Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Birthday
Zhe Rou was stunned in surprise.
Xie Yunzhou, however, was at ease and calm, a cheerful smile on his face. He raised his chin towards the room without any hesitation and asked, "Why don't you light the candles?"
Zhe Rou came to her senses, turned around, took out a lighter and went to light the lamp, then smiled and said, "I went to Mao'er Lane to see a patient in the evening and just got back."
"So I came at the right time." Xie Yunzhou smiled and followed her into the house.
The room was not big, but was kept very simply and tidy. The tables and chairs, though half-new and half-old, were polished to a surface free of dust. There were no extra decorations in the room, only a porcelain vase on the corner of the table with a few fresh hollyhocks in it.
The small room is filled with the breath of her life. It is clean and tidy, and the faint scent of apricot blossoms on her body makes people feel at ease for no reason.
Unlike in Taozhou, the little house was filled with not only her scent, but also Lu Chen's. It was obvious that they were a young and passionate couple, and it would be unnecessary for others to even go in as guests.
Zhe Rou lit the lights in the house. The candlelight was dim all around, and a soft layer of warm color fell on her temples. A dark and shiny luster floated between her hair, reflecting her plain clothes and skirt, giving her a sense of tranquility and peace.
Xie Yunzhou raised the corners of his lips slightly, walked to the table, put down the jar of wine in his hand, picked up a small bag of newly bought flour, lifted the partition curtain, and rushed into the kitchen.
Zhe Rou hesitated for a moment, but finally followed him worriedly, "Can you knead the dough? Why don't I do it?"
...so as not to waste the good white flour.
Xie Yunzhou heard the implication of her words and couldn't help but laugh angrily. He turned around and raised his eyebrows and glanced at her, "Who are you looking down on?"
Zhe Rou naturally didn't expect a young man like him, who was raised in a wealthy family, to be able to understand cooking. She thought it was good enough that he could cook, so she just smiled and let him do what he wanted.
However, unexpectedly, the rich aroma of noodles soon wafted from the kitchen.
After sniffing it carefully, it was clearly the smell of stir-fried pork noodles in soup, which is unique to Taozhou.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't surprised. Zhe Rou stood up and walked to the door. Through the swirling white mist, she saw Xie Yunzhou's focused figure at a glance.
He was clearly a proud and uninhibited young man of noble rank, drawing his bow and reining in his horse. He was even wearing a tight-fitting martial arts robe, but he looked like an ordinary citizen, with a piece of plain cloth wrapped around his waist, busy cooking a bowl of noodles in front of the stove with skillful movements.
The dim light was filled with mist, which softened his heroic features.
This scene was too homely and warm. The hot mist in the kitchen seemed to flow down through the skin and into the blood, soothing the heart and lungs silently. Zherou's heart was suddenly moved.
But it was only a moment, elusive and fleeting.
She didn't look any further and turned back to the hall.
Xie Yunzhou quickly brought out a bowl of hot noodle soup and looked at her proudly: "Come, try my cooking skills."
His tone was light and contented, but he couldn't hide the nervousness in his eyes.
Zhe Rou smiled, picked up the chopsticks, lowered her head and tasted a mouthful of noodles.
The taste is actually quite good, very similar to the snacks at the noodle stalls in Taozhou.
"How could you do this?"
"That year I was recuperating in Taozhou. I had nothing to do anyway, so I learned a noodle from the lady at the West Street Noodle House. How's it? Not bad, right?"
Xie Yunzhou laughed happily, raised his foot to hook a chair over, sat down opposite Zhe Rou, and poured her another glass of wine, "The best small-scale pearl red in Suzhou City, not intoxicating."
Zhe Rou smiled and nodded, her face was made delicate and warm by the mist, and a few strands of hair fell down with her movements, touching the slightly flushed half of her cheek, making her look even more gentle.
Xie Yunzhou was busy for a while, and after smelling the smell of the kitchen for a long time, he had no appetite for food. He leaned lazily in the chair, took an egg from the small plate and began to peel it. His eyes inadvertently swept across the fair profile reflected on the porcelain plate, and he curled the corners of his lips unconsciously, then turned his eyes away as if nothing had happened.
"Come on, eat another egg. It will make you round and round. Bad luck will go away and good luck will come."
They were all auspicious words to coax children, but he taught him to say them in a serious tone.
Zhe Rou took the egg, raised her head and smiled sincerely, "Ming Qi, thank you for your birthday gift."
"Who said this was a birthday gift?"
Zhe Rou was startled, then saw Xie Yunzhou take out a small wooden box from his arms and handed it to her, raising his eyebrows slightly, "This one counts."
She opened the wooden box and saw what was inside.
It was a pair of simple silver bracelets, a relic left to her by her mother.
That year, the Qiang people attacked the city, and the pair of silver bracelets were lost in the chaos. But she was in a hurry to escape at the time, and she couldn't let the guards risk their lives for her pair of bracelets. After the Qiang soldiers retreated, she searched back and forth along the road countless times, thinking that she would never find them again.
Zhe Rou gently stroked the engraved patterns on the thick silver, her throat slightly choked, "How come this bracelet is with you?"
Since the fall of Taozhou City that year, Xie Yunzhou has been searching for the pair of bracelets for almost two years. He originally wanted to find an opportunity to hand them over to Lu Chen through the shop under the name of the Lu family without anyone noticing, but he didn't expect that something unexpected would happen between them first.
Xie Yunzhou glanced at her, a lazy smile on his lips, and said lightly: "What a coincidence, the manor collected some things at the beginning of the year. I kept them because they looked like yours, and now they are back to their original owner."
Zhe Rou was grateful and said softly after a while: "Ming Qi, thank you very much."
Xie Yunzhou raised his lips and smiled.
After chatting for a while, Zhe Rou finished her birthday noodles. Seeing that it was getting late, Xie Yunzhou packed up his bowls and prepared to go back.
Zhe Rou curved her lips and smiled, then stood up to see him off.
She had been drinking and when she stood up suddenly, her feet were a little unsteady and she was tripped by her skirt. She instinctively reached out to hold the table, but unexpectedly, a pair of arms stretched out from the side to support her, allowing her to hold on firmly.
Xie Yunzhou's body paused slightly. Through the thin summer shirt, her palms were as soft as warm jade.
Being so close, she could smell the clean scent of soapberries on his body. Zhe Rou clearly felt the muscles of his arm tense under her palm. His arm was lean and strong, revealing the vigorous power of a young man.
She had only ever had Lu Chen as her husband. Even when she was practicing medicine, she would come into contact with other men, but she rarely got this close. Zhe Rou felt uncomfortable for a moment, and hurriedly let go of her hand and stood up straight.
Xie Yunzhou lowered his eyes and glanced at him, pursing his thin lips.
He wanted to reach out to steady her, but knowing it was inappropriate, he suppressed the urge. He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white, but he looked unconcerned and said briskly, "Then I'll be leaving first. You should get some rest."
Zhe Rou didn't look at him again, just nodded in agreement.
After leaving the courtyard, Zhou Xiao was waiting by the side. He glanced at his master uncomfortably and said with a light cough, "Master, there's a letter from the Lu family's young master."
Xie Yunzhou was originally in a good mood, but upon hearing this, he paused, a sense of foreboding forming in his heart. He turned to look at Zhou Xiao warily, "What are you writing for?"
Zhou Xiao scratched his face and said with a stiff face, "I want to ask you if you know who was the one who rescued people from the bandits on the Bian River. Have you ever seen..." He paused, his eyes drifting towards the courtyard, and said carefully, "Where is that person?"
Xie Yunzhou was silent for a long time, and then he said with difficulty: "...I don't know, I haven't seen it."
After giving the order, Xie Yunzhou subconsciously turned his head and looked behind him. Looking at the dim lights in the courtyard, he couldn't help but curse softly. Why did he feel so guilty?
Late at night, at the post station a hundred miles away, thunder rumbled and rain poured down.
Lu Chen had just changed the medicine on his wound and hadn't even closed his clothes when he received Xie Yunzhou's reply. He took the paper and quickly scanned it. While he felt relieved, a lingering melancholy filled his eyes.
I had previously pried some information out of Chen San's mouth, and knew that she had not fallen into the hands of the pirates.
Now that he had read the reply, if he guessed correctly, not only was she safe and sound, but Xie Yunzhou also knew her whereabouts and even had contact with her.
He knew very well how much Xie Yunzhou loved her. If Xie Yunzhou really didn't know her whereabouts, how could he not ask for the reason and show concern for her safety in his reply?
Before she left, she specifically asked for a divorce letter. It was obvious that she had made up her mind to have nothing to do with him anymore. She even thought of a way out of marriage. If it had been any later, she might have married herself off!
Thinking of this, Lu Chen suddenly felt something tightening in his chest, and the image of her being intimate with the strange man appeared uncontrollably in front of his eyes. He didn't dare to think about it, but it kept replaying in his mind like self-torture.
Imagining her watery eyes, slender neck, and her soft moans and gasps in bed, Lu Chen felt the blood rushing to his head, his vision went dark in an instant, and jealousy rose fiercely in his chest, almost burning him to death.
Who else would she want to marry besides him? Dream on!
She can only be his mistress.
Unable to bear it any longer, Lu Chen casually pulled the collar of his clothes and tied it up, then called Nan Heng and said through gritted teeth, "Prepare the horses, and go to Suzhou!"
**
Zhe Rou was slightly tipsy and slept soundly until the next morning when she was awakened by the sound of rustling rain outside the window.
After getting up and packing her things, she opened her umbrella and went to the pharmacy to work.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the hospital, I saw a bunch of wild flowers placed crookedly at the door. The color of the flowers was not very particular, with pink and white mixed together, but they were very neatly arranged. Even the leaves seemed to have been specially trimmed and tied clumsily with straw.
Zhe Rou was stunned. It was raining in the early morning and there was no one around.
After looking and thinking for a while, she remembered someone.
Year after year.
Zhe Rou's heart softened, and she couldn't help but feel that her current life was very good and comfortable, and she was happy in her heart.
In the evening, Zhe Rou came back from the pharmacy and was washing clothes in the yard when she suddenly heard someone knocking on the gate.
"Nine Lady."
Hearing Ye Yian's voice, she wiped her hands, got up and opened the door.
Outside the door, Ye Yian was holding a white fish strung with a straw rope in one hand and a large bunch of lotus leaves filled with several fresh and juicy peaches in the other.
Zhe Rou was stunned for a moment, then invited him in.
"Nineth Lady." Ye Yian smiled, his neck slightly red, his expression sincere. "I, I just found out that yesterday was your birthday, and I came to give you a birthday gift."
Zhe Rou couldn't help but laugh and reached out to take the rope, "Thank you."
The brilliant evening light was filtered through the lush branches and leaves of the jujube tree in the yard, and fell to the ground in mottled colors.
Her sleeves were tied with loops, revealing two slender, white arms, which looked like the finest oriental pearls and soft jade, and under the golden sunset, they emitted a delicate and soft luster that was dazzling to the eyes.
葉以安的脖頸更紅了，緊張道：“還有這桃子，新，新鮮可人，味道很好。”
折柔看向他手裏的一捧荷葉，眼中猶豫一瞬，正要開口道謝，院門處，一道她熟悉至極的聲音冷冷響起。
“她最不愛吃的便是白魚，更碰不得桃子。”
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