Chapter 165
Chapter 165
After returning home, Ji Hanyi first went to sit and talk with her mother. She stayed through lunch and only returned to her own room afterward.
A sheet of paper was spread across the long table before her. Ji Hanyi had hoped painting might calm her mind, but even with the brush in hand, she could not bring herself to put it to paper. She finally gave up and sat down to read instead.
The light grew brighter that spring afternoon after the rain, spilling through the window and bathing her in warmth. Before long, drowsiness crept over her.
Ji Hanyi read a few pages, never even realizing when she fell asleep. By the time she awoke, everything before her was shrouded in dim gray. The room was empty, a blanket had been draped over her, and a brazier had been set beside her.
Now that they had more money to spare, and since both she and her mother were sensitive to the cold, they were still burning charcoal despite the season.
The charcoal crackled softly from time to time. Ji Hanyi sat in a groggy daze, her mouth dry, then called Rongchun in to refill her tea.
Rongchun had been standing outside talking to Chunju. At Ji Hanyi’s voice, she hurried in. Seeing that Ji Hanyi was awake, she quickly lit the candles and poured her a cup of her favorite paulownia blossom tea.
A delicate fragrance rose from the tea. Ji Hanyi lowered her head and took a sip, then bent down to retrieve the book that had fallen beside her. Still weak and languid from sleep, she leaned back in her chair and took another sip of the hot tea.
As warmth gradually returned to her body, she let out a soft sigh.
Not long afterward, when night had fully fallen, Shen Si arrived. As before, he waited for her in the carriage outside.
Wen’an was the one who knocked on the door. When Ji Hanyi came out, he pointed toward the carriage parked in the darkness and said with a quiet smile, “Miss Ji, my lord is waiting for you in the carriage.”
Ji Hanyi glanced at the carriage in the night. It had only been one day. Had Shen Si already come for her answer?
In truth, she knew she had more or less made up her mind.
She owed Shen Si a favor. If she truly could help him, she was willing to do so.
When she climbed into the carriage, the same dim ivory lamp was burning inside. Shen Si sat within the shadows as before. Only after Ji Hanyi had taken her seat did he slowly straighten from the darkness.
His gaze traveled over her inch by inch. Early spring had lent her a gentle allure. Her unadorned hair was loosely pinned for the night, framing a fair, luminous face so delicate, soft, and innocent that Shen Si seemed to sense a tender warmth and fragrance emanating from her. No matter how tightly wound he was, he could always relax in her presence.
He asked, “Do you still have any medicine left?”
She took two packets a day. Of the twenty packets Shen Si had given her in the box last time, six or seven remained – enough for another two or three days.
Ji Hanyi gave a soft murmur of assent. “I do.”
Then she looked up and asked, “Is there a prescription for it? Once I finish what I have, I’d like to have more prepared myself.”
Shen Si raised a brow. Her bright eyes shimmered as she looked at him, their light flickering gently in the candlelight.
He said, “This is a tonic the Empress Dowager regularly takes in the palace. Even if I gave you the prescription, you wouldn’t be able to obtain all the ingredients.”
As he spoke, Shen Si lowered his gaze, directing Ji Hanyi’s attention to the box on the table.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already prepared more for you.”
Ji Hanyi looked down at the box. Even without opening it, she knew what was inside.
She raised her eyes to Shen Si again.
Before she could speak, his deep voice reached her. “This medicine is not difficult for me to obtain. Just take it.”
Then Shen Si picked up another small wooden box with his slender fingers, opened it, and set it before Ji Hanyi. His dark eyes remained fixed on her.
“Your favorite.”
Ji Hanyi looked at the pastries in the little box, keenly aware of Shen Si’s gaze upon her. After a brief pause, she thanked him in a soft voice.
She took a bite. The pastry was soft and not overly sweet, but it was utterly delicious. She could not help asking Shen Si, “What kind of pastry is this?”
Shen Si smiled faintly. “If you like it, I’ll bring you more next time.”
Ji Hanyi looked at him, a little embarrassed. “I couldn’t possibly keep troubling Lord Shen.”
Shen Si’s gaze settled on the dusting of white powder at the corner of her lips. Listening to her soft voice and gazing into her beautiful eyes, he said, “You can’t buy it anywhere outside.”
That answer left Ji Hanyi deflated. Unable to think of anything else to say, she lowered her head and took another bite.
After eating two pastries in a row, there was soon only one left in the box.
Ji Hanyi was too embarrassed to eat any more.
She was just about to say something to ease the awkwardness between them when another faint wisp of agarwood drifted toward her. Her eyes refocused, only to find Shen Si’s fingertips right by her lips.
He held the pastry between his fingers as though he meant to feed it to her.
Ji Hanyi froze and instinctively leaned back, but Shen Si followed her retreat, bringing his hand closer once more. There seemed to be a hint of laughter in his voice. “They’re all yours.”
Ji Hanyi had no defense against him and dared not meet his gaze. In a small voice, she said, “I… I can take it myself.”
With that, she took the pastry from his hand. A fine sheen of nervous sweat had formed on the tip of her nose, and she kept her eyes averted, staring fixedly at one corner of the low table before her.
Watching her, Shen Si smiled to himself.
When he saw her eating too quickly and stuffing the whole pastry into her mouth at once, he poured another cup of tea and held it out to her. “Slow down.”
Ji Hanyi was indeed eating in a hurry. Under Shen Si’s gaze, her movements had sped up without her realizing it. She simply did not want him watching her eat.
She gave a distracted hum, accepted the tea from Shen Si, and quickly took a sip. But she drank too fast and choked. Hurriedly setting down the cup, she covered her lips with her handkerchief and coughed.
Ji Hanyi squeezed her eyes shut. She was so mortified that she no longer wanted to look at Shen Si at all. Even her fingertips were trembling, and her whole body felt hot.
Her cheeks flushed crimson, and it took a long bout of coughing before she finally recovered.
Once she had caught her breath, Ji Hanyi glanced aside and suddenly noticed a shadow beside her. Startled, she looked up and realized that Shen Si had moved to sit next to her at some point.
His hand was still resting on her back.
When she looked at him, Shen Si lowered his dark eyes to hers and asked hoarsely, “Feeling better?”
Already too mortified to care, Ji Hanyi gave a resigned hum. “A little better.”
Shen Si studied her flushed face. Even the corners of her eyes and the arches of her brows were tinged pink, while her luminous eyes shimmered with moisture. Framed by her black hair, her fair face was a vision of spring steeped in shy beauty.
His thoughts gradually strayed deeper, and his gaze grew darker by the moment, making Ji Hanyi instinctively want to draw back.
Shen Si noticed the movement. Here in the carriage, with no one else around, the memory of that first taste rose in him again. He had known its sweetness and craved more ever since, and his body instinctively wanted to move closer to hers.
Then he remembered what Shen Changling had said that morning, and Shen Si knew he could no longer wait.
He could not even wait two days. He could not bear to wait a single day longer.
That afternoon, the moment his official duties were done, he had wanted to hurry back to see her. He had thought that just one glimpse would be enough.
Shen Si reached out and brushed the tiny fleck of powder from the corner of Ji Hanyi’s lips. His unfathomable black eyes met her luminous almond-shaped ones as he murmured hoarsely, “Next time, don’t eat so fast. No one is going to take it from you.”