A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 451 7 Evening 2

The sky has darkened. The bright moon and clear breeze in the nights around the beginning of autumn bring a fresh coolness that dispels the daytime summer heat.

Si Yao followed Xiao Bai to the back kitchen. While still in the corridor, she saw Prince Zong busying himself in front of the kitchen window with a frown on his face. She stopped for a moment, and her cold eyes gradually became gentle and bright.

"Your Highness came from Xuancheng this morning and spent the whole afternoon learning from General Yu Cheng how to make the glutinous rice dumplings that the girl likes to eat." Xiaobai also stopped at this time, turned around and saw Si Yao staring at His Highness in front of the kitchen window in a trance, so he said.

Glutinous rice dumplings?

When Si Yao heard this, she was surprised and happy. She didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. But then she realized that she came here empty-handed. She couldn't help but lower her eyes guiltily.

"Okay, put it in the pot!" At this time, Yan Zong stood up as if he had completed a difficult task. After taking a long breath, he said to Yu Chengming who had been waiting for a long time beside him.

Seeing that His Highness had finally kneaded the glutinous rice dumplings, Yu Cheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although the shapes of these dumplings were uneven, it was His Highness' first time in the kitchen after all, so he couldn't be too harsh.

"Miss Si Yao may have arrived. Your Highness should go and wash quickly." After Yu Cheng put the glutinous rice balls into the pot, he turned around and saw that His Highness was covered with glutinous rice dust and sweating profusely. He couldn't help but laugh and persuade him.

After hearing what Yu Cheng said, Yan Zong reacted and hurriedly washed his hands in a basin beside him before walking out of the kitchen. However, he bumped into Si Yao who was coming towards him. He was delighted but also uneasy because of his own mess. He kept shaking off the glutinous rice dust on his body with his hands and asked with a smile, "When did you come? Why are you running to the kitchen in such a hot day instead of sitting in the front hall?"

The Yan Zong in front of him was no longer the high and mighty prince of the past. Instead, he looked like a handsome man who had just finished making soup for his family. Si Yao was lost in thought for a long while before she smiled gently and said,

"I heard that the prince was in the kitchen, so I was naturally curious and wanted to take a look."

After saying that, he took out his handkerchief again and wanted to wipe the sweat off his face but was stopped by Yan Zong.

"Don't waste your time on this dirty handkerchief. I'm going to go change and wash my clothes. You wait for me in the hall." As he spoke, he pulled Si Yao to the front yard.

"I feel more and more that Your Highness and Miss Si Yao are a perfect match." Yu Cheng in the kitchen silently looked at the two people walking hand in hand in the corridor, a smile unconsciously appearing on the corners of his mouth, and he muttered to himself.

When Yan Zong went back to his room to change, Si Yao got bored and walked around the hall, looking around in the light of the candle. The north and south doors and windows of the hall were wide open, and a breeze came in from time to time, making people feel cool. However, Yan Zong was not a poetic person, and he did not buy this villa to entertain guests, so the furnishings inside were simple and there was nothing attractive.

Si Yao walked around twice and then sat back in her original seat. At this time, Xin Nu came into the hall carrying a few dishes. Seeing this, Si Yao helped to clean up the items on the table.

"Thank you, Miss Siyao." Because the prince had instructed in advance that Miss Siyao should not be stopped from doing anything she wanted in this villa, Xinnu put the dishes on the table and just smiled at her.

"Here they are, the glutinous rice dumplings are here!" As soon as Xin Nu finished speaking, Yu Cheng strode in with the last steaming glutinous rice dumpling and smiled at Si Yao, "Miss Si Yao, His Highness has spent an afternoon learning how to make this. He is so kind to you..."

"Why are you talking so much!" Before Yu Cheng could finish his words, Yan Zongwei's cold voice sounded outside the door.

Upon hearing the voice, Yu Cheng and Xin Nu quickly turned around, bowed, and then consciously left the hall.

In the hazy night, Yan Zong had his wet black hair half loose, and the dark silk robe made him look noble and extraordinary. His usually cold and ruthless face turned out to be so tender and affectionate when he looked at Si Yao.

Si Yao nervously looked at the imposing figure slowly walking towards her, and stood up involuntarily, with a pleasant scent of cliff cypress wafting in the hall.

"General Yu Cheng didn't say anything, so don't be angry with him." Si Yao took two steps forward, looked up at his affectionate eyes, and advised softly, but before she finished speaking, Yan Zong hugged her in his arms. He slowly closed his eyes, smelled the medicinal fragrance on her body, and murmured:

"It's been a while since we last met. Do you miss me?"

"Yes, I do." Si Yao's face and ears felt slightly hot as she replied blankly.

Perhaps sensing Si Yao's reservedness, Yan Zong quickly suppressed his feelings and separated from her. He then pulled her to the table and sat her down. He then picked up a small piece of glutinous rice dumpling covered with cooked bean powder and placed it in front of Si Yao, smiling nervously, "I really have no talent for cooking. I've been learning for an entire afternoon and can only make these. They look so-so, but why don't you try it first to see if it tastes like this?"

Si Yao responded by picking up her chopsticks and bringing the glutinous rice ball in front of her to her mouth. She took a light bite and chewed it carefully in her mouth. The sweet and sticky taste was accompanied by a rich aroma of bean powder. Even after swallowing it, the aftertaste was still endless in her mouth.

"It's delicious. Doesn't this show a talent?" After finishing the meal, Si Yao drank half a sip of tea, then turned to Yan Zong and smiled.

"With Chef Yu Cheng teaching me step by step, I also practiced frantically for an entire afternoon. How can this be called talent?" Yan Zong smiled and shook his head. He picked up another piece of glutinous rice dumpling and put it in Si Yao's bowl. Then he said, "But if you think it tastes good, I'm happy."

"I didn't expect that you spent so much time and effort on me today, but I came here with nothing." Si Yao looked at the dumplings in the bowl and suddenly felt guilty.

Si Yao's politeness made Yan Zong helplessly smile bitterly, then he held her hand and said affectionately: "I put all this thought into pleasing you, not asking for your return. Seeing you smile, I am satisfied."

"I'm very happy, thank you very much." Si Yao seemed to understand and smiled again, but she was still thinking about what she should do for him in the future.

Seeing Si Yao looking confused, Yan Zong was at a loss as to how to respond and could only smile at her.

Compared to the quietness of the villa, the lakeside in the backyard of Sanxiu Medicine Manor was bustling. After dinner, the herbal children in the manor gathered under the pavilion to pray to the gods, chat and laugh, and from time to time they would pull Xiaolu and Guoying to joke around.

Although Guo Ying usually acts carefree and calls herself a female knight, she is a girl after all and cannot stand their teasing. She quickly ran out of the pavilion with a blushing face, and Xiaolu followed closely behind her.

Zeng Si and Xuan Yu sat snuggling under a tree in the courtyard, listening to the noise coming from the lake with a smile on their faces, and then Xuan Yu sighed softly.

"Are you worried about your sister?" Zeng Si asked hurriedly with concern.

"Well, I don't know where she is now, and whether she is safe?" Yan Yu replied with a frown.

"Don't worry, Sister Honghua is a smart person... She has seen many storms and waves, and nothing will happen this time." Zeng Si hugged her shoulders and comforted her.

Huan Yu said nothing more, with some pain in her eyes. Thinking carefully, it turned out that her sister had lived for forty years and most of her life had been spent in the wind and rain.

As his master Sanxiu had not come downstairs, Xiuming did not go to join in the fun by the lake, but wanted to go to the study. From afar, he saw candlelight on in the study and thought that Xiao Chenlin had played for a while and then came back to study. However, when he opened the door of the study, he saw Caiyi sitting alone under the window practicing calligraphy.

The two looked at each other with surprise on their faces. Caiyi was the first to ask Xiuming with a smile:

"Mr. Big, why didn't you go to the lake to talk to them?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you this? Today is the Qiqiao Festival, why are you staying here alone? Didn't Guoying call you?" Xiuming smiled and slowly walked into the study, and asked Caiyi with concern.

"I followed Guoying to worship the Weaver Girl... then I came back early because I still had homework to finish." Caiyi avoided his gaze and replied with her eyes lowered.

"You're not going to take the imperial examination, so it's okay to waste a night..." Xiuming continued to joke with a smile, but before he finished speaking, he saw her suddenly shed a tear. Then he realized that this girl was probably complaining about herself again. He couldn't help but feel distressed for her, so he sat down next to Caiyi and comforted her softly, "Girl, now that everything has passed, you have to think about it. Besides, it's not your fault, you can't punish and torture yourself like this. The medicine shop is your new home, so you have to abandon the old and seek the new, and be reborn into a new style."

"Master..." Caiyi's eyes were filled with tears. She looked up at Xiuming's gentle eyes and felt warm. She couldn't help but throw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

Xiuming was shocked by Caiyi's transgression at first, but he couldn't bear to push her away as she was crying. After a long pause, he couldn't help but stroke the head of the person in his arms and continued to persuade her in a gentle voice: "Cry your heart out tonight, and don't cry about this again in the future, okay?"

"Yeah." The beautiful tearful face leaning on Xiu Ming's chest responded while still crying.