For a moment, Huan Xuan wanted to cut that reckless cousin into pieces.
He glanced at Gao Mai and asked: "How did you know I was here?"
Gao Mai's murderous intent in his eyes made him shudder, and hesitantly said, "Yu... Prince Yuzhang said he came to the south of the city to visit relatives and friends. I heard that His Highness is recuperating in the mountain pond courtyard..."
Huan Xuan snorted coldly: "What kind of bad friends are there in the south of the city."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that the hunter girl had sent her maid to the West Market to sell wine today. He wondered if she was being watched in the market.
Half a month has passed since the Plum Blossom Banquet in the Eastern Palace. I didn't expect that this lecher is so bored and is really waiting for something to happen in the market.
I had already taken precautions, but I still missed out on his shamelessness. A prince of a county actually followed that maid in green all the way here.
But since the person is here, it’s not good to really avoid him.
He said to Gao Mai unhappily, "Tell him to wait in the front yard."
After saying that, he went back into the house.
The hunter girl was sitting on the couch waiting, with a piece of clothing draped over her body, leaving her long legs exposed. The light from the lantern in the corridor shone through the window, and the faint light made the lines even more alluring.
Huan Xuan wished he could grind his sixth cousin to dust and scatter his ashes.
"I have something to do ahead," Huan Xuan turned his eyes away from her, "Wait for me here."
After a pause, he said, "If you are tired, take a nap first."
In fact, even if hadn't come back to say this, she would have had to wait for . came in specially to give him instructions, which surprised Sui Sui.
She nodded. "Yes."
Huan Xuan put on his cloak and walked out of the room, and said to Gao Mai who was waiting in the corridor: "Is dinner ready?"
Gao Mai said: "The kitchen has prepared the dishes. Prince Yuzhang had some snacks while waiting for His Highness."
Huan Xuan nodded and said, "Ask someone to get a jar of Yicheng Jiuyun from the cellar."
Gao Mai responded with a smile. Although His Highness would look disgusted whenever he mentioned his sixth cousin, he was very close to Prince Yuzhang. He was not stingy with his treasured wine to entertain him. Whenever he got something good, he would always send someone to send a portion to Prince Yuzhang's palace.
Your Highness has been a solitary person since childhood and has few relatives, so when the Crown Prince was alive, he would occasionally show concern for his third brother. Four years ago, his elder brother passed away. Although the King of Qi did not say anything, he must have felt bad in his heart.
During that period, he became more and more solitary and taciturn, often not saying a word for the whole day. Thanks to this unruly cousin who kept sticking to him, the two people with very different personalities ended up visiting each other frequently.
Huan Xuan straightened his clothes and walked towards the front yard.
The two had a close relationship, so the eunuch brought Prince Yuzhang to Dongxuan.
There was agarwood charcoal burning in the room, nine lamps were lit, and the sandalwood smoke was curling in the Boshan stove. Huan Minggui was sitting cross-legged on the couch, drinking tea comfortably.
When he saw the King of Qi, he did not stand up to bow and greet him. Instead, he squinted his fox eyes and looked at his face carefully: "Ziheng, I see that your face is flushed and your eyes are red. This is a sign of excessive yang heat. It seems that you are seriously ill."
After a pause, his face full of worry and concern, he asked, "Have you asked a doctor to take a look?"
Huan Xuan glanced at him expressionlessly, "It's just a minor illness. Thank you for coming all the way from the north to the south of the city."
Huan Minggui smiled and said, "It's not a bother, it's not a bother. Actually, I didn't come here specially, but I just stopped by to visit a friend. I came here empty-handed and found out that you were recuperating here, so I naturally came to visit you."
Huan Xuan raised his lip corner and asked, "Which friend is Sixth Cousin visiting?"
Huan Minggui said, "It's a beautiful lady who happens to live in Chang'anfang. Ziheng, do you think it's a coincidence?"
Huan Xuan nodded nonchalantly: "What a coincidence."
After a pause, he said, "I didn't know that my cousin was coming. My humble abode is simple, so please forgive me for not being able to entertain you well."
Huan Minggui seemed not to have heard the hidden meaning of his words. He looked around, curved his eyebrows and smiled, "I think this place is very good. I have heard for a long time that Princess Shou'an's villa has strange trees and rocks, and beautiful buildings. I have always wanted to come and broaden my horizons. Unfortunately, it was dusk when I arrived, so I didn't get to walk around the garden."
Huan Xuan's eyebrows twitched. This meant that he wanted to stay overnight. This guy obviously did it on purpose because he just couldn't stand seeing others doing well.
He raised his eyelids and said calmly, "The garden has been abandoned for many years. It is full of weeds and brambles. It is not worth seeing. Fortunately, Sixth Cousin didn't see it."
Huan Minggui curled his overly red lips and said, "I have seen many well-made gardens, but natural scenery like this is rare and precious. Now that Ziheng mentioned this, I have to see it."
Huan Xuan said, "That's easy. After you finish your dinner, I'll have the lights lighted and have Gao Mai take you for a stroll."
He glanced at Gao Mai coldly and said, "It's okay if my cousin wants to go shopping all night."
Gao Mai knew that his master was blaming him for his incompetence and was deliberately trying to taunt him, so he could only shrink his neck and put on a smile.
Huan Minggui smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Chief Manager Gao."
After a pause, he said to Huan Xuan, "It's just that Fei Ziheng spent so much money on me, and I really feel bad for that."
Huan Xuanwei smiled and said it was okay, then turned around and told Gao Mai to serve the meal, and said, "Send one portion to the inner courtyard, and a pot of wine."
Huan Minggui looked puzzled: "Could it be that Ziheng has another guest?"
Huan Xuan said "hmm" lightly, picked up the teacup, and lowered his eyelids slightly, obviously not intending to elaborate.
Huan Minggui knew it well, so he stopped harping on it.
After a while, the eunuchs prepared dinner and the two of them moved into the hall.
Huan Minggui raised his glass and sniffed, "Yicheng Jiuyun, is it the batch that was offered as tribute two years ago? It was the best brewed that year."
Huan Xuan said, "If you like it, cousin, take two jars back home after dinner."
Huan Minggui pretended not to hear what they said and said with a smile, "Then I won't be polite to you."
He took a sip of wine, exclaimed in praise, put down the wine glass, picked up the jade chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish sashimi as thin as a cicada's wing, dipped it in the clear sauce, put it into his mouth, and savored it carefully.
"Your house has the best food and wine in the whole Chang'an City," Huan Minggui glanced around, "The furnishings are also elegant, and there are forest and spring scenery. If I could stay for a while, it would be like living in heaven."
Huan Xuan said: "My cousin, you are too kind. In my opinion, your Yuzhang Palace is the palace in heaven and the cave of immortals." Let's go back quickly.
The two of them knew it tacitly, but neither of them said it out loud.
Huan Xuan raised his glass and said, "Ziheng, let me offer a glass to you, cousin. Let me drink it first as a sign of respect."
This cousin of mine can't drink much, but he likes wine. I chose this jar of Yicheng Jiuyun, firstly because the wine is good, and secondly because it is strong and a few glasses will make me drunk.
Huan Minggui had no idea what he was planning, so he took a sip from his wine glass and said, "My humble brother has a limited capacity."
He paused and said, "Ziheng is still recovering from his illness. I advise you to drink slowly. Heavy drinking is harmful to your health."
He looked outside and sighed with regret: "It's a pity that there are no music and dance to enjoy. Everything here is good, but it looks like a Buddhist temple. Not to mention the singing girls and dancing girls, even the people serving the meals are eunuchs."
Huan Xuan wished he could skin him alive. The strong liquor went down his throat, and the evil fire that had been suppressed in his body for a day burned even more fiercely. But he could only sit here patiently.
"My cousin is really wronged." He squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth.
After three rounds of drinking, Huan Minggui finally felt a little tipsy. He put down his glass and let out a long sigh.
Normally, the host should ask the guest why he sighed, but Huan Xuan seemed to have no ears and did not respond at all.
Huan Minggui touched his nose, not feeling embarrassed, and said to himself: "Ziheng, do you know why I sigh so long?"
Huan Xuan glanced at him, his eyes were like two ice cones, as if they wanted to pierce through his thick face as thick as a city wall.
Huan Minggui continued, "In fact, the beauty I just mentioned is the one I met in Qinglong Temple before."
Huan Xuan could not help but sneer. The two had never even met each other during the time at Qinglong Temple. It was obvious that this lecher was shameless and vulgar, staring at the women entering and leaving the Buddhist temple. Now in Huan Xuan's mouth, it seemed like they were destined to be together.
Huan Minggui continued, "Later, we met again in the East Market. Ziheng, what do you think, if this isn't our destiny from our past lives?"
Huan Xuan said: "It may not be a marriage destiny." It is a karmic debt.
"It's just that I just discovered today that this beautiful lady is already in love," Huan Minggui glanced at his cousin, "and that man happens to be someone I'm as close to as a brother. Isn't that a coincidence?"
Huan Xuan said coldly: "It's a common thing that things happen by coincidence."
Huan Minggui raised his eyes, looked at Huan Xuan and said, "I would like to ask that friend to give up his possessions. It doesn't matter what you give me, gardens and fields, gold and pearls, beautiful singing girls and dancers, fine horses, anything I have, I will give it all to you."
He paused and said, "Do you think he will agree?"
Huan Xuan's face darkened, unable to suppress the cruelty in his eyes. He stared at Huan Minggui's face like a wolf protecting its food, ready to pounce on his enemy and bite off his neck the next moment.
Even a fearless person like Huan Minggui was frightened by this look.
"A gentleman does not take away what others love. Cousin, you'd better give up as soon as possible." He said in a cold voice.
Huan Minggui nodded meaningfully. Recalling Huan Xuan's reaction at the Plum Blossom Banquet, he knew that his cousin cared a little about this woman, but he didn't expect him to be so concerned about her.
suddenly smiled and said: "But that friend did not marry that beauty, nor even give her the status of a concubine. He just kept her as a concubine. I think he didn't care much about her. Maybe he was still passionate about her, so he couldn't let her go for the time being."
Huan Xuan's face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip from it.
Huan Minggui also looked straight at me, changing his usual cynical attitude: "I cannot bear to see the pearl covered in dust, but I beg this friend, if one day you want to abandon the beauty, please let me know. Although my house is old and dilapidated, there is always a place for her to stay."
"Don't worry, Sixth cousin." Huan Xuan's eyes were as sharp as a knife.
Huan Minggui put down his wine glass, picked up the wine pot and weighed it: "Ah, I finished the whole pot of wine without realizing it."
After a pause, he said, "Since there are distinguished guests in Ziheng's inner courtyard, I will not stay for long."
After that, he stood up, bowed, and said with a smile: "Don't forget what you promised me."
Huan Xuan stood up and said to Gao Mai, "Prepare a carriage for Prince Yuzhang, and fetch two jars of Jiuyun from the cellar and send them to the palace."
Huan Minggui bowed and said, "I always give you the best things. Thank you."
Huan Xuan smiled coldly: "If my cousin likes it, I will offer it to him. Why should I be stingy with a dead thing?" No living person can do it.
Huan Minggui smiled and said, "Ziheng, take good care of yourself. You don't have to see me off."
Huan Xuan had no interest in seeing him off. As he watched the plague god walk out of the door, he immediately flicked his sleeves and strode towards the inner courtyard.
…
The bedroom was silent. There was a single lamp lit beside the bed, and the shadow of the lamp swayed on the screen.
Huan Xuan almost thought that the hunter girl had left until he heard her shallow breathing.
He walked around the screen and found that the woman had not gone to bed. She was still sitting on the couch where he left, covered with a quilted robe.
Her face was faintly glowing in the candlelight, like hazy moonlight.
The pearl was covered in dust, and Huan Minggui's words came to his mind.
He reached out his hand and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips, sliding along the side of her face to her lips, as if to wipe away the invisible dust.
When she was asleep, her lips were slightly parted, with her upper lip slightly upturned, making her look a little childish, but her lower lip was particularly plump.
The touch from the fingertips is so soft and smooth that it is unbelievable.
Huan Xuan's Adam's apple moved, and he leaned over and kissed her lips.
Sui Sui's mouth was blocked by him. He let out a low whimper from his throat and opened his eyes.
She looked at her with a dazed look and called her vaguely, "Your Highness."
Huan Xuan's ears felt hot, numb and itchy, as if someone had sprinkled hot sand into his ears.
Sui Sui suddenly remembered where he was and who was in front of him, and his eyes suddenly became clearer: "Your Highness, you are back?"
As he was about to stand up and salute, Huan Xuan pushed him back onto the couch.
As she moved, the cotton-padded clothes covering her fell off her shoulders. Huan Xuan then realized that she had bathed and changed into clean pajamas. The unique scent on her hair was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, and the familiar "scent of crabapples under the moon" entered his nose.
Huan Xuan was disappointed and annoyed, just like a child who hid a piece of candy in the cupboard before going to school, and thought about it all day, only to find it was gone when he came back.
He tore off the burdens and buried his head in her neck, searching for the scent that had tormented him all the way.
However, the carefully prepared, elegant fragrance lingered on her skin, covering up her original scent. Looking down, the annoying smell was everywhere.
"Why are you taking a bath?" He gritted his teeth at her in revenge and said angrily.
The skin there was so fragile that he let out a painful cry. I don't know what was wrong with him.
It was somewhat unkind of her to stay with him without telling him her true identity, so she was willing to understand his cleanliness and accommodate his preferences. How could she be wrong in trying to keep him clean
"Speak." This time it became a light crush.
Sui Sui took a breath and said intermittently: "I'm sweating from riding a horse... I'm afraid of bumping into... Your Highness..."
She didn't mean to speak in a sweet and tender voice, but it was a natural reaction that made it particularly touching.
"You are not allowed to wash unless I tell you to," Huan Xuan said, "Understand?"
Sui Sui didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Yes."
Huan Xuan then let go of his mouth, sat down on the couch, supported himself with his elbows, leaned back, and said coldly: "Come up."
I followed his instructions, but I couldn't get the hang of it. Suddenly, I felt my waist tighten. The man said in a hoarse voice, "Like on the training ground..."
Sui Sui was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to realize that what he was talking about was riding a horse.
Huan Xuan's breathing gradually became rapid and he stopped talking.
As I looked at his face, mist gradually formed in my eyes.
After a while, the bed curtains were filled with the natural warm fragrance of the woman again.
Huan Xuan finally got what he wanted. He hugged her from behind and sniffed deeply: "From now on, you are not allowed to use incense on your clothes."
He paused and said, "No incense can be burned in the room."
It's natural to do so. There's no need to burn incense, which saves the maids a lot of trouble.
"Do you know?" The man pushed aside her long hair that fell by her ears and whispered, "Someone just asked me for you."
Sui Sui's body stiffened slightly, his mind raced, and he guessed that the man was Huan Minggui from Yuzhang.
She didn't think Huan Xuanhui sent her away - not because he had confidence in himself, but because a proud man like him would not do such a thing.
But there are always unexpected things. Concubines are no different from objects to people like them. There were great scholars of the time who exchanged concubines for horses, and they did not feel ashamed of it, and even regarded it as a romantic affair.
Even if he was unwilling to give her away, if he asked her to serve Huan Minggui for one night, she had no reason to refuse.
If it really comes to this, we will have no choice but to put aside the half-finded clues in the capital and retreat.
As I was thinking about it, I heard a crisp "pop" sound and felt a pain in my body.
Huan Xuan grabbed her slender neck from behind. She bent her body like a bow and whispered in her ear: "Why, are you moved?"
“No…” Sui Sui half turned his body to look at her, with traces of tears in the corners of his eyes.
Huan Xuan made her heart warm at the sight, but he attacked her even harder: "Prince Yuzhang is so handsome and elegant, and he is willing to take you as his concubine. Are you really not tempted?"
"No… "
"Why?"
"Because... Your Highness..."
He was silent for a moment, chuckled, and suddenly became more wild, emphasizing each word: "You really can't leave me?"
Sui Sui was no longer able to speak and could only respond with a lingering look in his eyes.
Huan Xuan suddenly turned her over and bit her throat like a wolf, gnawing at her artery with his teeth, as if threatening: "Even if you want to, I won't let you go. If you follow me, you are mine."
"If you want to leave," his voice was filled with cruelty, "I will kill you."
Sui Sui's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, she felt that he was not joking, and that this was not just nonsense.
She really felt the murderous intent.
But soon she had no time to think about it.
She was caught up in an unprecedented storm, with all respects and taboos thrown out of her mind.
When the wind stopped and the rain ceased, Huan Xuan realized the burning pain on his back. He looked in the bronze mirror and saw bloodstains all over his back. Some places were still oozing blood.
He frowned, his Adam's apple moved, and he had a strange feeling - this woman scratched him without knowing the severity of the injury, but he was actually a little happy.
Sui Sui also saw the bloodstains, which looked hideous at first glance, but she no longer had the energy to care.
She seemed to have tamed ten wild horses in succession. She collapsed on the couch exhausted and didn't even want to move a fingertip.
After a while, she finally remembered the rules that Grandma Gao had repeatedly reminded her of, and struggled to get out of bed: "I will help Your Highness bathe."
"No need, I'll go by myself." Huan Xuan said.
Sui Sui just said something polite and immediately followed suit: "Then I will take my leave."
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Did the king let you go?"
Sui Sui could only patiently ask, "What instructions do you have, Your Highness?"
Huan Xuan said: "You sleep here."
After a pause, he added: "So that I can be at your service at any time."
Sui Sui glanced at the pale window paper, moved his lips, but didn't retort in the end.
Huan Xuan was relieved when he saw how obedient she was. "Tell someone to get some clean water to wipe your body. Don't use the scented bath beans. I get dizzy just by smelling the spices."
When I came back from taking a shower, Sui Sui was already sleeping on the bed.
She lowered her head and sniffed. Although her underwear was not scented, there was a similar sachet in her suitcase, so it was inevitable that the smell would be on it.
He quickly stripped off all his clothes, threw them far away, stuffed the person into the quilt, and then went to sleep contentedly.