Song Ting tried to hold back, but couldn't resist pulling up Chu Huaixu's collar:
"Why aren't you dressed properly again?"
"It's hot." There was indeed a thin layer of sweat on his face, and his face was redder than usual, as if he had applied rouge.
Perhaps because he had just woken up, he looked somewhat tired.
"If it's hot, ask someone to bring more ice. You should still wear proper clothes."
Chu Huaixu glanced at Song Ting with a half-smile, making Song Ting's throat tighten under his gaze. She then asked:
"What do you need the housekeeper for?"
"The chilled plums taste good today."
"I've already eaten lunch, I can't eat anymore."
"Alright, whatever you say, sir."
Chu Huaixu didn't argue with him. He beckoned to A Bao, signaling for someone to come closer so he could fan him.
"Why are you always so far away from me? I'm not some man-eating demon." He teased, looking at Abao.
The latter looked distressed and subconsciously glanced at Song Ting.
"You don't need to look at your master. He just asked you to fan the air. He's not asking you to do anything with me. Your master isn't that petty."
Chu Huaixu used to crave coolness, but never to this extent; it must be related to damage to his meridians.
Thinking of what the imperial physician had said that day, Song Ting's heart tightened, and she gripped his hand:
"On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the Empress Dowager will go to the White Horse Temple to pray for blessings. I will accompany her. You will come with me then."
Chu Huaixu's expression immediately changed: "I'm not going. Traveling such a long distance in this heat, I'm afraid I'll die of heat before I even reach Kaifeng."
Normally, Song Ting would never want to see this person suffer.
However, it would take at least half a month for the Empress Dowager's carriage to travel from Chang'an to Kaifeng and back. Song Tingcai held the person in his arms, and of course he was not comfortable leaving the person alone in Chang'an.
He has made too many enemies, so mistakes are inevitable. He can only feel at ease if he is kept under constant surveillance.
Furthermore, he also had reasons for insisting on bringing Huai Xu along.
"I won't let you die."
"Is that so?" Unfortunately, the Commander's promise meant nothing to Chu Huaixu.
He glanced around casually, then his gaze suddenly fell on Song Ting's chest, and he burst out laughing:
"Did I fail to satisfy you last night, sir?"
The person who showed little fear in the face of any storm suddenly turned red at these words.
He didn't immediately realize why Chu Huaixu's topic had jumped so quickly. Following the other's gaze, he looked down and noticed the red stain on his black robe.
It's clearly a lip print.
Chu Huaixu pressed his long, slender fingers against it, his voice filled with undisguised sarcasm:
"Is it a woman's lip rouge? Did you just return from the Empress Dowager's palace, sir?"
Song Ting: "..."
Every word seemed to confirm what Chu Huaixu had said, and Song Ting didn't know how to refute it.
"It's not what you think, I..."
"Shh..." Huai Xu placed his index finger on his lips, smiling gently. "This is your private matter, sir, there's no need to explain it to me."
"But sir, it would be best if you refrained from climbing in through the window at night to steal kisses and molestations these days. I find it disgusting."
His smiling words were sharper than Chu Huaixu's cloud-patterned dagger, easily piercing Song Ting's heart and turning it into a bloody mess.
Chu Huaixu, however, was completely oblivious to his pain, his gaze shifting from the suspicious lip print to the sugar figurine on the table.
"Is this for me?"
Song Ting closed her eyes briefly and gave a calm "hmm".
“I remember you used to love eating this.”
Chu Huaixu did not respond. The past is the past, and it is the past that he least wants to recall now.
He leaned over and picked one, took a bite of the top one, and his face immediately scrunched up.
"It's so salty it hurts my teeth."
She covered half her face, barely managing to swallow the half-eaten pill in her mouth, and then shoved the rest into Song Ting's arms.
"You're mistaken, sir. I've never liked eating this."
Song Ting's pupils trembled, and her voice was slightly hoarse: "Impossible, I can't be mistaken, you clearly said that."
That was the second month after Song Ting came to the Prince Duan's residence, and it was also a summer day like this, with very hot weather.
The Sixi Troupe moved to Chang'an and was to perform a grand opera for five days at Qingfengju.
Unable to stay at home, Chu Huaixu took Song Ting to see a play.
Summer nights are cool, and the streets and alleys are much more lively than during the day.
Having lived in the palace for a long time, Chu Huaixu found everything interesting once he gained his freedom, even though he had walked along Zhuque Street many times.
Song Ting was even worse. In the past, he was always struggling to survive and couldn't spare any attention for unimportant people or things.
Only by following Chu Huaixu did he gradually come to understand other emotions in this world besides the desire to survive.
Those hurried passersby, the flowers and grass by the roadside, the windmills carried on the shoulders of vendors, and the sugar figurines pushed in their hands—all of these were things that Song Ting had previously overlooked.
He couldn't help but look, yet dared not look too long, fearing that Chu Huaixu would act recklessly again.
This wasn't their first time out on the street. Once, the two of them strolled around and went to Qingfengju for a meal. Not long after they returned to the Prince's Mansion, several servants brought back several boxes of things.
These were all little trinkets he'd glanced at on the street earlier: paper windmills, clay figurines, rocking horses, rattles, bamboo flutes…
Chu Huaixu led him over and said to him, "From now on, just tell me what you want. Don't keep it to yourself, okay?"
Song Ting didn't actually like these things that much; she just hadn't had them before, so she took the opportunity to look at them a few more times.
But he was still happy that Chu Huaixu said that to him.
No one had ever been this kind to him, only this person.
He carefully hid those things, but after that, when he went out with his master, he dared not look around anymore.
He was afraid that Chu Huaixu would carry a few more boxes of things back for him.
Chu Huaixu was a spoiled young master who grew up doing whatever he wanted, regardless of his own happiness, but he couldn't be like that.
He doesn't deserve such kindness from the other party.
Qingfeng Residence is located on Changqing Street, across the street from Prince Duan's residence. The two of them had dinner at the residence before coming out.
It was still early, so there was no rush. I strolled around leisurely, watching the pedestrians and street vendors.
Compared to Song Ting's indifference, Chu Huaixu seemed to be the younger one.
He would tease the birds in the cage for a while, then pick up a bamboo flute and twirl it in his hand, and then play a game of pitch-pot and ring toss...
He even bought a bag of salted peanuts from a vendor and ate them as he walked, completely disregarding his status.
Despite being a favored child raised by the current emperor, his behavior is completely unconventional and casual to the point of being described as undisciplined.
"Selling sugar figurines! Three coins each!" An old man was calling out as he approached the intersection.
Song Ting stared at the rows of sugar figurines stuck in the carrying pole—goldfish, kittens, puppies, and even little lanterns…
Each one is exquisite and adorable.
"Young master, I want a sugar figurine."
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