Chapter 55 [55] Your Highness, I really like you! ...
【55】/First release
That night, the sky darkened and the candles gradually lit up.
Qing Ling rushed to Shenliu Hall in a hurry: "Eunuch Chang, Eunuch Chang!"
As the princess's most favored maid, the eunuchs guarding the gate of Shenliu Hall didn't dare to rebuke her when they saw her panicked look. They only whispered, "Sister Qingling, please don't make any noise in front of His Highness's courtyard. Steward Chang is waiting inside."
Qing Ling said, "Please tell Eunuch Chang that the princess felt dizzy and unwell in the evening and has a high fever now. Please go and visit her, Your Highness."
When the eunuch guarding the gate heard this, he did not dare to delay and hurried in to pass on the message.
Changchun is not having a good time right now——
He didn't know what happened between His Highness and the Princess?
They were inseparable just a few days ago, but suddenly they became cold again.
Now, His Highness can only eat a few bites of food every day and can hardly speak a few words. The aura around him is even more silent and cold than before, which really makes it difficult for those who are on duty!
After hearing the eunuch's message, Chang Chun's eyes suddenly lit up: "Really?"
The gatekeeper eunuch said: "It is absolutely true. Miss Qingling is waiting at the door."
Chang Chun knew that Qingling was a loyal maid. After all, she was the one who dared to talk back to Nanny Lan Gui. He himself didn't have the courage.
"Tell her I understand and ask her to wait outside."
After saying this, Chang Chun raised his hand and pinched his thigh, squeezing out a few tears, and quickly walked to the door of the study: "Your Highness, this is not good!"
There was silence for two breaths behind the half-closed wooden door before a man's cold voice came out: "Speak."
"Zhanlu Hall has reported that the princess has a high fever again. She is delirious and wants to see Your Highness. Frequent high fevers are no small matter. Your Highness, would you like to go and see her?"
When Chang Chun said this, he was actually unsure whether the princess's illness was real or not.
Pretending to be sick to win favor is a cliché used in the deep palace.
But their princess has always been honest and not like those who would try to win favor by trickery.
What if I really am sick...
Alas, what a sin!
Just as Chang Chun pricked up his ears to listen to the noise, feeling genuinely worried about the princess, the wooden door creaked open.
A pair of black boots embroidered with gold thread patterns came into view.
Before Chang Chun could look up, the tall, dark figure had already walked out and down the stairs.
"Your Highness, it's dark and the roads are slippery, please watch your step!"
Chang Chun was surprised and delighted. He snatched the white gauze lantern from the eunuch beside him, lifted his robe and followed.
Today is the eve of the Chinese New Year. Colorful silks are fluttering in the air and lanterns are hanging high in the Zhanlu Hall. All the decorations in the house have been replaced with festive and auspicious red coral and yellow enamel porcelain.
But it was quiet all around, not as lively and cheerful as before.
Qingling followed behind him and reminded him softly, "Your Highness, the princess is resting in her bedroom. Please allow me to go in and report to her."
Sima Jing: "No need."
He walked in, walked around the tall and luxurious rosewood embroidered screen, and saw only a few sparse lights burning in the inner room, dimly shrouding the step-out bed with the curtains tightly drawn.
On both sides of the bed, the rosewood-bottomed cloisonné enamel animal-ear stoves were burning the finest soothing incense. The fragrance was pleasant, and upon closer inspection, there was indeed a faint medicinal scent.
Sima Jing frowned slightly, walked to the bedside, lifted a corner of the curtain, and saw a petite figure wrapped in a bright red brocade quilt.
She always likes to sleep in this way, wrapped tightly like a silkworm cocoon.
Sima Jing sat down beside the couch, hesitated for a moment, and then put his arm around her shoulders: "Yun Ran."
I hadn't seen her for just a day and a night, but the moment I called her name, I felt a strange sense of homesickness.
The little girl's body was soft and limp, and he embraced her and she turned around.
She had a head of thick black hair hanging down, piled up like clouds around her face. She was wearing a thin ivory-white undergarment. When he held her like this, the red quilt loosened a little, and the collar of her undergarment also looked loose. A strand of messy black hair could be vaguely seen winding along the collar, sticking to her snow-white skin.
Perhaps because of a severe fever, her cheeks were also red, as if she had applied a layer of rouge that was too bright.
Seeing this, Sima Jing frowned even more tightly: "Why did you have a high fever again when you were fine?"
Was it because he wanted to stay cool last night, or was it because he was tired from working in the fields during the day?
Yun Ran didn't say anything, just looked at him weakly with his eyelids half drooping.
Seeing her like this, Sima Jing felt a tightness in his chest.
Just as he was about to touch her forehead, Yun Ran stopped him: "No."
Sima Jing: “……?”
Yun Ran's eyes were dim. "What are you doing here, Your Highness? Aren't you angry with me and deliberately ignoring me?"
Sima Jing was silent for two breaths, then slowly said: "I didn't..."
"Yes, there is."
Yun Ran pushed his hand away: "Since you deliberately ignore me, then whether I am sick or not is none of your business."
Sima Jing: “…”
After a long pause, he said, "I'm not ignoring you, but I've been feeling overwhelmed lately and want to be quiet for a while."
"It's like this again."
Yun Ran muttered, "Last time, he also said that he wanted to be alone, so he left me alone and ran to Yingxuan Palace."
From this point of view, he is clearly the one who doesn't care.
Yun Ran really didn't understand, but thinking of his fourth brother's method, he suppressed his complaints and pretended to be weak, "Then Your Highness actually cares about me and pays attention to me, right?"
The answer is beyond doubt.
But when he thought of what Yun Jia Silang said, "don't care" and "even disgust", Sima Jing's eyes shook slightly, and his throat seemed to be strangled by a hand.
"Your Highness, why are you silent? Don't you care about me, don't you pay attention to me, and don't you like me?"
"……no."
"The sound is too quiet. I can't hear it."
Yun Ran frowned and said coquettishly, "I'm very dizzy. Your Highness, please come closer and talk."
Looking at the young lady's rosy, delicate face and her sparkling eyes, Sima Jing pursed his lips, then bent down and moved closer to her: "I'm not indifferent, unconcerned, or... dislike you."
On the contrary, I care too much and like it too much.
By the time he realized something was wrong, his emotions were beyond his control.
His heart also became insatiable.
And the heartless fool in front of him had no intention of filling it out at all.
As soon as this thought came to his mind, a pair of soft and fragrant hands suddenly hooked around his neck.
Sima Jing was slightly startled, and when he looked down, he saw the young lady who had been lying sick just now with a cunning look in her eyes, raising her face and kissing him.
He didn't have time to dodge, and she kissed him loudly on the face.
While he was stunned, the young lady leaned half of her body into his arms again, and put her rosy lips close to his ear: "Since Your Highness cares about me, pays attention to me, and likes me, then I also care about Your Highness and like Your Highness."
Sima Jing's shoulders stiffened, and his heart seemed to be hit hard.
His large hand unconsciously tightened around the slender waist in his arms. He said in a hoarse voice, "Do you... do you know what you are saying?"
"I know."
Yun Ran hugged his neck tightly, rubbing her face against it like a cat, her voice soft and clear, "I like Your Highness, I like you very much. I like you so much that I want to have seven or eight children with Your Highness... No, two children. I want to be with Your Highness for the rest of our lives, holding your hand and growing old together, and never leaving you!"
After she finished speaking in one breath, she clearly felt that the big hand holding her waist became tighter, and even her breathing seemed heavier.
It seems that Fourth Brother’s method is really effective and he listened to it!
Yun Ran was delighted and whispered more sweet words into the man's ear as if they were free.
"Your Highness, I really like you so much. Look at you, you are so tall and handsome, with such fair skin, such thick hair, such a high nose bridge, and such long eyelashes. You are so beautiful, like a banished celestial being from heaven or a fox spirit from the mountains. And not only are you beautiful, you are also so smart, knowledgeable, and versatile..."
Although she had never said these things to anyone before, nice words are universal.
She used to say auspicious words to the believers in the Taoist temple, and she could always coax them into spending money happily and buying a few more longevity amulets. Now, it shouldn't be difficult to coax a man, right?
"Anyway, I love being with you so much. Every time I see you, I'm happy. When I can't see you, I'm sad. I can't eat or sleep well. Day after day, what's that called? ... Yes, lovesickness! One day without seeing you feels like three years, and three days without seeing you makes me worried."
"Your Highness, please don't be angry with me, okay? I really care about you, it's truer than real gold!"
“…”
If she had just said that she liked him, Sima Jing would have been overwhelmed with emotion.
But the more she spoke, the more disgusting she became, and her slick tone was very similar to those in those messy storybooks she read, where the poor scholars tricked young ladies into elopement.
"...Your Highness, my feelings for you are truly witnessed by the heavens and expressed by the sun and moon. Only when the mountains are gone and the heavens and the earth are united will I dare to break off my relationship with you..."
“…”
Sima Jing took away her tightly embraced arm, his eyes dark: "Enough."
Yun Ran was pulled down by him and fell back to the bed, still a little confused: "Huh?"
Doesn't he like to hear these sweet words?
That shouldn't be the case. Mr. Zhang in "The Secret History of Chun Niang" kept writing love poems and saying sweet words to Chun Niang, which persuaded the cold and charming young lady to elope with him under the moon. The two of them were in love with each other, their faces close to each other, their lips touching, and when they took off their clothes, they turned into intertwined branches and lovebirds, happy as gods.
Sima Jing stared at the person beside the bed with a sullen face, "You don't have a high fever, do you?"
Yun Ran was slightly startled, and turned his face away with a guilty look: "I..."
She tried to explain, "That was because I was afraid you wouldn't come, so I just said I was sick. Your Highness, please don't be angry."
angry?
It’s really infuriating.
But compared to her being really sick, he would rather be deceived by her.
"Who taught you those words?"
Sima Jing looked at her, his eyes as cold as a pond, deep and gloomy: "Yun Si?"
Yun Ran didn't expect that he guessed it right: "No... No, it has nothing to do with my fourth brother."
Sima Jing scoffed, "You're still hiding this for him now. You two siblings have a really good relationship. Do you want me to send someone to invite him over for a face-to-face confrontation?"
"No, no, no, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"
Yun Ran was afraid that he would actually send someone, so she hugged his arm and raised her pitiful face: "My fourth brother also had good intentions. He was worried that there might be a misunderstanding between His Highness and me, so he came here specially to remind me."
Although Sima Jing was in Shenliu Hall, he also knew that Yun Shang had entered the mansion today.
After a little thought, he realized that his younger brother-in-law had probably come to his senses.
But I didn't expect that he would teach Yun Ran to say such nonsense.
Sima Jing's face was gloomy. He regretted that he had sought medical help from all directions when he was sick, and at the same time he felt that Yun Ran was also a fool. She actually followed her brother's random teachings.
He was so happy for nothing, thinking that the wood had finally come to his senses.
Looking back, I saw that they were just two cobblers.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry..."
Seeing his handsome face, pale and blue, looking frighteningly gloomy, Yun Ran couldn't help but hug him tighter, and softened her tone: "Although those words were taught to me by Fourth Brother, I really care about you. I also like you from the bottom of my heart and want to be with you! If you don't believe me, I can swear to Laojun!"
As she spoke, she raised her finger with a sincere look on her face.
If Sima Jing had not seen her eyes clearly and openly, without any lingering affection, he would have almost believed it.
"Do you care about me?"
"Yeah, I care!"
"Like me?"
"Yeah, I like it too!"
"Want to be with me and have two kids?"
"Well, how about one that looks like you and one that looks like me?"
“…”
After being in a trance for a long moment, Sima Jing finally woke up from her "sweet words" -
Fake.
This slick, lying little liar.
Pulling his arm out of her soft embrace, Sima Jing let out a deep breath before saying in a hoarse voice, "You don't even know what love is."
Yun Ran cried out, and seeing that he was still as cold and impassive as ever, she became anxious: "I know, I really like you, I really do! I even swore on Laojun that if I lied I would be struck by lightning!"
Sima Jing stared at her: "I don't want your kind of love."
Yun Ran: “……?”
Sima Jing: "That's all."
He was upset and raised his hand to pull the quilt beside him to wrap her tightly, then stood up: "You and I will be quiet for a moment."
Seeing him leave again, Yun Ran sat on the bed with blank eyes.
Why didn't he believe her even after she said she loved him and cared about him so many times?
Does he have to dig out her heart before he will believe it?
Besides, if you like something, then you just like it. Why do you have to differentiate between different kinds?
"My wife, my wife——"
Qing Ling rushed in: "Why did His Highness leave?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know either."
Yun Ran sighed and fell directly into the bed with the quilt in his arms.
The large red curtain was embroidered with an intricate and lifelike pattern of twin lotus flowers. She stared at it with empty eyes, and suddenly realized that even after being married for so long, she seemed to have never understood Sima Jing.
Is it really like he said, that she doesn't know what love is?
The cold night is long and I can’t sleep under the brocade quilt.
The Lunar New Year was approaching, and although the population of Prince Jing's Mansion was small, Yun Ran, who was in charge of the household for the first time, did not have Nanny Lan Gui to help him, and it really took a lot of effort for him to get back to work with Nanny Zhou.
After all, as a capable assistant to the current empress dowager, Nanny Lan Gui's ability and knowledge are naturally incomparable to Nanny Zhou.
At this time, Yun Ran was somewhat thankful for Sima Jing's aloofness and indifference.
He had no friends and no social life, and she was so busy that she was a little dizzy and could only barely get by.
If he socialized normally without the help of Nanny Lan Gui, she would be overwhelmed and exhausted.
The days before the New Year were spent in a busy manner, and in the blink of an eye it was New Year's Eve.
According to convention, Yun Ran and Sima Jing had to enter the palace early in the morning to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor and the Empress, and then attend a full-day banquet in the palace.
But Sima Jing was never a man who followed the rules.
In previous years, he would wait until the New Year's Eve banquet before entering the palace to report for work, drink a glass of New Year's wine, and consider it another year.
He has the capital to break the rules, but Yun Ran doesn't.
On the way back that day, although she did not agree with what Queen Zheng said to her, she also clearly realized one thing -
The Queen Mother did not like her.
In other words, the Queen Mother liked a "Princess Jing" who was well-behaved, virtuous, and devoted to Prince Jing, rather than Yun Ran, the fifth daughter of the Yun family, who was under the identity of "Princess Jing".
When Yun Ran first realized this, he was a little disappointed.
After all, at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, Queen Mother Zhao held her hand, praised her, and gave her a bracelet, clearly showing that she liked her very much.
But it turns out that love is also conditional.
Yun Ran really didn't like entering the palace, but thinking of her current identity, she was not only the Princess of Jing, but also the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Changxin. Even for the sake of her family, for the sake of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing, whom she obviously liked but insisted on saying that she didn't like, she could no longer do whatever she wanted and without scruples like before.
After all, she got up early, put on makeup, dressed in gorgeous clothes, and got on the carriage to the palace.
But he didn't expect that when he stepped on the stool and lifted the indigo lotus flower curtain, he would see a man in a purple robe, a jade crown, a leather belt around his waist, sitting in the carriage with a golden sword.
Even though the light inside the car was dim, it couldn't hide his beautiful face and picturesque eyes.
Five days later, when they met again, Yun Ran was stunned: "Your Highness, why are you here?"
Sima Jing raised his eyes and looked at her calmly: "Enter the palace for the banquet."
Yun Ran: “…”
She got into the car and glanced at the seats on both sides. Instead of sitting next to him like before, she chose a seat by the side window.
Looking up again, she pursed her lips and said, "What I mean is, didn't you always enter the palace at night in previous years? Why did you go so early this year?"
Seeing that he was silent, she said, "If you don't say anything, I will shamelessly guess that you are worried about me entering the palace alone, so you specially accompany me, right?"
Sima Jing: “…”
Yun Ran winked at him with a smug look on her face, as if to say, "I guessed it right!" She then added, "Actually, it's not like I don't understand you at all. I do have some understanding of you."
Sima Jing didn't know why she suddenly made such a sigh, but when they met a few days later, she seemed to have lost some weight.
Even heavy makeup couldn't hide the faint fatigue and sadness between her eyebrows and eyes.
In my impression, she is always full of energy and bright and cheerful. Even when she is sick, her eyes are still shining brightly.
He clenched his long fingers on his knees, and when the carriage started moving, he finally asked, "Have you not rested well recently?"
Yun Ran had been prepared to remain silent all the way, but she didn't expect him to take the initiative to talk.
"I slept okay, but I was a little tired from all the New Year's preparations during the day."
Yun Ran raised his hand and touched his face, saying, "Does my face look ugly?"
Sima Jing: "It's not ugly."
She has always been good-looking.
After being dressed up today, although she lost some of her pure and graceful elegance, her hair was piled high, her skin was exposed like snow, and she was wearing a crimson jacket and skirt embroidered with lotus and peony flowers, which made her look so rich and luxurious.
It fits the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year very well and makes people happy when they see it.
"As long as it's not ugly, it's fine. After all, it's Chinese New Year, so it should be lively and cheerful."
After Yun Ran finished speaking, he looked up and down at the man sitting opposite him.
Seeing that he was wearing a purple robe today, his hair was as if cut by a knife, his shoulders were broad and his waist was narrow, he lacked some of the coldness and aloofness of being untainted by the dust, but his temperament was more noble, cold and gorgeous.
Yun Ran took one look and couldn't help but take a second look. Just looking wasn't enough, he praised: "Your Highness, you look really good in bright colors."
She is so beautiful that she looks like a vixen. If she were a scholar, her soul would be hooked by him.
Sima Jing glanced back at her indifferently without saying a word.
Yun Ran: “…”
Well, then don't say anything. She came prepared anyway.
She silently took out a storybook from her arms and began to read while leaning against the window.
In this way, they entered the palace in silence.
After Sima Jing and Yun Ran paid their respects to Queen Dowager Zhao, they went to the library.
He assigned Changchun to Yun Ran: "If you have anything, come and report it at any time."
Yun Ran also appreciated his kindness, and from then on, whenever he moved around in the palace, he always brought Chang Chun and Qing Ling with him.
Spending the New Year in the palace was not boring at all. Most of the time, I drank tea and ate cakes with the ladies of the imperial family, and exchanged some bland polite words.
Although it was boring, the opera troupe and acrobatics in the afternoon were very exciting. The singing, body movements and fighting were so exquisite that Yun Ran had never seen them outside the palace.
If she had to consider the princess's dignity, she would have wanted to stand up and clap and cheer loudly.
However, after watching the show, she ordered Chang Chun to give rewards to everyone in the troupe, which was also a way to express her great love for the show.
In the blink of an eye, night falls and the most important New Year's Eve of the year arrives.
Yun Ran's mood also became depressed as the sky gradually darkened.
Sima Jing saw her with her head down and looking listless, and thought she had encountered some trouble while walking in the harem during the day.
I went to Changchun to ask, and everything went well.
With her status as Princess Jing, no one dared to cause trouble for her.
But her quietness and loss are real.
Sima Jing pondered for a moment, then pulled her to the corridor alone and asked, "Who bullied you?"
Yun Ran was slightly startled and shook his head: "No one bullies me."
Sima Jing: "Then why are you so unhappy?"
Yun Ran pursed her lips and looked up at him: "Your Highness, do you want to know?"
Sima Jing: "Otherwise why would I ask you."
"Since you're asking sincerely, I won't hide anything from you."
Yun Ran said, "I'm really not very happy today."
"First of all, it's because of His Highness."
Sima Jing: "Me?"
Yun Ran: "Yes! I obviously like you, but you don't believe me and even say you want to be quiet. But I've been quiet these days, thinking about it again and again, and I still think I'm not wrong."
"I like you, it's not that complicated. You think I don't understand, but I think you're the one who's... being unreasonable."
Her voice became smaller and more slurred for the last four words.
Even so, Sima Jing, who always had excellent hearing, heard it clearly.
But before he could speak, Yun Ran continued, "Secondly... today is New Year's Eve, a day for family reunions."
She paused, looked around, and made sure no one else was around before she sighed unhappily, "I've been wandering around for so many years, and finally found my way back home. But before I could even spend a good New Year's reunion with my family, I was hurriedly married."
She wants to celebrate the New Year with her family.
Instead of staying in this seemingly magnificent, gorgeous and bustling palace, celebrating the New Year with people she didn't know at all and didn't care about—
Such a New Year's Eve has completely lost its meaning.
Of course, she also knew that she was now a married woman.
It is said that a married daughter is like spilled water. A married woman can only return to her parents' home on the second day of the first lunar month, and must stay at her husband's home on New Year's Eve.
This is the rule that ordinary women must follow, and Princess Jing must follow it even more.
Can……
I still feel regretful.
Yun Ran sighed softly in her heart and raised her head again. She hid the gloom in her eyes and forced a smile with Sima Jing: "I feel much better after talking about it. Your Highness, don't worry too much. I'm fine."
Although she cannot celebrate the New Year with her family, at least she has someone she loves by her side.
With Sima Jing around, this New Year's Eve isn't too bad.
"The palace banquet should be starting soon."
Yun Ran grabbed Sima Jing's sleeve and said, "Let's go. It's not good to be late."
The sleeves were pulled open, but the person did not move.
Yun Ran was stunned.
Before she could ask, her wrist was grabbed and the man pulled her out.
"Your Highness? Where are you taking me? Isn't this the direction of the palace banquet?"
The cold night was hazy, and the purple figure walking in front never stopped for a moment.
The evening breeze messed up his temples and fluttered his robe sleeves. His tall figure towered like a mountain, blocking the biting cold wind that hit him head-on. He only sent a light and calm sentence:
"Take you home."
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The author has something to say: Happy Chinese New Year's Eve (x) to all the little ones~~
This chapter draws a small red envelope ~ [erect ears rabbit head]
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