Chapter 76 Locking the Phoenix Tree (Part 9) Her response was an even more fervent fervor…
The night was dark, and a sliver of moonlight peeked in through the window, cutting a silver line diagonally along the edge of the bed.
When Song Qiling opened her eyes, the spicy burning sensation of ginger soup still lingered in her throat, while her forehead felt cool.
She slowly turned her head and saw a dark figure leaning against the bedpost, his shoulders and back rising and falling slightly with his even breathing, as if he were asleep.
After staring at this person for a long time, the fog in his mind gradually dissipated, and Gu Lianzhou's face became clearer in his vision.
He rarely appeared so exhausted; his forehead was pressed against the bedpost, and his usually upright shoulders were now slightly hunched.
Because of his uncomfortable posture, his brows were slightly furrowed, casting a dark shadow under his brows. His lips were tightly pressed together beneath his high nose bridge, and he did not relax even in his sleep.
I hadn't noticed before, but after not seeing him for several days, my junior brother seemed to have lost a lot of weight, his skin and flesh clinging to his bones, and his jawline sharply receding into the shadows on his neck.
Looking down, you can see that he is tightly clutching a half-wet handkerchief in his hand, his fingertips white and wrinkled from being soaked in water, as if he has been holding it like that for a long time.
Song Qiling blinked slowly, her gaze falling on the copper basin filled with water beside the bed, and she belatedly realized that it was a towel to cool her down.
This person...
They've probably been guarding it since daytime until now.
Song Qiling subconsciously reached out to pull the handkerchief.
Her movements were extremely light, but just as her fingertips touched the edge of the handkerchief, Gu Lianzhou's hand suddenly convulsively pulled the fabric together.
He looked up abruptly, his eyes still blurry, but the moment he saw Song Qiling, his back stiffened: "Awake?"
His voice was still slurred from just waking up, adding a touch of gentleness to the quiet night.
Song Qiling didn't answer, but used a little force to pull out the handkerchief and throw it into the copper basin beside the bed.
With a soft "plop," water splashed gently, and the handkerchief slowly unfurled in the water, swaying from side to side.
She pointed to the dark-colored brocade quilt soaked with water and teased with a light laugh, "If you don't wake up soon, my bed will probably be ruined by your soaking."
Gu Lianzhou followed her finger and saw a dark stain on the bedding, clearly a water stain left by a handkerchief.
His face went blank for a moment: "..."
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
He awkwardly withdrew his hand, then seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly asked, "Is your body still hot, Senior Brother? Are you feeling unwell?"
Song Qiling shook her head: "Much better. Thanks to your bowl of ginger soup, the fever has mostly subsided."
As soon as he finished speaking, he breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good then."
Because she had been lying down for a long time, Song Qiling tried to sit up by propping herself up on her elbows, but Gu Lianzhou pressed her back down on the pillow and sternly stopped her, saying, "Why are you getting up? You just sweated it out to reduce your fever, so you absolutely cannot be exposed to cold wind again."
That makes sense, but his tense, almost fearful demeanor seems a bit excessive.
Song Qiling looked up at him helplessly: "How come I'm so paralyzed? It makes me look like I'm made of paper."
She glanced at her junior brother and couldn't help but ask, "What time is it now? Have you eaten yet?"
Caught off guard by her question, Gu Lianzhou's eyes flashed with guilt, and his voice weakened slightly: "It's probably around 7 PM now. I've already eaten... But you, Senior Brother, have been sleeping for a long time. You must be starving."
Song Qiling's nose twitched, then she asked suspiciously, "What did you eat? Why do I smell something burnt?"
After saying that, her gaze slowly moved down to the suspicious gray stain on the front of his shirt, and she raised her eyebrows slightly: "You... went to blow up the kitchen?"
Gu Lianzhou followed her gaze and looked down, only then noticing several streaks of soot on his clothes, which stood out starkly against the moon-white fabric.
He instinctively reached out to pat it, but the more he patted, the more messy it became. He had no choice but to stop awkwardly and force a smile, saying, "I wasn't very good at it at first, but practice makes perfect. Maybe I'll be able to eat it next time..."
After saying that, he immediately deflated.
He had never cooked before, and even when washing rice, he counted the grains of water before pouring it out. But he hadn't expected that he would forget the time while tending the stove, and when he finally remembered to lift the lid, the pot of porridge had already turned into charcoal.
Upon hearing this, Song Qiling suddenly laughed out loud, then coughed again, a sickly flush rising on her pale face, while her eyes welled up with tears. "It must have been hard on you, young master who never lifts a finger."
It was rare to see her laugh so heartily. Her pale cheeks, flushed from her illness, were tinged with a faint blush, and a shallow dimple appeared at the corner of her lips, revealing a rare touch of childlike innocence.
Gu Lianzhou was stunned for a moment. His heart suddenly skipped a beat and slammed heavily against his ribs, making his fingertips go numb.
He suddenly stood up and said, "Senior brother, you... just sleep. I'll go buy you some food."
He was about to leave when, as soon as he took a step, a tingling and numb sensation spread from his feet to his thighs, forcing him to stop abruptly.
Because of sitting for long periods of time, my legs became numb and stiff, as if a million ants were crawling under my skin.
He stood there for a while, pursing his lips, before slowly making his way out.
The laughter behind me seemed to grow even louder.
He awkwardly stepped over the threshold, turned around and closed the door, then stood in the courtyard.
A night breeze swept over him, carrying the crispness unique to early spring. He took a deep breath and suddenly felt his lungs clear, and the heat in his chest gradually dissipated.
He subconsciously looked up at the sky.
A crescent moon shone brightly in the sky, even brighter than usual.
-
Song Qiling lay quietly on the bed, smelling the faint burnt smell in the room, and felt a strange sense of peace after surviving a disaster.
After this ordeal, she probably won't be able to deliver vegetables to the Prince's mansion again. Fortunately, she has figured out the general situation in Zhao Yu's room, so it wasn't a complete loss.
She gently twirled the corner of the blanket with her fingertips, gazing at the dark beams of the room.
For now, all we need to do is patiently wait for the old lady's birthday, and then it's not impossible to break into the Prince's mansion again.
As my thoughts wandered, the pillow suddenly sank in.
Song Qiling's breath hitched as she felt a familiar presence slowly approaching her.
Cool and soft, yet with a touch of warmth, it slid across her shoulder like a small snake, slipped into the blanket, and then slowly wrapped around her wrist.
This is……
She frowned slightly, grabbed the object with her other hand, and pulled her hand out from under the covers.
She remained lying down, looking up at her empty palms, as if talking to herself: "Did my junior brother leave you behind?"
In response, she was met with an even more intense entanglement. This dodder, which had separated from Gu Lianzhou and existed independently, showed great joy at their first conversation, weaving through her fingers, hooking her index finger, and slowly tightening its entanglement.
It's harmless, though.
Song Qiling curled her knuckles slightly and gently stroked the slender vines with her fingertips, suddenly feeling that the texture was delicate and soft, and very pleasant to touch.
Meanwhile, half a mile away from the courtyard, in Shihu Lane, lanterns set up by street vendors swayed gently in the wind, casting an orange-red glow.
Gu Lianzhou stood in front of the wonton stall, his hand trembling as he handed over the coin. The coin slipped from his hand, rolled a few times on the ground, and disappeared into a crack in the stone. He looked up at his palm in surprise, a faint blush spreading across his ears.
"Why..." His fingers trembled slightly as he rubbed his fingertips in bewilderment.
The warm touch pressed against his palm, teasing him, rubbing against him, and clinging to him.
Is this... his shared feeling with dodder?
Upon realizing this, his mind went blank as if it had exploded, and he belatedly realized where the sensation came from.
He did indeed leave a wisp of dodder in the room before he left, intending to watch over his senior brother in case of any unforeseen circumstances, but he never expected that it would take it upon itself to climb onto his senior brother's bed...
It used to be exceptionally affectionate towards its senior brother, but now that it's no longer under its watchful eye, it's become even more rampant.
"Young master, young master? Do you still want some wontons?" The stall owner, seeing the man's strange behavior, feared he had encountered a crazy person trying to freeload, and urged him on.
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou quickly took out a few copper coins from his money bag and handed them over, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
After packing the two bowls of wontons into a food box, Gu Lianzhou hurriedly walked back.
The alleyways were winding and confusing, and it was even harder to tell which way to go after nightfall. The shortcut we had taken to get here now seemed to take an exceptionally long time.
Gu Lianzhou gripped the handle of the food box tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging slightly from the force. After a while, he finally saw the vermilion gate at the end of the road.
As if sensing something, the strange sensation in his palm suddenly disappeared, and Gu Lianzhou silently pushed open the door and entered the inner room.
As soon as he looked up, he saw his senior brother leaning against the headboard, smiling at him and saying, "You're back?"
"Hmm," he responded, watching the dodder slid down the edge of the bed and swim quickly toward his feet, feeling inexplicably irritated.
He opened the food box, took out bowls and chopsticks, and placed one of the bowls of wontons on the stool beside the bed. "They're fresh out of the pot, eat them while they're hot."
Hearing his somber tone, Song Qiling tilted her head to look at his face: "What happened? Did you get bullied while you were out?"
Gu Lianzhou shook his head, picked up a spoon to scoop up some wontons, brought them close to his lips to test their temperature, and then fed them to Song Qiling's mouth.
Song Qiling said, both amused and exasperated, "I only suffered some minor injuries, it's not like I lost a hand, why would I need you to feed me?"
After saying that, he reached out to take the porcelain bowl. Gu Lianzhou did not refuse and obediently let go of his fingers, but still stared at his senior brother in silence.
She looked like she had so many worries on her mind that they were about to spill over.
Song Qiling felt uncomfortable being stared at, and finally couldn't help but say, "Speak up, keeping your worries bottled up for too long will only harm your health."
The savory aroma of wontons wafted over her, and she picked up the bowl and began to eat, muttering, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you try to say it again later, I don't want to hear it."
Seeing that his senior brother was still in the mood to tease him, Gu Lianzhou's shoulders slumped slightly, as if he had made up his mind, and he asked with difficulty, "Senior brother, did you see the dodder plant I left in the room just now?"
Song Qiling glanced at her junior brother and said, "I can't see it. It can't reveal its form in front of people yet, but I reckon it will soon."
She continued, "This guy is very mischievous, just like an eel. What, are you worried that if someone sees it, you, its owner, will be mistaken for a monster?"
Gu Lianzhou shook his head and said, "I am now a half-demon, so I cannot be considered innocent."
He accepted it well.
Song Qiling was even more puzzled: "Then what is the cause of your deep-seated bitterness and hatred?"
Gu Lianzhou looked down at the restless black shadow at his feet, and with a slight smirk, said self-deprecatingly, "Senior brother, you should stay away from it in the future, and don't give it a chance to bother you again."
Song Qiling: "..."
She understood; her junior brother's brain had been rotten by dodder.
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