However, she had clearly seen a smile on “Yin Huaixi’s” pale lips because of her arrival in her dream.
He also saw that every time he sat in a wheelchair and stared at her back as she left, he would not be able to see her once she left.
She saw him forcing his sick body to write copybooks for her to practice her calligraphy.
She also saw “Yu Youyao”‘s happy expression when she received her cousin’s calligraphy.
She saw her learning how to make medicinal cuisine for her cousin.
She also saw how she was anxious about her cousin’s health and asked the Xie family to find a famous doctor.
The “them” in her dream seemed to be them in reality. “They” had done many things that they had done in the past.
Yin Huaixi listened carefully to the scene in her dream and suddenly found it funny.
He could roughly guess that when he entered the Yu Residence, Yu Youyao was grounded. The two of them had missed the opportunity to meet. When Yu Youyao was released from her grounding, the rumors about a cripple like him coming to the Yu Residence to take advantage of the situation must have caused a commotion for a long time, causing him to be filled with wariness and dislike for the people of the Yu Residence. When he saw Yu Youyao again, he inevitably became a little cold.
However, Yu Youyao was very familiar with him. Even though he treated her coldly, she did not care much. She often became thick-skinned and came to look for him.
The little girl’s heart was like glass, pure and flawless. After interacting with her for a long time, he definitely couldn’t be indifferent.
However, as he did not have the spiritual dewdrop to nourish his body, his body was deteriorating and it was difficult for him to hold on. He must have buried this thought deep in his heart and did not show it at all.
It wasn’t until the day he left for the capital that a box of brow powder illustrated all of his feelings.
Some things were destined.
Yin Huaixi kissed her forehead lightly. “Dreams are the opposite. In the nightmare, I left the Yu Residence, but in reality, I came to the Yu Residence.”
Yu Youyao looked at him with red eyes. Only then did she ask belatedly, “Aren’t you in the palace? Why are you suddenly here? Didn’t Eunuch Zhu stop you?”
According to the rules, men and women were not allowed to meet before marriage.
“I heard that you were here at the Yu Residence, so I came over to take a look.” As for Eunuch Zhu, it depended on whether Eunuch Zhu could stop him. “I haven’t returned to the Yu Residence for many years. I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to come over in the future.”
His tone inevitably sounded a little regretful, as if he had recalled that back then, he had used his crippled and sickly body to replace Zhou Linghuai’s identity and moved into the Yu Residence with the hatred of disloyalty. He had originally thought that he would die in hatred.
However, there was a little girl squatting in front of him. She looked up at him with pure eyes and asked him with heartache, “Cousin, does it hurt?”
After that, his life lit up.
Yin Huaixi held her hand. “Come with me to the residence!”
After returning to this old place, too many memories surged into his mind.
The two desks, one big and one small, were still placed side by side in the study. It was as if when he was writing, painting, and reading, he could always see the little girl supporting her chin with her head tilted and looking at him with sparkling eyes. Her lips curved into a smile.
“Cousin, you’ve been reading for a long time. Take a break.”
“Cousin, your hands must be sore from writing for so long!”
“Cousin’s painting is really good. Can you give it to me?”
When he looked up, he could still see dense books on the tall bookshelf. He seemed to be able to see the little girl leaning on a stool, tiptoeing, and extending her arms to help him find books on the high shelf. Every time, he was on tenterhooks.
Sometimes, she would even deliberately be mischievous and pretend that she was about to fall off the stool. After making him worry, she would giggle smugly. If she angered him, she would pretend to be pitiful. As she hooked his finger, she would admit her mistake obediently and softly. She was like the brown sugar glutinous rice dumplings that his mother had made when she was still alive. When he took a bite, it was sweet and sticky. He clearly did not like to eat sweet food, but every time, his father would fight for it, making his heart soften.
Yin Huaixi smiled and held her hand as they walked.
When they arrived under the purple elm tree, he couldn’t help but think of the scene of the parasol tree that had grown here in the past and her burning incense, playing the zither, reading, and painting under the tree.
On the lotus lake, there was the amusing incident of them picking lotus flowers as they went boating in the lake.
As they walked, they arrived at The Green House.
The roses and Chinese roses in the corner climbed up the eaves. Most of the leaves on the vines had fallen, but there were still some leaves stubbornly growing. In the cold, they looked especially green.
The grape vines were bare and old branches were knotted, entrenched on the shelf.
It was as if he could still see the little girl sitting under the green leaves and vines. Her bright skirt fluttered in the wind like blooming flowers, bright and beautiful. He could hear the little girl’s clear and pleasant laughter.
When the grapes were ripe, the entire courtyard was filled with the fragrance of ripe fruits. The little girl stepped on the ladder and picked the grapes with small golden scissors to eat the grapes.
The lotus flower that was raised in the vat was not bad-looking either. However, the fat red koi fish that had been raised in the past had been changed to a thin and long pine leaf koi fish that was even more agile and elegant. The silver-white koi fish was like a layer of white frost on a pine needle.
At some point, snow had fallen from the sky.
“It’s snowing.” Yin Huaixi held her hand and walked to the corridor. The long stems and leaves of the hanging orchids hung down and brushed against the top of her head.
When he pushed open the door, the room was still the same as before he left.
Memories that had been sealed in this small courtyard came one after another.
They met at each other’s most sorry states. At the right time and place, they met the right person. They stunned the years and gentled the time. Bit by bit, they became better.
If love could make people better.
This was probably the best appearance of love.
Yin Huaixi turned to look at her.
As if sensing something, Yu Youyao looked up and met his gentle eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She was still as charming as before.
Yin Huaixi’s heart surged. He opened his arms and pulled her into his arms. “The Ministry of Rites set the post-coronation wedding on the 26th of the first lunar month, but I rejected it. The Imperial Astronomer picked an auspicious day again, and the wedding is set for the 16th of the first lunar month.”
Yu Youyao couldn’t help but be stunned. “The Lantern Festival has just passed. Isn’t that inappropriate?”
“The moon is round on the 15th, and it’s rounder on the 16th.” Yin Huaixi smiled. “When the moon is full, so will the people. It’s time for us to reunite.”
No matter how long it took, he couldn’t wait.
The two of them stayed in The Green House for a long time.
Xia Tao came over to report, “A family banquet has been prepared in the front courtyard. Master and Madam asked me to come over and ask the emperor and the Young Miss if they want someone to prepare dinner.”
Yin Huaixi turned to look at Yu Youyao. “Are you hungry?”
Yu Youyao nodded. “It’s getting late. It’s a family banquet after all, so I can’t make my Father wait too long.”
Her call of “Father” carried a hint of indifference, as if it was just a meaningless code name and not a relative related to her.
Yin Huaixi was already used to her attitude. He knew that she did not have any father-daughter relationship with Yu Zongzheng, but he did not want anything to go wrong with her etiquette.