6. Pastries
◎ “With a husband like this, what more could a wife ask for?”◎
Several servants waiting outside the courtyard heard the noise of the cabinet falling down, looked at each other and dared not go in.
Inside the house, the two of them fell silent as they looked at the items mixed in with the decorations. They were all very familiar with those items, most of them were tokens of their love back then.
There was the sachet embroidered for her by Cui Huaifeng, the jade pendants prepared by Jiang Yan for them both to hold, the heart-shaped knots they gave to each other... and dozens of letters scattered from the box.
Cui Huaifeng was distracted for a moment, and every little detail of his past with her flashed through his mind. Those fragments seemed so distant that they seemed like things from the past lifetime.
Jiang Yan was the first to react. She squatted down and picked up the keepsakes one by one, gently brushing off the dust. She stood up and placed them in their corresponding boxes, finally gathering the scattered letters. She looked at the topmost letter, the ink on the cover already fading. Jiang Yan's fingertips gently stroked the yellowed envelope, carefully and with the same care as if she had just received it for the first time.
After a long pause, Jiang Yan smiled with relief. "This is the first and last letter I received from you since you left for the war. I've read it many times at the border."
Jiang Yan stood up and looked at Cui Huaifeng. "I sent you many letters back then, but there was no reply. I thought it might be because of the long distance and it would take some time, but no matter how long it took, you would eventually receive it. Finally, you did receive it, but it wasn't a letter, it was the news of your marriage."
Cui Huaifeng looked at the letter in her hand and felt uncomfortable.
Jiang Yan knew that the past was gone, and it would be boring to mention it again. She turned around and was about to call the servants outside the yard, but Cui Huaifeng suddenly called her.
"Back then, I was also waiting for your letter."
Jiang Yan turned around slowly, his eyes full of surprise.
Cui Huaifeng's expression was indifferent, but that indifference was tinged with bitterness and helplessness. "I later learned that my mother had intercepted all the letters you sent me, including the letters I wrote to you. As a warning to me, she threw them into the brazier and burned them. When I rushed over, even the ashes had been blown away by the wind."
Jiang Yan unconsciously clenched the letter in his hand and said with a wry smile: "I see, I should have thought of it earlier."
Back then, one was on the verge of death at the border, relying solely on the thought of the other to hold on, while the other was trapped in a suffocating cage, unable to escape. Looking back on those dark days without each other, all that remains is a silent sigh.
The two fell into a brief silence for a moment.
After a while, Jiang Yanxian broke the awkward atmosphere between the two. She opened the door and called the servants in to clean the room. Several servants lowered their heads and cleaned up quickly.
Cui Huaifeng, who was standing nearby, looked at Jiang Yan's back and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Should we ask the imperial physician to take a look?"
"No, it's just a minor injury," Jiang Yanshun responded, and then suddenly thought of something, tilted his head slightly and looked at him with a smile, "Are you heartbroken?"
Cui Huaifeng knew that she was just talking for the moment and wanted to deny it, but he couldn't deceive his own heart, so he didn't say anything.
Jiang Yan wasn't surprised by his reaction. Knowing he wouldn't answer, she said to herself, "Okay, whatever my husband says is what I'll do. Xiangjin, go get Doctor Liu."
Cui Huaifeng's ears turned red. He really had no way to deal with her current unruly behavior.
————
When Imperial Physician Liu arrived, the house was already tidied. After examining Jiang Yan's injuries and informing her they were not serious, she left him with only a few ointments. She then glanced at the sudden appearance of the man in Prince Yi's mansion and tactfully asked to leave.
After sending the imperial physician and servants away, Jiang Yan resumed his recent rogue behavior.
Jiang Yan sat on the bed and looked at Cui Huaifeng pitifully, "Huaifeng, won't you help me apply the medicine?"
"Let Xiangjin help you..."
"Ouch, it hurts." Jiang Yan curled up exaggeratedly and covered his shoulders with his hands.
She wouldn't have taken credit for this in the past, but her acting was so poor that Cui Huaifeng was amused by her. He couldn't help but smile bitterly, "You."
"Come on." Jiang Yan took off his underwear swiftly, revealing his lean body. Cui Huaifeng turned his head away uncomfortably.
Jiang Yan was tickled by his shy look and couldn't help teasing him, "We are already husband and wife, so why should we be embarrassed even if we see each other? Besides, I've seen you before..."
Cui Huaifeng quickly covered her lips, "You are so frivolous..."
Jiang Yan grasped his wrist, pulling it away from her lips, then bent her head and kissed his palm devoutly, her beautiful eyes curved slightly as she smiled, "Okay, okay."
The palm of his hand where she had kissed him felt faintly hot, just like his cheek. Cui Huaifeng quickly broke free from her hand and said in a panic, "Apply the medicine first."
"Okay." Jiang Yan finally calmed down.
Cui Huaifeng turned sideways and saw Jiang Yan's back, startling slightly. Her back was covered in many hideous scars, likely from battles. Her fair skin only accentuated the scars. A closer look revealed that there were few intact areas on her body.
Cui Huaifeng couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he took the ointment left by the imperial physician, scooped out a piece with his fingertips, and applied it to Jiang Yan's bruises.
Cui Huaifeng smeared the cool ointment on her shoulders bit by bit. His technique was quite gentle. Jiang Yan enjoyed it very much and couldn't help but sigh: "With a husband like this, what else can a wife ask for?"
Cui Huaifeng was concentrating on applying the medicine and did not respond to her.
After applying the medicine, Jiang Yan was about to take her inner clothes when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a plate of snacks on the table. She immediately had bad thoughts.
"Hiss, my arm hurts!" Jiang Yan pretended to be weak and hugged his arm, asking and answering himself, "Huaifeng, I want to eat some snacks. Can you feed me?"
Cui Huaifeng was about to refuse, but then he remembered that her injury was caused by him, so even though he knew she was being unreasonable, he still softened his heart.
Cui Huaifeng sighed, raised his chopsticks, and was about to use them to pick up some cakes to feed her when Jiang Yan interrupted him immediately, smiling and saying, "You know this is not what I want."
Jiang Yan stared at his lips, his eyes like a wolf that had been hungry for several days seeing its prey.
Cui Huaifeng paused, obviously unwilling.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan threatened slowly, "Or you can go to the yard to feed it..."
"Don't!"
Cui Huaifeng hesitated for a moment, slowly picked up a piece of cake, opened his lips and gently bit one side of the cake.
Jiang Yan raised his eyebrows and said, "Hold on tight, don't let it fall."
Jiang Yan approached Cui Huaifeng, and he subconsciously stepped back. Jiang Yan pressed the back of his head with one hand to force him to maintain his current posture.
Cui Huaifeng's eyelashes, as long as crow feathers, trembled slightly, and Jiang Yan's breath made his face blush.
Jiang Yan was happy to see him like this. The more shy he was, the more she wanted to bully him.
Jiang Yan bit the other side of the pastry, and their noses were close to each other. She ate the pastry bit by bit, and Cui Huaifeng hurriedly closed his eyes.
Jiang Yan curved her eyebrows, tilted her head slightly, kissed Cui Huaifeng, and swallowed the remaining cake.
Jiang Yan took advantage of the situation and pushed Cui Huaifeng down, stroking his lips with his fingers, and commented with a smile: "Hmm, it's really sweet."
Cui Huaifeng opened his eyes and stared at her in shame and anger, about to say something to refute her. However, Jiang Yan did not give him the chance, instead she lowered her head and kissed his lips, pulling down the bed curtain.
The curtain fell, hiding the figures of the two.
Half an hour later.
Jiang Yan's old injuries on his back had not healed yet, and there were a few more scratches.
Jiang Yan sat leaning against the head of the bed, gazing at his lover who was sleeping exhausted beside the pillow. He felt happy and satisfied, and gently stroked his long black hair.
Jiang Yan smiled, and suddenly thought of something. He turned his head to look at the wooden shelf beside him, and fell into memories.
【Author’s words】
8. Sorry, I’ve been a bit stuck lately. I’ll try to update weekly.
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