Chapter 208: Warm Hands
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Due to her past experience helping Mingzhu in the kitchen, Su Lan was quite adept at this sort of task. She immediately called Su Jin and others to serve Mingzhu, while she herself enlisted two little maids to accompany her, grabbed a lantern, and headed to the kitchen to arrange delicious, filling, and easily digestible food.
The kitchen was now under the management of Li Quanxin, so naturally, it was imperative to prioritize the Wangfei’s instructions. With Su Lan’s orders relayed, the kitchen staff swiftly got to work, preparing the food in no time. The rough kitchen maids then carried it along with Su Lan to the front.
Yuwen Chu solemnly spoke with his aides and subordinates, and upon hearing that the Wangfei had sent food for him, he couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling in his heart. In the past, there were people who eagerly sent various late-night snacks to him, claiming to have made them themselves, but he usually didn’t eat them. At most, he would politely accept them and set them aside, refusing to see the person who brought them and finding it bothersome. Today, when Mingzhu sent him a late-night snack, he naturally knew it wouldn’t be made by her hands, but he was still pleased with her thoughtfulness and somewhat hoped she would personally bring it to him.
Wei Tiande saw him silent and thought he was unhappy, so he whispered, “The Wangfei also had the kitchen prepare some food for several gentlemen… If Your Highness doesn’t want to eat, shall I have Su Lan take it back?”
He had eaten with Mingzhu earlier, but these aides and subordinates hadn’t had dinner yet and must be very hungry. It was remarkable that someone as absent-minded as him could think of this. Perhaps they were hesitant to come forward, fearing they would disturb him? Men and women were indeed different; it was no wonder they said men were responsible for the outside and women for the inside. Having a wife was quite different from not having one. Yuwen Chu thought this way and felt particularly happy. With a smile, he said kindly, “The Wangfei has sent food for you gentlemen, which I neglected. I assume you must be starving by now. Put down what you’re doing and have a meal.”
The group below became happy, praising the Wangfei for her thoughtfulness and suitability as a good Wangfei for the Wangye. Seeing the exquisite food brought in, they were even more delighted, almost lifting Mingzhu up to the sky, saying that they were fortunate because of the Wangye’s favor.
Yuwen Chu knew that half of their praise was for his ears, but he also felt that Mingzhu deserved the compliments. He listened with a smile, and the frustration from the failed actions decreased by more than half. Seeing everyone eating and drinking well, Su Lan led the servants to tidy up the dishes and utensils and then retreated. Yuwen Chu called Wei Tiande over and whispered a few words to him.
Wei Tiande hurriedly caught up with Su Lan, pleasingly saying, “Su Lan, His Highness asked me to pass on a message to the Wangfei. He said she shouldn’t wait for him and should rest first. He’ll return as soon as he’s done with his official duties.”
This trip of Su Lan’s was for this message, wasn’t it? She thanked Wei Tiande happily and hurried back to report to Mingzhu.
The position of women in the backyard originated from the power of their natal families and the love and respect of men. Mingzhu understood this and also knew that Su Lan was doing this for her own good. However, she had long understood that the power of the natal family and the love of men could only maintain temporary glory, not lifelong stability; she had to rely on herself. But since Su Lan was so happy, she wouldn’t dampen her spirits and smiled before going to bed.
After a nap, she woke up and found the bed empty; Yuwen Chu hadn’t returned yet. She turned over again, stretched out comfortably, and laid down. Just as she was drifting off, she heard the greetings from Su Jin and others outside, “Greetings to His Highness.”
Yuwen Chu had returned! Mingzhu quickly rolled to the inner side of the bed, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. The footsteps of Yuwen Chu approached closer and closer to her. The rustle of clothes brushing against each other sounded, then the bed lightly sank, and the faint, cool scent of agarwood fragrance filled her nostrils.
A hand reached out and hugged her waist. Yuwen Chu leaned close to her like a fish, pressing his forehead against her neck and softly said, “It’s really autumn now, it’s a bit chilly at night. Would Wangfei warm my hands for me?”
Mingzhu kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He continued, “I heard from Su Lan that the Wangfei didn’t take her medicine properly tonight? If she hasn’t taken it, then she must be feeling better. Wangfei once said that as long as she’s healthy, she would make me happy. Do you remember?”
Mingzhu quickly said, “I fell asleep.” Then realizing it wasn’t right, she corrected herself, “I just had a bad dream, feeling uncomfortable.”
“Is that so?” Yuwen Chu suppressed a smile and exerted some force, pulling her over to face him, “If I hold you, you won’t have bad dreams.”
Mingzhu could only pretend to be pitiful, “Spare me, I really can’t. I’m not feeling well yet. Can we wait until I’m better?”
“What do you mean by ‘that’?” Yuwen Chu chuckled and playfully scratched her back a few times with his fingers. Seeing her tense up, he let her go, “Then you’re not allowed to turn your back to me.”
The two laid on their backs, and Mingzhu stared blankly at the canopy for a while under the dim light coming in from outside. She closed her eyes, but Yuwen Chu turned over, propped his chin with one hand, and picked up a strand of her long hair placed by the pillow, teasingly twirling it between his teeth. Mingzhu couldn’t stand it, so she opened her eyes and met his black, deep eyes.
“Can’t sleep?” Yuwen Chu smiled at her gently, “The night is long, why don’t we make tea and chat? Have a good conversation?”
“About what?” Mingzhu was really tired. The poison from a few days ago, though not deep, had still caused damage to her. She felt sleepy whenever she sat or stood for long. If he hadn’t suddenly come back and startled her, she would have been asleep by now.
“We can talk about anything.” Yuwen Chu naturally reached out and pulled her into his arms, whispering, “Like your childhood stories, what you like, who you like or dislike, anything.”
Childhood stories? Mingzhu thought seriously for a moment, then realized that the years had passed too long, and she couldn’t remember many things clearly. She just picked out the most memorable events and said, “Speaking of which, what do you think of my fourth brother?”
“Fourth Brother-in-law?” Yuwen Chu’s voice didn’t show any preference, “Fourth Brother-in-law is a very intelligent person.”
“He also has a strange temper.” Mingzhu perked up and leaned against his chest, whispering, “He’s a pitiful person.”
“Oh?” Perhaps her action pleased Yuwen Chu, as his voice sounded more interested now.
Mingzhu’s intuition told her that he wouldn’t harm her, so she approached him a bit more: “Fourth Brother’s birth mother was a singer Father brought back from outside, with a humble background and a heart condition. She didn’t even have a surname. When he was born, she was severely injured, almost losing her life, and the mother and child were almost separated by life and death. Later, although she managed to survive, she was frail and bedridden, relying on medication year-round. I heard she couldn’t even walk a few steps…”
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