Chapter 50: Fragrant Letters and Shared Sugar Paintings, the Beauty Blushes
After the male servants left, Lu Lingyue sat down by the bed.
He gazed at Yuan Yan silently.
Yuan Yan was very quiet when he was drunk, unlike some drunkards who start talking nonsense when they are drunk.
She seemed to be fast asleep; her usually sharp features had suddenly calmed down, concealing her usual tough and sharp side.
Lu Lingyue stared, somewhat lost in thought. Since entering the Prince's residence, she and Yuan Yan had been either arguing or giving each other the cold shoulder. How long had it been since they had sat quietly together for a while like this?
Gazing at Yuan Yan's face, Lu Lingyue's thoughts drifted away.
"..."
Yuan Yan, who was fast asleep, suddenly uttered a soft whisper.
Lu Lingyue leaned down and listened for a moment, vaguely catching the word "hot." Checking her body, she found she was indeed sweating.
"Hengwu," Lu Lingyue called out, and Hengwu brought over a basin and a towel.
He dampened a snow-white handkerchief and gently wiped Yuan Yan's sweaty face with the warm cloth.
Those long, slender, jade-white hands, which had previously only plucked the strings of a zither and held a paintbrush, were now wiping Yuan Yan's body with the same meticulous movements.
Perhaps sensing the care from others, her body no longer felt sweaty and uncomfortable. Yuan Yan didn't speak again, even the furrowed brows disappeared, she released her grip on Lu Lingyue's hand, and her expression returned to calm.
"Go and get some more water," Lu Lingyue said without looking up.
Hengwu said, "Young master, it's getting late, and you must be tired. Why don't you let me and Yaoqin take over?"
Lu Lingyue shook her head: "No need, you can go down first, I can do it myself."
Lu Lingyue, who had just said she would send Yuan Yan back, was now taking care of her herself.
Fearing that Yuan Yan might feel unwell in the middle of the night due to his drunkenness and thirst, he did not leave but stayed by the bedside, guarding Yuan Yan for most of the night.
Yuan Yan drank water several more times along the way.
She was quite drunk. When Lu Lingyue fed her water, Yuan Yan refused to touch the teacup and insisted on drinking from Lu Lingyue's hand.
"You've always been so difficult to deal with; you even keep me up when you're asleep."
With no outsiders present and the usual distance gone, Lu Lingyue's whispers to Yuan Yan now carried a hint of elusive emotion.
He moved in such a soft and gentle manner, taking care of her as if she were a child, satisfying Yuan Yan's unreasonable demands.
As dawn approached, Lu Lingyue saw that Yuan Yan was already asleep, so she went back to rest and had other male servants take over to look after him.
...
A pale golden light shone on his face, and Yuan Yan's eyes flickered slightly as he finally woke up.
Upon seeing the interior, she paused for a few seconds before recognizing it as Lu Lingyue's courtyard.
"Your Highness is awake!" Yaoqin immediately stepped forward and said happily.
"How did I end up here?" Yuan Yan asked, noticing the male servants attending him.
"Your Highness was drunk last night, and it was Commandant Yu who sent someone to bring Your Highness to the courtyard," Yaoqin said.
Doesn't Yu Liu know that she and Lu Lingyue have a bad relationship? Why was she sent to this side courtyard?
Seeing that he was surrounded by male servants and not Lu Lingyue, Yuan Yan naturally assumed that these male servants had taken care of him last night.
She frowned slightly, inwardly scolding Yu Liu for being tactless.
Because Lu Lingyue had left her here, Yuan Yan was displeased and harbored even more resentment towards Lu Lingyue.
She has other men, and Shen Lianzhou serves her much better. Why bother coming to Lu Lingyue and making herself unhappy?
Yuan Yan just wanted to leave the side courtyard as soon as possible and decided that he would never come back unless necessary.
...
I drank last night, but I didn't expect it to have such a strong aftereffect. Even Yuan Yan, who has a good tolerance for alcohol, was drunk for quite some time.
Fortunately, today was a day off, and there was no need to attend court, so the drunkenness did not affect official duties.
Yuan Yan had no interest in asking where Lu Lingyue was. After being dressed with the help of the male servants, he returned to the main courtyard and summoned his subordinates, including Xue Lang, to discuss matters.
"Your Highness, we have learned that Feng Qing has petitioned His Majesty to bestow the title of Minister of Revenue Liu Qian's eldest son upon Prince Qi," Xue Lang reported.
Yuan Yan: "What did Your Majesty say?"
"His Majesty has ordered the Imperial Observatory to select the nearest auspicious day, and the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites are to immediately prepare the ceremonial arrangements... It seems the ceremony will be held soon," Xue Lang said.
"As expected, the eldest princess listened to Feng Qing and chose Young Master Liu instead of Young Master Xu." Yuan Yan was not surprised by this and remained calm.
Seeing this, Yu Liu lowered his voice and asked, "Your Highness, if the Minister of Revenue has pledged allegiance to Prince Qi, he would also be a threat to Your Highness. Should we take action...?"
“No need. We’ve already ruined my eldest sister’s marriage once. If we mess things up again, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get past the Empress.” Yuan Yan didn’t agree. He turned around, his expression calm.
"Let the eldest princess marry whomever she wants. But the final outcome may not be as smooth as they think."
As the group was discussing matters, a servant suddenly came to report.
"Your Highness, the manager of Baoweizhai requests an audience."
Yu Liu asked curiously, "Baoweizhai? What's the manager of Baoweizhai doing here?"
[Host, the place you reserved for Young Master Yang is Baoweizhai, right? Has Young Master Yang come looking for you?] the system said.
"That's all for today." Yuan Yan immediately ended the meeting, dismissed Xue Lang and Yu Liu, and then ordered the shopkeeper to come up and speak.
"Your Highness, I have been keeping a close eye on the message you instructed me to send last time," the shopkeeper said respectfully.
"A servant delivered a letter today. Remembering Your Highness's instructions, I immediately came to the Prince's residence to report."
The shopkeeper then presented a letter to Yuan Yan.
Yuan Yan unfolded the letter; the handwriting was elegant, and the paper still carried a faint fragrance.
It was indeed a letter from Yang Lingyi.
Yuan Yan recognized it almost immediately; the fragrance on the letter was exactly the same as the orchid scent on Yang Lingyi.
In her letter, Yang Lingyi wrote that she had found an opportunity to leave the mansion today and asked Yuan Yan if he was free so that she could go out for a stroll with him.
Between the lines, a lively and adorable young master leaps off the page.
As Yuan Yan watched, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
A beautiful woman has made an appointment, so I will naturally have time.
She picked up her pen and wrote a reply, then had someone pass the note to Yang Lingyi.
...
West Market.
The place was bustling with noise and incredibly lively.
Yuan Yan saw Yang Lingyi with her male attendants in front of a stall.
"Lady Lin, I'm here." Yang Lingyi saw Yuan Yan in the crowd from afar and immediately waved to her with a bright smile.
"Young Master Yang." Yuan Yan didn't know what he was looking at so happily. He walked closer and found that it was a sugar painting stall.
The vendors at the stalls were painting with syrup. A splash of amber syrup onto the stone slab and a swift flick of their wrists quickly outlined the shape of a rabbit.
Before the sugar syrup solidifies, the vendor quickly sticks a bamboo skewer in the center, and soon an adorable sugar painting of a rabbit is complete.
"Here you are, sir, this is your sugar painting." She handed the bamboo stick to the woman in front of her with her husband, wiping away her sweat.
"My lady, this little rabbit is so cute," the young husband said to his wife with a smile.
Woman: "Yes, just as cute as you."
The two left together, sweet and affectionate.
Yuan Yan noticed the liking in Yang Lingyi's eyes and immediately pointed to the patterned canvases hanging in front of the stall, saying to the vendor, "Give me one of each of these sugar paintings: the mouse stealing oil and the monkey picking peaches."
"Alright, sir, please wait a moment while I get it done." The vendor immediately responded loudly and happily when he saw that Yuan Yan had chosen the two most expensive and intricate patterns.
"Lady Lin, how did you know I wanted these two sugar paintings?" Yang Lingyi's eyes lit up slightly when she knew that Yuan Yan had bought them for her.
“Your eyes are practically glued to it, I can tell at a glance, how could I not notice?”
Yuan Yan looked into Yang Lingyi's bright eyes and smiled gently.
"Buy it if you like it."
After a short wait, Yuan Yan received two sugar paintings from the vendor. He took them, paid with copper coins, and handed them to Yang Lingyi.
Yang Lingyi admired the sugar painting in her hand, unable to put it down.
"This sugar painting seller is so skillful! How can they make them so lifelike?" he exclaimed in admiration.
“This stall only sells sugar paintings of the twelve zodiac animals. Next time I’ll take you to other markets to see some. There are also stalls that make sugar paintings of famous officials and generals; those are much more lifelike and interesting,” Yuan Yan told him.
"Really? Then I'll invite Lady Lin out for a trip again next time. Don't think I'm being a nuisance." Yang Lingyi blinked and joked.
Yang Lingyi was very fond of the two sugar paintings, holding them in her hands and admiring them from side to side.
Yuan Yan thought Yang Lingyi would keep the two sugar paintings to continue playing with, but to his surprise, he curiously took a bite of the peach on the monkey picking peach and his eyes lit up.
He immediately held up the other one in front of Yuan Yan and smiled brightly at her.
"Lady Lin, try this... It's sweet and crunchy, very delicious." Yang Lingyi said, her eyes slightly curved as she sucked on a strand of sugar.
Yuan Yan looked at the sugar painting that was about to reach her mouth. This was something that children ate. She hadn't eaten it since she was ten years old in her previous life.
But seeing how much Yang Lingyi liked it and even wanted to share half with her, Yuan Yan couldn't help but laugh.
She simply opened her mouth and took a bite of the sugar painting from Yang Lingyi's raised hand.
"How is it? Isn't it delicious?" Yang Lingyi looked up at her, her clear almond-shaped eyes filled with joy.
"Young Master Yang fed me this himself, of course it's delicious." Yuan Yan said, noticing a bit of sugar residue on Yang Lingyi's lips, and reached out to wipe it away.
Only after making this gesture did Yuan Yan realize that it was too intimate and seemed somewhat inappropriate.
Yang Lingyi, seeing Yuan Yan's actions, was also stunned, and her face instantly flushed.
"Lady Lin..." He felt Yuan Yan's fingertips touch his cheek, and a strange, indescribable tingling sensation spread through a corner of his heart.
Not knowing how to behave, Yang Lingyi's eyelashes drooped involuntarily, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering gently, her cheeks slightly flushed, as red as the sunset.
Yuan Yan's heart skipped a beat when she saw his shy expression.
However, before the two could speak again, the male servant that Yang Lingyi had brought had already noticed the awkward atmosphere between them and whispered a reminder.
"Young Master?"
Yang Lingyi then seemed to wake from a dream, raised her head, and for some reason felt a faint sense of disappointment at the servant's interruption.
He didn't dare look Yuan Yan in the eye, and bit his lip slightly, leaving a faint mark on his delicate lips.
Yuan Yan noticed Yang Lingyi's emotional fluctuations and suppressed the slight flutter in his heart.
"Young Master Yang, there are some more interesting places ahead. Let's go check them out."
She noticed Yang Lingyi's unease and knew that if she showed it, Yang Lingyi would only become more embarrassed.
So Yuan Yan said nothing and spoke to Yang Lingyi with a normal expression.
"Mmm." Yang Lingyi responded softly, her voice much softer this time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
