Chapter 10: Don't stop being jealous, keep going!
His trip to Huguang and Zhejiang left him utterly exhausted. He rushed home on horseback, only to be greeted by a dimly lit room, with no sign of her.
When he asked, she said she had gone out and had been sitting there waiting for two hours before finally arriving.
During the time he was away, did she also frequently go out and ignore his words? He doesn't like being out of control or betrayed by the people around him, especially not her.
She could only stay by his side, talk to him, and smile at him.
The darkness in his eyes seemed to be slowly swallowing her up.
When he looked at her with that gaze, Mingying was afraid that even the slightest breath she took would displease him and cross his line.
Fortunately, she had put the painting away early in the morning.
She really liked that painting.
She knelt at his feet with practiced ease, her hands caressing his magnificent robes. Her bright eyes blinked as she answered truthfully, "Young Master, the New Year is approaching, and I was afraid the courtyard would be too quiet when you returned, so Sister Ling Shuang and I went to buy some New Year's goods. At the end of the year, you must be tired, and I wanted to make you happy."
Ling Shuang, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement and said a few words on her behalf.
Pei Xiaoyun's expression softened slightly.
Considering her young age and love of excitement, she used to love hanging banners and setting off firecrackers when celebrating the New Year in Yangzhou. She said that no matter how the previous year went, she should always bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year with joy, and wish for a smooth and successful year ahead.
He took her soft, fair hand in his. There were only a few light pink scars on her palm, which was still tender and pitiful. He pulled her wrist forward.
Mingying felt a chill run down her spine. If he found out...
He can be captivating when he's gentle, and terrifying when he's indifferent.
"It's so cold, why are you going out? If you catch a cold, you'll be stuck in bed complaining about feeling unwell." He handed her a warm hand warmer.
I haven't seen her for several months, and I really do miss her.
He dismissed everyone else, then sat Mingying on his lap in a very intimate pose. Gazing at the gradually reddening tips of her ears, he smiled and asked, "Have you missed me?"
Mingying's heart skipped a beat. Something inside her chest was pounding. The breath she exhaled was hot from shyness, while the breath she inhaled was cold from nervousness. She held his hand and said, "I want to."
Pei Xiaoyun took out a square box, which contained a pair of white jade dangling earrings. She held them up to her ears and said, "I see these are suitable for you, but your ear piercings seem to be too small. I'll pick out a more suitable pair for you next time."
The cold, hard beads pressed against Mingying's earlobe, deliberately teasing and moving around, causing her face to flush red.
Pei Xiaoyun's teasing voice rang out: "After serving me for so long, you're even more easily embarrassed than a virgin."
He loved her just the way she was, like having his palm licked by a well-behaved cat, and he couldn't bear to let her go.
"Is your pipa covered in dust? Go get it and play it for me."
Mingying recalled what had happened during the day, and her heart skipped a beat.
But looking into his calm, unwavering dark eyes, her anxiety slowly subsided. Over the years, she knew his habits; his gaze held no hint of scrutiny or threat.
He made her play the pipa simply to have fun with her, and he always did so.
It's no different from trying to please men by playing musical instruments and singing.
The only difference is that I only want to please him.
Even plants and trees have their own nature; why should they seek the favor of a beautiful woman?
When will she be able to play a song for herself, just like Miss Fang from Fuguang Tower?
She brought the pipa that had been with her for several years, simply because he said she played it beautifully, and she took it with her from Yangzhou to the capital.
Her slender hands gently plucked the strings, playing the very same Yangzhou Slow piece she had heard that day. The melody was melodious and pleasant, like the gentle murmur of water, and at its most stirring and clear parts, it felt as if one were on a vast river.
Pei Xiaoyun squinted, feeling that today's melody seemed to possess a divine charm, like mountains and rivers pouring down, a torrent entering her ears.
Those snow-white hands twirled nimbly, each movement like a gentle touch on the tip of his heart.
He pulled her into his arms, her long, flowing black hair cascading down his back.
The music stopped abruptly.
Mingying was restless and tossing and turning because of the fire burning behind her.
"Young Master..."
Pei Xiaoyun pinched her delicate chin, forcing her to turn around, and instructed her: "Don't stop, keep playing."
Her skirt draped over his legs.
His hand moved in sync with her rhythm.
The music played intermittently.
When Mingying trembled all over and her wrists became unsteady, her tone became rapid and forceful, like a tidal wave; when she wept and sobbed, her tone became soft and gentle, like clear spring water.
...
At dawn, the ground was covered in white, and icicles formed on the eaves.
Mingying felt extremely weak and sore all over; even blinking her eyelids felt exhausting. When she reached out to touch her neck, the teeth marks on it throbbed faintly.
Recalling last night, her face flushed, and she was too weak to think about anything else. She picked up the bowl of dark medicine and gulped it down. Suddenly, her stomach churned, and she vomited it all out, clutching the spittoon.
I have a fever again, and my stomach is extremely uncomfortable.
She looked at the liquid in the spittoon and felt a little flustered. She told Yu'er to quickly boil another bowl for her.
Yu'er was young and clumsy, and after fiddling with it for a long time, the medicine stove was almost dry. In the end, Ling Shuang took over, brewed it, and brought it in.
Mingying drank it immediately, and only then did she feel much more at ease.
The snow melted, and sunlight shone in. She took a few pills, her fever subsided, and it was time for her to get up.
Pei Xiaoyun is back, and her duties have become more demanding.
—
After investigating the case, Pei Xiaoyun returned to the capital. Instead of going to see the Crown Prince first, she met with Prince Yi, Xiao Qi.
The two sat down and drank tea for a while without saying a word.
Only when Pei Xiaoyun took out an arrow and slowly placed it on the table did Xiao Qi's expression change drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "Lord Pei, what is this...?"
Pei Xiaoyun didn't answer. He picked up the arrow and played with it. He blew lightly on the shaft, and a piece of dried mud fell off, revealing a clear pattern.
He moved the items over, and looking at the increasingly uneasy expression on the other person's face, he curled his lips into a smile: "His Highness the Crown Prince sent me to Huguang and Zhejiang to investigate the case of illegally possessing weapons. Your Highness, take a look. Is the pattern on this arrow shaft used exclusively by the Prince Yi's residence? If not, it will be good to explain to His Highness, so that no one may deliberately frame Your Highness."
He had already discovered that Prince Yi harbored rebellious intentions. Although the batch of weapons had been destroyed in advance, he still managed to find clues about it.
Further investigation revealed that Prince Yi was raising tens of thousands of private soldiers in the northwest, making his rebellious intentions obvious.
Their eyes met, and after a long while, they smiled at each other.
Xiao Qi said, "Since Lord Pei summoned me, he must already know?"
He had been given leverage over someone, so he could only kindly invite the man onto the boat. What's more, the man in front of him was his future son-in-law.
"Your Highness should take care of yourself," Pei Xiaoyun said with a faint smile, keeping his true intentions hidden.
Although he spoke unclearly, Xiao Qi understood him perfectly: "Lord Pei is a man of refined taste and exceptional talent, and my daughter is devoted to you. Our two families are related by marriage. If you are willing to lend me a hand, I will certainly treat you well."
Pei Xiaoyun remained silent, but through the rising steam of the tea, her dark eyes shone brightly.
Crown Prince Xiao Lang is indecisive and even dares to dream of relying on those powerful families to secure his throne. Assisting such a useless person is utterly pointless; the path he's laid out for Xiao Lang is one of certain death.
Thinking this, the arrow spun once on his slender fingertip before returning to its rightful owner.
"Since these are items from the Prince's residence, Your Highness should keep them safe."
Xiao Qi clapped his hands and laughed, but that didn't mean he had completely let his guard down.
The fact that a disgraced official, isolated and helpless, could climb out of the Zhaozui Temple, return step by step from Yangzhou to the capital, and rise to become a highly sought-after new official suggests that this person's abilities were only the tip of the iceberg.
"What do you want after it's all done?"
Pei Xiaoyun threw down her cup and stood up, completely disregarding the fact that the person sitting opposite her was a member of the royal family.
The hem of her dark robe fluttered in the wind as she opened the door and left, casually leaving behind the words, "We'll see."
As we left the tea room, Kong Qing came to greet us.
"Has Lin Xian arrived?" Pei Xiaoyun's expression turned icy cold.
Lin Xian's mother and the Lan family were sisters. The Lin family lived in Hangzhou and had never held official positions, making a living through commerce. When Lin Xian's mother insisted on marrying a merchant, she had already broken with her family, and the two families had not had any contact for many years.
I've heard that his cousin is an exceptionally skilled painter and travels extensively throughout the year.
He happened to be in the capital recently, and he invited this man to his residence so that he could draw a map of the mountains in the six northwestern regions, in order to find out the deployment of Prince Yi's troops in the northwest.
“You’ve arrived. You should be at your residence by now,” Kong Qing replied.
Pei Xiaoyun boarded the carriage. "Let's go back and meet him."
—
When Lin Xian saw that the people from the Duke of Qu's mansion had come to invite him, he was shocked. When he heard that it was Pei Xiaoyun who had invited him, he was even more astonished and puzzled.
The two families had never had any dealings, and he had no idea what they were up to.
He first went to visit his aunt, but Madam Lan was not close to this nephew. After exchanging a few polite words, she said she was not feeling well and went back to her room to rest.
"Young Master Lin, our master will be back soon. It's cold, please come with me to the courtyard to rest."
The servant from Lanqingzhuoyuan came to invite him.
"Alright."
Lin Xian nodded, unable to refuse, and followed him.
Inside the Lanqingzhuo Courtyard, a group of women were brewing tea at the Lanfang Pavilion.
This time of day is also a rare moment of leisure for the servants.
Mingying took a sip of the tea, which she didn't know who had brewed, and found it hard to swallow. She looked troubled and asked, "Why is it salty one minute and sweet the next?"
The little girl who brewed the tea scratched her head: "It seems the salt and sugar haven't completely dissolved."
"How can you put salt in it, you rascal! You've wasted such a good tea!" Ling Shuang scolded her, then poured out the tea she had brewed herself and brought it to Ming Ying's lips. "Try mine."
Mingying took a sip, her furrowed brows relaxed, and she gulped it down: "Sister Ling Shuang's tea is still the best."
“I’m not as skillful as you. Every time you brew Osmanthus Dew, Grandpa drinks it all.”
The boiling steam lifted the lid of the clay stove.
Mingying said, "My tea is brewed, but I forgot to bring the honey. I'll go to my room to get it. Could you keep an eye on things for me?"
She ran all the way out of Lanfang Pavilion, through the stone gate, and saw a man walk in.
The man was clearly surprised when he saw her.
"It's you?"
She was the girl he had met at Fuguang Tower that day, and he had even given her a painting.
I had been guessing her identity, but I never expected to see her at the Duke's mansion. Her clothes were more colorful than those of ordinary maids, but they were far inferior to the level of the master's clothes.
"Mr. Lin."
Mingying stopped in her tracks, a sense of embarrassment creeping over her.
She thought that it was just a chance encounter that day and intended to conceal her identity, but she never expected to meet him again.
Still here.
Given her awkward background, she probably wouldn't leave a good impression on someone like Mr. Lin.
Although Lin Xian guessed it, she didn't mention her identity at all, and only said, "I just passed by and saw that those camellias were blooming beautifully. Did you plant them all?"
Mingying nodded in agreement.
Separated by a stone gate, one of them was outside and the other inside, and they exchanged a few words.
In the distance, Kong Qing followed closely behind Pei Xiaoyun. They were about to reach the inner courtyard when she suddenly noticed that her master had stopped.
"Sir, what's wrong? Is there something you've forgotten?"
He looked over in confusion and saw his old man staring intently at a man and a woman talking not far away, his eyes as cold as knives.
Those two were none other than Miss Ming and Young Master Lin.
A note from the author:
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Someone's about to go berserk! [Angry][Angry][Angry]
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