The courtyard quieted down, with only Sushan playing by the water vat, fishing for copper coin grass.
"Then, after killing all those people, what do you want to do the most?"
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes.
He had never thought about it.
Lu Hexu slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Su Zhenzhen's face.
She lowered her head, a layer of gloom covering her watery eyes, making her look a bit down.
"I want to eat the Sushan you make."
Hmm?
"This is the answer to your question just now."
Su Zhenzhen froze for a moment, then couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile.
Did this mean that she would also be in his future?
"You can eat it right now, I wonder if there's an ice cellar here."
Eating some ice moderately when having a toothache helps reduce swelling.
Su Zhenzhen didn't expect that there was actually an ice cellar in the Gusu relay station.
Although the place wasn't large and the ice storage wasn't much, it was naturally enough to make a small bowl of Sushan.
There were many autumn fruits. Su Zhenzhen picked a few sweet persimmons, and then chose a few kiwis.
Mu Dan's right hand hadn't healed yet, so he used his left hand to crush the ice blocks.
Su Zhenzhen stood there peeling the persimmons, and after peeling them, she used a knife to peel the kiwis.
The kiwis weren't fully ripe yet, and the skin was tightly attached to the flesh. Su Zhenzhen peeled for a long time, successfully reducing the kiwi's size by half.
She cut the peeled kiwis into small pieces and put them on the Sushan, watching Mu Dan pour honey water over it.
"Pour a little less, your teeth haven't healed yet."
"Mhm."
He agreed, but didn't comply.
Su Zhenzhen looked at the Sushan covered with a thick layer of honey water, thinking that she would have to prepare more coptis root water for him tomorrow.
Bitter you to death.
"Open your mouth." Lu Hexu scooped a spoonful of Sushan and brought it to Su Zhenzhen's mouth.
Su Zhenzhen opened her mouth.
[So cold.]
The young man's finger brushed across her moist lips, then leaned over and licked the bit of honey soaking the corner of the woman's mouth.
"So sweet."
"Honey is naturally sweet."
Lu Hexu scooped another spoonful of Sushan and brought it to Su Zhenzhen's mouth.
Su Zhenzhen took a small bite, the tip of her lips stained with honey water.
Just like that, one feeding, one eating, half a portion of Sushan was eaten by Su Zhenzhen.
"Alright, I can't eat anymore." Su Zhenzhen slightly tilted her head, and Lu Hexu finished the half of the Sushan she had left.
The two came out of the small kitchen and sat under the eaves drinking barley tea.
Su Zhenzhen held his right hand, slowly moving up along the bone.
"Does your arm still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
This bit of pain was nothing to Lu Hexu.
It was like a person who, after experiencing great disasters, wouldn't take minor misfortunes seriously at all.
"What about your tooth?" Su Zhenzhen reached out to touch Mu Dan's cheek.
The swelling on his cheek had subsided by half; if one didn't look closely, it was actually unnoticeable.
Of course, if one looked closely, it was still somewhat obvious.
The honey kitten was about to heal soon, which was a bit of a pity.
Su Zhenzhen rubbed the young man's cheek, "I hope you can be safe and sound."
[Don't die.]
"I won't die." Lu Hexu rubbed against the woman's soft palm, his scattered stray hairs brushing against her skin, bringing a wave of tickling.
Su Zhenzhen tilted her head and leaned on Mu Dan's shoulder, whispering, "Let's both not die."
Perhaps because of eating that half portion of Sushan, Su Zhenzhen's stomach hurt a bit.
She suddenly felt something was wrong.
Could it be her period?
Ever since transmigrating into the book, Su Zhenzhen had been living in such a high-pressure environment every day, and her period had long become irregular.
She had also used traditional Chinese medicine to regulate it, but it only treated the symptoms and not the root cause. After taking the medicine for a month and getting it regulated, less than two months later, hearing some rustling in the wind, her body and mind fell into a high-pressure environment again, and her period became irregular again.
Repeating this cycle, Su Zhenzhen simply gave up and ignored it.
It had been over two months since her last period.
In ancient times, people used cotton cloth wrapped with plant ashes as sanitary pads, and those with more money directly used cotton cloth.
Su Zhenzhen made some cotton cloths herself and added a little plant ash inside.
She padded the bed with an old piece of clothing, then lay down stiffly.
She shouldn't have eaten that half portion of Sushan.
Although Su Zhenzhen's menstrual cramps weren't severe enough to require painkillers, the normal feeling of a heavy lower abdomen, backache, and occasional headache still existed.
She lay there listlessly, holding Mu Dan's hand.
"Does it hurt?" The young man sat by her bed, looking at her curled up in the blanket.
"Mhm..."
[Actually it doesn't hurt.]
[I just want to act spoiled.]
[Ah, why aren't you hugging me.]
Lu Hexu tilted his head to look at her, his pitch-black eyes reflecting her soft and slightly pale face.
Su Zhenzhen hid under the blanket, her pink fingertips pinching the edge of the quilt, pressing it below her nose, revealing a pair of dark eyes steeped in a mist-like beauty, like two black pearls.
She really knew how to act spoiled.
The young man's fingers stroked her long hair, then he turned sideways, lifted the blanket, and got into bed.
Su Zhenzhen stretched out her arms and hugged him, finding a comfortable position to lie in.
The woman's long hair spread out on the bed. Lu Hexu reached out his hand, his fingertips tangling and gently twisting it.
Su Zhenzhen said, "I want to hear a bedtime story."
[Continue acting spoiled.]
The young man was quiet for a moment, then started telling a story.
"Once upon a time, there was a scholar who fell in love with a woman, and then, he dug up her grave."
Su Zhenzhen: ...
"Alright, you don't need to say anymore, I'm going to sleep."
[Is this a bedtime story, or a horror story!]
[What kind of good person tells this kind of story before bed!]
"Is it not good?" The young man was confused.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
"It's good."
[Yeah right.]
Su Zhenzhen started to feel sleepy.
Every time she had her period, she easily got sleepy, never getting enough sleep no matter how much she slept.
Listening to the young man's heartbeat, her eyelids slowly drooped.
In a daze, she seemed to hear someone speaking beside her, "I will also dig up your grave..."
-
Su Zhenzhen slept soundly through the day. Waking up in the morning, she thought she shouldn't have listened to that so-called bedtime story yesterday, actually hearing Mu Dan say he would dig up her grave.
There was no sign of Mu Dan in the courtyard.
She never asked about his daily activities.
She wondered if he was involved in this operation to assassinate the tyrant.
Su Zhenzhen could clearly feel that the atmosphere this time was different from the previous times.
Should she still try to persuade Mu Dan to run away with her?
After preparing Sushan's cat food, Su Zhenzhen squatted under the eaves watching it eat.
As Sushan buried its head and ate vigorously, someone knocked on the courtyard door.
Ever since attending that sacrificial brainwashing gathering in the cave last time, Su Zhenzhen's mind had easily become tense.
She turned her head to look at the courtyard door, stared at it for a long time, and then slowly stood up and walked to the door, "Who is it?"
"Sister, it's me."
It was Ah Sui's voice.
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief and opened the courtyard door.
"Ah Sui."
"Sister."
Ah Sui held a food box in his hand, "I came to bring you breakfast, sister."
"Come in, the room is a bit messy."
Su Zhenzhen led Ah Sui into the house.
Ah Sui looked down at Sushan squatting on the ground eating cat food, teased it for a while, causing the eating Sushan to meow at him in dissatisfaction, and then he smiled and followed her into the house.
Ah Sui's gaze fell upon the half-open door of the side room, where a eunuch's uniform hung on the wooden rack inside.
The smile on his face faded for a brief moment before lifting again.
Ah Sui placed the food box on the table. "Sister, I made some fresh crab roe buns today. Please, have a taste."
So it was something as good as crab roe buns. No wonder he insisted on delivering them to her personally.
Ah Sui rolled up his sleeves and reached out to open the food box.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head, just about to speak to Ah Sui, when she caught a glimpse of the Changchun flower mark on the back of his hand.
Su Zhenzhen's breath hitched, and the expression on her face instantly stiffened as she looked up at Ah Sui.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
During such a sensitive period, Su Zhenzhen wasn't foolish enough to think that this Changchun flower was merely a decorative mark.
Su Zhenzhen stared at Ah Sui for a moment, then sat down, took the bowl and chopsticks, and began to eat the crab roe buns.
Fresh out of the steamer, the crab roe buns had thin skins, generous fillings, and abundant broth.
Su Zhenzhen first bit a small opening to suck out the broth inside, and then slowly ate the whole thing bite by bite.
"Sister, I also brought you some vinegar."
"Alright."
Su Zhenzhen picked up another crab roe bun, bit a small hole, drank the broth, and then completely soaked it in the vinegar before putting it into her mouth in one bite.
There were six crab roe buns in a steamer basket. Su Zhenzhen slowly finished them all, then, as if suddenly remembering something, said, "Oh right, let me brew a pot of tea for you."
"Sister, there's no need to trouble yourself."
"It's fine. Just sit for a while, it'll be ready soon."
Su Zhenzhen got up and went to the small kitchen in the courtyard. Standing in the kitchen, she looked at the earthen jar containing tea leaves, her expression lost in thought.
A moment later, she came out carrying a clean, small purple clay teapot. "Here, try the honeysuckle dew tea I brewed. I added some orange slices to it." As she spoke, Su Zhenzhen poured a cup for Ah Sui.
Ah Sui picked up the teacup and took a gentle sip, tasting a faint orange fragrance.
Su Zhenzhen also poured a cup for herself, but she didn't drink it, merely holding it in her hand.
Su Zhenzhen turned to look outside the courtyard. "The weather is quite nice today."
The autumn sunlight pierced into the courtyard. Sushan finished its cat food, squatted by Su Zhenzhen's feet and rubbed against her, then suddenly jumped up and settled on her lap.
Su Zhenzhen turned her head to look at Ah Sui.
Ah Sui's eyelids were beginning to droop.
"What's wrong? Are you very sleepy? Did you stay up late last night?"
Ah Sui nodded. "Yesterday I watched the master make crab roe buns all night..." His voice grew lower and lower, and then he slowly slumped over the table and fell asleep.
Su Zhenzhen put down her teacup. After waiting a little while to ensure Ah Sui was completely asleep, she began to search his person.
She wasn't sure if Ah Sui would carry it on him.
The original novel mentioned that the Qingxu Taixuan Society usually first handed over information to a portion of literate people, and then had these literate people tell the illiterate ones, passing it down by word of mouth.
She remembered that Ah Sui was literate.
Very few eunuchs were literate. It was precisely because Ah Sui could read that the old master had taken a liking to him and brought him into the imperial kitchen.
Su Zhenzhen's hand paused at Ah Sui's waist; she took a sachet from his belt.
This was the one she had given him to repel mosquitoes.
Su Zhenzhen squeezed it with her hand; there seemed to be something inside.
She opened the sachet and saw a slip of paper inside.
When winter comes, slay the dragon; when spring arrives, the harvest will be abundant.
What did this mean?
She knew about slaying the dragon; it meant killing the tyrant.
Was when winter comes the time? The beginning of winter?
What was today's date?
Su Zhenzhen stuffed the slip of paper back into the sachet, placed it back on Ah Sui, and then went into the room to flip through the calendar.
Found it.
The Winter Solstice is... next month.
There are thirty days left.
Shen Yanci planned to kill the tyrant on the Winter Solstice.
When Ah Sui woke up, a blanket was draped over him.
As soon as he sat up, the blanket fell to the ground.
Ah Sui hurriedly bent down to pick up the blanket from the floor.
"Sister."
Su Zhenzhen was in the courtyard processing medicinal herbs. Hearing that he was awake, she stood up and walked over. "You're awake. You fell asleep while drinking tea."
In reality, Su Zhenzhen had added a bit of something similar to an ancient sleeping potion to the tea, but hers was purer, so it took effect very quickly.
"I stayed up all night, I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Sister." Ah Sui sat there and smiled in embarrassment, his fingertips clutching the blanket, seemingly still able to smell its faint fragrance.
Su Zhenzhen looked at Ah Sui. "Ah Sui, do you still have family outside the palace?"
Ah Sui nodded. "Yes, both my parents are still alive."
Su Zhenzhen was silent for a moment. The words reached her lips, but she swallowed them back.
The reasons a person joins a religious sect are varied. Many people with living parents and harmonious families also get brainwashed. Therefore, it was impossible to persuade someone to change their mind with just a few words of advice.
"Then do you have a wish you want to fulfill?"
This time it was Ah Sui's turn to be silent. His gaze suddenly fell on Su Zhenzhen's face. "There is too much I want, Sister."
Ah Sui's mind recalled the words of Venerable Changchun: As long as you believe, you will receive.
As long as you believe in the Venerable, you can get everything.
Su Zhenzhen saw Ah Sui's eyes instantly widen, revealing the exact same expression she had seen on the faces of those believers at the cave altar.
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand and handed the honeysuckle she was holding to Ah Sui.
"It clears internal heat. Take it back and drink it."
The courtyard door was closed, and Ah Sui's figure disappeared from the entrance. Su Zhenzhen closed the door and sat back down, looking down at the herbs in the bamboo basket.
If her deduction was correct, the time for the believers' uprising was set for the Winter Solstice.
There was still one month left.
This uprising was different from the rest of the original plot.
On the one hand, it wasn't in the original plot at all; on the other hand, it was massive and uncontrollable.
This would be a great chaos.
As Su Zhenzhen was pondering, she heard the courtyard door being knocked on again.
Hmm? Someone else is here?
Su Zhenzhen got up to open the door and saw Shen Yanci standing at the entrance.
Su Zhenzhen: ...She hadn't checked the almanac before opening the door. Was it too late to close it now?
"Miss Su."
It was too late.
The moment she saw Shen Yanci's face, Su Zhenzhen felt nothing good would come of it.
"Is there something you need, Lord Shen?"
"I went out to the market today and saw some freshly baked begonia cakes, so I brought some for you."
Who wants them.
"Thank you, Lord Shen."
Su Zhenzhen accepted them and stood there with her head lowered. Recalling the scene of Shen Yanci barging directly into the courtyard yesterday, she subtly stepped sideways to block the doorway.
Shen Yanci did not notice Su Zhenzhen's little scheme; he merely looked down, gazing at her fair side profile.
Today, Su Zhenzhen was wearing a lotus-root-colored autumn outfit. The pale pink made her look even more gentle and lovely, like a pink hibiscus flower. Her long hair was pinned up, simply secured with a silver hairpin, revealing the smooth, pearlescent white lines of her nape.
The woman stood quietly there, her eyes lowered, carrying a faint herbal scent that smelled somewhat bitter but was incredibly soothing.
Shen Yanci heard his own uncontrollable heartbeat.
He opened his mouth. "On the beginning of winter, I would like to invite you and Mu Dan to dine together at the Deyue Restaurant."
Deyue Restaurant was a tavern in Gusu City.
If Su Zhenzhen remembered correctly, it was Shen Yanci's own property.
In the original novel, it was mentioned that Deyue Tower did all kinds of business. It was essentially an ancient underground club involving numerous illegal activities. Many of Shen Yanci's commercial deals and official connections were negotiated inside Deyue Tower.
"Lord Shen, why so suddenly..."
Shen Yanci suddenly took a step forward. He heard his own voice trembling, "I am in love with you."
Su Zhenzhen: ???
Of course, Su Zhenzhen wouldn't be narcissistic enough to think that Shen Yanci truly loved her.
"Lord Shen, please do not joke with this servant." Su Zhenzhen took a step back, pressing both hands against the courtyard doors.
She wanted to close them.
"It is true, Miss Su."
Shen Yanci pressed one hand against the courtyard doors. His long, fair fingers gripped the black wooden door, tightening slightly. "It is true..."
Shen Yanci usually liked to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, always putting on a proper and upright front no matter the occasion.
Now, looking so flustered, he had cast aside his usual refined elegance.
Upon closer inspection, a faint blush had even crept onto his cheeks.
His acting was truly exceptional.
If she didn't know Shen Yanci's true colors, Su Zhenzhen would have almost believed him.
So what kind of play was he putting on now?
"Mu Dan and I are already married."
"I, I know... but it is impossible between you two." Pausing for a moment, Shen Yanci suppressed the strange look in his eyes and said, "He is just a eunuch."
After saying this, Shen Yanci looked at Su Zhenzhen, pressed down harder on the wooden door, and stepped forward.
Shen Yanci was very tall, about 1.85 meters. Although he looked refined and gentle, when he lowered his eyes and leaned toward you, you could still feel the oppressive presence brought by his height.
"This servant is just a lowly palace maid..."
"I do not mind."
Su Zhenzhen: ...She minded.
Just as Su Zhenzhen was about to continue refusing by saying she was unworthy of him, she suddenly remembered the date Shen Yanci had just mentioned for their dinner.
The Beginning of Winter.
Shen Yanci's target definitely wasn't her.
Since his target wasn't her, it had to be Mu Dan.
"Miss Su, are you willing to attend?"
Shen Yanci looked at her, his eyes steeped in an emotion that Su Zhenzhen could not understand.
Su Zhenzhen stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
Shen Yanci's eyes flickered, his gaze falling onto the begonia cake Su Zhenzhen was holding.
"Miss Su, is there no return gift?"
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head, forcing a fake smile.
She looked around and spotted a wild chrysanthemum growing in the corner.
Who knew which bird had carried a chrysanthemum seed and dropped it here, unexpectedly growing into a white Hangzhou chrysanthemum.
The corner received little sunlight and was slightly damp, covered with some moss. Beside the mottled wall, this Hangzhou chrysanthemum appeared somewhat bitter and solitary.
Su Zhenzhen walked over, plucked the Hangzhou chrysanthemum, and handed it to Shen Yanci.
In ancient times, the chrysanthemum was a noble flower favored by scholars and poets, unlike in modern times, where it was labeled as inauspicious.
Of course, as a modern person, Su Zhenzhen naturally meant it in the modern sense.
She smiled at Shen Yanci.
Wishing you an early death.
She usually wouldn't curse someone like this unless she really couldn't hold back.
Secret spies were people too; if it weren't for her good luck, she would have died eight hundred times by his hands!
Shen Yanci looked down at the Hangzhou chrysanthemum and reached out to take it.
-
Shen Yanci returned to his courtyard. He carefully placed the Hangzhou chrysanthemum on the table and then went to look for a vase.
This one was too deep.
This one's color didn't match.
This one... wasn't precious enough.
After rummaging through the vases in several wing rooms of the courtyard, Shen Yanci found a Yuhuchun vase.
It had a slender neck, a ring foot, and a bulging belly. Its lines were elegant yet unassuming, fully coated in white glaze with a plain, unadorned surface.
Shen Yanci went to the courtyard to fetch some spring water. After carefully wiping the vase clean, he filled it with the clear spring water and finally inserted the Hangzhou chrysanthemum.
The Hangzhou chrysanthemum and the Yuhuchun vase were placed together on Shen Yanci's desk. Silhouetted against the window, they looked simple, refined, and incredibly elegant.
Shen Yanci sat behind the desk, his fingers gently brushing over the Hangzhou chrysanthemum as a tender smile appeared on his face.
He had thought of a way to have the best of both worlds.
Once he dragged that tyrant down from the throne, he would confess everything to Su Zhenzhen.
He would not let anything happen to her.
-
Su Zhenzhen paced back and forth in the courtyard.
She was so anxious that she didn't even notice when she accidentally stepped on Sushan's tail while walking.
Sushan let out a soft cry and squatted in the corner, holding its stepped-on tail and licking it.
Looking dejected, Su Zhenzhen sat down. She felt her abdomen starting to ache again, and as the autumn wind blew through the courtyard, her head also began to throb.
When someone developed personal feelings for another person, it was very easy to trust them completely, no matter what they said or did.
But once the thread of doubt was pulled, all those previously ignored, unreasonable details would instantly connect.
If Su Zhenzhen hadn't transmigrated into a book, she definitely wouldn't have been able to guess it.
The original novel stated that even though the tyrant was plagued by madness for a long time, it still couldn't hide his stunning appearance.
Entangled by madness, fearful of sunlight, suffering from severe migraines, possessing innate divine strength, and wandering like a ghost to kill.
-
She heard that His Majesty was listening to an opera at Changyin Pavilion.
Su Zhenzhen changed into the most common palace maid uniform. Holding her token, she appeared outside Changyin Pavilion with a pale face.
Through the thin autumn mist and wind, she saw the roof of Changyin Pavilion, with its green glazed tiles bordered by yellow glazed edges.
Before even entering, Su Zhenzhen could hear the melodious flute accompaniment and the delicate, expressive Shuimo tune of the opera singers.
The guarding Brocade Guards saw her token and stepped aside to let her pass.
Su Zhenzhen didn't go into the front corridor. Instead, she bypassed the crowd and headed toward the back of the stage.
The main building of Changyin Pavilion had a three-story stage: the upper Fu Stage, the middle Lu Stage, and the lower Shou Stage, with four staircases in the back.
An opera was currently being performed on the lowest Shou Stage, facing the audience watching the play.
Su Zhenzhen climbed the stairs and walked up to the uppermost Fu Stage.
The Fu Stage was completely empty; she was the only one standing on the desolate third floor.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the windows, made of polished seashells, let in a hazy, multicolored light.
Su Zhenzhen gently, very gently, pushed open a tiny gap in the window.
She saw her trembling fingertips, looking like frost struck down by snowflakes in winter.
Please don't let it be him. Please, absolutely don't let it be him.
Su Zhenzhen took a deep breath and cast her gaze across the way.
A crowd of people sat under the theater corridor, led by a young man sitting on a throne.
The young emperor wore a bright yellow everyday robe. He rested his cheek on one hand, his long hair tied up, revealing a pale face.
It was a cloudy day today. The sunlight couldn't pierce through the clouds, making the weather seem gloomy, but that touch of yellow stood out exceptionally bright.
Su Zhenzhen's first reaction was that he really did look good in yellow.
Her second reaction was that she was going to die.
Lu Hexu keenly frowned and raised his eyes to look toward the third floor.
Up on the third-floor Fu Stage, a seashell window had been blown slightly open by the autumn wind, revealing a corner of the empty room.
Wei Heng noticed Lu Hexu's gaze and bowed as he stepped forward, "Your Majesty?"
"It is nothing."
It must be the wind.
Lu Hexu lowered his gaze and continued watching the opera.
She is definitely running away in the next chapter.
Sigh, the teenage kitty is really cute, and the cub phase was cute too.
After Zhenzhen runs away, the kitty will start to develop rapidly, entering his growth phase and completely transforming into a truly mature and gloomy emperor.
Digging up a grave is a story from The Peony Pavilion. Well, Maomao actually thought it was meant to be a sweet nothing.
