In the blink of an eye, a young man was seen sitting brazenly on the tree...
Qin Weixi had a hard night's sleep, and it wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that there was a rustling sound from inside the canopy on the second floor of Tingyuxuan. A short while later, the door was opened from the outside, and Pu Niang entered first, followed by Feng Hua. One person carried a copper basin, and the other a bowl of almond tea. Qin Weixi, sitting on the carved canopy bed inside the canopy, lifted the curtain and saw this scene.
Feng Hua let out a burp, picked up the shoes from the ground, and presented them to Qin Weixi. Her eyes darted around as she stared at her and smiled, "Miss, I'm beholden to your kindness. Let me help you put on your shoes today."
Qin Weixi smiled and asked, "What delicious food did you eat this time?"
Feng Hua said, "Pu Niang thought you got up early today, so she personally cooked a bowl of strong almond tea. But the sun is high in the sky and you still haven't gotten up. So Pu Niang has no choice but to give it to me first."
Pu Niang feigned annoyance: "Oh dear, are you free now? If you haven't digested your food yet, go take Xiao Zhoufeng downstairs for a walk."
Feng Hua still smiled and said, "Didn't we just take a walk this morning?"
“That’s Miss’s precious treasure.” As Pu Niang spoke, her hands kept fiddling with the paintbrush and face cream in front of the dressing table. She looked at her with a smile and affection in her eyes: “Miss, please get up and have a bowl of almond tea before you start applying your makeup. How can you go all afternoon on an empty stomach?”
Qin Weixi didn't let Feng Hua help her put on her shoes; she picked them up and put them on herself. Hearing this, she nodded and said with a smile, "Puniang, what's wrong with you and Feng Hua today? Why are you staring at me like that?" She then touched the corner of her mouth, "Am I drooling?"
Feng Hua chuckled and was about to speak when a loud "thump" suddenly came from the small window in front of the desk, startling the three people in the room.
Feng Hua ran over quickly and looked down, where she saw a small pebble lying quietly on the ground.
"It's just a small stone. Could it be a cat climbing on the eaves?" Feng Hua frowned, muttering to herself as she looked up. Suddenly, another small stone was thrown from the opposite side, but this time it didn't hit the small window; instead, it landed directly on the ground.
Qin Weixi heard the noise and sensed something was amiss. He got up and looked at the old tree in the center of the courtyard, and his eyelids twitched again.
A young man sat casually on the tree, his hair tied up with a golden crown, wearing a dark blue brocade robe with cloud patterns, a jade belt around his waist, and a golden, openwork ball hanging from his waist. He wore black boots with gold thread.
His leisurely demeanor and the natural air of nobility that emanated from him made it no exaggeration to call him a chosen one of the emperor.
Upon closer inspection, Qin Weixi realized that the person sitting casually in the tree was not a boy at all. He had clearly already passed the age of adulthood and had quietly grown into a handsome and dashing young man.
But before she could say it, someone beside her spoke for her.
Feng Hua opened her mouth and murmured, "What a handsome young man!"
Pu Niang smiled and pulled Feng Hua, who was blocking the window, over, gently reminding her, "You girl who wants to doze off after drinking almond tea, look again at who that is? Get out of there."
Feng Hua was brought back to her senses by the reminder whispered in her ear, and hurriedly bowed and withdrew with Pu Niang.
Pu Niang still smiled as she looked at the handsome young man outside the window, and called out, "Young Master, please wait a moment. There's still some almond tea left that I made for Miss."
In the blink of an eye, Chu Yening had already stood up. With a light touch of his toes, he flew swiftly to the narrow terrace outside the second floor of Tingyu Pavilion. He nodded and said solemnly, "Thank you for your help, Pu Niang."
Qin Weixi was a little unaccustomed to his serious attitude, then saw him nimbly flip into the room. Only the two of them remained in the room. Qin Weixi stared intently at his waist and asked, "Fourth Brother, is your injury healed? Why didn't you walk on the wooden steps?"
A summer breeze, typical of midsummer, enveloped me, and soon I felt myself fall into a not-so-warm embrace.
Chu Yening held her tightly in his arms and whispered, "Those wooden steps are twelve steps long, and each step is a moment, which means it will take me twelve moments to see you. But I flew here, and in those short twelve moments I can hold you in my arms. Isn't that... better?"
He quickly widened the distance between them, leaned down and gently reached out a hand, lightly stroking the tip of her nose with one finger: "Little Seventh Sister, don't stare at your Fourth Brother's waist and abdomen, your Fourth Brother is about to be in a real bind."
"Do not look at what is improper!"
He spoke eloquently, each sentence seemingly brimming with truth, yet also revealing his unrestrained behavior. But what could she do? They had known each other since childhood, and she knew his character all too well.
Qin Weixi looked at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but her ears turned red because of that last sentence: "Then answer me, is your injury healed?"
Chu Yening raised an eyebrow and pretended to open his arms: "Don't you trust me? Why don't you come and take a look, Little Seventh Sister?"
Qin Weixi gritted her teeth, ready to stomp on him, but then thought of his injuries and decided against it.
"Didn't you tell me not to stare at you?"
Chu Yening laughed heartily, "Times have changed." He then looked up and saw the girl's almond-shaped eyes flickering with anger. He quickly pulled her into his arms again, then reached out a large hand and gently and playfully ruffled her hair, saying in a gentle voice, "I was just joking with you. I just got back from the palace."
"You've entered the palace? Have you seen the Emperor and Empress?"
Chu Yening replied, "I have met them. They simply asked about the assassin from that day and my injuries, then invited me to have breakfast and rewarded me with jewels and gold and silver."
Have you ever seen Chen Guiyi?
Chu Yening replied again, "This person is very good at hiding his true colors!" Finally, he added, "I also met Jiang Yuanfu in the Imperial Garden. I exchanged a few pleasantries with her and then left. I just thought it was nothing to mention, but I thought I'd tell you about it anyway." He spoke in a very casual tone.
“A-Fu? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her. She came to the Marquis’s residence a while ago when I saw Fifth Brother off.”
Chu Yening couldn't help but gently rub her head again. The room fell silent for a moment. He felt strange and was about to take a closer look at her when he suddenly heard the girl in his arms ask, "Tell me the truth, when you and your brother were little, did you secretly read some storybook? Did you think that girls liked to have their heads patted?"
"Women have always cherished their beautiful hair. If I have just combed my hair, styled my sideburns, put on a hairpin with pearl flowers, and applied fragrant hair oil, and you mess it up, wouldn't I have to comb it all over again!"
Qin Weixi found himself becoming quite talkative as well. Chu Yening, hearing these responses, burst into laughter again: "So you're willing to talk more now?"
He reluctantly pulled away from her again: "Seventh Sister, your confidence when you were young came from your aunt and uncle. From now on, your confidence will come from me, Chu Yening. I'll make sure you're happy, and your fourth brother will always be there to support you!"
"Little Seventh Sister, Fourth Brother doesn't really want to see you. That day outside Chengxin Nunnery, which wasn't exactly our first meeting, was as cold as ice."
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi suddenly laughed and subconsciously pulled his hand over to shake it: "Is Fourth Brother's hand cold?"
"Why is it so cold? Are you sick? Is it very cold in the Northwest? Did you eat dumplings and glutinous rice balls for the New Year?"
Hearing her gentle words and heartfelt concern, Chu Yening felt extremely warm inside. He reached out and gently stroked her shoulders, chuckling softly, "It's alright."
"Let me take a good look. It was late at night at the Qin family's old residence that day. Let me see what my little seventh sister looks like now."
Qin Weixi chuckled, blinking her bright eyes as he scrutinized her: "Has it gone astray? Is it ugly?"
She also looked up at him intently, and was surprised to find that Chu Yening was indeed looking at her carefully. His nose was fine, his ears were fine, his fair face was rosy, and his bright eyes were blinking as he looked at her. Very good, very good. He then took advantage of the girl's inattention and nimbly plucked out a strand of white hair that was "annoying" him.
He looked at her long, raven-feather-like hair and finally smiled again, then suddenly remembered something: "Did you give the luminous pearl that the bandit stole?"
A luminous pearl. Qin Weixi's eyelids twitched, then he nodded.
But then he heard the person in front of him say, "That was originally meant for you."
"But at that time, not only was the person still alive, but we also wanted to send them to the Qin family's old residence." His voice suddenly became hoarse and low.
Qin Weixi gently squeezed his palm, and Chu Yening lowered his eyes to look.
Suddenly, a turbulent storm seemed to surge through my heart.
Only these hands bore a faint, permanent mark left by him. Without hesitation, he raised those hands, bent down, and gently kissed them.
Qin Weixi felt as if a light feather had brushed against her heart, making her feel itchy.
Chu Yening said: "My sister is so beautiful today!"
Qin Weixi tilted her head slightly to look at him, and when she heard him say it so seriously, she smiled and said, "So you didn't grow up crooked?"
Chu Yening suddenly leaned over again, bringing her profile close to him: "Then come and see if your fourth brother has gone astray?"
"My little seventh sister has always been the most beautiful among all the girls since she was little! Fourth brother is checking if you have any scars from back then. If you are, fourth brother will accompany you to be 'ugly'. If not, fourth brother is happy that my little seventh sister is safe and sound."
He sighed again: "But what I saw today, the beautiful woman leaving the Luo residence, was like a figure in a painting. It made me, Chu, look somewhat pale in comparison."
"No, no, Fourth Brother is afraid that your heart will be stolen by a thief. You should be even more 'beautiful' than Seventh Sister."
Qin Weixi couldn't help but chuckle as she listened to his rambling "complaints," her eyes crinkling into crescent moons, as if she were still in the happy days of her youth.
"You're so unruly!" Though she said this, she had already firmly grasped his cold hands. She looked at him with her bright eyes, and said with utmost seriousness, "Fourth Brother, I will never, ever leave you."
Chu Yening's eyes were full of love and doting. The warm sun suddenly shone through the small window, casting a halo of light around her. He smiled silently and was about to lean over and kiss her lips when a clear cough suddenly sounded outside the door.
Qin Weixi smiled: "It's Pu Niang."
Chu Yening said gently, "I am indeed a little thirsty."
Qin Weixi went to open the door. Pu Niang held a bowl of almond tea and looked at the two of them with gentle eyes. She saw that the girl was smiling happily and her eyes were full of love.
"Miss loves this almond tea the most, young master, please drink it while it's hot."
Before Pu Niang could hand it over, Chu Yening stepped forward and took it with both hands. He said gently, "I know that she loved drinking this almond tea and eating mutton dumplings when she was young."
Pu Niang watched with a smile as he took the cup and drank it all in one gulp, but Qin Weixi noticed that there was a faint, shimmering light in those kind eyes.
It is tears.
Pu Niang said, "I was blinded by greed before, and actually..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chu Yening bowed and performed a junior's salute, saying sincerely, "Puniang can just call me Yening. Over the years, Puniang has taken good care of Seventh Sister, accompanying her for many years so that she has never been alone."
Qin Weixi stood to the side, and her nose tingled with emotion upon hearing this.
Pu Niang smiled and patted his hand, helping him up and saying, "Good child, you're making this old servant feel too bad. When the young lady left, she specifically told this old servant, in her childish voice, that I must treat her best older sister as I would treat her. This old servant hasn't done anything for the young lady all these years, but as long as I can help the Qin family be exonerated as Madam instructed, this old servant will have fulfilled the young lady's request."
But Qin Weixi knew that Pu Niang had not been by her side all these years just because of Luo Xiaoxing; she had been sincerely by her side all along.
Chu Yening smiled and nodded slightly, then said to her, "Do you want to go to Xiaguang Peak? Come on, your fourth brother will go with you!"
"Also, Little Seventh Sister, do you still want to learn archery?"
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