Even so, sealing the windows was a bit exaggerated, but He Sui’an didn’t say anything. Qi Buyan’s cautious actions had their reasons; it was safer than being careless.
However, it was only when she had been watching the snow for too long that she saw “illusions” of her parents. A few accidental glances should be harmless, He Sui’an thought as she looked towards the window.
But if the windows were sealed, wasn’t there still the door?
He Sui’an looked at the door.
At this moment, a few people arrived outside. The maids came to take away the dishes. After delivering the meals to the room, they would estimate the time and return to collect them.
Hearing the knock on the door, He Sui’an instinctively wanted to get out of bed to open it. In most cases, she was the one who opened the door, but this time Qi Buyan was a step ahead and opened it, letting the people in.
The servants filed in to clean up the table.
They moved very quietly.
As they were about to finish, someone glanced at the tightly closed window, noticing it was boarded up from the outside.
What’s going on? Could it be that the window was broken, and they were afraid the strong wind and snow would blow it open, so they took this drastic measure? But wasn’t sealing it unnecessary? Wouldn’t that mean the window could never be opened, and they wouldn’t be able to see the courtyard?
They were just servants, curious but not questioning, and they left the room without asking.
Already sitting up, He Sui’an saw them leave and, feeling bored, lay back down, fiddling with her fingers while Qi Buyan played with her long hair and silk ribbon.
He Sui’an turned her head, half of her face pressed against the soft pillow, the other half facing Qi Buyan. She tugged at his sleeve, “Sister Su and the others don’t know I’ve returned to Chang’an yet.”
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
He Sui’an whispered, “I think I should tell them.”
Her long hair and silk ribbon slipped through Qi Buyan’s fingers, and he caught them again. “You want to see them and tell them in person?”
The charcoal fire beside the bed radiated warmth.
He Sui’an turned over, lying flat and facing the ceiling, her chest rising and falling with her breath, her hands resting outside the quilt, slightly red. “If possible, I would like to meet them.”
A few days ago, she had only written a letter to each of them before leaving, as if she had suddenly lost her nerve and found an excuse to leave for a while, leaving them to deal with Liu Yan on their own.
She felt a bit embarrassed.
Last time she asked Qi Buyan to deliver the letter, and now she wanted him to convey the message again? He Sui’an didn’t really want that.
Qi Buyan stopped playing with her silk ribbon, and when he withdrew his hand, the silver chain with butterflies on his wrist jingled softly. “If you want to see them, you can meet them on our wedding day. Don’t go out these few days.”
He Sui’an pulled out the indigo silk ribbon from under the soft pillow. “I’ll definitely have to go out on the day of our wedding. Do I have to cover my eyes with this ribbon too?”
“Yes,” he said.
She sat up, holding the soft ribbon, which would surely be comfortable over her eyes. “But wouldn’t that be too strange? My eyes are fine, yet I have to cover them for the wedding.”
Qi Buyan took the ribbon and gently tied it over He Sui’an’s eyes, letting her try it out. “There’s snow outside. Covering your eyes is the safest option. Do you feel uncomfortable now?”
It wasn’t uncomfortable, but she wasn’t used to being plunged into darkness and unable to see.
He Sui’an pulled down the ribbon, regaining her sight, and the first person she saw was Qi Buyan in front of her. “Not uncomfortable.”
She put the ribbon back in its place.
They stared at each other for a moment.
He Sui’an lightly bumped her head against his chest, making the silver ornaments on his body jingle. “I’m so bored.”
Staying at Aunt Cui’s stone house, she could go out to buy or find things for her, walk around, and get some fresh air. Now, she couldn’t go out casually; even stepping outside the room required careful consideration.
The ancient world was not like the modern one, where holding a cell phone could quickly pass the time.
He Sui’an touched the bone flute at his waist.
She examined the carvings on the bone flute to pass the time, but after a while, she felt dizzy. The intricate totems on Qi Buyan’s clothes were one thing, but even the bone flute had them, and they seemed to change.
Qi Buyan’s palm pressed against the back of her head, which had been struck before. Although it had healed, he still wanted to touch it, then smooth her long braid down her back. “What do you want?”
He Sui’an cupped her face and thought.
“Storybooks.”
In modern times, He Sui’an was among the last batch of students to choose between arts and sciences. She chose sciences, facing a pile of formulas every day. When she got tired of studying, she would read novels to relax.
“Buy me a dozen or so storybooks. I stay in the room all day and can finish one a day.” He Sui’an looked at him with longing.
Qi Buyan glanced around the room.
Maybe they had been living together for too long because she could tell what he was thinking. “Don’t worry, I won’t go out.”
Even if he didn’t buy her storybooks, Qi Buyan still had to prepare items for their wedding. He put on his boots and left the bed. “Alright, I’ll be back before dark.”
He Sui’an nodded vigorously.
She watched him leave the room. The door opened quickly and closed just as fast, and He Sui’an only caught a fleeting glimpse of the blurry snow outside.
The cold air didn’t have time to come in before the door blocked it out. He Sui’an rolled on the bed, wrapped in the quilt like a cocoon, and her neatly tied braid got a bit messy.
In the cold winter, it was easy to fall asleep in a warm bed, and she was no exception.
Time passed slowly.
He Sui’an’s eyelids drooped.
“Miss He?” Princess Luoyan, having heard they had returned, came by to check on He Sui’an, who had inexplicably disappeared for about three days.
Just as He Sui’an was about to fall asleep, she pushed away the quilt and walked towards the door, intending to open it for the princess. “Is there something you need, Princess?”
As soon as her hand touched the door latch, she recoiled instantly, her sleepiness vanishing.
A red snake coiled around the door latch.
When He Sui’an touched the latch, she felt the cold, clammy texture unique to a snake, as it curled up like a rope. Yesterday, the red snake had also tightly wrapped around her hands.
“Have you encountered any problems these past few days?” Princess Luoyan’s voice sounded again from outside the room.
“I’m fine.”
It was impolite to speak to someone through a closed door, especially when the other person was the owner of the residence. This was why He Sui’an wanted to open the door. She could open it without looking outside.
He Sui’an bent down, keeping some distance, and whispered to the red snake, “Can you please move? I just want to open the door.”
The red snake remained motionless.
It was unclear whether it couldn’t hear her, didn’t understand her, or simply didn’t want to respond.
Seeing that He Sui’an hadn’t opened the door for a long time, Princess Luoyan began to worry that something might really be wrong. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
Facing the snake’s indifference, He Sui’an was helpless. “I’m really fine, just caught a bit of a cold. I don’t want to pass it to you, Princess. Please come back another day.”
The red snake tightened its grip on the latch with its tail.
She stood off against it.
But He Sui’an was too scared to deal with the snake. She couldn’t bring herself to grab the slippery, slimy creature to get it to move. She’d rather knock herself out. She couldn’t do it.
The other two snakes lay on the ground, watching the standoff between her and the red snake. They wouldn’t interfere. Although they didn’t know why the red snake had climbed up to rest on the latch, it wasn’t their concern.
He Sui’an was discouraged.
She didn’t dare provoke this snake, especially after it had mercilessly bound her hands before. She took a step back quietly.
Through the door, Princess Luoyan couldn’t see inside. “Are you sick? Have you seen a doctor?”
Today, the servants who delivered the meals hadn’t mentioned anything to her, only that everything seemed fine except for one strange thing—they had sealed the windows for some unknown reason.
He Sui’an wasn’t used to lying.
She coughed once or twice. “It’s not serious, just need to rest a bit.”
Princess Luoyan could slowly discern that He Sui’an didn’t want to come out and meet her today. “In that case, I won’t disturb you any longer. Just let the servants know if you need anything.”
“Thank you for your concern, Princess.” He Sui’an sincerely thanked her.
Princess Luoyan said no more and left with her personal maid, Zhi Mo. She had come by during a spare moment and had other matters to attend to.
He Sui’an pressed her ear against the door. When she heard no more sounds outside and confirmed they had indeed left, she returned to the bed in a daze. After a while, she took apart her braid and re-braided it along the original marks.
The snakes watched her quietly.
She ignored them.
Half an hour later, He Sui’an fell asleep, her long hair spread out in her not-so-large palms after being taken apart countless times.
When Qi Buyan pushed the door open, he saw He Sui’an sitting on a stool by the bed, her upper body slumped over the bed, her head tilted, pressing against the quilt, her face slightly flushed from the charcoal fire.
He Sui’an wasn’t wearing much.
She didn’t even have a cloak on, just an ordinary long dress, with her feet in embroidered shoes that seemed ready to fall off. The room was warm because of the charcoal fire, and no cold air could get in as the windows were closed. Moreover, the room had additional ventilation, so it didn’t matter much if the windows weren’t opened.
He Sui’an’s sleeves had slipped up to her elbows, exposing a large section of her fair wrists. She wasn’t a very peaceful sleeper, occasionally wrinkling her nose.
Suddenly, she kicked.
One of her embroidered shoes rolled to the floor.
Qi Buyan put down what he was holding and walked over, picking He Sui’an up.
As he lifted her, she tilted her face upwards but remained asleep, muttering softly and unconsciously wrapping her arms around Qi Buyan’s neck, her warm breath falling on him.
The red snake, sensing its master’s presence, had already loosened its grip on the latch before Qi Buyan opened the door. It, along with the silver and black snakes, crawled outside once he entered.
Qi Buyan placed He Sui’an on the bed.
Her hands remained around his neck.
Unable to stand up because she wouldn’t let go, Qi Buyan didn’t pull her hands away. Instead, he watched her closely, as if he could count her eyelashes.
Before transmigrating into the book, He Sui’an had been raised healthily by her parents and had to run laps at school, so her skin was rosy and fine, without visible pores.
Qi Buyan lightly touched He Sui’an’s closed eyelids with his finger.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Sleepy and bleary-eyed.
Qi Buyan’s face was close to hers, and He Sui’an’s expression was blank and dazed. Although her eyes were open, giving the appearance of being awake, she was still deep in her dream.
He could tell she was still half-asleep and didn’t make a sound.