Before he could get his way, she grabbed his hand. Displeased, Hongli clicked his tongue and said, "Judging from your tone, it seems you don't welcome me. Do you think I'm bad? Then I'll leave?"
He made a gesture to pull his hand away, but Su Yushan immediately grabbed him, reluctant to let go. "Hey—I was just curious why you came back at this hour. It's already dark! I thought I would see you come back sometime in the early morning."
He was just putting on an act; he couldn't bear to actually leave. Turning back to stand properly, Hongli tapped the tip of her nose and explained with a smile:
"I was supposed to return tomorrow, but I really didn't want to suffer through another night, so I told Father Emperor that I missed the children, and that's why I rushed back in the evening."
With a disgruntled "Oh," Su Yushan released his hand, turned away unhappily, and huffed, "So you miss the baby, not me! Then go see the baby! What are you doing here?"
The flower petals in the water were quite ungrateful, floating on the surface and obstructing his view. Hongli could only imagine the graceful figure underwater from memory. "Hearing that someone was bathing, I wanted to steal her beauty and fragrance."
As they spoke, Hongli leaned closer to her, his nose gently brushing against her earlobe. Su Yushan turned her head away, her cherry lips slightly pursed.
"The baby smells even better. Go and hold him/her, but don't disturb my bath."
"Are you angry?" Seeing that her little mouth was so full of anger, Hongli stopped teasing her and answered truthfully:
"I was just saying that to Father Emperor. If I told him I missed you, Father Emperor would scold me. This is just a temporary measure! Of course I miss you, but there's only one person I really want to see. Guess who it is?"
Her watery eyes shimmered, and Su Yushan pondered, guessing, "Hmm... Demin?"
"Why would I think about him, a grown man?" Knowing she was deliberately making things up, Hongli warned her in advance, "If you guess wrong again, you will be punished."
Grabbing his mischievous hand tightly, Su Yushan looked worried and anxiously examined him. "Hey—stop fooling around. How's your injury? Let me see your wound."
Hongli smiled knowingly, “It’s been several days since we last met. You must be craving something. You want to see me undress? I’ll let you see as much as you want when we get into the tent later.”
Her cheeks, already rosy from taking a bath, turned even redder after his words, like a ripe pomegranate. She chuckled shyly, "I didn't mean any harm. Don't talk nonsense. I'm just worried about your condition."
After exchanging a few jokes, Hongli said, "The wound has scabbed over, the fever has subsided, and the imperial physician said I am out of danger and have no major problems."
He spoke as if it were nothing, but Su Yushan still had doubts. "Are you really all better? You can't lie to me!"
"If I hadn't recovered, how could Father Emperor have agreed to let me leave the palace?"
That's true. Thinking this, Su Yushan finally smiled, but then, remembering that she was still in the wooden tub, she lowered her eyes and shyly reminded her:
"You go out first and call Chang Yue in. I need to change my clothes."
“I can help you change your clothes; that’s something I’m best at.” As he spoke, Hongli casually pushed aside the petals on the water’s surface, wanting to peek at her exquisite figure. Su Yushan hurriedly raised her hands to cover herself up completely, and scolded him playfully:
"You're better at undressing."
"You know me so well, you deserve a reward."
Unable to contain his joy, Hongli placed a light kiss on Furong's face.
His punishments and rewards were always the same, and Su Yushan was truly terrified of him, begging for mercy in a panic.
"Hey—don't get so close, I... I'm hot."
Is it the body that's hot, or the heart?
She couldn't answer that question; it seemed like no answer would be right. Su Yushan was so embarrassed that she couldn't speak. Before she could think of an answer, Hongli had already pulled her out of the water.
Startled, Su Yushan lost her balance when she landed and instinctively hugged him, as if that would prevent him from seeing her.
This was exactly what Hongli wanted. He smiled triumphantly, and just as she exclaimed in surprise, he casually picked up a bath towel from the oak shelf and wrapped her up tightly, relieving her of her worries.
He intended to carry her back to the room, but she sternly stopped him, saying, "Your injuries have only just healed, how can you carry someone? I don't want to worsen your injuries."
"I'm not as fragile as you think, my wounds have healed." No matter how much he assured her, she didn't believe him. But he just stayed there and refused to leave. Helpless, she had no choice but to go behind the screen and change her clothes by herself.
The gauze screen, shimmering with light, subtly depicts the graceful figure of a beautiful woman; the spring scenery, faintly visible, is even more pleasing to the eye than the landscape depicted on the screen.
Hongli stood there, admiring the painting carefully, without approaching to avoid damaging this masterpiece.
After she changed her clothes, she went back to her room with him.
Hongli circled back to what he had just said, pressing her relentlessly, "Have you missed me lately?"
Su Yushan nodded obediently, "Yes."
He wasn't satisfied with just that one sentence: "Missing someone isn't just something you say; it has to be shown in reality."
Su Yushan wasn't fooled. Instead of answering, she asked, "So, do you miss me? Do you have any proof?"
She had only asked casually, intending to refute him, but to her surprise, he took out a box and gestured for her to open it and take a look.
Su Yushan asked curiously, "What is this? Jewelry? I already have so much jewelry that I can't even wear it all, so you don't need to give me any more."
Hongli smiled but remained silent, waiting for her to open the box herself.
The moment she opened it, Su Yushan realized she had guessed wrong. Inside the box was not jewelry, but a stack of papers, each with a drawing depicting her daily life.
For example, the first painting depicts her pruning hydrangeas, accompanied by a poem:
Rain falls on the steps, whispering my thoughts; wind knocks on the window, inspiring a poem.
A thousand words and ten thousand sentences cannot express my feelings, but suddenly I see the candlelight reflecting off her beautiful face.
He was gone for seven days. The box contained seven paintings and seven poems, each stroke of which was engraved with his longing for her.
As she watched, Su Yushan's eyes welled up with tears. She couldn't help but hug him, burying her face in his chest and sobbing softly.
"You're so badly injured, why are you still trying to write? What will I do if you ruin your hand?"
"My right hand is useless, but I still have my left hand, and I can continue to love you."
That's not what she meant! Su Yushan was both amused and exasperated, and scolded, "I'm talking about serious matters, very serious ones, no joking around!"
"Okay, I'm not kidding you. I use my left hand to hold the pen, so it won't bother me."
Upon learning the truth, Su Yushan was incredulous. "These calligraphy and paintings were all done with your left hand? You're amazing!"
Hongli Feng raised an eyebrow, unable to hide his smugness. "Didn't you already know how capable I am?"
Startled for a moment, Su Yushan then realized what he meant, blushing as she scolded him for being shameless, "Hopeless, you can't stop talking nonsense."
Holding the person in his arms, Hongli looked at her with a smile in his eyes, "That's because I missed you so much. What about you? Do you have any proof that you missed me?"
Meeting his expectant gaze, Su Yushan nodded and then got up to get it.
She also brought a box, which made Hongli even more curious, but he didn't know what Yushan was going to give him.
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