Chapter 22 Awakening... "Don't, don't be here..."...
At sunset, Chen Chali passed by the Ouxiang Pavilion when he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure sitting idly by the waterside pavilion. He gave a sly smile, put on his Nuo opera mask, and trotted over on tiptoe. As the man turned, he raised his hands like eagle claws and cried out, "Ah!"
However, Lin Meizhu's expression made him instantly regret it. He frantically removed his mask, somewhat bewilderedly saying, "Sister-in-law, I...I didn't mean to do that. No, I did, but I just wanted to play with you."
Lin Meizhu smiled, wiping away her tears and patting the seat beside her. "No homework today?"
Chen Chali pinched the edge of the mask, sat halfway on the marble stool, and said, "Yes, I'll do it tonight."
Lin Meizhu asked, "Do you want to help others too?"
Chen Chali nodded.
Lin Meizhu asked again: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Chen Chali was stunned and shook his head in embarrassment. He was grateful that Lin Meizhu didn't ask why he was doing other people's homework to save money. He scratched his face and said, "No, I can handle it."
Lin Meizhu gently patted his shoulder, feeling the slight slenderness of his hand. Both Chen Chali and his mother, Concubine Liu, were in poor health, and the East Wing's largest monthly expense was medical bills. Mother and son were modest in their spending, presumably because Chen Chali was trying to help with the household expenses from his own pocket.
She took a sachet from her bamboo box and said, "There are a lot of mosquitoes these days, so take one with you."
Shen Chali smiled and accepted it: "It smells good. Can I have another one? My mother is very attractive to mosquitoes."
Lin Meizhu handed him the bamboo box and said, "All of them are yours."
Chen Chali exclaimed in surprise, "Thank you, sister-in-law!" He recognized one of them as darker in color, and with a sudden thought, he asked, "Brother, don't you want it?"
Lin Meizhu turned away, "He doesn't like these things of mine."
The air was still, with only the rustling sound of reeds on the lake.
Shen Chali noticed that the atmosphere was not right and asked in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, why are you crying?"
Lin Meiju looked at the fiery sunset, pursed her lips, and did not respond immediately.
Chen Chali felt a little regretful. Why did he bring up this matter when it was clearly over?
Lin Meizhu slowly lowered her eyelids, the afterglow falling on the roots of her wet eyelashes. "It's just because it's the holiday, and I miss my family a little bit."
Chen Chali breathed a sigh of relief, climbed up the waterside beauty bench, stretched out his legs and placed them between the two railings, "That's easy, invite them to go to Keats Temple together?" They are all in the capital anyway.
Lin Meizhu smiled and turned her gaze back to the vast lake. "I miss my family. They are in Lingnan."
This was the first time she had openly admitted to having a connection with her past. It didn't seem that difficult.
Shen Chali was very curious: "Is Lingnan good?"
Lin Meizhu smiled: "Good, it couldn't be better."
“Is the food there good?”
"Compared to here, it's pretty average, I guess."
“Is the view there nice?”
“It’s far less magnificent than the capital.”
"Then why do you say it's a good place?"
“Because I was happy there.”
"Isn't sister-in-law happy here?"
The shadow of the tree behind her moved, and Lin Meizhu's eyes suddenly dimmed: "Yeah, happy."
Chen Chali looked at Lin Meizhu, her dark pupils veiled in a pale golden veil. He remembered the bright red wedding dress she wore on her wedding day, its gold-embroidered skirts blooming like vibrant flowers on the ground. It was very similar to the peony in full bloom he saw at the bridgehead on his daily trip to and from the Imperial College.
Later, the flower disappeared. It turned out that his classmate had transplanted the flower branch home. Later, when he went to visit his classmate, the peony had wilted.
The classmate was very upset and said he forgot to water the plants.
Chen Chali felt that Lin Meizhu was like a beautiful peony whose petals were beginning to turn yellow.
She was so beautiful that it was hard to take your eyes off her. She always had a smile on her face when she spoke, but for some reason, he felt that she was very sad. This feeling was familiar. Where had he seen it before? Where?
He was lost in thought and didn't realize who was coming until he heard footsteps behind him.
“Big Brother!”
Lin Meizhu stood up and saluted, "Greetings, Prince."
Shen Changfeng's gaze paused on the thing in Shen Chali's hand and he hummed.
They looked at each other in silence, the atmosphere was so oppressive that Shen Chali was restless. He finally remembered who Lin Meizhu looked like to him, his mother, Aunt Liu.
He is always cautious and has the same expression on his face whether he is happy or unhappy, like a delicate Mohelo.
Shen Chali began to panic inexplicably and pulled his legs out, "Brother and sister-in-law, I'm leaving."
Lin Meizhu also said: "Then I will take my leave as well."
Turning around, Shen Changfeng grabbed her wrist and said, "You went to the study just now."
He wasn't asking a question, he was stating a fact.
Lin Meizhu knew that he didn't like outsiders to get close to him during meetings, so she nodded and said, "I thought the prince hadn't returned yet, so I just stood there for a while and then left."
The pulse on her wrist was beating faster. Shen Changfeng looked at her face calmly, pretending to be calm. "Are you angry?"
Lin Meizhu said, "I dare not."
It’s not that I didn’t hear it, but that I didn’t dare. That means I heard it and was really angry.
After a moment of silence, she continued, "I still have some things to deal with, so I'll take my leave now."
Shen Changfeng used some kind of clever strength on his hands, and Lin Meiju felt a tingling sensation in her wrist. When she came to her senses, she was already sitting on Shen Changfeng's bed.
He hugged her waist, stroking her cute little wrist with his fingertips, and said, "If you can't bear to punish the people around you, it will only give those with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of you."
Shen Changfeng didn't believe his actions were wrong. His decision to participate in the struggle for the throne bound the palace's fate to that of the Eighth Prince. He remained in danger until the outcome was determined. In the days ahead, more and more people would discover his true intentions, and he couldn't hide her forever. If Lin Meizhu didn't learn to be ruthless and protect herself, she would be the first to suffer.
"We will have children, but not now." He pressed his lips against her jaw and continued to kiss her upwards, "We are still young."
If Lin Meizhu hadn't heard his words with her own ears, she might have actually believed it.
"The matter of offspring is a matter of fate. I have used up all my luck just to marry into the palace. I cannot force it."
People with different mindsets interpret this statement in completely different ways. Lin Meizhu felt that nothing good had happened to her since her marriage, only bad luck. Shen Changfeng, however, felt that she was still brooding over the matter of the child and loved him terribly, so he tightened his grip on her arm.
Lin Meizhu was so angry at his kiss that she bit him and said, "It's not a question of whether I can have a baby or not. I don't want to drink the contraceptive medicine!"
Shen Changfeng licked the corner of his lips that was oozing blood, and asked patiently, "Why?"
Lin Meizhu said: "It will harm your health!"
This is the first time I've heard of this. Shen Changfeng frowned and said, "Then let's change doctors and add some more tonic prescriptions."
Lin Meizhu was getting increasingly dissatisfied. "I have to take medicine to regulate my period, and I have to take medicine after being intimate with you, and now I have to drink tonic medicine! My blood tastes bitter."
After saying that, she shook his hand off, stood up and straightened her loose top.
A shadow like a small hill pressed against her back. He stretched out his veiny palm to turn her face back and gave in again: "Then I won't eat..."
"Use the Golden Cicada Clothes in the future... there will always be a way."
Lin Meiju was pressed against the painted and carved pillars, her face crushing the hanging wisteria flowers, and the wind was blowing in from below.
"No, not here..."
Shen Changfeng hissed, "No one will come, relax."
In order to reduce the heat, cloud-blue golden gauze is hung around the flower pavilion. It can be lowered to provide shade when enjoying the flowers, and half-rolled up for ventilation when enjoying the cool air. At this time, the sun is about to set, the evening breeze is gradually rising, and the gauze is constantly dancing in the wind.
Shen Changfeng refused to give up, so she had to shrink into the corner in embarrassment, biting her lips hard to prevent any sound from leaking out.
The scarlet columns were entangled in lush vines, just like her, unable to escape.
As dusk fell, both of them were sweating profusely.
Lin Meizhuo sat weakly on the Renyeyue backrest, but Shen Changfeng was in good spirits. He sat sideways on the beauty backrest, gently stroking Beiyue and admiring the crystal clear and trembling sweat beads falling in the moonlight.
The clothes on the ground were no longer wearable, so Shen Changfeng reached out and pulled two gauze curtains, wrapped the person up, and carried him back to the main room.
When the servant holding the lamp saw someone coming out, he knelt all the way down, not daring to look up.
Qing'er had been waiting in front of the door for a long time. She saw from afar the calm and tall figure walking towards her from the Chuihua Gate in the night. She was wondering where Lin Meiju had gone, but in the blink of an eye, she caught sight of the pair of white jade ankles dangling in his arms. She hurriedly glanced away and stepped aside.
Shen Changfeng poured a glass of water and fed it to the sleepy person on the bed.
Lin Meizhu drank it all in one breath. Shen Changfeng poured another cup. He drank half of the third cup himself and fed her the rest.
Lin Meiju finally came back to life and lazily lifted her eyelids.
When she was drowsy, she felt someone wiping her sweat and someone talking in her ear.
She tried to regain her consciousness and heard him say, "Don't go to the study anymore, got it?"
In an instant, all her tiredness was swept away, and her eyes gradually focused on the face in front of her.
Her mind was clearer than ever before, and she thought to herself: This is probably what he most wants to say today.
He hadn't come after her to explain or comfort her; even intimacy was secondary. What he really wanted to do was warn her not to interfere in his affairs. Not to interfere, but not to even understand him.
Lin Meizhu couldn't remember whether she responded, or what she responded to. She even wondered if he really said that or if what she heard was just a dream.
She didn't want to believe that there was such a cruel person.
"Girl, wake up, we're here."
Lin Meiju woke up from her dream and tried hard to put what he said that day behind her. She opened the car curtain and the noise came into her eyes.
"Miss, I heard that every Dragon Boat Festival, many young ladies from official families go to Keci Temple to pray. Even the late Empress once visited here incognito with the Emperor." Qing'er carefully supported Lin Meizhu and found a gap in the crowd. "Keci Temple is always very popular. It is the most effective place to pray for marriage and children."
Lin Meizhu had been tormented quite a bit by Shen Changfeng these past two days. Even though she finally had the chance to go out for fun on the Dragon Boat Festival, she still felt a little listless.
When we walked to the foot of the mountain gate, we saw canopied carriages and sedan chairs parked all over the Yuntai. Looking around, we saw women and girls with graceful figures and gorgeous clothes.
"Make way! Make way!" the driver shouted, waving his whip as he carelessly squeezed a space between the parked carriages. His rude behavior drew the ire of the crowd. But when he saw the emblem of the other carriage, a white deer holding a moon, he swallowed his complaints.
This is the Su family's carriage. You know, the head of the Su family is the current Changping County Prince Su Guoliang, who is highly valued by the emperor.
Then several four-person sedan chairs arrived, filling the Yuntai to the brim.
"It's so hot! We're finally here!" A little girl in pink came out of the sedan chair. Seeing the Su family's carriage, her eyes lit up and she called out, "Auntie!"
Su Qinxue lifted the moon-white carriage curtain with her bare hands, revealing a face with a gentle smile. She looked at her husband's little niece and called out, "Yun'er, come here and let me wipe the sweat off your face."
A little child in red followed behind, with a rosy little face, chasing after his sister Qin Moyun, shouting, "I want Auntie to wipe my sweat too!"
Everyone saw Su Qinxue appear and gathered around to greet her.
At this moment, someone whispered, "Look, she's coming."
Lin Meiju noticed the gazes falling on her and her palms began to sweat.
Like a stone thrown into the forest startling a flock of crows, a tide of discussion rang out.
"It's really as the rumors say."
"She is so lucky."
"But then again, she's really beautiful."
"That's right, otherwise how could the prince take a fancy to her? It really makes others envious."
A childish voice rang out: "What's there to envy? The prince doesn't like her, she was the one who threw herself at him."
Lin Meiju felt as if a thread in her body had broken.
She stopped and for the first time raised her eyes to meet those ugly, sneering, and sarcastic eyes, and finally fixed her gaze on the little boy in red.
She didn't want to endure it anymore.
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