Chapter 64 Yuan Sixiao's Dream of the Butterfly
Wang Yuying's body tensed instantly, freezing her completely, yet a surge of desire welled up in her lower abdomen, burning her heart with heat.
Hugu's fingertips moved very slowly across her collarbone through the fabric, seemingly with great difficulty. Finally, he squeezed her shoulder again, then patted it lightly, and said in a calm and casual tone, "My wife, keep embroidering. I'm going to cook."
Wang Yuying immediately turned to the side, subconsciously trying to grab the hand that had landed on her shoulder, but Hugu Xumi had already withdrawn his hand and let his arm hang down. She watched his departing figure for a while before looking away.
On the cabinet were everyday sewing baskets, but making a purse was no simple task; one had to first draw a paper pattern, then embroider, and finally sew it together. Wang Yuying opened each drawer one by one, finding all the necessary items.
What pattern should I embroider?
When she thought of the twin lotus blossoms, she unconsciously lowered her head and raised the corners of her lips.
My face was still a little hot while I was embroidering.
She's usually an impatient person, but she's embroidering rather slowly right now, afraid that one stitch might be uneven. Her palms even sweat with nervousness at some of the more difficult parts. She feels as if she's sewing herself into a purse stitch by stitch, which is especially sweet.
When Hugu finished cooking and came to inform her, she had just finished speaking and blurted out, "I haven't made my tassels yet!"
"Let's eat first."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuying quickly tidied the table and helped set out the bowls and chopsticks. After Hugu brought the dishes to the table, she glanced discreetly at the cabinet where the embroidered purse was temporarily placed. There, a green stem stood tall and graceful, with twin flowers blooming on the unfinished embroidery.
Hugu subtly curled the corners of his lips.
Actually, he once snagged his outer robe while riding a horse. Later, when he returned to Wang Yuying's house for lunch, she asked him to take it off, and he mended it in the time it took to eat a meal. The robe is still in Wang Ting's wardrobe. The stitches on the cuffs are exactly the same as those on the purse, both are the kind of mending methods used in the military, dense as stars and as strong as metal and stone.
Hugu prepared four dishes and a soup, and cooked shrimp... Wang Yuying's gaze fell on the plate of radish balls: "Did you buy them?"
"I fried them myself beforehand," Hugu replied with a smile.
Wang Yuying then looked at the other two dishes. One resembled a spring roll but was larger, and the other was sticky and unfamiliar. "Are these two dishes from your area?" she asked.
The soup seems to be a red soup that the Di people love to drink.
"This dish is filled with cabbage and cheese, and this one is mutton," Hugu Xumi introduced them one by one, reciting the names of the two dishes in a pleasant voice twice in the Di language.
Wang Yuying tried picking up two bites with her chopsticks. It wasn't what she expected; the mutton was cooked until there was no blood, and the cabbage was stewed while still hot, both seasoned and not fishy. She subconsciously glanced at Hugu Xumi, who saw through her and laughed, "We don't eat raw meat and drink blood." Hugu blinked. "Although our country's history isn't as long as the Han people's, we still have nearly a thousand years of literature and history. To put it bluntly, our writing is just as brilliant as the Han people's."
Wang Yuying's lips parted and then closed again.
"If you think it's delicious, try some more." Hugu Xumi ate two more bites of the Di Cai before picking up some fried meatballs. "Actually, you gave me a gift before, two catties of fried meatballs."
"Good heavens, that counts as a gift?" Wang Yuying shook her head. It was just some food she brought him when she saw him off. Besides, most of the meatballs in Northern Xinjiang weren't fried by her.
"They also sent a floral stationery," Hugu added.
Wang Yuying frowned. She could recall the mention of radish balls, but had no recollection of flower paper.
Seeing this, Hugu smiled slightly, gazing at her. He picked up a shrimp with his chopsticks, and Wang Yuying glanced at him and then at the shrimp. Hugu had already started peeling it when she suddenly remembered—the first time he came to eat at her house, he praised her cooking of river shrimp, saying it was different from the way it was cooked in the Di Kingdom and the Northern Frontier. Seeing how much he liked it, and not knowing if she would have another chance to eat together, she wrote down how to cook the shrimp on a piece of floral paper and gave it to him when he left.
Wang Yuying was a little embarrassed. Could this really be considered a gift? It wasn't even a secret recipe passed down through generations at the restaurant: "It's just a small matter, nothing to mention."
Hugu pursed his lips. It was indeed a small matter, but only she was so enthusiastic towards him.
Of course, there were many women in the royal court who treated him warmly, but they all had ulterior motives, either lustful or greedy for wealth and glory, and their calculations outweighed their sincerity.
On one occasion, he infiltrated the northern frontier on political matters, disguised himself, and didn't intend to greet her and Xu Heng; in fact, he deliberately avoided them. In a tavern, several women approached to harass him. He coldly watched them fawn and flatter him, then contemptuously threw silver coins at their feet and chased them away.
Wang Yuying entered at that moment. She was alone, and from what he heard, she was going to get some wine to prepare for her husband's upcoming birthday banquet. He wondered then, when was her own birthday?
For reasons unknown, perhaps by some strange impulse, he also threw money at her feet, but not silver, but a gold ingot.
She and Xu Heng, who were living in poverty, were in dire need of help.
It rolled to Wang Yuying's feet. She bent down, immediately squatted down to pick it up, and quickly walked towards him: "Young master, you dropped something!"
Without hesitation, she returned it to him. "Such valuable things are best kept in your bag or a purse..." As she spoke, she looked him over, actually checking if he was carrying a sachet or pouch. "You can't just leave it anywhere, it's easy to lose it. It's best to carry a purse with you when you go out..."
She even started giving advice on choosing purses. How could there be such a patient and sincere person in the world? He could no longer utter those despicable and arrogant words that he had already prepared in his mind, and from then on, he had no more malice towards her.
Hugu pursed her lips, and after finishing her meal, she took the initiative to clean up and wash the dishes. When she finished and dried her hands, she returned to her room to find that Wang Yuying had already finished making and hanging up the tassels and finished making the purses.
Hugu then revealed, "Actually, we had already met once before we knew each other."
Wang Yuying sat up straight: "Where have I seen you before?"
“Still the northern frontier.” He looked at her expression and curled his lips: “I accidentally lost my belongings, and luckily you returned them to me. At that time, you suggested that I carry a purse with me at all times.”
Wang Yuying's heart sank. This was a memory she didn't know why, but it was unusually clear—she had indeed picked up a gold ingot in a tavern in the Northern Frontier, but by then Hugu had already met her! Counting the time, he had been a guest at her house several times!
Moreover, the young master who lost the gold ingot definitely did not look like Hugu Xumi; just looking at his eyes, they were the dark eyes of a Han Chinese.
Why did he disguise himself and infiltrate the northern border?
Wang Yuying tried her best to remain calm, parting her lips and frowning as if she couldn't remember the matter: "I'm sorry, I... I don't remember."
"Don't blame yourself," Hugu Xumi said softly. "We didn't know each other back then, so who would remember a stranger?" He walked closer to Wang Yuying, a proud look on his face. "Anyway, I now have a purse embroidered by my wife herself!"
He spread his arms and invited Wang Yuying to hang it up for him personally.
Wang Yuying carefully tied the purse to Hugu's belt.
She didn't look up, but she could feel Hugu staring down at her. She felt both nervous and excited, and it took her a while to tie up her purse.
After hanging it up, Wang Yuying habitually smoothed her purse with her hand. As soon as she touched the seam of Hugu's robe, he wrapped his arms around her waist without saying a word, pulling her body tightly against his chest. Even though the winter clothes were thick, she could immediately feel his burning body temperature and heavy, disordered breathing.
Before long, he also noticed the hard, huge object pressing against him.
She knew exactly what it was and dared not move.
Hugu held her tightly, pulling his arms closer, making her feel it even more clearly. His heavy breaths fell on her hair.
Wang Yuying was also in a state of turmoil, with two opposing forces—expectation and worry—struggling within her.
After a short while, Hugu shook his head, took a deep breath in her hair, exhaled heavily, then held her arm, separated her from him, and raised his hand to straighten the jade hairpin that he had just knocked askew.
"Would you like to go boating on the lake?" he smiled and said softly, "It's nearby."
"Okay." Wang Yuying felt both disappointed and relieved.
Upon reaching the dock, the boatman tightened the tow rope. Hugu lightly lifted the corner of his robe, first stepping onto the boat plank, and then, as if getting into a car, took her hand. Even after they were on the deck, he didn't let go. When they entered the cabin, there were benches along three sides of the cabin wall, with a stove in the center. Wang Yuying sat on the right, and Hugu sat down next to her on the same side.
The ship immediately tilted and sank.
Wang Yuying quickly reminded him, "You need to sit on the opposite side!"
Hugu did not heed her advice. Instead, he embraced her and led her to the central bench, where they continued to lean against each other.
The boat quickly leveled again. Wang Yuying pressed her cheek against Hugu's shoulder, saying nothing, feeling his broad palm gently and slowly caressing her back. At least for this moment, she felt only joy, like honey overflowing from a jar, like fireworks bursting in the sky.
"Close your eyes, I have a gift for you," he said with a smile.
"What gift?" Wang Yuying asked with her eyes closed.
“A gift to be heard.” Hugu Xumi said, humming softly in the Di language. She couldn’t understand a word, but she felt the melody was melodious and cheerful. She opened her eyes after listening for a while, and her eyes met Hugu’s instantly.
"This song is so delightful, it makes me feel even better." A strand of her hair was pressing down on his shoulder, so she tilted her head up slightly and moved the strand away.
Hu Gu raised his hand and tucked each stray hair behind her ear, looking at her and asking, "So, do you like this song?"
"I like it! But I don't understand it." There was a word she heard sung more than a dozen times in the song, and she couldn't help but ask, "What does 'labu' mean? Radish?"
From the moment Hugu began singing, he stared intently into Wang Yuying's eyes, and he continued to do so even now.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked with a smile.
Wang Yuying lowered her head, embarrassed, as she had indeed thought of radish balls again.
Hugu stared intently at Wang Yuying: "Labu means spring day."
Wang Yuying suddenly realized that she was born in spring, so Hugu gave her a song about spring.
Besides the charcoal brazier for heating, there were two small stoves in the cabin. One had a rack on it, where persimmons, peanuts and longans were roasting, and the other was brewing orange tea, with half an orange peel neatly peeled next to it.
Hugu, with his legs spread apart, personally added some osmanthus and sparrow tongue flowers to the orange peel, then lightly roasted it over a fire, filling the air with fragrance. He then took a white porcelain cup, filtered the brewed orange tea through the orange peel, poured a cup, and handed it to Wang Yuying.
Wang Yuying accepted the tea with both hands, took a sip, and found it to be warm but not hot, with a rich aroma of both tea and fruit.
Hugu poured himself a cup, took a sip with one hand, and looked out the window. The lake was covered with layers of silk, the water shimmering and sparkling, a world of crystal.
He squinted: "The scenery in the south is indeed beautiful; there is still such a vast expanse of blue water after the winter solstice."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuying also looked out the window. Before she could admire the scenery for a while, she heard Hugu continue, "The snow scene in Hangzhou is even more spectacular. When the West Lake is covered in jade-like snow, the water and sky are both white."
Hasn't he never been to Jiangnan?
As Wang Yuying pondered, she couldn't help but turn her gaze back to Hugu's face. Seeing him gazing out the window with a suppressed smile, the deep meaning in his eyes made her panic, as if she had stepped into thin air.
Wang Yuying instinctively held her breath to avoid her breathing becoming disordered and being noticed by Hugu.
She clenched her fist, recalling the cozy time on the boat just now, and it worked wonders. Soon her tone was full of laughter: "Is the lake in Beidi frozen over by now?"
Hugu Xumi turned around and laughed, "Two months ago, it was already possible to ride horses and carriages in the Apuru Sea. Now is the busiest time for fishing and snorkeling."
The Northern Di people called the perpetually frozen lakes "seas" and fished by digging holes in the ice. The men of the Northern Di royal family were trained from a young age to jump into the ice holes and swim and float in the icy water.
When Wang Yuying recalled meeting Hugu, it was after they had already rescued Xu Heng from the ice cave. Later, she let it slip while drinking, and Hugu, upon learning this, slammed his fist on the table in a panic: "If we had met earlier, I could have rescued my brother in no time, and my sister-in-law wouldn't have had to suffer that ordeal!"
Wang Yuying's eyelids were sore, and she took a long time to make the simple gesture of raising her eyes. She silently watched Hugu and saw him slowly lift his lowered eyes and look over. Their eyes met, and they remained silent.
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