Chapter 44 Chapter 44 She felt it was a blasphemy.
Outside Wangxian Gate in winter, there was a pile of unswept snow. Not far from the 'Food House' on the east side, several carriages were parked. Occasionally, a eunuch in blue clothes would trot forward and carefully take the food box, not daring to delay for a moment.
Sheng Pu used her white fingertips to lift a corner of the silk curtain and looked out nonchalantly.
The vermilion palace walls tower into the clouds, and the accumulated snow pressing on the glazed tiles emits a dazzling cold light. The green tiles, red eaves, red pillars and carved rafters, layer upon layer, seem to be about to pierce the sky.
Sheng Puzhu turned his eyes and glanced casually ahead, when he suddenly saw a handsome and tall figure walking out from the depths of the palace wall.
Xie Zhiyan's dark cloak swept across the snow on the jade steps, revealing his official uniform of scarlet robe and jade belt. His facial features were clearly defined under his black gauze hat, and his eyebrows and eyes were sharp.
He took big steps, and the sword on his waist did not move at all when he walked. Only the occasional falling snow from the sky swept across his sharp jaw.
Why did he come in person?
Sheng Puzhu's breathing stagnated, her fingertips went limp, and she suddenly let go of the corner of the gauze curtain that she had lifted.
"Have you been waiting long?"
The shaft of the carriage sank, and Xie Zhiyan had already lifted the curtain and stepped into the carriage. His voice was as clear and elegant as pearls and jade, and his voice was pure and peaceful.
"It's... it's okay." Sheng Puzhu hugged the food box tightly, lowering his eyes and only daring to fall on the sword at his waist.
The moment Xie Zhiyan bent his knees and sat down, the hem of his official uniform brushed against the hem of her skirt. The space in the carriage suddenly became cramped. Perhaps because they were too close, Sheng Puju felt unprecedented tension.
"Madam." Xie Zhiyan stretched out his hand, palm facing up.
"Hmm?" Sheng Puzhu looked at the hand that was as clean and as white as frosty jade, confused.
A low laugh escaped Xie Zhiyan's throat, and he spoke in a refined and noble tone, "Madam, have you forgotten my lunch?"
The man's slender knuckles gently tapped the vermilion lacquered peony-patterned food box in her arms, and he raised his eyebrows with a smile on his face.
Sheng Puzhu seemed dazzled by the smile so close to her, and felt inexplicably nervous. They had clearly been closer than this before. Her cheeks burned uncontrollably, and she softly argued, "I didn't forget. I'm holding you in my arms to keep you warm."
Well, that's a good reason.
It was cold in winter, and there was definitely no hot food available in the corridor. She was indeed a considerate and virtuous young lady, always thinking of him.
Thinking of this, Sheng Puzhu raised his eyes and gave Xie Zhiyan a dignified smile. He handed the food box to him without hesitation, but his fingertips accidentally touched his.
Both of them were stunned.
The cool touch, like the finest jade, made her shiver with cold.
Sheng Puzhu was about to retract her hand, but Xie Zhiyan unexpectedly held her hand with his backhand, and gently scratched the place on her palm that was reddened by the edge of the food box with his fingertips.
"What are you so nervous about, ma'am?"
The carriage is narrow and the ambiguous atmosphere has nowhere to hide.
Sheng Puzhu's back was pressed against the car wall, and he held her hand. She could smell the unique cool fragrance on his body with every breath.
Xie Zhiyan smiled silently, raised his hand to take the food box, and opened it casually.
A pot of stewed soup, two simple seasonal vegetables, a plate of dim sum, and roasted venison, served with distinct grains of glutinous rice.
"My dear, do you think it suits your taste?"
Seeing him eat quietly, Sheng Puzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief and explained in a low voice, "There are many rules in the palace. Although the food in the corridor is not bad, it will be cold by the time it is served to you after the court is over."
"I didn't know what you liked, so I prepared some according to my usual preferences."
Xie Zhiyan ate very quietly, his eyes restrained in the dim carriage, showing no emotion.
Sheng Puzhu sat quietly aside. She had never thought that there really was someone in this world who looked so handsome that even the way he ate gave her a pleasing feeling.
After Xie Zhiyan put down his bowl and chopsticks and drank the tea, she asked curiously, "Is it to your liking?"
"Madam, the weather is cold and the journey is long. There is no need to go through so much trouble in the future."
Xie Zhiyan looked up at her, then looked away and wiped his hands seriously with a wet handkerchief.
Sheng Puzhu was stunned, thinking that he didn't like it.
She lowered her head and nodded, and the pearl hairpins on the side of her bun swayed with her movements, casting a small, trembling shadow on her fair and soft cheek.
"Okay, I'll make a note of this."
"I won't send you anymore."
Sheng Puzhu's eyes were gentle and her answer seemed casual, but she herself didn't realize that her two short sentences clearly revealed a deep sense of loss.
Xie Zhiyan suddenly leaned forward, lifted her chin with his long finger, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Madam, are you angry?"
As a kind-hearted and generous girl, why should she be angry!
Sheng Puzhu snorted in her heart, she would not bother with him.
"I didn't." Sheng Puzhu acted very polite, but in fact, she was overwhelmed with emotions and didn't want to look at him.
Xie Zhiyan knew she might have misunderstood, so he patiently explained, "It's freezing cold, and I'm not in the palace every day. Most of the time, I'm stationed in the military camp outside the city with the Xuanjia Army."
Sheng Puju didn't know all this. Since he came back, he was not in the mansion most of the time, even on his days off, so she had a preconceived notion that he stayed in the palace most of the time.
"The young master is stationed outside the city. Wouldn't it take up a lot of time to go back and forth every day?"
The Sheng family of Mingde Marquis Mansion were civil officials and were not familiar with military affairs, but the camp stationed outside Chang'an City must be very far away.
In Sheng Puzhu's opinion, it would take two hours to go back and forth every day even on horseback, so most people would probably choose to stay in the army and return home during their leave.
Xie Zhiyan looked at her for a long time, then he moved his thumb up along her delicate chin and pressed hard on her plump red lips.
He seemed to have guessed what she was thinking: "Madam, I am a married man."
"If I stay in the palace in the future, I will inform my wife in advance. You can directly send the food box to the study and give it to Bannu."
"Um."
Even after Xie Zhiyan left for a long time, Sheng Puzhu's cheeks were still red. Li Shuang carefully lifted the carriage curtain and asked, "Madam, are we going back now, or?"
Sheng Puzhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hands to cover his cheeks, and ordered as if to cover his ears and steal the bell: "We are not going back, let's go to Linlang Pavilion."
She felt that she might need to look at the handsome man more often to exercise her concentration.
Otherwise, how could Xie Zhiyan's few casual words make her blush and her heart beat faster?
As for delivering lunch personally, she originally wanted to use the pretext of delivering lunch to drop by Linlang Pavilion every day.
well……
Unfortunately, the abacus beads were about to pop out, but the unromantic Xie Zhiyan suddenly turned into a caring husband.
Without having to personally prepare lunch, there would be no excuse to go out every day. Qin's health looked like it might take another month or more to recuperate, and there was no news from Princess Duanyang.
In a few days, the mansion will hold a full moon banquet.
Sheng Puju rubbed her eyebrows and waited for the carriage to stop before helping Li Shuang get off.
"My lady, you haven't come for a long time. I thought that Eryan had forgotten us since she got married."
As soon as Sheng Puzhu stepped into the third floor of Linlang Pavilion, she was surrounded by a group of young and handsome men.
Someone offered her tea, someone else brought her some snacks, and someone else brought a stack of books from somewhere, presenting them like treasures: "This is a recently published storybook. I specially saved it for you, my lady."
Sheng Puzhu waved his hand, not even in the mood to drink tea: "Let's not read the storybook for now. How is business in the pavilion lately?"
Li Shuang flipped through this month's account and scanned through it quickly: "Madam, this month's business is much quieter than the previous three months."
She thought for a moment and added, "It's probably because our shop hasn't released any new accessories in a while."
"I know, but I don't have any good ideas for the time being, and Aunt Duanyang hasn't replied yet." Sheng Puzhu felt distressed.
"Madam, are you talking about Princess Duanyang?" The leading young man squatted down in front of Sheng Puju with a smile.
He was neatly dressed, and there was nothing out of place about him. He just had a well-behaved appearance, big, round eyes, fair skin, and slightly curly hair. It was obvious at first glance that he was not of pure Dayan descent.
As he squatted down with an elegant posture, he looked very much like the precious Persian cats sold by foreign merchants.
"I heard from the young master in the princess's mansion a few days ago that the eldest princess seemed to have gone on a long journey overnight."
"But no one knows where she went."
The young man named Nian Yi blinked his eyelashes like a palm-leaf fan and said sweetly, "I see that my lady is in a bad mood."
"You might as well look at me more often, maybe you will feel better."
Sheng Puzhu smiled helplessly: "No, stop shaking, it makes me dizzy."
"Send someone to the Princess's Mansion in a few days to ask where Princess Duanyang has gone."
Nian nodded: "I know."
Sheng Puzhu drank tea, ate the snacks brought by everyone, and praised the young men one by one. Only then did she make the group of people happy and go downstairs to do business for her obediently.
After Li Shuang and the others had left, she said worriedly, "What if my husband finds out about what happened in your shop? How are you going to explain it?"
Sheng Puzhu casually pulled out a storybook and opened it, saying confidently, "Let's take it one step at a time."
"He's been away from home for two years, with basically no news. I just opened a jewelry store and hired a few more men. Even if you take a step back, I'm still right."
"Besides, I'm not the only noblewoman running a private business in Chang'an City. Didn't the young lady from the Minister of Rites open a clothing store next to our Linlang Pavilion half a year ago? She often asks my shop's young master to help her."
Li Shuang lowered her voice and said, "Madam, the young lady from the Minister of Rites' family has divorced her husband. Even if outsiders know about this, they can't say anything."
"But you and your husband are living in harmony, how can it be the same?"
"Even in my dreams at night, I am worried and frightened."
Sheng Puzhu waved her hand nonchalantly: "Don't worry, nothing will be discovered. Not many people know about this. Even Princess Shoukang didn't tell her in detail."
"Except for my grandmother and sisters, no one else knows that I opened this shop."
"Yes, and Princess Duanyang also knows."
"No, the young lady from the Minister of Rites' family also knows."
The more Sheng Puzhu asked, the more she threw in the towel: "Don't worry, we are all in this together. Princess Duanyang has invested money, and my sisters are counting on me to help them get rich."
"As for the young lady from the Minister of Rites' family, isn't she obsessed with our young master from Linlang Pavilion? I've already made an agreement with her to cover up for each other. If anything were to happen, I'd just say I was running her Nishang Pavilion."
Sheng Puzhu vowed: "When interests are tied together, everyone's mouths will become very tight-lipped."
"But there is always a loophole." Li Shuang was still uneasy.
Sheng Puzhu didn't know whether to comfort Li Shuang or herself: "I usually wear a veil when entertaining guests, so no one will know."
"Linlang Pavilion is registered with the government under my grandmother's name. She's got my back, so I have nothing to fear."
Li Shuang lowered her head, feeling convinced.
Seeing that it was getting late outside, Sheng Puzhu stood up slowly and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. We must not lose the business of Linlang Pavilion."
"If the day ever comes when it's discovered and there's no way back, I'll just follow the example of the girl from the Minister of Rites and get a divorce."
Li Shuang quickly covered her mouth: "My lady, don't talk nonsense."
"I think my husband is considerate and gentle to me, so I can't let him take advantage of others."
Sheng Puju was made to laugh by Li Shuang's last sentence, and she couldn't help but think of Xie Zhiyan's appearance.
Compared with the younger men in Linlang Pavilion, they are like underage kittens in front of a lethal leopard like Xie Zhiyan, and are completely vulnerable.
Unfortunately, Xie Zhiyan is of noble status. Even if Lang Yan is unique and there is no one like him in the world, she cannot tie him up and take him to Linlang Pavilion and torture him as she pleases.
Sheng Puzhu sighed in his heart, feeling sorry.
Whenever she had any bold idea, she felt it was a blasphemy.
But she often has wild ideas and wants to do something more presumptuous.
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