Chapter 71

Jiashan's tone is like that of a child who has lost her sense of security and needs an adult to stay by her side and give her enough support and confidence.

Her voice was soft and gentle, with an unstable breath, like a feather that was half broken. It scratched Zhan Yue's heart lightly, causing a ripple of excitement, but then it subsided in the blink of an eye.

The light of the fire flickered, and Jiashan's face seemed to turn dim and gloomy.

Zhan Yue said: "Okay."

"Can I hold you?" He lowered his head, looked into Jiashan's watery eyes that seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, and asked softly.

Jiashan did not answer, but slowly opened his arms to him.

Zhan Yue smiled, put his arm around her waist, and held Jiashan in his arms.

Jiashan's waist is as slender as a willow, as if it could be grasped with just a light grasp.

Even though they were already married, Zhan Yue still loved her exquisite curves. He slowly climbed up her back with one hand and lowered his head to whisper in her ear, "Aren't you going to sleep tonight?"

Jiashan was actually very tired, but what happened that night still made her scalp tingle. As soon as she closed her eyes, the shadows of her mother and Yuankang kept lingering in her mind.

The year the empress passed away, Jiashan was only six years old. Normally, her memory was not clear. But the empress's delicate white face was deeply engraved in her memory, with unforgettable clarity.

It was a face very similar to Yuan Yasu's, but more majestic and gentle.

What kind of person is the Queen Mother?

She seemed gentle, and was very kind to me and Yuankang. When I was little, she often held my hand and taught me how to write. My father and Madam Zheng both said that my mother was proud, and that my temperament was like hers. Perhaps, it was true.

Jiashan leaned on Zhan Yue's chest and said, "Sleep, wait until you leave."

Zhan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly and asked softly, "If I don't leave, will you stay awake and chat with me all night with your eyes closed?"

Jiashan slowly raised his head and said to him, "Don't scare me, you still have to go back to guard the night. If the emperor finds out that you are 'stealing while on guard', you will be in trouble."

Zhan Yue smiled softly upon hearing this. He was not one to be frightened. He immediately said in a lazy tone, "Father said he hopes you will blossom and bear fruit."

"The good fruit that the princess talked about, is it the same kind of fruit that father talked about?" He lowered his head, his black eyes seemed bright in the night.

At this point, Jiashan couldn't help but think of the "good" he deserved at the banquet today. She bit her lip, hit him lightly, and said, "You are talking nonsense, I will ignore you."

Zhan Yue smiled, lowered his head, and kissed her at the side of her temple. The cool temperature at the corner of his lips seemed to be the most effective comfort for her that night.

Zhan Yue said: "If the princess ignores me, then I really don't know what to do."

"After you move to the princess's mansion, we can only see each other every two days," Zhan Yue stroked the flesh on her waist with one hand and held her neck with the other. He whispered, "Princess, are you really willing to ignore me?"

Jiashan is a person who is not willing to be treated harshly, and Zhan Yue has been with her for a long time, so he probably knows this very well. When he said this, Jiashan couldn't say anything harsh anymore. She was like a persimmon in his hand, only for him to squeeze and chew.

Zhan Yue was sure about the outcome of this game, so he didn't try to climb up the pole, but instead decided to stop when he saw the good results.

He said, "Let me accompany you to bed for a while. You can't stay up all night."

Jiashan is a person with regular sleeping hours. He has managed to stay awake until now on his last breath, but his consciousness and nerves in his body have long since shut down.

She didn't feel it at first, but after being held like this by Zhan Yue, she actually felt a lot more sleepy. She seemed to be in the most stable cradle, and all the fears she had before were gone.

Jiashan nodded absentmindedly: "Okay."

She was just about to ask Zhan Yue to let go and walk to the bed, but the next moment, Zhan Yue just picked her up.

Jiashan's body was empty, and her consciousness became clear again. She grabbed the clothes on Zhan Yue's chest with one hand and said angrily, "I can walk down by myself."

"I want to hold you like this." Zhan Yue's arms are strong. He holds Jiashan's waist with one hand, and the weight of Jiashan's entire body is placed on his hands.

These hands once held up mountains and rivers, but now they only hold a woman firmly.

Zhan Yue's eyelashes fluttered, and he lowered his head to kiss Jia Shan's lips: "It's been a long time since I did this."

This kiss was like a dragonfly touching the water, it came instantly.

Jiashan clearly felt that some parts of his body had a subtle reaction. Afraid of irritating him, Jiashan did not dare to move, but just asked vaguely in a low voice: "When I changed clothes today, Dancui said that I looked a little fatter than before. Do you think so?"

Zhan Yue chuckled and replied, "You are still thin, how can you be fat?"

Zhan Yue walked slowly, but finally reached the bed. He carefully placed Jia Shan on the bed, and a small dent immediately appeared in the middle of the soft bedding.

He took off his boots, lay down on the bed with his clothes on, and covered himself and Jiashan under the quilt.

Zhan Yue gently lifted Jiashan's hair. He gently rubbed Jiashan's face with the back of his hand and said, "I'm here with you. You won't have nightmares. Go to sleep."

His words seemed to have power. As soon as they fell, Jiashan covered her mouth and yawned unconsciously. She mumbled and asked, "Are you going back to the Anguo Mansion tomorrow?"

"Yes," Zhan Yue's tone softened a bit, as if he was trying to coax me, "Tomorrow, do you want me to go to the princess's mansion?"

"Yeah." Jiashan responded sullenly, "I received an invitation from the Princess of Qin. I will go to her house to admire the flowers the day after tomorrow. I only have time tomorrow."

"Okay." Zhan Yue's lips curled up without him noticing. His tone was low and relaxed. He said, "Then I'll come over to accompany you tomorrow."

Jiashan didn't say anything, but rubbed his shoulders gently with his cheeks, like a furry cat.

Zhan Yue raised his hand and patted her back gently, coaxing her to sleep.

Jiashan had a bad sleeping posture at night and liked to toss and turn. I don't know if it was because she knew Zhan Yue was beside her in her subconscious mind, and she couldn't rest even after falling asleep, and she was trying hard to get into Zhan Yue's arms.

She was like a tenacious climbing vine. Not only did she set an example with her body, but she also used her hands and feet to poke and poke endlessly in Zhan Yue's arms.

This made Mr. Zhan, who was always self-disciplined, almost reluctant to leave at night.

He pinched Jiashan's earlobe in a punitive way and thought to himself, "What a nasty little fellow."

Jiashan seemed to realize something. She muttered something and tilted her head to rub his chest, which made Zhan Yue's spine feel numb.

Finally, Zhan Yue summoned up his unprecedented willpower and silently repeated "there is a long way to go" a hundred and eighty times in his heart.

He slowly stood up and tucked the corners of Jiashan's quilt. Before leaving, he bit Jiashan's lips in a rage.

Jiashan was fast asleep, barely noticing, just humming softly. Zhan Yue pinched her chubby nose again, whispering, "I'll settle the score with you tomorrow."

After saying this, he finally turned his gaze away from Jiashan. He blew out the candles on the table quietly before leaving Fengyang Pavilion.

A good night's sleep.

The next morning, Su Yu came to wake Jiashan up.

The Jiashan woman was called up, but she was still confused. Only when she saw that Nanny Zheng and Su Yu both had dark circles under their eyes, did she become somewhat sober.

She remained expressionless and yawned, saying, "Although someone cleans it every day, Fengyang Pavilion has been unoccupied for a while, so it has accumulated a bit of dust. I didn't sleep well last night."

Su Yu smiled, said nothing more, and nodded, "Yes."

Su Yu came to help her change clothes. Jia Shan had breakfast, went to greet his father, and then went to Changle Palace to say hello to Yuan Kang. Seeing Yuan Kang's natural and relaxed demeanor, and thinking of the chilling conjecture, Jia Shan could only say goodbye to him with a forced smile.

When she returned to the princess's mansion, it was still early, so she took another nap.

No one called her.

But this time, for some reason, maybe it was because the sky was too bright, or maybe there was no one around her, she had several nightmares over and over again, either dreaming about things from her previous life, or dreaming about Yuankang's red, bleeding eyes.

Jiashan's breathing became rapid, and she suddenly opened her eyes. For a moment, her heart beat like a drum, thump, thump, thump, thump violently.

She sat up, touching her chest.

Jiashan's forehead was covered with sweat. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down for a moment until her breathing became slow and smooth again. Then she called out, "Dan Cui."

The person who came in was not Dan Cui, but Zhan Yue who had already changed into casual clothes.

Zhan Yue looked more energetic than Jia Shan, and his expression was very relaxed. Seeing Jia Shan wake up, Zhan Yue just curled his lips and said, "Don't you want to sleep a little longer?"

Jiashan shook her head. She felt her throat was slightly dry and said hoarsely, "Pour me a glass of water."

Zhan Yue poured her a cup of tea.

There was still a sweat stain on Jiashan's nose that she hadn't wiped off in time. Zhan Yue lowered his eyes to look at her. Seeing that she looked pale, he asked in a low voice: "Did you have a nightmare?"

Jiashan didn't intend to hide it from him. She swallowed a mouthful of water from his hand and nodded.

Zhan Yue frowned, his expression slightly changed, and he said with a sharp look: "If you think too much about some things, it is easy to develop a demon in your heart. Did you not listen to what I said to you last night?"

Jiashan was silent for a moment, and she replied: "No."

"Don't make it so hard on yourself." Zhan Yue saw Jiashan was still sweating, so he said, "I'll take you for a walk outside. You've always wanted to meet my uncle."

Jiashan asked Zhan Yue to feed her a sip of water, and she nodded and said, "Okay."

"Get up and change your clothes first," Zhan Yue said, "Let's have something to eat before we go."

He called Suyu and Dancui to come in. Jiashan breathed a sigh of relief. Zhanyue did not go out either. He just looked at her and said, "You are like this. I am worried about you."

"You deliberately want me to stay in the princess's mansion every night to accompany you." Zhan Yue blinked his eyes and said in a gentle tone.

Jiashan looked up at him, then sideways at Suyu and the others beside him. Seeing that they were all blushing and laughing, Jiashan finally said, "No."

This "no" seemed to be a cover-up, making Zhan Yue's heart itch even more. He sighed, took Jiashan's hand and said, "Let's go, let's go eat first."