A familiar voice, with a cool tone.
Yang Chuxia raised her head – if it wasn’t Ye Zi’an, then who could it be?
"Oh, if it isn’t our very own Talent Ye! You’ve returned quite early this time!" Yang Chuxia looked at Ye Zi’san, who had come back looking worn and dusty, and noticeably thinner, causing her heart to ache. But thinking about how long it had been since they last saw each other and the fact that he had only sent one letter in several months, she felt a bit angry.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zi’an thought to himself that Xiaxia was indeed angry.
"Hmph!" Yang Chuxia let go of Luo Linhao, glared at Ye Zi’an, and then turned around to head towards the harem.
"Cousin, go after her! Sister Xiaxia is mad."
Ye Zi’an, hearing this, walked up to him and slapped him on the head, saying, "If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will beat you to death."
After the slap, he ignored Luo Linhao’s howling and followed her into the harem.
Yang Chuxia was sitting in the pavilion drinking tea. Seeing him enter, she waved him over.
Ye Zi’an saw her gesture and thought that she wasn’t angry anymore, so he hurriedly approached.
Little did he know that as soon as he sat down next to her, Yang Chuxia grabbed his ear again. He thought to himself that Xiaxia was becoming more and more formidable.
Yang Chuxia smiled and said, "You have been enjoying yourself too much out there, huh? Are there many little temptresses out there?"
"No, there aren’t, really!" Ye Zi’an became anxious, blaming that mischievous little kid for his loose tongue, "Xiaxia, this time I went far away with Mr. Luo, so I returned late. But I counted the days to make sure I wouldn’t miss your coming-of-age ceremony."
"Is that so? Tell me, did you encounter any beautiful temptresses?"
"There were quite a few temptresses, but none as beautiful as Xiaxia." Ye Zi’an answered honestly and sincerely.
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia’s eyes curved more, and she asked, "Really? None of them? Seems like you encountered quite a few temptresses, huh?"
"Well, Xiaxia, I didn’t actually look. It was Mr. Luo who kept whispering in my ear, telling me who’s pretty. Really!"
"Really! You don’t know Mr. Luo, he constantly mutters to himself and doesn’t behave like the great scholars should at all."
Thinking of Mr. Luo’s occasional inappropriate comments, Yang Chuxia temporarily let go of his ear.
She snorted, "That’s more like it."
"Hehe." Seeing she was no longer displeased, Ye Zi’an moved closer. "I missed Xiaxia so much."
"Did Xiaxia miss me?" Seeing her not responding, Ye Zi’an asked again. "Come on, tell me. Did Xiaxia miss me or not?"
Yang Chuxia turned her head and met his expectant eyes, her heart immediately pounding harder.
She then, as always, assertively held Ye Zi’an’s face and kissed him passionately and intensely. Ye Zi’an felt immensely pleased, knowing that Xiaxia must have missed him too.
"If you dare not to write for so long again, I will cripple you." She bit his chin as she spoke, leaving a red mark on his fair face that looked so obvious she almost wanted to laugh.
"Don’t worry, Xiaxia, it won’t happen again. This time we went to Jiangsu Prefecture, and there were floods there, making it difficult to send letters, that’s why I didn’t write."
Jiangsu Prefecture is separated from Funan Prefecture by two or three other prefectures and is a little south of Funan. It is a place with abundant rainfall, where floods are easily triggered during this time of year.
"Are you guys idiots? If you knew it was prone to flooding, why did you go there?"