Quand l'amour approche, c'est comme la neige

Chapitre 109

Yongye drank half a bowl of rice soup and smiled bitterly. If a woman really hates someone, she can be more ruthless than a man.

On the sixth day, Li Yannian entered the room and administered another dose of muscle-relaxing powder to Yongye. He said coldly, "I think you'd better get some more sleep before I leave."

Yongye clenched her fists. The steel wire pierced her fingernails, the pain making her almost jump up.

The pain was comparable to that of the cartilage powder; her hand ached terribly, yet she still had strength. She didn't speak, afraid that the trembling in her voice would betray her.

"I'm going to Kyoto to take a look. You'd better hope I bring back some good news."

Li Yannian's footsteps faded away, and Yongye saw him walk out of the valley through the window. She slowly exhaled; the muscle relaxant was indeed potent, and her hand trembled as she slowly loosened it, still able to move.

Without hesitation, Yongye used the steel wire to stimulate the most sensitive nerves in his body, gradually restoring his senses.

"Embrace the green!"

"What is it!" Lan Cui's voice was icy.

"Why haven't you brought me my porridge yet today?"

"My husband said he'll only be gone for one day, so it's fine if Miss doesn't eat for a day. Besides, it's just half a bowl of thin porridge."

Is this Lan Cui, who has protected and cared for her since childhood? Yong Ye sighed upon hearing this, his eyes filled with a desolate coldness.

Lan Cui was just a pitiful woman who had fallen in love with her husband, a wife who was afraid that he would take her husband away. Yong Ye told himself this, lest he kill her.

Can a woman be this crazy when she's jealous? Doesn't she even consider how disgusting her husband is, wanting to rape his own niece? She doesn't blame Li Yannian, but she hates herself instead. Yongye couldn't understand this strange thought at all.

Lan Cui raised her head, her gaze sweeping over the shackles on her feet, and said softly, "Actually, I've always wanted to live this kind of life with my husband. Peaceful and quiet, ignoring the outside world. Perhaps, even if we don't live in the valley, we can still live a quiet life in a small place. Miss, please don't blame me. When I washed away the disguise from your face, looking at your face, I thought, there is no woman in the world more capable of making a man's heart change than you." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

"What did your father say when he ordered you to infiltrate his side?" Yongye's heart sank again.

“The prince said that if my husband discovers the young lady’s identity, he should kill him. I hoped that he would never find out, but when the young lady went to Chen, he saw that the princess had made many beautiful clothes for young women, and he became suspicious… I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He saw through it but didn’t kill me. He was very good to me.”

Yongye smiled and said, "I don't blame you. Just use the poison my father gave you on me."

“Miss…it would be better for you to die than to be humiliated by him.” Lan Cui’s face turned pale as she bit her lip and made up her mind.

"Hehe, you're absolutely right, thank you." Yongye sighed again. "Let me brew the tea one more time. Just put the poison in the tea."

Lan Cui looked at Yong Ye, who was unable to move, and wondered how she could brew tea.

Yongye said leisurely, "Bring in the stove and tea tray, and I'll teach you how to brew it. My master also likes to brew tea, so once you've learned, you can brew tea for him whenever you have free time. The valley is serene and quiet, perfect for enjoying tea and playing chess. This is a life that even immortals couldn't ask for."

The elegance of Yongye's tea-brewing technique was deeply ingrained in Lancui's heart. She knew Li Yannian shared this refined taste. If she could learn Yongye's skill, she could brew tea for her husband and he would be delighted. Lancui smiled.

Before long, the stove and tea tray were set up.

Yongye smelled the scent of mountain spring water and said, "It seems that teaching you how to brew tea in the mountains is just right. Remember, the art of tea is three parts tea and seven parts water. Spring water is the best, followed by well water and then river water. You should use spring water to brew tea from now on."

"I remember when Miss swept up plum blossom snow to brew tea..."

As the plum blossoms fell in the snow, Yongye thought again of the handsome gentleman and the master in green. They had always shown her leniency. Knowing her as she did, the master in green knew she couldn't possibly have swallowed the bone-softening pill; his master was still kind to her. A sliver of warmth returned to Yongye's heart. Perhaps just a sliver of warmth was enough to sustain her and help her live on.

"Plum blossom snow is a refined pleasure. When it snows in these mountains, you and your master can collect snow from the pine trees, which is just as good. We are master and servant, so if you ever plant plum trees outside this house, don't forget to collect the snow to brew tea for me." Yongye's gentle voice conjured a beautiful scene in Lancui's mind, a scene that required killing Yongye. Lancui felt a pang of sadness, but if he didn't kill her… she shuddered, remembering Li Yannian's revenge plan. She lowered her head. Without Yongye, perhaps her husband wouldn't have any rash ideas, or perhaps, their idyllic life in the mountains could last a little longer, much longer.

The tea was brewed under their different thoughts, its aroma rising with the steam. Yongye smiled and said, "Well done, you've always been skillful. It'll be up to you to figure it out as you go. Give me the tea. After I die, remember to tell my father and mother, so they won't worry."

"Why are you so calm?" Lan Cui's suspicions resurfaced.

Yongye's gaze seemed to be directed at her, yet also at a distant place outside the window. He smiled faintly and said, "Do you really expect Master to rape me? To make me hold the child and humiliate my father, causing my mother to die of anger?"

Lan Cui gritted her teeth, took a jade bottle from her bosom, and dripped the poison into the tea: "The prince said that this poison is colorless and odorless, and causes no pain whatsoever."

"That's really good, very poisonous."

Lan Cui's hands trembled slightly. Seeing Yong Ye lying on the bed with a pale and haggard face, yet still incomparably beautiful, she struggled in her heart for a long time before finally pouring a cup of poisoned tea and approaching her.

As Yongye watched her approach step by step, he sighed deeply, then suddenly leaped up with all his might and struck Lancui on the back of the neck. He caught the teacup with his hand and laughed, "Thank you for making the tea; otherwise, how could I have unlocked these shackles?"

After binding Lan Cui, she wrapped the shackles in cloth to avoid burning herself, covered her mouth and nose, and brought the lead-filled keyhole close to the fire to heat it. Yong Ye carefully pulled out a steel wire and poked at the keyhole. The lead slowly melted when heated, taking her a full two hours.

Lan Cui woke up and was horrified by Yong Ye's actions. Her body was tightly bound by Yong Ye, and she couldn't move. Tears welled up instantly, and regret and hatred surged in her eyes. She screamed, "You didn't mean to teach me how to make tea!"

Yongye unlocked her shackles, moved her feet, and realized she really wasn't used to being locked up for days. She smiled at Lancui and casually fastened the shackles to Lancui's feet: "The furnace is 900 degrees Celsius, the steel is 1500 degrees, and the lead is only 600 degrees. I used steel wire to conduct the heat, causing the molten lead to be drawn out. Of course, you wouldn't understand all this. You just need to know that without this furnace, I can't open the lock. As for the lock itself, people who use hidden weapons are skilled; this kind of lock is much easier to open than a safe. Don't glare at me. Who should hate whom? Considering the years you've served me, I won't kill you."

"You can't escape! He'll catch you!" Lan Cui's eyes were filled with deep regret, regretting that she had succumbed to Yong Ye's temptation. Thinking of the consequences of Yong Ye's escape, and thinking of Li Yannian, she cried out in remorse.

"I'm not afraid. If they catch me, I'll just have his baby. The baby will even call you 'Auntie'." Yongye shrugged, not afraid of making Lancui even angrier. She had been trapped for so long; it would be a lie to say she wasn't worried about Li Yannian making a move. Lancui was heartbroken and desperate, and wasn't she the same? She just hadn't shown it.

Even after closing the door, he could still hear Lan Cui's furious and vicious shouts. Yong Ye sighed, too lazy to pay any attention.

Her legs were weak, and her hands trembled. It was a miracle that she could knock out Lan Cui and unlock the door after being starved for so many days. Li Yannian's round trip to Kyoto would take a day, so there was still enough time. Yongye went to the kitchen, found some food, took a deep breath, and began to eat. People who have been hungry for a long time cannot eat too much. Yongye ate very elegantly.

When Feng Yangxi kicked open the door and rushed into the room, this was the scene she saw. Yongye, looking haggard, sat at the table with disheveled hair and what appeared to be marks on his face from being slapped. His hands trembled as he drank soup with unparalleled elegance.

He watched her silently for a while, his heart aching with pain. After a long while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, all the fatigue of the past six days vanishing. He went over and sat down, and began to eat without any hesitation.

Yongye thought Li Yannian had suddenly returned, and she was so frightened that she gripped the spoon tightly, wanting to throw it like a projectile. Her heart felt like it was going bungee jumping, bouncing around in mid-air before regaining its senses. She glared fiercely at Feng Yangxi, thinking that if she wasn't tormented to death by Li Yannian, she would be tortured to death by him.

Feng Yangxi ate very quickly; he knew how to replenish his energy quickly.

Yongye looked at Feng Yangxi's eating habits and asked curiously, "I was locked up for six days and went hungry for six days. Did you not eat for six days either?"

Feng Yangxi rolled her eyes at her: "I haven't slept for six days. I've searched every valley in this area."

"Then go to sleep, why are you fighting with me for food?" He should have been touched, but Yongye remembered that he had been starving for six days and was almost raped by his uncle, all thanks to him, so his face darkened.

"How can I sleep with you here?" Feng Yangxi's beard grew wildly, making him look even more disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot, indicating that he was extremely tired.