Chapter 84

It had been two months since the two of them moved into the residence to live, which actually proved this method was correct.

During these two months, Shen Yao Xing could clearly feel Jiang Ming Yue’s constantly tense nerves relax. He was no longer as suspicious as before, and didn’t have people secretly monitoring her anymore.

Although the two of them still mostly went out together, Shen Yao Xing felt much more relaxed. She also had many things to do at home, and that sense of productive labor was something she didn’t have before.

On a whim, Shen Yao Xing had wanted to plant vegetables in the garden, but had to give up due to the weather not allowing it.

The climate had entered the cold winter, with snow falling heavily between heaven and earth. Looking out, the uneven eaves were all white, and a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the ground.

Despite the icy world outside, the room where Shen Yao Xing and the others stayed was still as warm as spring.

Shen Yao Xing lay on the warm fur rug, her bare feet swaying up and down. Her clear black and white eyes stared at the chess board, not moving for a long time.

Jiang Ming Yue sat across from her, his eyes falling casually on that frowning, thoughtful face, not intending to hurry her.

The more she looked, the more she felt there was no chance of winning. Even the cowlick on top of Shen Yao Xing’s head drooped. If it wasn’t snowing heavily outside with nowhere to go, she wouldn’t play chess with this person – it was purely self-torture.

“Ah… can’t you just let me win once!” Shen Yao Xing frowned deeply, annoyed enough to tap the ground.

She hadn’t won a single game after several rounds.

Jiang Ming Yue leaned over to brush the hair falling on her face behind her ear, with warmth swirling in the depths of his black eyes. “I’ve already let you have several moves.”

Oh right, and she still couldn’t win. Shen Yao Xing lay flat on the fur rug in self-abandonment, spreading her arms wide, and said with closed eyes, “I’m not playing anymore, it’s not fun at all.”

This weather was really stifling, with nowhere to go, they could only stay cooped up inside. Suddenly she missed Bai Sha and Hei Sha a little. In the past, it was just right to play with them at times like this.

Lost in thought, Shen Yao Xing suddenly felt her ear tickle. She opened her eyes slightly to look, and saw the young man lying down beside her, finding a good position. His fluffy head buried dependently in the crook of her shoulder.

Feeling the warm breath on her neck, Shen Yao Xing stroked his delicate white face like petting an animal.

As they say, you can’t have both fish and bear’s paw. Actually, this wasn’t bad either.

Shen Yao Xing turned over, cupping his face with both hands, and lightly pecked his face.

Jiang Ming Yue narrowed his long eyes in enjoyment, raising his beautiful chin. His fingers unconsciously gripped her clothes on her back, his body pressed tightly against hers.

After a while, Shen Yao Xing left his face, licking her lips somewhat reluctantly. “Did you put something on your face? It’s a little sweet.”

Jiang Ming Yue’s cold face was tinged with a faint blush. He suddenly raised his head and lightly touched her lips, then turned his head aside with a red face. “You’re very sweet too.”

“……”

Shen Yao Xing stared at him unblinkingly. They had been intimate countless times since getting married, but this person was still very thin-skinned about these things.

The image of the young man occasionally seducing her suddenly flashed through her mind. Hmm… although thin-skinned, he never let himself be at a disadvantage.

Shen Yao Xing buried her face in his fair neck. The two of them clung together and cuddled for about an hour. She felt a bit hot, so after cleaning up the young man’s body and tidying his clothes, she got up and went to open the window.

The biting cold wind blew on her face, and Shen Yao Xing couldn’t help but shiver comfortably. She leaned against the window, admiring the wind and snow outside.

Jiang Ming Yue stared dazedly at the young woman’s back. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, the flush of pleasure still not faded from her face, with dots of red marks visible on the exposed skin of her neck.

He slowly sat up. At the same time, Shen Yao Xing turned back, quickly walking back to roll up the piece of fur rug stained with impurities and put it aside, then replaced it with a brand new one.

Her movements were practiced, clearly not the first or second time doing this kind of thing.

“Are you cold? If you’re cold, go lie down in the inner room. I want to enjoy the breeze.”

Jiang Ming Yue shook his head lightly, then looked up at her, his eyes rippling. He raised both arms, making a hugging gesture towards her. Shen Yao Xing was slightly stunned, and involuntarily squatted down to hold him in her arms.

Jiang Ming Yue nestled in the young woman’s arms, taking her hand to touch his neck. His slightly red lips softly uttered a complaint to her, “You were too rough earlier and hurt me.”

Her fingers lightly brushed the dark red marks. Shen Yao Xing was so embarrassed her ear tips turned red. It was hard to control herself in the depths of passion, this couldn’t be blamed on her.

“I’ll be gentler next time.” Even she didn’t believe these perfunctory words.

Jiang Ming Yue nuzzled his forehead against her jaw, greedily inhaling her scent. His eyes half-closed, he let out a soft “Mm.”

The wind and snow outside gradually calmed. Shen Yao Xing put on her clothes, fur cloak, and self-made gloves before running out. “Stay inside if you’re cold, I’m going out for some fresh air!”

Before she finished speaking, the young woman’s figure had darted out like a beast released from its cage, pouncing onto the snow in the courtyard and frantically digging.

That childlike behavior made Jiang Ming Yue chuckle softly, his heart melting like water. He put on a sable fur cloak nearby and stepped out to follow her.

After digging in the snow, Shen Yao Xing patted her gloves, making sure nothing would seep in before confidently scooping up a handful of snow to knead into a round ball shape.

“Hey, don’t you need to handle any matters for Changsheng Pavilion?” She suddenly questioned the young man.

Jiang Ming Yue raised his eyes to look at the vast sky, saying unconcernedly, “Small matters will be handled by others, and big matters don’t require my presence.”

So it seems you just need to hang your name there.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t know what level of matters he considered small or big, and she didn’t care. Her question was just to distract his attention. As soon as he finished speaking, she “whooshed” the snowball in her hand towards him.

Unfortunately, it still missed, brushing past his side. If one didn’t look closely at the footprints in the snow, the young man stood there like a snow-covered pine, as if he had never moved.

His skills really haven’t deteriorated at all, Shen Yao Xing lamented with regret.

She kneaded another snowball and threw it over. The speed was much faster this time, one after another, some not even fully formed. But the result was that they didn’t even touch the hem of his clothes.

Shen Yao Xing was very frustrated. She lowered her head and started kneading something else. Just as she was absorbed in kneading, she was suddenly startled by the cold on her cheek, drawing in a sharp breath. “What are you doing?!”

Jiang Ming Yue cupped snow in his palm and pressed it against her face, freezing her scalp. Yet his face showed no guilt for doing something bad. He tilted his head and asked her, “Why were you throwing snow at me earlier?”

There was even a hint of grievance in his words.

Shen Yao Xing took off her gloves and touched her face. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I was testing to see if your skills had deteriorated.”

“Then do you think my skills have deteriorated?”

“Ah, no, they’re very good.” Shen Yao Xing praised perfunctorily, lowering her head to continue kneading.

Jiang Ming Yue stared at the young woman’s focused profile, unable to resist planting a light kiss on her cheek.

A dragonfly skimming the water is more likely to stir one’s heart.

Shen Yao Xing glanced at him, randomly rolling the snowball in her hand bigger and bigger, finally rolling two snowballs as big as bodies. After stacking them high together, Shen Yao Xing scampered back into the room, taking the face basin used for hot water to cover the snowman’s head, two pieces of pastry as eyes, a sharp stone as the nose, and a pen as the mouth.

“How is it, impressive right?” Shen Yao Xing felt quite smug.

Jiang Ming Yue eyed the crooked snowman, a hint of disdain showing between his brows and eyes.

He went back to the room to retrieve the Floating Snow sword, removing the excess decorations on the snowman’s head. The sword’s edge began to carve on that snowball. In just a moment, the snowman’s facial features began to take shape.

The carved contours were detailed, recognizable at a glance.

Shen Yao Xing’s eyes sparkled with admiration. She exclaimed in amazement, “You really are multi-talented.”

The hand holding the sword trembled, the movement pausing. Jiang Ming Yue slowly retracted his hand. His handsome features, framed by the sable fur cloak on his shoulders, looked even more noble and enchanting. His face, like white jade, was flushed red all over, his heart fluttering uncontrollably.

The smile on his thin lips made even the snowy landscape pale in comparison.

After his gaze wandered for a while, he finally couldn’t resist meeting her eyes.

Those pupils reflecting his image almost made him unable to hold the sword. He hurriedly averted his gaze, not daring to look at her again, but the joy surrounding him made his lower back feel numb and weak.

That gaze was enough to melt him.

“Why don’t we have hotpot for dinner today?” Shen Yao Xing suddenly had an idea.

The last time she had hotpot was last year, when she was with Bai Sha and the others.

Jiang Ming Yue didn’t know what hotpot was, but now all his attention was on the young woman. Whatever she said was fine.

……

At dinnertime, Shen Yao Xing brought the small stove to the table, using chicken soup as the base. She poured all the pork meatballs she had made herself from the plate into it. The fragrant aroma made her mouth water.

When it was cooked, Shen Yao Xing carefully picked up a meatball and brought it to the young man’s mouth. “Try it.”

This had become a habit of hers, always letting him eat the first bite before meals.

Jiang Ming Yue’s lips moved, chewing slowly before nodding. “It’s passable.”

Shen Yao Xing grinned and said, “It’s delicious, right? I just made these not long ago. There’s still plenty left. If we can’t finish it later, we can take some to Mother and the others to try too.”

“Mm.”

When they finished dinner, it wasn’t completely dark yet. Since they had a carriage anyway, Shen Yao Xing didn’t plan to change the day. The black-clothed death guard still acted as the coachman. He seemed to be hidden in the shadows at all times, only coming out when needed.

Except for the occasional hurried passerby on the street, most shops were already closed at this hour in such weather.

Their carriage was the only one on the spacious street.

Inside the carriage, Shen Yao Xing hugged a warming stove, feeling a bit drowsy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the young man take off his outer clothes, wearing only a thin shirt. She groggily pushed the warming stove to him. “Don’t catch a cold, you should wear more.”

It was warm in the carriage, and the journey was a bit long, so Shen Yao Xing planned to take a nap first.

As she was dozing off, she felt someone next to her. She habitually patted his back lightly. The young man’s seductive, soft breath lingered by her ear.

“Zhao Zhao, when spring comes, shall we leave the capital?”

These words made Shen Yao Xing a bit more alert. “Leave the capital for where?”

Jiang Ming Yue embraced her with his long arms, his face buried in her neck. “Don’t you like to travel around? I’ll accompany you.”

This sounded great!

“Then shall we go look at places outside the Central Plains?”

“Alright.”

“But I haven’t been to many places outside the capital either. We might be away for a long time, remember to bring more silver.”

“Mm.”

The young woman was still chattering about their future plans. Jiang Ming Yue curved his lips, twirling a lock of her hair with his long fingers, agreeably responding to her every sentence.

Anywhere is fine, only by leaving the capital will you truly belong to me alone.