Chapter 75 The Milky Way Rises Because I Really Care About You
Cui Yiluo froze on one side, worried that he would notice something was wrong. Suppressing her turbulent emotions, she softly hummed in agreement and teased, "I put in many kinds of dried flowers. Husband, would you like to guess what they are?"
She was always playful, and Jiang Yunjin, unsuspecting, held her in his arms while gently inhaling the subtle fragrance in the room, identifying the scents: "Winter plum, peony, camellia..."
His voice was low yet clear, like a babbling brook flowing into her ears. With each word he spoke, Cui Yiluo's heart grew colder.
Because what he said was absolutely correct.
After listing several flower names, he asked her with a slight smile in his voice, "How are they?"
Cui Yiluo was held in his arms, her lower half of her face hidden under his shoulders and back. She paused for a moment, then said, "You guessed right."
His sense of smell was indeed sharp; he could distinguish even the faint scent of several dried flowers mixed together with such precision and detail.
When he accepted the wine laced with bewitching potion from her that day, even if he had never smelled the potion before, did he not notice that something was added to the wine?
But he drank so quickly, he probably didn't know. If he did know… he's not that kind of person. Cui Yilu forced herself to calm down and stop thinking about it.
The night was as passionate as ever, the brocade curtains drawn and tightly shut, and indistinct, ambiguous sounds drifted out. The couch and the small table in front of the window in the bedroom were both stained with some messy marks.
When the midnight watchman's drum sounded, he was still entwined with her, but suddenly slowed down.
Cui Yiluo's beautiful eyes were filled with misty tears as she looked at him with a dazed expression.
He lowered his face, his eyes fixed on her. In this small world within the tent, it seemed as if he could only see her. His lips were gently sucked.
"Happy birthday, A-Luo."
Inside the sealed tent, his soft voice reached her ears, sending a tingling sensation through her body, causing Cui Yiluo to tremble involuntarily.
How did you know?
She didn't tell him her birthday. Back in the Cui family, she had only held birthday banquets out of social obligation. In reality, apart from Lilan, probably no one in the Cui family genuinely congratulated her.
At this time last year, most of the people who congratulated her on her birthday in Ningzhou were there because she was going to marry a man in the capital. Although she was marrying a man in his sixties, in their eyes, Cheng Feng was a high-ranking official in the capital, serving as the sixth-rank Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy. Everyone thought that Cui Yiluo would live a good life from then on, and the Cui family would rise to prominence. Before long, the whole family would move to the capital.
This year, she learned that her birth was neither anticipated by her father nor her mother. Perhaps out of a rebellious spirit, she originally didn't want to celebrate her birthday. Lan Hui had asked her about it half a month ago, and she had politely declined. But she didn't expect Jiang Yunjin to know. Actually, if he hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have remembered.
Jiang Yunjin said vaguely, "I heard it from my second aunt."
He already knew, but Lan Hui had indeed reminded him, so he wasn't lying.
Cui Yiluo didn't think much of it. Lan Hui was always worried that Jiang Yunjin wouldn't treat her well, so it was reasonable for her to remind him.
She realized she hadn't paid any attention to Jiang Yunjin's birthday, and felt a little guilty. Looking at his burning and domineering gaze in the dim tent, she wanted to avoid him even more.
But he was always exceptionally sensitive to her emotional changes. Just as she guiltily looked away, he nudged her with a hint of displeasure, and she immediately bit her lip, letting out a sound.
Cui Yiluo naturally knew the reason for his displeasure. Seeing his eyes growing increasingly dark and unhappy, she quickly hooked her arms around his neck and coaxed him softly and haltingly, "I didn't know back then, did I? I'll definitely remember every year from now on. Husband, um... don't be angry anymore?"
After she finished speaking, she did see the man's eyes soften a little, but she did not expect that her gentle coaxing would not soften his movements, but instead made him even more unable to suppress his desire.
After the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, Jiang Yunjin carried her to the bathhouse. In the bathhouse, she watched him lower his eyes and carefully clean her. His face was turned to the side, his nose was straight and his face was as warm and gentle as jade.
Cui Yiluo recalled the scene of him celebrating her birthday in the tent, and her heart skipped a beat again. She couldn't resist teasing him. But she soon regretted it.
The bathroom was in complete disarray, water splashed everywhere, leaving blurry stains on the embroidered curtains, and even extinguishing several candles.
After taking another shower and leaving the bathroom, it was already late at night. The bedding and cushions on the tatami mat in the room had been changed, and everything was so clean that it was as if nothing had happened.
Cui Yiluo belatedly realized that when they were first married, Old Madam Jiang always knew quickly what happened in their courtyard, but from some point onwards, Old Madam Jiang was unaware of many things. Last time, when Jiang Yunjin missed dinner because of doing "that" with her, she asked him if he would be scolded, and he replied that his grandmother wouldn't know.
He replaced those people a long time ago? So he started breaking the rules all along.
Moreover, last evening, he waited for her directly in the room. She originally wanted to rest, but she couldn't resist his deliberate teasing. He had never been so proactive before. Moreover, that time he had a strange and abrupt possessiveness, as if he wanted to smash her into his bones and blood. It was quite like the crazy feeling in Qingchi Alley, which she couldn't bear at all.
What happened before that day...? Cui Yiluo paused for a moment, then suddenly curled her lips slightly.
With a creak, the door opened and closed, and Jiang Yunjin came out of the bathroom after changing into clean nightgown. He saw Cui Yiluo sitting on the couch, leaning against the table, resting her chin on her hand, looking at him with a half-smile.
Yi Li's face was bright and beautiful when she smiled. Jiang Yunjin's eyes were filled with the light of candlelight. He strode forward and skillfully lifted her onto his lap.
"What's wrong?"
Cui Yiluo lightly traced the pine and bamboo pattern on his nightgown, asking as if it were casual, "When did you find out I went to Yaoxing Tower to see Yuan Ling?"
Her wrist was instantly gripped, and her waist, which had been lightly held, was now tightly held. Cui Yiluo's gaze moved upward, meeting the man's gloomy and displeased eyes. Her previously bright expression instantly darkened, as if a storm was brewing.
Why did you think of him again?
He used to be someone who never showed his emotions, but now, just by mentioning Yuan Ling, she made him show some displeasure.
Cui Yiluo countered, "Why are you so concerned about him?"
Before the transaction, Yuan Ling and she had very little interaction, perhaps less than she had with Jiang Mingxun, but he remembered the few interactions she had with Yuan Ling very clearly.
Jiang Yunjin remained silent and did not answer.
Naturally, it was because he cared about her that he was fully aware of Yuan Ling's feelings for her. Yuan Ling deliberately used the roster to lure Cui Yiluo to Wanglonggang, probably intending to use the pretext of going south to investigate to persuade her to come along as well.
Fortunately, he returned that day. And fortunately, while she was perceptive in other matters, she was much less perceptive when it came to matters of the heart. She couldn't see his feelings for her, nor was she aware of Yuan Ling's feelings at all.
And of course, he couldn't tell him these things.
Seeing that he lowered his eyes and did not answer, Cui Yiluo went straight to the point: "You already knew that day at Yaoxing Tower, didn't you?"
He was so angry that he disregarded the rules of dinner and did even more outrageous things afterward.
She smiled faintly, as if complaining, and said, "Jiang Yunjin, you're really stingy. Aren't you a gentleman?"
He kept his eyes downcast, his thin lips parted slightly, and he said softly, "Because I really care about you."
Cui Yiluo's playful expression froze. In public, and even in front of her before, Jiang Yunjin was always aloof and unapproachable, and everyone thought he only cared about politics. But now, by the candlelight, this usually cold man revealed a hint of loss and helplessness.
Her heart felt like it had been struck hard. She leaned forward slightly and nestled into his arms, as if they were perfectly aligned. Almost as soon as she leaned in, he tightened his arms around her, holding her even closer.
But perhaps because such a perfect match had happened so many times, Cui Yiluo didn't notice, and therefore didn't notice the meaningful glint in the man's eyes.
“But you used to call me Cui Shi.”
It's both old-fashioned and unpleasant to listen to.
Jiang Yunjin's breath hitched, then he said softly, "I'm sorry."
“Then don’t hold grudges about what happened before,” Cui Yiluo said, offering a seemingly reasonable excuse: “I don’t like it when you follow the rules.”
His tone was commanding. He was silent for a few moments. Cui Yiluo was embracing him and couldn't see his expression. Just when she thought he was annoyed by this, she heard his soft voice in her ear.
He said earnestly, with a hint of a smile: "Okay."
Suddenly, he felt a lightness in her body. He placed one hand on her back, allowing her to press against his chest as before, and with his other arm, he easily lifted her up in his arms.
She gasped softly, and before she could react, he lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the couch.
On the small table beside the bed, there was a square object that had been placed there at some point, covered by a piece of silk cloth, making it impossible to tell what it was.
Cui Yilu frowned slightly. She remembered that there were no items on the small table before they entered the bathroom, and they were even on the small table...
"Uncover it and take a look."
Jiang Yunjin's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Cui Yiluo subconsciously looked at him, and the moment she met his eyes, she instantly understood.
A feeling similar to the trepidation of returning home welled up inside Cui Yiluo, and she tentatively reached out to pull at the piece of silk.
The silk cloth was so light that it slid down like flowing water with just a tug, revealing the object underneath.
The crystal-clear glass shimmered brilliantly under the candlelight. The gleaming glass was meticulously crafted into a hexagonal lamp, each corner adorned with glass tassels of varying lengths, arranged in a pleasing, staggered pattern. A slight sway produced a crisp, clinking sound. The lamp surface was carved with openwork forsythia flowers, so lifelike that it was a testament to the artist's skill and dedication.
Even before the candle within was lit, this glass lamp was already so dazzling and brilliant; if it were lit, it would be even more radiant and dazzling. Cui Yiluo had never seen such a large piece of glass before, and she wondered where Jiang Yunjin had found it.
Cui Yiluo gently fiddled with the tassels, "What's this?"
"Your birthday gift."
Cui Yiluo's fingers trembled slightly as she fiddled with the tassels, and her throat tightened a little. She kept her voice calm and asked, "Why did you give me a lamp?"
Jiang Yunjin explained calmly, "You have trouble falling asleep at night. If I return to your room late in the future, please extinguish the candle in your room and hang this by your bedside. It might help you sleep better."
Cui Yiluo's breath hitched.
He even noticed that she had trouble falling asleep, and specially lit a lamp for her.
She stroked the openwork forsythia pattern and asked softly, "Did you draw the design yourself?"
"Um."
Cui Yilu silently covered the lamp with the silk cloth again, instantly concealing the shimmering glass lamp beneath it.
"dislike?"
Jiang Yunjin's voice lowered slightly, his handsome face tightened slightly, and there was a hint of tension in his expression.
Cui Yiluo didn't say anything, but raised her face to kiss his thin lips.
No, she likes it very much.
Author's Note: A-Luo: How did you suddenly become so good at this? [question mark]
Thank you to the little ones who watered with nutrient solution! [heart emoji]
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