Let's take a look at this mysterious note!"
Unfold the outermost layer of paper; on the back of the slip, the three characters "雁回时" (when the wild geese return) are written with such force that they seem to penetrate the paper.
Zhan Xin quickly crumpled the paper into a ball and held it tightly in his palm, then put his hand behind his back.
She looked a little guilty, and just tilted her head back and grinned foolishly at the young man.
"Ah...this seems to be written for me, then I'll read it myself."
Shen Suqing, with his sharp eyes, noticed the name at the end.
His heart sank, and he felt slightly displeased. His bright and cheerful mood was suddenly disrupted, leaving only a dull ache in his heart.
"...Can't I watch?"
"Not really... but it's not very polite, you know, Master Shen, because paper is a very private item."
It's like if Mr. Shen wrote me a letter, I wouldn't share it with anyone else without your permission, because that would be too offensive and disrespectful to you.
Anyway, if you want to know, I can tell you roughly what it is after I've read it.
Anyway, there were no secrets between her and Lord Shen.
Back in Qin County, she knew that Yan Hui's feelings for her had soured. Although she absolutely couldn't accept it, that wasn't a reason for her to casually announce someone else's feelings to the public and make fun of them. At the very least, she would carefully consider their feelings before formally rejecting them.
Pshaw! She doesn't even know what the other person wrote, yet she presumptuously assumes it's a love letter.
Zhan Xinjia began to doubt whether she was being too narcissistic.
Shen Suqing's eyes dimmed slightly. Although he was somewhat disappointed, he knew very well that Azhi's approach was the right one.
He was pleased that she was a good girl, and that he should set a good example himself.
He gently stroked her hair, forced a smile, and walked back to his desk, forcing himself to continue handling official business seriously, calming his mind and no longer concerning himself with anything else.
The orange cat, still sulking, stretched and yawned, then lightly leaped into Zhan Xinjia's lap. Zhan Xinjia, carrying the cat, walked back to the window-side couch, leaned against the bamboo pillow, and began reading the note—
Lightning strikes at the opening ceremony!!
Holding up the small piece of paper, Zhan Xinjia's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah?!"
Seeing the young man look up at her, she remained silent for a moment, then got up, hugged Ji De, and walked back to her desk.
"Why don't we look at it together, Master Shen? I feel like I've suddenly forgotten how to read. Well, not exactly... I can read and write these characters individually, but why can't I understand them when they're put together?"
Her words made Shen Suqing begin to have doubts.
After all, he had served as the Crown Prince's tutor for four years, so he had a general idea of Yan Huishi's level of talent. Although His Highness the Crown Prince was sometimes absurd in his actions, his literary talent was outstanding.
So what exactly did His Highness the Crown Prince write?
When the two of them pressed their heads together against the window and let the sunlight stream in, their pupils dilated in shock—
"If my dear sister is a dry toilet, then I am a dung ladle. I scoop a spoonful from you, and you feed me a spoonful. We are intertwined."
If my sister is the butcher, then I am the pig's head on the chopping block. I'll grunt, and you'll give me a cut, and we'll enjoy our passionate love and carefree days...
Alas, how could a woman protected by a lion possibly fall for a stray dog? If I become a Buddha, there will be no demons in the world; if I am a demon, haha, what can Buddha do to me?
That's a tangent... In short, I, a humble scholar, hope to gain your favor, and wish to have a tryst with you.
What... what kind of illicit affair?!
Both of them simultaneously tilted their necks forward in disbelief, their pupils dilating.
Zhan Xinjia: "..."
Shen Suqing: "..."
Shen Suqing: "I'm sorry."
Master Shen's apology stunned her. Zhan Xinjia, who was already racking her brains, turned around in confusion and asked, "Huh?"
Shen Suqing clenched his fists tightly, his face ashen, his expression full of guilt, unable to lift his head at all.
"Whenever I think about how I was his teacher, I always feel I have to apologize to all the people of Dasheng."
Although he hadn't taught His Highness these things, it was still incredibly embarrassing. Right now, he was so ashamed he wanted to disappear into a hole, utterly unwilling to admit that his student could have written such a thing…
For him, it was like the sky had fallen.
He couldn't even feel jealous at this moment. He felt dizzy and his vision blurred. If he hadn't been pinching his hand tightly under his sleeve, he would have fainted on the spot.
Not to mention him, even Zhan Xinjia, who has always been abstract since childhood, didn't understand what Yan Huishi was trying to do with the market.
After remaining silent for a while, before the carrier pigeon flew away, Zhan Xinjia simply went to his desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a reply.
"Are you crazy? If you're sick, go find your royal uncle and take two courses of the Yan family's old prescription. Don't act like a madman here."
"You idiot, get lost!!"
Tie the note securely, release the carrier pigeon, and Zhan Xinjia wipes his sweat with his sleeve and lets out a long sigh of relief.
I thought that was the end of it, but little did I know, this was just the beginning of torture...
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