Chapter 28 [28] Skin as white as snow, shining brightly
【28】/First release
"Your Highness?"
Yun Ran's eyes widened as she looked at the man in front of her who was slowly withdrawing his hand in disbelief: "You...why are you here?"
It's scary to suddenly appear in the middle of the night!
Sima Jing stood up and looked at her: "Get up."
Yun Ran: “……?”
She was confused, but saw a man in a black robe standing quietly beside the bed, as if to say, "I will stand here until you get up."
That's all.
I don’t understand, but I’ll do it anyway so I can get to sleep quickly.
She lifted the quilt and sat up, only to find that the window had been opened at some point and the cold wind was blowing in.
She said she felt a gust of cold wind.
"Your Highness, aren't you cold?"
Yun Ran frowned: "Let's close the windows first. The north wind has blown away the heat in the house."
Sima Jing saw her with her thick black hair spread out and wearing only a thin ivory-white undergarment. He pursed his lips slightly and went to close the window first.
When he returned to the bed, Yun Ran did not get out of bed. Instead, he knelt beside the bed and looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Your Highness, why did you come here so late at night? Is there something important?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "important".
After all, if it's nothing serious, anyone who disturbs someone's sleep in the middle of the night should be dragged out and struck by lightning!
Sima Jing said nothing, just stared at her quietly.
It was late at night, and the lights were dim. Yun Ran felt a chill down his spine from being stared at by his silent and dark gaze.
Just as I was wondering if he was possessed by a ghost in the middle of the night, I was about to touch the talisman under my pillow when I suddenly saw the man in front of me open his hands -
"Ah! I'm warning you, don't do anything stupid!"
Yun Ran quickly took out the talisman and held it high with his eyes closed: "Taishang Laojun, please command us to act quickly! Demons and ghosts, show yourself immediately!"
Silence, silence, and silence.
Yun Ran quietly opened one eye and saw the man in front of her with a cold face. He raised his two hands and said, "Hold me."
Yun Ran: “……?”
hug?
Uh, hug?!
Her mind was in a tangle for two breaths before she came to her senses: "You, you came here in the middle of the night, do you want me to hold you?"
Sima Jing's expression froze slightly.
When he spoke again, his tone was more impatient: "Hurry up."
Yun Ran: “…”
It’s a weird thing. It’s really a unique weird thing.
She sighed in her heart, but moved over and hugged the man's strong waist resignedly.
Could it be that she dug up his ancestral grave in her previous life and that’s why she met him in this life?
Just as he was complaining in his heart, two arms were wrapped around his shoulders.
Her body suddenly stiffened and her mind went blank for a moment.
Did he hug her too?
Gradually, the temperature of the two bodies leaning against each other gradually increased, and they felt warm.
Yun Ran's face was pressed against Sima Jing's chest as before.
But this time, for some reason, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
The air in her nostrils was filled with the elegant and refreshing aroma of camphor from his body. The tips of her ears felt a little hot and her heartbeat became inexplicably faster.
Is it because you were woken up in the middle of the night and were scared?
But if he was frightened, why did his heartbeat start to accelerate only now?
Yun Ran frowned, wondering if there was something wrong with her heart.
Sima Jing held the warm and soft body in his arms, and his breathing became heavier.
The first two times she hugged him, she stood there straight, with her clothes and hair neatly arranged.
But this time, her black hair was disheveled, her clothes were thin, and the warm bed curtains were filled with her fragrance.
The sweet and charming fragrance permeated every breath he took.
And she in his arms was so petite, so soft...
The place where his palm touched was as soft as if it had no bones, and his fingers couldn't help but tighten, wanting to hold her in his arms more forcefully.
As if bewitched by the fragrance and tenderness, he unconsciously leaned down, his deep face gradually lowering towards her slender, snow-white neck.
It is an oasis holy spring for desert travelers, and it must have clearer and more thirst-quenching water.
The moment his tall nose brushed against the tip of her ear, he clearly felt the person under his palm tremble.
Sima Jing paused.
Tilting his head slightly, he caught a glimpse of her lowered head, her slender neck bending softly behind her ivory-white undergarment, and two goose-yellow laces running down the collar.
Although the candlelight was dim, the two shades of goose yellow made her skin look as white as snow and sparkle.
His breathing suddenly became heavier.
“…”
Yun Ran heard the man's rapid breathing, and the hand on his shoulder also increased its strength.
She frowned and was about to ask him not to hug her so tightly, but her shoulders suddenly relaxed.
Before she could figure out what was going on, a quilt was thrown over her head, and her vision suddenly became dark.
"What are you doing?"
Yun Ran reached out to pull, but the man wrapped her in the quilt again and again, then reached out and pushed her into the bed.
"Sima Jing!"
In a panic, Yun Ran didn't care about etiquette. He subconsciously pulled the quilt off his head and shouted, "What are you crazy about?"
Are you going to murder her?
When Yun Ran finally got out of the quilt, he looked back and found that the bedside was empty, without a single person in sight.
She sat on the bed with her messy black hair, dazed.
Where are the people?
Just leave like that?
Or...
In fact, he didn't come at all. Was everything just an illusion?
"My wife, my wife..."
Qingling's hurried footsteps were heard outside the house.
When she lifted the curtain and walked into the inner room, she saw the young lady sitting on the bed with disheveled black hair and disheveled clothes. Her eyes widened: "Are you okay? Did His Highness bully you?"
Yun Ran breathed a sigh of relief after finally seeing a normal person.
"Did he really come just now? Was I dreaming?"
"Your Highness? Yes, I don't know how, but he suddenly came here."
Qing Ling also looked puzzled when she mentioned this: "When I saw it outside just now, I was also shocked. I thought I saw..."
He swallowed the word "ghost" in time.
But Yun Ran immediately understood and gave her a look that said "I understand you".
Qing Ling said embarrassedly, and continued to talk about business: "I hurried to pay my respects to His Highness, and His Highness asked me where you were. I said you had already gone to bed, and came in to tell you. But he said it was not necessary and just pushed the door open and came in."
"I dared not say a word, so I could only stand outside and pay attention to what was going on inside."
Then, it seemed as if his wife screamed briefly, and then fell silent again.
She thought everything was fine, but the door suddenly opened and King Jing walked out with big strides, his face tense.
"Did something happen? Why did Your Highness leave in such a hurry?"
Qing Ling looked at Yun Ran beside the bed in confusion: "In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, like a gust of wind."
Yun Ran: "I said I don't know either, do you believe me?"
Qing Ling: "This..."
Yun Ran hugged the quilt, feeling dazed. "If there must be an explanation, maybe he was suddenly possessed by a ghost, or maybe he has a brain disease and forgot to take his medicine."
"My lady, you can't say such things carelessly."
Qing Ling's face showed panic, and she quickly looked outside the house: "If others hear it, it will cause trouble."
Yun Ran pursed her rosy lips.
Although she didn't say anything, it didn't stop her from feeling that Sima Jing was a sick person.
If he wasn't sick, who would come and wake someone up in the middle of the night on such a cold day just to hug him?
If he wasn't sick, how could he hold me tightly one moment and then wrap me up in the quilt like a spring roll and leave without a word the next?
Sick! Sick!
Seeing that his wife was angry, Qingling didn't dare to say much. He just poured her a glass of warm water and remade the bed for her.
After finishing this, the master and servant thought that the man would not come back, so they let down the curtains and resettled.
Because of this ordeal, Yun Ran, who seldom dreamed, had a dream.
In the dream, she turned into a spring roll, and Sima Jing took a pair of chopsticks and pushed her around on the frying pan.
She yelled over the frying pan, "Don't eat me!"
Sima Jing sneered unmoved, "Go ahead and scream, even if your throat is broken it's useless."
When it was almost cooked, the man picked it up with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
"don't want--"
Yun Ran stood up suddenly and realized that it was already bright outside the curtain.
She looked down at her arms and legs; they were all neat and intact.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
The maids outside heard the noise and rushed in, asking questions with concern.
Yun Ran waved his hands and smiled awkwardly: "It's okay, it's okay, it's just a nightmare."
The maids then felt relieved and came forward to help her get up and wash.
During breakfast, Nanny Lan Gui also learned about what happened last night and came to Yun Ran to ask about it.
Yun Ran thought to himself: He is sick.
He replied, "I don't know, maybe... maybe he ate too much at night and came over to help digest it."
Aunt Lan Gui: “…”
He went from Shenliu Hall to Zhanlu Hall in the middle of the night to digest his food. He really thought she was senile and confused.
But seeing that the princess looked innocent and confused, and obviously had no idea what was going on, Nanny Lan Gui didn't dare to ask any more questions.
After all, His Highness has a strange personality and his behavior is incomprehensible to ordinary people. Perhaps... he really came here on a whim to take a look?
Yun Ran didn't think much about it.
She never liked to dwell on the past. If she had the time, she would have to compile a list of the old tea and send it to Qian's Tea House as soon as possible.
Yesterday, the head shopkeeper of my third sister-in-law's house told her the purchase prices of all kinds of tea, and said that as long as she sent it over, he would buy them all.
The shopkeeper was so straightforward and the price was fair, so Yun Ran had no time to hesitate and immediately rolled up his sleeves and started packing.
This busyness lasts from morning to night.
Because of the relationship with his third sister-in-law, Yun Ran personally checked several times to confirm that every box of tea was in good condition before asking someone to pack it up and send it to the East Market.
If she hadn't gone out yesterday, she would have wanted to escort him there herself.
After she finally finished her work, her stomach started to growl.
When they returned to Zhanlu Hall, Nanny Lan Gui served her a cup of hot tea and gently reminded her, "You came back late yesterday and were unable to have dinner with His Highness. Would you like to go and serve dinner today?"
Yun Ran didn't say a word. He just picked up the celadon teacup and took two sips. Then he lowered his eyelids and stared at the tea leaves floating slowly in the light brown tea soup.
After a while, she said in a muffled voice, "No."
Aunt Lan Gui was stunned: "Why...why is this?"
Yun Ran: "...I don't want to go."
In fact, she was still a little angry when she thought about what happened yesterday.
Why is he so rude and willful?
Not only did he appear and disappear in the middle of the night, but he also inexplicably covered her head with a blanket!
Childish, even more childish than her three-year-old nephew!
She didn't want to bother with him anymore—
Anyway, that’s what he said, don’t disturb each other and live your own life.
Nanny Lan Gui also noticed that the princess was a little angry.
She wanted to speak well of her own prince, but his behavior was indeed too... weird.
Not to mention that the princess was angry, if anyone dared to suddenly appear at her bedside in the middle of the night, she would hit him with a big stick.
"Princess, don't be angry. If you don't want to go, then we won't go."
Nanny Lan Gui looked at the sky outside. Seeing the dark clouds and biting cold wind, she couldn't help but shiver. "Besides, it's so windy today. I won't go out and get cold."
Yun Ran blinked in surprise when she saw that the nanny didn't try to persuade her anymore.
Nanny Lan Gui met her gaze and smiled knowingly, "Although I was sent by the Queen Mother to bring you two together, I'm not someone who would be unreasonable. It was indeed the Prince's fault for what happened yesterday, but how could I, this servant, lie against my conscience?"
Besides, the couple is angry at the moment, and if they really meet, it might just add fuel to the fire. It would be better for them to calm down and cool down.
So that night, Yun Ran still did not go to Shenliu Hall, but ate a bowl of steaming hot three-fresh chicken soup wontons in Zhanlu Hall.
After eating and drinking, she felt bored staying in the house, so she wrapped herself in a silver-white cloak with emerald patterns and strolled back and forth in the corridor to help digest her food.
After walking about ten laps, a small cry of surprise suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Highness——"
Yun Ran paused.
The clatter of boots could be heard from the courtyard, accompanied by the maids' scattered greetings, unable to conceal their surprise: "Hail, Your Highness."
Now Yun Ran couldn't even try to deceive himself that it was just hallucination.
She turned her head stiffly and saw a tall man in a dark fox fur cloak with a handsome face, striding towards her with his hands behind his back in the spacious courtyard where the lights were flickering.
It was a cold night with heavy dew, and the howling north wind blew across his face, making the fox fur on his collar surge like black mist and making his skin look even colder and paler.
Sima Jing naturally also saw Yun Ran standing in the corridor.
She was wearing a silver-white cloak that wrapped around her small body, and from a distance she looked like a fluffy ball.
The long fingers behind his back moved unconsciously twice, then suddenly clenched.
It wasn't until he walked in front of her that Yun Ran woke up from his dream and knelt down to salute: "Your Highness, long live the king."
Sima Jing lowered his eyes, but his gaze somehow swept across her snow-white neck.
Thinking of his embarrassing reaction last night, he couldn't help but purse his thin lips into a line and turned his face away stiffly: "Get up."
Yun Ran stood up straight, but did not look at him. He just said calmly, "Your Highness, why are you here again?"
Even though the lights in the corridor were dim, Sima Jing could still see the coldness and alienation in the young lady's eyes.
This seemed to be the first time she treated him so coldly since they met.
On weekdays, she always has a smiling face and endless energy.
It was as if nothing in this world could stump her or defeat her.
But now she...
She no longer smiled at him with her face tilted upwards, nor did she look at him with those bright eyes.
My chest felt like it was blocked by something and I felt stuffy.
Yun Ran waited for a long while, but when the man in front of him remained silent, he lost his patience and said, "Since Your Highness is silent, it seems that there is nothing important. It's windy outside, so I'll excuse me from accompanying you."
After saying that, she walked towards the house.
Just as she passed by the man, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
"Cloud Five."
The man's deep voice suddenly rang out in the night, and Yun Ran frowned.
Why is it this weird name again!
Suppressing her inner complaints, she turned her head and glanced at the big hand that was tightly holding her, her brows furrowed even tighter: "If you have something to say, talk it over nicely, don't touch me."
Sima Jing: “…”
After a moment's silence, he exerted a little force with his arms and pulled her in front of him again, asking her to stand face to face with him.
At this moment, Yun Ran only hated his small stature. He was easily dragged over by him. It was so embarrassing!
So she puffed up her cheeks, raised her head, and glared at him fiercely—
Being tall is great!
Sima Jing: “…”
He let out a deep breath, straightened his expression, and said, "Why did you break your promise again?"
"Breaking promise?"
Yun Ran was slightly startled and pointed at himself: "Are you talking about me?"
Sima Jing: "...or not?"
Yun Ran was confused: "Where did I break my promise?"
Sima Jing: "You clearly agreed to my request, but you broke your promise again and again."
Yun Ran was stunned for a moment, then understood what he meant: "You mean... holding you?"
Sima Jing said nothing, but glanced at the maids serving in the corridor with an expressionless face.
The maids immediately looked around and tiptoed away.
The corridor suddenly became even quieter. The only sound was the rustling of the flat-topped white gauze lanterns in the four corners.
Facing Sima Jing's calm and straightforward gaze, Yun Ran felt a little guilty for a moment.
She turned her face away, avoiding his gaze: "Who told you to wake me up for no reason last night and cover me with the quilt... Who doesn't have a temper?"
Sima Jing pursed his thin lips.
After a long pause, he whispered, "That was because you broke your promise yesterday."
"Then I didn't mean to not go."
Yun Ran frowned and said unconvincedly, "I left home early yesterday morning and didn't come back until dark. I was so tired that I didn't want to move once I fell down. Besides, it was so cold and windy outside..."
"It's just going out, what made you so tired?"
Sima Jing stared at her and said in a bad tone: "It was the carriage that carried you, not you who carried the carriage."
"I……"
Yun Ran choked and was about to explain, but when she met the man's eyes that became increasingly gloomy in the night, she suddenly didn't want to speak anymore.
She curled her lips, puffed out her cheeks, and looked at him sideways.
Sima Jing frowned: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Yun Ran snorted, "Didn't you say we should just live our own lives and not interfere with each other? Then why am I asking this now?"
This time it was Sima Jing's turn to choke.
Yes.
That's exactly what he said.
For a moment, the two stood facing each other, but no one spoke.
The cold wind blew through the lantern, and the dim light danced, falling mottledly on the shoulders and faces of the two people, one silent, the other stubborn.
Just when the atmosphere was tense, a loud cry of surprise suddenly rang out from the opposite corridor: "Wow, it's snowing!"
Following this shout, several other cheers rang out: "Really!"
"Finally it's down!"
Yun Ran had secretly clenched his palms, determined to hold out to the end with Sima Jing in this "staring match" and not lose.
But when I heard it was snowing, I couldn't help my curiosity and turned my head to look outside the corridor.
Looking up, I saw the dim lights in the yard and white snowflakes falling from the gray-black sky.
Pieces of white snow, like cotton wool, dance and swirl in the wind.
It’s snowing so heavily!
As someone who grew up in the south, Yun Ran had never seen such heavy snow. His eyes lit up with surprise, and he didn't care about the cold war with this strange man. He leaned over the railing and reached out to catch the snow.
Seeing the young lady who was so aggressive just now suddenly become like a playful child, climbing the railing and looking at the snow with excitement on her face, Sima Jing was speechless again.
He slowly walked up to her side.
Yun Ran was completely focused on the snow. After catching two pieces of snow in his palms, he immediately treasured them like they were his treasures: "They are so big!"
She was eager to share it with others, but when she turned around, all she saw was Sima Jing's icy face.
Yun Ran: “…”
Humph, what a killjoy.
She turned her head away, pretending he didn't exist, and continued to look up at the snow.
The snow was so heavy, heavier than any snow she had ever seen before. What fell were not individual snow grains, but real snowflakes as big as feathers.
It was also when she saw such snow that she finally understood what the poem said: "The ground is white, the wind is cold, and the snowflakes are as big as hands."
She used to think that the poet was just bragging.
She leaned against the railing and watched the snow for a while. Gradually, the initial excitement faded away, and the gaze of the man next to her seemed to be real, staring straight at her face, becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Finally, Yun Ran couldn't stand it anymore and turned back with a stern face: "What are you looking at me for?"
Sima Jing stared at her pretending to be indifferent, and after two breaths of silence, he said, "I'm sorry."
"Don't think you—Hey, wait!"
Yun Ran was stunned for a moment, and then his dark eyes widened and he looked at the person in front of him as if he had seen a ghost: "You, you just said, what did you say just now?"
Sima Jing pursed his lips slightly: "Forget it if you didn't hear it."
He turned and left.
It's a rare opportunity for the sun to rise from the west. Sima Jing, such an erratic and weird man, actually apologized on his own initiative. How could Yun Ran miss this opportunity?
She immediately stood up from the railing, grabbed her skirt and took two steps forward: "I heard it, I heard it!"
Unexpectedly, the man in front of her suddenly turned around, and she almost couldn't brake and was about to hit him again.
Seeing that the tip of her nose was only two fingers away from touching the man's chest, Yun Ran inexplicably thought of the irregular heartbeat last night.
After calming herself down a bit, she took two steps back, then raised her head and said, "I heard you, you apologized, don't try to deny it!"
Sima Jing: “…”
Why would he deny it?
However, the alienation between her eyebrows finally dissipated.
His brows relaxed as he asked her, "So, are you still angry?"
Yun Ran looked at the person in front of him.
Although he was indeed inexplicable last night, she was also wrong for breaking the appointment yesterday.
Forget it, it’s better to resolve a feud than to create one.
"cough!"
Yun Ran put his fist to his lips and said in a solemn tone, "I'm not the kind of petty or calculative person. Since you apologized to me, I will forgive you this time."
"but--"
She suddenly changed the subject, frowning and saying seriously, "Your Highness, you really need to change your temper. No one likes someone as moody and eccentric as you..."
Before he finished speaking, Sima Jing's face darkened.
Seeing this, Yun Ran sighed, "Good medicine tastes bitter, and honest advice is unpleasant to the ears. I know this is unpleasant to hear, but it's the truth. Your temper is really... bad. No wonder those people outside are afraid of you..."
"So what if it's not good? So what if you're afraid of me?"
Sima Jing's eyes returned to their usual coldness, "Why should I care about their likes?"
"I'm tired of the world, and the world is tired of me. It's fair."
In the rustling snow, a man in a dark cloak had thick eyelashes and a stern expression.
The darkness in his eyes seemed to merge with the vast night, and seemed like the incarnation of the cold ice and snow.
Yun Ran didn't know what to say.
But Sima Jing like this made her feel indescribably uncomfortable.
After a moment of silence, she sighed, then met the man's surprised gaze and raised her hands to hug him.
"All right."
She reached out and patted his back, her fair cheek softly pressed against his solid chest: "It's okay."
Sima Jing's throat suddenly felt a little dry.
Looking at the white fluffy ball in his arms, he couldn't help but raise his hand.
The moment he completely embraced her, he really wanted to ask her—
So you hate me too?
When the words came to his lips, he smelled her warm fragrance and felt the solid softness in his arms, and he was afraid for a moment.
It must be disgusting.
Such a brilliant and dazzling person was forced to be tied to this abandoned child in the sewer.
But he...
But he couldn't bear to push her away.
I even want to keep her longer...
Deeper.
Sima Jing closed his eyes, leaned over, and buried his face deeply in the place that had tormented him all night long.
The girl's delicate and sweet neck.
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The author has something to say: I'm late, I'll give you a red envelope to make up for it~~ See you tomorrow! [猫头]
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