It had been dark for some time, the night rain was flowing, and I could faintly smell the fresh fragrance of flowers outside the courtyard. It was quiet and silent.
There was a dim light in the room, and the maids brought tea and then left.
Yan Shisheng sat opposite Mu Wanyao, his heart beating like thunder as he looked at the young princess opposite him.
Seeing her with her hair in a bun, red lips and beautiful eyes. Her beauty was so dazzling and brilliant that it made the entire Yan family's humble residence look magnificent. This princess was worlds apart from him.
How could such a princess be so rude as to kiss him on the cheek?
Yan Shisheng could feel that when he and Mu Wanyao were together, sometimes the atmosphere was a bit strange. Although he and the princess didn't have a tacit understanding at ordinary times, they had an extra tacit understanding at this time. Whenever the atmosphere was strange, the two of them would tacitly look away to ruin the atmosphere.
They were doing fine before, why did she kiss him suddenly?
What made him even more confused was that he clearly could not forget the sweet smell of her face. Soft and warm. When her soft lips touched his cheek, the whole world stopped at that moment.
Mu Wanyao was also quietly looking at Yan Shisheng. He sat opposite her, wearing a coarse white robe, with his eyes lowered. His eyelashes seemed to be covered with a layer of gold powder by the firelight, fine and soft.
Mu Wanyao's heart was shaken by what she saw and she couldn't help but cough.
Yan Shisheng's eyelashes trembled slightly and he looked at her.
Their eyes met, sparks of light shone brightly, and the two were speechless and awkward again.
Mu Wanyao gradually became annoyed. She said confidently, "Why didn't you hide just now?"
Yan Shisheng: "...Maybe it's because I have my back to Your Highness and I don't have eyes on the back of my head."
Mu Wanyao's cheeks flushed, and she fanned herself with a fan: "Oh."
The two fell silent again.
After a while, Yan Shisheng probably felt that he had to say something, so he spoke dryly: "...Why did Your Highness suddenly kiss me?"
Mu Wan smiled at him and said, "I saw that you were worried about the people and the country, and I was moved by your broad mind. I was overwhelmed by the emotion, and no words could express my admiration for you. I couldn't help but kiss you."
Yan Shisheng was silent.
After a while, he smiled a little reluctantly: "I see. It seems that Your Highness is a man with a broad mind."
Mu Wan gave him a look.
She said, "I am not. Don't get me wrong."
Yan Shisheng: “…”
Mu Wan shook her head and said, "It is precisely because I am not a person like you that I admire you. I admire that you have something that mortals like me do not have. If I were the same person as you, my reaction at that time would probably not be to kiss you, but to become your sworn brother and sister...ah, brother and sister."
Yan Shisheng looked at her without saying a word: Sister and brother?
She was only half a year older than him. Was she worthy of her remembering her forever?
He had a handsome face, bright eyes and a gentle look, still a bit youthful. He looked at Mu Wanyao in such a shadowy way, which made Mu Wanyao feel dizzy and her heart pounding, unable to bear the pressure.
Mu Wan turned her face to the side and used the feather fan to cover her face below the eyes. She looked at him with her bright eyes, yawned, stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'm going to sleep, you should go to bed early too."
When she was about to go to the inner room, Yan Shisheng suddenly stood up, took a few steps, and stood in front of her. He didn't say anything, but leaned over and bowed to her.
Mu Wanyao was suddenly a little exasperated: "What else do you want to do? I told you that you were too excited. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for suddenly saying such passionate words!"
Yan Shisheng looked at her and said, "So Your Highness won't give me an explanation?"
Mu Wan raised his chin and said, "Do you want me to compensate you for your losses? How about giving you a thousand gold coins?"
Yan Shisheng said: "That doesn't have to be the case."
Mu Wan shook her head in shame and anger: "Then what do you want?"
Yan Shisheng lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness, please teach me what books I should read, what skills I should learn, which powerful people in Chang'an I should not offend, and which famous families I should pay homage to... That would be all."
Mu Wan was startled for a moment and withdrew his gaze, which was trying to remain calm.
She smiled slightly, raised her feather fan to his shoulder, and said with a smile: "So simple? Great."
Yan Shisheng looked at the feather fan she placed on his shoulder.
Mu Wan chuckled, took back her fan, turned around and walked away, her back looking graceful and charming.
Yan Shisheng stared at the curtains falling behind her. After she walked into the deep red curtains, the maids came in to serve her. Yan Shisheng was caught off guard and retracted his gaze, bowed again, and then left.
-----
As a result, the atmosphere becomes more and more harmonious.
Liu Wenji's family kept urging him to go back, but Liu Wenji knew that the princess and her entourage might not be able to stay in the Yan family for long. He refused to go back despite the pressure from his family. He went in and out of the Yan family, diligently trying to please the maid Chunhua.
Chunhua was gentle and shy, and did not dare to tell the princess. Liu Wenji said that when he passed the imperial examination, he would come to ask the princess to marry Chunhua. The more he said, the more Chunhua began to look forward to his success... Everyone said that Liu Wenji was talented and a Lingnan prodigy, so it should be easy for him to pass the imperial examination, right?
Compared to Liu Wenjie's beautiful lady, Yan Shisheng felt a little miserable.
Mu Wanyao said that she was teaching him, but Mu Wanyao was a princess. How could her teaching be the same as that of others?
Mu Wanyao easily named a bunch of books Yan Shisheng had never heard of. She despised him for being a country bumpkin, and then changed the names to books that he could get access to. Yan Shisheng asked his third brother to borrow books from Liu Wenji's father, while he sat in the princess's house and practiced calligraphy under the supervision of the maids.
Through the curtains, Mu Wanyao sneered, "You need to practice your handwriting now. It's a pity that your father passed the imperial examination, but he didn't even teach you to practice calligraphy properly."
Yan Shisheng smiled bitterly: "My handwriting is not that bad."
Mu Wanyao: "Of course your handwriting is not bad. But most of the children of famous families in Chang'an are masters of calligraphy who have been taught by aristocratic families for hundreds of years. Their handwriting is definitely not something that a country scholar like you can write. I will give you a copybook, and you can slowly copy it. I guess you won't be able to achieve anything, so I will just throw the copybook away."
Yan Shisheng automatically filtered out her sarcasm and took good note of her opinions.
Mu Wanyao drank another cup of black plum juice that Yan Shisheng prepared for her. The sweet and sour taste made her smile. "Also, you have to improve your martial arts from now on. Our Wei Dynasty values both civil and military talents. I have seen ministers who can draw their swords at any time. You can't even ride a horse well. This won't do."
Yan Shisheng pondered: "My elder brother is good at martial arts, so I will just listen to him. Is there anything else you want to teach me, Your Highness?"
Mu Wanyao thought for a moment and stared at him: "The thing you should change most is your demeanor."
Yan Shisheng was stunned: "Ah?"
Mu Wanyao smiled and said, "Chang'an admires those who are heroic, arrogant and wanton. If you are so reserved, others will not like you in Chang'an."
Yan Shisheng was dumbfounded.
He whispered: "Are you lying to me?"
Mu Wan shook his face and said, "I didn't. I'm telling the truth. Believe it or not. Anyway, no one likes someone like you."
Yan Shisheng asked: "What does it mean to be 'brave and arrogant'?"
Mu Wanyao: "Just yell back at everyone without changing your expression."
Yan Shisheng said: "But if I dare to yell at Your Highness, the sword hanging over the bed will chop me down, right?"
From behind the curtain came the laughter of a young girl, clear as a spring.
Yan Shisheng couldn't help but look sideways, and saw a shadowy figure in the tent. She seemed to be laughing so hard that she fell on the bed, shaking with joy. His heart moved slightly, and he couldn't help but smile along with her.
Mu Wanyao suddenly stopped laughing and frowned, "I'm tired and I'm going to take a nap. Read by yourself, don't make any noise, and don't disturb me."
Yan Shisheng: "Why don't I go out..."
Mu Wanyao ignored it.
Yan Shisheng did not go out, but continued to sit by the window reading.
-----
It's drizzling.
When I woke up in the evening, I saw him still sitting outside the tent. The maids left at some point and sat outside chatting. The young man reading under the window in the room sat like a bamboo, not resting for a moment.
Mu Wan rolled out of bed, her hair disheveled, and she lifted the curtain and walked out, standing behind him.
Yan Shisheng seemed to have noticed something, and when he was about to look up, Mu Wanyao leaned over from behind, held his hand with her slender hand, and held the slightly bald brush together with him.
Mu Wan shook her head and said calmly: "Your handwriting is not correct, I will teach you."
Yan Shisheng's whole body was stiff and he said nothing.
He heard her smile in his ear again, her breath caressing his slightly red ears, as light as smoke: "You, you just memorize by rote, but you don't understand the literature and logic, you don't have enough momentum and you don't communicate. Your family has no power and you don't go out to socialize. If you continue to study like this, you won't be able to pass the imperial examination in another ten years."
Yan Shisheng looked up at her.
The two looked at each other for a moment, then looked away and looked at the sky and the rain.
-----
Mu Wanyao was recuperating well at the Yan family, but her uncle kept sending her letters, urging her to go to the South China Sea. Mu Wanyao used the excuse that Chunhua was not well yet and wanted to delay for two more days.
She usually scolded Yan Shisheng and then taught him to read. Such days were light and cheerful, and were better than her life in Chang'an.
That night, after Mu Wanyao finished her tea, she received a letter from Chang'an.
The letter was sent by the Crown Prince through the staff of Princess Danyang's residence.
Wuman was reunited and a new Wuman king took the throne.
The new King of Wuman asked someone to ask her if she still remembered the agreement between them.
-----
Mu Wanyao's expression changed drastically.
At this moment, the past that she had deliberately forgotten and discarded, like a roaring tide, swept towards her again and drowned her.
When she was alone and excluded in Wuman, when she watched her maid being bullied to death, when Meng Zaishi whispered in her ear, held her hand, and said that he would cooperate with her...
All back again.
Just as Yan Shisheng said, what’s past will never be past.
No matter how good it is now!
-----
There were thunder explosions in the sky.
The night was warm and dark. Yan Shisheng stood in front of the house, staring at the gray sky in a daze, thinking that it would probably rain again tomorrow.
Thinking of the rain, he couldn't help but think of that day... Yan Shisheng stroked his cheek, as if he could still feel her warm fragrance at that time.
He closed his eyes and suppressed his thoughts.
The third son of the Yan family shouted loudly from behind: "Second brother, why are you smiling while touching your face?"
Yan Shisheng: “…”
Yan Shisheng opened his eyes and saw Yan Sanlang had just returned from outside, panting as he carried a box of books for him. When Yan Shisheng went upstairs to unload the books with his third brother, they heard a loud "bang" as the door was pushed open.
He instinctively turned his head to look and saw Mu Wan walking out of the main house and standing on the corridor.
She saw him and her eyes paused slightly.
Mu Wanyao said sternly to the people in the yard: "Pack your things, we are going to the South Sea tomorrow!"
The guards and maids in the yard were stunned. They didn't expect it to be so sudden.
-----
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and lightning occasionally illuminated the corridor trees. After instructing the guards and maids to pack up, Mu Wan turned around and walked on the corridor, with Yan Shisheng following behind her.
Yan Shisheng: "Your Highness, Your Highness... Mu Wan Yao!"
He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.
Mu Wanyao was pulled by him and turned around to look at him.
Yan Shisheng's eyes became gentle, and he sighed: "Why are you leaving in such a hurry? If there is any problem, I might be able to help Your Highness think of a solution..."
Mu Wanyao looked at him coldly.
Mu Wan shook his head and said, "You care about me so much, are you planning to go with me? The only people who can stay with me for a long time are the eunuchs. Are you ready to castrate yourself?"
Yan Shisheng: “…”
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