Chapter 24 In a Dream

Shen Yan estimated the time and poured a cup of tea into the brazier before Ming Jue led Pei Zixing over.

After he restored the room to its original state, he pushed the door open at the right time, and the heat wave hit him.

"Why is it so hot?"

Strange, according to common sense, it should be cooler inside the house than outside at this time.

Pei Zixing saw a row of porridge bubbling on the round table and the sweat on Shen Yan's forehead.

"Zhiyu, did you cook porridge in your room?"

"And you cooked so many bowls?"

"I know you have always been outstanding, but you don't have to be so eager to win. I just praised Miss Ning, so you have to surpass her in porridge cooking skills."

"People should allow themselves to have shortcomings." Pei Zixing said earnestly.

"How come?"

Shen Yan glanced at the porridge on the table helplessly, with a hint of melancholy in his tone.

"I don't know why Ning Yuan suddenly sent so many different kinds of steaming porridge. I can't finish it all by myself."

It's hotter and more than what she sent you.

"It turned out to be sent by Miss Ning. I said it smelled so delicious." Pei Zixing sat down generously, "So you want me to share it with you?"

Ming Jue was eager to try: "Sir, I think I can also take on such an important task!"

"That's not necessary." Shen Yan sat down, supporting himself with one hand, "I just want you to have a look."

Pei Zixing: "..."

Ming Jue: "..."

*

Shen Yan's request was not excessive, but Ning Yuan was indeed a little worried.

The first step in frying and stir-frying is to pour oil.

She had seen the chef cooking in the small kitchen, and what she feared most was putting the food in the pot after pouring oil.

The collision of oil and water at that moment always made her think of the hot oil splashing out of the pot, splashing onto her arms, and giving her several big blisters.

She stood in front of the prepared ingredients, thinking sadly: she was most afraid of pain.

Shouxing at the side took the initiative to ask: "Miss, how about I help you make it, and don't let it slip when you give it to Mr. Shen."

"Not so good." Ning Yuan hesitated, "The most important thing for a person is to keep his word. He has done me a favor, and if I don't repay this favor as soon as possible, I will be punished sooner or later."

"No, it's not that serious..." "

Why not? He always said that he would come to our house to propose marriage after returning to Beijing, but now he doesn't even know what love is. If I really marry him like this, wouldn't it be a disaster?"

"In fact, it doesn't matter if you don't understand. As long as he is a good person and treats you well, and the two of us respect each other, isn't that enough?" Shouxing said puzzledly, "Many couples have lived like this for their whole lives."

"Not enough."

Ning Yuan answered as he mustered up the courage to pour the ribs into the slightly warm oil, then quickly hid to the other side of the kitchen.

"Look at my father and mother. The servants in the mansion said that they used to respect each other. My father also took care of her politely and never had a quarrel."

"But he doesn't care. When my mother was sick, he knew to ask a doctor, but he never took care of her personally."

"My mother died, leaving me alone in the world, so he passed on this indifference to me."

"You say he is a very bad person, but that's not entirely true." This book is exclusively compiled by the LK team for you. "At least he allowed me to live a worry-free life for more than ten years, and he also maintained a good future for me in his eyes, and didn't let my stepmother ruin it." As she said this, she lowered her eyes and ruffled her handkerchief, "That is, this relationship with the Shen family."

"But you know better than anyone what kind of life I led in the mansion."

"Miss..."

Chuxing was a little moved, and then he smelled something wrong.

Ning Yuan was immersed in her own world, and she forgot about the ribs: "So, I still want to marry a man who has deep feelings for me, who can do his best to turn the tide when I am in trouble, instead of just doing superficial work and letting everything happen naturally."

"Miss..." Chuxing tugged at her sleeve.

"Don't interrupt me, let me finish my words."

"If Dad could care more about Mom, maybe she wouldn't have passed away so early."

She couldn't let herself repeat the same mistake.

If Shen Yan really wanted to marry her, he had to truly understand his feelings for her.

"By the way, what did you want to tell me just now?"

Suo Xing pointed at the stove and said weakly, "The ribs seem to be burnt..."

Ning Yuan's eyes suddenly widened, and he hurried back to the stove: "It's over, there is only this ingredient left today, I'm afraid I can't make it again... Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It was the young lady who didn't allow anyone to interrupt..."

Ning Yuan was holding the already burnt sweet and sour ribs and knocked on Shen Yan's door, feeling a little nervous. But

he never thought that the room was very lively, not only him, but also Ming Jue and General Pei were there, and they seemed to be discussing something.

She thought of the charcoal pork ribs in the lunch box, and felt that God was helping her. She blinked and said, "Since everyone has something to discuss, I will come back another day, another day..."

After that, she glanced at Shen Yan guiltily.

Seeing that he had no intention of keeping her, she felt relieved and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, General Pei took the initiative to speak: "Miss Ning, please stay."

He leaned forward and saw the food box in Ning Yuan's hand: "Are you here to deliver food?"

"Ah... yes." She smiled reluctantly, "But I see that you don't seem to have this intention, how about next time--"

"How come?" Pei Zixing walked forward and took the food box from her hand enthusiastically, "We were discussing the arrangements for the dinner, and we are all a little hungry. You came at the right time."

In a moment, there was a snow-white porcelain plate in his hand. The plate was filled with black blocks, which made it difficult for him to distinguish for a moment. There seemed to be a faint aroma of vinegar and syrup mixed with charcoal fire.

But since it was made by Miss Ning, it must be good.

He was a man who knew his limits. He knew that this dish was brought by Ning Yuan to Shen Yan, so he placed the porcelain plate in front of him.

"Zhiyu, don't you want to try it?"

Ning Yuan glanced at Shen Yan secretly.

For some reason, he looked a little hesitant.

Under the table, Shen Yan clenched his sleeves.

The dish in front of him was what he asked her to make yesterday.

It was for the purpose of showing off in front of them today.

He knew that the dish was mushy before, so he didn't stop her from leaving.

But now, Pei Zixing forced this dish in front of him.

If he eats it, he is torturing himself; if he doesn't eat it, it seems that he and Ning Yuan have some deep hatred, which is contrary to his original intention.

Finally, under the eager eyes of the crowd, he picked up the chopsticks.

As soon as his teeth touched the ribs, he froze.

What is that?

It's as hard as a piece of wood.

Other people's dishes are delicious, but hers are devoid of color, fragrance and taste.

"... How is it?" Ning Yuan asked tremblingly.

Shen Yan bit down expressionlessly, and his tongue separated the meat and bones with great difficulty, almost swallowing the woody meat raw.

"Pretty good." He didn't change his expression and spit out a piece of clean bone.

"Really, really?" Ning Yuan seemed a little surprised. She pointed at the black coal in the plate, her black and white eyes shining like stars. "Do you think...it's...delicious?"

He nodded slightly: "It's delicious."

As long as he pretended to be delicious and got away with it, he would win.

After that, Ning Yuan only cooked porridge for Pei Zixing, but she not only cooked porridge for him, but also cooked dishes.

This book is exclusively organized by the LK team for you. Unexpectedly, this question aroused Pei Zixing's interest: "Miss Ning, can I have a taste?"

"Of course you can if the general doesn't mind."

"No."

Ning Yuan and Shen Yan said in unison.

This book is exclusively organized by the LK team for you...Really don't try it.

He really did it for Pei Zixing's good this time.

Pei Zixing frowned: "It would have been fine if you didn't let me drink the porridge yesterday, after all, Miss Ning didn't agree. Why are you still so stingy now that she has agreed?"

"Do you still consider me a friend?"

Thank you, he considered him a friend, and didn't want to see him get food poisoning.

Pei Zixing grabbed the chopsticks before he could speak. He

took a bite and was stunned.

He fell headfirst on the table and spit out the hard-to-swallow thing.

He pushed the plate towards Ning Yuan and said hoarsely: "Miss Ning...you, have you tried it?"

Ning Yuan nodded heavily: "I have tried it, it's very unpalatable."

"But the kitchen didn't have any extra ingredients today, so I thought of bringing it here to try. If he doesn't like it, I'll throw it away. I didn't expect... Lord Shen actually thought it was good." It

was thrown away today, and it was fed to pigs yesterday.

It can be seen that pigs won't eat this thing.

Ning Yuan pursed her lips: "Since you all have tried it, I will not bother you any more. I'll take my leave first."

As soon as Ning Yuan turned out of the door, she said to Chuxing who was waiting outside with emotion: "Actually, I think Shen Yan is quite special."

Shen Yan in the room suddenly remembered what she said that day -

"Like... probably it's that I think you are special, and you think I am special too."

He thought silently, she really likes him more.

Chuxing said, "Miss, you didn't say that before."

Ning Yuan said sadly, "You said my ribs were disgusting, and General Pei also thought they were disgusting, and you both vomited."

Chuxing protested lightly, "Miss, you actually vomited too."

"But Shen Yan ate it, and he even praised me for cooking it well."

Chuxing rarely showed a look of disgust, "...Then Lord Shen is really special."

The girl outside the door gradually faded away with her soft words, and Pei Zixing walked up to Shen Yan and said in disbelief, "Zhiyu, do you really think that dish is delicious?"

"...Yeah." He replied lightly.

In order to show his peculiarity, she added: "It's really delicious."

In the days that followed, Ning Yuan didn't know what was wrong with her. She cooked a dish every day and brought it over, and as always, there were various ways to cook it.

What was even more painful was that she no longer put it down and left.

Instead, she sat aside, watching him eat it all with a smile before stopping.

For Shen Yan, this was simply more cruel than any punishment he had used over the years.

After eating for several days in a row, he lost weight visibly.

Fortunately, he finally made it to the last day of the tour.

After tonight, he will return to Beijing tomorrow.

Before leaving, His Majesty ordered a banquet on the riverside for the local prefect and other officials, and the accompanying relatives were also among them.

Such banquets are usually boring. Only after three rounds of drinking, Pei Zixing and another general's sword duel made Ning Yuan look a few more times.

"Miss, look, General Pei is about to win!"

Ning Yuan shook the fruit wine in her hand and saw the long sword in his hand like a dragon slicing through the sky, his face was firm, and his sword spirit was like a rainbow. She couldn't help but praise him in her heart.

Then she thought that what he really wanted was probably not to dance with swords for the emperor at the banquet, but to wield a long spear and break through the clouds and cut the sky.

Winning or losing should not be that important.

Since the banquet started, Shen Yan has seen Ning Yuan always silent, eating and drinking as usual. He suddenly heard her voice and was still watching Pei Zixing's sword dance.

That was fine, she could even understand what was in his heart.

Shen Yan's gaze fell directly on her, with some displeasure in his eyes.

Ning Yuan stared at her for a long time, and finally noticed his gaze.

She turned her eyes away and glared at him dissatisfiedly.

What are you looking at her for?

Look at the sword!

Shen Yan calmly looked away.

She was so brave that she dared to glare at him now.

What's so good about this sword? It's

not even half

as good as his. Bai Sheng has a good appearance, but he has no taste.

I don't know who picks her clothes on weekdays, they have much better taste than herself.

After the last sword stroke, the winner was decided, the dust settled, and everyone applauded.

Ning Yuan had just finished her meal, so she filled the pot of fruit wine, turned around and said to Shouxing, "Little Star, we should leave

now." She usually left when no one was paying attention to her, and this time was no exception.

At the banquet, His Majesty said, "Mr. Shen's poems are also excellent. On such a beautiful day, why not compose a poem to liven up the atmosphere, hahaha..."

Shen Yan was about to get up, but he saw a pink shadow stand up before him and walk under the willow shade without looking back.

Shen Yan's originally relaxed brows slightly frowned.

... She left the table when she heard her name, what did she mean?

In fact, Ning Yuan didn't pay attention to what His Majesty said.

She only took Shouxing and walked to a huge rock by the river, sat on the green grass, and drank fruit wine in small sips.

Compared to going on patrol, she actually didn't want to go back to the prison-like mansion.

Thinking of having to rely on others in the future, she just felt tired.

"Miss, drink less."

Zhuxing sat beside her, accompanying her silently.

"It doesn't matter. This wine doesn't taste like alcohol. It's no different from fruit juice."

She shook the fruit wine that she had drunk half of.

"Everyone says that drinking alcohol can help you get rid of your sorrow. I am very sad now. I didn't ask the men for stronger wine. Can't I use this fruit juice to get rid of it?"

What Ning Yuan didn't know was that although this wine didn't taste like alcohol, if you drink too much suddenly, you will get drunk.

Since the banquet started, she has already drunk three pots.

But the good thing about this fruit wine is that when you get drunk, there is no sign, neither blushing nor fever.

In addition, she was a good drinker and would not go crazy when drunk. She just felt that her eyelids were heavy.

She touched her cheeks and confirmed that she was not drunk. Finally, she could not stand the dizziness and said to Shouxing beside her: "I am a little sleepy. I will sleep for a while. You can call me later."

Shouxing stood up quickly: "Miss, let's go back..."

Before she finished speaking, she saw Ning Yuan's head tilted and fell asleep on the stone.

Ning Yuan had a messy dream.

In the dream, Shouxing vowed to go to Shushan to learn martial arts, and said that when she returned after learning, he would protect her for the rest of her life. She was so moved that she burst into tears and personally sent Shouxing to the trailhead.

She waited and waited at the foot of the mountain every day, and finally one day, she saw

a figure walking slowly down the mountain. When the figure came closer, it was the returning Shuxing in a white Taoist robe and holding a sword. With

tears in her eyes, she walked up to him and hugged him tightly.

To show her excitement, she rubbed his cheek in a friendly way.

The evening breeze by the river was still a little chilly.

When Shen Yan found Ning Yuan, the little maid who often followed her was shivering with her arms folded, and her coat was covering Ning Yuan.

And Ning Yuan herself was sleeping soundly.

"Master Shen..."

"Why is she sleeping here?" he said in a calm voice.

"The young lady told me to call her later, but I called her several times and she didn't wake up. She just talked in her sleep. I had no choice but to wait here."

Shen Yan glanced at the empty wine bottle beside him, and understood what was going on. After returning the little maid's coat to her, he bent over and hugged Ning Yuan horizontally.

"I'll take her back."

"Thank you, sir." The little maid nodded gratefully.

Shen Yan just took a step forward, and Ning Yuan moved restlessly in his arms, and then her soft cheeks rubbed back and forth on his chest a few times with some satisfaction.

Shen Yan stopped immediately.

He lowered his eyes and saw the beauty in his arms with black hair and snowy skin, her long eyelashes slightly drooping, the soft flesh of her cheeks slightly pressed out a round and full arc in front of him, and the corners of her lips were clearly holding a pure smile, but there was always a bit of seductive coquettishness.

... It felt very strange.

It was like... acting coquettishly.

He quickly adjusted his slightly disordered breathing to a steady state.

Just after taking a few steps, he heard her say, "Why is it getting hard?"

...

How did she know.

This sentence was like a thunderbolt that broke the calm that Shen Yan had been struggling to maintain.

As if his secret was being peeped, he felt like he was holding a hot potato and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

In the dream, Ning Yuan looked at the fairly flat front of the star, and felt that she must have suffered a lot on this trip.

"Let me touch it." She said distressedly.

Then, a slender and white claw climbed onto his chest.

The man's earlobe was already completely red.

After several attempts of forbearance, he finally exhaled slowly, closed his eyes and said: "Take your claw away."

The girl in his arms paused: "What's wrong with touching it? When did you become so stingy, little star?"

The two of them had depended on each other since childhood, and were as close as sisters. When they first started to grow, they watched each other grow up little by little.

"I don't know how many times you've touched me."

Shen Yan felt as if someone had poured a basin of ice water on him from head to toe.

He pursed his lips, his eyes slightly annoyed.

If he wasn't kind, he really wanted to throw the woman in his arms out.

She was clearly taking advantage of him, but she was calling another man's name, and she was calling him so intimately?

Little star?

She was treating him like this now, so what was she doing with him in her dream? !