Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 139
Dugu Xihui trembled violently, let out a soft moan, and grabbed the Empress's collar tightly with his other hand.
Zi Jin tossed aside the gold hairpin in her hand, carefully dressed Dugu Xihui in his robes, and gently pulled him into her arms, swaying him softly. After a while, the person in her arms was still, emitting even breathing sounds.
By the moonlight, Zi Jin carefully examined Dugu Xi Hui's face, which was strikingly similar to that of the old Imperial Uncle: "'Last year on this day, in this very doorway, her face and the peach blossoms reflected each other's rosy hue. Where is that face now? The peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.'... The old Imperial Uncle's illness is worsening day by day. When spring comes next year, I will let Hui'er go home and arrange for her to marry a daughter from a good family who is both talented and virtuous... No matter who Hui'er likes... I will help you marry him... With me here... Hui'er... will definitely be happy in the future... will definitely be happy." (Quote 1)
Midsummer of the sixteenth year of the reign of Emperor Yaochen, 532
The Empress was nineteen years old; Dugu Xihui was eleven years old; Zi Yinfeng was seventeen years old; and the Empress was twenty-four years old.
Unresolved emotions and inescapable demonic obstacles, the cycle of cause and effect—when will we meet again? The vows of being like birds flying wing to wing, branches intertwined—made on that day. (Part 1)
The wish of being like two birds flying wing to wing (Part 1) The snowfall that had lasted for several days in the town of Yamanaka finally stopped this evening.
The bare trees were covered with glistening, fragile branches. A gentle breeze blew, and snowflakes fell with the wind. The white snowflakes reflected the morning glow, appearing unusually delicate and translucent.
Although the garden inside Yaoguo Post Station is small, it has a unique beauty after the snow.
Dugu Xihui did not appear all day. Zi Jin was disturbed by last night's dream and sat in the house all day. In the evening, she finally couldn't help but sneak out to the back garden.
Although the back garden of Yaoguo Post Station was small, it had a unique beauty after the snow. Zi Jin casually found a small open space, and with her hands red from the cold, she scooped up the snow and moved towards the center, attracting the attention of the servants.
"It's so cold, why aren't you indoors?" Dugu Xihui asked, frowning as he stood at the garden entrance, holding a pure white cloak.
Zi Jin didn't even raise her head, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes: "Have you forgotten what I said yesterday? What I'm doing is none of your business."
Dugu Xihui, who was about to step forward, suddenly stopped, her eyes gradually dimming: "Put on your cloak first." Her voice was no longer as confident as before.
Zi Jin frowned, squinted, and reluctantly stood up, letting Dugu Xihui drape the heavy cloak over her shoulders.
"How about we go back to our room?" Dugu Xihui looked at Zi Jin's hands, which were red from the cold, and finally couldn't help but coax her softly.
Zi Jin lowered her head and silently took two steps back. With lightning speed, she threw the snowball in her hand as if venting her anger, hitting Dugu Xihui squarely in the face.
Dugu Xihui stood there, her face as cold as ice, her eyes slowly widening: "You!"
Zi Jin froze for a moment, then suddenly screamed and ran backward, grabbing a handful of snow from the stone table, squeezing it firmly, and throwing it at Dugu Xihui. Standing there, Dugu Xihui, still not recovered from the shock, was hit hard by a snowball.
A hint of a smile appeared in Dugu Xihui's amber eyes. Feigning annoyance, she grabbed some snow from the ground and, imitating Zi Jin, began to pinch it up. During this process, she was hit twice by Zi Jin. Dugu Xihui then grabbed some snow and chased after Zi Jin, saying, "Where do you think you're going!"
Zi Jin used her cloak to block Dugu Xihui's snowball, then threw her own snowball backhand, hitting the bullseye. Zi Jin laughed arrogantly and ran around the garden, grabbing snowballs as she went.
Having suffered several setbacks, Dugu Xihui had become much more shrewd and knew how to dodge cleverly. But no matter where he hit, Zi Jin could always block it with his thick fur, and every time, Zi Jin would accurately hit the snowball in his own face.
Dugu Xihui kept a close eye on Zi Jin's escape route, turned around and blocked her way, and Zi Jin's head took a solid hit.
"No using your light-footed skills! No cheating!" Zi Jin screamed as she ran away after being hit.
"Then you're not allowed to hit my face again, or else... you!" Before Dugu Xihui could finish speaking, he received another solid blow to his handsome face, his expression turning ashen. He clenched the snowball in his hand tightly. "I won't let you get away with this!"
"Haha! Come on, come on! I'm not afraid of you!" Zi Jin said, but her legs were already running fast.
A snowball flew straight towards her at high speed. Zi Jin screamed and suddenly lay down: "Don't use your internal energy!" When she looked up, she saw a pair of black boots.
Zi Jin looked up little by little from the boots. He saw a pure black fur robe, a bright gold belt, and a familiar jade pendant hanging from his waist. He had slanted eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a straight nose, thin lips, and long hair tied behind his head with a white ribbon.
Jun Lin gazed at Zi Jin, who was lying at his feet, his phoenix eyes shimmering with a gentle warmth, ripples of joy rippling across them. He slowly reached out to pull Zi Jin up: "You..."
Zi Jin looked astonished and hurriedly got up and took two steps back.
Dugu Xihui slowly lowered his hand holding the snowball, his face dark as he looked at the uninvited person at the garden gate. It was time to replace the guards at the gate.
Jun Lin watched Zi Jin retreat step by step, his gaze gradually dimming as he slowly lowered his head. A gust of wind swept towards him, and Jun Lin reflexively dodged, looking up at Zi Jin in confusion. He saw Zi Jin's mouth slightly open, her eyes wide, and her hand, which hadn't yet retracted, trembling as she pointed behind her. Jun Lin turned to look behind him and saw Prince Anle, his face covered in snowflakes, staring at Zi Jin with an unusually gloomy expression.
Zi Jin suddenly screamed, jumped up, and ran backward: "Dugu, save me!!"
Prince Anle quickly gave chase, but in his rage, he was hit in the face by two more snowballs. Dugu Xihui, holding a snowball, gave Prince Anle a sinister smile, but before the smile faded, another snowball suddenly came from afar and hit him on the head. Dugu Xihui was greatly embarrassed and glared fiercely at Zi Jin.
Zi Jin hid behind the artificial hill, jumping up and down, saying, "Why are you glaring at me? Hurry up and kick that An so-and-so out, this is your land... Pfft..." Before Zi Jin could finish speaking, she was hit squarely in the face by a snowball. She slowly turned her head and saw Jun Lin standing there unharmed, his smug smile impossible to hide.
"You damn pig... Ugh! You still want to bully me now!" Zi Jin squeezed the snowball hard, hitting it twice more. She glanced sideways in the direction of Prince Anle, only to see a huge snowball coming straight at her, hitting her right in the face. Zi Jin jumped up, slapping the snow off her face and body: "Dugu! Avenge me!"
"Of course, of course!" Dugu Xihui smiled calmly and threw it back at Prince Anle.
A hint of pleasure flashed in the eyes of the Prince of Anle. He grabbed a snowflake from the ground and threw it at Dugu Xihui with a burst of internal force, clearly intending to settle a personal score.
Zi Jin was hiding behind the artificial hill, making snowballs. She had barely poked her head out when she was hit by stray snowballs. Zi Jin, clutching her snowballs, slowly crawled towards the outer edge of the artificial hill and fired several at Jun Lin, achieving quite a feat.
Jun Lin didn't dodge when Zi Jin's snowball flew towards him; instead, he turned his back and caught it. His hands weren't idle either; whenever he had a spare moment, he would throw it at Zi Jin, always missing by just a little bit. Zi Jin became more and more courageous as she fought. Seeing Jun Lin's poor performance, she was unwilling to cower behind the artificial hill and quickly ran out to pursue him.
In an instant, snowballs flew everywhere in the small garden, accompanied by occasional screams from Zi Jin and muffled laughter.
"Ah! Don't use your light footwork!...Pfft! Another sneak attack!"
"..."
"Who is it?! Don't use your internal energy! It hurts so much!"
"..."
"You pig-headed prince! You're still so stubborn! This garden is so big, it's not just me! What's the point of staring at me like this?... Pfft! Pfft!... This is never going to end...!"
As the sun set and darkness gradually fell, snowballs swirled in the air. Zi Jin leaned against the artificial hill, rubbing her frostbitten hands, her dark eyes filled with a suffocating gloom. She huddled closer, wrapping herself tightly in her half-wet cloak and burying her face between her knees.
"Why are you hiding here pretending to be dead?" Before anyone knew it, Prince Anle was standing opposite Zi Jin, looking down at her.
Zi Jin suddenly looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and hurriedly tried to cover them up, but Prince Anle still caught her red-handed.