Ta Xuanyun VS Xiao Hei
The West Wing was not occupied by many people, and by now they had all retired to their rooms. The horses in the stables were docile and well-behaved, making no noise at all, their gentle snorting the only sound in the courtyard.
Su Manyan originally thought that since it was so late, Xiao Hei would have already gone to bed, and that her visit would be in vain. But then she thought, her room was right next door, so if she couldn't see him, she could just go back and rest.
Besides, the moonlight was just right tonight, and this was the first time she had taken a walk with someone at night since she arrived.
fine.
The two of them arrived at the stable. They all said that everything has a spirit. Before Su Manyan could see Xiao Hei clearly, Ta Xuanyun seemed to have sensed the presence of his master, Xiao Lin, and poked his head through the gap in the wood, gently nuzzling his face.
Xiao Lin also reached out and rubbed Ta Xuanyun's big head, and his fingers gently combed its shiny hair, a picture of the friendship between master and pet.
"You two have such a good relationship." Su Manyan sighed from the heart.
Xiao Lin's voice was exceptionally gentle. "Ta Xuanyun was a gift from my father on my fourteenth birthday. We've been together for many years, so our bond is naturally deep." There was a subtle childishness in his tone. "Besides, it's extremely loyal to its master and has a wild and unruly temperament. Even my father wouldn't get close to it easily."
As soon as Xiao Lin finished speaking, Ta Xuanyun's head tilted to the right and rubbed Su Manyan gently.
Xiao Lin: “…”
Su Manyan: “…” Your Highness, please listen to my explanation!
"I didn't know that Ah Yan has only been here for a week and he is already so close to Ta Xuanyun?" There was a hint of sourness in his tone.
Su Manyan propped up Xiao Hei's head with her thin arms and looked pleadingly into its big, glassy eyes: "Ancestor, please go back to your master! Can't you smell the sour smell filling the yard? I don't want to lose my head!"
She replied awkwardly, "Haha, maybe it's because I've been adding hay and water to Xiao Hei these past few days. He got used to it after feeding him so many times."
"Oh? 'Feeding?'" Xiao Lin raised his lip in confusion, "Are you feeding them the radishes and bok choy I took from the kitchen, and the occasional peanut candy?"
Su Manyan: “…”
"Your Highness, how did you know?" Su Manyan was enveloped in the embarrassment of being caught doing something wrong. She felt like crying: would this tyrant accuse me of stealing? What if he arrested me and tortured me? Xiao Hei, you must prove my innocence.
"You're worried about Ta Xuanyun's safety, so I'm naturally concerned about him all the time. I wouldn't let him go so carelessly. Don't worry." Xiao Lin patted the horse's head and scolded him with a hint of disappointment: "Stupid thing, you dare to eat anything."
Su Manyan begged for mercy hastily: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I just loved Xiao Hei so much that I couldn't help but give him more food."
"That's fine. You're feeding it common kitchen items, so it's fine for the warhorse. I won't make things difficult for you. But Ta Xuanyun is a Ferghana horse after all, so you need to control his food intake. He doesn't train much in winter, and if you keep feeding him like this, he'll probably become fat and chubby, and that'll ruin his dignity."
There was a hint of serious regret in his tone, as if he had already seen how it had become fat and lifeless.
Su Manyan's mouth twitched. It seemed that Xiao Lin's spies were everywhere in this cold palace. Indeed, there was no such thing as a foolish prince. She bowed her head and replied, "I obey your orders."
"Also, is 'Xiao Hei' the name you gave to Ta Xuanyun?"
"Your Highness, do you mind me addressing you like this?"
Xiao Lin waved his hand: "I just think it's quite different from the name 'Ta Xuan Yun', but it's quite cute."
Su Manyan chuckled. She bravely called out "Xiao Hei". The horse knew she was calling it and turned its head, looking at Su Manyan with its big eyes.
Su Manyan smiled even brighter, a little cocky: "You see, Xiao Hei also likes this name. A big name and a nickname, how wonderful. I am sure that no other horse can have two such great names like it."
Xiao Lin looked down at Su Manyan. In the dim stable, their breaths mingled quietly. Their warm breath mixed with the crispness of snow, condensing into a white mist that was then blown away by the wind, drifting away in wisps, blurring his vision.
The scene in front of him suddenly changed: a woman in a green Luo skirt was playing with Ta Xuanyun. The woman had fair skin and beautiful looks. At first glance, her facial features were exactly the same as those of the little eunuch A Yan.
Xiao Lin took a breath and blinked, and the scene returned to normal: A Yan was still the same A Yan, wearing eunuch clothes. As to whether he was a real eunuch, it was doubtful.
His eyes slowly swept down from the top of Su Manyan's head: his face was somewhat heroic, his figure was thin, his neck was slender, his chest was flat, and his waist was even more slender.
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"What are you looking at?" Su Manyan had noticed Xiao Lin's sudden silence, but now she realized he was actually sizing her up. His gaze, from top to bottom, was so aggressive that it was impossible to ignore. She was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her fur instantly standing on end.
When Xiao Lin looked up, he saw that her face was as dark as water, and her willow-shaped eyes were glaring at him angrily. Anyone who was looked at so brazenly would be angry.
"I'm looking at you." Still not serious.
"You!" Su Manyan was furious when he heard Xiao Lin being so shameless. His eloquent mouth was so angry that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
"Are you angry?" Xiao Lin leaned down and deliberately closed the distance between them.
Su Manyan had no choice but to bend down. Just when she had nowhere to retreat, Xiao Lin stopped approaching, stared straight into her eyes, and said in a low voice: "It's strange to say, I was just blinded and mistook Ah Yan for a woman. When I came to my senses, I wanted to carefully confirm Ah Yan's body. If she is really a girl, wouldn't she be deceiving me?"
Xiao Lin stared at Su Manyan's red ears. Was it from the cold or from shyness? He blew a breath there maliciously. "Besides, Ah Yan's waist is so soft, I think you are a woman even more."
A few days later, Xiao Lin's suspicions returned. Su Manyan's heart tightened, and she pushed him away with all her might.
"I hope Your Highness will respect yourself." Su Manyan panted, looked away, and reminded in a flat tone.
Anyone with eyes could see that she was angry.
Su Manyan suppressed his anger and spoke again, "Your Highness, I don't understand why you are so doubtful about my gender. If I were truly a woman, what good would I gain by disguising myself as a man and entering the palace as a eunuch, risking the crime of deceiving the emperor? If Your Highness truly doesn't believe me, you can examine me yourself. At worst, I can be transferred to another palace."
After saying that, she turned her face away, really not wanting to pay any attention to Xiao Lin anymore.
Xiao Lin finally realized that he had teased someone too much. He raised his hands and apologized politely, "Ayan, that's not what I meant. Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. I'm not angry anymore. Look, Xiao Hei is watching us."
Xiao Lin brought up Xiao Hei as a lobbyist, and Su Manyan lost her temper. Besides, they were still masters and servants, so she didn't dare to make a real move.
Su Manyan said in a muffled voice: "This servant dare not be angry, but I'd better pick a time to check the body, and pray that Your Highness will be at ease."
She was angry at Xiao Lin's flirtatious teasing, but also nervous about Xiao Lin's insistence on her being a woman. So she put her emotions on the former to avoid deepening Xiao Lin's suspicion.
Anyway, now that I have the "gender transition card" in hand, it's time to put a physical examination on the agenda.
After hearing Su Manyan's suggestion, Xiao Lin thought about it for a few seconds. Since it had no disadvantages, he naturally agreed.
The atmosphere between the two of them became a little weird. Xiao Lin chatted as usual as if nothing had happened, and Su Manyan just responded briefly but did not take the initiative to find topics.
Ta Xuanyun seemed to sense the rift between them, and started to act coquettishly back and forth between them, but they just patted its head. Later, Xiao Lin fell silent.
Dark clouds appeared in the sky and covered the moon, isolating its bright light from the world.
Beneath Xiao Lin's robe, the winding black lines quietly swirled again, and the piercing pain began again.
"Okay, Ta Xuanyun, it's time for you to rest. It's time for us to leave too." Xiao Lin endured the discomfort, and then heard the night watchman's ringing, indicating that it was time to go back.
Su Manyan didn't notice Xiao Lin's strange behavior. He scratched his cheek, wondering whether he should send Xiao Lin back and come back, or let Xiao Lin go back by himself.
Publicly, as a close eunuch, it was unreasonable for him to let his master go back alone while he rested first. Personally, she was still a little upset, and it was too cold, so she just didn't want to leave.
She followed Xiao Lin and looked down to see the footprints left by two people in the snow, one big and one small, one in front and one behind.
"Ah!" Su Manyan was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the person in front of him stopped, and his forehead hit a body as hard as a steel plate.
Xiao Lin had no intention of letting Su Manyan take him back. Not to mention that this night companionship would be of no use to him as an adult man, and the young eunuch was shivering from the cold all the way, but he was not so cruel.
He just said he was going back, thinking that Ah Yan would understand what he meant, but unfortunately, Ah Yan was still not smart enough to misunderstand his meaning. The young eunuch pursed his lips and followed him silently, looking very reluctant, with slow steps, but still following him closely.
Xiao Lin wanted to play a teasing on her again, so he deliberately didn't say anything to remind A Yan to go back, and walked leisurely with his hands behind his back.
If someone were to pass by here with a lantern at this moment, they would find that the empire's hostage, the King of Mobei, had a bright and happy smile on his face.
Su Manyan looked up at Xiao Lin, his lips moving for a long time, but he couldn't utter a word. Finally, he sighed deeply, walked past Xiao Lin and walked ahead, intending to accompany Xiao Lin back.
Xiao Lin smiled and pulled Su Manyan back. He seemed to be very happy tonight. "Does it hurt? Why didn't you look at the road when you walked?" His voice was very gentle, and his face was full of concern. He wanted to see where Su Manyan had been hit.
Su Manyan took a step back and gently broke free from Xiao Lin's arm. She shook her head and said, "I'm fine, Your Highness. I'll take you back first. It's already late, Your Highness needs to rest early."
Xiao Lin chuckled from above her head. He took a few steps backwards, facing her. "No need for you to send me off. I never thought of asking you to accompany me back from the beginning. Go get some rest early."
After saying this, without waiting for the other party to react, he turned around, turned left at the circular arch, and disappeared into the lonely night.
Su Manyan still stood there in a daze, staring at his receding figure until the corner of his dark clothes could no longer be seen.
He's really soft-hearted...
Or perhaps she could sense Xiao Lin's kindness to her tonight: upon hearing she missed Xiao Hei, he'd let her do what she wanted, not blaming her for feeding him carelessly. The two of them even bantered like friends. But then, who knew what that bastard had done, and he began to doubt her identity again.
This matter was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment, tearing apart the last bit of dignity the two of them had. If this suspicion couldn't be dispelled, how could the further rescue mission proceed?
A jackdaw stopped at a treetop and picked up a branch, its chirping sound making one's heart tremble. Su Manyan shivered with cold, and finally turned around and returned to the house that was so close.
It was cold tonight, but thankfully there was a warm lamp on in the house. She was like a contented worker, with a late-night team building right outside her door, so she could go home straight after the event.
So Su Manyan, who was more soft-hearted, was no longer angry and forgave Xiao Lin all at once. She lay in the warm quilt, and before falling asleep, she always felt as if she had forgotten something very important.
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