Cheng Yujin stood in the pavilion, but her sight was blocked by a cluster of plum trees. She didn’t immediately saw Cheng Yuanjing approaching until she heard Cheng Yumo exclaimed in surprise: “Ninth Uncle, you are also here?”
Cheng Yuanjing? Cheng Yujin was also taken aback. She immediately handed the hand warmer to Du Ruo, held her skirt, and walked down the steps quickly. The hem of her pure white cloak swept across the steps, taking a few red petals with it.
Cheng Yumo was angry at Cheng Yuanjing’s blatant partiality, and Huo Changyuan was equally so. But he was angry at Cheng Yujin, who reacted very differently upon seeing Cheng Yuanjing. Before, Cheng Yujin just stood on the pavilion steps, looking down indifferently. Even after she saw him, she just nodded with an alienated and polite smile, a standard textbook greeting. But when Cheng Yumo called “Ninth Uncle,” even before Cheng Yujin saw him coming, her eyes immediately shone, and she hurriedly ran down the steps.
Such a blatant contrast, such a different treatment, all without the slightest concealment.
Cheng Yujin quickly rushed over. Her coat flipped with her movement, bringing a plum blossom fragrance. At the same time, Cheng Yuanjing’s group also bypassed the plum trees and almost collided with Cheng Yujin.
“Ninth Uncle!”
Cheng Yuanjing’s hand firmly caught Cheng Yujin: “Why are you running? The ground is snowy. What if you slipped?” He then saw Cheng Yujin’s empty hand. “Where is your hand warmer?”
But Cheng Yujin didn’t pay attention to his nagging. When she saw Cheng Yuanjing here, she suddenly noticed that something was wrong.
Cheng Yujin originally thought it was just a coincidence for Huo Changyuan to suddenly appear in the plum blossom garden. But Cheng Yuanjing’s appearance raised a huge question in her mind.
Others might not know, but Cheng Yujin knew very well that Cheng Yuanjing had no friendship with Huo Changyuan. On top of that, Cheng Yuanjing was not a person who would stroll a garden aimlessly. Even if in any chance he simply wanted to relax, he would never take Huo Changyuan with him.
Cheng Yujin couldn’t help remembering that today, the Emperor was also accompanying Empress Dowager Yang to Xiangji Temple. Because of this, the courtier praised the Emperor for several days, admiring his filial piety.
Cheng Yujin’s hands suddenly trembled.
Cheng Yuanjing ignored Cheng Yujin’s expression. He raised his eyes and glanced at Du Ruo. Du Ruo quickly came over and presented a small hand warmer to Cheng Yuanjing. Cheng Yuanjing took it, checked that the charcoal was still warm enough, then stuffed the thing into Cheng Yujin’s hands with satisfaction.
Feeling that something was suddenly put in her hands, Cheng Yujin held it subconsciously. She didn’t even care about what she was holding. She stared at the man before her, wanting to see even the slightest fluctuation on his face.
Unfortunately, she found nothing. He was tall and good-looking. With red plum blossoms as the background, he looked even more slender and tall. But his expression was as usual, indifferent and cold like jade.
Cheng Yuanjing found that a leaf had fallen into the hood of Cheng Yujin’s coat. He stretched out his hand in a casual manner and picked the leaf out of the hood.
Huo Changyuan watched the man talked to the woman at such a close distance and even picked up a fallen leaf from her body. For a moment, Huo Changyuan even felt a doubt. Was he and Cheng Yumo truly the newly married couple here? Why did it seem that Cheng Yujin and Cheng Yuanjing behaved like newlyweds more?
Huo Changyuan and Cheng Yumo were totally ignored. He finally coughed a bit and said: “Jingxing, it is windy here. Why don’t we move to another place to talk.”
Cheng Yuanjing didn’t even look over and said casually: “Okay. Let’s just go back to the pavilion just now.”
Huo Changyuan and Cheng Yumo walked into the pavilion first. After the two were gone, Cheng Yuanjing lowered his head and met with Cheng Yujin’s intense probing gaze.
He bowed his head to meet Cheng Yujin’s line of sight and suddenly smiled. Taking the petals stuck in Cheng Yujin’s hair, he said: “Don’t be nervous, it’s not a big deal.”
Cheng Yuanjing knew what made Cheng Yujin suddenly panicked. Although this sentence was nothing to other people’s ears, the implied meaning was mindblowing to Cheng Yujin.
Having her conjecture confirmed, Cheng Yujin became even more panicked. Not a big deal? How can it be? Cheng Yuanjing suddenly came to talk to Huo Changyuan and appeared in the garden, definitely not on a whim.
However, there were many people around. Cheng Yujin couldn’t ask directly, so she had to endure her worry and followed Cheng Yuanjing back to the pavilion. Huo Changyuan and Cheng Yumo were husband and wife, so they sat side by side. Therefore, in her daze, Cheng Yujin was seated next to Cheng Yuanjing.
After they sat down, a servant girl lowered the blind to block the cold wind. Huo Changyuan and Cheng Yuanjing chatted lightly from time to time. Not long after, there was a loud noise from the garden entrance. It seemed that the other party was deliberately walking incognito. However, in this country, only one person was allowed to be this ostentatious.
The people inside the pavilion immediately turned pale.
Cheng Yujin finally understood what Cheng Yuanjing meant by “It’s not a big deal” just now. The Emperor was coming to view the plum blossom in the garden.
What is ‘not a big deal’!! Cheng Yujin hurriedly stood up with others and secretly gave Cheng Yuanjing a fierce glare.
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