Chapter 493 Thoughts
Just as Jiang Huan was enjoying the peaceful moment lying down and was about to fall asleep, she heard footsteps outside the palace.
She knew who it was without even lifting her eyelids.
In this palace, no one but Huo Lin could walk straight into her inner chamber like this.
Sure enough, the next moment, a tall figure, carrying the scent of autumn air, loomed over her and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
Jiang Huan was warming herself up when the chill hit her, and she instinctively shrank her neck and pushed him away.
"Ouch, it's so cold, let's get away from it."
Huo Lin paused.
I've been busy outside all day, exposed to the autumn wind all day.
[I didn't even have time to drink much water before rushing to see her, and she actually complains that I'm cold?]
[My heart is chilled, colder than the snow in the northwest border region in December.]
Jiang Huan heard him clearly and found it amusing, but she deliberately put on a stern face and continued to push him away: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, you're radiating cold air, don't come near me."
Huo Lin pursed his lips, not letting go but tightening his arms and rubbing his cool cheek against her warm neck.
"I won't." His voice was muffled, with a hint of defiance.
[Feeling cold? Then let's cool off together and see where she can hide.]
Jiang Huan was both amused and exasperated by his shameless behavior. His cool cheeks and breath tickled her neck, and she couldn't help but twist her body.
"Huo Lin, are you a dog? Stop rubbing against me!"
Huo Lin then raised his head, his dark eyes staring intently at her, clearly conveying, "I'm unhappy and need to be coaxed."
Seeing him like this, Jiang Huan's intention to tease him vanished.
She sighed, reached out and hugged his lean waist, pressed her face against his slightly cool chest, and softened her voice.
"Okay, okay, it's not cold anymore, let me warm it up for you."
Feeling her comfort, Huo Lin's low mood instantly dissipated. He hummed with satisfaction, rested his chin on the top of her head, and tightened his arms around her.
That's more like it. I knew she wouldn't really push me away.
Warm and comfortable.
The two embraced quietly for a while, the only sounds in the hall being their intertwined breaths and the soft crackling of the candlelight.
After a while, Huo Lin let go of her, took a travelogue about mountains and rivers that she often read, and then returned to the bedside, sat down next to her, and the two shared a thin blanket.
Jiang Huan leaned closer to him, finding a comfortable position, resting her head on his shoulder, and pointed to the illustrations in the book: "This part is drawn so beautifully, let's go and visit it sometime?"
Huo Lin lowered his eyes to look at the pages of the book, the faint fragrance of her hair lingering around his nose, and that insignificant grievance had long since vanished.
He hummed in agreement, put his arm around her, and flipped through the pages absently.
The charcoal fire inside the hall burned warmly, and the two nestled together, quietly turning the pages of their books, occasionally whispering a few words, creating a cozy and peaceful atmosphere.
Two days later, Mingzhu arrived at Weiyang Palace.
Unlike usual, the little maid didn't chatter away as soon as she came in. Instead, she was a bit shy, sidling up to Jiang Huan and sitting down next to her, her eyes darting around, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Huan looked at her amusedly. "Being so quiet isn't like you. Did someone upset Mingzhu, or... is something on your mind?"
Mingzhu blushed slightly when her secret was exposed, lowered her head, and spoke in a much softer voice.
"No, no one has upset me... I'm just feeling a bit down, so I came to talk to Your Majesty."
Jiang Huan understood, gestured for the palace servants to leave, and poured her a cup of jujube tea.
"Bored? That's not surprising. Aren't you usually the best at finding ways to amuse yourself? Racing horses with A-Yun, looking at new seeds with He Ling, or playing shuttlecock with the palace maids. You have so many ways to entertain yourself."
"That was all in the past." Mingzhu took the teacup, warming it in her hands, but didn't drink it, her eyes wandering. "Your Majesty, what do you mean when someone treats everyone the same before, but suddenly one day seems to treat you a little... differently?"
Jiang Huan raised an eyebrow slightly, knowing perfectly well that this was probably referring to Shen Yi.
She feigned ignorance: "How is it different? Is it better or worse than before? Is it different only for you, or has it changed for everyone?"
“It’s just…” Mingzhu bit her lip, seemingly choosing her words carefully, her cheeks turning even redder, “He always teases me, makes me angry, argues with me, he’s never serious, but sometimes he doesn’t seem so annoying…”
She became increasingly agitated as she spoke, almost biting her tongue, and finally gave up in a self-deprecating summary.
"Ugh, he's such a jerk. He's all smiles and friendly with everyone. Who knows what he really means?"
Jiang Huan suppressed a laugh, slowly took a sip of tea, and then said, "You're talking about Shen Yi, right?"
Mingzhu nearly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her face turning bright red.
"I didn't say it was him, Your Majesty, please don't make wild guesses."
“Alright.” Jiang Huan readily agreed, nodding repeatedly, her eyes full of mischief. “However, since we’ve mentioned Shen Yi, I’m reminded of something. Weren’t you previously bothered by the fact that he had some kind of mistress?”
Mingzhu's ears immediately perked up, but she deliberately glanced elsewhere, pretending not to care, and snorted.
"Who's holding a grudge? I'm not. What business is it of mine how many mistresses he has?"
"Yes, yes, it's none of your business." Jiang Huan went along with her, then changed the subject, "But I did find out about Qing's matter later. She is a distant cousin of Shen Yi. Shen Yi was asked by his mother to take the girl out to buy some things. A few days ago, the girl's family came and took her home."
Mingzhu was stunned and subconsciously turned her head to look at Jiang Huan.
"Really? Just my cousin?"
“Absolutely true.” Jiang Huan nodded, observing her expression. “Although Shen Yi seems carefree and loves to joke, he is not without sense. If he really had feelings for someone, he wouldn’t be so secretive as to use a cousin as a cover.”
The knot in Mingzhu's heart that had been stuck for so long seemed to loosen a little because of these words, but she refused to admit it verbally.
"Who knows? He's the kind of person who's all sweet talk. Maybe he's lying. Besides, whether he has a mistress or not is none of my business. I don't care."
Jiang Huan was secretly laughing when she saw that her eyes had brightened up a bit, but she was still stubbornly saying the opposite of what she meant.
She decided to add fuel to the fire: "I think Shen Yi cares about you quite a bit. Don't be fooled by how he always teases you. Think about it carefully, whenever you have something going on, isn't he always 'coincidentally' nearby?"
After being prompted by Jiang Huan, Mingzhu thought back carefully and realized that it was indeed true; there seemed to be too many coincidences that she had assumed to be true.
That strange feeling in my heart resurfaced, mixed with a hint of sweetness that I didn't even realize I was experiencing.
But the girl's reserve prevented her from easily giving in.
"So what?" Mingzhu raised her chin, pretending not to care. "He's just bored and making fun of me. Your Highness, don't be fooled by him. He's definitely like that with other girls too. I won't fall for it."
After saying that, as if afraid that Jiang Huan would say something else, she grabbed a pastry from the table, stuffed it into her mouth, and mumbled, "This pastry is good. I have something to do back home, so I'll be going now!"
Jiang Huan watched her run away, her back almost moving in unison, and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
It seems that it will take some time for the two of them to get to know each other.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com