Chapter 51 Two Daily Stories
Tang Xiaoning rested her chin on her hand, looking humbly seeking advice, but a cunning glint flashed in her eyes.
Li Minghua: "..."
She discovered that ever since they broke the ice last night and confirmed their feelings for each other, this girl not only didn't restrain herself at all, but instead seemed to have received some kind of "get-out-of-jail-free card," becoming even more "arrogant" and taking advantage of the situation!
His cunning, lively eyes and shameless questions were simply irresistible to her.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the pounding in her heart and the burning sensation in her ears, and decisively decided not to respond to this conversation that was destined to make her extremely embarrassed.
Li Minghua suddenly stood up, his movements so fast they almost stirred up a gust of wind: "It's getting late, time to practice my sword."
After saying that, he practically fled, walking out of the dining room first with slightly hurried steps, his back view revealing a stiffness that suggested he was trying to remain calm.
"Pfft, hahaha..." Watching her beloved's somewhat disheveled but upright figure disappear through the door, Tang Xiaoning finally couldn't hold back any longer.
She collapsed onto the brocade-covered table, bursting into a series of shy laughs.
She laughed so hard her shoulders shook, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hahaha... Xiao Cui... did you see that... her, her appearance..." Tang Xiaoning said intermittently to Xiao Cui, who was also unable to hold back her laughter, while wiping away tears of laughter.
"I saw it, I saw it," Xiao Cui said with a smile that made her eyes crinkle.
While comforting her young mistress, she teased, "Miss Li is just... shy! You're so good at teasing her!"
The laughter of the master and servant echoed in the dining room, enlivening the entire atmosphere.
Her wooden female warrior, how can she be so cute when she's shy!
The morning light was just right, and the weapons racks on the sidelines gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the sunlight.
Li Minghua held his breath, holding his familiar sword, and stood in the center of the field.
She tried, as she had done for countless mornings before, to immerse herself in the essence of swordsmanship and practice the sword technique she knew so well.
As soon as he took his starting stance, his gaze seemed to drift uncontrollably towards the sidelines again and again...
There, Tang Xiaoning was casually sitting on a cushioned stone bench, her chin resting on her hand, a smile playing on her lips, her bright eyes fixed on her.
That gaze was more intense than the summer sun, more direct than the sharpest sword, filled with undisguised admiration and appreciation.
Li Minghua felt that gaze was firmly fixed on her, more disturbing to her mind and breaking her will than any exquisite and unpredictable sword move.
A sword technique that should have been fluid, sharp, and deadly was performed haltingly by her, her breathing unstable, and the points where the sword tip pointed frequently revealed unexpected flaws.
The sharp sword energy had vanished, replaced by a hint of absent-mindedness and sluggishness.
Tang Xiaoning watched with great interest from the sidelines, appreciating her beloved's unusually restless appearance.
Her eyes darted around, and the curve of her lips became even more cunning.
Taking advantage of Li Minghua's slightly hesitant turning around, she suddenly called out in a clear voice, "Minghua! Your sword tassel is crooked!"
Li Minghua stopped abruptly almost reflexively, instinctively looking down at the dark blue tassel hanging from the end of the sword hilt.
But it was clearly tied neatly and perfectly straight by myself.
She instantly realized what was happening, raised her head, and looked at the "culprit" on the sidelines, who was laughing hysterically with crescent-shaped eyes.
The sunlight fell on her bright and radiant smiling face, making her look absolutely beautiful.
"Focus on the swordplay." Li Minghua tried to put on a stern face, attempting to salvage the last vestiges of his crumbling dignity as an "instructor," his voice low but lacking in authority.
"I was watching intently the whole time!" Tang Xiaoning immediately sat up straight and answered confidently.
But her voice clearly carried a bright smile and a hint of coquettishness.
Her gaze remained fixed intently on Li Minghua. "Look at the sword, and also... the person wielding it!" She deliberately slowed down the second half of her sentence.
Li Minghua was slightly taken aback by her bold and straightforward words of love. The dignity he tried to maintain vanished without a trace when he met Tang Xiaoning's eyes, which were filled with sunshine and love.
A warm, sweet feeling welled up from the deepest part of my heart and instantly spread to every part of my body.
She suddenly sheathed her sword with a clean and swift movement.
Under Tang Xiaoning's slightly surprised gaze, he walked up to her in a few steps.
A tall figure loomed over her, blocking some of the sunlight. Tang Xiaoning tilted her head slightly, a lingering smile and a hint of doubt on her face.
Li Minghua leaned down slightly, reached out and gently pinched the tip of her nose, his tone filled with indulgent sigh: "Naughty."
The sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze blew. The swordplay was gone, leaving only the two of them smiling at each other.
Sword practice? Perhaps I won't be able to practice today.
...
In the past few days, Li Minghua has made many more intimate gestures like this, keeping Tang Xiaoning in a state of lightheaded excitement.
The sky looked exceptionally blue, the flowers exceptionally vibrant, and even the birdsong, which was usually considered noisy, sounded like a pleasant melody.
This good mood even allowed her to smile for the first time when Zhou Wenyuan came to visit again, bringing gifts with great enthusiasm, and she even offered him some sincere advice:
"Brother Wenyuan, look how beautiful the autumn scenery is! You should find someone you love and enjoy romantic moments under the moon and flowers, composing poems together. It's so boring that you always come here to see me!"
These words left Zhou Wenyuan stunned, holding the brocade box. His smile froze, and his eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment. He stared at the Tang family's young lady who had suddenly become "wise and righteous" as if he had seen a ghost.
Li Minghua, on the other hand, fell into an unprecedented, sweet and delicate "adjustment period".
An overwhelming sense of happiness enveloped her like a warm tide, yet it also made her appear clumsy and helpless at times.
For example, right now...
On the exquisite round table made of nanmu wood, there were several plates of refreshing side dishes and a bowl of fragrant glutinous rice porridge.
Tang Xiaoning's eyes darted around, and seeing that Li Minghua's bowl was almost empty, she immediately and diligently picked up a piece of golden-brown pan-fried stuffed tofu and placed it steadily into Li Minghua's bowl, her voice sweet and delicate:
"Minghua, try this! It's Aunt Li's specialty, it's delicious!"
Li Minghua looked at the tofu cubes in the bowl, which were emitting an enticing aroma, and then glanced at Tang Xiaoning's bright eyes, which were filled with the message "Praise me!"
She silently lowered her eyes, gently poking at the piece of tofu with the tip of her chopsticks, looking as if she were pondering a life-or-death matter.
A moment later, she solemnly picked up what she considered the plumpest and most perfect piece of stir-fried shrimp from her bowl.
He carefully placed it back in the most conspicuous spot in Tang Xiaoning's bowl.
"You eat." These two simple words were the highest expression of her care.
Tang Xiaoning: "..."
She looked down at the innocent-looking shrimp in the bowl, then at Li Minghua's serious expression that said, "I gave you the best," and was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Is this... because they dislike the food she picked for them?
Or... some kind of strange way of repaying a debt of gratitude?
Xiao Cui, who was serving dishes nearby, quickly lowered her head, her shoulders twitching suspiciously, and she bit her lower lip hard to keep from laughing out loud.
For example, this afternoon...
A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms in the courtyard.
Tang Xiaoning was in a great mood and walked lightly under the covered walkway.
Glancing at Li Minghua beside her, whose back was as straight as a pine tree, she had a sudden thought and very naturally reached out, her slender arm passing through Li Minghua's arm and affectionately linking arms with him.
"!" Li Minghua's body instantly stiffened like a stone just taken out of an ice cellar, and even the steps he took froze for a moment.
A surge of heat rushed to the base of her ears, staining her white, jade-like earlobes red.
She suppressed the instinctive urge to pull her arm back, but her neck remained stiff and slightly tilted forward, her gaze fixed on the artificial hill outside the corridor.
However, her attempts to maintain a normal gait failed, and her left hand and left foot inexplicably stepped out at the same time.
Her awkward posture, with her hands and feet moving in unison, made her extremely embarrassed.
Tang Xiaoning felt the taut muscles in her arms, but instead of letting go, she pressed herself even closer, her cheek almost brushing against Li Minghua's shoulder.
Li Minghua could even feel the softness on the outside of his arm.
She asked in a deliberately soft voice, "Minghua, do you think the osmanthus flowers are blooming beautifully?"
Li Minghua felt half of his body was almost numb, and his nasal cavity was filled with the sweet fragrance emanating from Tang Xiaoning's hair.
She took a deep breath, intending to look straight ahead and calmly answer "okay," but her mind was too agitated, and she didn't notice the vermilion-lacquered pillar supporting the roof of the corridor in front of her.
"Watch out!" Tang Xiaoning exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly pulled hard!
Li Minghua suddenly came to his senses and barely stopped before his nose hit the pillar, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Even with her high level of martial arts skills, she blushed deeply at this moment, coughed to cover it up, and said in a muffled voice, "...It's alright."
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