Chapter 117 Under the fiery red sunset, ...
Under the fiery red sunset, a caravan of carriages traveled along the once somewhat deserted official road. Even though the dust in the air covered the carriages with a layer of yellowish-gray, it could not conceal their luxury.
Inside the carriage, which was sheltered in the very center, Xiao Yan was staring intently out the window, as if the dusty road and the setting sun held an endless attraction for her.
Her gaze was fixed on the window, while Qin Ji's gaze was fixed on her.
The carriage was occupied only by a husband and wife who knew each other very well, but at this moment there was a strange, slightly awkward and sticky atmosphere between them.
Feeling that Qin Ji's gaze had been fixed on her for a long time, Xiao Yan shifted her body awkwardly. It was as if this modified carriage, which she used to love, now felt uncomfortable no matter how she sat in it.
No matter how he adjusted his posture, his gaze remained fixed on the view outside the window.
Seeing her awkward yet pretentious demeanor, Qin Ji's eyes gleamed with increasing interest.
Does he still remember the "grudge" from last night, how unrestrained he was when he provoked him? Now he can't be at peace with himself anymore.
"Is this cushion uncomfortable? There's still a long way to go. Would you like to try me as your human cushion, Madam?" Qin Ji adjusted her posture and opened her arms, her tone lazy yet clearly teasing.
"Don't disturb me watching the sunset." Xiao Yan's gaze didn't move, her tone was very calm, and she even turned her body more towards the window. Anyone who didn't know better would really think she was watching some magnificent sight.
"Oh~ Yan Hui'er, are you watching the sunset? I was thinking that you, who were so unruly yesterday, have suddenly become a well-behaved cat today. Is it because you're shy? It turns out I misunderstood." With a light laugh, Qin Ji made a perfectly normal sentence sound incredibly sarcastic.
"..." Xiao Yan gritted her teeth and remained silent.
"It seems the sun is quite strong in late spring, otherwise how could even the setting sun have reddened the lady's face!"
The two were sitting side by side, but Qin Ji seemed to think they were too far apart, so he kept moving closer as they talked, and then simply put his arms around her and rested his chin on Xiao Yan Hui's shoulder, and together they looked out at the not-so-spectacular sunset through the small side window of the carriage.
"Get out of my way, when did you become such a scoundrel and a blabbermouth?"
Feeling Qin Ji's breath lightly brushing against her neck as he spoke, Xiao Yan Hui outwardly pretended to be indifferent, merely shrugging her shoulders and telling him to get away with a hint of disgust, but her face grew increasingly flushed.
She was always unwilling to admit defeat verbally, even when her face was flushed, she only said it was the sunset's glow. But in reality, they both knew perfectly well why the atmosphere between them was suddenly both awkward and ambiguous.
"Yan Hui'er, your birthday will be after midnight tonight. Because of my personal reasons, I did not hold a grand banquet for guests at the Prince's Mansion this year. Will you be unhappy?" Although he put on a slightly apologetic tone, Qin Ji actually felt no remorse at all.
He had no desire to share Yan Hui'er's birthday with all sorts of random people, especially this birthday he had been looking forward to for so long.
Let alone holding banquets and spending time with those guests, if it weren't for his current status, he wouldn't even want to bring guards and servants; he just wanted to hold someone in his arms and stay with them forever.
"If I say I'm unhappy, are you planning to have the caravan turn back?" Thinking that he had been laughing at her the whole time, Xiao Yan Hui deliberately retorted.
Everyone knows he's been busy all day, and even when it's late, he insists on going out in a group as if he's plotting something, but now he's saying this.
“If you want to go back, we will naturally go back. Even though we haven’t been able to properly celebrate a birthday together just the two of us in the past few years, if you want it to be more lively, you know I will never refuse your wish.” Qin Ji said as he reached out and closed the carriage window.
What's so interesting about that dilapidated yellow sand road outside?
The voice beside her grew softer and more aggrieved. The person speaking, however, drew closer and closer, until their faces were almost touching.
Xiao Yan rolled her eyes and shuddered, shaking off goosebumps all over her body: "Enough! Qin Ji, where did you learn this tea ceremony technique? Listen to what you're saying, it doesn't sound like you're leaving room for refusal at all."
Did this guy realize that turning evil didn't work on him, so he evolved into a dark tea? Unfortunately... Xiao Yan Hui is exactly the type to fall for that.
She relaxed her body and leaned completely against Qin Ji's chest, waiting to hear what else he had to say, while feeling the comfortable warmth and just the right firmness of the backrest behind her. She couldn't help but think to herself that this human cushion was indeed quite comfortable.
"Aren't you curious about what gift I prepared for you?" The gentle question piqued her curiosity.
...
After being helped down from the carriage, Xiao Yan looked at the unfamiliar manor in front of her. It was immediately obvious that this was a recently renovated manor, with many traces of old and new still visible on the roof and walls.
The main gate was brand new, and the two bright red lacquered doors, which were almost reflective, were wide open. However, because a stone screen wall depicting cranes and deer symbolizing spring was blocking the view, the inside could not be seen clearly.
Xiao Yan glanced at him and then looked away, before meeting Qin Ji's gaze again.
She raised her eyebrows slightly at Qin Ji. Although she didn't say anything, her calm eyes seemed to say, "This is the gift you said you would give me. If that's all, then it's too boring."
"Come on, let's go in and take a look." Qin Ji smiled and winked at Xiao Yan Hui, his eyes revealing a playful, youthful spirit rarely seen in Qin Ji.
Passing the screen wall and through the front courtyard, Xiao Yanhui walked deeper along the dark blue cobblestone path. Gradually, she sensed a sweet fragrance in the air.
"It smells like flowers. Could it be that he gave me a gift of 999 roses?" I wondered for a moment, then dismissed it: "Qin Ji's way of being romantic wouldn't be so old-fashioned and stereotypical."
As Qin Ji walked through another moon gate, Xiao Yan unconsciously stopped in her tracks.
She blinked, then blinked again, a look of amazement flashing in her eyes. She blinked several times before snapping out of her daze at the magnificent garden that came into view.
The idea that she was just internally criticizing as outdated was now magnified tenfold or a hundredfold and presented to her in front of her. Xiao Yan had to admit that perhaps her aesthetic sense was also outdated.
Before me is a very special garden. Unlike the natural, well-arranged, and appropriately blank landscapes that are popular in this era, what is presented here is a pure and magnificent sea of flowers. The garden is filled with roses, and even the walls of the garden are covered with large, blooming roses.
In the twilight breeze, countless petals rustled softly, creating a unique sound. Bees buzzed among the flowers as they returned home. The air was filled with the fresh scent of leaves and the sweet fragrance of flowers. Taking a deep breath gave one a feeling of cleansing and refreshing the body.
"Come here." Qin Ji stretched out his hand, palm up, in front of Xiao Yan Hui.
When Xiao Yan placed her hand on it, it was as if some kind of magic had been activated, and the surroundings, which had become dim as the sun set, suddenly and gradually brightened up.
A crisp bell rang out in the garden, accompanied by ethereal piano music. The warm yellow glow of silk lanterns shone on the petals, outlining a winding path through the sea of flowers.
The hand holding hers was warm and slightly damp. With a gentle pull, Xiao Yan followed him into the sea of lights and flowers.
Hand in hand, palms touching, they walked in silence. They simply listened to the wind, the sounds of stringed instruments, the scent of wood, and the fragrance of flowers in the hazy night and play of light and shadow. They walked slowly forward, stopping to look around, and the sea of flowers seemed to stretch on forever.
Only when they smelled the surrounding fragrance becoming increasingly deep and somber, and shifting from a sweet scent to a warm, damp aroma, did the two turn into a winding corridor.
However, the area was still filled with roses along the corridors and balustrades, only this time a pale purple variety was used. The flower shadows cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying on the blue brick ground, creating a somewhat ethereal effect with the interplay of light and shadow.
"Huh, is it foggy?" After walking another ten steps or so, Xiao Yan Hui realized that it wasn't the fragrance that carried moisture, but the air itself. The ethereal atmosphere around them was also due to a thin layer of fog that had somehow formed, and even the temperature had risen.
"We'll be there soon." As soon as Qin Ji finished speaking, the lights ahead lit up, and a crystal house surrounded by clusters of flowers appeared in the night.
After walking around inside carefully, Xiao Yan couldn't help but admire how much thought he had put into it.
This guy somehow managed to get a glass workshop to build this crystal-clear glass greenhouse. Because the technology for large, fully transparent glass is not yet fully mature, the main body of this little house is constructed from medium-sized glass panels. It is precisely because it is composed of multiple facets that it appears as dazzling as a giant gemstone under the light of lamps and moonlight.
A few steps further from the greenhouse, the mystery of the lingering mist and rising temperature was finally solved. Not far from the glass greenhouse, a pool of water, steaming gently, lay quietly under the moonlight.
"Yan Hui'er, didn't you mention the hot springs before? Let's go soak in them?" Qin Ji tightened his grip on her hand, feeling as if he were holding a handful of soft jade.
She glanced at the people around her, then at the hot spring pool in front of her. Her heart, which was already beating faster than usual, was now beating even faster, and her voice became hoarse.
"Sima Zhao's intentions..." Xiao Yanhui murmured softly, her face seemingly burning even hotter, but she did not reject Qin Ji's suggestion.
The two walked along, admiring the flowers, which took quite some time. By now, the bright moon was high in the sky, and the surface of the hot spring pool was covered with milky white mist, like the moonlight falling from the sky and turning into reality.
The feelings had been brewing for a long time, so the occurrence of certain things was a natural consequence.
Enveloped in mist, ripples, and moonlight, two figures are embracing tightly, their lips pressed together, exchanging breaths.
"Ugh, let... let me catch my breath..." A woman's soft, panting voice rang out amidst the rippling water of the hot spring.
This wasn't the first time the two had kissed, but this was the first time Xiao Yan had felt Qin Ji be so aggressive. He didn't seem to be kissing her at all; it was as if he wanted to devour her completely.
After protesting, I managed to push the person away a little with considerable force, gasped for breath a few times, and then my breath was taken away again.
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