A gust of wind blew into the room, causing the candlelight to flicker violently, and the shadows on the sleeping faces of those inside also swayed.
In the simply furnished room, a faint fragrance lingered. Chang Lili lay on the table, her expression peaceful, her breathing even, and she had actually fallen asleep.
Meng Yuxiu's turbulent heart was instantly calmed.
He stared at Chang Lili's face for a few seconds, as if infatuated, before finally snapping out of it. He exhaled, smiled gently, and entered the house, quietly closing the door and placing the food box on the table.
He took off his dark blue outer robe and covered Chang Lili with it before reaching for the book in her hand.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw a half-open book next to Chang Lili. He assumed it was a weapon manual or something, but when he took it down and looked at it, he was stunned.
The book's cover prominently displayed the elegant and dignified words "Women's Precepts".
Chang Lili would read this kind of book? Meng Yuxiu would never have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
After a moment of surprise, Meng Yuxiu put the book aside, but noticed that Chang Lili's hands, which were somewhat rough from being busy forging weapons, seemed to have tiny blood holes that were extremely difficult to spot unless viewed up close.
He picked up her slender fingers and examined them closely. He saw tiny red needle marks on the pink fingertips of her index and middle fingers, along with some scattered traces of bright red blood.
Meng Yuxiu was shocked and heartbroken. Anger rose in his heart, and his first thought was that Chang Lili was being ostracized and bullied in the military manufacturing department.
As he looked up angrily around, he inadvertently saw a white brocade handkerchief on the dressing table, with various colored embroidery threads placed to the side, and half a silver needle vaguely visible.
The anger in his eyes turned into confusion, followed by a sudden chill.
Only when he got closer did he believe his eyes. With a complicated expression, he picked up the handkerchief and saw that in the lower right corner of the handkerchief, various colored silk threads were intertwined and wrapped into an unbelievable object.
He turned his head and looked at Chang Lili, who was still fast asleep, with a puzzled expression, and muttered, "Does she want to embroider two fish, or two ducks?"
There were also specks of red on the white handkerchief. Meng Yuxiu knew that they were drops of blood from Chang Lili's pricked finger.
He sighed helplessly and sat back down next to Chang Lili.
The candle flame flickered, and wax dripped down, clinging to the candle.
As dusk settled and the night grew peaceful, the contents of the food box emitted a sweet aroma.
Chang Lili wrinkled her nose, opened her eyes, and saw Meng Yuxiu sitting in front of her. She thought it was a dream.
Meng Yuxiu, standing before him, held a white handkerchief with scattered bloodstains and two exquisitely embroidered mandarin ducks.
She subconsciously reached out to grab the handkerchief, but when she pulled, she couldn't snatch it back. She saw Meng Yuxiu turn his gaze slightly, meet her eyes, and reveal a half-smile.
The candlelight flickered, and Chang Lili instantly woke up.
She sat bolt upright, still shaken, and asked, "You... what are you doing here?"
Before Meng Yuxiu could speak, she reached out with both hands to snatch the white handkerchief, urgently saying, "Give it back to me!"
Meng Yuxiu panicked and said, "Don't move! The needle is still there. Let go!"
His expression was so solemn that Chang Lili, who had just woken up, was a little dazed and obediently let go of his hand.
"How are you? Did you prick your hand?" he asked, grabbing Chang Lili's hand.
Chang Lili shook her head and reached for the white handkerchief, but Meng Yuxiu held her hand tightly, making it impossible for her to move.
Seeing that there were no new injuries on her hands, Meng Yuxiu felt relieved and a smile appeared on his face. He enthusiastically used one large hand to bind Chang Lili's two fidgeting hands, and with the other hand, he slowly picked up the white handkerchief.
"Let go of me! Those are my things!" Chang Lili's mind was completely clear now. Remembering that her mother-in-law might hear the noise, she didn't dare to scream hysterically. "How dare you take my things without permission? And what are you doing in my room? How can a general like you behave so improperly?"
Meng Yuxiu was taken aback by her words, coughed a few times, and then laughed. Looking at Chang Lili, whose face was red, he said without any remorse, "Your room door was open, and you didn't answer me when I called you, so I came in. Besides, I didn't come here to do anything bad."
"You still say you haven't done anything wrong? What are you holding in your hand? Give it back to me!" Chang Lili's face turned even redder.
She was too embarrassed to even say what the embroidery was, so how did Meng Yuxiu end up seeing it? She couldn't help but feel annoyed that she hadn't closed the door properly and that she had carelessly fallen asleep.
"Then tell me first, what did you embroider?" Meng Yuxiu asked, suppressing a laugh.
Chang Lili was furious and embarrassed: "What's it to you? You, a great general, can just come and go as you please in a young lady's boudoir. I'm going to tell the whole world, let all the young ladies in the capital see clearly that the great general they want to marry is a beast in human form!"
"These are... a pair of ducks?" Meng Yuxiu ignored him and continued to ask with a smile, then glanced at the books on the table, "And this, 'Admonitions for Women'? You actually read 'Admonitions for Women'? Is the sun going to rise in the west?"
Chang Lili blushed deeply but said nothing. Her angry gaze turned into a plaintive look as she stared intently at Meng Yuxiu, saying aggrievedly, "Yes! It was me who embroidered the duck! It was me who read 'Admonitions for Women'! So what? Can't I embroider or read 'Admonitions for Women'?"
Meng Yuxiu paused for a moment, his smile vanished instantly, and his gaze and voice became infinitely gentle: "No... I'm just a little surprised. I didn't expect you to be so talented."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but let go of Chang Lili's hand. The next instant, Chang Lili leaped up, grabbed the white handkerchief and "Women's Precepts," took a few steps back, and said arrogantly, "What do you mean by multi-talented? I know what you're thinking. You just want to make fun of me. Laugh all you want. Anyway, you have no evidence, and no one will believe you if you tell anyone."
Meng Yuxiu chuckled: "I didn't mean to make fun of you. I'm just curious, when did you become interested in these things?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chang Lili felt a pain on her face. She looked down at her hand, and Meng Yuxiu followed her gaze and saw the needle stuck in her finger and the traces of blood seeping from it.
"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" Meng Yuxiu strode forward, somewhat annoyed, grabbed Chang Lili's hand, removed the needle, threw the book and handkerchief aside, and asked urgently, "Do you still have the medicine from before?"
Chang Lili said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, just a minor injury..." As she spoke, she sensed the sharp look in Meng Yuxiu's eyes, "There's...and..."
She obediently fetched the medicine, and Meng Yuxiu carefully sprinkled it on her finger, which eased her expression somewhat.
Meng Yuxiu applied the medicine to her hand, but instead of letting go, he took her hand in his own, carefully, as if afraid of hurting her.
His gentle voice came from above: "You really like needlework and 'The Precepts for Women'?"
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