HCB Chapter 268: Just Taking a Bath?
Chapter 268: Just Taking a Bath?
"Wow!" Xie Jue's eyes widened. "Mother, you actually remember all of that!"
Qin Jiu smiled slightly; of course she knew all of this.
Not long after entering the manor, she found out everyone's birth date and memorized it all.
Birthdays are important days, and also a good time to strengthen relationships.
But unexpectedly, their relationship had already grown closer before their birthdays even arrived.
"And what about Mother?" Xie Jing asked.
The mother knew their birthdays, but they didn't know hers.
“Your mother’s birthday is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month,” Xie Yanli suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Qin Jiuwei turned to look at him with some surprise.
Xie Yanli simply smiled gently, his eyes filled with warmth.
He's not doing nothing.
The children lowered their eyes and silently memorized it.
"Third brother, how are you planning to celebrate your birthday?" Xie Jingchun reached out and poked Xie Jue's chubby little cheek.
"I don't know either." Xie Jue tilted his head and thought for a moment.
"How about we throw a big birthday banquet?" Qin Jiuwei looked at Xie Jue with eyes full of affection.
A birthday banquet? No one has ever held a birthday banquet for him before!
Xie Jue's eyes immediately lit up.
Qin Jiuwei continued, "We'll make some nice arrangements and invite lots of people to celebrate your birthday. You can also fly your favorite kites and sky lanterns."
Xie Jue became more and more excited as she listened, and couldn't help but jump up and down twice. Her eyes were bright, and she was as happy as a little sun.
"Great! I love birthday parties!" His little face was all rosy from smiling.
Xie Jue threw himself into Qin Jiuwei's arms, "Mother is the best! Jue-ge'er loves Mother the most!"
The crowd continued to make noise for a while.
As it grew later, Qin Jiuwei and Xie Yanli began urging them to go back to their rooms and sleep.
Xie Jue was unwilling and clung to Qin Jiuwei's leg, refusing to leave.
In the end, Xie Jingchun simply picked him up and carried him away.
He was indignant and wanted to cry, but Xie Jing covered his mouth.
In the end, all I could do was watch the main house recede into the distance with tears in my eyes.
Xie Jingchun and Xie Jing exchanged a glance and couldn't help but chuckle.
Soon, only Qin Jiuwei and Xie Yanli remained in the room.
They sat at the table together reading.
The candlelight on the table burned quietly, and the sound of pages turning could be heard from time to time.
But as they watched, someone started to get restless.
Xie Yanli lowered his eyes, reached out and picked up a strand of Qin Jiuwei's hair, gently stroking it between his fingers.
Qin Jiuwei looked up at him, a teasing smile in her eyes, "Why aren't you studying? What are you doing?"
Xie Yanli chuckled softly, his fingers sliding down her temples, his warm palms gently caressing her cheeks.
He leaned closer, his breath brushing against her ear: "What do you think, my lady?"
Qin Jiu turned her face away, not wanting to answer the question, and wanted to continue reading.
He wouldn't let her, and instead reached out to cup her face, lowering his head to kiss her.
Qin Jiu was slightly taken aback, then gently tugged at his collar and said reproachfully, "You..."
"Hmm? What's wrong with me?" Xie Yanli responded softly, smiling as he touched the corner of her lips.
Seeing his shameless behavior, Qin Jiu glared at him, her blush deepening.
"Alright." Xie Yanli raised his hand and tucked her loose hair behind her ear, his eyes filled with tenderness: "You've had a hard day. I'll go with you to take a hot bath."
"Just taking a shower?" She looked up at him.
Xie Yanli raised an eyebrow, his voice slightly low: "Otherwise, what else can we do?"
You know it in your heart! Qin Jiu glared at him.
Xie Yanli's smile grew even wider.
In the end, Qin Jiuwei couldn't persuade him otherwise and followed him into the inner room.
In the bathroom, warm steam rose. Xie Yanli took off his outer robe, and in the candlelight, his figure appeared even more slender.
He lowered his head and carried Qin Jiuwei into the bathtub.
Gradually, the water began to ripple gently.
The following day, at Qinglan Courtyard.
“Miss,” Xiaohe lifted the curtain and came in, “Miss Xu sent someone to tell you that she wants to see you.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Jiuwei's hand holding the calligraphy brush suddenly paused.
“Now is not the time,” Qin Jiuwei said slowly. “Tell her to wait a few more days.”
Xie Zhongzhi is still keeping an eye on her, and going out now would easily expose Liu'er's whereabouts.
However, Liu'er was not someone who didn't know her place.
The fact that they're in such a hurry to find her suggests that something might really have happened.
"You can arrange this matter." Qin Jiuwei raised her eyes and looked at Xiaohe.
"I will meet with Liu'er in three days. Be careful and don't let others notice."
Xiao He nodded, "Yes."
After she left, Qin Jiuwei continued her work, making annotations on the paper.
This is the schedule for Xie Jue's banquet, which the butler has already roughly arranged.
But Qin Jiuwei still felt it wasn't enough; many details needed to be supplemented and improved.
Menu, dessert list, what flowers to use for decoration and the placement of palace lanterns, seating arrangements for guests, what to do at each hour, and who should enter at what time...
"Young Madam, these floral decorations were just delivered," Nan Nan said as she walked in carrying a small, exquisite flower basket.
"There are nine in total. Should they be placed in the center of the banquet hall, or arranged under the eaves?"
Qin Jiuwei put down her pen, looked up, and said, "These would be more suitable to be placed on both sides of the seats. Leave some space under the eaves so that the cat lanterns will appear brighter."
"Yes." After Nan Nan finished speaking, she turned around and prepared to leave the room, but Qin Jiuwei called out to her.
"Where's Jue-ge? Is he up yet?"
As the weather gets colder, Xie Jue often stays in bed longer in the mornings.
Qin Jiuwei didn't blame him. It was so cold that even adults couldn't get up, let alone children.
However, the classes couldn't be delayed, so we discussed with Mr. Zhong and changed the class time to the afternoon and evening.
Xie Jue has now finished learning the Thousand Character Classic and is currently studying the Analects and Mencius.
"It snowed heavily this morning, and Young Master Jue is playing in the yard," Nan Nan said with a smile.
"Is it snowing outside?" Qin Jiuwei put down her calligraphy brush and walked to the window.
The snow was falling heavily in the courtyard, with goose-feather-like snowflakes rustling down, and the entire courtyard was already covered in silver, a vast expanse of white.
Xie Jue was dressed in thick clothes, his cheeks were red from the cold, but his eyes shone like obsidian.
He was playing with Xiaobai in the yard, running and laughing.
Because of its very white fur, Little White blends perfectly into the snow.
He jumped out of her arms and disappeared in an instant.
Every time Xie Jue looked for it, he had to look closely for a long time before he could barely make out what it was.
His big eyes darted around aimlessly, then suddenly, they lit up.
"Little White, I've got you!"
Xie Jue crouched down and suddenly pounced on the cat.
Little White reacted quickly, flicked its snow-covered tail, and then turned and ran.
The two, a person and a cat, were having a great time, leaving behind footprints and paw prints of all sizes on the snow.
Xie Jue's laughter was crisp and cheerful in the cold wind.
Qin Jiuwei listened from inside the room, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but curve into a smile.
"Young Madam." At this moment, a maid entered the room carrying a brand-new brazier.
Granny Song smiled and said, "This charcoal is newly arrived, it's top-grade silver charcoal. It burns without any smell and heats up quickly, it can keep you warm all day. The young mistress is afraid of the cold, so this charcoal is perfect for her."
The room was originally a bit chilly, but once the charcoal was lit, warmth quickly rose, dispelling the winter chill.
Qin Jiuwei walked slowly to the charcoal brazier.
The charcoal fire in the basin was burning brightly, and its warm red light shone on her face.
The Imperial Palace, Lingyan Pavilion.
"Your Majesty! This charcoal is poisonous!" Lin An suddenly exclaimed.
For the past two days, Lin An has been coming to Consort Chen's palace every day to check everything in the palace, especially the newly added items.
Everything in the hall had been checked, and we thought everything would be fine today, but we didn't expect a problem to suddenly arise from the charcoal fire.