26 Warm
◎Our bodies pressed together, our breathing becoming heavier◎
At night, two figures were sneaking around in the corridor.
In the pitch-black night, one could only hear the occasional sound of wind and a few light footsteps.
Everything was quiet and everyone in the mansion had already fallen asleep. Shu Yao and Ji Shijing sneaked into the small kitchen closest to the north courtyard to find something to eat.
She pushed the door open, and the wooden door inevitably made a noise. She tensed up and closed the door again very carefully, for fear of making any noise.
The old lady didn't allow anyone to send food to the North Courtyard. Wasn't she just trying to starve her and Ji Shijing to death? She wouldn't just sit there and wait for death.
After closing the door, she looked at the kitchen full of food and touched her stomach. She had been hungry for a whole day and was already rumbling with hunger. Looking at the sweet potatoes on the ground, she could even eat two of them raw.
Shu Yao turned to Ji Shijing and gave him a smug smile: "Ah Jing, let me show you my skills."
Ji Shijing had a dull expression.
Shu Yao walked around the kitchen. She originally wanted to cook something, but it would take too long to cook, so she decided to have some fast food. Thinking of this, she took a bag of flour, a piece of meat, and a few small vegetables. Then she looked at Ji Shijing and said, "How about we have noodles today?"
He nodded. He never had much desire for food.
Shu Yao smiled and prepared to boil water. Washing vegetables with cold water in this freezing weather would hurt her hands, so she had to heat the water.
Ji Shijing sat on a small stool and quietly helped her light a fire. The fire started and gradually dispelled the coldness around them.
"Ajing, when you were in the North Courtyard, did anyone bring you food?" Shu Yao covered the pot, sat next to him, and looked at him with her head propped up.
Ji Shijing's expression darkened and he pursed his dry lips: "Occasionally." But sometimes what they served was rotten rice and rotten vegetables.
There was a funeral in the mansion some time ago, and he hadn't eaten for three days. He was so hungry that he wanted to go to the mourning hall to see if there were any offerings. But that night he met Shu Yao, and she... kissed him.
Thinking of this, he turned his head slightly to look at her secretly, the firelight dancing on his face, stirring up a wave of heat.
She didn't seem to realize it was him that night.
The water is finally boiled.
"Ajing, please help me wash those vegetables." Shu Yao stood up, poured flour into the basin and said to Ji Shijing.
He stood up and brushed off the wood chips on his clothes, rolled up his sleeves, tested the water temperature with his slender fingers, picked up the vegetables beside him and began to wash them. He washed them very carefully, washing each leaf many times.
Shu Yao looked at the hanging lean meat again: "Ah Jing, wash that piece of pork too."
Ji Shijing frowned slightly, but still started cleaning in an orderly manner.
Shu Yao had already poured out the flour, added an appropriate amount of cold water, beat two eggs, and then rolled up her sleeves to start kneading the dough.
She thought of this side as an old lady and rubbed and kneaded it hard. After doing this, she felt much better.
After rubbing for about half an incense stick of time, Shu Yao felt a little hot and sweaty, and subconsciously wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
Ji Shijing had finished washing the dishes. He looked up and saw flour crumbs on Shu Yao's forehead. The strips of flour crumbs were hanging on her forehead, which looked funny.
He suppressed the curve of his mouth and just said, "I'm done washing."
"A Jing is so fast." Shu Yao smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, just like coaxing a child.
She continued, "Then please, Ajing, cut the meat into pieces."
Ji Shijing just said "hmm" lightly, put the meat on the chopping board, and saw the knife in the corner of the stove. He walked over, tilted his head slightly, and supported himself to reach over her to get the knife.
The space next to the stove was not big, and Ji Shijing was pressed against Shu Yao's back. With every slight movement, he could hear the sound of clothes rubbing against each other.
Shu Yao felt a warmth on her neck. She stopped kneading the dough. Their two bodies pressed against each other. She felt a little too hot, so she tried to lean closer to the stove.
Ji Shijing lowered his eyes, looked at the white neck so close to him, and felt the temperature of her body. His breathing became heavier. He lowered his head, moved close to her earlobe, and the sound of his low voice made Shu Yao tremble all over.
"Sister-in-law, can you please...move aside for a moment?"
After he finished speaking, he straightened up, suppressing the crazy impulse in his heart, and his face was calm.
Shu Yao thought he was going to do something, and she was so scared that she quickly moved away.
Ji Shijing took the knife, left the stove and went to chop the meat. Looking at the slices of meat with the skin and flesh separated, he felt dizzy and some past memories flashed through his mind.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
…
Shu Yao rolled the noodles into very thin round cakes, and then cut them into strips with a knife. Since she didn't know how to make noodles, she could only use this simple and crude method.
She cut very carefully. Ji Shijing had already finished while she had only cut half of it. After all the work, it took Shu Yao a whole incense stick of time to cut all the noodles.
She breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up and looked at her masterpiece, feeling very satisfied.
When the water boils, add the meat slices and noodles.
Shu Yao began to mix the seasonings, busy as a whirlwind. She handed the first bowl of steaming hot noodles to Ji Shijing, her eyes filled with hope: "Try it quickly."
Ji Shijing picked up the bowl, the aroma of noodles filled his nose. Meeting her gaze, he gently picked up a small piece of noodles with his chopsticks and slowly put it into his mouth.
Shu Yao couldn't wait to ask, "Is it delicious?"
Ji Shijing looked at her for a long time before nodding.
After receiving his affirmation, Shu Yao's face was visibly happy: "Then I will make it for you next time." After that, she picked up another bowl and started eating.
Ji Shijing lowered his head and stared at the noodles in the bowl. Something seemed to flow gently through his heart. This was the first time he had eaten such delicious food in all these years. His hand holding the edge of the bowl tightened unconsciously.
He looked up at her with complicated eyes.
System: [After testing, the trust value is 10%.]
Shu Yao laughed and became even happier, giving him all the meat in the bowl.
In the second half of the night, the two quietly returned to the North Courtyard.
Perhaps because someone had just died in the yard, Shu Yao felt a chill in the air. She lay on the bed, feeling uncomfortable all over. As soon as she closed her eyes, all she could think of was the woman's face and her long, sharp red nails.
She simply covered her head with the quilt and stayed like that until dawn.
The next day, she had just woken up with two panda eyes when she heard a servant passing by say that the small kitchen had been robbed last night and the housekeeper was now investigating.
Upon hearing the news, Shu Yao woke up instantly and was so scared that she quickly closed the gate.
They only ate a little yesterday and were discovered. They probably won’t be able to go to the kitchenette anymore.
How to solve the problem of eating? Thinking of this, her face was full of worry, and she stared at her hands in a daze. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She thought of a solution, but she didn't know if it would work, but she had to give it a try.
Shu Yao came to the back door, where there were two servants guarding it. When the servants saw her coming, they subconsciously stopped her and asked in a harsh tone, "Miss Shu, what are you doing here? What's the matter?"
Shu Yao cleared her throat and said, "I need to go out for a while."
The servant still blocked the door: "The old lady said that you and the second young master are not allowed to go out. Miss Shu, please go back."
Shu Yao sighed in her heart. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get out. Looking at the tall and strong servant in front of her, she thought for a moment and walked back silently.
Seeing her come back with a dejected look on her face, Ji Shijing put down the book he had read to pieces and walked over to her: "What's wrong?"
He didn't know she was going out.
Shu Yao looked at him and asked, "Ah Jing, besides the front and back doors, are there any other ways to exit the mansion?"
Worried that he didn't understand what I meant, I added, "A low wall is fine, as long as you can climb over it."
Ji Shijing looked at her suspiciously: "Why do you want to go out?" Did she want to escape from here?
Shu Yao hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Let's go out and get some fresh air. This house is too stuffy." She was not sure whether her method could make money, so she decided not to tell him for the time being. There would be no disappointment if there was no expectation.
Ji Shijing's expression was silent.
It took him a long time to speak: "You..." His Adam's apple rolled twice, but he didn't ask the rest of the question.
Shu Yao: "Hmm?"
He shook his head: "Nothing, I know a place, come with me."
The two avoided the crowd and soon came to a remote corner. There was only a small hole left in the broken wall.
Shu Yao pointed at the hole and said with difficulty: "Are you going to crawl out from here?" This is a dog hole, so just crawl through it. It's not a shameful thing. Drilling through a dog hole is better than starving to death.
As she said this, she bent down and prepared to go over.
Ji Shijing stopped her and stared at the wall in front of him, which was as tall as a person. "You can climb over here."
Only then did Shu Yao notice the low wall in front of her. The wall here was indeed much lower than other places in Ji Mansion. She could touch the top of the wall with just one hand.
But there were no stepping stones below, so she couldn't climb up. To her, it was still a high wall. She looked around and saw only weeds and nothing useful.
Ji Shijing seemed to see what she was thinking. He walked to the corner, took out an abandoned dog cage and threw it at her feet.
Shu Yao stepped on the dog cage and with a little effort she sat on the top of the wall. She brushed the dust off her hands and looked at Ji Shijing inside the wall: "Thank you, wait for me to come back..." Before she could finish her words, she lost her balance and fell down.
Shu Yao's eyes were full of stars. She rubbed her buttocks and stood up, whispering to the wall, "Ah Jing, I'll bring you something delicious when I come back."
She waited for a while, but there was no sound coming from the other side of the wall. She thought he had gone back, so she didn't think much about it and turned around and walked towards the street.
The Ji Mansion is located in a bustling downtown area, with a ten-mile-long street, wine shops and teahouses, and it is very lively.
Shu Yao walked through the streets, her eyes filled with red walls and green tiles, the high-flying shop signs, and the occasional majestic horse-drawn carriage passing by. The streets were bustling with people, the hawkers' shouts, the storytelling in the restaurants, and the sounds of laughter and conversation as people toasted each other.
The endless stream of people carries with it a strong sense of the everyday world, and wherever you look, you can see a grand atmosphere.
She had not seen much of the capital city the previous two times, but this time she was there and could not help but sigh in admiration. The bustling ancient city broadened her horizons.
However, she did not forget the purpose of her coming out. She asked the woman coming towards her, "Excuse me, is there any green nearby..." The last word made her a little difficult to say.
The woman looked at the ragged man blocking the way in front of her, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes. After hearing her words, she took two steps back with some disgust. It was the first time she had seen a girl taking the initiative to go to a brothel.
"You're asking about Zui Xiang Fang, right?"
Shu Yao was stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly. The name sounded right to her. It should be the place she was looking for.
The woman looked at her. Although the girl in front of her was dressed in rags, she was still pretty. If she went to Zui Xiang Fang, who knows what kind of suffering she would suffer. "I see you are a girl from a good family. Why would you go to a place like that?"
When Shu Yao heard this, she knew the woman had misunderstood: "I'm not... Forget it, how do I get to Zui Xiang Fang?"
The woman pointed ahead and said, "Just walk to the front and turn right."
After saying that, she sighed heavily and made two "tsk tsk" sounds with her mouth.
Shu Yao gritted her teeth and said "thank you", then ran towards the place the woman had pointed.
The street was so long that it took her half an hour to reach Zui Xiang Fang.
Looking at the layout of Zui Xiang Fang, she was amazed again. It was a three-story building with glazed black tiles, and it was very majestic.
The three characters "Zui Xiang Fang" were inscribed on a large forehead plaque, and two lines of smaller, gilded characters were written on the door couplet next to it. Even the steps were paved with the finest crushed jade, sprinkled with fragrant flower petals. Several barefoot women stepped on the smooth cobblestones, revealing their beautiful jade feet. Looking up, they could see beautiful calves...
The girls wore light gauze skirts and had alluring heavy makeup on, dancing gracefully in the winter.
Many young men and scholars stopped to take a look.
Just look, a man with a big belly walked up to a woman and put his arm around her waist. His eyes were blurry and he was shaking his head as he walked. It was obvious that he had drunk a lot of alcohol.
The fat hand like a pig's paw pinched the woman's flesh hard. The woman pushed him away with a coquettish look, trying to resist but also to welcome it.
The man hugged the woman and said, "Why did you run away today? Is the money I gave you not enough?"
The woman said shyly, "Brother Wang, yesterday a good sister of mine received a fine jade hairpin, and I want one too."
The man hugged the woman and walked inside: "Don't worry, I will get it for you tomorrow."
Shu Yao withdrew her gaze, took a few deep breaths, and stepped onto the broken jade steps.
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