chapter eight
Qishan Lang lowered his head and looked at it carefully, as if appreciating a flawless piece of precious jade.
Shi Yunlin wanted to reach out to cover it, but she froze because she didn't dare to offend. Her stiff wrist was held by Qishan Lang. The heat on his palms was in sharp contrast to the coolness on Shi Yunlin's wrists.
Qi Shanlang took another half step forward, and there was no longer any distance between the two of them. His hard chest was pressed against Shi Yunlin's wet front. Shi Yunlin's heart was beating wildly, and her thin shoulders were trembling.
Because of fear and cold.
Shi Yunlin felt uncomfortable in her chest, but she couldn't hold it back for a while. She turned her face away, trembling her eyelashes slightly, and coughed as quietly as possible. The cough made her chest rise and fall, sending waves to Qi Shanlang's chest.
She had just stopped coughing a few times when Qishanlang's palm came over and pressed against her forehead, half blocking her sight.
Realizing that he was checking whether she had a fever, Shi Yunlin whispered: "Cold..."
The next moment, Qishan Lang let go. He took half a step back, opened the distance between the two people, then pulled off the coat on the shelf and put it on Shi Yunlin's shoulders. Shi Yunlin hurriedly pulled off her coat and quickly wrapped herself up as if she had been rescued.
Qishanlang walked backwards while staring at Shi Yunlin hurriedly getting dressed. After she covered her snowy body with her clothes, only a pair of bare feet were exposed. Qishanlang glanced at her exposed feet again, then turned around, pushed the door open and left.
The sound of the door closing made Shi Yunlin let out a heavy sigh of relief. Her legs softened and she squatted down, leaning against the damp wall for a long time.
Qishanlang didn't come in by climbing over the wall or window. Shi Yantong knew about his arrival. Shi Yantong also knew that his youngest daughter was taking a bath, but when he saw Qishan Lang entering, Shi Yantong did not stop her and could only wander alone in the shadow of the yard. After Qishanlang left, he immediately asked Fu Wendanjin to check on Shi Yunlin's condition.
Fu Wendan entered the room quietly and saw that Shi Yunlin had taken a rest. She walked to the bed and studied Shi Yunlin's expression carefully for a while. Finally, she didn't want to wake her up, so she only bent down to tuck her in the quilt, and then turned around and went out quietly.
Shi Yunlin didn't fall asleep, she was just confused and didn't want to face other people's concern at this time. She heard her mother close the door and go out, and her father immediately lowered his voice and asked anxiously: "How's it going?"
"Shh..." Mother also lowered her voice, "Yun Lin is asleep, nothing should have happened."
There was no conversation outside the door, and the gentle footsteps gradually faded away.
After a while, Shi Yunlin turned over, pulled the quilt and buried her head and face. She forced herself to fall asleep quickly, so that when she fell asleep, her mind would not be filled with thoughts of Qishanlang.
That night, Shi Yunlin had a nightmare. In her dream, she was trapped in a mountain col, and in her ears could hear a prolonged howl of a wolf. She looked around and saw wolves everywhere she could see. Wolf, wolf, wolf...all wolves!
On the second day, no one took the initiative to mention the Qishan Wolf's visit last night, and Shi Yunlin would not take the initiative to mention it. But she would look at the courtyard door from time to time, worried that Qishanlang would send someone to pick her up again.
If he sent someone to pick her up again, she would have no choice but to go. She just hoped that he would not send anyone here, let alone come himself! She looked forward to letting her live in peace before the wedding. But when she thought about the upcoming wedding, Shi Yunlin started to have a headache again. Originally, she didn't think there was anything scary about getting married, but the brief interaction last night made her worry a lot about her future relationship with Qishan Lang.
There was a knock on the courtyard door, and Shi Yunlin's heart suddenly rose to her throat.
It was someone from the palace who sent something over. Some are for weddings, while others are daily necessities for Shi Yantong and his family.
The person who delivered the things had already left. Shi Yunlin looked at the red boxes and cages all over the courtyard with mixed emotions. She returned to the room, sat at the table, and looked at the sachet on the table.
Since Qishan Lang put the sachet on the table last night, she had left it there without touching it. At this time, she stared at the sachet for a long time before reaching out to take it in her hand and play with it. The scene of Qishan Lang holding this sachet appeared in front of his eyes. The sachet seemed to have residual heat from Qishan Lang's hands.
An illusion, it must be an illusion!
Shi Yunlin comforted herself. As she fiddled with the sachet, her mind couldn't help but think of the scene after Qishanlang came over to return the sachet last night...
Shen Tanxi stood outside the half-open door and knocked gently.
Shi Yunlin turned around and saw her, smiled slightly, and let her in. Since Zhou Zeming's death in the war, Shen Tanxi has been very ill and has completely ignored foreign affairs. It is rare for a person to take the initiative to walk out of the house today.
Shen Tanxi stepped forward to the threshold and sat down opposite Shi Yunlin.
Shi Yunlin said: "I had a fever that night when I first came back. Thank you for taking care of me. You are not in good health, and I am not well with the cold. I dare not go to you for fear of infecting you again. I think I will be with you after I feel completely better in a few days. Thank you."
"When did we ever have to say thank you?" Shen Tanxi said.
"That's true." Shi Yunlin directly agreed.
"You, you should also go out of the house more often. Although it is cold in Qi State, the sun is very warm when it is sunny. You should get more sun and recover as soon as possible." Shi Yunlin said as she put the sachet A few things were poured out. She wanted to check if the contents had been damaged in the barracks.
Shen Tanxi watched Shi Yunlin playing with the eldest prince's relics and was silent for a while before speaking: "When Mingze and I were engaged, the eldest prince beat Mingze."
Shi Yunlin was shocked and looked at Shen Tanxi with wide eyes: "Brother the Emperor can actually hit people?"
This is really strange!
Shi Yunlin hurriedly said: "Brother the emperor must not understand what happened between the three of us and misunderstood."
Shen Tanxi frowned and looked at Shi Yunlin's open eyes, and asked, "Yunlin, have you really not blamed me and Mingze?"
"Yun Lin, I often feel sorry for you." Shen Tanxi's eyes turned red and she was about to cry again. "When I was running away, I often thought about how I would die like this one day. The biggest regret and guilt in my life is you."
"There are some things that Mingze will never have the chance to say to you. But I understand him and want to say it for him. He chose me not because he likes me more, but because I like him more than you and need him. "Shen Tanxi smiled bitterly again, "That's not right. He didn't choose me, it was you who didn't want him."
Shen Tanxi remembered that day when Zhou Mingze conveyed Shi Yunlin's blessings to her with a smile, but she still saw a flash of sadness in Zhou Zeming's eyes. Shen Tanxi always knew that if Shi Yunlin shook his head, Zhou Zeming would immediately run to Shi Yunlin.
Shen Tanxi said a lot at once and coughed intermittently.
Shi Yunlin poured a cup of warm water from the kettle and handed it to Shen Tanxi, then said: "Sister, it happened so long ago, I didn't expect you still care so much. The so-called marriage between Mingze and I was just a casual comment from our elders when we were young. I didn’t answer, so it doesn’t count. He came to ask me openly and openly, so you should face it openly. There was no deception, robbery or betrayal between the three of us. Everyone should have a clear conscience. There are so many men and women in the world. There are many outstanding people. There is no need for me to be tied to him. Mingze is very good and he is a good choice for a son-in-law. I have no fate with him, but my sister can be happy with him and share the same love with him. excellent."
"Just like the Xishan Inkstone you and I are going to, just like the Xunliu Qin I snatched from you, just like the most beautiful red hairpin jewelry is the same on your temples or on my wrist."
Shen Tanxi frowned and looked at Shi Yunlin with complicated eyes. She didn't know whether she was open-minded or whether she thought men were unimportant. My deliberate avoidance during this period made me look like a petty person.
Suddenly mentioning the two people who died in the war, Shi Yunlin became a little depressed. Needless to say, the eldest brother, she and Zhou Mingze also grew up together.
Shen Tanxi noticed it and took the initiative to change the subject: "Have you prepared all the wedding stuff?"
Shi Yunlin's face fell, and her mood became even worse.
Shen Tanxi looked outside the door, then approached Shi Yunlin and lowered her voice: "Yunlin, your marriage is just a temporary measure. I believe that our country of Xiang will not perish like this. Sooner or later, Lu will be destroyed and restored. When the time comes, Your Majesty, I will definitely take you back."
Shi Yunlin nodded and said in a muffled voice: "Yeah. I'll just endure it for a while and then wait for my father to take me home and continue to be a princess!"
Apart from that, there is no other way. Shi Yunlin didn't know if thinking like this was considered self-comfort.
She sighed and said with emotion: "Originally, I firmly thought that I would choose from thousands of choices in the future and choose a perfect prince-in-law for myself. He wore a rich costume and a jade crown, and a folding fan in his hand shook out countless romantic and suave concubines. . He is more handsome and handsome than Pan An, and he is also a well-educated scholar. The most important thing is that he must be gentle and elegant..."
Shen Tanxi's eyes changed slightly, she stared at Shi Yunlin and asked, "Are you talking about the eldest prince?"
Shi Yunlin was stunned, thinking that when Shen Tanxi first came over, she mentioned that the eldest brother had beaten Zhou Zeming...
Shi Yunlin looked at Shen Tanxi in disbelief and said loudly: "He is my brother!"
Shen Tanxi shook his head: "He is not your brother. Like me and Zeming, he is a child adopted by His Majesty and the Queen."
Shi Yunlin was speechless.
Shi Yannian was the child adopted by Shi Yantong and Fu Wendan when he was not the emperor, so he changed his surname to Shi. Later, Shi Yantong succeeded to the throne and had his own prince, and Shi Yannian was still the eldest prince in the palace. Shen Tanxi and Zhou Zeming were both adopted children by Shi Yantong after he succeeded to the throne, so they used their old surnames and were just raised in the palace.
Shi Yunlin turned her head and stared blankly at the rough workmanship button of the eldest brother on the table. The day before they parted, the eldest brother told her that he would tell her something important when he got to a safe place. At that time, the way he looked at her suddenly reappeared in front of Shi Yunlin.
For a time, the past scenes of spending time with the eldest brother passed by. Did she miss something during those years of fun and fun?
Shen Tanxi looked at Shi Yunlin's dazed look and was a little surprised. She subconsciously said that all the consorts she wanted looked like Shi Yannian. Shi Yannian's treatment of her was something that many people could see, but she didn't even know about it until Shi Yannian died? She was obviously a smart person but was very slow about emotional matters. She didn't know how many people took her into their hearts.
"Yun Lin?" Fu Wendan stood at the door, "Come and try on the wedding dress and see if there is anything you need to change. You have lost weight again because of your illness."
Shi Yunlin turned around and looked at the wedding dress in her mother's arms, which was so red that it dazzled her eyes.
She suddenly grew up, and all the things she couldn't understand and the eyes that she couldn't understand before were now understood in the blink of an eye. Understand that on the eve of her wedding to another husband.
Shi Yunlin slowly smiled, said yes obediently, stood up, went up to her, and took the wedding dress from her mother's hand. She touched the material of the wedding dress in her arms and said softly: "It's very soft." She changed the wedding dress and slowly turned it around to show her mother, and she seemed to have a faint look of beauty waiting to be married.
The road ahead is dangerous, and she has too much burden on her shoulders, and she has no time to chase the past. She also didn't dare to let her family know about her pursuit of the past.
The wedding day came in a blink of an eye. When Fu Wendan and Shen Tanxi came over early in the morning to help Shi Yunlin dress up, they saw that she had already changed into her wedding dress and was sitting in front of the dressing table, drawing her eyebrows.
"Mother, sister." Shi Yunlin turned around and smiled brightly on the pink-and-daisy lotus.
She tilted her head slightly, touched the dazzling hairpins on her temples with her fingertips, swayed her eyes, and praised, "It's so pretty."
On the road to escape from the country, her life was not guaranteed, her food and clothing were in jeopardy, and she had not touched jewelry for a long time.
In the past, when she was a princess, she loved these shiny things the most.
