In the height of summer in Jiangnan, cicadas chirp incessantly, and the heat is unbearable. Even the water vapor in the canal seems to carry a sticky heat.
The grape trellis in the Shen family's courtyard offered a rare shade, with dense foliage filtering dappled sunlight. On the stone table sat chilled plum juice and sliced, juicy watermelon, their red flesh tempting.
Shen Yuewei wore only a thin, pale white silk summer shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal a section of her fair, jade-like forearm. She was bending down, carefully picking the lotus seeds with a silver skewer, preparing to make a chilled lotus seed soup. Her newly arrived personal maid, Chunxing, had a flushed face from the summer heat and was diligently fanning her with a large palm-leaf fan, though fine beads of sweat still appeared on her forehead.
"Madam, Manager Chen from the tea shop has arrived. He says he has a new batch of Yunnan black tea and would like you to take a look." Chunxing put down her fan and reported in a low voice.
Shen Yuewei didn't even look up, her fingertips deftly toying with the emerald green lotus pod: "Understood, have him send the tea samples to the study, I'll be there shortly..."
Before she could finish speaking, a voice filled with dissatisfaction and possessiveness rang out from behind her, husky and lazy from just waking up. At the same time, a warm and firm chest pressed against her, an arm wrapped around her waist naturally, and her chin rested on her shoulder, like a large, clingy feline.
"Where is Weiqing going again?" Xiao Chengjing was only wearing a loose cloud-blue silk shirt with the collar slightly open and his hair still a little messy. He had obviously just been woken up from his afternoon nap on the cool couch. His tone was filled with dissatisfaction at being ignored. "The sun is so strong outside. What if you get sunburned? What's so interesting about Yunnan black tea? Let Manager Chen handle it himself."
Shen Yuewei felt ticklish from his rubbing, and almost dropped the lotus seeds in her hand. Helplessly, she turned her head away: "Your Highness, this is important business. The quality of Yunnan black tea is related to the reputation of the tea plantation and the livelihoods of the tea farmers. I must do it myself..."
"I don't care." Xiao Chengjing interrupted domineeringly, tightening his arms around her, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe. "All I know is that Weiqing must stay with me now. It's hot, and I'm feeling restless. Only by holding my wife can I calm down." As he spoke, he casually picked up a small dish of snow-white lotus seeds that Shen Yuewei had carefully prepared on the stone table, pinched one off, and naturally fed it to her lips. "Open your mouth."
Shen Yuewei was both amused and exasperated by his shameless behavior, and had no choice but to accept it. The lotus seeds were sweet with a hint of bitterness, carrying the coolness of well water. She glared at him reproachfully: "Your Highness is becoming more and more unreasonable. Manager Chen is still waiting outside."
"Let him wait." Prince Jing said matter-of-factly, then picked up another lotus seed and ate it himself this time. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, with a hint of satisfied contentment. "The lotus seeds that Wei Qing picks are just sweeter than those made by others."
Chunxing watched in stunned silence, forgetting even to fan herself with her palm-leaf fan. This Prince Jing, truly… his jealousy knows no season, and his clinginess is unparalleled! He even stopped the shopkeeper from showing his wife the tea samples!
"Daddy, you're so shameful! You're stealing Mommy again!" An'an came running from the other end of the corridor like a little deer, wearing a light yellow gauze dress, her hair in two buns, her little face flushed, and she was holding a handful of freshly picked jasmine flowers. She rushed over, trying to squeeze between Xiao Chengjing and Shen Yuewei, her little mouth pouting, "Mommy wants to play with An'an to pick flowers!"
Xiao Chengjing was bumped by his daughter, but he didn't move at all. Instead, he reached out and pulled An'an into his arms, creating a situation where he was holding both of them. He lowered his head and rubbed his chin against his daughter's soft hair: "An'an, be good. Daddy is holding Mommy, and Mommy is holding An'an. Isn't that better?" After saying that, he looked at Shen Yuewei triumphantly, his eyes clearly saying: See, even your daughter can't take you away.
Caught between the father and daughter, Shen Yuewei felt both amused and helpless. She could only put her arm around her daughter with one hand and gently push away the "giant accessory" clinging to her with the other: "Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Your Highness, please loosen your grip a bit, I can't breathe."
"I won't let go." Xiao Chengjing hugged her even tighter, his tone tinged with grievance. "Does Weiqing dislike me? Do you think that I've been idle all day since I've relinquished my court duties, and that I'm an eyesore to you, Madam?" As he spoke, he looked at her accusingly, as if she were a heartless person.
"Pfft!" A suppressed laugh came from the doorway.
Shen Wenbai, fanning himself with a folding fan, entered with Lin Qingwan. Lin Qingwan held her babbling baby son in her arms, while Shen Wenbai held the hand of his toddler daughter. The twins were over a year old, exquisitely beautiful and incredibly adorable.
“Oh my, Prince Jing,” Lin Qingwan laughed heartily, covering her mouth with her handkerchief, “your ‘idle’ attitude is truly an eye-opener for us! Yuewei, you just spoil him! Look how spoiled he is, he’s even jealous of his daughter!”
Shen Wenbai smiled and shook his head, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect to Xiao Chengjing: "Your Highness, I am truly impressed! I consider myself quite affectionate towards Qingwan, but compared to you, I am nothing! Your level of 'only embracing one's wife can relieve the summer heat' is something I can only dream of!" As he spoke, he naturally took the heavy son from Lin Qingwan's arms and fanned his wife with a fan, "Wan'er, are you hot? Want some plum juice?"
Lin Qingwan took the plum juice Shen Wenbai handed her, rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't hide the sweetness in her eyes: "Stop being so glib! Aren't you afraid of setting a bad example for the children!" She lowered her head and teased her daughter's chubby little hand, casually saying, "By the way, Yuewei, the head of that manor with the lotus pond in the west of the city sent word a few days ago that most of the lotus flowers are in bloom and the lotus pods are just right. It's so hot these days, why don't we all go to the manor for a few days to escape the heat and let the children play in the water?"
The suggestion was immediately met with enthusiastic support from everyone. An'an clapped her hands excitedly: "Great! An'an wants to pick lotus pods! And ride in a small boat!"
Xiao Chengjing perked up and put his arm around Shen Yuewei, saying, "Excellent! Weiqing, let's take An'an boating and picking lotus flowers. The estate is quiet, just right..." He leaned close to her ear, lowered his voice, and added with a hint of ambiguity, "No one will disturb us."
Shen Yuewei blushed slightly and glared at him playfully, but a sense of anticipation also welled up inside her. This clingy prince might find a different kind of fun in a different place.
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