Eternal Night - Chapter 94
"Put it down!" Yuepo snapped, turning around, and the piece of chicken slid back into the pot from her hand.
Yongye pinched his ear with his scalded fingers, swallowing hard as he looked at the chicken. Yuepo laughed and scolded, "It's not quite done yet. We'll eat it when the food is ready."
He clapped his hands in satisfaction after putting the lid on the pot, then turned around and saw Yongye still staring at the soup in a daze. He couldn't help but chuckle: "How come I never realized you were such a glutton before?!"
Yongye sighed, swallowed hard, and smiled, raising his face: "I've decided not to share a single chicken leg with you!"
During dinner that evening, Yongye put a chicken neck on Yuepo's plate and then ignored him.
Yuepo stared wide-eyed at the chicken neck in the bowl, both amused and exasperated: "I didn't realize you could eat so much. The Prince's mansion has plenty of delicacies, yet you act like you've never eaten meat before."
Without looking up, Yongye chewed the last chicken foot he had left: "I haven't eaten so heartily in years. Yuepo, your cooking is really good."
Yuepo laughed and said, "I'll roast rabbit for you tomorrow. Mountain rabbit meat is tender and even tastier than pheasant."
"Hmm, I'll eat all the birds and beasts on this mountain so they won't dare to go out." Yongye finished gnawing on the chicken foot with satisfaction, licked his fingers, and looked up. He saw that Yuepo had only drunk a bowl of soup, and hadn't touched the chicken neck in the bowl. He asked in surprise, "Are you full?"
"Just watching you eat makes me full." Indeed, Yongye's eating habits were terrifying, and Yuepo felt that watching her eat was more enjoyable than eating herself.
Yongye picked up her bowl to drink the soup, her gaze lingering on the chicken neck for a few moments, a mixture of regret and reluctance on her face. Yuepo's eyes revealed pity and heartache as she placed the chicken neck into her bowl, saying nonchalantly, "I hate eating chicken necks. If you can still eat them, then gnaw on them."
Yongye gnawed on the food while cursing, "It's so delicious and you don't like it! If I had known, I wouldn't have even left this for you."
After finishing her meal, she drank a bowl of soup with satisfaction, then patted her stomach and slumped in her chair: "I'm feeling sleepy after eating!"
"Lazy! Don't want to wash the dishes and pots, huh?" Seeing Yongye's satisfied expression, Yuepo had no choice but to resign herself to getting up and tidying up.
Yongye smiled as she watched his retreating figure, and suddenly felt very happy.
“Within a hundred miles of Kyoto, only this Yishan Mountain is somewhat secluded due to its high mountains and dense forests. If I hadn’t gone to the temple to inquire about you today, I really wouldn’t know where to look for you!” Yuepo said while washing the dishes.
"You really do look like Feng Yangxi, you almost scared me to death. I'd rather go back with the people in the valley than fall into Feng Yangxi's hands. If I surrender, I can always become an assassin again. I've been going against Feng Yangxi all these years, and if I fall into his hands, given his righteous indignation, he'll definitely kill me," Yongye said lazily. Yuepo's impersonation was truly remarkable, even her voice was spot-on.
"You saw through me!"
Yongye chuckled: "At first glance, I was terrified, but upon closer inspection, I realized it. I'm particularly sensitive to his aura."
Yuepo paused for a moment, then shook her head and laughed, "You're like a mouse before a cat when you see him. Feng Yangxi is, after all, a great hero!"
"Yes, he's a great hero, and I'm just a lowly assassin. He almost died at my hands, and he's been searching for me for seven or eight years now, trying to kill me. How could I not be afraid of him? I can smell his scent from three zhang away."
Yuepo put down the bowl and chopsticks, looked out the window and murmured, "It would be better if he were dead, so you wouldn't have to be afraid of him all the time."
She had the chance to kill him, but seeing Feng Yangxi anxiously searching for her in the fire, how could she bring herself to do it?
Yongye stood up and walked to the window. Although there were clouds in the sky, moonlight still shone through. She remembered the time she and Yuepo watched the stars in the valley. The scene before her made her feel exceptionally warm. She reached out to hug him, but pulled back as soon as she touched his clothes.
Moonbeam glanced at her, then suddenly laughed: "Why don't you ask Rose?"
"With you here, Rose is naturally safe."
Yuepo sighed, "That girl is a bit naive, but not stupid. She cooperated quite well along the way, though she was a bit disheveled. Fortunately, she didn't fall into the hands of those people. She's hiding in my hometown in Qi. I think that once things are over in An, she can come back without any trouble."
"If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, Rose will have no choice but to marry."
Yuepo's eyes gleamed slyly: "With Prince Duan's Six Guards of the Capital Region here, the Crown Prince cannot become emperor."
These words weighed heavily on Yongye's heart again, but the worry between her brows vanished in an instant. She smiled and said, "It's all because the Emperor is determined to have Prince You ascend the throne. My father is just following orders. Regardless, let's go see the stars."
Watching her retreating figure as she walked out of the house, Yuepo felt that she carried a heavy burden. The Xinghun of the past would feign ignorance when something was wrong, but unlike now, her face was smiling, yet her eyes always held a sense of sadness and heaviness.
Yongye knew he was watching her. If only she could ignore the affairs of the court and the Youli Valley. The mention of the struggle for the throne in Anguo made her uncontrollably miss Prince Duan and her mother. Thinking of Princess Duan softened her heart.
As Yuepo said, with Prince Duan controlling the six guards of the capital and Prime Minister Zhang able to intimidate all officials, Anguo wouldn't descend into chaos. Perhaps, the capital didn't need her presence. Yongye took a deep breath of the floral fragrance carried on the breeze; the valley was peaceful and serene. Living like this wasn't so bad.
She rested her hands behind her head, gazing absently at the moon, which appeared and disappeared behind the clouds.
"What are you thinking about?" Yuepo lay down as well.
Yongye said earnestly, "I want to have a good night's sleep."
"It's that simple?"
"Hmm. I feel sleepy." Yongye closed his eyes.
Yuepo didn't speak, but turned his head to look at her. His exquisitely perfect face, now free of disguise, had no eyelashes that trembled, and his breathing was long and steady. He murmured, "Sleep, no one will disturb you."
When Yongye woke up, she was lying on a bamboo bed, covered with a thin blue-printed cotton quilt. The smell of the new quilt carried with it a fresh feeling. She jumped up, feeling refreshed.
"Moon Soul!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her voice was so loud it almost shook the bamboo house apart. Yuepo rushed in, a handful of ferns in her hand: "What is it?"
Yongye laughed so hard she almost fell over, pointing at him and saying, "You're just like a stay-at-home man!" Then she blinked and laughed again, "It's okay, I just wanted to call your name as soon as I woke up."
Yuepo laughed, but then put on a stern face: "The sun's already high in the sky, you're so lazy, go wash up by the stream and come back for dinner!"
Yongye flew out of the bamboo house like a bird, and Yuepo couldn't help but laugh again.
Ten Days in the Mountains
As dawn broke through the thick fog in the forest, sunlight streamed in, creating faint bands of light, and birds sang sweetly.
After breakfast, Yuepo took Yongye to gather wild vegetables. He instructed, "I'll gather the vegetables; you can catch whatever meat you want to eat yourself."
Yongye shook his head and refused: "I'm always the one catching fish, no way! Today I'll pick wild vegetables, and you can go catch fish, that's easy."
Do you recognize wild vegetables?