Chapter 74 In the mist, but you will never leave me in this lifetime. ...
I did manage to stay up all night on New Year's Eve, but in a different way.
In the warm glow of candlelight, the brocade curtains were tightly closed, blocking out the spring sunshine.
It was clearly a serious and proper night watch, and Jiang Yunjin didn't mean it that way, so why did it end up like this?
The embroidered lotus flower canopy above her head swayed, and Cui Yiluo's consciousness swayed along with it, yet she was acutely aware that it was something she had done voluntarily.
She was just trying to distract him; perhaps she couldn't bear to see him with his eyes downcast. She simply wanted to comfort him, after all, he had been kind to her. Although she was ruthless in her actions, she wasn't an ungrateful person.
He said she was the most special person to him, but what about him to her? Amidst the turmoil, Cui Yilu couldn't understand, but she realized that after the initial shock of learning that the person in the cave was him, she felt no resistance, but rather relief—relief that the person was Jiang Yunjin.
Upon realizing this thought, Cui Yiluo's heart skipped a beat.
Did she trust him a little too much? And beneath that trust lay a hidden dependence, and perhaps other emotions as well.
That's it. She thought, maybe she really does like him a little.
"What are you thinking about?" his voice whispered in my ear. "Your heart is beating fast."
His warm, slender fingers were brushing against her heart.
Cui Yiluo realized what she was thinking about that made her heart race, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed and indignant, her fair face blushing even more.
Even if she had some feelings for him, she wouldn't admit it.
In the midst of his passionate infatuation, his fingers never left her heart, his dark eyes fixed on her, "Right now, do you have me in your heart?"
Cui Yiluo couldn't understand how he could be so perceptive, and felt uneasy. Meanwhile, his fingers were still on her chest, allowing her to feel her heartbeat perfectly.
She immediately pulled his wrist away, emphasizing, "No, not at all!"
Jiang Yunjin wasn't annoyed. He simply brushed the damp hair clinging to her cheeks with his hand, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "But you will never leave me in this lifetime."
After he said this, Cui Yiluo really didn't know how to refute him. After all, her behavior of following him back to the mansion from Qingchi Lane after he stopped the car that day showed everything. She did not want to divorce him.
He continued, "Sooner or later, you'll have me in your heart, more or less."
His assertive and confident attitude made Cui Yiluo almost afraid to look him in the eye. She felt so guilty that she didn't want to continue, afraid that he would discover her unusual emotional state.
She pushed his shoulder, but he pulled her closer, burying his face in her neck and drawing her closer to him.
She heard his muffled voice, "Ah Luo, I'm very happy tonight, thank you."
Cui Yiluo's heart ached, and her heart pounded even harder, almost bursting out of her chest. But she was too stunned to speak. As if afraid of being swept away by the waves, she instinctively hugged him tightly. His body trembled slightly, and he hugged her even tighter.
Until the very end, she couldn't utter a complete sentence. Just before dawn, when the night was at its darkest, Jiang Yunjin carried her out of the bathroom.
She was already exhausted and felt sleepy as soon as she touched the covers, but she was still worried about something and forced herself to stay awake until Jiang Yunjin finished bathing and came out.
He still had to keep watch tonight, so he didn't change into his nightgown, but instead put on a light blue round-necked brocade robe, which made him look even more refined and noble, with a face as handsome as jade.
Seeing the robe he was wearing, Cui Yiluo's drowsiness vanished considerably.
"you……"
Jiang Yunjin replied calmly, "Isn't it because you like it?"
As the old year gave way to the new, Cui Yiluo made several garments for him according to the prescribed style when selecting fabrics for tailoring. But after choosing snow-white and moon-white, she also selected some light colors. In fact, she guessed that he would not wear them, since she had previously chosen other fabrics for him besides snow-white and moon-white, but he had never worn them.
Although she guessed he wouldn't wear it, for some reason, she still chose the color. But now he was actually wearing a robe of a different color that she had chosen... as if a piece of cold jade had suddenly been adorned with color.
Cui Yiluo's heart felt as if it had been filled with something.
She really liked it, she thought.
He sat down on the edge of the tatami mat. "Why aren't you asleep?"
Keeping watch is just a formality; there are only the two of them in the room, and he can keep watch by himself.
He sat on the edge of the couch like a towering mountain, bringing a sense of peace and security. Cui Yiluo unconsciously relaxed, and the drowsiness that had just subsided returned.
She called his name, and the man gave a soft hum. Half-conscious, she vaguely saw his figure and finished speaking her mind: "Jiang Yunjin, stop dwelling on those rules. Your parents' deaths were not your fault. Even if you punish yourself by following the rules, it won't help. So, stop thinking about the past."
The figure sitting upright by the tatami remained motionless for a long time, as if frozen in time.
Cui Yiluo continued, her voice slightly muffled by drowsiness: "How about we change the screen wall in the courtyard tomorrow? I prefer the floral and bird design."
From the first time she saw that screen wall, she felt a tightness in her chest and disliked it intensely. Even after her marriage, she had always wanted to find an opportunity to replace it. After tonight, her aversion had seeped into her very bones. That screen wall, standing before the courtyard gate, seemed to be a testament to his past, bound by traditional etiquette.
The man still did not answer. That screen wall was used when he was a child and was punished by his father for not meeting his academic requirements. It was covered with the words of a gentleman, which he had to recite silently while running his hand along the characters carved into the sandalwood.
His father said that only when the fingertip bleeds can one truly remember it.
Later, he was no longer punished by facing the wall to reflect on his mistakes, but he did not replace the screen wall. Every day when he entered and left the courtyard, he could see the tall screen wall standing in front of the gate, as if it was reminding him of the terrible consequences of breaking the rules.
Jiang Yunjin remained silent for a long time, so long that Cui Yiluo thought he still couldn't let go, and she temporarily gave up the idea and prepared to go to sleep, when she heard him respond softly, his voice quickly swallowed by the darkness.
"good."
-
After New Year's Eve, we welcome the new year.
That day, Jiang Zhaoyue invited Yang Jingling and Xie Xiyun to her residence for a small gathering. The group had previously dried some flowers, and today they were putting them into sachets. This was also a New Year's custom; sachets were hung in front of the curtains to pray for peace and happiness in the coming year.
There weren't many kinds of dried flowers on the table, but the different combinations and amounts created different aromas.
Cui Yiluo prefers a sweet fragrance, so she added more winter plum and peony, creating a cool and refreshing scent that lingers around the nose.
Jiang Zhaoyue took the sniff and said with a mischievous smile, "It's cool with a hint of sweetness. Big Brother will definitely like it."
Cui Yiluo took it. "This is hung inside the room, and there's incense burning inside. He might not be able to smell it."
The incense burning in the censer inside the room was a camellia scent with a hint of bamboo leaf fragrance, which she had specially commissioned to be mixed. It filled every corner of the bedroom, and even her and Jiang Yunjin's clothes were covered with the same fragrance.
It's not easy to tell the difference between one or two sachets with different scents when hung in a room.
Jiang Zhaoyue was surprised to hear this, "Big brother will definitely be able to smell it, his sense of smell has always been very keen."
Cui Yiluo was taken aback. After spending several months together, she was unaware that Jiang Yunjin had a keen sense of smell, and she subconsciously had a moment of doubt.
Perhaps Jiang Zhaoyue noticed the hint of doubt on her face, because she looked at Yang Jingling and asked, "Jingling, do you still remember the palace banquet on the Double Ninth Festival a few years ago?"
“I remember,” Yang Jingling slowly explained to Cui Yiluo, “His Majesty set up a prize. First, you had to smell twenty kinds of herbs. Then, you had to be blindfolded and identify the names of the twenty herbs purely by smell. The winner would win the prize. His Majesty ordered that everyone except those from the Imperial Medical Academy participate in the banquet, and my father was the judge.”
At this point, Cui Yiluo roughly understood what had happened next. Xie Xiyun, who was also present at the time, confirmed that it was true.
"Among all the court officials, only Lord Jiang can identify twenty kinds of herbs, which shows his keen sense of smell." Yang Jingling winked at Cui Yiluo and smiled, "In a short period of time, you have to remember the taste of twenty kinds of herbs and match the taste with the name of the herb. This is by no means an easy task for someone who is not a doctor."
Xie Xiyun recalled: "At that time, apart from Lord Jiang, there were only a handful of people who could guess fifteen or sixteen of them correctly."
This clearly demonstrates that Jiang Yunjin not only possesses an exceptional memory but also an incredibly keen sense of smell. Recalling the Double Ninth Festival banquet, the group was also amazed by Jiang Yunjin's outstanding abilities.
But Cui Yiluo felt a chill run down her spine.
In the evening, Cui Yilu hung the sachet on the embroidered curtain in the room. She had been somewhat absent-minded in the afternoon, so she was a little slow in stuffing the dried flowers into the sachet. Now her hands were full of the delicate fragrance of dried flowers.
She stood in front of the door, wearing a pale yellow cloak, staring at the screen wall at the courtyard gate that had been replaced.
That night she said she would replace the screen wall stained with his blood, and he actually did it the next day. His decisiveness surprised even Cui Yiluo. But she wanted to see Jiang Yunjin forget the past that had bound him for more than twenty years.
The screen wall in front of us is designed with a hundred birds playing among flowers. According to the bits and pieces of information that Lilan heard from Wenfeng, Jiang Yunjin personally chose this screen wall. Because that night, when the candlelight was flickering, she vaguely said that she liked the flower and bird design.
Cui Yilu stared at the screen wall, her eyes deep and thoughtful.
The next moment, a tall, slender figure emerged from behind the screen wall. Today, he was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, as elegant and noble as ever, like the bright moon in the clouds, which further accentuated his gentle and kind nature.
Upon hearing that Cui Yiluo and Jiang Zhaoyue's small banquet had ended, Jiang Yunjin came out of his study. However, he did not expect that Cui Yiluo would be waiting for him directly in front of the bedroom door. A glint of light flashed in his dark eyes, but then he frowned and quickened his pace toward her.
He took her hand directly in his, and noticing the coldness of her palm, he frowned even more. Without saying a word, he led her into the room.
Only when the warmth of the room enveloped him did Jiang Yun's tightly furrowed brows relax slightly.
"It's cold outside, aren't you afraid of getting cold?"
His tone was somewhat serious, tinged with worry, as if he was genuinely concerned that she might catch a cold if she stood outside for a while.
The room was so warm that Cui Yiluo's palms gradually warmed up. She almost craved this warmth, making it hard for her to break the cozy feeling.
She bit her lip, then suddenly stepped forward and hugged him. Her initiative made Jiang Yunjin stiffen for a moment, but he quickly responded, wrapping his arm tightly around her petite figure.
His voice, tinged with a hint of a smile, rang out: "From now on, you don't need to wait for me at the door. If you want to see me, just send someone to deliver a message."
Cui Yilu denied it in a low voice: "I didn't want to see you. I just sat for an afternoon and my legs were a little sore and numb, so I just stood outside for a while."
Jiang Yunjin chuckled softly, not exposing her utterly untenable argument.
He changed the subject: "Did you get a new sachet?"
Cui Yiluo's body froze instantly.
Author's Note: I'm starting to wrap things up; I'll try to finish it within a week.
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