Chapter 62 A Kiss on a Snowy Night

"You...you wait a moment."

Jiang Yanyi left this sentence, suddenly turned around and ran out of the yard.

Every time she came to Feng Shuo's place, Xing Yao would very consciously go out and stay with the guards at the gate of the yard. He usually would not enter the house unless Feng Shuo called him.

Seeing Jiang Yanyi running out of the yard in a hurry, although Xing Yao was surprised, he still clasped his fists and said, "Miss Jiang, are you leaving?"

Jiang Yanyi shook her head, "No. I want to ask you, did he eat longevity noodles today?"

This "he" can only be Feng Shuo.

There was a hint of doubt in Xing Yao's eyes: "Longevity noodles?"

Xing Yao's attitude made Jiang Yanyi feel a little strange. He was Feng Shuo's personal bodyguard, but he didn't know that today was Feng Shuo's birthday?

But before Jiang Yanyi could ask again, Feng Shuo suddenly appeared at the gate and said to her directly: "I'll take you home."

Feng Shuo's behavior obviously didn't want her to ask too many questions. Jiang Yanyi could only suppress her doubts.

She wanted Feng Shuo to go back to his room to rest, but when she thought that he took the initiative to send her home, he might have something to say to her on the way, so she didn't refuse.

The dusk enveloped the world, and the lantern in Feng Shuo's hand cast a small halo of light. He walked in front, and the night wind blew the lantern gently, and the shadow cast on the ground also became swaying.

Jiang Yanyi fell half a step behind him.

They were silent all the way.

After passing another gate with hanging flowers, it was the main gate of Feng Mansion. Feng Shuo still didn't speak. Jiang Yanyi couldn't help asking him, "Your birthday...how come no one in the mansion seems to know?"

As a vassal king, it was his birthday, so how could these shrewd people in the Xizhou government not come to him to give gifts? The more Jiang Yanyi thought about it, the more strange it seemed.

Feng Shuo stopped and turned his head slightly to look at her. His upturned phoenix eyes were seductive and stunning under the halo of the lantern, but the self-mockery in his eyes was equally shocking.

He was smiling, a smile that was slightly cool, like broken ice on a lake in the middle of winter shining under the sun.

"What they remember is not my birthday, but the prince's birthday."

The prince's birthday?

Jiang Yanyi didn't understand what he said.

A plum tree near the Chuihua Gate has already sprouted many buds, cold and charming, but not as stunning as his frown.

"My mother gave birth to me the year the prince was assassinated during his southern tour. The late emperor could not accept the fact that the prince was dead, and for a time he treated me as the prince in his childhood. After that, every birthday I celebrated was the prince's birthday."

He said it calmly, and that chaotic and gloomy memory passed through his mind like a shadow play.

After the death of Empress Yuan, the late emperor became violent and erratic. Every year, the palace selected beauties with the portrait of Empress Yuan. The women who entered the palace all had some of Empress Yuan's shadow on them. The source of his mother's pain in her life may be because she had the same face as Empress Yuan.

When he was young, he also looked like the young prince.

After the death of the prince, the late emperor deceived himself for a while and asked his mother to pretend to be the Empress Yuan and treat him as the young prince, so as to preserve the thought that the late emperor's wife and children were still alive. From then on, the prince's birthday became his birthday,

and it was the same every year. Even if his real birth date was on the jade disc, who dared to disobey the late emperor?

When the late emperor was in the play, he wanted to pick all the stars in the sky for the mother and son. After waking up, he felt guilty towards the Empress Yuan and her son, and he either beat or scolded him and his mother. It seemed that only by punishing them could the late emperor offset his guilt towards the Empress Yuan and her son.

Royal scandals must not be spread, and for so many years, everyone has regarded the former prince's birthday as his birthday.

In the past, it was his mother who remembered his birthday, but now she has lost her mind and no longer recognizes him.

If Fuxi hadn't prepared a red envelope for him this morning, he wouldn't have had his real birthday.

Feng Shuo looked up at the sky full of sparse stars and smiled lightly, using nonchalance to cover up the loss that he couldn't explain: "It's just a birthday. It's not like if you miss this year, you won't be able to wait until next year. There's still a long life

ahead. What does it matter whether you make it or not..." He couldn't say the rest because Jiang Yanyi hugged him from behind.

Feng Shuo was stunned for a long time before he lowered his eyes to look at the pair of delicate hands clasped around his waist.

His mind went blank for a moment before he regained some consciousness and pretended to joke: "Jiang Yanyi, what are you doing?"

Jiang Yanyi leaned her cheek against his back and said with some heartache: "Feng Shuo, happy birthday!"

"As long as I'm still here, I'll help you celebrate your birthday every year, okay?"

Feng Shuo didn't say anything, but suddenly threw away the lantern, grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

His cloak was very wide, and it was more than enough to wrap Jiang Yanyi in it. The biting cold wind was completely blocked outside the cloak. Jiang Yanyi's breath was full of the dry soap scent on his body. Her face rested lightly on his shoulder, and it was at this moment that Jiang Yanyi realized that he looked thin, but his shoulders were very broad.

The world was silent, and the embrace lasted for a long time.

The lantern fell to the ground, and the candlelight quickly burned the paper cage.

Jiang Yanyi saw it and hurried to put out the fire, but Feng Shuo's hand on her waist did not mean to loosen.

"Don't move."

"The lantern is on fire!"

"No matter."

"Oh."

The firelight reflected the two people hugging each other, and under the night sky, large flakes of flying snow slowly fell to the world.

Fine snow fell on Jiang Yanyi's long eyelashes, cheeks, and hair. She blinked lightly, and the snowflakes melted with a biting cold.

She looked up in surprise: "Feng Shuo, it's snowing!"

Feng Shuo also looked up to see the first snow in early winter, "Yes, it's snowing."

When he lowered his eyes, he raised his hand to gently brush away the snow on Jiang Yanyi's hair. Looking at her beautiful smile, his throat moved, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead, devoutly and solemnly.

His lips were warm, and the snow on his face was cool. Jiang Yanyi's eyelashes fluttered several times, her heart was pounding, and her brain seemed to be unable to think.

When Feng Shuo stepped back, his ears, hidden in the night, were already red, but his tone was calm: "If it's any later, there will be curfew, I'll take you home."

The previous words asking her to stay were just words spoken on impulse. As a young girl, if she did not return home at night, she would inevitably be gossiped about. Rumors

are not knives, but they are more powerful than knives. How could he bear to let her fall into such criticism. Jiang Yanyi glanced at the sky. It was about to be the time of the night. Three o'clock was the curfew. She pursed her lips and said, "You haven't eaten the longevity noodles yet. I will go back and make you a bowl of longevity noodles." Feng Shuo thought for a while and said, "You don't have to send it over when it's ready. I will go there myself." Jiang Yanyi knew that he did this for his own reputation. He was of noble status, so even if he was bumped into by the night patrol officers and soldiers, no one dared to ask anything, so he nodded. Feng Shuo walked Jiang Yanyi all the way to the gate. The gateman was smart. Seeing that they didn't have lanterns, he took another one for Jiang Yanyi. Yang Xiu and Bing Shao always waited until Jiang Yanyi closed the shop before returning to the inn before curfew. Jiang Yanyi was afraid that they had seen something, so she told Chu Changping and did not let Feng Shuo send her off again. She planned to tell Chu Changping about her and Feng Shuo in person. Before that, she did not want Chu Changping to hear any rumors to avoid him worrying too much. It was the first time that Jiang Yanyi came back from Feng Mansion so late. Although Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were a little worried, Jiang Yanyi was the master. If she did not say anything, they, as waiters and guards, did not dare to ask too much. Seeing that Jiang Yanyi returned safely, they returned to the inn. Qiu Kui had already put the charcoal basin in the room for Jiang Yanyi. She was wearing a quilted vest over her skirt. She rubbed her hands and breathed, "Hua Hua, it's snowing, it's so cold." Since she opened the shop with Jiang Yanyi, Qiu Kui has been eating well and sleeping well. She has become plump at a visible speed. The winter clothes that Jiang Yanyi bought for her are now a little tight and not very convenient to wear when working. "I'll ask Mrs. Chen to make you a thicker winter jacket later. Go back to your room and sleep. You'll be busy tomorrow." Jiang Yanyi said as he rummaged through the boxes in the room and found a pair of knee pads. This kneepad was originally made for Chu Changping. Now that it was Feng Shuo's birthday, she didn't have time to prepare any expensive gifts, so she could only give this to Feng Shuo. Although it was not expensive, it was sewn by her stitch after all, and it was inlaid with rabbit fur, so it was very warm. "Huahua, aren't you going to sleep yet?" Qiu Kui asked with a yawn. "I'll hang up the soup for tomorrow, you go to sleep first." Jiang Yanyi took the kneepad out of the cabinet and placed it on the bedside. Jiang Yanyi would hang soup every night. Qiu Kui didn't suspect anything and just asked, "Huahua, why did you take out the knee pads?" "I'll sew the remaining two stitches while I watch the fire later. Having something to do can help me wake up from my sleepiness." "Then I'll go to bed first. Huahua, don't stay up too late. Call me if you need help." As he spoke, Qiu Kui yawned again and turned back to his own room. Perhaps because he was guilty, Jiang Yanyi was relieved to see Qiu Kui leave. Now that the weather is cold, she would put a charcoal basin in her room at night, so Jiang Yanyi put the parrot in her room. At this time, the parrot had fallen asleep on the small branch in the cage. Jiang Yanyi threw a grain of rice into its feeding trough, and it only moved its eyelids and continued to sleep. Seeing the parrot, she couldn't help but think of the parrot's owner, and Jiang Yanyi's mouth corners rose unconsciously. She wrapped up the knee pads and put them on the corner of the table, then closed the door and went to the kitchen. Before kneading the noodles, Jiang Yanyi first used a clay pot to cook a dried scallop, pork ribs and bamboo fungus soup. Dried scallops enhance the freshness, and bamboo fungus, as one of the "eight treasures of grass", has high nutritional value and medicinal value. This soup is boiled to make the soup base for noodles, which is fresh, fragrant and rich, and the taste is needless to say. The reason why longevity noodles are called "longevity noodles" is that the noodles in this bowl are a whole strand and cannot be broken in the middle. Jiang Yanyi is an absolute expert at kneading dough. From the toughness to the strength, she can always get it just right. Kneading dough requires a solid foundation of basic skills, that is, whether the dough can be rolled as thin as a hair. Jiang Yanyi does have this skill, but when making noodles for daily consumption, there is no need to show off by rolling the dough that thin. It takes some time to make the soup, and Jiang Yanyi is a little worried that Feng Shuo will come too early and there will be nothing to eat. After she made the noodles, she kept an eye on the movements outside the house, but outside, apart from the occasional barking of one or two dogs in the distance, there was only the occasional sound of soldiers passing by on night patrol. Feng Shuo said before that he would come over, was he lying to her so that she would be obedient and come back? Jiang Yanyi looked at the clay pot on the stove, which was boiling with water, and felt a little confused for a moment. The dungeon of Feng Mansion. A gust of wind blew in from the skylight, and the lantern hanging on the wall flickered twice. A man in black sneaked in quietly and stopped in front of the cell where Fan Yaonian was imprisoned. Fan Yaonian was severely punished, and his whole body was huddled in a pile of straw, with unkempt hair and dirty face. When he noticed someone outside the cell, he was startled at first, but when the man in black pulled off his veil, his expression turned into ecstasy. His feet were covered in blood, and he couldn't stand up. He almost crawled to the cell door: "Hurry up and save me!" The man in black looked at him as if he was looking at a dead object. Noticing the other party's indifference, Fan Yaonian also quickly discovered that something was wrong. A flash of fear flashed in his eyes: "No... Impossible... His Majesty still has to rely on the Fan family, he won't kill me..." He tried to retreat with his hands, but the man in black grabbed the iron chain on his body. Fan Yaonian was dragged back by the man in black like a dead dog, and the cold iron chain with a bloody smell was wrapped around his neck. "Help!" Fan Yaonian just shouted a word, and the man in black suddenly tightened the iron chain. Fan Yaonian grabbed the iron chain at his neck with one hand, stretched back with the other hand, and tried to grab the man in black. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. His eyes turned white, and his strength to grab became weaker and weaker. When he waved his hand for the last time, he accidentally pulled off a token from the man in black. At this time, there were chaotic footsteps outside the dungeon, "An assassin sneaked into the dungeon!" Fan Yaonian was completely motionless. The man in black looked outside in panic, stretched out his hand to feel Fan Yaonian's breath, and confirmed that the man was really dead, and then evacuated. The jailers rushed into the cell and saw that Fan Yaonian had an iron chain around his neck and was already dead. The man in black killed Fan Yaonian and headed straight for the west wing of Feng's mansion. There was another person who had to be killed after crossing this yard. However, the man in black stopped after entering the west wing. When he saw the person sitting in the pavilion, he felt as if he was facing a powerful enemy.

He weighed the options for a moment, turned around and was about to run back, but Xing Yao had already blocked all the retreat routes with his soldiers, and even the other two walls were full of archers.

Tonight, it was a trap.

The man in black was like a trapped beast that was forced into a desperate situation. With a look of hatred in his eyes, he ran straight to the wall that separated Jiang Yanyi's yard and the west wing.

As long as he climbed over that wall and captured Jiang's daughter, he would still have a chance of survival.

He was very good at Qinggong, and he kicked the wall and was about to climb over it, but a tea lid was suddenly thrown out from the pavilion and hit him in the back.

The cup lid was round and not sharp, but at this moment it broke through the flesh like a sharp weapon. The force of a thousand pounds seemed to shatter the spine of the man in black, and the whole person fell straight down, hitting the ground with a loud noise.

The snow was falling heavily, and a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the ground. A large amount of blood gushed out from under the man in black, dyeing the snow on the ground red.

Feng Shuo walked out of the pavilion slowly and took a look at the dead man in black.

Xing Yao stepped forward and handed Feng Shuo a token: "Master, this person is the chief eunuch."

The cold wind blew for a long time today, Feng Shuo covered his lips and coughed twice: "The Fan family's spies saw it clearly."

Xing Yao nodded: "I'm afraid that the secret report that the emperor sent someone to kill Fan Yaonian is already on the way to the capital."

Feng Shuo said: "Let them fight each other for a while."

Fan Yaonian fell into his hands, Xie Zhizhou had been imprisoned, and the Turkic prince was being hunted down these days. How could the new emperor not be panicked.

If Fan Yaonian revealed that the collusion with the Turks was instigated by the new emperor, the new emperor's throne would really be unstable.

The only way was to make Fan Yaonian never speak again.

The new emperor wanted Fan Yaonian to die, but Fan Wei had already lost his youngest son. If his eldest son died again, he would be left with no son, so he would naturally try every means to save his son.

Let Fan Wei's own people see that it was the new emperor who killed Fan Yaonian. It would be strange if Fan Wei could still be loyal to the new emperor after having his son killed twice.

The capital was in chaos, and the new emperor had no time to send troops to Xizhou. His people could also take advantage of the chaos to take out the Chu family and Madam Jiang and her son.

While waiting for the soup to boil, Jiang Yanyi took the knee pads to the stove and embroidered a few delicate cloud patterns.

She was startled when a loud noise came from outside the courtyard wall. She listened carefully for a moment, and no sound came again.

She was worried so she took the lamp and went outside to check around. Qiu Kui was always a deep sleeper. In her own words, even thunder in the middle of the night could not wake her up, so this little noise did not wake Qiu Kui.

Jiang Yanyi did not find anything unusual, so he went back to the kitchen.

The soup was almost done. Jiang Yanyi was not sure whether Feng Shuo would come, but seeing that there was still an hour and a half before midnight, she thought about it and decided to continue cooking the noodles.

Whether he came or not was his business, but whether she cooked or not was her intention.

After the noodles were boiled in clear water, they were put into a large bowl with dried scallops, spare ribs and bamboo fungus soup as the base. A fried egg was placed on top, and a few slices of green vegetables that had been boiled in water were placed on top. A little chopped green onion was sprinkled on top, and a bowl of longevity noodles was ready.

Feng Shuo still hadn't come. Jiang Yanyi couldn't help but run to the store in front, opened the door a little and looked out.

Could it be that Feng Shuo had actually been here?

But she didn't hear him knocking on the door because she was in the kitchen?

Jiang Yanyi had all kinds of thoughts popping up in her mind, and it was at this moment that she realized that this was how she felt when she was worried about someone.

Without waiting for Feng Shuo, she walked back a little disappointed.

When passing by the yard, she suddenly found that there seemed to be someone standing on the wall.

Jiang Yanyi raised the oil lamp in her hand and saw that the person on the wall was wearing a dragon robe and jade belt. It was Feng Shuo.

Feng Shuo didn't expect to be bumped into by Jiang Yanyi when he was climbing over the wall. He was a little embarrassed. He jumped lightly from the top of the wall and landed on the ground. He coughed and said, "It's more hidden this way."

Jiang Yanyi glanced at his clean cloak and found that it was not the one he wore before.

She was holding the oil lamp, with a subtle look.

Did he accidentally fall down when he was climbing the wall? So he went back to change his clothes?