Jiang Yanyi was busy until the evening, and finally remembered what he had forgotten.
Since Feng Shuo was able to send a carriage to pick up the siblings, they must be at home!
For both public and private reasons, I should go to his house to express my gratitude.
At noon, she stewed an old hen on the stove to make soup for Chu Yangui to nourish his body. Jiang Yanyi found a soup bowl, divided out a bowl for Feng Shuo, and told Chef Yao that they didn't need to wait for her for dinner. Then she took the soup to Feng Mansion.
She went to Feng Shuo's yard first, but Feng Shuo was not there. The guard said that Feng Shuo had gone to the greenhouse.
Jiang Yanyi turned and walked to the greenhouse. Although it was freezing and snowy outside, the greenhouse was warm and cozy. The out-of-season flowers and plants were growing luxuriantly, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Feng Shuo was wearing casual home clothes with his sleeves rolled up. He was holding a wooden ladle in his hand and watering the peppers planted by Jiang Yanyi.
After Jiang Yanyi went to the Chu family, he didn't have time to take care of the peppers for a while. He only asked the gardener of Feng Mansion to help take care of them. Now he found that the pepper seedlings had already borne fruit, but they were less than half a finger long, and the skin of the peppers was all green.
Jiang Yanyi couldn't help herself, her smile almost reaching her ears. She asked Feng Shuo, "Weren't you in the military camp before? When did you come back?"
Feng Shuo watered the two nearby pepper plants and threw the wooden ladle into the bucket. Compared to Jiang Yanyi's happiness, his expression seemed a little cold: "I have been in the military camp for more than half a month, and I have already intimidated them. Now that the Turkic prince has been captured, the Turkic side dare not act rashly. We can have a good New Year."
Jiang Yanyi said "Oh", completely ignoring the coldness on Feng Shuo's face, and happily went to inspect his chili base.
There are many small fruits hanging on each pepper plant. When these peppers are ripe, it will be the beginning of spring. By then, she will have enough pepper seeds to grow more peppers!
Feng Shuo looked at the man whose heart and eyes were filled with only chili peppers, and his face became even more sour. He asked coldly: "What are you doing here?"
Jiang Yanyi then remembered the purpose of her trip. She suppressed her smile, coughed twice and said, "I made some chicken soup. I'll bring you a bowl."
When Feng Shuo heard that someone had come specially to bring him chicken soup, his expression improved a little: "Is the store busy this morning?"
No! She just completely forgot about him!
But Jiang Yanyi didn't dare to say this, so she made up an excuse: "My yard is small. Once Yan Guiyi moves in, I don't know how to accommodate the servant who takes care of his daily life. I'm looking for a landlord to ask about the house."
Feng Shuo was successfully fooled. He said, "That's easy. The west wing of my house is only separated from your yard by a wall. It's idle anyway. I'll have someone clean it up and break through the wall on your side so we can go in and out. The yard is big, you and your sister can live in it, and you can also accommodate a few servants."
It is not easy to find a house that suits your taste. Jiang Yanyi has actually looked at quite a few houses these days, but none of them were satisfactory.
Feng Shuo's words made Jiang Yanyi a little excited. Last time, she climbed over the wall to save a parrot and fell down. The yard was indeed very big. As long as it was cleaned up a little, it would be a good place to live.
But she suddenly remembered the incident in the early autumn when pomegranates inexplicably fell in the yard. Jiang Yanyi originally did not believe in ghosts and gods, but since she had encountered them through time travel, she began to feel a little awed.
Jiang Yanyi felt that Feng Shuo might not know about the haunted house, so he could only ask indirectly, "Did any murder happen in the west wing when the previous owner of this house lived there?"
Feng Shuo glanced at her with a hint of doubt: "Why do you say that?"
Jiang Yanyi said, "In the fall, the pomegranate tree in the yard bore fruit. Suddenly, one night, half of the pomegranates from the tree fell into my yard. I suspected that the yard was haunted."
Feng Shuo: “…”
He didn't speak for a long time.
Jiang Yanyi felt that he didn't want to pay attention to her.
He wouldn't get angry just because I said the house might be haunted, right
After spending so much time with Feng Shuo, Jiang Yanyi knew that he was not that kind of person, so he stretched out a finger and poked him: "What's wrong with you?"
Feng Shuo answered irrelevantly: "There has never been a murder in that yard. Pomegranates represent fertility and good fortune, and symbolize good luck and longevity. It is a good omen if it falls into your yard."
After hearing what he said, Jiang Yanyi also felt that it made sense. She nodded and said, "Then I will discuss the rent with Uncle Fu tomorrow."
Feng Shuo was annoyed and stretched out his hand to pinch her face: "What, do you still want to give me money?"
Jiang Yanyi did plan this: "I can't always take advantage of you."
Feng Shuo looked at her face, which was puffed up by his pinching. The skin under his fingertips was soft and delicate. Her eyes were always full of water, as if they could speak. Her cherry lips, which were painted with lipstick, were slightly parted, and they were plump and rosy, like peach petals covered with dew in March.
He loosened the grip on her soft cheek, moved his thumb down, and gently pressed the corner of her lips. His eyes were as deep as an ancient well, as if he wanted to drag people's sight down with him into the endless darkness: "Then let me take advantage of you."
Although the force of his rough fingertips pressing on the corner of her lips was light, the warm touch was particularly arousing.
Jiang Yanyi felt like his heart skipped a beat.
When his beautifully shaped thin lips were about to press down, she closed her eyes. However, footsteps were suddenly heard outside the greenhouse. Jiang Yanyi panicked and quickly took a step back to increase the distance between them.
The person who came in was the gardener. He would come to check the flowers in the greenhouse before leaving work every night.
Seeing Feng Shuo inside, the gardener quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, are you here to visit these peppers again?"
When Jiang Yanyi heard the word "again", her heart inexplicably felt warm.
Feng Shuo looked a little uncomfortable. He said "hmm" and told the gardener, "I have checked all the flowers in the greenhouse. You can go back now."
The gardener tactfully withdrew.
When no one was in the greenhouse, Jiang Yanyi asked Feng Shuo with a smile, "So you often come here to help me take care of these peppers?"
Feng Shuo avoided her gaze and said, "You took care of it like your own precious baby, so I thought it was something else and just came over to take a look a few times out of curiosity."
Someone was being stubborn, so Jiang Yanyi didn't expose him. She glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting late. I have to go back first. The chicken soup is in your room. Remember to drink it when you get back."
Feng Shuo glanced at the dusk all around him and put down his rolled-up sleeves: "I'll take you there."
It had been snowing heavily since the beginning of winter. When they left the greenhouse, the servant handed them an oil-paper umbrella. Feng Shuo held the umbrella and walked Jiang Yanyi to the hanging flower gate.
Jiang Yanyi stopped and said, "Just send it here."
Feng Shuo knew that the two of them were not engaged yet, and Jiang Yanyi would always feel psychologically burdened if they were too intimate in front of others.
He didn't force it, but just handed the umbrella to Jiang Yanyi: "Go back with the umbrella."
"No, it's only a few steps from here to my shop."
Jiang Yanyi refused to ask for an umbrella and walked away step by step in the heavy snow and the twilight all around.
Feng Shuo looked at her back, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
He had never liked anyone before, and he didn't know how to like someone. He knew that no girl would be willing to approach someone like him, so in this relationship, he had always been accommodating Jiang Yanyi to the greatest extent possible.
He never forced her to do anything she didn't like, and for the sake of her reputation, he tried his best not to do anything that would cause trouble to her.
But she was so evasive that she didn't even want to take an umbrella, which still hurt him a little.
When Feng Shuo was lost in thought, someone suddenly threw himself into his arms, stood on tiptoe and quickly kissed him on the lips.
It was Jiang Yanyi who walked away and then turned back.
"You don't take your old injuries seriously anymore, but I can't ignore them."
After she said this, she glared at him and ran away in the snow again. When she turned the corner, she turned back and waved at him: "I'm going back!"
Feng Shuo stood there with the umbrella in his hand. After a while, he touched his lips with his other hand, but he couldn't suppress the curled corners of his lips.
***
After Jiang Yanyi ran out of Feng Mansion, he stood with his back against the wall for a while, his heart pounding and his face feeling hot as if it was about to burn.
This was obviously not the first time I kissed Feng Shuo, but the difference between being active and passive seemed quite big.
That idiot, she knew what he was thinking just by looking back from a distance!
Jiang Yanyi calmed down for a while before going back to the store.
Chef Yao and his group had gone back after dinner, and now only Qiu Kui and Chu Zhong were left in the restaurant.
Because there were not enough rooms and Chu Zhong had to take care of Chu Yangui's daily life all the time, he made a bed on the floor in Chu Yangui's room.
Qiu Kui left some food for Jiang Yanyi on the stove. Jiang Yanyi ate it hastily, put up the soup for tomorrow, and while Chu Yangui was still awake, he added a charcoal basin to his room.
Chu Yangui was talking to the parrot. When he saw Jiang Yanyi come in, he asked, "Sister, did you buy this parrot?"
Jiang Yanyi said: "No, it was given to me by the palace next door when the store opened."
"So that's how it is." Chu Yangui smiled innocently, but his eyes were indescribably complicated. "We were able to move today thanks to the carriage from the palace."
Feng Shuo had a bad reputation outside, and people said he was cruel and merciless. Jiang Yanyi was afraid that Chu Yangui had some prejudice against Feng Shuo, so he said, "Everyone in the palace is very kind. When I first opened a shop here, there were some scoundrels causing trouble, and it was the palace that stepped in to help."
When Jiang Yangui heard that someone had come to cause trouble, his eyes suddenly became sharp: "Who is that scoundrel?"
"He was the nephew-in-law of Magistrate Xie. He committed a crime and his whole family has been in prison." Jiang Yanyi added some lamp oil to the oil lamp beside her. When she spoke of this, her expression was calm, as if she had not worried about it any longer. However, Chu Yangui's hands under the quilt were still clenched a little.
He said, "Sister, I won't let you suffer this again in the future."
The door was not closed properly and a gust of cold wind rushed in, nearly blowing out the oil lamp. Jiang Yanyi quickly used his hands to cover the bean-sized flame.
When Chu Zhong closed the door, the trembling light finally became brighter in Jiang Yanyi's palm. She smiled: "Fortunately, the wind didn't blow out the light. Those things have passed. I was worried. Yan Gui, don't think too much. Go to bed early. I'm next door. Just call me if you have anything."
"I don't need to. Sister, you should go back and rest early."
After Jiang Yanyi left the room, Chu Yangui stared at the dim light beside the table in a daze.
He is also a small flame that has not been extinguished because of his elder sister's protection. He needs to become stronger quickly.
***
The next day, Feng Mansion's housekeeper came to discuss the matter of renting the west wing with Jiang Yanyi early in the morning. It was called a discussion, but there was almost no need for discussion. No matter what the configuration was, the west wing of Feng Mansion was the best.
Moreover, just last night, the Feng Mansion had ordered people to build up the gate leading to the west wing with bricks. Now, people from the Feng Mansion can no longer enter or exit the west wing, and they have to break through the wall on Jiang Yanyi's side before they can enter or exit.
Jiang Yanyi could only sigh that Feng Shuo was so quick in doing things, but for a moment he didn't know how to describe his feelings.
The housekeeper Fuxi handed the land deed to Jiang Yanyi, but confiscated the rent, saying only that it was Feng Shuo's order.
That afternoon, Jiang Yanyi went to see Feng Shuo, who was reading in the room. He raised his head from the book, pinched her nose, and said helplessly and dotingly, "When will you stop thinking so much in your little head? Just accept what I give you. You will be my wife sooner or later, and the entire palace will be handed over to you in the future. What does a courtyard mean to you?"
"But… "
"Instead of thinking about these trivial things, you might as well practice your handwriting." Feng Shuo took out the calligraphy copybook and handed it to her.
Jiang Yanyi's eyebrows drooped instantly: "No, no, I'm still busy in the store."
Feng Shuo didn't know whether to laugh or get angry for a moment. He asked her, "Is it so difficult to practice writing a single character?"
Jiang Yanyi gave up and said, "Every profession has its own specialty."
Feng Shuo put down the book, looked out the window and said, "Forget it, come with me out of the city and I'll take you to an interesting place."
"Where are you going?"
"You'll know when you get there."
***
Feng Shuo took Jiang Yanyi on horseback and rode out of Xizhou City and headed straight to the suburbs.
If Jiang Yanyi didn't completely trust this man, he would have suspected that he was going to take her to the wilderness and sell her off.
The warhorse stopped in a plum grove. The branches were covered with snow and the red plum blossoms were in full bloom. It was as beautiful as a painting.
Feng Shuo dismounted first, put his hands under Jiang Yanyi's armpits, and lifted her off the horse like a child.
Apparently, few people visited this plum forest. There wasn't even a footprint on the snow. Occasionally, one or two clumps of dead grass could be seen standing upright through the snow under the roots of the dark plum trees.
Jiang Yanyi was wearing a red velvet cloak to keep out the cold. The hood of the cloak was trimmed with snow-white rabbit fur, which made her face look as white as frost and snow.
"What is this place? Why are there so many plum trees?" Jiang Yanyi asked while rubbing his hands and breathing out.
The snow scenery in Meilin is beautiful, but a little cold.
Feng Shuo wrapped her hand with his big palm and walked into the plum forest. "The most famous plum wine in Xizhou City is produced here. What do you think this place is?"
After walking for a while, I smelled an intoxicating aroma of wine. After turning a corner, I saw a thatched cottage covered with snow.
There were several large vats for brewing wine outside the thatched cottage, and many jars of wine were neatly arranged in the yard.
Before the two of them came closer, a gray-haired old man walked out of the thatched cottage and asked Feng Shuo with a smile: "You are here, what kind of wine do you want?"
Feng Shuo said: "Same old."
He looked down at Jiang Yanyi: "What kind of wine do you like to drink?"
Jiang Yanyi shook his head: "I don't drink."
"It's a pity to come here without a pot of good wine." He turned to the old man and said, "Another pot of fruit wine."
The old man responded and went to the back of the house to get some wine.
Feng Shuo was obviously a frequent visitor here. He went straight to a low table covered with bamboo mats, sat on the futon in a casual manner, raised his eyebrows and said to Jiang Yanyi, "Sit down."
The bamboo window was half open, and one could see the plum forest outside.
Jiang Yanyi also walked over, knelt on the futon, looked at the scenery outside the window and said, "This is indeed an elegant place."
The old man quickly brought the wine over. Feng Shuo's was a large jar, and hers was a small wine pot, but the wine bowls were palm-sized earthenware bowls.
The old man smiled and said to Jiang Yanyi: "The fruit wine I brew is not intoxicating, you can try it, young lady."
The appetizers were a plate of boiled peanuts and a plate of bean curd cakes. They were not very exquisite foods, but they were more artistic with the scenery and the wine.
Jiang Yanyi felt that compared to this place, the furnishings in his hot pot restaurant were just a pretense of elegance.
There was a flickering flame in the small stove warming wine nearby, and steam was rising above the pot.
Feng Shuo poured a full bowl of wine and drank it in one gulp, looking extremely heroic.
It was the first time Jiang Yanyi saw him drinking. He was stunned for a moment, his eyes wide open.
Feng Shuo asked her, "Why are you looking at me?"
Jiang Yanyi said: "Well... I don't know how to ride a horse, so you should drink less."
If he gets drunk here, neither of them might be able to go back home tonight.
The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-12-12 22:35:50~2020-12-13 23:35:51~
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: frogbrothers, safe., I followed the fire, throughthrew- 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Thai sweet rabbit 70 bottles; plum wine 66 bottles; 22664285 50 bottles; Xun is Xunxun, Momo 20 bottles; Habitual toothache, Ruirui is uneasy, Huoyanshan, Creek, Throughthrew-, ____Rhapsody_ 10 bottles; Xiaoxiji, Shanshan, Yang Yupian, Lacey, Glacier 5 bottles; Zhou Baozi, Echo 3 bottles; Zhunzhunbuyu, Crescent 2 bottles; Yizhixiaoliangjin, Myvanillaworld, Muzhijuanjuan, Buy tea and find me, Fiona, Maybe A Zi 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!