Chapter 286 — Reunion
Purple Streets of Chang'an Page 2 of 2
Song Yan panted softly and murmured against her ear, "You see? You were missing me too..."
Dou Yan blushed red as a chili pepper and shut her eyes, like a thief covering his own ears.
Beside her ear rose Song Yan's joyful, soft laughter.
The commotion within the inner chamber made Suxin and the others flush crimson, and they all withdrew to the covered corridor.
It was not until the sun was high in the sky that the inner chamber finally fell quiet.
Dou Yan no longer had the strength even to speak.
Song Sui was like a lion that had eaten its fill, full of vigor.
"Shouyuan." He stroked Dou Yan's sweat-dampened hair at her temples. "I have to go to the estate at Daxing in a little while—come with me!" His words were full of reluctance to part, and heedless of the sweat that covered her, he bent to kiss her cheek.
The estate at Daxing meant the estate the Emperor had bestowed upon him. Because it had once been imperial land, ordinary folk dared not go near it, and Song Yan kept a portion of his retainers—his dead soldiers—stationed there.
"I'm not going." Dou Yan wanted only to sleep. "I want some water."
Song Yan hurried to pour her a cup, propping her up to drink. Then he set about tempting her: "There's a noodle shop at the Daxing estate called 'Half a Bay'—their mixed noodles are delicious. People come from far and wide just for them. Come with me to the Daxing estate, and on our way back we'll stop at Half a Bay for noodles... Or if you'd rather, we could go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion for delicacies of the mountains or the sea! Or we could go to Cuizhen Pavilion for vegetarian dishes... You have nothing to do at home anyway—better to come out with me for a stroll... In two days I'll have to go back to the palace for duty again..."
A gentle warmth trickled through Dou Yan's heart.
No one had ever clung to her like this.
A flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.
Song Yan was an expert at reading faces. He kissed her long brows, her eyelids, now deeply, now lightly. "Shouyuan. I just want to be with you. There are no elders in the house, and I fear I cannot restrain myself..." As he spoke, he took her hand and guided it down beneath his own body.
Dou Yan was badly startled. Her face flooded crimson, and her hand clenched into a fist.
Thankfully Song Yan did not press her; seeing her unwilling, he released her hand. "Why don't we go out for a stroll instead? The weather grows colder by the day—soon it will be chilly wherever one goes, and one catches cold at the slightest misstep. Better to stay at home..."
Dou Chi feared the cold, and she feared that Song Yan could not restrain himself. Though she suspected this was merely Song's excuse, the recollection of that morning's absurdity left her no choice but to believe there might be something to it.
"Let me get up and change my clothes," Dou Yan had no choice but to climb out of bed.
"Let me help you." Song Yan was in high spirits. He opened the tall rosewood wardrobe. "Which robe do you want to wear?"
Did he really like having her at his side that much?
Dou Yan felt somewhat at a loss.
In her last life, Wei Fan had not much cared for people trailing after him—he said it was too fussy and womanish...
Dou Yan dressed herself with some care, and supported by Song Yan, she climbed into the carriage.
The maids and old women attending them were bundled off into another carriage.
All along the road Song Yan kept up a stream of talk with Dou Yan: "...When the day comes, the Five Wards Military Commission and the Shuntian Prefecture will certainly find some scapegoat to take the blame—that is simply how matters are handled in officialdom. But privately, most people know that the Yingzhenguo Estate has swallowed a loss. If we let it pass without a word, those so-called men of the jianghu who habitually bully the soft and cringe before the hard will only conclude that the Yingzhenguo Estate is easy to impose upon, and at the least provocation they will come knocking at our door. It happens that Xu Qing holds the post of centurion in the Cangzhou Guard. I mean to have Lu Ming take a band of men there and recover our standing, so that they do not take the Yingzhenguo Estate for a soft persimmon, to be squeezed at will."
"So this journey of yours is to pick out men willing to die?" Dou Zhiwei's body was still soft and languid; she leaned against the broad backrest of the carriage, slanting a glance at Song Yan as she spoke, her great almond eyes lifting ever so slightly—indescribably charming and alluring.
Song Yan took Dou Zhiwei's hand, kneading it as he talked on, now here, now there: "While those bandits have not yet gone far, we will find a way to catch a few and bring them back..." Talking thus, they arrived at the manor in Daxing.
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Sisters, brothers, I beg you for pink votes!
o(n_n)o~
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