Chapter 5: I Allow You to Break the Rules Today’s temple fair in Shao...
Today's temple fair is held in Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan. Lingnan has its own cultural beliefs and many of them worship witchcraft, which is different from the temple fair in Bianjing.
Song Youning attached great importance to this temple fair and wanted to dig out some novel shops or interesting stories to record in his travel notes, which would not only boost the income of the people in Lingnan, but also make the "Da Gan Fengwu Zhi" famous.
As soon as he entered the temple fair, Song Youning was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. He touched and looked around, extremely excited.
"If you run around again, Princess, I'll have to tie myself to your belt."
Li Funing smiled as he looked at Song Youning who was mingling with various small vendors.
At this time, Song Youning was tiptoeing to squeeze into the crowd of people in the circus troupe. When he heard the words, he turned around and his nose almost hit his shoulder.
She blinked and rolled her eyes:
"OK."
Before she finished speaking, she grabbed his wrist with her backhand and pressed it against her waist: "Then Lord Li, you must tie it up tightly. If you lose it later, I will report it to the police!"
Li Funing was unable to react for a moment when he saw her being so proactive. Instead, he was the first to blush out of shame.
"Li Funing! Look... this crab can tell fortunes!"
Song Youning was attracted by a special stall. He pulled Li Funing's sleeve and moved towards the stall, squeezing into the crowd.
The stall owner was a little old man wearing a crab-shaped hat. His two fake crab eyes, which looked like black beans, trembled as he shook his head.
His face was painted with cinnabar dye and a few lines were drawn on his cheeks. He looked like an old crab that had become a spirit, pretending to be ugly to attract customers.
Song Youning looked at the old man curiously, and poked the two fake crab eyes with his hands from time to time. The two fake crab eyes bounced back and forth, which was quite funny.
The old man sensed the movement and immediately turned around to greet her: "Oh! This young lady is really lucky!"
He lowered his voice in a mysterious tone, "This is no ordinary crab, but the reincarnation of 'General Wenxie' under the command of the Dragon King of the South China Sea!"
"I was banished to the mortal world for revealing the secrets of heaven. Now I can only make a living by fortune-telling...looking for my soulmate."
Song Youning's eyes widened: "Oh? Then why doesn't it go back to the Dragon Palace directly? Why is it here?"
The stall owner remained calm, stroking his beard as he lied to the child, "Young lady, you don't know this. This Crab General has violated the Heavenly Laws and must accumulate merits 9981 times before he can return."
He pointed at the small sand crab crawling slowly sideways in the lacquer tray. "Today is the eightieth time. If you ask it to tell your fortune, you might even get some luck with becoming an immortal!"
Song Youning squatted down with great interest and poked the small sand crab in the lacquer tray: "That's it? Can it really tell fortunes?"
"Of course!"
Seeing that there was hope, the old man immediately perked up. He grabbed the crab and placed it on the sand table. "General Wenxie has been enlightened by the Buddha. He understands yin and yang and knows about human affairs! What do you want to ask? Marriage? Fortune? Or..."
"I'm on good terms with you today, and all I need is ten taels of silver. I wonder if you're interested?"
Ten taels of silver!!!
Song Youning rolled her eyes in her heart, secretly cursing this old crab for really taking her for a fool.
“I don’t have any money”
Old man: “…”
Li Funing stood aside, his mouth twitching slightly, he coughed lightly, and moved away.
"Go away, you poor bastard, you are here to mess things up on purpose."
The old stall owner glared at people and angrily chased them away, sweeping Song Youning out of the stall with a broom.
"Hey! You old man, why are you so snobbish? Didn't you say that General Wenxie was looking for his soulmate? Why, if he doesn't have money, he's not his soulmate?" She put her hands on her hips and jumped up and down in anger.
As a result, the boss ignored her completely.
Seeing this unscrupulous businessman's bad business attitude, Song Youning was so angry that he took out the booklet on the spot.
She wanted to let the old man know that in the cultural and tourism industry, she, Song Youning, was the king!
She sat down and wrote in a flamboyant style:
【Lingnan Nanhua Temple Fair·Crayfish Stall】
Bad review!!!
The stall owner looks like an old crab and speaks like a turtle.
The so-called Wenxie General is nothing more than a common sand crab.
The price for the divination is very high, but it is actually worth very little.
Comment... Black-hearted and rotten-lung people, don't come here!!!
After finishing writing, she closed the notebook with a snap, but saw Li Funing standing behind her, looking down at her notes with wet ink, quite curious.
"Well written. The princess has such a great literary talent. I wonder how she secretly reported me to the emperor."
Li Funing leaned over and snatched the notebook from her hand, then flipped through a few pages.
The paper rustled, and his slender fingertips paused at one point and read aloud:
[In the spring of the third year of Yuan Jing, on the seventh day of the twelfth month, it was sunny.]
Li Funing scolded him with a stern face again.
...like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
Comment: Why is he pretending to be mature at the age of 8? [Grimace]
Turn forward again:
[In the spring of the third year of Yuanjing, on February 22, it rained.
Today, the court officials again requested the emperor to accept a son-in-law.
Draw a circle and curse them to eat dumplings without filling!
Comment: This princess is beautiful alone!!]
His fingertips paused, stopping at a page:
[In the spring of the fourth year of Yuan Jing, on the first day of April, it was sunny.
Li Funing looks really good in that mink fur coat.
...He is just too fierce, it’s such a waste of his face!
Comment: This princess wants to make one exactly like this!!!]
Li Funing's fingertips rested on the blurred ink.
Another ten years later...
[In the spring of the fourteenth year of Yuan Jing, on the first day of February, it was cloudy.]
Li Funing forced me to write a policy paper again today.
...What's there to write about? Can't he write it for me?
Annotation: Hypocritical]
[In the spring of the fourteenth year of Yuan Jing, on the first day of June, it rained.
Li Funing punished the princess to copy books again
...I don't want to bother with him. I'll ask Xiao Lin to go cricket catching tomorrow! !
Annotation: Catch crickets! 】
Li Funing felt a sudden gust of fragrant wind coming from behind him. Song Youning rushed over to grab the notebook, her hair brushing against the side of his neck, making him feel numb and tingling: "Don't look!"
He raised his arms and turned around, his eyes reflecting an angry princess: "So the princess secretly..."
The notebook flipped open again, revealing today's newly written words:
If he really tied himself to my belt...
...seems pretty good?] The ink hasn't even dried yet
Suddenly it became quiet.
Li Funing closed the notebook and gently stroked the pages with his fingertips. He moved his lips and smiled with a hint of self-mockery: "The princess's writing... is much more vivid than official documents..."
Song Youning reached out to grab it:
"Give it back to me!"
Li Funing turned his wrist, and the darkness in his eyes flashed away. After sorting out his emotions, he returned to his original gentle appearance.
He raised the notebook high, and with his other hand he grabbed her wrist.
His palm was warm, and his thumb rubbed against her skin unconsciously, causing Song Youning's heart to skip a beat.
"want to?"
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice to a low, playful tone, and said, "Princess, please exchange it for something else."
Song Youning glared at him: "Li Funing, you are committing insubordination!"
"I dare not."
He said this, but the smile in his eyes deepened, "Just curious..."
His eyes fell on the rosy little face, then quickly looked away. "What does the princess usually write?"
Song Youning's eyes flickered. Since force wasn't working... she suddenly stood on tiptoe.
The corners of his mouth curled up with a cunning arc, and he said weakly: "Since Lord Li wants to know so much..."
She slowly opened the small notebook with one hand, and gently drew circles on the blank pages with her fingertips, pretending to think: "Let me think about it..."
Her body suddenly moved closer, and her warm breath sprinkled on his ear, "It says here that Lord Li likes me..."
“I’ve loved it since I was a kid”
She paused deliberately, watching his cheeks turn crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Li Funing's breathing stagnated, but his star-like eyes were filled with charm.
Song Youning continued to push his luck and said, "But Lord Li is a coward..."
She suddenly used the notebook to block their faces, then stood on tiptoe at an angle where no one could see her, and blew gently into his earlobe. "I never dared to admit it..."
Before Song Youning could react, he suddenly turned over and trapped her in the corner.
He suddenly raised his hand, and with his fingers covered with calluses from long-term pen-holding, he pinched the fingers that had done the wrong thing, with such force that it almost burned into her skin.
"Princess, do you know..."
His deep voice was filled with heat, and his hot breath brushed past her ears:
"I am already twenty-four..."
"So what?" Song Youning was pressed heavily against the wall by him. The man's body weighed heavily on her like a mountain. She twisted her waist unconsciously to try to break free, but to no avail.
She struggled unconsciously, but she didn't expect that this slight twist made Li Funing's breathing suddenly heavy.
Through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel his muscles tense instantly, his body temperature rising at an alarming rate, and his hot breath spraying on her neck, burning her skin and making her shiver.
"Don't move!"
His voice was hoarse and trembling uncontrollably, and his eyes, which were once clear as water, gradually became ambiguous:
"I am already twenty-four... Men of this age...cannot stand being teased..."
Li Funing's voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of danger.
Song Youning's heart was beating like a drum, but he refused to show weakness. He raised his face and said provocatively, "So what if I teased you?"
He chuckled softly, then suddenly leaned over, his thin lips almost touching her earlobe. His hot breath made her tremble all over, but his voice gradually became unclear.
"I don't want to do anything"
"I only want the princess..."
"...He grinds it for me personally every day." His voice gradually lowered, even with a hint of grievance.
"...I personally accompany my ministers to relax every month."
"each year......"
He paused, lowered his eyes, and suddenly his voice was filled with a hint of pleading: "Please accompany me personally to celebrate my birthday."
The sudden deep affection startled Song Youning. He was like a traveler who had traveled for too long and finally found his lover. There was a hint of expectation and evasion in his eyes.
"Okay?"
Li Funing gently rested his forehead against hers, and as their breaths intertwined, the loneliness and restrained heartbeat of those years of waiting alone were all dissolved in this low, hoarse request.
Li Funing raised his eyes and looked at her quietly, with tenderness and love hidden in his eyes for more than twenty years.
Song Youning was stunned, and felt every pore in his body soften unconsciously.
She suddenly remembered that on his birthday five years ago, she went traveling alone to western Sichuan. When she came back, she had completely forgotten his birthday. He was standing alone outside the palace gate waiting for her return.
At that time he smiled and said, "It's okay, as long as the princess is happy."
A breeze blew by, and she unconsciously reached out to touch his thin cheek. Her fingertips felt a hint of coolness, and she felt a little distressed in her heart.
Song Youning raised her hand and gently ran her fingertips through Li Funing's hair, so gentle that it was unlike herself.
Li Funing felt her touch and lowered his head even lower in response.
Her fingers lingered in his hair, with indescribable doting.
The black hair that was always combed meticulously was now slightly messy after being rubbed by her, revealing a rare youthfulness.
Li Funing felt her movement, and his eyes were filled with light.
Over the years, he has always adhered to his duties as a subject and always stood three steps behind her.
As a subject, he dared not even hold her gaze for long. When she turned, he lowered his head; when she approached, he retreated. Only when he was alone did he dare to let the fiery heat in his eyes leak out, and then he would hide it completely before the dawn.
Even though he had been chosen as the Emperor's husband since childhood and studied with her every day, they had never had such an intimate moment.
All the deliberately maintained distance and the restraint in wanting to speak but not speaking were completely shattered at this moment, and twenty years of forbearance finally collapsed.
Li Funing suddenly lowered his head and buried his face in her neck, feeling her body temperature, like a cat curled up in its mother's arms.
"Didn't Lord Li dislike me before?"
Li Funing poked his head out from his arms, his eyes moving slightly. His heartbeat could be heard through the fabric of his clothes, fast and heavy, as if he wanted to tell all the stories of the waiting of more than 20 years.
His voice was hoarse. "I was a minister before, so naturally I had to abide by the duties of a minister. Over the years, I have never overstepped the bounds."
"only……"
"Just what?"
"But later, the princess and Prince Xiao went out traveling and didn't return for a long time... His Majesty urged the princess to get married, but she always made excuses..."
"I thought..." Li Funing suddenly hugged her tighter.
"I thought...the princess didn't want me anymore..."
"I just realized..." He looked up at her, with a slight redness at the corners of his eyes.
"I do not want to be just a minister to the princess."
Just like in these years, he always used the name of official duties to cover up his selfish desires that went beyond the rules, and used the name of ethics to cover up the love buried deep in his heart.
Li Funing's voice was hoarse and restrained.
He lowered his eyes slightly, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes, covering up the emotions surging in his eyes.
Song Youning was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered many years ago...
At that time, she was still a little girl who was not even as tall as his waist, and she would chase after him all day long, calling "Brother Funing" and "Brother Funing".
He always stood straight, and even the corners of his clothes were neatly arranged.
Even when she was trying to trick him into carrying her on her back, he would just squat down slightly and let her climb onto his back, with his hands properly supporting her knees, not daring to touch her even a little bit more than necessary.
At that time, she felt that he hated her and was secretly sulking.
Later, he supervised her writing and reading every day, and forbade her from doing anything she liked.
She felt that he lived like a fake person and was extremely boring, but she was a lively and active girl. Over time, the love she had in her youth faded away.
She smiled softly: "So..."
Her fingertips gently combed open his frowning brows, and her voice softened, "Master Li has been a conservative person since he was a child."
Li Funing grabbed her rebellious hand, his eyes darkening: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is just..."
“Know what is the limit.”
Song Youning's heart trembled.
Suddenly she stood on tiptoe and lightly touched his lips.
"Now..."
"I allow you to overstep the bounds."
Li Funing's eyes flickered like the twinkling stars in the night, with a hint of joy and anticipation.
"Then, if the princess breaks her promise again..." He put his head in her hair again, his body softened, and said in a muffled voice:
"I have indeed tied myself to the princess's belt."
His eyes, which were usually cold and clear, were now tender and affectionate. Like an obedient little animal, he stuck to the top of her head and rubbed her temples.
"What if...Princess goes back on her word..." He poked his head out from between her temples, and there was suddenly a hint of aggression in his tender eyes.
"Then I will tie the princess to my belt..."
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