Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Suddenly Hugging
"Yao Jing!"
The rich and elegant Buddhist fragrance suddenly came with a gentle and sweet breeze.
Qin Jingyao opened his arms without hesitation and caught the smiling woman steadily.
The intense joy that surged from her was warm and dense, overwhelming him. He was infected by her happiness, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
She looked up at him, her unpainted face as delicate and beautiful as a flower bud soaked in morning dew, emitting an incomparable fresh breath, and blooming towards her beloved in the most beautiful posture.
A pair of smiling eyes, full of him,
Such innocence, how can it not make people's heart beat fast.
Qin Jingyao lowered his eyes and looked at her. His heartbeat was always steady in his chest, and he could not afford to miss even two beats.
The hands holding her tightened for a moment, and the light blue veins on the light brown back of the hand suddenly bulged out. As the force was slowly released like pulling a thread, those bulging lines quietly retreated.
Like a dormant beast that suddenly locks onto its prey, it does not rush to capture it, but lazily relaxes its tense muscles.
That is the calmness of treating the prey as if it is already in the pocket, with the ease of looking down from a high position.
The sun was at its peak, and the mountain breeze rustled the leaves, but Lan Nongnong felt that the sound of her heartbeat was even louder.
She leaned against him blankly, completely embraced by his strong arms, breathing in the cool breath of his body. She raised her head in a trance, and the perfect face so close to her made her heart beat uncontrollably and almost stopped beating.
There was a strong and rapid heat that rushed in from the soles of the feet, burning and boiling in the blood, and then appeared on the neck and cheeks. In an instant, a red cloud filled the air.
My breath seemed to become scalding hot, and the buzzing in my ears blocked out all the sounds outside. In this suddenly shrinking world, the thin air stimulated my uncontrollable heartbeat.
My knees felt weak, my feet felt like they were stepping on clouds, numbness spread from my fingertips, and I couldn't lift an inch of strength in my arms, as if all the bones in my body had been pulled out.
The two have known each other for so long, holding hands and linking arms, but they have never embraced each other as intimately as they did at this moment, staring at each other tenderly.
This might be considered slow progress for lovers in later generations, but for today's era of strict adherence to etiquette, it is shocking in broad daylight.
The fingers had been holding the wicker basket for too long, and the blood circulation was blocked, making them even colder. When they were about to lose their grip, heat quickly flowed to their fingertips, causing a shudder. They subconsciously tightened their grip, then relaxed again.
The intense clash of ice and fire instantly awakened Lan Nongnong from her bewitched trance.
Realizing how infatuated he had been, the belated sense of shame suddenly exploded. He was about to lower his head to hide it when he suddenly realized something and looked up.
On the platform, the aunts standing in rows of different heights were looking in this direction.
Lan Nongnong couldn't see the expressions on her aunts' faces, but she knew that her uncontrollable behavior just now must have been seen.
My scalp suddenly felt tight as if it had been electrocuted, and my throat felt like it was choked by a piece of hot charcoal.
The solemn declaration she made yesterday that she would not be seduced by love suddenly came to her mind, and under the random glances of her aunts, it was pierced into a window paper with thousands of holes, and every hole revealed her embarrassment that she could not hide.
I quickly took a step back to create some distance, and the invisible yet lingering feeling of being on edge seemed to disappear.
Looking up again, I saw that the aunts who had stopped to look at me were slowly turning around. After a while, they disappeared onto the platform.
Lan Nongnong let out a long sigh, as if relieved of a heavy burden. Only then did she turn around and look at him, a sweet smile appearing on her cheeks again. However, after this shocking experience, the charming atmosphere just now had disappeared.
Qin Jingyao caught the package that was falling from her arm, put two fingers together on his right hand, and gently hooked her hair that was messed up by the mountain breeze behind her ear.
I accidentally bumped into her dimples filled with smile, and my slightly rough thumb touched the soft depression as if possessed by magic. It felt like the touch of newly solidified cheese, soft and smooth, making my fingertips linger.
Meeting her star-like eyes, Qin Jingyao's eyes curved slightly, his wide sleeves fluttered, passing through layers of sleeves, and he took her hand into his palm, until he sent her to the carriage without even looking up.
*
The mountain roads were uneven, and the ride in the car was also bumpy. Lan Nongnong regained consciousness amidst the slight shaking. She looked carefully and realized that she had gotten on the car without knowing when, and had walked an unknown distance.
Recalling how she had repeatedly lost her mind and made a fool of herself in front of him, Lan Nongnong suddenly covered her face with her hands, bent down and rested her head on her knees, her feet pressed together, her toes touching the ground, and the primrose-colored velvet flower in her hair swayed from side to side for a while.
She didn't say a word, but the thin upper of her shoes, embroidered with pink and white peach blossom patterns, bulged slightly. She raised her feet higher, only touching the ground with her toes. The petals on the upper sometimes bloomed, sometimes stretched out.
After an unknown amount of time, Lan Nongnong suppressed her embarrassment, sat up straight, raised her head, patted her cheeks with both hands, took a long breath, and then opened her eyes.
The door was not closed, and she only needed to look up to see the figure sitting on the shaft, holding the reins and driving, acting like a horseman, still standing tall and elegant.
The corners of her lips curled up in an instant, and she forgot all her worries. She could no longer sit still, so she bent slightly, picked up the wicker basket, lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand, and landed lightly beside him in a few steps.
She turned around and called him with a smile: "Yao Jing!"
Qin Jingyao heard the noise and subconsciously raised his hands to protect her side. He slowly withdrew his hands after confirming that she was safe. He caught her inelegant sitting posture from the corner of his eyes and looked up. She was still smiling and unaware. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
This behavior was in line with her personality. He did not rebuke her for her impolite behavior. Instead, he walked shoulder to shoulder with her, facing the wild wind, through the fields where everything was thriving in early summer, leisurely and contented: "Why don't you sit in the car?"
The shaft was hard, and sitting sideways with the center of gravity on one side was really uncomfortable. Lan Nongnong moved her body down and hung her legs under the shaft, only half an arm's length away from him.
Fortunately, the carriage of Yao Jing was far away from the horses, so even if the horses got startled, no one would be hurt.
One has to sit on the left side when driving a carriage so that one can whip with the right hand. She was sitting on his right side at the moment, and if he wasn't careful, he would hurt her. However, Qin Jingyao didn't say anything, but just switched the whip to his left hand.
Lan Nongnong, completely unaware, opened the basket's lid and pulled out a emerald green bamboo tube about the width of a fist. Opening the lid, she handed it to him with a smile, "I asked you to pick me up, but I didn't really consider you a coachman. How could I leave you out here alone?"
"Here, I went to the back mountain this morning and picked some fresh peach blossoms. I specially asked my aunt to make some peach blossom dew. I've been keeping it in the well and will be taking it out just as you're coming. It's sweet and refreshing, with a fragrance that flows all over the place. It's so pleasant! It's really hard for you to travel under the sun. Come and try this, it's just the right thing to quench your thirst!"
The moment the bamboo tube was opened, the sealed peach fragrance spread domineeringly over the shaft of the cart. I don't know what she added, but when I sniffed it, I could only smell the fragrance of peach blossoms and a cool breeze. I felt refreshed before I even put it in my mouth.
Qin Jingyao didn't ask her to raise her hand for too long. He threw the horsewhip into the whip tube and took it with his free hand. He felt a chill in his hand.
I tilted my head back to drink it, and the sweet and refreshing taste went straight from my throat to my lungs, and the heat disappeared instantly, which was really comfortable.
Lan Nongnong propped herself up with her hands and looked up at him eagerly. When she saw his Adam's apple clearly rolling, she couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? How does it taste?"
Qin Jingyao lowered his eyes and saw her wide open eyes, looking at him eagerly. Adding to her rapid-fire questions, she was so adorable, even more so than the sweet taste left in his mouth.
"It's refreshing and pleasant, leaving a lingering fragrance on the cheeks. It's truly refreshing and thirst-quenching. I thought your ice plum drink from the day before yesterday was a rare delicacy, but I didn't expect this peach blossom dew to be even better. It turns out it's so rich and hidden, and you actually have such a great skill in mixing drinks."
"Haha, thank you for the compliment. I'm just copying what others have said. I can't claim to be a skilled craftsman. It's not worth mentioning."
Lan Nong's eyebrows were wide with a smile, and she urged him to drink faster. She swung her legs unconsciously, tilted her head and looked at him and asked, "Did you have a smooth journey here? When did you leave? Was it difficult to catch the car?"
Qin Jingyao was on patrol on behalf of the emperor, and he was accompanied by nearly a thousand imperial guards and personal soldiers. Even though he was ordered to stay in Yuqing to recuperate and order the soldiers to return to the capital first, he still had personal soldiers staying to guard him.
He came to pick her up at her request, but he didn't drive here himself, so there was naturally no embarrassment.
Qin Jingyao didn't feel thirsty, so he drank two more sips to satisfy her. He sealed the lid for her and drove the horse leisurely, glancing at her with a sidelong smile. He said in a leisurely voice, "The Yuqing Mountains are picturesque, and there are no bandits on the road. The journey will be smooth. We will set off at 3:30 pm and arrive at 3:30 pm. The time it takes is not much different from the time I sent you off yesterday."
"Since you can ride a horse, driving a carriage shouldn't be difficult. How have you been these past two days, Nong Nong? Have you been happy?"
Lan Nongnong saw that he was still graceful and knew that he would be successful. She just liked to listen to his serious attitude in answering every question he asked her.
Then he asked excitedly, "If I can't ride a horse, can I drive a carriage? If I learn how to drive a carriage, then when I come back in the future, won't I be able to do whatever I want?"
Qin Jingyao was rarely able to speak. Although he only told her that he was a businessman, he never deliberately concealed his food, clothing and expenses when they were together. She should have seen that he was wealthy.
However, at this moment, what she was thinking about was not asking him to arrange a carriage and entourage for her, but to learn to drive by herself?
He studied her expression. Her eyes showed only a lively interest in riding and driving, without any worldly concerns. She didn't feel that driving was beneath her dignity, nor did she act pretentiously.
After a moment, Qin Jingyao suddenly turned around and smiled. This unusual woman was really interesting and lovely.
"Drivers must be fearless of the horse, have a good understanding of horsemanship, strong arms and legs, quick eyes and hands, and patience and endurance. All of these are essential."
He looked up and down her slender waist and arms with his smiling eyes, and with a smile on his lips, he shook his head, but his tone was firm: "Nong Nong is lively and healthy, flexible but lacks strength."
"It only takes a moment for a horse to lose control and overturn a carriage. At best, it can cause limb breakage or serious injuries, while at worst, it can result in the death of the person involved."
"If you prefer convenience, I can send someone to escort you back and forth if I'm busy someday. If you prefer driving..."
He looked around and said, "I have your support now, so you can fulfill your wish. As for driving alone,
Qin Jingyao smiled and shook his head decisively, "Not feasible."
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