007 is infatuated with him
Wood carving may look simple, but it can actually be quite tricky to do.
Even though they specifically chose softer pine wood, they still couldn't find the right amount of pressure. Several times, the carving knife in Li Yang's hand almost pricked her fingers.
Fortunately, I had a specially made finger guard that my master was wearing.
The woodcarver noticed her movements and quietly comforted her, "Madam, don't worry. Beginners often do this. You can try different pressures when holding the knife and find the one that suits you best before you start carving."
Li Yang glanced silently at Yuan Chongjing, who had already skipped this step and was preparing to carve the portrait of Yama.
He was very serious, his eyes lowered, his lips slightly pursed from the effort. Perhaps sensing a glimmer of hope for regaining his memories, his entire expression conveyed a sense of positivity. His sleeves were casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing handsome, strong forearms; his hands were lean and wiry, the prominent veins appearing and disappearing with his movements. His fingers were delicate and slender, white as jade, deftly moving between the carving knife and the pine wood.
How could he be so handsome? Every move he made seemed casual, but every gesture was exquisite and captivating, touching her heart.
Perhaps it was her prolonged gaze that made Yuan Chongjing feel uncomfortable. He turned his head casually and saw Li Yang sitting on a small wooden stool, propping her head up with her right hand, staring at him intently.
For some reason, the smile on her face became increasingly silly.
If it were in private, he could tolerate it. But with outsiders present, Yuan Chongjing really didn't want anyone to see her like this, so he bent down, picked up a small piece of wood from the ground, and threw it at her.
When her first shot missed, Li Yang only felt her clothes flutter in the wind at the arm. She casually brushed them off, without even moving her eyes.
Li Yang didn't come to her senses until a slight stinging pain came from her cheek. Seeing Yuan Chongjing staring at her, she asked, "Brother Jing, what's wrong? Are you done carving?"
"Be careful!" Yuan Chongjing glanced at the woodcarving master sitting to the side and warned him.
Li Yang moved the small wooden stool beneath her and shuffled over to Yuan Chongjing's side: "What are you afraid of? We are the 'most loving couple in the capital.' We've done even more outrageous things in front of everyone before."
"You!" Yuan Chongjing wanted to scold her for speaking without any regard for her dignity, but then he remembered that there were other people present, and scolding her would be tantamount to scolding himself. He held back and said helplessly, "Then you should restrain yourself a little. After all, I am not the same as before."
"How could you not be! Your body is the same as before, and you're the same person as before, so how could you not be the same person you were before! Besides, once you regain your memories, you might be even more clingy than me!"
As she spoke, she seemed to have lost all her bones, and her whole body went limp, about to fall onto his shoulder.
Yuan Chongjing quickly moved to the other side, glaring at her and warning, "You better behave yourself!"
Li Yang pursed her lips and actually became obedient.
Seeing that they had quieted down, the woodcarver, who had been trying to shrink himself and pretend that no one was around, finally appeared: "Young master and madam have such a good relationship, I really envy them."
"Right, right?" Li Yang's eyes lit up, and she was about to launch into a long talk with her master about her and Yuan Chongjing's 'love story' when she caught a glimpse of Yuan Chongjing gripping his carving knife in anger. Li Yang chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject: "Master, I really have a hard time controlling my strength. It's either too much or too little. How does my Jing-ge do it so well?"
The woodcarver said, "There are some tricks to it. You'll know once you try a few more times, Madam."
She kept interrupting, pausing occasionally, and saying flattering things, and the afternoon quickly passed. As night fell and the lights dimmed, Li Yang stopped: "Master, it's too late. Let's continue tomorrow. There's a maid waiting outside; you should go and rest with her."
The woodcarver responded, got up, and quickly left.
After tidying up her work, Li Yang turned to Yuan Chongjing, who was still working hard with his back to her, and said, "Brother Jing, your eyes must be sore from working all afternoon. Let's take a break. I'll go ask Xia He to bring over dinner."
Yuan Chongjing turned his back to her and ignored her, still angry about her outspokenness.
Li Yang said, "It's getting dark now. If you keep doing this, you might hurt your hand, which would be a huge loss. You used to be very good at weighing these pros and cons. You can't lose this too after losing your memory, can you?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Chongjing threw down his carving knife, stood up, and without even looking at her, snorted and walked out with his head held high.
Li Yang got up and quickly followed him. Seeing that there were still sawdust splinters on his head and shoulders, she gently brushed them away. This action again drew Yuan Chongjing's displeasure: "What are you doing now?"
She stretched out her hand, revealing wood shavings in her palm: "Do you want to go out like this and have people see you?"
Yuan Chongjing opened his mouth, wanting to say thank you, but no sound came out.
Thinking back to how she had sought out a renowned healer for him, though he was reluctant to admit it, Li Yang was indeed quite capable to have managed to secure the services of a doctor known as a 'miracle doctor' so quickly. And all she had done was for him. He wasn't one to forget gratitude; he figured he owed her something. Gathering his courage, Yuan Chongjing finally managed a sincere, yet somewhat hesitant, "Thank you."
"What did you say? I didn't hear you." Li Yang blinked and asked sincerely.
"I won't repeat myself!" Yuan Chongjing pretended not to hear and strode out.
But Li Yang wouldn't let it go, tugging at his sleeve and shaking it gently: "What is it? Oh, Brother Jing, please satisfy my curiosity."
It was as if she could keep dawdling until the end of time if he didn't say anything.
Yuan Chongjing, exasperated by her shaking, grabbed her wrist and made her loosen her sleeve: "I'll say thank you, okay?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a smug glint in her eyes, and he was immediately filled with anger and embarrassment: "Li Yang! Did you do this on purpose?"
“Yes, yes, I did it on purpose!” Li Yang said provocatively, tilting her head.
Before Yuan Chongjing could speak again, a childish voice called out from the doorway: "Daddy! Mommy! Little Peach is back!"
Little Peach, holding onto the door frame, struggled to step over the threshold and then excitedly ran towards them.
When Li Yang left in the morning, she left Xiao Taozi with Madam Yuan. Now it was just time for her to return. She hurriedly walked over with a smile, bent down and picked up Xiao Taozi: "Xiao Taozi is back~ Did you have fun at Grandma's today? Go find Daddy, he misses you so much."
Little Peach was quite plump; her brocade pouch was filled with snacks that Madam Yuan had given her. She was close to Yuan Chongjing, and upon hearing this, she immediately reached out to him, "Daddy~ Little Peach missed Daddy too, Daddy, give me a hug~"
Li Yang hugged her and pulled back slightly, saying, "Not now, Daddy's injuries haven't healed yet. Can you hug me when Daddy is better? Come here."
She put Little Peach on the ground. "Daddy is hungry. Little Peach, take Daddy's hand and lead him to eat, okay?"
Little Peach nodded, holding Yuan Chongjing's hand in one hand and Li Yang's hand in the other, and walked happily towards the dining table: "Let's eat!"
His daughter was so adorable; he couldn't stay angry in front of her. Yuan Chongjing felt a surge of anger rising in his chest from Li Yang's actions, which he forcefully suppressed.
She definitely did it on purpose! She figured out that Xiao Taozi would come back at this time, or she had already seen Xiao Taozi, which is why she provoked him at this moment!
Seeing the mother and daughter whispering amongst themselves, Yuan Chongjing thought to himself, "Let's leave it for now. Making the statue is the most important thing right now. Once these three days are over and I've given the divine physician my report, I'll see how he punishes her!"
After a day apart, Xiao Taozi was even more clingy to the two of them than usual. She wouldn't even stop eating, sometimes wanting Li Yang to feed her, and sometimes feeling neglected by Yuan Chongjing, insisting that he feed her before she would eat. Yuan Chongjing had been taking medicine for the past few days and didn't have a good appetite, so he ate a little and then focused on feeding her.
Seeing that he hadn't eaten much, Li Yang put down her chopsticks, stood up, and said to the two who were playing together, "Little Peach, you play with Daddy first, Mommy will go to the kitchen to make you some delicious steamed egg custard."
Little Peach loved her cooking the most, and upon hearing this, she clapped her hands and laughed happily, "Great! Mommy, make Daddy a bowl too, Daddy can eat!"
Li Yang chuckled and pinched her little nose: "You little ingrate, don't you want your mother to eat too?"
Little Peach chuckled, then turned and hugged Li Yang's leg, pleading, "Mommy, you can eat too~ Little Peach won't eat anymore, give it all to Mommy~"
Li Yang then smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, then you and Daddy wait here for Mommy."
Little Peach nodded, then ran over and snuggled into Yuan Chongjing's arms.
Steamed egg custard isn't difficult to make. Back when they first arrived in Chenzhou, they didn't dare openly hire a wet nurse, and they didn't have any reliable people around them. They would secretly travel far and wide to buy breast milk from women who had just given birth, all while Yuan Chongjing was away at home. Afraid of being discovered that Xiao Taozi wasn't her biological child, she would change locations every so often.
Sometimes Yuan Chongjing was too busy to come back, and Li Yang couldn't let Xiao Taozi go out alone. Her milk supply was insufficient, and Xiao Taozi, who was already in poor health and was premature, cried from hunger.
As she grew older, Li Yang found a reliable wet nurse to feed her at fixed times every day. Later, seeing that Xiao Taozi's condition had stabilized, Li Yang switched to goat milk and gradually added some egg custard and rice cereal.
Two children, struggling to care for an infant no longer than their arms, endured constant anxiety and tireless efforts day and night, finally managing to keep it a secret from the people of Chenzhou and raise Little Peach to adulthood healthily.
For Xiao Taozi, steamed egg custard is the most familiar food, something she's truly eaten since childhood. Li Yang has been making it for four years, and now he can make Xiao Taozi's favorite steamed egg custard even with his eyes closed.
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