Beyond the Great Wall
Xiao Shunzi watched his master write furiously, crumpling up the paper after writing a few words each time. This happened many times. Finally, his master threw the paper off course, and the crumpled paper rolled to his feet. He looked up at the back of the figure in front of him, carefully hooked the paper with his toe, kicked it back, quickly bent down to pick it up, and stuffed it into his sleeve.
"Xiao Shunzi, have this letter delivered back to the manor immediately."
Xiao Shunzi hurriedly stepped forward to take the letter. Seeing the name on the envelope, he recognized it as Li Fujin again. Xiao Shunzi put the letter away and casually asked, "Master, aren't you writing to Consort Tong?" He glanced up at the master's face, which was quite dark.
Yinzhen stared at him coldly and said, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"
How could he not want to? In the three months since he left, Li Shi and her son had been sending letters almost every five days, as had the other concubines and the steward. But there hadn't been a single letter from that woman. He had mentioned her in a letter to the steward, who replied that she was tinkering with the bedroom. The steward didn't know the details, and since the Lan Courtyard was locked up, the steward couldn't easily go into the inner courtyard to find out.
If he were to write to her first, Tong would probably be incredibly proud of herself. She might say she doesn't miss her, but ever since he left home, he would inexplicably think of her. That night, he was deeply infatuated and couldn't control his feelings, which sometimes made him lose his composure. But she didn't appreciate it.
He looked up, but then became lost in thought, not even listening to Xiao Shunzi's apology.
"You may leave now, I have other things to attend to," Yinzhen waved his hand at him.
Xiao Shunzi quickly retreated, let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, switched shifts with another eunuch, Quanfu, and returned to his residence. After that, he carefully took out the note in private.
Xiao Shunzi burst out laughing. "Grandpa is so awkward. He wasted so many sheets of paper just to write two words, 'Yi'er.'"
He pondered for a while, carefully put away the note, and thought about whether to take it back and ask Consort Tong for a reward.
When Yinzhen returned, he still hadn't received a letter of greeting from Lady Tong, and she wasn't among the people who came to welcome her back to the mansion. His disappointment and anger reached their peak, and he even gave everyone else a cold look.
For the next ten days, Yinzhen did not go to Lanyuan, but visited all the other courtyards. On the fifteenth, after court, he rushed back to the mansion and finally saw her. During the meal, he saw that she was pale and looked very weak. The maid said that she refused to take her medicine and had been delaying it for a long time.
He was anxious. For ten days after returning, he ignored her news and missed her illness. The next day, he took a day off and couldn't help himself. After finishing the pile of official documents, he came to Lanyuan.
Nan Yi lay slumped on the couch, a thin blanket draped over her body, chewing on the pine nut candy that Yi Ren had brought. She thought back to the day she paid her respects to the Fourth Master, whose expression was quite strange, as if he saw that she was somewhat angry. She was puzzled, wondering what she had done to offend him.
When Yinzhen entered the bedroom, she was lost in thought, her mind wandering. He didn't say anything to remind her, but sat down behind her, pulled her into his arms, and groped around her waist. He sighed inwardly, hoping she would gain some weight, but after four months apart, she had become much thinner. He wondered how the servants had been taking care of her.
Nan Yi felt a warmth on his neck, turned his head to look, paused for a moment, then turned back as if nothing had happened, remaining silent. Four months had passed, and he had become much tanned, but he was still handsome and clear-headed.
The Fourth Uncle also has the potential to be a male god.
Spanning three hundred years of time and space, she hides in someone else's body, and whenever she looks at the Fourth Master, she always feels it's unreal.
The budding affection that had been there earlier had faded over the past four months, and the unusual sense of unfamiliarity made Nan Yi resist the man behind her. She thought that they were truly the most familiar strangers.
Thinking this way, his eyes naturally revealed this expression. Yinzhen held her close to him. He liked holding her like this. He was observing her expression and saw the emotions revealed in her eyes. He was so perceptive that a slight panic flashed through his heart, his chest heated up, and his throat choked up. He realized that words had become pale.
He longed for her greetings from beyond the Great Wall, his heart yearning for her like autumn water. Although he returned home and did not see her, he still thought of her deeply, wanting to hear even a word from her, wanting to see her. But this woman was deliberately going against him.
The two embraced on the bed, neither speaking, until Qingyun set out dinner. "Let's eat," Yinzhen whispered.
Just as he was about to carry her out, he noticed her bare feet out of the corner of his eye and frowned. "Qingyun, come in," he called out in a deep voice.
Qingyun entered the bedroom and was about to bow when Yinzhen said, "Bring your master shoes and socks." Qingyun responded.
Yinzhen then noticed that her room was quite different from the original one. He made no comment, only saying that it suited Tong Shi.
When the two came out, there were two dinners on the table. The smaller one was obviously hers, which still consisted of two dishes, a soup, and rice.
Yinzhen sat down directly next to Nan Yi. Seeing her puzzled expression, he just smiled and said nothing, "Take these away. Your Highness and Consort can eat together."
Qingyun looked at her master, waiting for instructions—"Do you want to?" Nan Yi nodded slightly. He was the master, so she ate first, and then he would take her bowl and eat what she left behind. Nan Yi saw this and waited for him to put down his bowl.
"Pfft, hehe, you must be starving in the border region," she said with a laugh.
Seeing her smile, he felt a little relieved. The corners of his mouth curved up, and his eyebrows showed a slight smile. "No, it's just that I'm tired of eating meat. This dish is just what I like." He ate the dishes cleanly, without wasting any.
"It suits your taste, but not mine," Nan Yi pouted, her expression undeniably charming and alluring. Yinzhen asked, amused, "What would you like to eat?"
"Mmm—roast duck."
Dinner on the second day
The two remained seated close together, with a golden roast duck, a plate of green vegetables, a small pot of seafood porridge, and two bowls on the table.
"I'm starting," Nan Yi said with a grin, tearing off a duck leg and gnawing on it with gusto, her mouth glistening with oil. Yinzhen saw that she had finished two duck legs and then stopped eating, leaving the duck carcass bare. She then ate a bowl of porridge and stopped moving.
When Yinzhen ate, he didn't touch the duck meat, but ate some vegetables and finished the rest of the porridge. It wasn't until he came to his senses that he realized he had eaten a lot.
"The porridge is delicious," he explained. She thought, even though it's just porridge, you still need a stomach to eat it. It seems he really is starving in the border region.
He added, "Well, not bad, very delicious, but I can't tell what ingredients it's made of. Let the head kitchen make it," he thought, "it would be better to let others try it too."
"It's a secret, I can't tell anyone," she pouted her red lips.
Yinzhen nodded. "What would you like to eat tomorrow?"
"Recipe-recipe roast goose, available on South Street."
"--Um"
That night, the two embraced and whispered sweet nothings.
Dinner on the third day
Same spot, same people, a roast goose taking up half the table, and a small pot of porridge.
"I only want to eat the leg," Nan Yi said, looking at the huge roast goose.
"Okay." He looked at her with a hint of indulgence, reaching for the plate of roast goose.
“No need, I can do it myself,” Nan Yi stopped him, tearing off a goose leg and gnawing on it herself, waiting for her to finish eating.
“You bite off the other leg,” she said, looking at him.
It's funny to see a handsome guy eating a goose leg. Yinzhen was speechless, but he still listened to her and ate the goose leg. After finishing the goose leg, he was full. Unexpectedly, Nan Yi scooped him a small bowl of porridge, blew on it to cool it down, and held it to his lips. Yinzhen couldn't refuse her hospitality, so he opened his mouth and drank it. As expected, he finished the porridge completely.
"It tastes really good, put..."
"secret"
"What are we eating tomorrow?" Yinzhen asked.
"secret."
That evening, the two strolled around the courtyard for a while. When they lay down on the bed, after Yinzhen came out from his bath, Nan Yi was already fast asleep. He shook his head and lay down with a light laugh.
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