Shen Youying's heart stirred slightly. She lifted her skirt and ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms and hugging his waist tightly.
Xue Shen caught her, snuggled close to her for a moment, and asked with a smile, "Why have you become so clingy after just one trip to the East Palace?"
He picked up Shen Youying and placed her on his lap, gesturing to the maidservant to push her into the room.
After her impulsive act, Shen Youying belatedly realized that there were many maids watching around her, and she immediately became shy and wanted to get off his lap.
"Don't move." Xue Shen held her waist, reminding her, "You'll fall."
Unable to move, Shen Youying could only bury her face in his chest in despair, her breath filled with the pleasant sandalwood scent emanating from him.
After being ushered into the inner room by the maid, Xue Shen took off his cloak and handed it to the maid to Shen Youying before dismissing the servants.
He lowered his gaze to the candied hawthorn in Shen Youying's hand, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "So Zhaozhao likes candied hawthorn?"
Shen Youying glanced at him and said, "I bought it when I saw it on the way, but I didn't really want to eat it." She had been so moved when she saw Xue Shen that she forgot to give the candied hawthorn to the maid.
She was about to call Danzhu in to take the candied hawthorn away when she saw Xue Shen take a bite from her hand.
Shen Youying blinked at him, and after a moment asked, "Is it sweet?"
She has a slight aversion to sour tastes. The sugar coating on the outside of the candied hawthorn is sweet, but the hawthorn inside is very sour, rarely sweet.
Xue Shen nodded without changing his expression. He said, "It's sweet. Want to try some?"
Shen Youying was about to eat one too, but he beat her to it. Xue Shen took another bite, but instead of eating it, he held it in his mouth and fed it to her.
Shen Youying was forced to open her lips, and licked the sugar coating with her tongue, finding it sweet.
She squinted, took a bite, and heard a slight crackling sound as the sugar coating broke. Their lips and tongues touched, coated in sticky sugar.
Shen Youying blushed and avoided it, hastily chewing the hawthorn she had bitten off. But after just one chew, she wrinkled her face from the sourness.
A wave of toothache washed over her, and tears welled up in her eyes. She forced them back, raised her eyes to glare at Xue Shen, and accused him, "How could you lie to me?!"
Xue Shen slowly swallowed the remaining half of the hawthorn, raising an eyebrow in confusion: "Is it sour? Why doesn't it taste sour to me?"
His expression was so natural that if Shen Youying's teeth weren't still aching, she would almost believe him.
She gave Xue Shen a reproachful look, then got up angrily to go drink tea and rinse her mouth.
Suddenly, Xue Shen pulled him back, pressed his lips to his, and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Is it really that sour? Let me try it."
Before he finished speaking, he had already knocked open her teeth and gone straight in.
Shen Youying was forced to tilt her head back, and her mind was quickly thrown off by his forceful kiss. She leaned limply against his chest.
When the long kiss ended, her eyes were already watery, her pale lips were slightly parted, and she was breathing rapidly.
Xue Shen pressed his thumb against her full lips, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said in a hoarse voice, "How could Zhao Zhao lie? I taste it, it's very sweet."
Shen Youying bit his fingertip in anger. Xue Shen hissed softly, then laughed heartily with a relaxed expression, picked her up, and walked towards the bed.
"Good boy, go to the tatami mat and bite again."
Outside, winter snow was falling heavily, but inside it was warmer than spring.
The candied hawthorn skewer, on which only two pieces had been eaten, fell to the ground, its sugar coating slowly melting into sticky honey.
*
After the winter solstice, Shen Mingjiang's birthday was approaching. Coincidentally, the manor on the outskirts of the capital had been renovated, so Xue Shen took Shen Youying out of the capital to stay at the manor for a while.
On the way out of the capital, Shen Youying was like a bird released from its cage, much happier than before: "If Father sees me, he will be both surprised and delighted."
Xue Shen hummed in agreement, then reminded him, "You've been talking about your father-in-law the whole way, why don't you talk about your husband?"
Shen Youying glanced at him, ignored him, and lifted the curtain to look at the snow scene outside the window.
What's there to say about someone you see every day and spend every day with?
Xue Shen shook his head and chuckled, pulling the person back: "Zhao Zhao got tired of it so quickly?"
Shen Youying was slightly speechless and could only reply perfunctorily, "What does Your Highness want to say?"
Xue Shen said, "Tell me how Zhaozhao begged me last night, and whether the conditions she agreed to still stand?"
Shen Youying: !!!
She abruptly covered Xue Shen's lips, glanced warily outside to make sure no servants were watching, and then lowered her voice angrily, saying, "In broad daylight, how could you, how could you..."
She glared at Xue Shen, her ears turning red.
Xue Shen looked surprised: "What did I say? Why can't I say it?"
Shen Youying bit her lip and turned away without arguing with him.
Today she was going to the estate, and she was anxious to go home to visit her family, but Xue Shen refused and took the opportunity to make many unreasonable demands. Shen Youying knew he was doing it on purpose, but she could only agree to them in order to coax Xue Shen into giving in.
She never expected that this person would be so shameless, bringing it up in the carriage without even worrying about being overheard.
Shen Youying grew angrier the more she thought about it, and secretly glared at him again.
Looking at her angry profile, Xue Shen found it quite adorable.
After leaving Tokyo, freed from those rules and etiquette, she seemed to become more temperamental and lively.
Xue Shen liked it very much.
The carriage traveled for two hours through wind and snow before finally arriving at Shenjiazhuang in the afternoon.
Xue Shen first had his guards push him off the carriage, and when Shen Youying came out, he took her cold hand in his hand, which had been warmed by the hand warmer.
Shen Youying was somewhat sensitive to the cold; her hands and feet were always icy cold in winter. Even when holding a hand warmer, her palms would be warm, but the backs of her hands wouldn't get warm. Xue Shen would then warm his own hands first before warming the backs of her hands.
Shen Youying lowered her eyes and waited for him to warm her hands. After he had warmed them, she held the hand warmer with her left hand, while her right hand remained curled in his large, warm palm.
The couple were about to enter the house hand in hand when they saw someone who shouldn't be there in front of the Shen family's gate.
Since their parting at Jinmingchi, Shen Youying had not seen Lu Minghe for a long time, nor had she thought of him. She never imagined that she would see Lu Minghe at the Shen family's doorstep.
He didn't know how long he stood at the door or how long he watched; his cloak was covered with snow.
Shen Youying was not used to being affectionate in front of outsiders, especially since the other person was Lu Minghe. It felt strange no matter how she looked at it. She nodded slightly and asked, "Why is my cousin here?" Then she awkwardly tried to pull her hand back.
But when she tried to pull, nothing came out. She turned to look at Xue Shen in surprise.
Xue Shen gripped her hand with a little force, smiling as he looked at Lu Minghe, whose face was pale from the cold: "Why didn't you come in, Lord Lu? Were you kicked out by your father-in-law?"
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