medicine packet
After all that commotion, it was already evening. Winter nights come earlier than summer nights, and soon the sky turned a deep blue. The lanterns hanging under the eaves of the Dali Temple lit up with warm candlelight.
Inside the main hall, Xie Xiangsi moved her treated forearm and found that apart from a slight soreness, she felt no discomfort. She looked at Zhou Yanzhi with some surprise.
She was surprised that this person was so skilled at treating wounds, finishing so quickly. She thought it would be as painful as tearing the fabric before, making her question the meaning of life.
As it grew late and realizing that she had been out for too long, Jie Xiangsi immediately said goodbye to Zhou Yanzhi.
Before he could even finish speaking, Zhou Yanzhi stood up and spoke first.
"It's getting late, I'll take you back to your residence."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi was slightly taken aback and said somewhat embarrassedly, "It's too much trouble for you, cousin. I'll just go back to the manor by myself."
The candlelight in the main hall of the Dali Temple was not very bright, but rather dim and yellowish. Xie Xiangsi sat in a chair and looked up at Zhou Yanzhi. The candlelight fell on him, flickering and making his features appear gentler.
Zhou Yanzhi leaned slightly forward, one hand resting on the table beside her, his eyes gleaming.
He chuckled, "Not at all, as long as my cousin is safe and sound, I don't mind if I'm a little tired."
Speechless with longing, this was the first time she had ever heard Zhou Yanzhi speak so sarcastically, not even when the two of them were at odds before.
For some reason, Xie Xiangsi slightly raised her eyes, a worried expression on her face, and whispered, "Cousin...are you feeling unwell?"
Why are you suddenly talking like that? It's a bit startling and frightening.
Zhou Yanzhi understood the meaning behind Xie Xiangsi's words, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply lowered his eyes and smiled, "Not at all, I was just a little tired from interrogating the prisoners today. I can't compare to my cousin who had to bicker with me despite her pain."
Jie Xiangsi's face stiffened.
She said, somewhat aggrieved, "Cousin, are you blaming me for arguing with the Fifth Princess?"
Hearing her tone, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled inwardly and couldn't help but ask, "When did I say you shouldn't have argued with the Fifth Princess?"
"Then why did you say such sarcastic things, cousin?" Xie Xiangsi lowered her eyes, raised her handkerchief to cover her eyes, sniffed, and whispered, "Besides, when we were fighting in the street earlier, I didn't know she was a noble princess. Her whip was clearly meant to injure Qingshu's face. I brought Qingshu out of the manor. If she got hurt, how could I bear it?"
Zhou Yanzhi didn't respond, but instead narrowed his eyes and looked at Xie Xiangsi with interest. "I don't think that's what I meant, is it?"
Jie Xiangsi raised her eyes to meet Zhou Yanzhi's gaze, her eyes clear and serious. "What did you mean, cousin?"
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Why did you suddenly become stupid?
With a somewhat helpless sigh, Zhou Yanzhi said softly, "If you encounter something like this in the future and it's difficult to resolve, take care of your injuries first." As he said this, he turned his head and coughed twice, adding in a low voice, "Your cousin will come to help you."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
Why the sudden emotional tone? How am I supposed to respond?!
Lowering her eyes and twisting the handkerchief in her hand, Jie Xiangsi whispered, "Okay, thank you, cousin."
...
The Dali Temple was quite far from the Prince An's residence, so Zhou Yanzhi had someone bring a carriage for the four of them, while he rode his horse alongside the carriage.
Perhaps due to the cold winter, most of the stalls on the street had already closed, and all that could be heard along the way was the sound of wind and snow.
The moonlight spilled out, quietly falling on the long street.
After thinking about the purpose of today's trip, Jie Xiangsi lifted the carriage curtain and said to Zhou Yanzhi outside, "It's been a long time since I've seen my cousin return home. Are you busy with other matters?"
Zhou Yanzhi sat on the horse, swaying gently. He had changed into a scarlet robe and draped a pure white fox fur coat over it. The style was somewhat similar to the black cloak he had left with Jie Xiangsi. The bright colors made his skin look exceptionally fair.
Upon hearing Xie Xiangsi's question, Zhou Yanzhi paused for a moment, did some mental calculation, and realized that he had indeed not returned to the manor for some time. He then nodded to Xie Xiangsi.
"Yes, I have been quite busy lately."
You could also hear the weariness in his tone.
Jie Xiangsi pursed her lips and said, "I've been having some free time lately, so I made a few calming medicine packets. I noticed that you have dark circles under your eyes, so why don't I give you some later?"
Zhou Yanzhi smiled upon hearing this, "Then I thank you for your kindness, cousin."
The carriage went straight to the Prince An's residence. Upon seeing his young master return, the gatekeeper took the reins from Zhou Yanzhi and prepared to send someone to announce his arrival, but Zhou Yanzhi stopped him.
"No need to inform anyone, and do not disturb your mother's rest."
The servant acknowledged and withdrew.
Mo Yue and Yu He went to the courtyard as soon as they got off the carriage. They lit the candles in the room in advance, so it was brightly lit when Jie Xiangsi and the others went in.
As a man, Zhou Yanzhi felt it inappropriate to enter the courtyard, so he waited outside. The plum tree in the courtyard was very tall, with some branches extending over the wall and out of the courtyard. At this moment, Zhou Yanzhi was standing under this red plum tree, looking at the blooming plum blossoms with his hands behind his back.
Jie Xiangsi moved quickly, and soon came out carrying a rather heavy cloth bag. Hearing the noise, Zhou Yanzhi turned around, his gaze sweeping over the conspicuous cloth bag, somewhat surprised.
Did you make so many medicine packets?
Just as he was about to decline, Xie Xiangsi glanced around furtively and, seeing that there was no one else around, quickly stuffed the cloth bag into his arms as if it were a hot potato.
Before Zhou Yanzhi could speak, she quickly said, "I'm sorry, cousin, I was actually lying to you. I didn't make any calming medicine packets. This contains the cloak you left in the library. I was afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to leave it there, so I took it back without permission. I originally intended to..."
Stop when you're ready to end your longing.
Zhou Yanzhi understood, and pressed the cloth bag almost imperceptibly, but felt inexplicably lost.
"Oh, I see."
Seeing that he wasn't angry, Xie Xiangsi continued, "While tidying up, I accidentally found a note. I don't know if it's still useful, so I put it in this cloth bag."
Hearing her say that, Zhou Yanzhi suddenly remembered that there was indeed a note, but he didn't react. He just whispered "okay" and didn't say anything more.
For a moment, the two people under the red plum blossoms remained silent.
After a while, Jie Xiangsi called out to her cousin in a low voice. Zhou Yanzhi lowered his eyes upon hearing this and saw Jie Xiangsi staring intently at him. She said very slowly but very seriously, "Cousin, I saw the contents of the note."
Thinking of what was written on it, Zhou Yanzhi hummed in agreement.
Seeing that he didn't react, Jie Xiangsi continued, "You're going to Yangqu."
Zhou Yanzhi nodded.
Feeling the pounding of her heart in her chest, Jie Xiangsi asked earnestly, "Could you take me with you?"
If she were to go to Yangqu, she would need a travel permit. However, once the travel permit was reported, Aunt Jie would naturally know that the orphan had gone to the capital to seek refuge but then left. At that time, Aunt Jie would definitely not have a good impression of her, and it would be difficult for her to enter the Prince An's mansion again.
If she didn't go to Yangqu, she would be letting down her deceased clansmen.
She really couldn't think of a way to have the best of both worlds.
Not knowing why she said that, Zhou Yanzhi rubbed his temples, somewhat puzzled: "Why do you want to go to Yangqu?"
Zhou Yanzhi glanced at Xie Xiangsi and saw that her expression was serious and not fake. He added, "I am going to Yangqu to investigate a case. It is full of dangers. If you want to go to Yangqu, you can wait until spring. I can accompany you then."
When the word "together" was uttered, Zhou Yanzhi was stunned for a moment.
How could he...
However, Ke Jiexiangsi failed to accept Zhou Yanzhi's good intentions and said almost hastily, "I don't want to go sightseeing. I want to go with you to investigate the case!"
Because she was anxious, her voice was a little hoarse, with a barely perceptible tremor.
Zhou Yanzhi's expression was inexplicably complicated. "I misunderstood my cousin, but I have important business to attend to and I'm afraid I won't have time to take care of her. I really can't bring her along."
Jie Xiangsi bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes: "Cousin, I don't need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself. Please take me with you."
Zhou Yanzhi shook his head again.
Since he knew how dangerous the journey was, how could he possibly be willing to take Xie Xiangsi with him?
Jie Xiangsi continued to plead, but Zhou Yanzhi still refused.
After a short while, Xie Xiangsi wiped away her tears, but her eyes were still glistening with tears. She frowned and stared straight at Zhou Yanzhi, saying in a deep voice, "Are you really not taking me?"
Zhou Yanzhi shook his head: "It really won't work."
She pursed her lips, clenched her fist, and punched the frost-covered plum branches in a circle, angrily saying, "So annoying! If it's not going to work, it's not going to work!"
Then he ran away in a flash.
Zhou Yanzhi hadn't expected her to be so angry. Caught off guard, he was covered in frost and snow. He just watched as Xie Xiangsi ran into the courtyard, letting the cold snowflakes seep into his collar and melt into warm water from his body heat.
He lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "You have quite a temper."
...
Last night, Jie Xiangsi acted impulsively. Lying in bed, she still couldn't believe that she had let Zhou Yanzhi get soaked in snow. She thought that Zhou Yanzhi would continue to be busy with his work, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not awkward if we don't meet.
But fate had other plans. Since that night, Zhou Yanzhi had become quite idle, visiting Aunt Xie every day to pay his respects and making her exceptionally happy. While Aunt Xie was happy, Xie Xiangsi was bitter, feeling as if she were going to her death every time she went to pay her respects.
Therefore, she deliberately avoided Zhou Yanzhi when she went to pay her respects to Aunt Xie these past few days. But whether it was a coincidence or not, the more she didn't want to run into him, the more she would run into him.
Just as Xie Xiangsi finished greeting her aunt and was about to return to her courtyard, she bumped into Zhou Yanzhi again. She had just lifted the curtain when she accidentally hit him on the way.
Zhou Yanzhi was dressed in an indigo-blue casual suit with unusually wide sleeves, and he wore a headband in the same color as his clothes. This outfit made him look like a pampered young nobleman.
Upon seeing Xie Xiangsi, Zhou Yanzhi was slightly taken aback. A smile appeared on his face as he was about to say something, but Xie Xiangsi only glanced at him, bowed to greet him, and then quickly left.
She walked very fast, as if some ferocious beast was behind her.
Zhou Yanzhi stared at her back for a long time. After a while, he sent a servant in to announce her arrival before lifting the curtain and going in.
Aunt Xie was sitting on the soft couch, playing with the calming medicine packet that Xie Xiangsi had sent. When she saw Zhou Yanzhi enter, her eyes lit up, and she gestured to Zhou Yanzhi to excuse his formalities, saying, "Yanzhi has arrived."
Zhou Yan stepped forward and immediately noticed the medicine packet in his aunt's hand. "Mother, what's this?"
Seeing his question, Aunt Xie handed the medicine packet to Zhou Yanzhi and said with a smile, "This is a calming medicine packet that your cousin Xiangsi made for me. You know what, the fragrance is really nice, even better than those sold outside."
Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow: "So this is the real medicine packet..."
He wasn't included, you little liar.
Aunt Jie didn't quite grasp the deeper meaning in his words, but simply sighed and said, "Indeed, girls are more endearing. They're thoughtful and speak so sweetly." As she said this, she gave Zhou Yanzhi a disapproving look, "I just wonder if your mother will ever receive a medicine packet made by her daughter-in-law in her lifetime."
Zhou Yanzhi said helplessly, "...Mother, these things depend on fate. I'm away from home all year round, how can I have time to care about other girls?"
Aunt Jie sighed, "Then I looked for a match for you and you said it wouldn't work."
Hearing her say that, Zhou Yanzhi sighed, "But I have no feelings for that girl. If I were to marry her like this, wouldn't that be irresponsible to her?"
This won't do, that won't do—Auntie Xie felt her good mood from the morning was completely ruined. She snatched the medicine packet from Zhou Yanzhi's hand and said angrily, "Fine, fine, you're right. Get out of here and stop loitering around me. It's annoying. You're not getting any younger, and you don't even have a confidant by your side..."
Zhou Yanzhi felt as if he had been granted a pardon, bowed deeply, and hurriedly left.
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