196 Taste
◎ "I like you so much."◎
The night was dark, but the candlelight in the inner room was flickering.
On the night of his beloved girl's birthday, she told him that marrying him to her would be her birthday gift.
Xie Qi's Adam's apple rolled slightly, and the next moment, the girl under him hooked her arms around his neck for leverage, and her soft lips covered the fatal spot on his throat.
I don't know where this girl learned all this from, she even licked it with the tip of her tongue and nibbled it with her teeth.
His heartbeat immediately became irregular, his breathing became heavier, his fists were clenched tightly, and all the muscles in his body were tense.
"Xie Qi, do you want to marry me?" she asked vaguely.
——Xie Qi, do you want to marry me?
This was the first complete sentence she spoke to him after she woke up that day.
He didn't respond at that time. This time, Xie Qi held the back of the girl's head in his arms and pressed down lightly.
He held her lips and rubbed them repeatedly.
"good."
**
The next day, Xu Qinghe woke up very early.
Xie Qi didn't do anything last night. He just hugged her and kissed her for a long time, kissing her until her lips were swollen.
She stood up and looked at herself in the dressing mirror. Fortunately, she felt much better after a night.
She asked him why they just kissed him. Wasn't he feeling uncomfortable holding it in?
The man hugged her and said with a smile, "We haven't gotten married yet, so a kiss is fine. If you really take it a step further and do something else, I'm afraid the ancestors of your Xu family will not be able to bear it and will come to trouble me in the middle of the night."
Xu Qinghe laughed: "If that's the case, why are you staying in my bed now? Aren't you afraid that the ancestors will come looking for you?"
Xie Qi seemed stunned for a moment, and quickly loosened his arms around her shoulders and waist. He coughed pretentiously and then stepped back a little.
He said he did nothing and slept with her just to protect her safety.
Xu Qinghe scolded him: "Who would believe your nonsense?"
Anyway, the ancestors of the Xu family wouldn’t do that.
After washing up, Xie Qi had been waiting for her in the main room for a long time.
There was a wooden box on the round table.
Xu Qinghe took a look and asked him what this was with his eyes.
Xie Qi then opened the box.
It is a red agate bracelet and a pair of earrings made of the same material.
Both of these things were her old belongings.
Xie Qi looked at her with those affectionate eyes, "Extend your hand."
Xu Qinghe reached out as he said and saw him put on her the bracelet he had given her twelve years ago, and then, like a magic trick, he took out a new bracelet and gave it to her.
"This is your birthday gift this year. I should have given it to you last night."
But last night, when he saw that she was so moved that she almost cried, he didn't dare to take it out again.
She likes to wear blue clothes, but she also likes bright red jewelry.
On her birthday twelve years ago, he had promised her that he would give her a pair of bright red jewelry on her birthday every year thereafter, but he had only fulfilled this promise twice.
The first time was twelve years ago, when he gave her a bracelet.
The second time was five years ago, they were already married, and he gave her a pair of earrings.
"I'll give you another bracelet today, so we can make a perfect pair."
The sunlight was shining brightly at this moment, slanting in through the doors and windows, shining on the pair of bracelets, which were emitting honey-colored light waves. As she shook her wrists slightly, the two bracelets also created a circle of golden-red ripples on her fair skin.
She fiddled with the bracelets, obviously liking them very much.
Xie Qi's smile deepened. He held one of her hands and nodded at the bracelet with his eyes, half joking and half serious. "This time, you can't return the item to me no matter what."
The two divorced, and when Xu Qinghe left the Duke's Mansion, she threw away all her old belongings, including the bracelet from twelve years ago.
"I'm afraid this bracelet has been prepared for a long time."
Xu Qinghe stretched out her other hand and waved it in front of his eyes. "Who would just give one bracelet as a gift? I thought it was strange back then."
Xie Qi touched his nose and said no, but then she kept staring at him, so he had to admit, "Okay, that's the idea, but we didn't have enough material back then to make two. This one was really made today. I'm not lying to you."
Xu Qinghe raised his eyebrows and nodded, half believing and half doubting.
"So, can this be considered my birthday this year? Are you satisfied?"
Xu Qinghe raised her chin modestly, "It's just passable."
Then he ordered people to serve the meal.
When the family of three was having breakfast, Xu Qinghe glanced at Xie Qi a few more times and saw that he was eating seriously and there was nothing unusual about him.
Today should be a ten-day holiday, but Ping'an took a day off yesterday because of his mother's birthday, so he asked to continue to listen to the teacher's lectures today.
She still went to school in the courtyard where Xu Qinghe had lived in her childhood. It was the primary school that Xu Qinghe's mother had specially built for her daughter. It was in the southwest corner of the mansion, next to the bamboo forest, and quite a distance from her courtyard.
Therefore, even though she was still in the mansion, she would usually send her daughter there in person, and when Xie Qi came back, they would go together.
Today, Xu Qinghe said that she had something to do and asked Xie Qi to send her daughter off alone.
After the father and daughter left happily, she ordered Nanzhi to call the kitchen manager.
**
The lunch was sumptuous and Ping An enjoyed it happily and contentedly.
In the afternoon, the teacher taught her some new knowledge, but she didn't understand it at all. It took her a lot of effort to finally understand it. In the evening, she was starving and just wanted to have a good meal.
Seeing the table full of delicacies, the little girl immediately started drooling.
She had just taken a mouthful of the crab meat and tofu soup when she suddenly found it difficult to swallow. If she had not met her mother's gaze, she would have vomited it out!
Xie Qi asked his daughter gently, "Is there something wrong with the food?"
Xu Qinghe also looked over. She blinked and asked softly, "Not to your taste? If Ping'an doesn't want to have dinner today, let Nanzhi take you to get some snacks."
Ping'an also blinked, looked at his father, then at his mother, and soon understood. He then obediently followed Nanzhi away.
The room was silent for a moment, and Xie Qi took a few more bites of the slightly spicy roux goose breast.
Under Xu Qinghe's upbringing, Ping'an is not such a clumsy child. The little girl wrinkled her face like that just now, probably because there was something wrong with the tofu soup.
But the girl not only did not ask who made the tofu soup, but continued to eat calmly.
This is very wrong.
Ping'an finally returned to his yard and gulped down two large cups of tea.
Nanzhi came in with several maids, and soon the table in Ping'an's room was filled with food.
Nanzhi said, "My dear young lady, you have worked hard in your studies. This is the dinner that the princess has prepared for you."
Ping'an looked at the table full of delicacies, took a bite carefully, and found it very delicious.
She thought again of her mother winking at her, and the strange-tasting tofu soup.
"Aunt Nanzhi, is mother going to do something? Can Ping'an listen?"
Nanzhi shook her head. "I don't know about this either. The princess didn't tell me."
"It's okay, I won't ask anymore. Thank you, Aunt Nanzhi."
Nanzhi bowed and left.
**
After dinner, Xu Qinghe wrapped himself in his cloak and took another walk around the plum forest.
The lights in the forest were lit, and the flickering candlelight cast a hazy light on the red plum blossoms, which had a different flavor compared to the daytime.
Xie Qi stayed by her side, warming her hands.
Ever since dinner, the girl stopped talking and even her eyes, which had finally warmed up, turned cold again.
Back in the dormitory, he held her in his arms and sat her on the mat, then leaned against the couch and asked her what had happened.
Lately, he always seemed to enjoy holding her.
He wanted to hold her when he went to bed, when he leaned on the couch, and even when he was walking just now, he wanted to hold her while walking.
Xu Qinghe's gaze moved from his inquiring eyes to his lips.
She pressed the corners of her lips together and said hoarsely, "Today's dinner soup had a lot of salt added to it, so my daughter noticed something was wrong after just one bite."
She raised her eyes and looked into Xie Qi's eyes again.
"But Xie Qi, you used the entire dinner very fragrantly, just like usual."
"Actually, you can't taste it anymore, right?"
The last sentence was uttered with a slight sob.
Xie Qi sighed and hugged the man tighter, pressing him against his chest. "I thought such a trivial matter wouldn't attract your attention, but was there a problem with yesterday's longevity noodles?"
Xu Qinghe nodded.
Xie Qi touched her ear and whispered an apology, "I really can't taste it right now. Maybe they added sugar and salt again, or maybe they added salt twice? I don't know."
He leaned over and nuzzled her nose, trying to make her laugh. "In short, it's our princess who's been wronged. You ate most of such a disgusting bowl of noodles."
Xu Qinghe couldn't laugh at all.
In fact, everything seems to have a traceable path.
When she was in Caoqu Township, she had someone stop the car on the side of the road and had some very salty wontons. She and Indigo and the others didn't eat much, but Xie Qi ate it with great relish.
And later when he was injured and took medicine, he could drink the black and bitter medicine soup by tilting his head back without frowning.
She originally thought that this person was trying to save face and didn't want to show his weakness in front of her, but she didn't expect... it turned out that he had already lost the taste.
"Just like I can't see at night, it's because of the poison I took back then, right? Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" she asked the man in front of her who was still smiling.
Xie Qi said: "That's not necessary."
Why was it necessary? Losing taste wasn't like losing sight at night; it wasn't a major issue that would truly impact life. When Uncle Fan formulated the antidote a few months ago, he'd said the poison could be removed and the body could be healed, but the sense of taste and night vision would never return.
He did feel regretful for a while, but compared to a long life, it was nothing.
"At most, I can't taste the food at night because I can't leave the lights on. Besides, it's not like I can't taste anything at all. I can still taste the spiciness, and the sourness. Although I can't taste it, my sense of smell is still there, so I can smell it."
"Besides, this has its benefits." He smiled and said, "Look, you needed someone to coax you to take medicine some time ago, but I don't need to. Drinking bitter medicine is no different from drinking plain water. Isn't that great?"
"Nonsense."
Xu Qinghe suddenly clung to his shoulders, rested her chin on his shoulder, and scolded him for doing it on purpose.
"You're deliberately revealing your true colors at this time, deliberately trying to make me feel bad so I can forgive the wrong things you've done."
This was simply nonsense. She discovered this matter accidentally. Xu Qinghe knew it very well, and Xie Qi also knew it tacitly.
But he still patted her back and smiled at the accusation.
"Yes, it was all my fault. I wanted to win the princess's favor and only hoped that she would set a date for my wedding soon. Have you decided when to set the wedding date?"
He changed the subject very skillfully.
Xu Qinghe shook his head.
The last time she asked him if he wanted to get married, he didn't agree, but she wasn't in a hurry and was eager to see the wedding date.
Xie Qi decided to release the man and ordered someone to get the almanac so that they could agree on a date to go out.
Now that the girl's injuries have almost healed, he is not worried that the complicated process of marriage will tire her out, so he naturally hopes that it will be as quick as possible.
However, Xu Qinghe tightened his arms and hugged the person tightly.
She seemed to understand why Xie Qi liked to hug her today. This feeling was wonderful, as if her wandering heart had finally found its home, bringing her inexplicable peace of mind.
Therefore, she wanted to hug him for a while longer.
At dusk, the sun was setting, and clouds were lingering in the sky. Orange-yellow light seeped in through the window lattice, enveloping the two of them in warmth.
Xu Qinghe looked quietly at the horizon, and in this seemingly ordinary evening, he felt a tranquility he had never felt before.
Sparrows were chirping and jumping in the yard, and a breeze was blowing, rustling the branches and leaves of the trees. In the whistling wind, she could almost hear her own heartbeat and the heartbeat of the person in her arms.
Boom, boom, boom, it's the same frequency.
"Thank you Qi."
"Um?"
"I like you so much."
【Author’s words】
Collecting some small lines
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