Chapter 26 Eyes "Does Ayao like them?"
After saying that, Yan Zhenxi took Jiang Zhiyao's hand, lay down on his side, hugged Jiang Zhiyao, and lowered his head slightly.
As Jiang Zhiyao moved her hand, she tilted her head back. Yan Zhenxi took Jiang Zhiyao's hand and let her fingertips slowly trace his eyebrows and eyes.
In the darkness, Jiang Zhiyao could not see Yan Zhenxi's expression. Her fingertips first touched Yan Zhenxi's eyebrows, then the arch and the tail of his eyebrows.
The moment they touched, Jiang Zhiyao's fingers twitched slightly, but the next second Yan Zhenxi moved his head even closer, leaving Jiang Zhiyao with no way to avoid it.
After the eyebrows came the eyes. Starting from the corners of the eyes, Jiang Zhiyao slowly touched them. Every time Yan Zhenxi blinked, Jiang Zhiyao felt her heart beat a little faster.
Throughout the entire process, Yan Zhenxi kept staring at Jiang Zhiyao, who seemed to be drawn in as well. She stared blankly into Yan Zhenxi's eyes while feeling the touch of his fingertips.
Jiang Zhiyao's favorite feature is actually Yan Zhenxi's eyes.
His beautiful eyes always held a smile, yet also a hint of aloofness, making people unconsciously want to explore. But before this, Yan Zhenxi's gaze had never fallen on Jiang Zhiyao.
Jiang Zhiyao always watched Yan Zhenxi through the gaps in the crowd at the banquet. Sometimes his gaze would inadvertently sweep over Jiang Zhiyao, but it was enough to make her heart flutter.
At this moment, Yan Zhenxi's eyes were fixed on Jiang Zhiyao at close range. Although she knew he couldn't see, Jiang Zhiyao inexplicably felt that he was looking at her very intently.
She also wore a gentle smile that conveyed no sense of distance.
"How is it, Ayao?" As Yan Zhenxi asked, Jiang Zhiyao felt his gaze become even more intense.
As if suddenly snapping back to reality, Jiang Zhiyao's face flushed, and she hurriedly covered Yan Zhenxi's eyes with her hands.
Yan Zhenxi chuckled softly, his chest trembling slightly. Jiang Zhiyao became even more embarrassed, and the sensation under his palm was quite noticeable. His long eyelashes kept brushing against her, causing a ticklish feeling.
Jiang Zhiyao quickly put her hand down again.
"Ah Yao." Yan Zhenxi stared at Jiang Zhiyao again, his voice rising at the end, making Jiang Zhiyao's ears burn.
Jiang Zhiyao whispered, "It's...it's beautiful."
"Does Ayao like it?" Yan Zhenxi's voice still held an uncontrollable smile.
“…I like it.” Jiang Zhiyao’s voice became even softer.
"What?" As if he hadn't heard Jiang Zhiyao's answer clearly, Yan Zhenxi moved his head even closer.
"I like it." Jiang Zhiyao cleared her throat, raising her voice slightly so that Yan Zhenxi wouldn't hear her.
"That's good." Yan Zhenxi said as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from his tone, it was as if being liked by Jiang Zhiyao was the greatest joy in the world.
Jiang Zhiyao was a little shy. Because of her own initiative in expressing her feelings and Yan Zhenxi's tone, she buried her head in her hands, leaving her red ear tips sticking out in the air.
"So cute!" Yan Zhenxi couldn't help but say, like a little rabbit burying its head in the grass with its tail trembling outside.
"Alright," came Jiang Zhiyao's somewhat muffled voice. "It's late, you should get some rest."
"Okay," Yan Zhenxi agreed, then added, "I'll listen to Ayao."
Yan Zhenxi calmed down. He was indeed very tired today, and with Jiang Zhiyao in his arms, he fell asleep soon after.
Nestled in Yan Zhenxi's arms, Jiang Zhiyao felt very comfortable. She turned her face up and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
In the early morning, sunlight streamed into the room.
Jiang Zhiyao opened her eyes groggily and found herself still lying in Yan Zhenxi's arms.
Looking at the sky outside, it was already past my usual wake-up time.
This was the first time Jiang Zhiyao had woken up earlier than Yan Zhenxi. In the past, when she woke up, Yan Zhenxi would already be waiting for her to have breakfast together.
Yan Zhenxi, who was beside her, appeared to be fast asleep. Her face was no longer covered by her eye veil, revealing her face without any concealment.
Looking at Yan Zhenxi's eyebrows, Jiang Zhiyao recalled the touch from last night. For no reason, she had some thoughts and began to gently, even more slowly, stroke them.
It was even slower than when Yan Zhenxi was holding her hand yesterday. Yan Zhenxi didn't have thick eyebrows, and Jiang Zhiyao couldn't describe his eyebrow shape, but she felt that even his eyebrows were very handsome.
It felt a little fuzzy. She first stroked it along the direction of the eyebrow's growth, and then stroked it against the direction of the eyebrow's tail.
Jiang Zhiyao thought, "It feels pretty good."
Then, her fingertips moved to Yan Zhenxi's eyelashes. Yan Zhenxi's eyes were closed, and the eyelashes on her upper and lower eyelids were joined together, with the front ends slightly curled up.
Jiang Zhiyao gently rubbed her palms a few times with her soft fingertips, recalling the feeling of his eyelashes brushing against her palm last night, and a smile appeared in her eyes.
Finally, she gently tapped Yan Zhenxi's closed eyelids with her finger, very lightly, as if with infinite pity.
Yan Zhenxi's eyes flickered slightly, and Jiang Zhiyao immediately withdrew her hand.
After a while, looking at Yan Zhenxi who was still fast asleep, Jiang Zhiyao calmed her racing heart and tiptoed out of bed.
After Jiang Zhiyao left the room, Yan Zhenxi opened his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle. Then, as if giving up, he put the back of his hand over his eyes.
Why is it that when she touches me, it's so incredibly alluring?
-
"Hey, have you heard about the Crown Prince's situation?" Cheng Mingzhu asked while eating pastries.
"No." Jiang Zhiyao shook her head.
Ji Wanqing only heard a little noise and didn't know what had happened.
Seeing this, Cheng Mingzhu laughed, then gestured for them to come closer, and said in a very low voice: "The eldest prince has been deposed and exiled as a commoner."
"What?!" Jiang Zhiyao and Ji Wanqing exclaimed in surprise, then immediately lowered their voices. Although they were in the Ji residence and their servants were not around, they still kept their voices down when they heard about such royal matters.
“I’m not lying to you,” Cheng Mingzhu continued. “I overheard my father talking to my mother in the study.”
"I heard that the Crown Prince tried to force the emperor to abdicate last night, but one of his advisors told the emperor on his own initiative."
"You absolutely mustn't tell anyone else," Ji Wanqing said to Cheng Mingzhu in a serious tone after listening.
Such a royal scandal, unless it causes any irreparable damage, will certainly not be made public. If it were to be revealed rashly, it would likely cause considerable trouble.
"Of course I know that." Cheng Mingzhu patted her chest. "I wouldn't dare tell anyone even if you gave me ten lives."
For some reason, Jiang Zhiyao suddenly remembered Yan Zhenxi's busy schedule and his late return yesterday. She forcibly suppressed the slight suspicion that had just begun to surface and did not think about it any further.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. It's a bit scary to talk about. How are your wedding preparations going?" Cheng Mingzhu asked.
Jiang Zhiyao then looked at Ji Wanqing.
Ji Wanqing and the Third Prince's wedding is imminent. The Third Prince recently visited with betrothal gifts, and the entire capital already knows about it.
"Everything is almost ready," Ji Wanqing said, "except for the wedding dress, which is still a little bit missing."
"I'll be calling you the Third Prince's Consort soon," Cheng Mingzhu teased with a smile.
"I've finished embroidering the round fan." With that, Jiang Zhiyao handed the round fan she had brought to Ji Wanqing.
Cheng Mingzhu stared longingly at the wrapped brocade box: "Could I take a look?"
Jiang Zhiyao and Ji Wanqing certainly wouldn't refuse.
Ji Wanqing carefully took out the exquisite round fan, and as soon as she did, she heard Cheng Mingzhu's praise.
"Wow!" Cheng Mingzhu's eyes lit up with excitement. "So beautiful! So pretty!"
The round fan is made of fine satin, with a "喜" (happiness) character in the center, surrounded by lifelike flowers and birds.
The fan is adorned with beautiful jewels, exuding both exquisite craftsmanship and elegance.
Ji Wanqing liked it very much, looking like she couldn't put it down: "Thank you, Ayao! It's very beautiful. How can Ayao be so skillful? I can't find a round fan in the whole capital that is more beautiful and suits my taste."
Jiang Zhiyao was a little embarrassed by the praise, but her eyes couldn't help but crinkle slightly.
Compared to the shops Ji Wanqing gave her, Jiang Zhiyao didn't know what to give as a gift, so she made a round fan herself for the wedding. "I want one too," Cheng Mingzhu tugged at Jiang Zhiyao's sleeve, "Good Zhiyao."
Jiang Zhiyao laughed: "Of course, I've already thought of the designs."
"It seems things are going well between you and Young Master Xuan," Ji Wanqing teased with a smile.
"No, I didn't," Cheng Mingzhu retorted stubbornly.
But seeing Cheng Mingzhu's clearly intentional expression, Jiang Zhiyao joked, "It seems we can start preparing the fan now."
"Oh, Yao!" Cheng Mingzhu pretended to tickle her. "You're teasing me too."
"Sister Ji, help me!" Jiang Zhiyao ran up to Ji Wanqing with a smile.
A scene filled with laughter and joy.
-
Upon returning to the residence, it was already dinnertime, and Yan Zhenxi was sitting in the main hall waiting.
"Ayao is back?" Yan Zhenxi asked gently upon hearing the noise.
“It’s me.” Jiang Zhiyao quickened her pace and walked up to him. “I bought you a hairpin.”
In the afternoon, when Jiang Zhiyao went to a jewelry store with Ji Wanqing and the others, she saw this hairpin. She immediately thought it would suit Yan Zhenxi very well. The hairpin was made of translucent blue jade and had a bamboo leaf shape with gold trim on it. The design was simple yet elegant.
Jiang Zhiyao handed the hairpin to Yan Zhenxi, who touched it and smiled, saying, "I like it very much, so I need Ayao to help me put it on."
“Okay.” Jiang Zhiyao went around to Yan Zhenxi’s back. She didn’t know much about men’s hairstyles and was a little unsure of where to start.
"Just pull out the original hairpin; it won't fall apart," Yan Zhenxi said, noticing Jiang Zhiyao's hesitation.
Following his instructions, Jiang Zhiyao removed the previous hairpin and gently inserted the new one.
After Jiang Zhiyao finished putting on her hair, Yan Zhenxi asked with a smile, "Does it look good?"
"It looks good," Jiang Zhiyao said, looking at Yan Zhenxi. "I think it suits her very well."
Previously, Yan Zhenxi wore a white jade hairpin, a very simple design with no patterns whatsoever.
Now that she's wearing this, she looks even more elegant and beautiful.
"I know Ayao has good taste." Seeing Jiang Zhiyao's appreciative expression, Yan Zhenxi thought that she could wear more beautiful hairpins in the future.
Seeing Yan Zhenxi's happy expression, Jiang Zhiyao suddenly felt a little itchy: "Zhenxi, I'll come and help you with your hair tomorrow morning."
Jiang Zhiyao had actually wanted to do this for a long time. Last time, when she helped Yan Zhenxi dry his hair, she touched his smooth long hair and felt a little restless.
But she didn't dare to say it then. Now, when she thinks about it again, Jiang Zhiyao can say it to Yan Zhenxi very naturally.
"Okay." Yan Zhenxi readily agreed and began to look forward to tomorrow morning.
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