Chapter 643: Love Makes Fools of Us All
Mu Yunyao looked at Yue Wang and felt that he looked absolutely foolish at this moment. “The snow is falling harder and harder. Fourth Master, come with me to the side hall and have a bowl of ginger soup. Today is your birthday. I thought I would not be able to make you a bowl of longevity noodles with my own hands, but it seems there is still a chance.”
Yue Wang released her and tightened the ties of her cloak for her, a faint smile on his face. “Yao’er, I want to prepare something for you. Most of it is already done, and it will be ready very soon. Stand beneath the corridor and wait for me a little while, all right?”
He wanted to see her smiling like a flower in bloom. He wanted every day of her life from now on to bring her whatever her heart desired.
Seeing the eagerness in his eyes, Mu Yunyao could not bear to refuse him. “All right. I’ll help you prepare it—”
“No. This is my gift to you. Naturally, I should prepare it with my own hands.”
Yue Wang settled her beneath the covered corridor, then turned and strode quickly to the edge of the plum grove, crouching down to arrange the ice lanterns one by one.
Mu Yunyao’s gaze followed him. Looking at the ice lanterns that had already been set in place around them, her eyes gradually reddened. Who knew how long this fool had spent preparing all of this? He was so clearly a clever and wise man, and yet he always did such foolish things.
Yue Wang set the last ice lantern in place, then lit a candle and used it to illuminate the others one after another. Snow whirled through the air, red plum blossoms bloomed in proud defiance of the cold, and amidst the lush plum grove, the ice lanterns slowly came alight, gradually forming a winding river of stars.
Mu Yunyao tried hard not to blink, wanting to etch both the dreamlike beauty before her and the clumsy man who had created it deep into her heart. She felt that this scene alone was enough to be remembered for a lifetime.
When Yue Wang finished lighting the last lantern, he extinguished the candle in his hand and set it aside, then turned back to look at her. “Yao’er, do you like it?”
Mu Yunyao looked at the sheen of sweat on his brow from all his exertion, and the smile in her eyes was sweet as honey. “I do. I like it very much.”
Yue Wang smiled, and his already handsome face became all the more dazzling for it. “If you like it, then my heart is glad.”
Mu Yunyao tossed aside the palace lantern in her hand and hurried over to him, throwing herself straight into his arms. Then she lifted her hands around his neck, rose on tiptoe, and kissed him.
Their lips met, their hearts pressed close, their pulses raced wildly, and their warm breaths mingled together, drawing them deeper and deeper into intoxication.
After a long while, the two of them finally separated. Leaning against Yue Wang’s chest, Mu Yunyao listened to the fierce pounding of his heart against her ear. “Fourth Master, if you go on like this, you will spoil me rotten.”
Every move he made was filled with deep affection. Mu Yunyao could feel that he treasured her in his palm and held her close against his heart. Such tenderness was addictive. It made one sink into it, unable to pull free.
Yue Wang held her tighter. “What I want is precisely to spoil you rotten—better yet, until you grow arrogant in my favor and lawless in your confidence. Then no one will dare compete with me for you.”
“You are the only one who treats me like a treasure.”
Yue Wang’s arms tightened further. His Yao’er was like the bright moon itself. So long as others were not blind, they would surely see the radiance she gave off. Yet Yao’er herself seemed unaware of it. Since that was the case, he certainly had no intention of pointing it out.
Mu Yunyao remained nestled in Yue Wang’s arms until the candles in the ice lanterns had all burned out. Only then did they walk hand in hand back to the side hall. They had stayed outside for a long time, and though they had later stood beneath the corridor, their hands and feet were still freezing cold, as though their whole bodies had turned to ice.
Jin Lan and Jin Qiao hurried forward to welcome them inside. They added fresh charcoal to the brazier, then brought hand warmers and soft fur wraps to drape around them. Only when both of them looked a little better did the maids finally relax and bring over steaming bowls of ginger soup.
“Your Highness, Miss, the two of you stood outside for far too long. Your bodies are full of cold. Drink a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourselves.”
Mu Yunyao and Yue Wang exchanged a glance. Cradling the bowls in their hands and blowing on the hot broth, they felt the heat against their fingertips and could not help but laugh aloud.
The ginger soup was still too hot to drink. Yue Wang set Mu Yunyao’s bowl aside, took her hand, and placed it against his own neck. “Yao’er, let me warm your hands.”
Mu Yunyao’s hands were like ice. The moment she placed them against either side of Yue Wang’s neck, he shivered violently.
“Fourth Master, doesn’t it feel cold?”
Though shuddering, Yue Wang shook his head. “Not cold.”
Mu Yunyao laughed. She and Yue Wang really were like fools, standing there over a field of ice lanterns, watching until every last candle burned out. Had she heard of someone else doing such a thing, she would surely have found it childish beyond measure. Yet now that she herself had done it, she found it thoroughly delightful.
Hearing Mu Yunyao laugh, Yue Wang could not help laughing as well.
“Fourth Master, what are you laughing at?”
“I don’t know. I just feel happy.”
Mu Yunyao withdrew her hands, took Yue Wang’s hand in hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It is not yet midnight. I will go make Fourth Master a bowl of longevity noodles.”
“I’ll go with you.” Yue Wang was unwilling to let her leave.
“I’ll be very quick. I certainly won’t let the birthday star go hungry.”
“But I want to stay with you.”
Mu Yunyao gave a helpless sigh. “There is truly nothing I can do with you. Very well, then. We’ll go together.”
Jin Lan and Jin Qiao brought over their cloaks and other things, then quietly withdrew to one side.
Watching the two of them head toward the kitchen hand in hand, Jin Qiao could not help blinking. “Sister Jin Lan really did think ahead, having the kitchen keep someone behind with hot water and firewood ready. Otherwise, by the time Miss got there and finished preparing everything, midnight would probably have passed.”
A faint trace of envy appeared in Jin Lan’s eyes. “His Highness and Miss are deeply attached to one another. And today is His Highness’s birthday. I thought they would surely find a way to meet, so I had someone remain in the kitchen just in case. I did not expect it would truly come in handy.”
“Sister Jin Lan, do people always become like this after meeting someone they truly like? Mm... how should I put it...” Jin Qiao thought for a long while before finally finding what she felt was a fitting description. “Simple and carefree?”
Jin Lan could not help laughing. “If you want to say Miss and His Highness have become a little silly, then just say so. ‘Simple and carefree’ indeed...”
Jin Qiao looked slightly embarrassed. “But they are our masters. I cannot put it so bluntly. Sister Jin Lan, hurry and tell me—does everyone become like this?”
“When two people truly love one another, even drinking plain cold water together tastes sweet. Once that happens, there is no telling what they may become.”
Jin Qiao nodded, half understanding and half not. “Mm, that makes sense.”
In the main hall, after Mama Qu had finished describing what had happened in the plum grove behind the hall, Grand Princess Yide smiled with deep affection in her eyes. “Those two children, truly... There is no need to mind them. Pass word to the maids attending Yunyao that they need not wake her in the morning. She will sleep late tonight, so let her rest well tomorrow. In just two more days, she is to be married. It truly makes one reluctant to part with her.”
Mama Qu helped Grand Princess Yide lie down. “Your Highness should rest well. The weather has been changing these past few days, and your chest has been feeling unwell again. It is most important to take care of your health. This servant will make sure someone goes to pass along instructions to Miss’s side.”
“Mm.”
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