Meng Wan gestured for him to be quiet and pointed towards the inner room. Huangfu Yi understood and quickly shut his mouth, then got up and followed Meng Wan out the door.
"What did I do to offend you? Why do you always look at me with such dislike? What did I do wrong?"
Meng Wan paused in her steps: "No, it's just that we didn't see eye to eye and a few words were too much."
"You..." Huangfu Yi paused after being teased, but then smiled again and followed Meng Wan, saying, "Fine, I know you're in a bad mood, I won't argue with you. How about I show you something interesting?"
Something interesting?
Meng Wan raised her eyebrows, but before she could ask any more questions, Huangfu Yi suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm, making as if to leave.
"Hey--" This pulling and tugging was really against the rules, which startled Meng Wan. She hurriedly tried to break free, but Huangfu Yi's grip was extremely strong. The more she struggled, the more interested he became. His fingers tightened little by little, giving her no chance to struggle at all.
He only turned his head when Meng Wan exclaimed in surprise, his red lips slightly raised: "I told you I'd show you something, so come with me. Why all the nonsense?"
As he spoke, he ignored Meng Wan's struggles and dragged her along the way.
She walked straight toward his room, struggling all the way, but the man ignored her. He only stopped when she pushed open the door.
Meng Wan hurriedly tried to break free from his hand, looking around: "Men and women shouldn't touch each other, what are you doing pulling and tugging like this!"
"Haha--" His flustered appearance made Huangfu Yi laugh loudly: "What do you mean by men and women not touching each other? We didn't do anything shameful. Or do you want something to happen?"
With a mischievous wink, he leaned close to Meng Wan's face, looked at her, and raised his beautiful phoenix eyes, casually uttering that shocking statement.
Meng Wan nearly choked to death, staring at his profile with terrified eyes, now too frightened to speak clearly.
She was so upset she was stunned. How could she forget that Huangfu Yi was a dangerous person!
She took two steps back, hurriedly keeping her distance from him, but as soon as she moved, Huangfu Yi pulled her back into his arms once again.
Looking down at Ling Mengwan, whose face was filled with panic, he couldn't help but feel like teasing her. He moved his face closer and closer, his smile deepening. Finally, when he was almost within reach, he stopped and teased her as he looked at his reflection in her pupils.
"Are you really leaving? The things I'm going to show you are far more amazing than that Western clock. You really don't want to see them?"
Apart from Huangfu Mi, Meng Wan had never been so close to a man before, and now she felt like she could hardly breathe.
Looking at Huangfu Yi's peach blossom eyes, she couldn't even speak clearly. She pushed him away and said sharply, "You... stay away from me!"
Her body trembled violently, and her face suddenly turned deathly pale, as if she might collapse at any moment. In particular, her watery eyes, filled with mist, gave her a pitiful appearance, causing Huangfu Yi's heart to tremble.
He immediately released his grip on her hands.
"Can't take teasing, boring." He pouted and said childishly, then pulled a box out of the drawer as Meng Wan glared at him angrily.
"Seventh Brother specifically told me to take good care of you before he left, and not to make you worry. So I have to reluctantly give you these good things. Take a look!"
Upon hearing him mention Huangfu Mi, Meng Wan raised her eyebrows and took a step forward.
What greeted my eyes were a jumble of unfamiliar things. Bottles and jars filled the table, all sorts of objects I'd never seen before, making me dizzy.
She reached out and picked up a square, box-like object with a neat row of small holes. Meng Wan looked at it, but it was blocked; she couldn't see anything. She pouted in frustration.
"What are these things? Are they just toys to fool little kids?"
"Haha, you idiot, it's not for looking at, it's a harmonica, it's for playing."
Seeing her bewildered expression, Huangfu Yi couldn't help but tease her. Meng Wan blushed immediately and awkwardly put the item back on the table: "A harmonica is a harmonica, it doesn't look anything special..."
He spoke with a disdainful air, while keeping his eyes fixed on Huangfu Yi. Huangfu Yi glanced at him and felt inexplicably pleased.
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He spoke with a disdainful air, while keeping his eyes fixed on Huangfu Yi. Huangfu Yi glanced at him and felt inexplicably pleased.
He tapped her on the head, then picked up the harmonica again, put it to his lips, and gently blew twice. Immediately, a crisp sound came from the small instrument.
"That voice... is it a sheng? But why is it so soft?" Meng Wan's eyes widened.
“This is called a harmonica. I got it from a Western missionary when I was ten years old. But you’re not wrong. I heard that it originated from our sheng, but it was later modified by foreigners and made into this small style.”
Huangfu Yi explained, but there was a hint of pride in his tone.
Meng Wan listened quietly and found it extremely interesting. She hurriedly reached out and took it, as if afraid that he would change his mind, which made Huangfu Yi burst into laughter.
"No wonder Seventh Brother likes you so much. I've just realized how interesting you are. You're clearly a lady from a respectable family, yet sometimes you're more carefree than any man. You're really quite amusing. How can there be a woman like you in the world..."
Upon hearing this, Meng Wan suddenly looked up, glared at him, and held the harmonica in her hand, but remained silent for a long time.
Seeing this, Huangfu Yi knew she was worried about her seventh brother, so he reached out and patted her shoulder: "Seventh brother is a lucky man, he will definitely be alright."
Meng Wan glanced at him and, unusually, found him not so annoying. Seeing him walk to the steps by the door and sit down, she also went over, but did not sit next to him. Instead, she sat down a distance away.
Looking at the desolate courtyard, she rested her chin on her hand and said, "But I'm still worried. I can't rest easy until he comes back. I don't know what's going on. Father asked me about it today..."
The evening sun was a bit dazzling, and Huangfu Yi squinted. He tilted his head as she spoke, looking at her deeply furrowed brows, and sighed almost imperceptibly, "Don't worry about it yet. Everything is up to fate. Four or five days have passed, so it should be soon. Wait, just wait a little longer—"
As they were talking, a sudden, rapid sound of horses' hooves approached from afar. The two men were startled, exchanged a glance, and abruptly stood up: "Huangfu Mi?"
It was Meng Junheng who entered, leading a group of men who rushed in. They were all his subordinates, standing there in full military uniform, looking very spirited.
Meng Wan was visibly delighted and hurriedly went to greet him: "Big Brother--"
She had been eagerly awaiting their return, and they were finally back. Otherwise, if the situation had been allowed to develop unchecked and they had been helpless against the Empress, Meng Wan felt she would have gone mad.
Meng Junheng also smiled broadly, looking very confident. He took Meng Wan's hand and, seeing her joyful expression, his smile deepened: "It's me, I'm back, don't worry!"
Meng Wan nodded, but her gaze fell behind him. She searched for a long time but couldn't find Huangfu Mi. Meng Junheng, on the other hand, was puzzled by her behavior: "Wan'er, what are you looking at?"