LF Chapter 73
by VolareThe fifteenth day of the winter month. A jade disc hung high in the cerulean sky, the night’s westerly wind was cold, and the quiet palace road seemed a little desolate.
A group of people stepped into the palace ban under the moonlight, which Jiang Yinghua found very pleasing. Lifting the car window, she looked at the deep palace road, sparsely populated, and there was no need to worry about Yan Wanzhi being noticed. With a mischievous smile, she offered her arm to Yan Wanzhi, “Help me down.”
This set of serving skills, having been by Your Majesty’s side for several years, Yan Wanzhi was proficient and would not let people see anything unusual. Only Jiang Yinghua, this fellow, really knew how to take advantage.
She bowed her body, lowered her head, and kept her eyes on the stone bricks in front of her, very respectfully like a common palace servant, supporting Jiang Yinghua’s wrist as they walked. The difference was that in the past, palace servants led the way for Jiang Yinghua, but now, in fact, Jiang Yinghua was leading the way for Yan Wanzhi.
The two got out of the car and walked all the way, Jiang Yinghua not paying any attention to the group of people. Yes, with Ying Feng there, she didn’t need to worry about these chores. The palace road stretched straight into the inner garden, and Yan Wanzhi was a little surprised, where was this going? She had been in the palace ban for many years, and she had never set foot in such a western palace courtyard.
When they entered the brightly lit Guangyuan Hall, the deep darkness in front of them was swept away. In the open and bright palace garden, there were many attendants, and Yan Wanzhi only needed to glance at the flowers and plants in the yard to know that they all came from Jiang Yinghua’s hand, trimmed very carefully.
No matter where this person went, the courtyard was always very elegant. Even if fleeting splendor passed before her eyes and she had seen all kinds of treasures, the things she liked rarely changed. For many years, she remained the same, a person of lasting affection.
But how could she know that Jiang Yinghua did this only to cheer herself up. By shifting her attention to other things, she could think less. Jiang Yinghua vaguely ordered people to add and replace the flowers and plants in the garden, and in the end, she found that replacing them with familiar scenery made her nostalgic and even more unbearable.
Tonight, however, was different. The old scenery was as it was yesterday, the new person in front of her was as before, both the things and the person were right, everything was safe and comfortable.
Qingyun had long been Jiang Yinghua’s head maid, leading people to wait in the courtyard. Although she had seen Yan Wanzhi’s portrait roughly, the living person and the portrait were ultimately different. In addition, Yan Wanzhi’s head was buried very low, and even her facial features could not be seen clearly, so Qingyun did not know who the little maid beside Jiang Yinghua was.
Originally, she wanted to take over her errand and step forward, but Jiang Yinghua politely refused, “Qingyun, have someone prepare hot water, this Prince is very tired, I’ll take a bath first; send dinner over later, and bring two pots of wine.”
Qingyun agreed, but there was doubt hidden in her eyes. Others didn’t know, but Jiang Yinghua hadn’t touched alcohol for a long time. Since Yan Wanzhi disappeared, how could she dare to drink to get drunk, wishing to be awake day and night, waiting for the Shadow Guard’s news. She didn’t know what kind of devil this person had been possessed by on this trip.
She walked slowly, wandering at the palace gate, and in the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Yinghua pulling the little palace maid beside her into the main hall. Could it be that even bathing required this newcomer to serve?
After entering the hall, Jiang Yinghua closed the door, not allowing anyone to disturb them. Yan Wanzhi then straightened her back and rubbed her sore neck.
Jiang Yinghua glanced at her, chuckled, and teased, “You’re really delicate, just a few steps, is it that bad?”
“Old arms and old legs, how would you little girl understand?” Yan Wanzhi rubbed her stiff neck as she looked around, and then asked, “Where is this, do you live here all the time?”
“Your prison is in the Ministry of Justice, and my prison is here.” Jiang Yinghua pulled the dull person to sit by the tea table, saying it lightly, as if she didn’t care.
No wonder the location was so remote. Yan Wanzhi suddenly realized, sat blankly in front of the table, and responded in a low voice, “Hua’er, I’ve made you suffer.”
“No need to take everything on yourself, without you, it would probably be the same situation. But it’s also good, the Tai Zhang Palace is my home, but there was no hall of my own here. I lived in the side hall of the Chengming Hall when I was young, and later went to the Empress Dowager’s Palace. After finally growing up a bit, waiting to be assigned a place, I was sent to Your Majesty’s Former Residence. Now, this Guangyuan Hall is finally my own.”
Jiang Yinghua lowered her eyes and smiled lightly, poured a cup of black tea and offered it, softly saying, “Your favorite Yunnan black tea, try if it’s still the same taste as before?”
Yan Wanzhi reached out to take it, looking at the red tea soup, and was stunned for a moment, examining it for a long time before saying, “But isn’t this your favorite tea, how could it be so coincidentally prepared in the hall?”
“Fool, can’t drinking tea stop your mouth.” Jiang Yinghua simply propped her forehead with her hand, turned her head in a different direction, pretending to be charming.
Yan Wanzhi belatedly realized and chuckled, very happily drinking the tea soup, the entrance was dense, then bitterness filled her mouth, but the aftertaste was sweet. The tea was like this, the affection was like this, and the person was also like this.
“Your Highness, the bath is ready.” Qingyun whispered at the hall door. Jiang Yinghua heard this, flusteredly put away Yan Wanzhi’s cup and put it back, softly saying, “Get up, get up.” Yan Wanzhi quickly stood up, very cooperatively standing aside, and Jiang Yinghua then called out, “Come in.”
The attendants were busy for a while, adding a tub and bath water beside them. Jiang Yinghua didn’t like people serving her when she took a bath. After these people had finished packing up, they dropped the curtain and retreated. Yan Wanzhi hesitated, standing in place very confused, not knowing whether to stay or leave. After struggling for a long time, she boldly followed the end of the line, wanting to go out with the others.
Jiang Yinghua stood aside and scrutinized her for a long time, not expecting her to make such a muddled decision. In a while, the group of little girls would go out and chatter, had she ever thought about how to explain her origin? Jiang Yinghua raised her foot and stepped forward, grabbing Yan Wanzhi’s collar from behind, her tone was very cold but with a hint of playfulness as she ordered, “Did I allow you to leave? Serve this Prince to bathe.”
Although the girls in front were a little shocked, they were amused by Jiang Yinghua’s tone and dared not turn around to look, all holding their throats and suppressing their difficulty, and quickly walked out. Their master’s temper was unpredictable, and this new little girl was probably going to be teased by her.
After the people had gone far away, Jiang Yinghua stared into Yan Wanzhi’s eyes with a hint of danger, “Where are you running to? Have you forgotten the rules I set for you? The great talent wouldn’t know what ‘never leave an inch’ means, right?”
Yan Wanzhi glanced at her, “You said you wanted to take a bath, how can I not leave you an inch?”
Jiang Yinghua scoffed, “How? Is sister pretending to be confused with me, huh? Since you don’t know, I’ll teach you.” She stepped closer to Yan Wanzhi, reached out and pulled off the tie on the front of her Ruqun, and with a crash, a panoramic view of enchanting scenery came into view. Yan Wanzhi was shocked and frantically raised her hand to block it.
Jiang Yinghua’s smile deepened, tearing at her small clothes, and pulling her forward with force. With an unstable center of gravity, Yan Wanzhi fell into the tub, splashing a myriad of water droplets, disturbing the pool full of roses.
Her own clothes were complicated, and Jiang Yinghua deliberately slowed down her speed, slowly undoing them layer by layer, the outer sleeves, the layers of overlapping robes, the inner garment… pieces of brocade silk quietly fell on the screen, and the pounding in Yan Wanzhi’s chest became more and more intense. Probably the breath of the hot water was strong, her jade face was already flushed red.
“Splash,” some more water droplets fell, and then there was silence inside. The Luo curtains fluttered, the fragrance of flowers lingered, and a hazy water mist filled the room, setting off the person’s eyes with a blurred, charming look…
Two quarters of an hour later, Jiang Yinghua came out of the tub and went straight to the clean clothes prepared by the palace servants. Her wet hair fell loosely, and a few drops of water fell on the wooden floor, gently blurring the ground.
Seeing that the person was only busy changing her own clothes, Yan Wanzhi quietly half-crawled out, somewhat disdainfully reaching for the clothes Jiang Yinghua had thrown on the ground. No one had prepared new clothes for her, so she had to make do.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Yinghua turned back and saw the restless claws, rushed forward in one step and grabbed the person, smiled evilly, and said faintly, “Dirty, can’t wear it.”
“Then give me a piece of clothing.” Yan Wanzhi was very shy, turned away her eyes and muttered.
Jiang Yinghua’s eyebrows curved, hooked her chin, the tip of her little finger swept across the water mist on her nose, and softly said, “What’s the hurry, wait~”
She slowly tidied her clothes, deliberately leaving Yan Wanzhi there, and there was a little bit of mischief hidden in her eyes. Yan Wanzhi waited more and more anxiously, watching Jiang Yinghua put on all the layers of clothes on herself, she was so angry that she blew her beard and glared, “Playing rogue!” After saying that, she slumped her arms and reached for the old clothes again.
Jiang Yinghua raised her willow eyebrows, raised her hand and knocked down the clothes, throwing them far away, so that people could no longer reach them, looking at Yan Wanzhi with a smile that was not a smile, strangely saying, “You are not honest, it must be because it’s been too long, and you need to be tidied up again.”
Yan Wanzhi got goosebumps all over her body when she heard these words. It wasn’t her fault, the hot water was cold, the longer she soaked, the more she shivered, it must be like this.
Jiang Yinghua had enough fun, picked up the person and drained the water, hugged her horizontally, threw her onto the soft bed in the inner bedroom, raised her hand and took the brocade quilt to wrap the person, softly saying, “Be good and stay here, don’t make a sound.”
Yan Wanzhi slandered, Jiang Yinghua, you must be lost. A person disappeared for no reason, do you really think your attendants are blind?
Jiang Yinghua hadn’t been so happy for a long time, she personally went out of the hall and called people in to clean up, and instructed Qingyun to prepare dinner as soon as possible and send it directly to the inner room, and then walked back to the bed with light steps.
Yan Wanzhi’s wet hair moistened Jiang Yinghua’s pillow. She looked up and saw that it was indeed not good, she would get sick if she caught a cold. Playing was playing, but everything had to have a limit. Jiang Yinghua rummaged through the boxes and cabinets to find the Yanju clothes that she usually wore casually, and threw them on the bed, “Change it, come down and eat something later, a long-awaited reunion, a small drink to help the fun.”
Yan Wanzhi was pardoned, and grabbed the clothes with nimble hands and feet, and fluttered in the quilt for a long time before turning over and getting out of bed. Jiang Yinghua turned back and looked, and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The clothes in the palace were already large, and Yan Wanzhi’s height was much shorter, wearing them was like a costume, loose and dragging on the ground.
Amidst the laughter, Qingyun led the maids inside. This time, she saw it clearly and couldn’t help but froze on the spot. Jiang Yinghua had kidnapped the Heyang Princess of the Liang Kingdom and took a bath with her!
Jiang Yinghua glanced at Qingyun, who was already shocked, cleared her throat and said, “Put things down, no need to serve.”
The maids put down the food and filed out. Qingyun went and returned, crossed her hands in a salute, “Master, please forgive me, but do you want the maid to find a suitable dress for the girl?”
Hearing this, Yan Wanzhi was more or less embarrassed. It seemed that this Qingyun was different to Jiang Yinghua. Seeing that she had hidden herself in the bedroom, she didn’t have any other reaction, and calmly arranged for her expenses.
“Well, go to the Shanggong Bureau to choose some good ready-made clothes and jewelry.” Jiang Yinghua was very pleased, having a thoughtful subordinate was reassuring. Qingyun resigned as ordered, Jiang Yinghua pulled Yan Wanzhi to sit down, softly saying, “What are you being awkward about? She and other brothers have been looking for you for many years. A beautiful night, abandon the trivial matters, just get drunk.”
She filled two glasses of wine, one jade cup in one hand, her affectionate eyes wandering over Yan Wanzhi’s facial features. Yan Wanzhi smelled the rich aroma of the wine, simply grabbed Jiang Yinghua’s slender white wrist, pulled hard, leading the person and the glass of wine closer to her lips, raised her head and drank it all…
Years of parting sorrow instantly turned into a full of fervent affection, a night of melting affection and love, lingering in the ethereal vast sea of clouds, and also filled the fragrance of the fleeting years.
The next day, the sky was bright, and the palace people were anxiously waiting outside the hall. Since Jiang Yinghua’s administration, she had never slept until this hour. Qingyun helplessly dismissed the palace people, only saying that Her Highness had traveled overnight and was too tired, so she would stay here to guard her.
On the bed, the two people’s hair was messy, Jiang Yinghua’s hand was teasing the tip of Yan Wanzhi’s nose back and forth, and said softly, “Get up, don’t be lazy, I have a lot of things to do, you have to accompany me.”
“Who told you to be like a madman last night? I have no bones from the waist down, I really can’t get up. If you must get me up, how about you carry me to the recliner?” Yan Wanzhi acted like an old man, relying on her 34-year-old age, teasing Jiang Yinghua.
“Oh? Can’t get up? I want to see if you have any bones.” Jiang Yinghua leaned over, tickling the person randomly with both hands, focusing on the places with more ticklish flesh. The person on the bed laughed so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath, rolling back and forth begging for mercy.
Seeing that the person was laughing and couldn’t breathe, Jiang Yinghua patted her lightly, “Get up quickly.” After saying that, she went to the dressing table by herself and chose jewelry for the person.
Yan Wanzhi floated off the bed and wrapped her arms around Jiang Yinghua from behind, lazily saying, “What are you choosing these for, I can’t go out to show my face, just casually tie up my hair.”
“No, if you don’t go out, you won’t dress up, do you dress up for others to see? You are mine, I haven’t seen you in women’s clothes yet.” Jiang Yinghua got up, pulled Yan Wanzhi to sit down, went around behind the person, raised her hand and compared with the hairpin, softly saying, “This hairpin is good, I’ll call Qingyun to arrange your hair.”
Jiang Yinghua excitedly ran out to open the door and call someone. Just after crossing the screen, the hall door creaked open by itself. Jiang Yinghua saw the person coming and the smile froze on her face, taking several steps back in embarrassment.
“The Heyang Princess of Liang Kingdom is visiting, Prince Zhao did not report to Us, are you teaching the Princess to blame Great Chu for being rude?”