Spring Banquet

// Entangling him, trapping him!

Li Huaiyu held the prescription tightly and wandered around until she found the medicine boy.

“This medicine needs to be boiled for half an hour,” the medicine boy said as he handed her the medicine and a jar. “I have quite a lot on my hands. Could you help me keep an eye on it?”

“No problem,” Li Huaiyu nodded with a smile, taking the fan from his hand and bringing a stool to sit beside the small stove.

The medicine boy hurried off to the other side, the spacious backyard filled with boiling medicine. He had no time to pay attention to her.

Li Huaiyu glanced at the medicine jar, narrowing her eyes slightly.

After half an hour, the well-boiled medicine was poured into a bowl and placed in front of Jiang Xuanjin.

Jiang Xuanjin leaned halfway against the headboard, glancing at the medicine and then at her, avoiding eye contact.

Li Huaiyu was taken aback, then sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the bowl, blowing on it. “I understand, come, let me feed you personally!”

Eyebrow twitching, Jiang Xuanjin said in a deep voice, “I don’t want to drink it.”

“You can’t recover from an illness without taking medicine!” she stared at him, then coaxed him like a child. “Look, I spent half an hour boiling this medicine, using top-quality ingredients. Even if you don’t care about me, you should care about these precious herbs.”

Lowering his gaze to the brown medicinal liquid, a faint gleam flickered in Jiang Xuanjin’s eyes.

“You drink first.”

Huh? Li Huaiyu was momentarily stunned, then she suppressed her smile. “Do you suspect me?”

Coughing twice, Jiang Xuanjin said, “Anything that goes into my mouth has to be tasted by someone else first, it’s a rule.”

“Come on, you just think I might poison you,” she scoffed, her expression turning cold as she looked at him. “I’ve been watching over this medicine for half an hour, burning my hands in the process, only to end up kindly feeding it to a donkey.”

The tone sounded like genuine heartbreak.

However, Jiang Xuanjin wasn’t buying it and said calmly, “You chose to boil the medicine yourself.”

In other words, you brought this upon yourself, you reap what you sow, you’re ruining your own enjoyment.

“If you don’t want to, you can leave now.”

Li Huaiyu listened and chuckled. She tossed the spoon from the medicine bowl onto a low stool beside her and lifted the bowl, gulping down the medicine.

That’s right, she didn’t just take a sip, she drank the whole bowl in one go.

Jiang Xuanjin still had a calm expression, but upon seeing her actions, his eyes finally showed some fluctuations. “What are you doing?”

Setting down the empty bowl, Li Huaiyu wiped her mouth. “You doubted me, didn’t you? Then don’t drink this medicine. Let me boil it again from scratch.”

After saying that, she stood up and began to walk away.

“…” Jiang Xuanjin was a bit surprised. Based on his judgment, this girl should have intended to cling to him, although he didn’t know her motives, she shouldn’t have any good intentions.

But how did it turn out? Without saying a word, this person was actually about to leave?

Li Huaiyu didn’t walk quickly, and even slowed her pace quietly. Her departing figure seemed filled with anger and grievances, with her shoulders shrugging up and down.

Just as she was about to step out of the doorstep, she finally heard a voice from behind, “Wait.”

Feeling delighted in her heart, Li Huaiyu maintained her expression of grievance and turned around with a resentful tone. “What is it?”

Jiang Xuanjin let out a soft sigh. “Thank you.”

He was someone who responded to kindness rather than force. If someone genuinely treated him well, he should express gratitude, that was basic manners. Although this girl’s gaze didn’t make him feel comfortable, her actions indeed showed no intention of harming him. The medicine that had been boiled for half an hour was drunk in one go, so it must have been scalding hot.

Considering this, he glanced at her, pursed his lips, and softened his expression a bit.

This was the result she wanted!

Li Huaiyu couldn’t help but craft a cunning smile in her heart. This is what it means to retreat in order to advance, to give the appearance of being captured in order to win freedom. Look, she succeeded again!

She knew very well how guarded Jiang Xuanjin was. Any underhanded tricks wouldn’t work until his guard was lowered. That’s why she hesitated in the courtyard for half an hour, refraining from putting anything in the medicine jar.

As it turned out, she really understood him well!

Grinning, she leaned back towards the bed and tilted her head, looking at him. “You actually can’t bear to let me go!”

The face that had just softened turned dark again as he retorted, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

It was just a simple expression of gratitude!

“Alright, alright, I know you’re shy. I understand, that’s settled!” Li Huaiyu generously patted his shoulder and said, “We have an unspoken understanding.”

What kind of unspoken understanding? Jiang Xuanjin was so angry that he couldn’t speak, and he coughed twice. Li Huaiyu clapped her head and exclaimed, “Oh no! I drank your medicine, so there’s nothing for you to drink today. Your condition might worsen.”

“…Who asked you to drink all the medicine in one go.”

“I was angry,” Li Huaiyu pouted. “I treated someone with all my heart and soul, but what did I get in return? Suspicion. Anyone would be angry in my place.”

Jiang Xuanjin let out a soft snort, laid back on the bed, and closed his eyes to sleep.

It was already midnight, and Li Huaiyu saw that he had no intention of accommodating her. So she simply sat by the bedside, one hand supporting her chin, and the other gently touching his forehead.

Cheng Xu, who had silently hidden in the corner, saw that she didn’t make any aggressive moves, so he remained silent.

The next day, at the end of the hour of Mao, Jiang Xuanjin opened his eyes and felt that there was someone in his embrace.

Legs sprawled across his, arms around his waist, as he turned his head, he saw a frail and slightly sickly delicate face just half an inch away from his own. The pale pink lips were slightly parted, and at the corner of those lips, transparent drool dripped down…

Slightly taken aback, Jiang Xuanjin narrowed his eyes.

Just as Cheng Xu outside was about to push the door open, a muffled bang came from inside the room.

“Ah!” Huaiyu woke up, tumbling on the ground for several rounds before coming to a stop. She sat up in confusion and looked at the person on the bed. “What are you doing?”

Leaning against the headboard, Jiang Xuanjin coldly replied, “No shame!”

Can a man’s bed be climbed on so casually?

Furious and laughing at the same time, Huaiyu pointed at Cheng Xu, who was entering through the door, and said, “Ask him, ask him what you did last night!”

Jiang Xuanjin was taken aback, turned his head towards the door, and saw Cheng Xu looking embarrassed as he placed a basin on the nearby shelf and respectfully greeted, “Master.”

“What’s going on?” Jiang Xuanjin was a bit bewildered.

Cheng Xu scratched the back of his head and walked up to him, whispering, “Last night, in the middle of the night, you had a high fever and were shivering. You grabbed onto this young lady’s arm and refused to let go… so…”

Jiang Xuanjin’s face turned pale, and he stared at Cheng Xu with a sharp gaze.

Cheng Xu quickly shook his head. “This subordinate is not lying!”

Huaiyu sat on the ground and hummed, “He acted like a hooligan first, and now he’s falsely accusing me. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?”

After a moment of thought, she added, “I won’t accept any compensation other than you offering yourself to me.”

“You’re dreaming.” Jiang Xuanjin coughed lightly and turned his head away, his face still flushed.

“Master,” Cheng Xu saw his extreme embarrassment and skillfully changed the subject, “Someone just delivered a message, saying that the Chief Secretary, Li Daren, is seeking an audience.”

Li Daren? Li Fengxing?

As soon as Huaiyu heard this, she stood up.