Chapter 30 [30] Very hot and very soft.
【30】/First release
Yun Ran looked at the beautiful thin lips in front of him.
The low, pleasant voice bewitched her and asked her if she wanted to try it.
"Can...can I?"
Yun Ran felt a little embarrassed. Even though she was drunk, she knew that she shouldn't touch other people's things casually.
Sima Jing said, "Okay."
He agreed.
You can touch it if you agree.
Encouraged, Yun Ran raised her blushing face and moved towards those thin lips.
She touched it quickly, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Soft and cool...
Yun Ran sipped the liquid and commented seriously, "Hmm, it smells like alcohol."
Sima Jing's eyes darkened: "Besides the smell of alcohol?"
Yun Ran frowned and thought: "No more."
"You tasted it too quickly, so naturally you can't taste anything else."
The fingers gripping that willow waist tightened, and Sima Jing's voice grew deeper: "Try it a little longer?"
Yun Ran frowned and refused: "No."
Sima Jing's eyes flashed: "Why?"
"I feel dizzy. I don't want to taste it anymore. I want to sleep..."
As she spoke, as if she had run out of energy, she fell into Sima Jing's arms with a thud.
Sima Jing: “…”
He pushed her shoulder: "Cloud Five."
Yun Ran: “Hmm.”
Sima Jing: “…”
Still so useless.
It seems I have to feed him two less cups next time.
Outside the pavilion, snow had begun to fall again without anyone noticing. The charcoal on the small clay stove was still burning, but the wine in the pot had dried up.
Looking at the drunkard sleeping with his eyes closed in his arms, Sima Jing raised his hand and stroked the face that was flushed red due to drunkenness with his long fingers.
Very hot and soft.
The feel is indeed hundreds of times stronger than Cui Baoer's cold scales.
The fingertips moved down and stopped at the plump and delicate lips.
Her mouth is also very beautiful.
But the contact just now was too brief, and it was over before I could even come to terms with it.
"Cloud Five..."
His slender fingertips traced the shape of her lips and gently caressed the small bead of her lip.
Seeing her lips unconsciously parted slightly, the darkness in the man's eyes grew darker. "Remember, you provoked me first."
"If you kiss me, you have to take responsibility. If you dare to abandon me..."
A sinister look flashed across the man's deep eyes. After a moment, he returned to his usual calm demeanor. He leaned over and restrainedly pecked the corner of her lips: "You'd better not."
***
When Yun Ran woke up again, it was already the next morning.
The familiar feeling of dizziness came over her again. When she sat up with her head in her hands, she saw the familiar persimmon-colored embroidered curtain, and her head hurt even more.
Why is she drunk again?
After getting drunk on the day she returned home, she swore that she would never drink too much again.
It hasn't been long since I broke my vow...
"Madam, you are finally awake."
Qingling had been waiting outside the door since early morning. When she heard the noise, she hurried in. "Does your head hurt again? Well, the hangover soup is already warming on the stove. Once you've washed up, you can drink it."
Yun Ran looked at Qing Ling's worried and helpless expression, and felt a little ashamed.
"I don't know what happened yesterday. I just wanted to have a few drinks, but somehow I ended up drunk..."
Raising her hand and pounding her forehead, she suddenly thought of something: "How did I get back yesterday? Could it be... that His Highness brought me back again?"
Without waiting for Qing Ling to speak, Yun Ran got the answer from her eyes.
Suddenly, he felt more and more embarrassed: "It really is him."
I'm bothering him again.
But now that he thinks about it, it seemed like he was the one pouring wine for her yesterday?
At least half of the entire pot of Xinfeng wine went into her stomach.
After getting drunk, he seemed to ask her to hug him?
Yun Ran tilted her head and tried hard to recall. She only remembered that she was sitting on Sima Jing's lap and he asked her if her mouth looked good.
I can’t remember it anymore after that.
"I didn't expect that someone like him, who doesn't care about anything, would actually care about his appearance..."
He even took advantage of her being drunk and asked her if she looked good.
Yun Ran couldn't help but laugh when he thought that Sima Jing actually had such a conceited side.
Qing Ling was a little confused when she saw this.
On second thought, I thought about the caution His Highness showed when he brought the young lady back yesterday. Could it be that the relationship between the couple improved a lot while watching the snow in the pavilion yesterday?
Yes, the young lady's smiling face is exactly the charming look of a young girl in love, thinking of her lover.
After realizing this, Qingling also felt happy for the young lady.
Soon, Yun Ran got up and had breakfast.
As soon as the maids put away the dishes, Nanny Lan Gui came to pay her respects and brought a stack of invitations.
"These are all invitations to appreciate the snow sent in the past few days."
Nanny Lan Gui sorted the letters by rank and placed them neatly on a tray. "This one was sent by the Empress this morning."
Yun Ran also knew that socializing was the duty of the mistress of a mansion.
Previously in the Marquis' Mansion, my sister-in-law did a very good job.
Whether it is a banquet at home or attending a banquet outside, the arrangements are all well organized and impeccable.
I've been in Chang'an for less than half a year, and apart from that Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, I haven't attended any other formal external banquets...
Faced with this pile of invitations, she thought for a moment and picked up the one from Queen Zheng first.
"The Empress said that the green-calyx plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden have bloomed, and she invited me to come to the palace to admire them the day after tomorrow."
Yun Ran stroked the exquisite yellow-covered invitation and looked at Aunt Lan Gui: "Aunt, should I go?"
Nanny Lan Gui laughed: "If the princess wants to go, then go. If she doesn't want to go..."
She paused and said, "Let's go."
"Well, I'll go then."
Yun Ran put the post aside and said, "I promised her before that I would go to the palace to play with her when I have time."
She picked up another scroll of invitations and explained, "A few days ago, I had a Longjing Green Tea Pastry at my third sister-in-law's teahouse. It was delicious. I'll send someone to buy two tomorrow. I'll bring them to the palace the day after tomorrow for my mother and my cousin, the queen, to try."
Nanny Lan Gui originally wanted to advise that it would be troublesome to bring food from outside the palace into the palace.
But thinking that this was the princess's kind gesture, and that he would accompany the princess into the palace and could help her keep an eye on things, he did not say anything to stop her.
Snow is falling outside and incense is curling inside the house.
Yun Ran read through the dozens of posts one by one.
Most of them were from royal family members. Yun Ran was not very familiar with a few dignitaries. After asking Nanny Lan Gui, he had a rough idea of who they were.
However, to be on the safe side, Yun Ran still copied down the names of these people and called Qing Ling over: "Go home and make a trip."
"Take thirty yuan of the glutinous rice cakes made in the kitchen yesterday, and then ask my mother and sister-in-law which families they will attend the banquet."
After all, it was her first time attending a banquet as the mistress of the palace. If there were acquaintances present, she would feel more confident.
Qingling quickly took the order and retreated.
Nanny Lan Gui frowned when she heard the princess still calling the Marquis' Mansion "home" and expressing her dependence on her natal family in her words and deeds, but she didn't say much.
She thought that maybe she was still young and had just gotten married.
After a while, perhaps I will slowly start to regard the palace as my home.
***
Jade chips are flying everywhere, and frost is condensing on the eaves.
In the main hall of the Marquis of Changxin's mansion, Zheng and Li Wanrong were both amused and distressed when they saw the fresh rice cakes and the list sent by Yun Ran.
"My sister still has the leisure to make glutinous rice cakes and steam glutinous rice, which shows that she is living a good life in the palace."
Li Wanrong smiled and comforted Zheng: "Mother can rest assured now."
Zheng examined each glutinous rice cake as if it were a treasure, then ordered the kitchen to prepare a glutinous rice cake feast tonight before settling back down on the warm couch. "They say raising a child for a hundred years is a matter of worry for a thousand years. Of all the children I've given birth to, she's the one I worry about the most, and the one I owe the most to."
"Your father and I originally wanted to find her a husband, so we could let her live under our watchful eyes. We'd feel at ease watching her, but as we all know, man proposes, God disposes... Forget it, let's not talk about that."
Zheng waved her hands and sighed, "In short, she can make the best of whatever happens and live a comfortable life. That's the best thing."
Li Wanrong smiled and said yes, then called Qingling over and asked her to talk to Zheng about Yun Ran's situation in the palace.
Qingling then told the story of how the young lady made a snowman, played snowball fights, and how she and the prince enjoyed the snow and drank wine at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Hearing that the young couple was actually enjoying the snow and drinking in such a romantic mood, Zheng and Li Wanrong looked at each other and saw disbelief in each other's eyes.
It’s hard to imagine how Yun Ran could still drink in front of such a cold person?
Or is it that where there is a dragon, there is a dragon catcher, and where there is a tiger, there is a tiger beater, and there really is a rule of thumb where there is always someone to conquer?
After drinking a cup of tea, Li Wanrong took the list and said goodbye: "My daughter-in-law will go back to the room to write a reply to my sister."
Zheng nodded with a smile: "Go ahead."
Li Wanrong bowed and turned to leave.
When I walked out of the house, it was still snowing outside.
She stood under the porch, looking at the snow-covered pine branches and the dancing white flowers, and felt a sense of tranquility.
Ever since my sister-in-law got married and the second wife and her husband took up new posts, the house seems to be getting quieter day by day. Even the third wife... seems to have quieted down a lot recently.
Thinking of this, she raised her eyelids and looked towards the third room's courtyard.
The maid Xia Zhi came over holding an umbrella, followed her master's gaze, and couldn't help muttering, "Although the Madam is kind and has exempted the rooms from morning and evening visits, the Third Young Master's wife is too lazy. She really stays in the courtyard and doesn't go out. Otherwise, she would be a merchant..."
"Natsuzhi."
Li Wanrong's tone darkened as she glanced back at the maidservant beside her: "How can you say anything about her?"
Xia Zhi's face immediately turned pale and she knelt down to apologize.
"Don't make a noise in front of the lady's courtyard."
Li Wanrong stepped down and said, "Go back and kneel down for a stick of incense. Remember this lesson."
Although Xia Zhi didn't understand why her master was so protective of the lazy Third Young Master's wife, she murmured "yes" and hurriedly caught up with her under an umbrella.
***
In a blink of an eye, the sun sets and the wind and snow stop for a while.
Outside Shenliu Hall, icicles hung and crows pecked at the snow, but inside the house, the lights were bright and the air was warm.
On a long huanghuali kang table with curling grass pattern legs, there was a hot mutton pot. On the white jade plates next to it were some green vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and mutton and pork slices cut into snow-thin slices.
Yun Ran rolled up his sleeves, ate the meat with a rosy face, and talked to Sima Jing excitedly about the invitations sent by various families.
"In the end, I accepted four invitations, one of which was from the Empress. There was no doubt about it. I had to go out of both courtesy and affection."
"As for the other three, one is from the Jiangxia County Prince's Mansion, one is from the Suguo Duke's Mansion, and the other is from the Lu Taifu Mansion. You should be more familiar with the Jiangxia County Prince's Mansion and the Suguo Duke's Mansion than I am. One is actually your cousin, and the other is your uncle..."
"Teacher Lu's residence is my second sister-in-law's family. Since they sent me the invitation, I'm going there just for my second sister-in-law's sake. Besides, my eldest sister-in-law said she'll go there too, and I can play with her then..."
When it comes to playing, Yun Ran's eyes and brows light up in the candlelight.
Sima Jing's expression remained as indifferent as ever: "Are these hypocritical banquets so interesting?"
"False?"
Yun Ran frowned and thought for a moment, then didn't deny it: "These banquets do involve some polite conversation, but you can also encounter interesting things and interesting people."
"And it's not entirely false. At first, since we're all unfamiliar with each other, we can only exchange polite words to get by. But if we can strike a chord, won't we have a new friend?"
Sima Jing did not comment, but just picked up the chopsticks and started to eat the meat.
Seeing his sullen look, Yun Ran curled her lips and couldn't help asking, "Your Highness, stays in the courtyard all day, never leaving the main gate or the secondary gate, neither going to work nor hanging out with friends. Don't you feel bored?"
Sima Jing scalded the meat slices slowly and calmly: "I have a snake."
"Snakes alone are not enough."
Seeing that he didn't eat the scalded meat slices, Yun Ran put them aside to cool. He simply picked up some and dipped them in the sauce himself, saying as he ate, "Snakes can't talk, and they can't play chess, fishing, or backgammon with you. Besides, it's so cold, your snakes must be hibernating, right? Then you'll be friendless all winter long."
"There are 360 days in a year, and a winter is a full 90 days. Even if you live to be 100, you will be friendless for nearly 10,000 days."
Sima Jing: “…”
After a moment of silence, he raised his eyes and looked at her: "I am with snakes, don't you feel disgusted?"
"Although snakes are scary, they're not disgusting."
Seeing him staring at her without fail, Yun Ran straightened her demeanor and answered seriously, "Besides, the world is full of wonders. Poor families keep cats and dogs, rich families keep parrots and peacocks, and scholars keep cranes, turtles, and monkeys. I've even heard of an emperor who was so wealthy that he even kept elephants and unicorns..."
After a pause, she said, "I also had a puppy before, named Baisui."
Sima Jing: "A hundred years old?"
"Yes! Because I hope it can live to be a hundred years old, just like me."
Speaking of Baisui, Yun Ran's eyes also showed nostalgia. He slowly put down his bowl and chopsticks. "It was a little yellow dog. I picked it up at the foot of the mountain. I remember it very clearly. That year, I went down the mountain with my senior sisters to go to the market. I saw a few naughty children beating the dog for fun. It cried sadly. It was so pitiful."
She picked up a stick, rushed over, and pointed at the group of naughty kids who were a few years older than her: "If you bully it again, I'll be rude to you!"
The naughty boys teased her, "You little Taoist priest, don't meddle in other people's business, or we will beat you up too."
She was also afraid at the time, but when she saw the puppy curled up in a ball covered in blood, she felt endless courage.
"If you dare to hit me, I'll chant curses every day, cursing you to death! Not just you, but your parents, brothers, and your entire family down to the eighteenth generation! Humph, you'd better not underestimate me. I've learned some powerful Maoshan magic. If you don't believe me, you can try it. I guarantee you'll wake up tomorrow morning with sores in your mouth and maggots crawling on your feet!"
At that time, she had developed a sharp tongue that could "speak differently to different people and different lies to different ghosts." In addition, she had the Qiankun Mirror hanging on her body and the peach wood sword of her second senior sister on her back, which really scared those naughty boys.
The naughty children scattered and she carefully held the little yellow dog in her arms.
"Then I raised it. At first, my master didn't agree, but after my pleading, he finally kept Baisui."
"My senior sisters are all much older than me, and we live in the mountains with no one around, so Baisui has become my best friend. Every time I go up the mountain to chop wood or pick wild vegetables, he's always by my side. If we encounter any danger, he'll be the first to rush in front of me..."
Yun Ran talked about the wonderful times she spent with the puppy. She was smiling at first, but as she spoke, her eyes gradually became moist.
Sima Jing watched her eyes turn red and felt a sense of inexplicable tightness in his heart.
He took a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her.
Yun Ran looked at the handkerchief offered by the slender hand, hesitated for a moment, and took it, but it was useless. He just took a deep breath and forced a smile, saying, "Once, a little thief broke into the Taoist temple, and Bai Sui rushed out. He chased the thief away, but the evil-minded thief hit Bai Sui on the head with a stick, and Bai Sui vomited blood immediately."
That night, she knelt in front of the ancestor and begged for a long time.
She cried and begged the ancestor to let Baisui live, and she was willing to exchange her life for it.
She doesn't want to live to be a hundred years old. She would rather live to be fifty and let the puppy accompany her to live to be fifty years old.
"But Baisui still died in the end."
Yun Ran lowered his eyes and said sullenly, "Bai Sui is my best friend."
In Shuiyue Temple, the master is very nice, the senior sisters are very nice, and the little yellow dog named Baisui is also very nice.
The mutton pot was still bubbling and steaming, but the two people sitting opposite had fallen silent.
After a long while, Sima Jing spoke: "Yun Wu."
Yun Ran raised his face, his usually bright eyes now misty: "What's wrong?"
Sima Jing said nothing.
But after a while, he called out again: "Yun Wu."
“……?”
Yun Ran was baffled: "If you have something to say, just tell me."
Sima Jing said, "Nothing."
Yun Ran: “…”
There is definitely something wrong with this person.
However, his interruption alleviated the melancholy that the little yellow dog had just evoked.
Yun Ran shook his head lightly, not thinking about those sad things——
The past cannot be retrieved, but the future can still be remembered. Cherish the present is the right way.
but……
She picked at the food in her bowl, then suddenly raised her eyes and looked at the man sitting opposite her, "Sima Er."
Sima Jing looked back at her: "......?"
Yun Ran shrugged, "I'm fine."
Looking at the young lady who had regained her spirit and was eating meat in big mouthfuls, Sima Jing curled the corner of his mouth.
childish.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was the day when Yun Ran was invited to the palace to accompany the queen to appreciate the plum blossoms.
Early that morning, Nanny Lan Gui pulled Yun Ran out of bed and said, "Entering the palace is different from being outside. You have to be more dignified and dress up properly."
Yun Ran was still half asleep and half awake, nodding dazedly: "Okay, you guys go ahead and fix it."
She could still sit at the dressing table and take a nap for a while.
By the time the sun rose higher outside, she had finished dressing.
In the yellow bronze mirror, she had her hair combed into a lily bun, with a gilded and kingfisher-inlaid hairpin inserted diagonally on her head. She was wearing a lake blue cloud-colored satin jacket and skirt with colorful flowers and butterflies, and a colorful palace sash tied around her waist. She was beautiful and elegant, quiet and dignified.
She was completely different from her usual casual appearance at home with her hair tied up in a high bun and no makeup on.
Not to mention the maids praising her one after another, even she herself, looking in the mirror, couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder they say clothes make the man, saddles make the horse, this outfit really makes a difference."
Aunt Lan Gui: “…”
The truth will be revealed as soon as you speak.
However, I only entered the palace today to see the Queen Mother and the Empress, so I don't think they would care about these things.
After finishing breakfast, Yun Ran left Qingling to watch the yard and went out with Nanny Lan Gui and several other maids.
I didn't expect that when I walked to the carriage, I saw Chang Chun holding a whisk and standing quietly beside it.
Yun Ran was shocked and walked over: "Why is Eunuch Chang here? Does His Highness have any instructions?"
Chang Chun smiled and said "thousand", without any explanation, he just pointed at the carriage.
Yun Ran was stunned for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.
When she stepped onto the stool, she still had some doubts that it was not real. It was not until her fingertips opened the royal blue curtain and the handsome face of the young man appeared before her eyes that she realized -
It's true.
Sima Jing actually went out.
Moreover, there is no exchange of any conditions.
Oh my God, this is really... a ghost.
"What are you standing there for?"
Sima Jing sat quietly with his clothes on, and glanced at her with his dark eyes: "Come in."
"Oh."
Yun Ran hurriedly got into the carriage and sat down opposite him.
The curtains were drawn and the light inside the car was still dim, but she looked at him with great curiosity.
I clearly have a lot to say, but I'm holding it back.
Feeling the overly bright gaze, Sima Jing's face tensed slightly.
After enduring for a moment, he finally raised his hand and pushed her head to the other side.
"Hey, don't...don't, I'm wearing makeup today, don't rub my powder off!"
Yun Ran hurriedly went to pull his hand: "I was wrong, I was wrong, I don't want to watch it anymore, I really don't want to watch it anymore."
I've hugged you so many times, why does you get angry when you look at me one more time?
Sima Jing slowly withdrew his hand and looked at her face again. As expected, she had dark hair, rosy cheeks, and lips painted a little red, like a small and delicate cherry.
"Your Highness, why are you looking at me like that? Isn't it pretty?"
Yun Ran raised her hand and stroked her hair, saying, "This is the most popular hairstyle and makeup in Chang'an these days."
Sima Jing: “…”
Beautiful, yet exquisitely crafted.
It is far less plain than her usual appearance, and more lively.
"I don't understand this."
He turned his face away and said, "Whatever you like."
Yun Ran didn't care. After all, his mother and sisters-in-law had all said that men were blind and had no vision and didn't know how to appreciate things.
but--
"Why is Your Highness here?"
Yun Ran tilted his head, puzzled: "This is the carriage for entering the palace."
Sima Jing clenched his fingers slightly on his knees and remained silent for a moment before saying, "I can't enter the palace?"
Yun Ran was slightly stunned: "Of course, but you are not..."
"I want to go today."
Sima Jing gave her a sidelong glance. "Any more questions?"
Yun Ran: “…”
Very fierce.
Forget it, it’s a rare occasion that he goes out, so I won’t bother with him.
The carriage rumbled forward, Yun Ran leaned against the pillow and secretly glanced at the man in the green robe who was resting with his eyes closed.
Although I don't know why he suddenly wanted to enter the palace, the Empress Dowager would probably be very happy when she knew he was here.
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