"Early summer."
She turned around and saw a tall and slender man standing under the plum blossom tree in the distance.
His face couldn't be seen clearly in the backlight, but he could only see a head of black hair tied up high by a hosta. Wearing a spotless crescent-white robe, a jade belt is tied around his waist, and a delicate dragon-shaped jade is attached to the belt.
She immediately knew who it was, smiled brightly, and happily greeted him with her skirt in hand.
The man smiled fondly, broke off a plum blossom and handed it to her: "Do you like it?"
She blushed shyly and said softly: "I like it."
The plum blossom turned into a sword and penetrated into her heart.
The man still smiled and asked her gently: "Do you still like her now?"
Xia Chu opened his eyes in disbelief, looked at the sword inserted into his body, felt the blood overflowing from the corners of his lips and screamed.
"Xiao! Yan! Jun!"
He woke up from his dream by calling Xiao Yanjun's name, his body still trembling slightly. He wrapped his arms around his bent legs and breathed heavily in a curled-up position until the dark tide in his eyes slowly receded.
Mo Xiang, who was outside the door, had already knocked on the door when she heard the sound. It was not until a long time later that she heard: "Come in."
Mo Xiang pushed the door open and entered the room. Seeing Xia Chu's languid expression, she asked cautiously: "Master, do you want to wash up now? Master Hou is still waiting for you to eat."
Xia Chu hummed and got out of bed to get dressed. After wiping his face, his expression was as usual.
After entering Hengwu Courtyard, the Marquis had been waiting in the hall for a long time.
He showed an innocent and bright smile and called sweetly: "Dad."
The Marquis smiled lovingly and rubbed his head.
Xia Chu actually didn't have much appetite, but he still ate very deliciously.
The Marquis said while serving dishes: "The Emperor will hold a family banquet in three days and wants you to attend."
Xia Chu's hands holding the vegetables paused for a moment, and then he responded: "Okay."
In his previous life, the emperor also held a family banquet and asked him to attend. But at that time, he was sitting as the Crown Princess.
"Your Majesty just wants to see you, don't be afraid." The Marquis was worried that he was timid and comforted him.
"I'm not afraid." Now the enemy is in the open and he is in the dark. Xiao Yanjun was his prey, and he was the hunter who silently weaved his web. He has nothing to be afraid of.
So what if he was allowed to meet Xiao Yanjun as the legitimate son of Xiahou Mansion
The Marquis saw that he looked calm and at ease as usual. She felt a little more at ease and told him the rules in the palace in detail.
Xia Chu pretended to be ignorant and listened to Mr. Hou talking in detail about the palace rules that he was already familiar with. He took a few bites of food and then said goodbye and slipped out.
Xia Chu, who returned to his yard, asked someone to move two pieces of wood of different lengths, and then turned away the people. He stacked two pieces of wood to form a cross and tied up the straw man himself.
After he first took on human form, he ran to the kitchen to get some pork, tied it to the straw man, and began to practice the power of flying needles.
Over and over again, never getting tired of it.
It wasn't until a wisp of bright red shone on Zilan Mountain in the distance that he stopped and sat down on the steps.
He raised his head and looked at the large white clouds floating in the blue sky. They showed a fiery red under the glow of the setting sun.
The earth is bathed in the afterglow of the colorful clouds, and the evening breeze blows slowly, blowing through the fragrance of flowers and trees.
He couldn't help but relax the tight strings, temporarily putting aside all his worries and fatigue, and admired the moving sunset.
The sunset finally set.
The sky finally darkened.
Mo Xiang called the young master outside the hospital. Xia Chu regained his composure, went to untie the pork from the straw man and gave it to Mo Xiang to take back to the kitchen, and went to eat with the Marquis himself.
After finishing the meal, he took the Marquis for a walk in the garden.
The clear and colorful moonlight softly shone on the two people's bodies, giving Xia Chu's face a layer of elegant light.
As he walked with the Marquis on his arm, he asked insinuatingly some things about his mother when she was dying. After listening carefully, they all turned out to be trivial and worthless things, which only made the Marquis look sad.
"Dad, the wind has picked up. Let me make tea for you when you get back." Xia Chu said meekly, not wanting the Marquis to dwell on the past.
The Marquis raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Did you learn this on the mountain?"
Xia Chu shrugged: "Bai Ruofei loves to drink."
Back in the study, Xia Chu asked someone to get the old cooked Pufu and tea sets.
Get up and start making tea.
The Marquis watched with interest as he pried off about five grams of dry tea from the tea cake and put it into the pot. After boiling, pour it on the tea set, wash it again, add water again, cover the pot lid, and simmer over low heat.
When the tea boils, the steam comes out from the spout.
Xia Chu waited for a while, until the smell of the warehouse disappeared and the mellow, aged and glutinous fragrance overflowed, then he opened the lid, picked it up, made a cup and gave it to the Marquis.
The Marquis smelled the aroma of tea that warmed his heart and mind, and tasted it carefully and it tasted sweet. He showed an approving look: "The tea art is good, Mr. Bai taught me well."
The corners of Xia Chu's mouth twitched, recalling Bai Ruofei's picky look.
Bai Ruofei was very particular about the speed and angle of water injection, and she gave him a shudder more than once, reminding him that the speed of water injection would affect the temperature of the water.
The faster the water is injected, the higher the temperature will be.
Fill the water slowly and the water temperature will be relatively low if the water flow is fine.
The angle of water injection will also affect the impact of the water on the tea leaves and the rolling of the tea leaves. For this kind of cooked tea, it should not be too impacted or rolled, otherwise the tea soup will be turbid and opaque.
If you eat more Baoli, your tea skills will naturally improve.
Xia Chu did not tell Lord Hou that he was so miserable and was forced to learn skills. He smiled bitterly and looked at the rows of books on the bookcase.
He scanned a book of Xiao Guo Shi Ji, took it out, sat aside and started to read.
He actually knew very little about the history of the Xiao Kingdom, and he had little interest in political intrigue. To put it bluntly, in his last life, he was just a young girl with little experience in the world and a simple mind.
Thirteen years of childhood were spent in the mountains, and the girlhood after coming down from the mountains was promised to Xiao Yanjun. Thinking of Xiao Yanjun, his hand holding the book couldn't help but clenched tighter and tighter, and his fingertips gradually turned white.
"Master, Su Qian'an has returned home and is waiting in your courtyard." The fragrance of ink outside spread across the room.
Marquis' hands did not stop practicing calligraphy, and he said to him, "Go ahead."
Xia Chu resigned and returned to Yunqiyuan. Su Qian'an followed him into the house, closed the door and reported to him what he had done today.
Yinzhi's house has been purchased, and he chose a courtyard near the southern suburbs. Although it's a little out of the way, the environment is nice, quiet and there are few people.
The three-story shop has also been renamed Wentian Pavilion, and a plaque is being made.
Renovations have also begun on the second and third floors. As for Su Qian'an, she worked as a shopkeeper in the shop for a day and finally calculated the accounts for the day.
Su Qian'an handed over the account book again. Xia Chu waved his hand and said, "You don't need to show this to me in the future. You can read it yourself."
"Yes." Su Qian'an took it back again.
"After a tiring day, go down and rest."
Su Qian'an should retreat.
Xia Chu moved to the window and stood there, the wind sweeping through his hair.
He tapped the window coffin lightly with his index finger, and his beautiful eyebrows were twisted together and difficult to separate. His eyes are staring ahead but it doesn't look like he's looking straight ahead...
For the next three days, Xia Chu lived lazily day after day.
He sleeps until three o'clock in the morning before getting up. After washing, he eats with the Marquis. After dinner, I went to Suyuan to see Qianle and came back in the afternoon to practice flying acupuncture.
Every day after dinner, I would take the Marquis for a walk to eat, and then go back to the study to cook different teas for him.
After drinking tea, he stayed in the study to read, while the Marquis practiced calligraphy in the study.
It wasn't until Su Qian'an returned home that he went back to the house to listen to his report on the progress.
It wasn't until the night of the third day that Su Qian'an told him that the second floor of Wentian Pavilion had been renovated.
Xia Chu nodded, took a black cloak, put it on, and took Su Qian'an out of the house.
(End of chapter)