After lunch, Qiao Yuanfei took a nap.
The afternoon sun shines in through the cracks in the window, bringing with it a subtle warmth.
Dongye combed her hair, took out her coat and said, "Girl, it's warm now, why don't you go for a walk? Ever since you got sick, you rarely go out."
Qiao Yuanfei also wanted to go out for a walk, but when he thought of Zhao Yuan, he hesitated.
Dongye saw her hesitation and said with a smile: "It's already this hour, Prince Zhao must have left. How can the dignified prince of the palace still have lunch at another house?"
Qiao Yuanfei thought so, so she put on her coat and walked outside the courtyard.
The overall space of the west courtyard is not large. After passing through the winding verandah, you will reach the garden full of silk crabapples.
It’s not yet the crabapple season, and everything you can see is the fresh spring green of the branches and leaves.
Under the steps is a path paved with stones, which extends all the way to the Haitang Pavilion, which is shaded by lush greenery. Occasionally, there are specially made patterns of koi fish or auspicious animals. When Dongye sees them, he always stops and circles around the patterns three times.
Qiao Yuanfei looked amused and asked her, "What are you doing?"
Dongye said enthusiastically: "The fifth girl said that circling this koi pattern three times will bring good luck. I will bring good luck to the girl so that her dreams will come true as soon as possible."
Qiao Yuanfei was silent for a moment, then smiled again.
She didn't know what she was thinking of, but she suddenly raised her head and looked at the high-rising eaves at the four corners of Haitang Pavilion. There were a few birds standing on the eaves. After chirping for a while, they flew away into the distance again.
Qiao Yuanfei watched quietly, his expression becoming dark and distant.
Until someone called her, "Cousin Yuan'er?"
Only then did Qiao Yuanfei come back to his senses.
She turned around and saw Tan Hui standing not far away holding a folding fan.
This man didn't know when he came. After seeing Qiao Yuanfei, his eyes immediately filled with joy.
He strode towards Qiao Yuanfei, and when he got there, he reached out to pull Qiao Yuanfei.
Qiao Yuan quickly dodged with her eyes and raised her eyes to look at him, warning in her words: "Young Master, there are differences between men and women, don't touch him."
Tan Hui paused, then lowered his hand, his eyes full of hurt and said: "Cousin...how can you be so open-minded?"
Qiao Yuanfei turned sideways and said with a lukewarm attitude: "Men and women do not sit together at the same table at the age of seven. Even children know this truth, but the eldest son who is familiar with the books of sages does not know?"
Tan Hui said in a gentle tone: "But you and I are different. You are my cousin, the person closest to me besides my sister at home..."
Dongye couldn't listen anymore and said from the side: "Eldest Young Master, my girl and my second wife are cousins."
Tan Hui frowned, glanced sideways at Dongye, then looked at Qiao Yuanfei and smiled: "Cousin, you girl's talk is really interesting. If you are a cousin with your second cousin, don't you count as a cousin with our first cousin? If this is called Second Aunt knows, it’s time to criticize me again.”
Qiao Yuanfei was too lazy to talk to him.
Seeing Tan Hui, she lost interest in visiting the garden and planned to leave with Dong Ye.
However, Tan Hui just blocked the path, looked at Qiao Yuanfei with a smile, and refused to get out of the way.
Qiao Yuanfei didn't want to have a head-on conflict with him, so after glancing at him, he simply took Dongye towards the Haitang Pavilion.
Tan Hui curled his lips and followed slowly while waving his fan.
Several people left the pavilion and crossed the pond. After passing by mountains, rocks, flowers and trees, they arrived outside the Haitang Pavilion.
The door of Haitang Pavilion was ajar, and Qiao Yuanfei didn't even look at it, but went directly to another path.
Tan Hui suddenly took a few steps forward, grabbed Qiao Yuanfei's arm, and said with a smile: "Cousin Yuan'er, it's most pleasant to enjoy the scenery in the Haitang Pavilion. You've already come, why don't you sit down before leaving?" "
The hot touch spread from the other person's palm to the clothes and skin, making Qiao Yuanfei instantly get goosebumps.
A feeling of nausea came over me suddenly.
Qiao Yuanfei said coldly: "Let go!"
Tan Hui smiled, his posture was elegant, but the lust in his eyes was clear.
Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the garden, he looked at Qiao Yuanfei wantonly, and his words became more frivolous: "Cousin Yuan'er, why are you like this? I wanted to get close to you a few days ago, but you avoided me. After returning from Wan'an Temple, You're sick again. Counting the days, we haven't seen each other for half a month."
"You came to this garden specifically to meet me, didn't you?"
