The snow that fell all night had completely piled up a thick layer in front of the porch and around the corners.
The morning light sprinkled down, making the accumulated snow even more sparkling and silver-white.
Inside the tightly closed window, a young master in a brocade robe, with deep red colors, lay on a slightly narrow soft couch, breathing lightly and steadily, as if deeply asleep.
The room was utterly silent, not a sound to be heard.
The girl knelt by the side of the soft couch, quietly bowing her head, inching closer to him.
His breath was within reach, and she seemed to hear her own heartbeat, so clear, right by her ear, becoming more urgent with each beat.
She felt an inexplicable nervousness rising in her heart.
Her eyelashes trembled again and again, and suddenly her nose touched his.
She was about to touch his lips.
But in that instant, her wrist was suddenly caught by him.
The next second, when she hurriedly raised her head, she collided with his eyes that hid a clear luster.
Caught?!
Xie Tao’s eyes widened, and she even forgot to breathe.
Wei Yun had already reached out, his fingers pinching her chin, causing her slightly chubby cheeks to deform a bit, her almond eyes blinking rapidly.
The pads of his fingers could almost feel the warm temperature of her blushing cheeks.
“Xie Tao.”
His ears had turned thoroughly red, and when he spoke now, his voice was still somewhat hoarse.
He stared at her, asking in a low voice, “What were you trying to do?”
Xie Tao hurriedly struggled out of his grip, quickly moving backwards.
But because she had been kneeling on the ground for too long, her legs had gone numb, and when she tried to move back, she couldn’t stand up and was about to fall.
However, Wei Yun, holding her wrist, pulled her in time, but this action brought her directly onto the soft couch, falling onto him.
Their noses touched again, breaths mingling.
Both of them, as if by mutual agreement, held their breath at that moment.
“I’m asking you,”
His body was somewhat stiff, yet he still reached out, pinching her soft cheek, “What were you trying to do just now?”
Xie Tao, with her face pinched, stammered for a long while, unable to speak.
She tried to pry his hand away but didn’t succeed.
“Just, just looking around…”
Finally, she managed to utter a complete sentence.
She finally spoke a complete sentence.
“You, you won’t let me see?” She attempted to justify herself.
But upon hearing her say this, Wei Yun momentarily forgot to react. After a while, he managed to say with difficulty, “In the future…you’re not allowed to do this.”
Xie Tao, upon hearing this, pursed her lips.
“If kissing is not allowed, then we won’t kiss…”
She muttered under her breath.
Wei Yun still heard her, his ears turning even redder in a flash, as if somewhat infuriated, he slightly exerted more force with his hand, pinching her face.
Xie Tao covered her face, initially wanting to say something, but upon seeing the faint blue under his eyes, she hesitated for a moment, then muffledly said, “I won’t bother you anymore, go to sleep…”
She got off the soft couch and walked to the desk, picking up a pen to start working on her workbook.
Wei Yun turned his head and saw her obediently sitting at the desk, head bowed, doing her homework.
The warmth in his ears still lingered, as if it were burning into his heart.
Thinking back to how close they were just moments ago, his mind momentarily wandered, involuntarily recalling her face that was within reach.
Immediately, Wei Yun closed his eyes, unwilling to think further.
But at this moment, with his eyes closed, he could no longer feel the strong sleepiness he had before, his mind inexplicably in turmoil.
Yet, eventually, he fell asleep.
In his dream, the girl seemed to be lying beside him, resting on his arm, her smiling face not quite clear amidst the varying densities of fog.
Surrounding them were trees and blooming flowers, sounding like rain.
The daylight reflected on the water, the dew shimmering slightly.
Pink and white petals fell on her jet-black hair, slender shoulders.
Then, she suddenly sat up and kissed his chin.
The gentle touch, fleeting, just a shallow kiss.
Yet, it startled him awake from his dream.
Upon opening his eyes, he found himself facing that fair and delicate face.
Causing him, for a moment, to forget whether he was still in a dream or already awake.
“Wei Yun?”
The girl, puzzled, reached out and poked his cheek, only for him to suddenly grasp her wrist.
His palm was slightly sweaty, wrapping around her slender wrist, the cool temperature from her wrist transferring to his palm, giving him a sense of reality.
He had only slept for about half an hour, still some time before the effect of the incense wore off.
Thus, he stood up, straightened his slightly wrinkled robe, and then said, “Go change your clothes.”
“Ah?” Xie Tao did not understand why he suddenly asked her to change clothes.
It wasn’t until he added, “I’ll take you out,” that Xie Tao eagerly ran out, calling for Wei Bo in the courtyard.
Wei Bo and Wei Jing revealed a “just as expected” expression upon seeing Xie Tao.
After Xie Tao changed her clothes in her room, she sat in front of the dressing table, letting Wei Bo comb her hair.
“This seems different from last time,” she remarked, looking at her hairstyle in the bronze mirror.
Wei Bo chuckled awkwardly, his beard trembling slightly in his simple-minded way, “Old servant here, I specially went to learn this new hairstyle for you…”
Knowing he learned a new hairstyle just for her, she quickly turned around and said earnestly, “Thank you, Wei Bo…”
She inserted the hairpin into her hair and looked at it several times in the mirror, unable to suppress her laughter.
“Miss, you don’t wear earrings, so these earrings are unnecessary for you,” Wei Bo pointed at the tray filled with various hairpins and earrings.
His words suddenly reminded Xie Tao of the time Wei Yun pinched her earlobe, his light laughter as if still echoing in her ear.
Her cheeks heated up instantly.
Wei Bo, unaware of her thoughts, simply placed a pearl hairpin back into her hair, his eyes squinting happily, “This looks so beautiful.”
Once everything was ready, Xie Tao hurried out the door.
Wei Yun was waiting in the courtyard, talking to Wei Jing at that moment.
But as Xie Tao approached, he put a veiled hat on her head.
The dim silk veiled her face, only a vague outline visible, her features indistinct.
Xie Tao lifted the silk, “Why wear this?”
“Just wear it,” Wei Yun covered her face again with the silk.
Sheng Yueqi, standing at the end of the corridor by the moon gate, called out, “My lord, please wait a moment.”
Then, through the thin silk, Xie Tao saw Sheng Yueqi hurrying over from the other side.
Following him was a young woman in black attire, her hair simply tied up like the men here, wearing a silver crown, her eyes and brows exuding a spirited air, holding a long sword in her arms.
“This is Shao Liyin.”
Sheng Yueqi pointed to the expressionless woman behind him, smiling, “Ying has its distinguished young lady, so there’s no need for her, the distinguished young lady of Yecheng, to exist.”
“Rather…”
Sheng Yueqi continued, his gaze landing on Xie Tao, “Let her serve as the young madam’s maid, since the Imperial Advisor’s residence lacks female servants, which is inconvenient for the young madam.”
“Besides, this female subordinate of mine knows some martial arts, which can ensure the young madam’s safety.”
Hearing this, Xie Tao’s gaze rested on the girl named Shao Liyin, and at that moment, Shao Liyin was also looking at her.
Feeling unclear vision through the silk, Xie Tao simply lifted it and smiled at her.
Shao Liyin seemed to pause for a moment, her face still expressionless, but she nodded slightly to her.
Sheng Yueqi made some sense, so Wei Yun nodded and said, “That’s good.”
Originally, it was just the two of them leaving the mansion, and they only needed to bring Wei Jing with them. But now, with Shao Liyin joining them, even Wei Bo came out as well.
Because of Wei Yun’s outstanding appearance, as they walked down the long streets of Yingdu, they attracted the attention of many people from time to time.
And the girl beside him, wearing a veil hat, had an unclear face, which made people even more curious.
On the side of the street were various small stalls shouting their wares, and there were even jugglers performing, with many people forming a large circle. Xie Tao wanted to squeeze in, but was pulled back by the neck by Wei Yun.
This is what ancient markets were like.
People coming and going, shouts of selling, spreading out, were a plain atmosphere of fireworks.
It’s not too different from the scenes played out in TV dramas.
Wei Bo bought her two skewers of candied hawthorns.
Xie Tao could only nibble on the candied hawthorns under the silk gauze a few times.
Then she was attracted by the meat sauce pancake bought by Wei Bo, and simply gave the candied hawthorns back to Wei Bo and started eating the pancake.
After walking down one street, Xie Tao was already very full.
In front of a certain bookstore, there was a carriage parked.
A delicate hand lifted the curtain and happened to catch a glimpse of a figure in bright red slowly walking through the crowd.
In such a bustling crowd, he was indeed a bright color that attracted the most attention.
Beside him was a girl wearing a veil hat, her face unclear, holding various snacks in her hand, occasionally grabbing a piece and feeding it into her mouth under the silk gauze.
“Is that the young miss from the Imperial Advisor’s mansion?”
Her voice was soft and gentle, slowly like a song of soft language from the south of the Yangtze River.
The maid sitting beside her cautiously moved closer to look outside, also uncertain, “Since she is by the side of the Imperial Advisor, then it must be very likely, right?”
If she wasn’t the Imperial Advisor’s distant cousin, how could she walk side by side with him?
Hearing this, the woman’s phoenix eyes seemed to have a faint smile, the water-drop-shaped flower on her forehead was as red as ever, a face like spring water and lotus, with phoenix eyes full of affection.
“Miss… You should go back.”
The little maid reminded her.
The woman let the curtain down, lazily leaned against the soft pillow, closed her eyes, and said, “Let’s go back.”
Fed by the various snacks bought by Wei Bo, Xie Tao was already very full, and finally followed Wei Yun to a teahouse to drink tea.
The storyteller in the hall knocked on the woodblock, passionately telling a story.
Xie Tao was so engrossed in listening that she even forgot to drink the tea in her hand.
It was a martial arts story, just like the martial arts novels she had read before. Under the vivid narration of the storyteller, it was even more captivating.
According to Wei Bo, this was currently the most popular book in the market, called “Unpolished Jade.”
It came from the bookstore not far from this teahouse.
It is said that many people were amazed by this book, because whether it’s the literary grace or the plot, both are absolutely superior.
Many people wanted to meet the author, but the bookstore’s owner didn’t reveal any hints, very mysterious.
This “Unpolished Jade” has become immensely popular in Yingdu for a time, yet no one has ever seen the author’s true face.
Upon hearing this, Xie Tao also felt that the author was very mysterious.
While Xie Tao and Wei Bo were chatting, Wei Yun’s gaze seemed to pause for a moment somewhere near the stairs.
Wei Jing looked over as well.
Then he lowered his head and whispered softly, “My lord, it’s someone from Prince Xin.”
Wei Yun responded indifferently, his expression unflustered.
Because they were mindful of the time, Xie Tao and Wei Yun only sat in the tea house for a while before returning to the Imperial Advisor’s Mansion.
With only a little time left, Xie Tao sat in Wei Yun’s study, watching him stand in front of the desk, holding a brush in his hand, practicing calligraphy.
“I’m going to leave now…” she tried to remind him.
Wei Yun did not look up, “Hmm.”
“…”
Xie Tao simply stopped drinking her tea, stood up, and ran to the desk to watch him make strokes on the pristine rice paper.
Seeing her tilting her head and staring at him eagerly, he coughed slightly uncomfortably, and then said, “Come here.”
Xie Tao quickly circled the desk and ran to his front, looking at him.
He suddenly handed the brush in his hand to her.
???
Holding the brush, Xie Tao was stunned.
“Write two characters.” He slightly lifted his chin, his voice clear and cool.
“Are you sure?”
Xie Tao, holding the brush, looked at him.
Wei Yun glanced at her, silent.
“…”
Xie Tao lowered her head, gripping the brush tightly.
After thinking for a moment, she rolled up her slightly wide sleeves and pressed the brush directly onto the paper.
Wei Yun’s expression became a bit strange.
“What is this?” he asked, pointing at the two blobs of ink that were hardly recognizable as characters.
“Your name, haha.” Xie Tao laughed.
Then she tilted her head to admire her work, “Can’t you tell? I think it’s pretty good.”
Wei Yun frowned slightly, and after a long pause, he seriously said,
“It’s just a bit ugly.”
Xie Tao pursed her lips and glared at him with those eyes.
Finally, she simply dragged the writing brush across his face, leaving a trail of ink on his cold, white-jade-like cheek.
Wei Yun was stunned.
Xie Tao couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.
“Xie, Tao.”
Wei Yun grabbed her wrist, pinched her chin with two fingers, not allowing her to struggle free, and then, under her gaze, he casually dipped his finger into the inkstone.
Then, he began to move his finger back and forth on her fair cheek.
“Wei Yun, Wei Yun, don’t…” Xie Tao tried to break free.
“Don’t move.”
His voice was slightly lower, and when he leaned down towards her, there was only a few inches of distance between them.
She could even see the blurry shadow of herself in his eyes.
The touch of his fingertips on her cheek was very light, making her breathe carefully.
And that close distance made her stare blankly at his face, which was so close at hand, and she lost herself for a moment.
The room was silent.
Outside the window, the wind blew through, lifting a piece of dead leaves, which lightly fell on the windowsill.
The corners of his eyes gradually filled with a faint smile, a relaxed expression she had never seen before.
And she, dazedly holding his arm, forgot to exert any force.
As her figure gradually blurred and faded in the pale golden light and shadow, he continued to gaze at her face, his eyes gentle, like the gentle ripples of spring.
The scene briefly turned dark for a moment, and when Xie Tao came back to her senses, she was sitting at the table in her rented cottage.
Next to her was her small mirror.
She clearly saw on her face the outline of a fat… pig?
???
Xie Tao’s eyes widened in shock.
