award
Jing Yao's breathing was soft and soothing, and he had a vague feeling of finally being able to relax after surviving a disaster.
She was exhausted both physically and mentally, and leaned lightly against Si Pei's neck.
As if feeling that snuggling in his arms like this was too cheesy, Jing Yao deliberately started a conversation.
"Hey, this isn't the side of you I stabbed, is it?"
Jing Yao showed concern for his injury, but there was no sympathy in his tone.
She raised her hand and poked Si Pei's other shoulder, and only withdrew her hand when she heard the muffled sound of pain coming out of his throat.
"It seems he still feels pain."
Jing Yao put away her playful mood and prepared to end the hug, but she found that there was a restraint around her waist. Si Pei reached out and put his arm around her waist, pulling her into his arms, his eyebrows lowered but with a smile: "Why, are you unhappy?"
As soon as Jing Yao returned to the palace, she threw herself into his arms. Si Pei was naturally happy. In the past, she had been distant from him for a long time, and such tender moments might be rare, or perhaps only exist in dreams.
But he knew Jing Yao's temper best. She would only show her kindness when she needed something from him. And for her to be so obviously uncomfortable, something must have happened outside the palace that upset her.
"What?"
Jing Yao was slightly surprised. She thought to herself, could Si Pei really be the worm in her stomach, who could easily understand her emotions?
"What happened outside the palace today?"
Si Pei's eyes were gentle as he asked softly.
Yue Ningning's face suddenly appeared in Jing Yao's mind. She was shocked and didn't know how to start.
She knew that if she directly suggested to Si Pei to get rid of Yue Ningning, he would do as she wished even if he had doubts.
But they killed a very popular figure in Shanghua City without any legitimate reason, and she was just a young girl whose behavior was normal... If the news leaked out, the people would definitely think that the royal family was killing innocent people and was cruel and unjust, which would further solidify their reputation as tyrants and evil concubines.
Wouldn't this be more conducive to Si Jue's momentum?
Jing Yao was about to shake her head when she thought of this, but Si Pei lowered his head and stroked her hair, as if to reassure her: "I will make those people disappear without anyone noticing."
Jing Yao certainly believed that Si Pei's methods could be perfect and conceal the truth, but the show had not yet reached its best stage, so it would be okay to keep Yue Ningning for now.
The real troublesome person now should be Si Jue who is secretly eyeing them.
Jing Yao's eyes turned to one side, unwilling to admit his inner conflict.
The impression Yue Ningning left on her today could be said to be flawless. Recalling the girl's lovely and generous smile, she was completely different from the sneering manipulator behind the scenes in the past.
Is this lively and bright girl really the real culprit behind this?
Jing Yao was filled with these doubts deep in his heart.
"Are you really okay?"
Seeing her silent refusal, Si Pei asked again considerately.
"...It's okay." Jing Yao's eyes shifted, and anxiety returned. One must be cautious, especially since he'd seen that book at Yushan Bookstore that had a plot that referenced Si Pei and Si Jue... Yes! That novel!
Jing Yao smiled and put his hands on the man's neck: "If you really want to make me happy, send someone to buy me a book tomorrow."
"What storybook?" Si Pei pressed his forehead against hers. They were very close, and when they were about to kiss, Jing Yao curled her lips and pushed him away, walking towards the inner hall, leaving only one sentence:
"The second volume of Hidden Dragon from Yushan Bookstore."
Si Pei looked at the empty arms, laughed and shook his head, and barely withdrew his hand.
"Okay." After saying that, Si Pei signaled the people around him to take orders and leave.
Jing Yao sat at the side of the dining table waiting, feeling relaxed and in a good mood, he poured himself a glass of Chunxu wine.
Since Si Pei had sent someone to buy the book, he would definitely take a look at it when the time came. She didn't need to ask any questions, Si Pei would understand them himself.
Jing Yao was in a good mood after getting rid of his inner entanglement. Yue Ningning, ah Yue Ningning, this can't be blamed on her. It was Si Pei who insisted on taking action.
Although the author of the book is marked with a pseudonym and it cannot be confirmed that it was written by Yue Ningning, given Si Pei's personality, it is not difficult to trace it.
Even if Yue Ningning was not the mastermind behind Prince Lin's rebellion in his previous life, she definitely contributed a lot to it.
Jing Yao shook his head, wondering what had happened to him just now. He was so confused that he doubted his memory and thought that Yue Ningning might be innocent.
Just because of her sweet and harmless appearance?
Jing Yao suddenly remembered that the book "Hidden Dragon" described the heroine as extremely charming. Anyone, regardless of gender, would be attracted to her. She was simply the epitome of everyone's love.
Could it be that she was also infected?
Jing Yao was frightened. This kind of thing was too weird. How could there be such a person in the world?
But if you think about it carefully, she was able to come back to life again, so...it seems that what happened in Yue Ningning's book is not that surprising.
Seeing Jing Yao deep in thought, Si Pei couldn't help but laugh: "What on earth could have you so concerned?"
Eunuch Ming instructed the maids to serve the dishes quickly and carefully. Qi Jingyao ignored the questions from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and picked up the chopsticks on his own.
"I think we can keep our own space and don't need to tell each other everything." Jing Yao picked up a piece of crispy lotus root and pointed at the holes in it to signal him.
Si Pei glanced at it and shrugged noncommittally: "Okay."
Jing Yao showed an expression that said "this is good enough" and the meal was dull and uneventful.
"Today, Zhu Xin, A Jing, A Wen and I went to Yaoyue Tower. The new dishes there tasted really good."
After dinner, Jing Yao felt like chatting and took the initiative to mention the joy of reuniting with her sisters today.
Jing Yao was used to the taste of the palace, so eating delicacies outside the palace seemed strange and delicious. In fact, the palace dishes were much more refined. But Si Pei just nodded when he heard this: "If you like, how about inviting the chef of Yaoyue Tower to the palace?"
"Hahahaha..." Jing Yao laughed so hard that he covered his face with his hands. He didn't expect Si Pei to be so serious. "If you poach him, will Yaoyue Tower still be able to open?"
Seeing her happy smile, the man also smiled. Jing Yao pretended to be angry and said, "Besides, my sisters won't be able to eat if they want to. You are such a mean person."
"Well, I'm just too mean."
Si Pei continued her words: "What should we do if Yao Yao wants to eat too?"
Jing Yao's eyes flickered, and he placed one hand on the table to support his palm-sized delicate face. His auspicious phoenix eyes were full of smiles. "What should I do? Isn't that easy? I can just go out of the palace to eat."
The beauty smiled so charmingly that Si Pei's heart softened, so there was no reason for him to refuse. Only then did he realize that Eunuch Ming was right. He should not push too hard, but should retreat in order to advance and relax appropriately.
So he nodded: "Well, go out of the palace to eat. Yaoyao can eat whatever she wants."
Seeing that Si Pei agreed so readily, Jing Yao raised his hand and hooked his finger to signal him to come over.
Si Pei leaned forward obediently, but she grabbed his head with both hands and kissed him on the cheek unexpectedly.
Her movements were as swift as a dragonfly skimming the water, and her soft red lips left a few reddish rouge marks on his face.
"This is a reward." Jing Yao raised her head proudly, wiped the remaining rouge, stood up and walked towards the bedroom behind the screen.
Unlike the stunned look on his face when he was kissed in the morning, Si Pei sat there grinning foolishly for a long time before carefully touching the lip mark.
Jing Yao was taking a bath, and Si Pei was quietly reading the storybook that he had not finished reading yesterday and continued to appreciate it.
Bo Yue, who came out to get the hairband, saw this and sighed that it was a good thing that the four people's storybooks had not been bought yet. If they had been bought, they would definitely not have put them under the pillow again.
Before she could finish her sigh, Si Pei raised his hand and called her.
"What exactly happened in the city today?"
Bo Yue felt uneasy. Although his wife didn't say anything, he couldn't hide the fact that the person in front of him was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"I don't have any other intentions. I'm just worried that someone with ill intentions towards Yao Yao might have come into contact with her today. Just tell me if there's anything strange or special going on."
After hearing what the Crown Prince said, Bo Yue knew she had to say: "To reply to Your Highness, the situation is indeed..."
Si Pei frowned suddenly when he heard this. In order to save time, Bo Yue briefly described the dispute between Jing Yao and Wen Rencuo at Yushan Bookstore today.
"Wenren Cuo..." Si Pei sneered. This rough guy had a grudge with him when he was young, and he had almost no good impression of this major general.
Wen Rencuo has been stationed in the northwest for the past few years and has only returned to Shanghua City a few times, so the two rarely meet, which has reduced many conflicts.
If Si Pei remembered correctly, Wen Rencuo should have just returned to Beijing from his base at the end of February this year. These few days were his vacation period, so Si Pei had not yet met him formally in the court.
"hehe."
Si Pei's hands subconsciously clenched the pages of the book. Bo Yue saw that he was smiling creepily and didn't know whether to continue talking.
"Anything else?"
Bo Yue shuddered all over. "To answer your Highness, there's also the owner of Yushan Bookstore... someone named Yue Ningning. She wanted to meet you, but I could see you were very reluctant, so she pretended to be unwell and declined."
Si Pei nodded and let Bo Yue leave.
Yao Yao was unhappy probably because of the quarrel with Wen Rencuo during the day.
As Si Pei thought about this, his thoughts turned to Yue Ningning mentioned in the second half of the sentence.
"Yushan Bookstore?"
He remembered that the book Yao Yao wanted was also in Yushan Bookstore. She liked the novel, but she didn't want to meet the shopkeeper on the spot... Or was it because she wanted to avoid the shopkeeper that she didn't have time to buy the storybook?
Si Pei felt that the latter was more reasonable, so Yue Ningning must have some grudge against Yao Yao.
He put down the storybook and whistled without looking up. A black-clad guard appeared in front of him and said, "Go and check the background of Yushan Bookstore and its owner."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Jing Yao, who was soaking in the bathtub, was overjoyed because she had regained the freedom to leave the palace. She raised a few petals and felt very happy.
Come to think of it, Si Pei is actually quite easy to talk to. He agreed to anything after just a couple of kisses.
Why hadn't she thought of it before?
Jing Yao almost forgot that at this time in his previous life, he wanted to tear Si Pei's tendons and skin him alive, and even found it annoying to listen to Si Pei talking.
When did her attitude begin to soften... Probably during those days when Si Pei fell ill and couldn't move, feeling lifeless. That was the first time she wanted Si Pei to stand up, stand in front of her and continue arguing with her.
Although Si Pei always endured her scolding when she was tired, he smiled and gave her water to soothe her throat.
Thinking of this, Jing Yao couldn't help but laugh out loud. If she was not clear-headed in her previous life, Si Pei was definitely abnormal.
She shook her head and stopped thinking about the past.
Anyway, now that she is by his side, she doesn't have to worry about food and drink, and he is a handsome man to sleep with her... She is not at a loss.
Jing Yao coaxed himself into a happy mood. After taking a bath, he lay on the bed and fell asleep happily, completely forgetting that there was another person on the couch.
Si Pei smiled helplessly, brushed away the loose hair on her forehead with his big hands, and gave her a gentle kiss.
——
In Yushan Bookstore, the only sound in the silent night was the rustling of leaves. Yue Ningning lay on the bed, not yet asleep, when she felt a cool breeze blowing behind her.
What's going on? Didn't she close the window?
No, she heard the dull thud of something heavy falling on the window frame.
Someone climbed in.
"who?!"
Yue Ningning sat up suddenly, only to see a familiar young figure leaning against the window.
Moonlight poured into the room. The boy took a step forward and walked from the shadows into the white moonlight.
The carrier pigeon that Yue Ningning had released not long ago flapped its wings and finally landed on the boy's shoulder.
Yue Ningning's expression was one of disbelief but more of joy. She stood up and walked forward, calling out the person's name:
"Si Jue!"
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