Chapter 24 Snacks: "Take a bite first"
Looking at the gentle Yan Zhenxi in front of her, Jiang Zhiyao hesitated for a moment, closed her eyes, and slowly leaned over to kiss Yan Zhenxi's lips.
Yan Zhenxi stared intently at Jiang Zhiyao, and when she approached, he unconsciously held his breath.
Like a dragonfly skimming the water, the touch was fleeting, but it was enough to leave Yan Zhenxi stunned. He hadn't expected Jiang Zhiyao to actually take the initiative.
After stepping back, Jiang Zhiyao looked at Yan Zhenxi seriously and said, "Then let's be a real couple."
Jiang Zhiyao had some suspicions about Yan Zhenxi's recent approach, but she didn't dare to confirm it. However, seeing Yan Zhenxi's unwavering and proactive attitude, Jiang Zhiyao knew she wasn't dreaming.
Let's just be a real couple then.
She really couldn't refuse Yan Zhenxi. The scene from her dream appeared before her eyes, and Jiang Zhiyao thought, "Then I'll be brave."
Moreover, Yan Zhenxi had already soothed her sadness from last night, and Jiang Zhiyao inexplicably felt more confident.
After saying that, Jiang Zhiyao looked away slightly and whispered, "...That was a return gift."
It was a kiss exchanged between husband and wife, not because of what Yan Zhenxi had said before.
Yan Zhenxi understood what Jiang Zhiyao meant, and he couldn't help but smile: "Thank you, Ayao."
-
Jiang Zhiyao felt that becoming a real couple with Yan Zhenxi was no different from before.
We still ate together, slept together, took walks together, and chatted and played chess together.
However, there are still some differences.
Jiang Zhiyao pursed her slightly numb lips and said somewhat shyly, "Zhenxi."
"What's wrong?" Yan Zhenxi stopped what she was doing.
"We can't kiss again today," Jiang Zhiyao said seriously.
"Why? Doesn't Ayao like it? Or is there something I did wrong?" Yan Zhenxi's face was still covered by a veil, so Jiang Zhiyao couldn't see his eyes, but she couldn't help feeling that the corners of his eyes were drooping pitifully.
"No," Jiang Zhiyao said softly, "It's just that my tongue hurts a little."
These past few days, Yan Zhenxi has been kissing her constantly—after she wakes up, before meals, after meals, while she's studying, and even before she goes to sleep.
Jiang Zhiyao actually likes kissing, but this is just... way too frequent.
Seeing that Yan Zhenxi had come closer after listening, Jiang Zhiyao quickly stopped him with her hand: "What are you doing?"
Yan Zhenxi stopped following Jiang Zhiyao's movements: "How about this is the last time today? I have to go out. I won't be back until very late, and I probably won't even be able to have dinner with Ayao."
"Just once, I won't go in, just gently," Yan Zhenxi said softly.
"Alright then." Jiang Zhiyao lowered her hand that had been blocking the two of them.
Yan Zhenxi kissed her, without separating Jiang Zhiyao's teeth, and kept gently sucking on her lips, especially on her cupid's bow, making Jiang Zhiyao's lips feel tingly and numb.
When they parted, Jiang Zhiyao's lips looked exceptionally moist.
"I will try to come back as soon as possible."
“Okay, I’ll wait for you to come back.” Jiang Zhiyao nodded.
-
In a secluded villa in the capital city.
"My lord, this is the person we caught yesterday." The servant respectfully opened the iron gate for Yan Zhenxi.
Yesterday, a group of secret guards came to assassinate Yan Zhenxi. The leader of that group of secret guards is being held here.
"Did you get anything out of them?" Yan Zhenxi's tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.
"No." The attendant lowered his head even further.
"Understood." Yan Zhenxi walked in. He was clearly a noble young master in fine clothes and jade crown, but he didn't even blink when he saw the shocking scars all over the person in front of him.
“You are the Crown Prince’s man.” The words carried an air of certainty. “He recently replaced the Vice Minister of War, and he’s getting anxious.”
The person on the rack didn't speak, but looked up and stared fiercely at Yan Zhenxi.
Looking at Yan Zhenxi's intact, yet still somewhat imposing, eyes, he sneered, "You're not blind." "Master was right after all, it was you behind it all. Which prince are you helping?"
The person on the rack was the Crown Prince's most trusted subordinate, a bodyguard who had been by his side since childhood and had done countless things for him in secret.
After discovering that his own people in the court were being replaced one after another, the eldest prince became anxious. After realizing that Yan Zhenxi might be behind it, he ordered his men to assassinate Yan Zhenxi.
They had clearly made preparations to leave if things didn't go well, but unexpectedly, they were still caught.
"Your master must have no other backup plans, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths as to send you to assassinate me," Yan Zhenxi said calmly.
The guard did not answer him directly: "I know what you came here for today, but I won't tell you anything."
"Oh?" Yan Zhenxi chuckled lightly. "Really? You can't tell me anything about your plan?"
The guard lowered his head and didn't look at Yan Zhenxi. He began to suspect something. Did Yan Zhenxi know something?
Seeing the change in the guard's expression, Yan Zhenxi slowly said, "Can something so completely unrealistic still be called a plan?"
Upon hearing this, the guard looked up at Yan Zhenxi in surprise, then reassured himself that Yan Zhenxi couldn't possibly know the specifics.
But after the guards regained their composure, Yan Zhenxi spoke again: "Three days from now, at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), you'll join forces with his good uncle to force the emperor to abdicate at the southeast gate, is that right?"
His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.
Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the guard's eyes widened suddenly as he exclaimed, "How do you know so much?!"
Yan Zhenxi chuckled lightly: "Don't worry, your master's plan won't be wasted. Thanks to him, this is truly a perfect pledge of loyalty."
In a flash, the guard seemed to remember something, and he said through gritted teeth, "Qin Heng is one of your men, isn't he?"
Qin Heng was an advisor recruited by the Crown Prince a couple of years ago and was highly regarded by the Crown Prince. The only people who knew about this plan in advance were Qin Heng and him. The Crown Prince's uncle would definitely not leak the secret, so it could only be Qin Heng.
Yan Zhenxi raised an eyebrow: "You're not bad-witted. No wonder you're your master's favorite subordinate."
His Majesty's health is deteriorating, and although it is time to establish an heir, he has yet to make a move.
The eldest prince had long harbored resentment towards the fact that he held onto his power tightly and refused to reveal even a fraction of it.
According to the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, the eldest prince is the son of the Empress. According to the distinction between elder and younger children, the eldest prince is also the Emperor's eldest son. Moreover, the eldest prince has no faults. Therefore, both in terms of sentiment and reason, the position of Crown Prince should be given to the eldest prince.
However, when faced with the ministers' suggestions to establish an heir as soon as possible, the emperor remained vague and increasingly favored the weak and incompetent fourth prince. The eldest prince became more and more anxious and resentful. Coupled with the setbacks of his own people in the court, he had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
The guard knew that he definitely wouldn't be able to leave here alive. He had originally insisted on waiting for the eldest prince to come and rescue him, but now it seemed that the hope was slim.
"Aren't you afraid of alerting the enemy?" the guard asked dejectedly.
Yan Zhenxi smiled but said nothing, then turned and left the cell.
The moment he left, the bodyguard bit his tongue and committed suicide.
Today ended earlier than I expected, and I made it in time for dinner.
Yan Zhenxi looked at the still somewhat bright sky and thought to himself.
-
"Ayao, I'm back." Yan Zhenxi's voice came from the doorway.
Jiang Zhiyao came out of the room and walked up to Yan Zhenxi, saying with some surprise, "You're back?"
"Mm." Yan Zhenxi held a sugar painting in his hand and only raised it when Jiang Zhiyao came in front of him.
It's a little rabbit.
"Here you go." Yan Zhenxi smiled and bent down to hand it to Jiang Zhiyao. "On the way back, I passed a street with many snacks on the street. They smelled really good, and since I knew you liked them, I bought some of them."
Jiang Zhiyao would occasionally have a craving and would have someone go outside the mansion to buy some snacks to bring back.
The servants behind Yan Zhenxi were carrying many packages.
Jiang Zhiyao took the sugar painting, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you, Zhenxi, please come in."
Looking at the snacks on the table, Jiang Zhiyao suspected that he had bought up all the snacks on the street.
There are candied hawthorn berries, osmanthus cake, donkey rolls (a type of glutinous rice roll), silver thread candy, mung bean cake, glutinous rice lotus root, tofu pudding...
Jiang Zhiyao said to Yan Zhenxi, "This is a bit too much. Let's share some with the others."
"Okay," Yan Zhenxi replied gently.
Jiang Zhiyao kept a little of each kind of snack, and had Nanzhi take the rest to distribute.
She looked at the lifelike, glistening sugar painting in her hand and held it to Yan Zhenxi's lips: "Take a bite first."
"Okay." Yan Zhenxi lowered her head, opened her mouth, and bit off the little rabbit's tail.
"So sweet." Yan Zhenxi said, with a rabbit tail in her mouth, slowly licking away the sugar crumbs stuck to her lips.
Jiang Zhiyao blushed as she watched Yan Zhenxi's actions, and felt a strong urge to kiss him.
Jiang Zhiyao resisted, lowered her head and took a bite of the sugar painting, the spot where Yan Zhenxi had just bitten.
"Is it sweet?" Yan Zhenxi asked.
"Sweet." Jiang Zhiyao slowly put the sugar painting in her mouth, feeling a little strange. It was just ordinary maltose, so why was it so sweet?
After tasting the sugar painting, Jiang Zhiyao slowly began to eat the snacks on the table.
"Mmm." Jiang Zhiyao's eyes sparkled. "This osmanthus cake is so delicious."
It's sweet but not cloying, with the fragrance of osmanthus, and the texture is just right—soft and chewy without sticking to your teeth.
"Really? Let me try it." After saying that, Yan Zhenxi leaned over, and Jiang Zhiyao subconsciously held up the osmanthus cake in her hand that had been bitten, with a row of small teeth marks on it.
"Wait." Seeing that Yan Zhenxi was about to touch Jiang Zhiyao, she realized what was happening. "I'll get you another one."
"Why change it?" Yan Zhenxi took a bite of the pastry, seemingly unintentionally, her lips brushing against Jiang Zhiyao's fingertips, then slowly savored the osmanthus cake in her mouth and smiled, "This is so delicious."
Seeing Yan Zhenxi's calm and composed expression, Jiang Zhiyao didn't say anything, but picked up a mung bean cake and held it to Yan Zhenxi's lips.
Yan Zhenxi subconsciously opened her mouth and ate it, but she didn't expect that the mung bean cake was so dry that she choked.
No wonder she didn't offer it to me after she tasted it.
After a while, Yan Zhenxi swallowed. When he saw Jiang Zhiyao's slightly upturned lips, he didn't feel like he had been tricked at all. He just thought she was really cute and felt a little itchy inside.
After Jiang Zhiyao and Yan Zhenxi had tried a little of everything, Jiang Zhiyao was already quite full.
She looked at Yan Zhenxi beside her and asked, "Want to go for a walk together?"
"Of course," Yan Zhenxi replied with a smile.
It was still just the two of them, but unlike before, Yan Zhenxi's action of taking Jiang Zhiyao's hand was incredibly natural.
Unlike the nervousness she felt during their first walk together, Jiang Zhiyao now felt relaxed. As the evening breeze blew by, their sleeves mingled together where their hands were clasped.
From a distance, the folds of the clothes looked like ripples on water, with crescent white and pale green intertwined.
It evokes images of a spring night by the river, where the reflections of willow branches and the moon overlap on the water's surface. The gentle willow branches brush against the pure white moon, disrupting its original flawless shape but adding a touch of tenderness, rippling across the pool of spring colors.
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