Chapter 123 "Little Rabbit, since you're already here..."
Yan Jiarou turned her face away and could only say, "I...I didn't come here to find you, I just happened to be passing by..."
She tried to break free from his grip, but failed several times. Frustrated, she said, "Let me go! I'm leaving! I told you I didn't come here to see you!"
Xiao Che said, "Oh?" "Weren't you here to see me?"
He chuckled dismissively, leaned down to her ear, and said in a hoarse voice, "But little rabbit, since you're already here..."
"What?"
Before Yan Jiarou could even process what he meant, she suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air. When she came to her senses, she saw that Xiao Che had already pulled her into his arms and was turning to walk into the hall. She frantically kicked her legs and pounded on him, crying, "Let me go! Put me down... I don't want to go in!"
Yan Jiarou has no sense of restraint when she gets angry. Several times she slapped him in the face with force that was no different from a slap.
He turned his face slightly: "You hit me again?"
"What's wrong with you today? Why are you being so naughty?"
Yan Jiarou sneered upon hearing this, "I'm not your plaything, why should I be obedient?"
"Oh? When someone begged me to make up, they said, 'I'll be very good from now on, and I'll do whatever I say.' How come you've turned your back on them so quickly?"
Yan Jiarou looked somewhat awkward and frowned, saying, "Anyway... put me down!"
"I'm not going to let go, am I?"
"Xiao Wenqi, you bastard, put me down!!"
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow: "You really want to come down?"
He gave a slight smile: "I promise you."
Yan Jiarou looked at him suspiciously, when suddenly she felt the strength on her waist loosen, and she suddenly fell downwards.
"Ah!" she screamed in fright, instinctively wrapping her arms tightly around his neck to prevent herself from falling.
He's so tall that even after he lifted her up horizontally, she was still quite a distance from the ground. If she fell, it would definitely hurt a lot.
A muffled chuckle reached his ears, and Xiao Che smiled with a pleased expression: "That's a good boy."
"Royal sister, you'd better hold on tight if you don't want to fall."
Yan Jiarou glared at him angrily: "You...you did this on purpose!"
Xiao Che smiled, turned to look at her, and did not deny it: "Alright, sweetheart, what's the rush? I'll put you down when we get to the bed."
Once on the bed, Xiao Che put her down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she couldn't wait to get off, but just as she was about to get up, Xiao Che reached out and pulled her back onto the bed, then rolled over and pressed his lips against hers, his voice hoarse: "Little rabbit, where are we going?"
"I...I want to go back to Chenghuan Palace..."
Xiao Che took her earlobe into his mouth and traced a path down her neck. (Deleted entirely.) While skillfully unfastening the jade clasp on her chest, he used his other hand to loosen the knot of her sash, quickly opening her robes to reveal... He buried his face in it, mumbling, "No rush, we'll go back later."
Yan Jiarou pushed him away, saying, "No, I want to go back now!"
She couldn't pretend that nothing had happened after what she had seen and heard today. Xiao Che didn't like her at all, and his treatment of her was nothing more than revenge and humiliation.
She didn't want to do this with him anymore, but now that he was on top of her, she couldn't resist him at all. Remembering the humiliating words he had said to her in the bamboo forest, a wave of sorrow washed over her, and her voice trembled with tears: "Let me go..."
Xiao Che looked up, his light-colored pupils now tinged with intense desire, and asked with restraint, "Baby, what's wrong?"
He wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, frowning slightly: "Why are you crying?"
Yan Jiarou simply turned her face away and said softly, "Let me go back, I want to go back..."
He gripped her chin, turning her face towards him and forcing her to look him in the eye: "I can let you go back, but Yan Yan, you have to tell me, what's wrong with you?"
"I..." Yan Jiarou's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyelids in a panic, concealing the emotions in her eyes: "I'm fine... I'm just feeling unwell, and I want to go back first..."
Only then did he notice that her face was indeed very pale and her body was unusually cold. He had thought it was because of the cold weather and that she had been standing outside for a long time, but now that he had carried her into the palace and pressed his skin against hers, and had been cuddling with her on the bed for a long time, why was she still not warm?
"Yan Yan, what's wrong? How long have you been standing outside? Did you catch a chill?"
Yan Jiarou was feeling drowsy and frustrated that she couldn't completely break off relations, but she also didn't have a good excuse to get rid of him. Upon hearing this, she went along with his words and said, "Perhaps, I might have caught a bit of a cold... I'll be fine after I go back and rest."
"I told you not to stay outside these days because of the cold weather, but it seems you didn't listen to a word I said."
His voice deepened slightly as he finally got off her, stood by the bed, and looked at her: "I'll have someone make you a bowl of ginseng soup. Drink it before you go back."
Yan Jiarou slowly sat up, bent down to straighten the messy front of her clothes, and clumsily fastened the jade button.
Usually, Xiao Che would help her dress and tidy up afterward. She was used to being served and never did these things herself. Today, she tidied herself up, so she was inevitably a bit clumsy. She couldn't get the jade buckle right several times. She felt like everything was going wrong and even the buckle was bullying her. Her movements became more and more impatient. Later, she even lost her temper and pulled and tugged at the jade buckle randomly, as if she wanted to break it.
Xiao Che sighed softly, bent down, and placed his fingers on the jade clasp on her robe, saying gently, "Alright, is this worth getting angry about? I'll take care of it."
He skillfully fastened the jade clasp and tied the sash for her in one smooth motion.
He carefully straightened her clothes, and after doing all this, there was no trace of the mess that had been carelessly made before.
Yan Jiarou kept her head down the whole time, remaining silent and withdrawn.
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow: "Third brother helped you, and you didn't even say thank you?" He wondered what was wrong with Little Rabbit today. She wasn't clingy at all, not only was she not sweet-talking, but she also didn't like to call him.
"Why should I say anything? You're the one who messed things up in the first place."
“Okay,” Xiao Che smiled, reached out and pinched her cheek, and nodded: “I won’t hold this against you for now.”
"But did you hear what I just said? If you want to go back, you'd better drink the ginger soup."
Can I go back after drinking the ginger soup? Yan Jiarou pursed her lips, calculating in her mind: the time to make the ginger soup and drink it together is not much, not enough for Xiao Che to do it once. So, does this mean he promised not to touch her?
That's true. Usually, whenever she's not feeling well, he'll resist the urge to touch her.
Thinking of this, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay."
Xiao Che's expression softened slightly.
He raised his hand and ruffled her hair, smiling as he said, "That's a good girl."
——
After instructing the palace servants to prepare ginseng soup, Xiao Che returned to find Yan Jiarou already up, leaning against the window, staring blankly at a sycamore tree outside.
Legend has it that phoenixes will not perch on anything but the parasol tree, and the arrival of a phoenix is considered auspicious, hence the parasol tree has always been regarded as a symbol of good fortune, and it was planted extensively in the palace.
However, the parasol tree is not like the pine or cypress, which can remain evergreen throughout the four seasons and be harvested in autumn and stored away in winter. Once winter comes, its leaves turn yellow and fall off, leaving only bare, sparse branches, which are really not very beautiful.
Little girls love to see vibrant colors and clusters of flowers, and the little rabbit is no exception.
Only those who are on their deathbed and devoid of life can feel pity and empathy, staring blankly at a withered tree branch.
He frowned, sensing that Little Rabbit seemed to have something on her mind today.
He walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her from behind, rested his chin on the side of her neck, and gently nuzzled her: "What are you looking at, hmm?"
Yan Jiarou snapped out of her daze and lowered her eyes: "It's nothing."
"Why are you so listless today? You seem so lethargic."
"...Perhaps I'm just tired."
Xiao Che frowned, straightened up, turned her around, and looked down at her, saying, "Yan Yan, what's wrong? Are you still angry about Ji Le bumping into you earlier?"
The mere mention of Ji Le ignited a surge of anger within him, and he coldly snorted, "Who does she think she is? She's not even worthy of making me angry."
Xiao Che pinched her cheek: "Alright, you won't see her again when you come here from now on."
Yan Jiarou's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Seemingly somewhat surprised, she looked up at him, pursed her lips, and finally couldn't help but ask:
"You must have seen what happened outside the palace when you came. I almost hit her. Aren't you angry with me? Why did you scold her without even asking who was right or wrong?"
“Didn’t I say I’m protective of my own? You’re my person, so of course I trust you.” He kissed her forehead and smiled, “Besides, I know that our Yan Yan, although spoiled, is kind-hearted and never harsh on her servants. She must have done something out of line to anger you, so it’s naturally her fault.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Jiarou felt a lump in her throat; it felt so good to be trusted.
Although she knew Xiao Che was only putting on an act for her, she still felt a momentary daze, and like before, she nestled affectionately into his arms, saying, "Brother..."
But after catching a whiff of a faint fragrance on his shoulder, her body instantly stiffened.
That was... the floral fragrance emanating from the woman's body.
She couldn't help but recall the scene she had witnessed in the attic earlier that day—Cui Lingyi tightly embraced his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.
—That faint, lingering fragrance must have been left behind at that time.
In an instant, her hands and feet turned icy cold, and her face paled even more.
She forced herself out of his embrace, clenched her fists, and looked up at him: "Xiao Che, where did you go today, and who did you see?"
She still forced a smile, the sunlight streaming through the window illuminating her face, and the smile on her lips gradually became somewhat unreal: "Why do you smell like a woman?"
It was both a test and a final decision to give him one last chance.
Unfortunately, after a slight pause, Xiao Che lowered his gaze, considered for a moment, and said, "...I haven't been anywhere. The woman's fragrance on you must be from when a clumsy palace maid bumped into me earlier, leaving a lingering scent." He couldn't tell the truth, Xiao Che thought. Little Rabbit was always innocent and naive, but she was particularly sensitive to anything related to Cui Lingyi. She was already sullen today, and if she knew that he had seen Cui Lingyi today and that the lingering fragrance on her was from her, she would probably overthink and become even more depressed.
Yan Jiarou chuckled enigmatically, then murmured, "I see..."
Sure enough, not a single word was true from beginning to end.
A cold light flashed in her eyes, and at this moment she finally gave up on Xiao Che completely.
——
The ginger soup was brought to my eyes, steaming hot.
Based on past experience, the little girl only loves sweets and hates taking medicine. Things like ginger soup, which are neither sweet nor bitter, are even more nauseating to her. She always needs to be coaxed to drink such things.
Xiao Che was about to say a few sweet words to coax her into drinking it, but the next moment, Yan Jiarou took the ginger soup from his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
She handed the medicine bowl back to Xiao Che, glanced at him, and said calmly, "Now that you've finished drinking, can I go back?"
Xiao Che snapped out of his daze, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Why are you being so obedient when you take your medicine today?"
"Our Yan Yan has finally grown up."
He had indeed promised her that she could leave after she finished her medicine, but he didn't expect her to drink it so quickly. He assumed she was still throwing a tantrum and deliberately forcing herself to drink it all in one go so she could get back quickly. He didn't take it to heart at the time, but he felt that the little rabbit had obediently delivered itself to his door today, lingering in front of him, letting him smell the aroma but not letting him eat a single bite of rabbit meat. Wasn't that deliberately torturing him?
Such behavior is truly hateful, but he is unwilling to let her leave so easily.
He placed the medicine bowl on the table beside the bed, then embraced her from behind, kissing her soft, white earlobe: "You little ingrate, you're leaving already?"
Yan Jiarou, enduring the tickling sensation, slightly turned her face away: "You promised me..."
“I promised you I would let you go back after you drank the ginger soup, but I didn’t say I would let you go back immediately after you drank it.”
Yan Jiarou turned around and glared at him: "You!"
Xiao Che lazily raised an eyebrow, with an indifferent expression that said, "That's just how I am, what can you do about it?"
Yan Jiarou knew that Xiao Che's shamelessness had returned. Even though she hadn't let him do it today, he was still kissing her. Since she wasn't satisfied, he was finding ways to make her uncomfortable. She was afraid that he wouldn't let her leave easily unless she gave him some sweetness.
She turned around, cupped his face in her hands, stood on tiptoe, and gave him a light, fleeting kiss on the lips: "Is this alright now?"
Xiao Che raised an eyebrow, a smile playing in his amber eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed the back of her head, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her fiercely.
His tongue traced the shape of her lips, then pried them open, plunging deep inside, sucking and biting her soft tongue, wantonly stealing her breath.
This forced deep kiss lasted for an unknown amount of time, until Yan Jiarou was completely dizzy and could no longer breathe, before he finally slowly released her.
Looking at Yan Jiarou, who was limp in his arms, with swollen red lips and a dazed look in her eyes, he felt a sense of pleasure. He licked his lips with satisfaction and said, "That's more like it."
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