Chapter 127 New Year's Eve, Ah Wan, can you please not divorce?
Morning light streamed in, and his hand, numb from the pressure, moved. Lu Tingwan, exhausted, also leaned to the side but didn't move. Cheng Xianzhi carefully pulled his hand away. In her sleep, she heard the rustling of clothes on the clothes rack. As if she knew he was leaving, she buried her face in the pillow and muttered indistinctly, "It's getting late for court now."
Cheng Xianzhi turned back, his hands still wrapped around his belt, "You should sleep a little longer."
She pried open her eyelids and said softly, "I came back to accompany you, but you want to leave."
"Can't bear to leave?" He leaned over and cupped the half-hidden cheek. The teeth marks on the neck were particularly glaring against the white skin.
Lu Tingwan tried hard to open her eyes and looked at him innocently.
"If you like, I can stay."
Lu Tingwan smiled.
"For three days, don't go anywhere, just stay here, okay?" Gentleness can melt people.
"Three days?" Lu Tingwan blushed, pulling up the blanket to hide her face, revealing only a pair of seductive eyes. "Will it be a little longer?"
The hands on his waist untied the belt he had just tied. Seeing him taking off his clothes, Lu Tingwan's cheeks flushed, but her reaction was very honest. Her eyes were filled with anticipation, without any concealment.
"Just try it, and you'll know." The lines of the chest came into view, and the two bodies were wrapped in the quilt. The rolling red waves surged, sparrows landed on the window frames, and the movement in the room was suppressed.
Faintly mixed with the noise outside the window, she muffled her voice, "You, be quieter..."
Cheng Xianzhi paused and asked, "How about this? Are you feeling better?"
"Um……"
After a while, it was his voice again, "How about this, what do you think, Ah Wan?"
"OK!"
Lu Tingwan felt that he looked more like her concubine and couldn't help but laugh. Cheng Xianzhi half-raised himself, wanting to crush her fiercely, but for her comfort, he suppressed his crazy greed. "What are you laughing at?"
"Minister Xiao Cheng is quite gentle and considerate when it comes to sex." Lu Tingwan deliberately teased him.
He also agreed, not arguing with her, "As long as you are willing, anything is fine."
She seemed to see his fear in his cold eyes. For some reason, the joy at the moment dispelled her doubts, and she didn't think about it any further.
For three days, the two of them did not leave Yansheng Hall. Han Zhou was also tactful and did not bother the mansion. The spies sent out kept an eye on the movements of the Duke's Mansion and the Minister of the Central Secretariat's Mansion.
The day to enter the palace has arrived. The two of them made love late last night and Lu Tingwan couldn't get up. Cheng Xianzhi held her in his arms to wash and brush her teeth, and Lu Tingwan became a little more sober.
While sitting in the carriage, she was still dozing off. Cheng Xianzhi sat close to her, hugged her in his arms and leaned her against his shoulder, saying with pity, "How can I serve you when I haven't even slept well myself?"
"If you want to leave the palace, tell me and I will arrange it."
Lu Tingwan suddenly woke up, "Huh? I can go out as soon as I take a break."
Cheng Xianzhi wasn't referring to this. "After leaving the palace, I will never return to Jinhua Palace."
She finally understood what he meant. Lu Tingwan changed the subject and said, "I forgot something very important."
"What?"
"I forgot to put on lip balm."
"It looks good this way too."
"No..." The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, revealing a small, aggrieved face. Cheng Xianzhi's plan came to mind. He pinched the little face, lifted it up, and kissed it, so hard that it made her feel dizzy.
Only when the carriage stopped at the palace gate did he let go. "You don't need lip balm now. You're red too. Ah Wan looks very beautiful."
"Is this the only place that sells Master Cheng's lip balm?"
"This is the only one." Cheng Xianzhi doted on her.
Lu Tingwan was satisfied and got out of the car with her skirt lifted.
The relationship between the two became much closer, and Cheng Xianzhi believed that he had kept her.
At the court meeting, Jiang Haiyi hinted several times, intentionally or unintentionally, that Cheng Xian was monopolizing the imperial power. His words contained the intention of clearing the emperor's side and unsettling the hearts of the court officials, but Gongsun Yin remained silent.
The officials did not dare to respond, as they could not afford to offend either Cheng Xianzhi or the Jiang party.
It was the intention of the late emperor that he should hold the power of the dynasty. Now Gongsun Yin and Cheng Xianzhi seemed to be on good terms, but in fact their relationship had already broken down. This was what the late emperor wanted to see. The young emperor was young, and Queen Mother Jiang was determined to control the government. Li Hongzhi would inevitably become a puppet of the Jiang family. He wanted Cheng Xianzhi to assist the king, but was afraid that he would become the second Queen Mother Jiang, so Gongsun Yin became a hindrance.
Unexpectedly, the Jiang family and the Gongsun family would have a son. The two families were secretly plotting against each other. It was extremely difficult for Cheng Xianzhi to support the young emperor and follow the same path. Lu Tingwan saw through it clearly and thought that the calmness of Jiang Haiyi's return to Kyoto was an illusion.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of Changhe, Cheng Xianzhi went to the palace to pick up Lu Tingwan. Lu Tingwan agreed to come back and celebrate the New Year with him. This was her third year in Kyoto and the only time she spent New Year's Eve in the Cheng Mansion.
It snowed continuously on New Year's Eve, and the streets were deserted. Every household lit up lights and shone firecrackers. Red silk for the New Year was hung in Yansheng Hall, and red ribbons were tied to the dry grape vine racks, making the bleak winter snow scene look a bit brighter.
After New Year's Eve dinner, the two of them digested the food in the back garden. A red cloak covered her slender body, and Cheng Xianzhi followed behind, his eyes following the figure in the snow.
"Awan, run slower, the snow is slippery." Snowflakes dotted the red dress, like white plum blossoms embroidered on it.
The red plum blossoms in the backyard were in bloom. She broke off a branch and put it in her hair, looking back and asking, "Does it look good?"
"nice."
"If you like it, I'll pick it for you." Cheng Xianzhi raised his hand and reached over her head to pick a branch of red plum blossom.
The wind and snow got stronger. He saw the curled up neck. Meizhi put the branch into her palm. When Lu Tingwan took it, she was pulled hard and the cloak wrapped around her. Cheng Xianzhi held her in his arms and pressed her waist to prevent her from moving.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm worried you'd be cold." He rested his chin on the top of her head and grabbed her wrist to put it behind his waist.
"It's a bit cold," Lu Tingwan poked his head out, "Are you going back?"
"As you wish." The hand behind the waist did not let go.
She began to recall the snowy night when she was trapped on Tiger Back Mountain. Cheng Xianzhi said that when she was unconscious, he melted the snow in his mouth and fed it to her one mouthful at a time.
At that time, Lu Tingwan didn't know whether he was just saying this on purpose or was serious. He wanted to ask, "Did you really feed me snow water on Tiger Back Mountain?"
"Hmm?" Cheng Xianzhi lowered his eyes to look at her, "Are you afraid that I'll lie to you?"
"Afraid." Lu Tingwan said, "But you won't, right?"
Cheng Xianzhi's heart tightened, and he smiled and nodded in response. He held her in his arms, but he was also worried, afraid that one day she would find out and leave resolutely like before.
"Awan, let's stay up together next year, okay?" Cheng Xian rested his chin on the top of her head, the fragrance of her hair mixed with the fragrance of winter plums.
Lu Tingwan rubbed his shoulder armor and said "hmm". She held the red plum against her chest and found a porcelain vase to put it in when she returned to Yansheng Hall.
Cheng Xianzhi was brewing tea, sitting cross-legged on the couch. Seeing that she had finished, he gestured for her to come over. Lu Tingwan rubbed her cold hands and threw herself into his arms. The force overwhelmed him, and the atmosphere on the couch suddenly became heavy. She put on an alluring smile, and stroked his Adam's apple with her slender fingers. "Today is a good day. My lord, can you accompany me for a while?"
Cheng Xianzhi grabbed her wrist and turned over to press her down, "Madam, how would you like to play tonight?"
Lu Tingwan couldn't lower his lips, "Play the next game with me."
The fire was interrupted, and he really didn't want to agree to her. Seeing his reluctance pass by, Lu Tingwan was proud.
"I'll get the chessboard."
"Is there any prize this time?" Cheng Xianzhi set up the chessboard and let her choose the chess piece first.
"Today is New Year's Eve, so of course we need a good start. You decide." Lu Tingwan said simply.
"You said it." Cheng Xianzhi couldn't wait to let go.
Lu Tingwan raised his lip, showing his determination to win. The wind and snow piled up the dead branches thickly, covering the bluestone slabs in the yard tightly, and the wind tangled the tied red silk into a tangled ball.
There were only a few black pieces left in her hand after being eaten, and her originally cheerful face had fallen halfway. Cheng Xianzhi had no intention of giving in, forcing her to retreat step by step.
"You," she said angrily, "how could you kill so cruelly, yet you put all the hatred and dissatisfaction from the past into this game of chess?"
"What are you talking about, Ah Wan?" Cheng Xianzhi picked up the dead chess pieces. "I have no hatred for Ah Wan, only joy."
"I don't believe it." Lu Tingwan glanced away and acted in a bad mood.
"Are you willing to accept defeat?" He dropped the black pieces back into the chess box one by one, and seeing her unwilling expression, he said lovingly, "Then, let's play another game. I'll let you go this time."
"I am not as skilled as others, so I am willing to accept the loss, unlike some people who regret it every time." Lu Tingwan hinted at something.
Cheng Xianzhi lowered his eyes and sighed, "Are you talking about the divorce agreement that was promised to you before?" These days he has been wanting to ask, if Lu Tingwan accepted his love, and if everything in the court was settled, would she still be willing to be his, Cheng Xianzhi's, wife.
"Master Cheng is quite self-aware."
"So, Ah Wan, do you still want this divorce letter now?" When he said this, his voice was filled with fear, almost trembling.
Lu Tingwan said calmly, "That depends on Master Cheng's performance."
Cheng Xianzhi knelt up and reached across the chessboard to retrieve the person. The chess pieces fell to the ground with a clang as he moved, and all the chess pieces fell to the ground and scattered all over the board.
Lu Tingwan fell into his arms unexpectedly, her clear eyes turned red, the possessiveness and aggression in her eyes were just like the one he had forced upon her that night.
Lu Tingwan just thought that she had provoked him, and hoped that she could calm down the restless beast a little.
"The prize hasn't even been discussed yet, why is Master Cheng so anxious?"
"After all, you owe me. There's no way you can escape." Cheng Xianzhi grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving. He pressed his chest against her body while using his other hand to untie her waist belt.
"Do you want me to help you?" Lu Tingwan asked provocatively.
It got hard there.
Cheng Xianzhi tore her clothes roughly, and before she was completely undressed, he ripped open her collar. The charcoal stove was hot, but after she took off her outer robe, cold air poured in. She wanted to find a comfortable position.
Cheng Xianzhi pressed her down so hard that Lu Tingwan couldn't move. She just looked at him with a clear intention of teasing him.
This made Cheng Xianzhi even more furious. He tore off his bellyband and tied it around her wrist so he could admire this hard-earned jade. He clung to it, obsessed, and whispered into the person's neck, "Ah Wan, can you please not divorce me again?"
"Stay."
Lu Tingwan's responses were all muffled. She closed her eyes and felt the breath rolling over her body. His hot lips slid down to her knees, then rubbed up, and finally stopped at her flat belly. He wanted to plant his seed here, maybe this way, she would never want to leave again.
Lu Tingwan seemed to see wild geese flying south in the clouds, and a man on horseback was coming. She stood still and couldn't find the direction. She only heard the man's gentle voice, saying that he would take her back.
Where to go back?
The place she should return to has never changed.
Suddenly, her bound arms loosened, and she hugged him on her shoulders, indulging herself in the joy. A storm stirred up the tranquil night, and the overturned chessboard was kicked away. She leaned on Cheng Xianzhi's shoulders, her whiteness and softness covering an outline. He was suffocated by it, and his heart was hardened, leaving traces one after another.
Lu Tingwan did not respond to any of his words. Cheng Xianzhi believed that his actions in response were the answers. He was more relaxed than ever that night. Lu Tingwan could not see the usually dignified and reserved Cheng Xianzhi. He was like a wild beast, violently messing himself up, making her eyes blurred with tears.
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