After doing all this, Jiang Songyi took out an exquisite sachet and handed it to Bai Linxi: "Here, Sister Linxi, wear this."
Bai Linxi took it and sniffed it curiously. A refreshing aroma came to her: "What a nice smell! What's in it?"
"I had the maids embroider it when I was in the mansion," Jiang Songyi explained. "I put some mosquito repellent spices in it. There must be a lot of mosquitoes in this forest, so wearing it can protect you from them."
"Oh, Songyi, you're really thoughtful!" Bai Linxi smiled gratefully, and at the same time, he couldn't help but reach out and scratch the red bumps on his neck caused by mosquito bites. "Look at me, I don't even know when I got bitten, it's so itchy."
Seeing this, Jiang Songyi took out a small jar of green ointment and said, "Here, rub this on the area. It will relieve itching and swelling."
Bai Linxi waved her hands repeatedly, a little embarrassed. "No, no, this little bump will go away by itself tomorrow! When I was in the Great Wall, I was craving mountain honey and foolishly poked a hornet's nest. I ended up getting stung all over my head. That was horrible! These mosquito bites are nothing." As she spoke, she remembered a funny story. She lowered her voice and approached Jiang Songyi mysteriously. "Hey, Songyi, I'm going to tell you a secret. Don't tell anyone."
Jiang Songyi leaned closer curiously: "What secret?"
Bai Linxi suppressed a laugh and whispered, "Your third brother, Jiang Yihuan, was so silly when he was little! One time he saw a bee and thought it was collecting nectar. So greedy for the honey, he foolishly tried to suck on the bee's tail with his mouth! And then... hahahaha, he got stung hard on the lip! It was so swollen, like two big sausages hanging from it! It didn't go down for days! It made us die of laughter!"
Jiang Songyi imagined the scene - young Jiang Yihan with a handsome face, but his lips were swollen... She couldn't help but burst out laughing.
[Pfft! I never thought Jiang Yihuan was this silly when he was little! He's completely different from the cold and icy person he is now! So funny!]
"Bai Linxi!" An angry growl suddenly came from the side.
Bai Linxi shuddered with fear and turned around suddenly, only to see Jiang Yihan standing next to their tent without her knowing when, his face so gloomy that water could drip out of it.
"You! Aren't you helping Xue Xin set up the tent? Why are you here?" Bai Linxi asked guiltily.
Jiang Yihuan snorted coldly, his eyes sweeping over Jiang Songyi, who was looking at him with a mischievous smile. He felt his image had been severely damaged and needed to clarify immediately: "If I hadn't come here, I wouldn't have known you were making up stories here to ruin my reputation! Bai Linxi, tell me honestly, it was clearly you! It was you who forced that bee tail into my mouth and lied to me that it was freshly collected honey for me to taste!"
Bai Linxi, who was exposed in public for "spreading rumors", blushed instantly, her eyes were vague, and she scratched her head awkwardly: "Uh... well... hehe..." She laughed dryly twice, feeling completely guilty and didn't dare to look at Jiang Yihan.
Outside the tent, the neighing of horses mingled with the mountain breeze, sweeping across the curtains. Su Sheng flung open the felt door, bringing in a few sycamore leaves. Crown Prince Xin Yidao stood at the intersection of light and shadow, his moon-white sleeves gleaming with a cold light. The jade token at Yu Huanshen's waist clashed with his sword, a clanking sound that startled Jiang Songyi, who had dozed at the desk.
"Miss Jiang, are you short of help?" Xin Yi said. Before she finished speaking, Su Sheng had already rushed to the rosewood box and was rummaging through it. "Do you want help counting the prey or sharpening the arrowheads?"
Jiang Songyi rubbed her reddened forehead and pulled a gilded lacquer box from the bottom of a chest. "You've arrived just in time." The gilded lock snapped open with a crisp sound, and the bitter aroma of mint and mugwort wafted out. She handed the sachets to each person, and when Su Sheng took them, his fingertips brushed against the agate bracelet on her wrist, the coolness making his ears burn.
"Other girls give sachets as gifts..." Su Sheng pinched the green satin and turned it back and forth, the bamboo leaves embroidered with gold thread rustling in his palm, "but these are all given to the men they love." He deliberately dragged out the last word and raised his eyebrows to look at the prince who was tying the sachet.
Yu Huanshen's jade fan smacked against the back of his hand. "Mr. Su, be careful with your words!" The scholar's sleeve was stained with wet ink. "This pattern is clearly custom-made by the shop. If we're talking about a token of love..." He raised his own and shook it. "Are all of us in the poetry club the county lady's lovers?"
The tent was suddenly so quiet that the crackling of sparks from the charcoal basin could be heard. Jiang Songyi stared at the dragon-patterned jade pendant dangling from Xinyidao's waist. The aroma of medicine from the secret chamber of the Xuanmen sect in her past life seemed to linger in her nose again. She coughed lightly and changed the subject: "It's for repelling mosquitoes. The night dew is heavy in the mountains."
Xinyi Daoyi's fingertips traced the subtle patterns on the sachet, pausing suddenly at a raised point on the satin. Looking closely in the daylight, he saw pear petals embroidered with pale blue silk thread nestled between the leaf veins, like first snow falling on newly sprouted branches. He glanced up to see Jiang Songyi tilt her head to speak to Su Sheng, her pomegranate-red earring brushing against the shallow scar on her neck—the mark left by him blocking a sword for her in a past life.
The dull thud of a scabbard hitting the ground echoed from the corner of the tent. Jiang Yihuan's knuckles turned white as he gripped the black iron hilt, and his coughs mingled with the cuckoo's calls. Bai Linxi twisted her goose-yellow shawl, hesitant to speak, finally turning her back to count the patches on the felt. Jiang Songyi's attention was completely focused on Su Sheng's incessant chatter about hunting, so she didn't even glance over.
"...The white-browed tiger hunted by the emperor last year was eight feet long!" Su Sheng gestured as he spoke, almost knocking over the pine smoke ink on the table. "It's safest for you to follow me. If you meet a blind bear, I can still..." He suddenly fell silent, staring at the people who came in through the curtain.
Jiang Jinzhao's voice was like silk soaked in mountain spring water: "My sister is under the care of her brother." The wide sleeves with cloud patterns from the Bailu Academy brushed past the felt door. The students following behind him all had green tassels tied on their swords - exactly the same as the tassels on the horse whip that Jiang Yuyao got yesterday.
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