Chapter 24 [24] Wow, you're so big!
【24】/First release on Jinjiang Literature City
For a moment, Sima Jing thought he was hallucinating.
But then she chuckled, "It's red, like peach petals, and looks delicious."
Is this a sex maniac or a starving ghost?
His thick eyebrows knitted together, and he saw that the young woman lying on his chest seemed to be bewitched. Her thick black eyelashes blinked twice, and then her little face, as red as a crabapple flower, slowly moved closer to him...
Is she crazy?
Sima Jing's face froze.
Just as he raised his hand, intending to knock her out, the person in front of him suddenly shook twice.
The next moment, like a willow bent by the wind, she fell into his arms with a "click".
Sima Jing's hand paused, and he looked down at the girl leaning in his arms, his brows furrowed even tighter.
Just now he was talking nonsense with shining eyes and a playful smile, but now he is quiet and well-behaved like a cat.
"Cloud Five."
He put on a stern face and pushed her shoulder: "Don't pretend."
No response.
The girl's body slid down like a boneless person because of this force.
Seeing that her head was about to hit the seat beside her, Sima Jing finally pulled her back.
After a few moves, Yun Ran sat down on the gray sheepskin carpet, with his head resting on Sima Jing's knees.
As if she had finally found a comfortable support point and didn't want to leave, she raised her hands and hugged Sima Jing's legs.
Sima Jing: “…”
Pretending.
She must be pretending to be crazy because she was afraid that he would knock her out.
"I'll count to three. If you don't let go, you'll be fed to snakes when you return."
"one."
"two."
“…So noisy.”
Yun Ran frowned, and to express her dissatisfaction with the noise, she raised her hand and slapped his leg: "Stop making noise, I want to sleep."
Sima Jing's face turned completely dark.
She usually keeps talking all the time, but he never dislikes her. Instead, she dislikes his noise?
Not only that, she even dared to attack him?
He didn't care whether to touch her or not, and clamped her jaw with two fingers, forcing her to look up.
"Yunwu, you are so brave."
"...Such a big...duster? Hmm, where can I find a duster?"
Yun Ran stared at the man in front of her with sleepy eyes. Sima Jing was already much taller than her, and now that she was sitting next to his legs and was forced to look up at him, he looked like a giant to her. "Wow, you're so big."
The scolding that Sima Jing was about to say suddenly stopped.
When he realized what nonsense she was talking about, his heart skipped a beat.
Looking at the young lady beside my legs, her cheeks were as red as ripe cherries, but her eyes were clear and misty, like a newborn animal, and there was a natural and harmless smile on the corner of her mouth.
For no reason, the restlessness in my heart became stronger and stronger.
It seemed as if it had turned into a beast.
The beast suddenly rushed to the left, shouting that this daring drunkard should be strangled to death to prevent her from offending him again and again.
After a while, she rushed to the right again, tempting him with the devilish voice. Do you think she looks like Cui Baoer now?
Just as naughty and playful, even when he does something wrong, he likes to look at you with his silly yet clear big eyes.
Do you want to touch her?
Just like caressing Cui Baoer on ordinary days.
She was not cold and smooth like Cui Bao'er, her skin was soft and warm.
You know, you've held her hand and her waist, and you know how soft it is.
Touch her face.
Anyway, she is drunk now and has no resistance, so you can do whatever you want...
Don't you really want to touch it?
The voice was constantly tempting, and the heat from her jaw continued to flow through the two fingers. Sima Jing's eyes gradually darkened.
Just as his fingertips were about to reach her cheek uncontrollably, she suddenly murmured, "Hey, Fourth Brother... Don't play dirty..."
He was clearly still immersed in the drinking contest just now.
Sima Jing stopped moving his fingers.
Realizing what he was almost about to do, his face turned pale and he released Yun Ran's jaw.
Without support, Yun Ran's head tilted and he leaned softly on his knees again.
Sima Jing: “…”
That's all.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his head and looked at the colorful light and shadow passing through the car curtain, trying to calm his mind.
Unexpectedly, her appearance at the Marquis's family dinner flashed through his mind.
When she was laughing and joking with her family, her eyes and eyebrows were so lively and bright.
Unlike yesterday in the palace, I had to observe everyone's expressions and be extremely cautious when picking up a dish.
This marriage was indeed an unexpected disaster for her and her entire family.
After a long time, he turned his eyes away.
Yun Ran had already fallen asleep, her rosy complexion looking peaceful. Sima Jing's eyes were slightly darker, and his voice was so low as if soaked in cold dew.
"In your heart, you must be fed up with me."
Although it was not his intention, it was indeed because of him that her life, which could have been happy and smooth, was ruined.
The carriage was silent.
Only the sound of Yun Ran's soft and steady breathing, accompanied by the gentle sound of the wheels, slowly flowed through the dimly lit carriage.
***
A strong wind suddenly blew last night and the weather suddenly turned cold.
So early this morning, the maids of Shoukang Palace lit the finest silver charcoal in the gilded copper furnace, making the west warm room warm.
Queen Mother Zhao reclined on a soft couch covered with a sable mattress, stroking a string of prayer beads in her hand, listening to the eunuch chief Zhang Dehai reporting the details of his return home yesterday.
"...Your Highness accompanied the princess back to the Marquis' Mansion at 9:00 PM yesterday and did not leave until 5:00 PM."
"The princess was probably drunk. When she got out of the carriage, His Highness personally carried her into the courtyard."
Zhang Dehai lowered his eyelids and spoke in a very low voice, "It's just that His Highness did not stay overnight and went straight back to Shenliu Hall."
The rosary paused between her fingers, and the red gold and pearl-studded phoenix hairpin on Queen Mother Zhao's temples swayed slightly.
"Oh? Did you carry it in yourself?"
She raised her eyebrows and dragged out the last line of her voice, "But you didn't stay?"
Zhang Dehai bowed even deeper: "Yes."
"That won't do."
Queen Mother Zhao tapped her fingertips lightly on the edge of the couch, then suddenly stopped and said, "Zhang Dehai, please step aside first."
Zhang Dehai rolled his eyes and then replied, "Yes."
After the eunuch left, Dowager Zhao took a sip of tea from the teacup beside her and slowly spoke to Nanny Lan Gui, who was standing by her side: "He didn't stay the night before yesterday, and he didn't stay last night either. I went to so much trouble to find him a wife, is it possible that she is just being kept in his house as a decoration?"
"Lan Gui, tell me, what's going on in his mind?"
Queen Dowager Zhao placed the tea bowl heavily on the small table. "That little girl came home yesterday. She must have been forced to drink a lot by her family, and she was drunk and unconscious. But he embraced her, but then backed away at the last minute. What does this mean?"
Nanny Lan Gui, dressed in a dark blue bodice, bowed and offered comfort, "Your Highness is naturally reserved, and the princess is a newlywed, so she's naturally reserved. Since he made an exception and hugged her yesterday, it's clear he cares for her."
"What's the point of caring?"
Queen Mother Zhao said, "This marriage was hastily arranged to begin with. If we don't strike while the iron is hot and continue to divide the rooms like this, when will I ever be able to hold a grandson?"
"Or does he... really have some hidden illness?"
Queen Mother Zhao frowned, thinking of the scene six years ago when the envoys had just brought Sima Jing back from Rongdi.
He was so tall, but very thin. Even though it took him two months to walk from Rongdi back to Chang'an, and the envoys provided him with good food and drink, they still failed to fatten him up.
It is no exaggeration to say that he is emaciated.
Moreover, he was very stubborn and refused to let anyone touch him along the way, even if someone tried to trim his hair and beard.
If the envoys tried to persuade him a little more, he would let the snake go away, and no one dared to say anything more.
So when he appeared in front of her with disheveled hair, tall and thin face, she thought he was a beggar from somewhere, and he was completely different from the handsome, fair and fairy-like little son in her memory.
He just stood there blankly at the steps of the hall, looking up at Emperor Wenxuan and her, who were dressed in gorgeous clothes on the throne.
Even though they were at a distance, his gaze was still sharp.
Looking closely, it seemed to be flashing with some kind of frightening darkness.
Like a wolf.
That was the thought that came to her mind at the time: a lone wolf that was wild and untamable, capable of tearing its enemies to pieces.
But how could she be his enemy?
She is his mother.
She was thinking about him and his mother all the time.
So she stumbled towards him and, with tears in her eyes, grabbed his hand again, saying, "Son, I am your mother."
He silently broke free from her hand.
During the struggle, she saw the scar on his wrist.
She was stunned, and then frantically pulled up his sleeves, and saw more dense scars -
Whip wounds, burns, knife cuts, burns...
New wounds pile up on old scars, one after another.
She wanted to look again, but he pushed her away harshly.
He took several steps back until they were a certain distance apart, then he looked at her coldly with his dark eyes.
He hates her.
She knew that he must hate her.
Later, she sent a royal physician to examine him, only to find out that his body was covered with scars.
The imperial physician's original words were: "There is hardly a single piece of good meat on the chest, back, and legs."
The envoy who was responsible for bringing him back choked up and told the truth: "When we found Your Highness, his neck and limbs were shackled. The Rongdi people only gave him one meal a day and did not allow him to leave the snake cave even once."
The young man was emaciated and looked like a walking corpse.
In that dark snake cave, I lived with snakes for years.
The envoy also secretly mentioned why he was thrown into the snake cave. It was because the right general of Rongdi liked to molest boys, and he had grown into a handsome man with a beautiful face like a girl when he was ten years old.
The right general had designs on him, but he dug out one of his eyes and bit off one of his ears that night, so he failed.
Rongdi Khan, considering his identity and usefulness, intended to spare his life, but he also wanted to give an explanation to the right general, so he threw him into the snake cave.
"Let the gods decide his life and death."
No one knew how a ten-year-old boy could survive in a snake den full of snakes.
But he miraculously survived.
After that, he lived in the snake cave.
Rumors gradually spread among the Rongdi tribes that the hostage from Dajin had died long ago, and the one who survived was not a human, but a snake demon.
Even though he became more and more handsome, the Rongdi nobles, both men and women, who coveted him were dissuaded by the snakes who would fight to the death to protect him, and no longer dared to plot against him.
Queen Mother Zhao felt sorry for her youngest son's experience, so she had been trying her best to make amends over the years. She gave him the honor of a first-rank prince and a magnificent and spacious palace, generous fiefs and inexhaustible wealth and jewelry, and found him a gentle, considerate, virtuous and beautiful wife from a noble family.
But he still kept his distance from her and resisted her.
Now he finally married a beautiful and lovely wife, and his behavior in the past two days was enough to prove that he had no objection to this Yun family's daughter.
He was willing to accompany her to the Marquis' Mansion.
You have to know that in the six years since he came back from Rongdi, he has never set foot in any mansion of dignitaries.
Even for her, his own mother, to summon him into the palace, she had to go to great lengths and ask again and again.
"Lan Gui, I have to send you to watch over them for me."
From the bronze crane incense burner at the foot of the steps, smoke curled up from the crane's beak, blurring Queen Mother Zhao's features. "Whatever the cause, we must first identify the symptoms before we can prescribe the right remedy."
"This time, you should stay there for a while and see how they get along. You watched Ajing grow up from birth to five years old..."
"Alas, I really owe him. If I hadn't been the Queen Mother and had no time to spare, I would have wanted to stay in his house myself and just be the old lady in his house..."
Nanny Lan Gui's eyes flickered slightly, and she said hurriedly, "My Lady, please don't say these words."
Queen Mother Zhao curled the corners of her lips, her smile somewhat helpless.
After a long while, he looked at Nanny Lan Gui with a serious face and said, "Anyway, I'll leave it to you to look after Ajing and that little girl. I think they're both stupid and stupid. They need someone to help them."
Nanny Lan Gui understood clearly what was going on and bowed deeply, "This old servant will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."
When she reached the palace gate, she looked back again.
Queen Mother Zhao was seen gazing at the red plum blossoms outside the window in a trance, her rosary beads slowly turning between her fingers, and a hint of melancholy shrouded her graceful eyes.
Nanny Lan Gui sighed softly, hoping that this time she could help the young couple as soon as possible, so that the Empress Dowager could get what she wanted sooner.
***
At the same time, at Prince Jing’s Mansion.
The slightly dim sunlight filtered through the carved window lattices of the bedroom, casting a mottled light and shadow on the large red curtain.
Yun Ran woke up with a headache.
When she managed to open her eyes, she looked at the gilded curtain above her head and was stunned for a long time before she realized where she was.
"Why am I in the palace?"
She struggled to sit up, but her whole body felt sore and weak.
Qing Ling, who was guarding the outer room, heard the noise inside and hurried over: "Madam, are you finally awake?"
"I……"
Yun Ran rubbed his aching forehead, wondering, "Am I not in the Marquis' Mansion? What time is it now? How did I get back to the Prince's Mansion?"
"My lady, you have slept for a whole day and night."
Qing Ling smoothed her messy hair and said helplessly, "Yesterday you and Silangjun drank too much and fell asleep in the carriage on the way back. Later, His Highness had to carry you back."
"What?"
Yun Ran's eyes widened instantly, and he sat up on the bed, "Your Highness...Your Highness carried me back?"
Qing Ling nodded: "Yes, His Highness carried you into the courtyard and put you on the bed himself, and also told the servants to take good care of you."
Yun Ran only felt a buzzing in his head, and some memories of yesterday flashed through his mind intermittently.
After getting on the carriage, she seemed to say some nonsense to Sima Jing, and even...
He also did some strange things to him.
When I think of the image of me holding Sima Jing's calf that flashed through my mind.
Yun Ran's eyelids twitched twice.
It’s over, it’s over, drinking really is the cause of all the trouble!
This is so embarrassing.
How would she face Sima Jing after this?
"Madam, are you okay?" Qingling asked worriedly.
"Nothing…nothing."
Yun Ran's eyes widened and he wailed in his heart, isn't it just embarrassing?
It was Yun Wu who was embarrassed yesterday. What does it have to do with her, Yun Ran?
She sat on the bed for a long time, feeling hopeless, before she got up to wash.
The dining table in the outer room was already filled with a sumptuous breakfast, including steaming hot eight-treasure lotus seed porridge, crystal shrimp dumplings, assorted buns, a plate of honey-glazed duck, a serving of tofu and watercress, and a few refreshing side dishes.
Yun Ran picked up the chopsticks, picked up a shrimp dumpling and put it in his mouth.
The delicious taste instantly spread across her tongue, but she felt dizzy from the hangover and didn't have much of an appetite.
Just then, Qingling opened the curtain and came in from outside, carrying a bowl of hangover soup. "It was windy last night, and it's gotten colder this morning. Judging from the weather, I'm afraid it's going to snow."
Upon hearing this, Yun Ran also looked out the window.
The sky was gray and the clouds were thick, and it really looked like it was going to snow.
"I've heard that the snow falls early in Chang'an, but in the south we don't get much snow until December."
Yun Ran thought for a moment and then smiled, "It would be great if it snowed. When it snows, we can make glutinous rice cakes and steam them for dinner."
Qing Ling: "Madam, do you like to eat these?"
"I like it. Eating these in winter is good for your health."
Yun Ran said, "For example, our liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys correspond to the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, respectively, and their corresponding seasons are spring, summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter. It's winter now, the perfect time to nourish the kidneys. Foods like mutton soup, walnut chicken soup, and radish stewed with tofu are all excellent."
However, their Taoist temple lives in poverty and they cannot afford mutton and chicken soup on a daily basis, but they still have glutinous rice to nourish the body and replenish qi.
"Every year when it snows, my master takes me and my fellow sisters to make glutinous rice cakes. If believers in nearby villages make glutinous rice cakes, they'll give us some. The glutinous rice cakes we make are delicious—soft, chewy, and springy, coated in freshly roasted soybean flour. They're incredibly fragrant and sweet, and one bite is filled with sweetness that reaches your heart."
"There's also glutinous rice, mixed with bacon and mushrooms, steamed in bamboo tubes. The aroma fills the entire Taoist temple! When you eat it, split the bamboo tubes open. The glutinous rice inside is steamed until it's translucent and plump. The oil from the bacon is also steamed out, coating each grain of glutinous rice. Take a bite, and the aroma of rice, meat, and mushrooms mixed with the fragrance of bamboo—"
Speaking of this, Yun Ran couldn't help but close his eyes and savor the taste, his face intoxicated: "It's so delicious, I can eat three tubes at a time!"
Qing Ling also swallowed her saliva: "My lady, please stop talking. If you continue, I will drool."
Yun Ran opened his eyes and saw Qing Ling's greedy look. He smiled slyly, "It's okay. When it snows, we can go to the kitchen and cook for her."
The master and servant had breakfast while chatting and laughing. The hangover soup was almost cold, so Yun Ran picked it up and drank it in one gulp.
Perhaps it was because the recipe for the hangover soup in the palace was more advanced. Soon, her headache and dizziness disappeared, and she even had the energy to finish her missed morning lessons.
After finishing morning lessons and returning to the house to change clothes, the wind started blowing outside again.
She looked at the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window and suddenly said, "What do you think His Highness is doing right now?"
Qingling paused and was surprised that the young lady would take the initiative to ask about His Highness.
It seems that their relationship has improved a lot since their visit yesterday.
"I don't know that either. But the elders in the palace all said that His Highness rarely goes out, and spends most of his time in the study or in the snake yard to the west."
Yun Ran opened her arms and cooperated with Qing Ling to tie the silk ribbon for her, thinking to herself.
She had given him quite a bit of trouble in the carriage yesterday, and he had even personally carried her back...
It would be unacceptable if I didn't even say thank you.
Besides, she had agreed to his three requests before, but she hadn't asked what they were.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "My mother brought me a lot of cakes yesterday. Please pack some of each and we will send them to His Highness later."
Qingling naturally agreed.
Not long after, he returned with a gilded lacquer box containing several snacks neatly arranged inside.
Fragrant tea osmanthus cakes, rose fruit steamed cakes, and candied pepper and salt lotus cakes are all Yun Ran’s favorites.
Yun Ran took the food box, weighed it, and straightened his clothes before taking Qing Ling out.
This palace was given to Sima Jing by Emperor Wenxuan six years ago after he returned from Rongdi.
The mansion is spacious and magnificent, rich and beautiful, and the care that has been taken in its renovation can be seen everywhere.
However, Sima Jing liked quietness and seldom interacted with others. In such a huge mansion, he was the only master, and the other dozen or so courtyards were deserted and no one lived there.
For example, the Zhanlu Hall where Yun Ran lives now had been abandoned for a long time. It was only for the wedding that the Queen Mother specially ordered people to clean it up.
In the past two days, Yun Ran went out early and came back late, and had no time to take a close look at the palace. Now she was strolling slowly, but she found that the road was deserted and very quiet. There were only the footsteps of her and Qing Ling, and the rustling of dead branches in the north wind.
If Yun Ran hadn't known that there were people living in this mansion, he would have almost thought that he had accidentally walked into a haunted house.
“It’s too quiet.”
Yun Ran looked around and frowned. "Although winter is bleak and everything is withered, there are still many evergreen plants. Planting some of them will make the place look more lively."
She really didn't like this lifeless feeling——
What a beautiful and grand house! She had never dared to dream of such a big house before. Now that she lives in it and becomes the mistress of this house, how can she bear to squander such a beautiful house and see it become spooky and evil?
What's more, she had invited her mother and sister-in-law to come to the palace to play yesterday. If they came and saw this, they would definitely not want to come a second time.
"I'll have to talk to His Highness when I see him later."
But just as he reached the door of the study, he found that it was closed. There was only a servant guarding it in the thatched hut next to it.
After asking the servant, I learned that Sima Jing was in Liuxian Garden at the moment.
Willow Fairy Garden.
When Yun Ran heard the name, he immediately thought of the courtyard that was said to have hundreds of snakes. This must be it.
Qing Ling obviously realized this as well, her face instantly turning pale, "Madam...Madam, we are not going over there, are we?"
"Go ahead. Since you're already here, it's better not to make a wasted trip."
"But, but I heard there are a lot of snakes over there, all free-range, all over the ground..."
"It's okay. Didn't the guy just say that the yard has a wall and a gate? Snakes are locked inside and usually won't run out."
"I usually don't run out..."
Qing Ling's smile was uglier than crying: "That means it's still possible to escape."
“Hmm…”
Yun Ran touched his chin: "That's true."
Qing Ling tried to persuade him, "Why don't we go back first and come back after His Highness returns to the study."
Yun Ran smiled and said, "But I really want to go there and take a look. Aren't you curious?"
Qing Ling: “……!?”
Who would be curious about that kind of place!
Seeing Qing Ling's complicated and tangled expression, Yun Ran said embarrassedly, well, maybe her curiosity was indeed too strong.
But she really wanted to know how Sima Jing raised snakes!
This time, she still didn't force Qing Ling: "It's okay, you go back to Zhanlu Hall first, I'll go take a look myself."
After saying that, he took the food box, turned around and walked in the direction the servant pointed.
Looking at the back of her master, Qingling sighed in her heart, it’s not that she wants to be lazy, it’s just that she can’t do it!
***
A quarter of an hour later, Yun Ran arrived at Liuxian Garden, the westernmost part of the palace.
Then, she was turned away.
"Please forgive me, Princess. His Highness has instructed that this is a restricted area and no one is allowed to enter."
Chang Chun forced a smile as he looked at the princess who had suddenly arrived in front of him, but he still couldn't hide his surprise.
Normal people would run away as fast as they could when they heard about snakes, but she, on the other hand, rushed over with an expression of wanting to see the fun.
"No one allowed in? But isn't he in there?"
As she spoke, she pointed at the bamboo woven coat on Chang Chun and said, "Can't you go in dressed like this? Or does he think he's closer to you?"
"Oh, I dare not! Who am I to compare with the princess?"
Chang Chun felt embarrassed, thinking that this little princess looked so young, how could she be so powerful with her mouth.
"The reason I'm allowed in is to serve His Highness, pass on messages for him, and run errands for him..."
"That means it's not that scary inside."
Yun Ran looked at Chang Chun's outfit with great interest. Then he looked at the closed iron gate and the wall that was more than twice as tall as an ordinary wall. He was even more eager to try. "Please tell His Highness that I have something to ask him and that I have brought him some cakes. Please ask him to let me in."
Chang Chun: "This...Princess, please don't embarrass me."
Yun Ran: "I won't make it difficult for you. But you didn't even go in and ask, so how do you know he won't do it?"
Chang Chun: “…”
He glanced at the little princess with eyes full of expectation, and muttered in his heart, although you are indeed beautiful, and His Highness did accompany you back to your parents' home yesterday, but what kind of place is Liuxianyuan?
This is the prince’s lifeblood, can anyone enter it casually?
Still too young and too confident.
Forget it, after all, she is the mistress of the house, so just do her a favor and go for a trip.
Chang Chun put on his bamboo protective gear again, opened the lock, and entered Liuxian Garden.
Yun Ran stood quietly there, looking up at the plaque with ink characters on a green background hanging high above the courtyard gate.
The three characters "Liuxianyuan" on it were written with iron-like strokes and silver-like hooks, so vigorous and majestic that even someone like her who didn't understand calligraphy thought it was written very well.
I don’t know which shop this plaque was custom-made from. If it’s not expensive, I will order one for her Zhanlu Hall someday.
While he was thinking, Changchun came out.
He took off his bamboo hood and said, "Princess, the prince said he doesn't want to see him."
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