The Xiao Wuheng in the book was a decisive killer. Jiang Yao squinted at him for a while.
Hmm, the way he flipped the skewers was indeed quite decisive; every turn was perfectly timed.
“Yao’er is awake? Come quickly and sit down.” Jiang Ying saw Jiang Yao and promptly helped her onto the soft cushion beside her.
Jiang Yao looked at Xiao Wuheng, who was squatting there grilling meat without a care for his image, and, on a whim, blurted out, “Odd changes, even doesn’t change?” – a mnemonic from geometry)
“What chicken?” Xiao Wuheng didn’t understand. “This is a wild chicken from the mountains.”
Disjointed. Too disjointed.
Jiang Ying handed Jiang Yao a skewer of roasted meat. “Want to try it?”
Jiang Yao accepted the skewer and carefully took a bite. The aroma of the meat was rich, and it was crispy outside yet tender inside.
Her gaze settled on Jiang Ying’s face.
The bonfire crackled, the firelight dancing and illuminating Jiang Ying’s face.
There was an unprecedented look of relaxation on it.
As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Ying’s shoulders were always tense.
Jiang Yao inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. OOC is fine; it’s better than executing people’s entire clans at the drop of a hat.
“Oh, right, where is Master Xie?” Jiang Yao popped another piece of meat into her mouth.
“Master Xie fainted after rescuing you, and he hasn’t woken up yet,” Jiang Ying pointed toward a room.
“Still not awake?” Jiang Yao muttered, slightly incredulous.
How is Xie Yunian’s body weaker than mine?
She muttered softly, but unexpectedly, the door that had been shut all afternoon suddenly flew open.
Xie Yunian’s gaze swept the courtyard, finally landing on Jiang Yao. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
She looks perfectly vibrant, and even has the leisure to eat barbecue and talk about him.
“Brother Yunian, come and have a taste?” Xiao Wuheng turned and saw Xie Yunian. “Though this roasted meat is simple, it has a unique flavor.”
Xie Yunian was somewhat dismissive. He had grown up with his father in the military camp and often hunted wild game to roast and eat.
However, the military camp was not like this residence. They didn’t have such refined conditions. They usually ate chunks of meat on the bone and drank heavily.
They certainly wouldn’t take the time to carefully debone and skewer the meat.
Still, after a full day of activity, he was indeed hungry.
Xie Yunian stepped forward and picked up a skewer of meat.
It’s just meat grilled over a fire. How special could it be…
Xie Yunian took a bite. His expression initially remained flat, but a hint of surprise quickly flashed in his eyes.
This…
It was indeed vastly different from the roasted meat he typically ate in the military camp.
The meat was tender and juicy, the exterior perfectly grilled. It retained the meat’s original flavor while incorporating a unique aroma and seasoning, leaving a lingering, delicious aftertaste.
After finishing the one in his hand, he reached for another.
For a Prince, Xiao Wuheng is actually quite good at grilling meat.
He should find a way to get him to show off his skills in the military camp, so the chefs there, whose food is merely “edible,” could learn a thing or two.
Jiang Yao finished several skewers before contentedly rubbing her stomach. Her thoughts then returned to the issue of the doctor.
Why would a doctor be prepared in advance at a residence in this remote mountain wilderness?
“Your Royal Highness Prince Jin, may I ask where the doctor who treated me this afternoon is? I feel so much better after just one bowl of medicine. I would like to thank him personally.” Jiang Yao smiled bashfully.
Xiao Wuheng looked slightly surprised. “The doctor? Is Third Miss Jiang referring to Wang Hu, who treats the livestock in the backyard?”
A breeze blew across Jiang Yao’s forehead, and she looked blankly toward the backyard.
The backyard.
Treats the livestock.
A chill ran down Jiang Yao’s spine.
Xie Yunian’s dark eyes fixed calmly on Xiao Wuheng’s face.
That doctor also treated him at noon.
He drank that bowl of black, murky medicine Yuan Zheng brought him.
And now he’s being told that the man primarily treats livestock?
Even Xiao Wuheng, despite his apparent dullness, now sensed the shift in the atmosphere and instinctively glanced at Jiang Ying.
“After the Emperor granted me this residence, I renovated the backyard. Now, I keep many pheasants there. Would you like to go see them?”
Jiang Yao opened her mouth, her expression wooden. “Pheasants…?”
“That’s right. The meat we are eating tonight is from the pheasants I raise in the backyard. The flavor is quite good, isn’t it?”
“…Your Highness is truly an amazing man.”
No one noticed that when Xie Yunian heard the word “pheasants,” he lowered his head and looked at his newly changed clothes.
He had initially suspected that Zhao Quan’s monthly trips to this Ming Cui Mountain area were for a secret meeting with Prince Jin, Xiao Wuheng. In the afternoon, he used the excuse of “fainting” to have Yuan Zheng lie in bed while he explored the residence.
He had gone to that backyard.
And got covered in feathers..
Night settled in, and the residence was quiet. Moonlight, like water, quietly spilled onto the flagstones, casting a faint silver glow.
“What time is it?”
“It’s Chou Shi (丑時 – 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM), Master,” Yuan Zheng estimated the time and answered.
“Seven Yin hasn’t arrived yet?”
Xie Yunian lowered his eyes. Before entering the residence, he had told Seven Yin to go to Ming Cui Mountain to look for any missed clues.
Suddenly, a faint tapping on the window interrupted their conversation.
Yuan Zheng moved to the window and whispered, “Who is it?”
A low voice came from outside the window. “Master, it’s me, Seven Yin.”
Seven Yin gently pushed the window open, his figure darting inside silently.
“Any discoveries?”
“This subordinate found a dilapidated temple halfway up the mountain. Other than that, nothing else.”
The candlelight flickered by the window. The air was thick with the scent of earth and the approaching rain.
Jiang Yao lay in bed, unable to sleep.
She had slept all afternoon due to falling into the water, and now she wasn’t sleepy at all.
After spending the day with Xiao Wuheng, he didn’t seem at all like the man in the book who planned three steps ahead for every step he took.
He seemed more like the foolish son of a wealthy landlord…
Is it because the Emperor is still alive, and he remains under the Emperor’s protection, that he is acting this way?
Jiang Yao was lost in her thoughts when the night candle in the room suddenly flickered, and one went out.
Then, she thought she heard a few tapping sounds on the window.
Jiang Yao startled and turned to look at the window, but saw nothing.
She swallowed.
It must be the wind…
As if to confirm her guess, a gust of wind blew, pushing the window half open.
Chunlan had cared for her all day and was probably fast asleep now.
Jiang Yao sighed softly, sat up in bed, and stepped onto the floor.
As she walked to the window, she felt the night breeze, carrying traces of rain, blow into the room through the half-open window.
She shivered and tightened her collar.
She wanted to quickly close it and get back into bed.
Just as she reached out to touch the window frame, her peripheral vision caught the window across the way also standing open.
That looks like… the wing where Xie Yunian is staying.
Jiang Yao recalled that Xie Yunian had come out of that room in the evening.
She hesitated. She didn’t want to pry, but then she remembered that Xie Yunian had rescued her when she fell into the water today.
And he had fainted afterward.
If that sickly fellow were to endure a whole night of cold wind, would he just drop dead?
Jiang Yao bit her lip, deciding to go and close his window for him.
But wouldn’t barging in the middle of the night be a bit inappropriate?