Jun Ye Lan looked at the bright smiling face before him, startled, and then quickened his pace, walking over to Lan Yan. His tone was gentle, "How are you today?"
He had been by the Emperor's side and had already received news of Lan Yan's visit to the palace, but he couldn't leave his post without permission. After leaving the imperial study, he had rushed back, eager to return home and see Lan Yan.
Lan Yan smiled and said, "Of course I'm good. Chief Eunuch, they don't dare to bully me. Even if they did, I'm not someone who would suffer in silence." She grabbed Jun Ye Lan's sleeve and called out, "Let's go home."
"Okay." Jun Ye Lan nodded and led Lan Yan into the carriage.
Lan Yan sat beside Jun Ye Lan, her chin propped on her hands, gazing at him continuously. She could never see enough of him; Jun Ye Lan always captivated her.
Initially, Jun Ye Lan was unaccustomed to it, but now he was at ease, a smile unconsciously curving his lips. He sat still, his gaze occasionally meeting Lan Yan's. Seeing her blushing cheeks, his eyes would twinkle with amusement.
Catching a fragrance from outside the window, Lan Yan couldn't help but lift the curtain. She saw tang yuan being sold by the roadside. Not long now until the New Year, and here were tang yuan already.
She tugged at Jun Ye Lan's sleeve and said with a hint of coaxing, "Chief Eunuch, I'm hungry."
Jun Ye Lan smiled helplessly and said, "Stop the carriage." He stepped out, standing beside the carriage like a figure from a painting. He then reached into the carriage for the person within, lifting Lan Yan down.
Lan Yan's smile grew even brighter, and she said, "Chief Eunuch, thank you." With that, she sat at a table and called out, "Boss, two bowls of tang yuan." She took out two pairs of chopsticks from a bamboo tube, offering one to Jun Ye Lan.
"Thank you." Jun Ye Lan took them. When the tang yuan arrived, he didn't start eating but turned to look at Lan Yan.
Lan Yan looked at the steaming tang yuan before her and couldn't resist taking a bite, her lips instantly getting scalded.
"Be careful." Jun Ye Lan handed Lan Yan the poured tea, picked up a spoon, scooped up a tang yuan, and brought it to his lips, blowing on it. He then offered it to Lan Yan, "Eat it like this."
"Mmm." Lan Yan took a bite, a warmth spreading through her heart. "It's really delicious." She imitated what Jun Ye Lan had just done, scooping up a tang yuan and offering it to his lips.
Jun Ye Lan's ear tips flushed slightly; it was the spoon Lan Yan had just used. He looked into Lan Yan's eyes, gently grasped her wrist, and lowered his head to bite the tang yuan.
These were the most delicious tang yuan he had ever eaten. Tang yuan symbolized reunion, and he hoped that he and Lan Yan could also be reunited in such a way.
The boss beside them remarked, "Are you two newlyweds? So sweet."
"Yes," Lan Yan readily admitted, looking at Jun Ye Lan with a smile.
Jun Ye Lan returned her smile, his eyes dimming slightly before returning to their usual expression.
After finishing the tang yuan, Lan Yan was full and thought she should walk back to digest. She directly took Jun Ye Lan's hand and said with a smile, "We are husband and wife, let's go home hand in hand."
Without waiting for Jun Ye Lan to react, she walked ahead.
Jun Ye Lan gazed at their clasped hands, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly, and slowed his pace.
The moon was beautiful tonight, but it couldn't compare to the person beside him.
The next morning, as soon as Lan Yan woke up, she heard that various ladies had come to pay their respects. She sneered, "They heard that I was favored by the Empress Dowager yesterday, and now they're here to probe for information."
Before, when she visited the Yang residence, these people had not treated her well. She directly refused, "Don't bother reporting such matters to me from now on."
A servant in the mansion asked, "Should we see Madam Yang?"
Lan Yan thought for a moment, "If she's here, see her." Madam Yang wasn't like the others, but caution was still necessary. After all, serving the Emperor was like walking with a tiger.
If she were the Emperor, she wouldn't want her officials to be too close, especially since Jun Ye Lan was a person by the Emperor's side.
"Oh, right, call Hui Niang and Wu Ming. With Madam Yang, that makes four people to play Yezi Pai." She took out a deck of cards and eagerly went to the courtyard to set up.
Hui Niang and Wu Ming were already outside the courtyard and came in immediately, being pulled to sit down.
Madam Yang, seeing that Lan Yan was willing to see her, walked into the courtyard with a beaming smile and called out, "Madam Jun, I haven't played Yezi Pai with you before, I'm quite interested."
Yesterday, she had heard that Lan Yan was skilled in massage and felt that Lan Yan possessed too many talents, envying her and wanting to learn.
Lan Yan smiled and said, "Please sit, Madam Yang." She looked at the four people finally assembled, placed the Yezi Pai on the table, and called out, "Begin." It was rare for her to have such leisure time.
Madam Yang played a card first and said with a smile, "I just saw Madam Yan at the entrance. Her face looked terrible. I heard there was another huge argument at the Yan residence, and the sound of things being smashed was heard late at night."
"A distant nephew of a cook from the Yan residence also heard about it. Young Master Yan insisted on divorcing his wife, but Lord Yan stopped him. The Yan family is in trouble now," Hui Niang added.
Even Wu Ming said, "I saw it with my own eyes." He had gone to the Yan residence last night and witnessed the state of their argument, it was truly a life-or-death struggle.
Lan Yan listened to their words and smiled, "This is what they call 'evil begets evil'." She was fine in the Jun residence when she was suddenly summoned to the palace; it was clearly Madam Yan's doing.
She treated their words as a passing breeze, listening and then letting it go, too lazy to care.
Everyone laughed and continued playing cards.
The game ended just as Jun Ye Lan was due to return. Lan Yan was in the adjacent room, coaxing Jun Xiao Yao to sleep, patting her quilt and saying, "Xiao Yao, go to sleep quickly."
Jun Xiao Yao opened her eyes and looked at Lan Yan, "Sister Lan, brother always comes back so late, will you be angry with him?" At her young age, she was filled with great confusion.
Lan Yan smiled and said, "I'm not angry, I just feel bad for him." Her task had not been completed, proving that Jun Ye Lan still had a knot in his heart that he hadn't revealed to her.
Jun Xiao Yao didn't understand, but seeing Sister Lan's smile, she knew Sister Lan was truly good to her brother. "Sister Lan, I just hope you and brother love each other, and we will always be a family."
"Okay." Lan Yan patted Jun Xiao Yao's head, got up, and left the room. She saw Jun Ye Lan standing in the corridor.
Jun Ye Lan pushed open the door to the adjacent room and smiled faintly, "Just returned, let's go in." He had seen Lan Yan wasn't in their room and had gone to check the adjoining room, overhearing their conversation.
At this moment, his eyes on Lan Yan were filled with smiles, a smile that reached the depths of his eyes.
Lan Yan nodded and went inside, lying down on the bed. Seeing Jun Ye Lan not sleeping, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Jun Ye Lan took off his outer robe and lay down stiffly on the side of the bed, always maintaining a distance from Lan Yan.
Lan Yan turned her head and closed her eyes slightly. She had intended to gaze at him a while longer but ended up falling asleep. Unconsciously, she moved her hands and feet to the side, resting them on Jun Ye Lan.
Jun Ye Lan started slightly. Seeing Lan Yan sleeping soundly, he smiled helplessly. He pulled the quilt up, gently kissed Lan Yan's forehead, and then his eyelids drooped.