Chapter 116
"Leave it there." Qin Sang didn't even turn her head. She fed the myna bird with a small spoon, added water, and then casually asked, "Has Second Young Master Xie already gone to his shift?"
Lingding placed the snacks on the small table one by one. Hearing this, she blinked and said, "He went. He went out with the eldest young master early this morning."
Qin Sang asked again, "Did you go by carriage?"
“I went on horseback. Here, young lady, wipe your hands and have some snacks.” Lingding handed over a handkerchief dampened with warm water.
Qin Sang put down the small spoon she used to tease the bird, took a handkerchief to wash her hands, glanced at the food on the table, said nothing, walked over and sat down, picked up a piece of bright red rotten meat and put it in her mouth.
But after taking only a small bite, she put it back as if she had lost her appetite.
Lingding stared at her movements and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Qin Sang picked up her teacup and drank: "It's nothing, just too sweet. Mung bean cake is much more refreshing. Why isn't there any mung bean cake today?"
A hint of helplessness appeared on Lingding's face: "The mung bean cakes that Second Young Master Xie sent have been sitting for several days. When I went to check today, they had gone bad and were inedible. These jujube cakes and golden soft cakes were sent from the Ning'an Prince's residence this morning, supposedly made fresh this morning." After thinking for a moment, she added, "If you like mung bean cakes, I'll tell the person who sent them tomorrow."
“Oh,” Qin Sang’s gaze swept over the dazzling array of pastries, “Prince Ning’an is truly thoughtful.”
Lingding: "That's right, young lady. Just focus on getting married and don't think about anything else."
Qin Sang looked up at the girl who had risked her life to follow her to the capital. She said she had nowhere else to go and would rather be a slave than be married off by her parents to an old man as a second wife...
"Do you... think Kyoto is nice?" she suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Huh?" Lingding didn't understand what he meant at first.
"Forget it, you're definitely doing better in Kyoto than in Lixian, so asking you is pointless."
Lingding realized what was happening and immediately asked, "Does the young lady think the capital is not good?" But she regretted it as soon as she asked. Just looking at Qin Sang's pale and sickly appearance, and how she would disappear every three to five days and return injured, it couldn't be good either.
"What's so good about it? There are so many rules," Qin Sang muttered, frowning as she stared at the myna bird in the cage. She felt inexplicably irritated.
Lingding watched her daughter's retreating figure and suddenly sensed an indescribable loneliness. At first, she didn't know what Qin Sang was doing, but seeing Qin Baoyun arriving daily with news of various court affairs from the capital, she guessed that Qin Sang was preparing to become the Princess Consort of Ning'an. But now, seeing that Qin Sang didn't seem particularly enthusiastic towards the Prince of Ning'an, she was completely confused.
"Is the young lady... dissatisfied with this marriage?" she asked softly, her voice very low, and she subconsciously glanced out the window, afraid of being overheard.
"There's nothing to be satisfied with or dissatisfied with, it's just following the established procedures. Alright, you can all leave now, I want to be alone for a while."
Lingding and Ying'er looked at each other, lowered their heads, and left the bedroom.
Qin Sang was seriously injured this time, and she had no strength at all, often feeling that even breathing was difficult. In the past few days, while she was in a daze, Xie Suian stayed by her bedside day and night, feeding her medicine and wiping her sweat.
In the days since she regained consciousness, she hasn't seen anyone. A sense of emptiness and sadness welled up inside her. So, after eating a few bites of snacks, she lay down on the tatami mat, fully clothed, intending to rest for a while before considering her next move. But soon after closing her eyes, she began to dream.
In the darkness, Xie Sui'an, dressed in white with a blue belt and hairband fluttering in the breeze, revealed a radiant smile. His bright eyes and white teeth, his expression shifting between anger and sorrow, were captivating. He stood before her, hands on his hips, head tilted to one side, and said with a smile, "Marrying me won't be a loss for you. I am one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital, with countless girls chasing after me, clamoring to marry me. Hmph, what's so great about that Prince Ning'an? He's already lost two wives. How could you be so foolish as to jump into a fire pit knowing it's a trap?"
In her dream, she didn't speak to him properly as always, serving tea and bird food to the myna bird, and said indifferently, "There are many well-bred ladies in the capital, and beauties are everywhere. Go find one! Why are you so fixated on me? Look, look, how many gentle and virtuous girls are waiting for you. Why hang yourself on this tree? Besides, we are now siblings. Do you care about your reputation?"
Xie Sui'an lowered his head unhappily and muttered, "What siblings? It's all fake..."
Qin Sang turned around and threw him a bird feeder, teasing him with a smile: "Fake? Hey, then come here and give me a kiss right now, dare you?"
Xie Sui'an raised his dejected head, his eyes shining: "What's there to be afraid of?" Then he took three steps at a time, swinging his lively ponytail as he walked towards Qin Sang.
He pulled her close, his breath on hers, and smiled slightly. With their breaths almost touching, he whispered, "This time, you took the initiative..."
Then he lowered his head and kissed her...
Qin Sang felt a tingling sensation all over her body, and her heart was pounding like crazy. She realized this was wrong and reached out to push the person away, but the moment she made a move, the other person grabbed her hand.
Their lips and teeth intertwined, their fingers entwined.
For some reason, Qin Sang's eyes were still open. From an intimate angle, you could see his quiet eyelashes; his eyes were closed, and the kiss was so earnest...
However, their affair was exposed the next moment.
Prince Ning'an stood not far away, his face pale and contorted with rage. He sneered, then coughed and pointed at the two men, yelling, "What are you two doing in broad daylight?!"
Immediately afterward, a sharp voice rang out, and Wang Huiwen, who appeared out of nowhere, pulled her away from Xie Sui'an's arms. Cen Biyun stood to the side, so angry that she burst into tears. She pointed at Qin Sang for a long time, her face showing a mix of disappointment, indignation, and embarrassment, but she couldn't utter a complete rebuke. Then, in anger at her son's lack of ambition, she started hitting him.
Qin Sang clicked her tongue: "Calm down..." Before she could finish speaking, her wrist was grabbed again.
Qin Sang turned her head blankly and saw that Bai Yiqing, the eldest son, had an unchanging icy face. He said, "Come with me," and then used his light-footed skills to fly into the sky with her.
The long-lost feeling of soaring through the clouds made Qin Sang feel refreshed. They flew over the entire capital city and looked down at this bustling and ancient city from the clouds.
Bai Yiqing pointed to the ants-like masses at his feet and said, "Look, think carefully about your mission in descending to the mortal world. It is to save the people from the suffering of war, not to indulge in personal feelings."
Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then immediately retorted, "I didn't..."
Bai Yiqing: "You still say you didn't? Then what were you doing just now? If we hadn't come, were you going to roll around on that bed and commit adultery in broad daylight?"
Qin Sang opened her mouth: "Huh??"
Bai Yiqing's cold face showed anger as he reached out and grabbed her: "Since you can't let go of the mortal world, then you can only fall into the hell on earth and enjoy the cycle of reincarnation like those ordinary people."
Then, her feet lost their footing, and she plummeted from the clouds.
"Ah!" Qin Sang woke up with a start.
She was sweating profusely, her body still curled up facing inwards. When she opened her eyes, she saw the pale yellow mosquito net hanging quietly, motionless.
She closed her eyes, but her mind was still filled with the image of Xie Sui'an's face when he approached her. She unconsciously clutched her chest and sighed.
How could falling in love happen to an old immortal who never blossoms?
Just then, a slight creaking sound came from the back window.
Qin Sang felt a tightness in her back and focused intently on asking questions. Just as she was about to turn around, she was suddenly encircled by a hand.
He pressed his index finger to Qin Sang's lips and whispered a "shh," then smiled slyly at Qin Sang's wide eyes: "Feeling better?"
Qin Sang thought to herself, "This person is really something. How come I just dreamed about him and now... Am I still dreaming?"
"What's wrong? Have you gone mad from illness?" Xie Sui'an withdrew his finger, his eyes smiling, as always a bright and sunny young man.
“No,” Qin Sang reached out to touch his eyebrows and eyes, “it’s true…”
Xie Sui'an grabbed her hand: "What's real?"
Qin Sang blushed and was about to speak when the other person leaned even closer: "Were you dreaming just now? Did you dream about me?"
A warm touch came from the other person's palm, and Qin Sang finally woke up completely. She paused, shook off the other person's hand, and sat up. Xie Sui'an thoughtfully brought her a soft pillow to lean on. She said, "Didn't you go to the Imperial Guard? How... how did you get here?"
"The team leader rescheduled the shifts today, and I'm on night duty, so I came back."
Qin Sang smiled and said, "Then why don't you go back and rest? Tonight..."
Xie Sui'an suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes filled with such deep affection that they seemed to overflow with tears. He interrupted her in a low, trembling voice, "But I want to see you..."
For some reason, before this dream, Xie Sui'an was still just a little kid in her eyes, but after having this dream for no reason, she felt a little uneasy when she faced him again.
"I want to see you..." Her voice trembled at the end, her prominent Adam's apple bobbing slightly. Qin Sang's gaze swept over her, and her old heart melted into a torrent of spring water, her whole body going limp.
For a moment, she was speechless.
She looked at him and suddenly felt that his eyes seemed to possess some kind of enchanting power, making it impossible to look away.
Xie Sui'an had never seen Qin Sang treat him like this before. Even when they were in danger, even when he had acted like a scoundrel and stolen his relatives, she had never looked at him like that.
His hands, which were supporting him on either side of Qin Sang's body, unconsciously tightened their grip.
An ambiguous atmosphere lingered in the silent air, threatening to intensify in the narrow space where the two faced each other.
Xie Sui'an almost lost his breath, and finally lowered his head helplessly before slowly sitting up. When he looked up again, he had returned to normal, revealing a sly and mischievous smile, and said, "Hey, I heard from the people downstairs that you haven't had much of an appetite all day. They thought my mother was hiding your illness from me."
His gaze swept over her brow bone, eyes, and cheeks, finally settling on her lips, which were red as if she had applied rouge because she had been startled awake from her afternoon nap. After a moment, he looked away with difficulty.
Qin Sang witnessed his restraint and emotion. It was rare to find such richness and flavor in a life that never blossomed. She was originally a rational immortal, clearly aware of her purpose in coming here to achieve a swift victory.
But... whatever, there's always a way out. As the saying goes, you can suffer for others but not for yourself.
Since she has already fallen in love, she cannot be bound by those messy social norms. After all, marrying Prince Ning'an is not the only way to salvage the situation.
With the mindset that she needed to eat her fill to have the energy to lose weight, she reached out her wicked little hand and forcefully turned Xie Sui'an's head back, her palm barely the size of half of his cheek.
She said, "Come here a little..."
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