Chapter 49: Consoling Him

"Can't I come here when nothing is wrong?" Ling Zhao stared at her, challenging her with a question.

Three days would have passed after tonight—a full three days. Not to mention coming to see him purposely, she hadn't even sent a single maid to Qingyun Pavilion to make an inquiry!

During the two days he was burning with a high fever and unconscious, she had been frightened by a fall from a horse and was injured herself, making it inconvenient for her to stay and accompany him at the temple. He had reluctantly excused her, assuming she had a valid reason and extenuating circumstances.

Yet the moment he woke up today, without daring to delay even for a half-moment, and ignoring the blood seeping through the gauze on his back, he had galloped back from Nanshan Temple. Upon arriving at the estate, the news he received was that she had spent these past two days tirelessly busy sending gifts to other men?

This little ungrateful wretch—she had left him out in the cold while being thoroughly attentive to other men.

He truly had saved her in vain.

Xiao Ming's expression shifted slightly as she murmured, "You've just recovered from a major illness, why aren't you resting early instead of running around?"

"So you do know I'm sick?" Ling Zhao's expression was less than kind.

"Then did you take your medicine on time?"

He gave a cold hum. "Didn't take it."

"How could you not know to take your medicine?"

"Forgot."

"You're at such an age, can't you..."

Frightened by the way he stared at her, causing her hair to stand on end, Xiao Ming moved her lips and forcibly swallowed the words she was about to utter.

This person was clearly utterly exasperated—overbearing, tyrannical, unreasonable, and utterly audacious. Yet a man of such poor qualities had actually risked his life to save her.

Having racked her brains for two full days, she still hadn't figured out what to give him as a token of gratitude.

Now that he had blocked her at the doorway, he certainly wasn't going to let her off easily.

After a moment of deadlock, Xiao Ming pressed her lips tightly together before tentatively edging a bit closer to him. With timid hands, she proactively reached up to clasp Ling Zhao's broad and sturdy shoulders, her long eyelashes trembling as she lowered them.

Gently.

She kissed his lips.

It was a fleeting touch, parting the instant they met.

Blushing so intensely that her whole body felt like it was burning, her eyes shimmering with moisture, she didn't even dare raise her lashes to look at him. "Is this okay?"

Ling Zhao was momentarily stunned. The gaze that had been gloomy just a moment ago flashed with astonishment, and then the frost melted away, his imposing aura completely dissipating. He stood there rigidly, his heart already thrown into utter turmoil.

It was the first time she had taken the initiative to kiss him.

A blush crept up from behind his ears, and his mesmerizing phoenix eyes trembled. "What are you doing?"

"Coaxing you."

Deep in the night, the sound of the watchman's drum echoed from afar.

He walked back to Qingyun Pavilion with light, unsteady steps. In his mind, he could only remember pressing her down onto the couch and kissing her like one possessed, her vacant eyes reflecting his own involuntary passion.

The delicate face before him was like spring mountains wreathed in mist, a lotus emerging from the water.

She had glared at him with reddened eyes, still wearing her usual resentful expression, but that reproachful look carried countless threads of soul-stirring romantic charm.

The corners of his lips curved upward.

She was clearly acting like a spoiled child.

Aside from him, no one else would ever get to see her look like this.

Summer was blazing hot, enough to bake a person until they melted. Even the servants in the estate hid in cool places to slack off.

Xiao Ming had been angry all night without closing her eyes for even a fraction of a moment. However, the daytime heat was truly stifling and she couldn't sleep soundly anyway, so she made her way to Huaixi's Lixiang Courtyard. The two young sisters sat together, lazily mixing new summer tea drinks.

"My father lived in Jiangnan for over a decade and got used to drinking the tea soup there. Even after returning to the capital for all these years, he still loves to drink it, especially in summer when seasonal fruits and syrups are added to the tea, and sometimes even a little wine," Xiao Ming's eyes were full of nostalgia. "I remember my mother made very good fermented rice wine; mixing it into the tea soup gives it a unique flavor."

Huaixi couldn't help feeling a pang of emotion in her heart as well. "Ming'er, you are truly brave. If your parents knew you were living so well now, they would surely rest in peace."

Xiao Ming's eyes flickered as she broke into a sweet smile. "Well, anyway, since the sun is so bright today and we're not going out either, why don't we close the doors and let me make fermented rice wine tea for you, Sister?"

"What if we get drunk and lose our decorum?" Huaixi toyed with the small tea pastries on the plate before her.

"Sister always loves to say things that spoil the mood."

Huaixi shook her head gently with a pampering look. "Alright, I'm no match for you. But you must promise me to drink less."

In truth, Huaixi could also tell that Xiao Ming was in a very bad mood, but since Xiao Ming was unwilling to speak of it—much like Yan Jing, always preferring to use such a cynical attitude to conceal her feelings—Huaixi didn't push her.

"Does Sister have any sweet fermented wine here?" Xiao Ming asked casually as she buried her head in matching the ingredients for the tea drinks.

Huaixi thought for a moment. "I remember there is a jar of osmanthus wine buried under the pear tree in the courtyard. Can my sister use that?"

"Naturally, as long as Sister doesn't grudge parting with it."

Huaixi tapped Xiao Ming lightly on the head and instructed a maid to go dig up that jar of wine.

Who would have thought that as soon as the osmanthus wine was brought to the table, its rich fragrance permeated the air. Mixed with the specially prepared tea drinks, served with ice, and accompanied by dried fruits and candied preserves, the two of them ate and drank as they chatted, actually getting hooked cup by cup.

"Sister, do you know what day it is? Today is my mother's birthday."

With a hazy mist in her eyes, Xiao Ming admired the dazzling multicolored glass tea cup in her hand, smiled through her tears, and finally used the intoxication of the wine to pour out the words she had been holding back in her heart.

"Sister, my parents are both gone. I can no longer see them, nor can I touch them. No matter what reasons led to my parents' passing, they were still my mother and father. I miss them so much."

Meanwhile, the maids and older matrons had been hiding from the heat and stealing moments of laziness outside the bedchamber, and not a single one of them noticed that the two young maidens had become thoroughly intoxicated.

It wasn't until evening, when Suifeng and Jinshen came to Lixiang Courtyard on their master's orders to look for Xiao Ming, that they caught the aroma of wine wafting through the cracks of the door.

The rules in the Great General's Manor were strict. Logically speaking, male servants stepping foot past the second courtyard gate into the young ladies' private quarters was a punishable offense that could result in them being beaten to death. Therefore, Suifeng and Jinshen waited outside the door and sent a matron in to guide her out.

Yet they waited and waited, and she still didn't come out. The two brothers grew so anxious they were practically fuming.

Suddenly, an elderly matron slapped her thigh and came running out in a panic, crying, "Young masters, please hurry inside and lend a hand!"

Although Suifeng and Jinshen served Ling Zhao and were nominally pageboys, they were also his subordinates, genuinely armed with swords and having accompanied Ling Zhao through life and death on the battlefield. The servants in the estate respected them greatly and privately addressed them as "Young Brothers."

Hearing this, the two men looked surprised and, without breaking their stride, followed the matron inside.

The door opened.

They were stunned.

The aroma of osmanthus wine inside the room was intoxicating.

The two young ladies had flushed red faces, clearly somewhat drunk. For some unknown reason, however, they were pressed tightly together, standing stiffly in the exact middle of the bedroom. Seeing the maids and matrons enter, they cheerfully thanked them for their hard work and even pulled out copper coins strung on red cords to distribute among them.

"Pfft!" Jinshen bit his lip so hard it turned white as he pinched his thigh hard, yet he still failed to hold back his laughter.

Suifeng, whose nature was naturally more reserved and steady, glared fiercely at him before stepping forward and bowing slightly. "Lady Ming, our master has an urgent matter looking for you. Would it be convenient for you to accompany us to the military camp? The carriage is already prepared."

Xiao Ming was startled. She suddenly lifted her gaze to look at him, her eyes resolute and her voice ringing with strength, "Military officer! Please accept Ming'er's bow!" With that, without the slightest hesitation, she dropped to her knees with a loud thud and kowtowed three resounding times.

Huaixi, standing beside her, looked at her in a daze and also dropped to her knees with a heavy thud, her voice soft and sweet, "Please accept Xi'er's bow!"

The air grew silent for a split second, and then instantly erupted into chaos!

Several matrons nearly had to press their own acupoints to keep from fainting; if the matriarch ever found out about this, everyone in the room would lose their lives!

Especially Suifeng and Jinshen, whose legs turned to jelly with fright. Before the matriarch could even get involved, Ling Zhao would skin them alive! Disregarding everything else, the two of them instantly dropped to the floor and kowtowed back in return. The others hurriedly rushed to the two young ladies' sides, pulling and tugging at them in a chaotic flurry.

"Feng, what do we do now?" Jinshen's voice trembled as he lay face down on the ground, not even daring to lift his head.

Suifeng took a deep breath. "Tie them up!"