The next day, when I woke up, I was still in Xu Qihe's arms.
His body is warm and tight, hugging him is like hugging a big stove. I moved a little, and he opened his eyes.
"... You woke up?" He seemed to be dreaming, "What time is it?" He didn't look like he was going to get up at all, but he hugged me again.
While speaking, servants from the Xu Mansion walked in. All the servants in the aristocratic family have become skilled, and as soon as they heard any movement, they knew they would go to the master's side to serve them.
As soon as they came in, I got up from him. A servant heard Xu Qihe's question and came over and said, "Master, it's already Chen's hour."
But Xu Qihe glanced at him: "Usually I ask you to be smarter, but you are like a wooden fish. I don't need you to be so smart today, but you are as sharp as a rabbit." The servant seemed to be Xu Qihe's personal slave, He looked at me in embarrassment: "This..."
Then I thought it over and said: "It's already late, I have to offer tea to... mother in a while."
Only then did Xu Qihe smile slightly: "Since Shaojun speaks for you, let's forget it this time."
The two of us washed, changed our clothes, and had breakfast. After a lot of trouble, we finally went to see Mrs. Jiang, Mrs. Huayang.
Xu's second concubine, Princess Huayang, was originally the concubine of Duke Jing's mansion, but she was also the only daughter. She was honored and favored since she was a child, so she was awarded the title of Princess Huayang. It is said that she has a very beautiful appearance and a lively and pleasant temperament. She was almost chosen by the late emperor to be the crown prince's concubine. However, she fell in love with Xu Shilang, who was then a member of the household department, at first sight during the Shangyuan Festival cruise, regardless of the fact that Xu Shilang already had a wife and a concubine in his family. , insisted on marrying. Now in Xu's residence, everyone calls her Mrs. Huayang, and occasionally Mrs. Jiang.
Because of Xu Sanshao's weak constitution since his mother's womb, it was rumored that Mrs. Huayang favored Xu Qihe very much. After I met Mrs. Jiang, I found out that this was indeed the case.
When she saw me and Xu Qihe, she called out: "He Lang."
"Mother." Xu Qihe led me over. Mrs. Huayang is younger and more beautiful than I thought. She has a petite body and exquisite makeup. Standing with Xu Qihe, she looks more like a brother and sister than a mother and a child. Xu Qihe said to me: "This is my mother, mother, he is Jingting."
Sitting in the seat, Mrs. Jiang looked at me, I hurriedly took the tea brought by the servant, then knelt down, and called her mother in a polite manner.
Mrs. Jiang took the tea in my hand, took a sip and said, "I knew from the day we got married that you were a handsome and well-behaved child. No wonder you talked about you with me every day, Helang."
"Mother." Xu Qihe called her in a low voice, then looked at me, saw that I was still kneeling, and came to pull me up.
According to the etiquette system, after my mother-in-law drank tea, I had to accept Jiang's gift to show that she recognized me before I could get up. As expected, Mrs. Jiang said, "Helang, I haven't given you a gift yet, what are you in a hurry for?"
Xu Qihe replied: "Then why don't mother send it quickly?"
Mrs. Jiang, on the other hand, smiled leisurely, which could be described as a charming smile: "I already gave him my crane man, so how can I give him any other gifts."
Xu Qihe's ears turned red from being teased, and I couldn't help but laugh.
After all, Mrs. Jiang gave me the same gift. It was the painting of auspicious cranes and peonies, which is also a gift that cannot be bought with a thousand dollars. She said: "This painting was a token of love between He Lang's father and me. Now I will hand it over to you, and I hope you can return your sincerity to He Lang."
I thanked Mrs. Jiang, and carefully took that painting away. In the days to come, whenever I think of this moment, I can't help but sigh, it's easier said than done.
Jiang Shi is a woman who can speak well, even though she is a married woman, she is still playful, which makes me understand why the master of the Xu family still has a preference for her.
Xu Qihe and I had lunch at Mrs. Jiang's place before we left.
Xu Qihe didn't directly take me back to the small courtyard, but wandered around the Xu Mansion courtyard. He held my hand, and didn't care about the servants watching, he just took me to look at the courtyard of Xu Mansion.
"This small courtyard is surrounded by water in the north and mountains in the south. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. The pavilion was visited by Emperor Gaozong before, and he wrote a poem there." He took it to another place, where the layout can be said to be uncanny. , I didn't expect that Xu Mansion had such a powerful craftsman. When Xu Qihe heard it, he smiled: "I actually hired someone to repair this Indus Garden."
I was a little surprised, but then I thought, Third Young Master Xu is a wedge after all. Although his body is a bit weak, he is also much stronger than others in other aspects. He walked around the lake and said: "My mother had an accident when she was pregnant with me, so I have been a medicine pot since I was a child. Since I can't step out of the house, I usually have nothing to do, so I have to find something to do."
When he said that, I felt a little pity for him. In the past, at home, although I was not taken seriously, I was still in good health, and no one would control me wherever I went.
"I am not as good as elder brother with a sword, and I am not as good as second brother in writing." He turned around, looked at me and said, "But if you talk about this, no one can compare with me." According to the photo, his overly fair face was stained with twilight, and his complexion seemed to be better than last night.
I smiled slightly, and answered him: "This courtyard is indeed a marvelous workmanship, and Jingting has never seen anything better than this."
As soon as Xu Qihe heard it, he came over happily and held my hands: "Then do you like it?"
I nodded, and he seemed very happy, and said to me: "In the future, I will also build a yard for you. Only we can go there, other people...no one else." After saying something, Xu Qihe went on to say: "You are like your mother, how about calling me Helang?"
I was taken aback for a moment, and it was obvious that he had an expectant look on his face, and it was hard to take his meaning away...
"... Crane, Crane Lang."
"En." Xu Qihe responded to me.
My heart was slightly hot, and I also said to him: "You can also call me Sanxi." I said softly, "My family...all call me that."
Later, Xu Qihe kept calling me Sanxi. Always.
After all, he is not in good health, and he will be tired after walking around for a while. I went back to the small courtyard with him, the day passed very quickly, and it was dark in the blink of an eye.
This night, Xu Qihe still stayed with me.
Ordinarily, after getting married, the wives have to have sex with each husband for three days. Earlier, both Xu Changfeng and Xu Yanqing were very indifferent to me, which made me forget this rule. I didn't remember until the servants were about to go to bed.
The glazed lamp flickered, and the servants untied our robes and filed out.
I slowly lay down on the bed, wondering if Xu Qihe would touch me tonight. Unexpectedly, he lay down next to me and still did not move my body. I couldn't help but look at him a few more times, he thought he noticed it, opened his eyes and said, "Why don't you sleep?" He was quiet, and asked, "But you're not used to me being by your side?"
"No." I shook my head and answered lightly.
Xu Qihe turned over and looked at me. His complexion was not ordinary, and under the dim light, he was even more beautiful and gentle: "In the past, I often couldn't sleep well, and I had to wake up several times a night... But last night, it was me. In the seventeen years I've been alive, I slept the most comfortably."
I remembered that there was indeed a faint blue shadow under his eyes yesterday. He has to drink medicine every day, and he can't sleep peacefully at night, which makes me feel even more pity for him. He looked at me for a long time, and suddenly asked softly: "Sanxi... can I, kiss you?"