Chapter 284 Extra Jingtang Chapter 11

A few days of peace passed.

That day, Xia Jingtang was reading a storybook in the house when Xiao Yi walked in with a jewel box in his arms.

He called softly, "Tangtang."

Xia Jingtang immediately put away the storybook, smoothed her hair, looked over, and asked, "What are you holding in your arms?"

"I promised to give you a gift a few days ago, and now I have it ready. See if you like it."

"You are so thoughtful." She took it, opened the box and looked inside. Her eyes widened with surprise.

The brocade box with a red silk mat contained several interlocking iron rings. She picked them up and examined them carefully. She saw that the iron rings were polished to a bright shine, and a small "Tang" character was engraved on the iron plate below.

Xiao Yi said, "I saw that the nine-linked ring in your room was worn out and rusted, so I thought of making a new one for you. I wonder if you are satisfied."

"I am very satisfied." She smiled brightly and said, "The nine-linked ring in my room was a gift from my mother when I was young. I loved it very much, but it got worn out after playing with it for too long. I don't play with it much anymore."

Seeing her so happy, he couldn't help but feel happy. He slightly curved his eyes and said, "As long as you like it."

Xia Jingtang hooked one hand around his neck, tiptoed over and pecked him lightly on the cheek, blinked, and said, "Xiao Yi, thank you."

He felt as if his whole heart was about to melt. He hugged her soft waist, pressed her against his body, and asked with a smile, "Then how are you going to repay me?"

She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I'll accompany you tonight to moan without any reason."

"Oh? Is that all?"

"What else do you want?"

He thought for a moment, smiled mischievously, and said, "Let's talk about it tonight."

As soon as Xia Jingtang saw his expression, he knew that this man was probably up to something bad again, so he glanced at him reproachfully, then stepped away from his embrace, and said helplessly, "When did you become so lustful?"

"As the princess said, food and sex are human nature."

She was speechless for a moment, never expecting that one day she would be criticized by someone with her own words.

Xia Jingtang sat back on the imperial concubine's couch, playing with the newly acquired nine-linked ring in her hand.

Over the years, she has basically mastered the trick of playing the Nine-Ring Chain. She can play with it in her hands and soon make it into an embroidery ball shape.

Xiao Yi sat next to her and watched, finding it very strange.

Two years ago, Xia Mu Nansheng launched a limited edition toy, which is the Nine-Linked Rings. It became popular in the imperial capital as soon as it was launched. However, the craftsmanship of this thing has not been circulated, so it is not easy to buy it at that time.

This time, he took great pains to have Xia Mu Nan Sheng's craftsmen make a unique one for him, but he didn't know much about how to use it.

Seeing that he was curious, Xia Jingtang smiled slyly: "Do you want to learn?"

He nodded and said, "I see how these little iron rings are so flexible in your hands. It's really novel."

"That's because I've been playing it for more than ten years, so naturally I'm more familiar with it than others." As she said that, she put the nine-ring puzzle in his hand and began to teach him how to play it.

"The usual way to play is to connect all nine rings to the copper ring, or to remove them all by threading them through the ring. There are many ways to solve it, and it can be separated or combined, with many variations.

The master needs to go up and down 341 times before he can put the nine connected rings into a pillar, and then take them off again 341 times."

As she spoke, she taught him step by step, and it took her about an hour to finally teach him how to untie it.

Just as she was about to teach the next trick, Yun Niao suddenly came in and said, "Your Highness, someone from the palace has sent a message from the Emperor, summoning you to enter the palace immediately."

"Okay, I'll come after I change my clothes." After that, she stood up and told Xiao Yi, "Think about it yourself. When I come back from the palace, you have to learn how to untie it yourself."

Xiao Yi put down the Nine-Ring and said, "Do you want me to help you change your clothes?"

"No need!" She quickly refused and walked into the inner room.

Xiao Yi looked at her hurriedly running away, feeling quite helpless, "It's just a change of clothes..."

Since she refused, it would be awkward for him to follow her in.

Xia Jinghe changed into a formal palace dress, then left the princess's mansion and got on the carriage to the palace.

…

Xiao Yi waited until the evening before finally hearing the news that she had returned home.

He was about to go out to greet her and met her halfway.

At this time, Jing Mo and Zhi Shi were beside her. The three of them were talking, but the moment they saw him, they all stopped talking tacitly.

He paused for a moment, pretending not to see her, and walked over to her, asking with concern, "You're back. Have you had dinner yet?"

Xia Jingtang smiled and said, "I have used it in the palace with my brother and sister-in-law. How about you?"

He pursed his lips and said, "Just use it. It's getting late. If you feel tired, I have asked someone to prepare hot water for you to bathe."

"Thank you, my Lord." She took his arm affectionately and walked towards the main courtyard with him.

Jing Mo and Zhi Shi did not follow them and separated from them when they reached a fork in the road.

Xia Jingtang changed out of her complicated and heavy palace dress and went to the bathroom. As soon as she entered, she saw Xiao Yi standing by the bathtub with his back to her, taking off his clothes, revealing his muscular back with several obvious scars.

She was not surprised. She walked over, raised her hand, and gently stroked the scar on his back with her soft fingertips.

"I haven't asked you yet, how did these injuries come about?"

"Many of them were dropped during martial arts training."

She touched the bowl-sized scar on his back shoulder and asked softly, "Where is it?"

"Burns."

"How did you get hurt?"

He closed his eyes, and suddenly recalled the past. He felt rather melancholy, and said slowly, "To save my sister."

Xia Jingtang remembered that he had a biological sister, whose name seemed to be Xiao Huiran.

She put her hands through his arms and hugged his thin waist. "Can you tell me?"

Xiao Yi was silent for a moment before he began to speak: "Four years ago, my sister was also kidnapped by thieves. When I found her, she was covered in wounds and hung on a beam. The whole house was surrounded by flames. I rescued her and held her in my arms, but when I was about to reach the door, I was knocked unconscious by a burning wooden pole that fell down, leaving this scar."

Xia Jingtang recalled what Xia Jinghe had said to her in the palace during the day, frowned silently, and said with pity: "You must have been in a lot of pain at that time, right?"

"pain."

He had his back to her, so she couldn't see the expression on his face. She could only tell from the sound of his voice that he was sad.

She asked softly, "How is your sister?"

"Dead." He said it calmly, as if he was telling someone else's story.

Xia Jingtang was stunned.

Why does it seem different from what she knows?