From the moment she obtained her official position and entered the imperial court, he accompanied her to examine the accounts of the Salt and Iron Bureau. At night, he would work with her under the lamp to review the account books, and when the candlelight dimmed, he would trim the wicks for her.
The candle wax dripped onto the candlestick, and she wiped it all clean.
When serving tea, I always remembered that she didn't like it too hot, so I would let it cool down to lukewarm before serving it, and I would also put a cotton pad at the bottom of the cup so that her hands wouldn't get cold.
She even muttered to herself, "The osmanthus cake at home is a bit dry today; it's hard to swallow."
The next morning, the shop assistants at Su's Dim Sum Shop would carry two boxes of hot almond milk and deliver them properly to the entrance of the Left Prime Minister's residence.
She smiled and said, "My prime minister heard that the young lady mentioned osmanthus cake, so he specially asked the kitchen to make it with freshly ground almonds, added some honey to cut the richness, and it's still warm."
Unlike me, even when I send a hand warmer carved with magnolias, I have to ask the "military workshop" to make an extra one, as it would be a waste to leave it lying around.
The excuse was, "You're weak, and your hands get cold easily in winter. Here, take this to warm your hands."
They didn't even dare to say, "I carved the fine lines exactly as you described, and it took me half a month."
Even if he wanted to talk to her, he had to use the excuse of "transmitting border military reports to Prime Minister Qin" and sit in the flower hall until his hands and feet were stiff.
He stared at the tea leaves in the teacup as they sank and floated, floated and sank, until they all settled to the bottom before he dared to utter, "It's been cold lately, wear an extra layer when you go out in the mornings and evenings, don't catch a cold."
At the wedding banquet, red candles burned brightly, and candle wax dripped down the candlesticks like broken teardrops, each drop condensing on the table surface, turning the entire hall red, even the air itself was dyed red.
She raised her wine glass to toast me, her red wedding dress making her eyes and brows shine even brighter, like starlight falling from the sky. The beads on her phoenix crown clinked together, making a crisp, clear sound.
“Little General Mu,” she said with a smile, her voice soft and sweet, like almond custard soaked in honey, making one’s heart tremble.
I took the wine glass, and my fingertips accidentally touched her hand. Her hand was warm, like the newly melted spring water, soft and gentle, but I quickly pulled it back as if I had been burned.
I was afraid she would notice the sweat on my palms. It was from nervousness and regret. The sweat soaked my palm lines, and even the lines of the sword hilt were imprinted on my hand.
He forced himself to remain calm, raised his hand, and held the wine glass to his eyes, using the reflection of the wine to hide the sting in his eyes.
I tilted my head back and drank the wine. The spicy liquid burned my throat like it was on fire, but I couldn't suppress the tightness in my heart.
It's like there's a dried magnolia petal stuck there, you can't spit it out, you can't swallow it, it's uncomfortable.
As he turned around, he wasn't paying attention and his elbow knocked over a silver wine cup on the table. The amber wine spilled onto the red silk tablecloth, leaving a small dark stain.
Like the unspoken thoughts in my heart, even a fraction of them have leaked out, yet no one has seen them.
The guests were laughing and toasting, and the sounds of drinking games and congratulations wafted over with the aroma of wine. No one noticed my lapse in composure in the corner, and even the waiter leading the way was only concerned with refilling the wine for the distinguished guest.
I retreated to a more secluded corner, leaning against the cold brick wall, watching her being surrounded by guests offering toasts.
Su Jinyun always stayed by her side. When someone tried to persuade her to drink strong liquor, she would step forward and stand in front of her.
He laughed and said, "She can't hold her liquor, so I'll drink it for her." He tilted his head back and downed the drink in his glass, not forgetting to wipe the wine stains from the corner of her mouth with his fingertips.
The protectiveness in his eyes was like that of someone guarding a rare piece of jade; even a fool could see it.
Suddenly, she remembered that day in the flower hall of the Prime Minister's mansion, when she hugged the hand warmer and stroked the magnolia pattern, her fingertips tracing the delicate lines on the petals.
When she smiled and said, "General Mu is so skillful; the carving is even more beautiful than the painting," the very soft words that came to mind were as light as a breeze brushing across the water.
It turns out that at that time, she already had Su Jinyun in her heart, and the regret she expressed was never about me.
But I was as slow-witted as a piece of snow-covered elm wood, and I didn't understand the subtle meaning behind those words.
I foolishly thought that as long as I could spend more time with her and memorize the "Kaogongji Zhu" (Commentary on the Record of Trades) thoroughly, she would eventually see the magnolia I had drawn next to the characters.
No wonder I hesitated to act; who could have predicted that Su Jinyun would be so unscrupulous?
She's almost thirty, and there's already a hint of gray in her temples. Well, she's only in her twenties, and there's not a single gray hair in her temples.
His fingers were long and slender enough to hold the finest engraving knife, and even the way his fingertips brushed the pages of the ledger exuded a scholarly air.
But I insisted on counting her age to thirty in my mind, even magnifying the smile lines at the corners of her eyes. I refused to admit that I was feeling resentful or deliberately being angry.
After all, she kept staring at Qin Qianluo, whose arms barely reached my shoulder blades and who would secretly hide osmanthus cakes in her sleeve pockets, making them bulge out into round little dumplings.
When that girl was eating cake, there were sugar crumbs on the corners of her mouth. She would quickly wipe them off with the back of her hand when no one was looking. After wiping them off, she would peek out to see if anyone had noticed. It was so silly that it made your heart tremble.
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