Reborn After Widowhood – Chapter 57
Chapter 57
There were no mosquitoes at this time of year, the lake’s breezes were like wisps, and the boat was moving leisurely, allowing Hua Yang to have a good night’s sleep.
When Chen Jingzong woke her up, Hua Yang found that it was still dark inside the boat canopy. She opened the window curtain next to her, and it was also dark outside.
Probably around dawn.
But Chen Jingzong, who was under the quilt, was as energetic as a bull that was well fed and ready to work.
Thinking of last night’s fireworks, Hua Yang let him go.
Until Chen Jingzong came to kiss her lips, only then Hua Yang retracted her face.
Unless he had already rinsed his mouth, she didn’t really like doing this with him. Of course, she also wouldn’t do it with a gentleman-like prince consort.
“Awake?”
Chen Jingzong didn’t chase her, he just kissed her on the cheek.
Hua Yang hummed and remembered something: “Have you prepared that?”
Chen Jingzong: “I soaked it before going to bed last night. I can’t let Fu Gui do it.”
Hua Yang was relieved.
While she was waiting for Chen Jingzong to continue, Chen Jingzong actually lifted the quilt and got off from the bed. While getting dressed, he said, “Now that you’re awake, get up and eat something. I’ll take you to go hiking.”
Hua Yang:…
She wrapped herself in the quilt and drilled deeper: “If you want to hike, you can hike by yourself. It’s still dark and I don’t have that kind of refine interest.”
Chen Jingzong’s somewhat hoarse yet smiling voice came over: “Princess, you have the interest to indulge in nighttime pleasures, but no interest to indulge in nighttime exercise?”
Hua Yang grabbed the pillow and threw it at him!
Chen Jingzong grabbed it, and then caught the quilt she threw over. After making sure that she had nothing else to throw, he said: “Well, there is actually a treasure on top of the Phoenix Mountain. Only after this hour can you see its most beautiful appearance, just in time to give you a birthday present.”
Hua Yang hadn’t dissipated her anger yet and said lightly: “I don’t care.”
Chen Jingzong: “I care. It’s the first time I’ve properly celebrate your birthday. I don’t know if there will be another chance in the future.”
Hua Yang was silent.
Because she knew that he died at a young age in her previous life, she couldn’t bear to hear this kind of words from Chen Jingzong in this life.
Chen Jingzong interpreted her silence as willingness to cooperate, so he put down the quilt and turned on the light in the cabin.
Hua Yang lowered her eyes, her long hair was messily draped like a waterfall, and her snow-white neck reflected a red face, like a peony bullied by the wind. But even in such embarrassed state, it was difficult to conceal her beauty.
Chen Jingzong picked her up and pressed her against the door panel of the cabin. He kissed her neck and said, “Otherwise we don’t go, I also want to indulge in nighttime pleasures.”
Hua Yang bit her lip and hit him on the shoulder twice. The anger from his teasing just now was completely over.
Chen Jingzong acted quickly. He finished washing first and then went outside to row the boat.
The dressing table in the cabin was very simple. Apart from a bronze mirror, it only had a comb. Hua Yang opened the drawer below without any expectations, but there was actually a small box inside, and inside the box was a peony hairpin made of sterling silver.
Hua Yang was very sure that this was the shabbiest jewelry she had ever received.
If Chen Jingzong had saved the money he spent on fireworks, he might be able to buy a gold hairpin.
However, she was now dressed like folk girl, so wearing a silver hairpin was more appropriate.
She combed her hair slowly and methodically. It was usually the maids who served her, so Hua Yang was a bit clumsy. When Chen Jingzong rowed the boat to the shore, Hua Yang barely managed to comb it to her own satisfaction.
The voices of Chen Jingzong and Fu Gui came from outside. After a while, Chen Jingzong came in with a food box, which contained two portions of fish fillet porridge and two portions of steamed buns.
Chen Jingzong placed the dishes and chopsticks, and when Hua Yang sat down, he glanced at her head several times.
“What time is it?” Hua Yang felt that she had been up for a long time, why was it still dark outside.
Chen Jingzong said: “. The old man usually enters the palace and has an early morning court at this time.”
Hua Yang:…
It turned out her father-in-law and the civil and military ministers who needed to go to morning court were working so hard every day.
Chen Jingzong: “Eat quickly, otherwise you won’t be able to see the treasure if we’re wasting time.”
Hua Yang’s curiosity was finally aroused by him. Could it be the treasures on Phoenix Mountain was actually phoenix?
It was just that she got up too early and Hua Yang had no appetite at all. After several urgings from Chen Jingzong, she managed to eat one steamed bun and drink a few mouthfuls of porridge.
After eating, Chen Jingzong held her in one hand and held a lantern in the other, then stepped ashore on the long wooden plank connecting the bow of the boat to the shore.
Even using the carriage, it would still be a while from here to the foot of the mountain. After Hua Yang got on the carriage, Chen Jingzong walked a few steps away and whispered to Fu Gui: “Except for clearing away the dishes and food boxes, don’t touch anything else on the boat. I will check when I get back, and if the other things are slightly different from when I left, I will kick you to fish in the lake.”
Fu Gui nodded repeatedly, muttering to himself that he was so sleepy that he just wanted to make up for sleep on the stern of the boat, so prince consort might as well not even ask him to clean up the food box!
After the explanation was completed, Chen Jingzong drove off.
Hua Yang took a nap in the carriage, and after they arrived, she was helped down by Chen Jingzong. Facing her was a tall mountain, which looked like a majestic giant beast in the dark sky.
Chen Jingzong held a lantern: “Climb with me first. If you can’t climb anymore, I will carry you.”
Hua Yang looked at the mountain road and said, “I can’t climb now.”
Chen Jingzong:…..
He turned around, bent his knelt, and stooped down.
Hua Yang smiled and lay on his back, taking the initiative to take the lantern.
Chen Jingzong stopped talking and walked up the mountain road.
Hua Yang liked being carried by Chen Jingzong. She only had a few good impressions of Chen Jingzong in her previous life, one of them was when he carried her on his back to avoid floods in the storm.
Chen Jingzong, who could walk quickly even with her on his back, made her feel particularly at ease, as if he contained endless strength in his body, as if he would never be tire.
But Phoenix Mountain was much higher than the hillside behind the Chen family’s ancestral home in Shiqiao Town. When Chen Jingzong climbed halfway up the mountain, although his breathing did not change much, his speed slowed down significantly.
Hua Yang felt a little ashamed, supported his shoulders and said, “I’ll go by myself.”
Chen Jingzong: “No need.”
He refused to let go, and Hua Yang couldn’t get down by herself, so she had no choice to continue letting him carry her.
As they approached the top of the mountain, the sky became slightly brighter, and Hua Yang saw that there were sweats on his forehead.
She suggested again.
Chen Jingzong: “We’re only a few feet away, so I might as well carry you to the top so I don’t have to hear you complain later.”
Hua Yang punched him, but then took out the handkerchief and wiped away every drop of sweat from his forehead, nose and temples.
After finally climbing to the top of the mountain, Chen Jingzong put her on a large rock that could be used as a chair, snatched her handkerchief away, and walked around to the other side to catch his breath.
Hua Yang looked at his panting back and thought, even if she wanted to celebrate her birthday like this again, Chen Jingzong probably wouldn’t want to serve her anymore.
Before Chen Jingzong came back, Hua Yang looked around. Now, where was the treasure that could only be seen at the top of the mountain?
Chen Jingzong’s breathing had returned to normal, so he took off the water bag from his waist and drank several sips.
“Drink?”
He came over and sat next to Hua Yang.
Hua Yang found that his clothes were wet. She didn’t know whether it was from sweating just now or from the water that was accidentally spilled.
She drank some water in small sips and asked, “Where is the treasure?”
Chen Jingzong glanced behind her: “Wait a moment.”
This hint was too obvious. Hua Yang turned to the side and rechecked the ground and vegetation behind her, trying to find traces of that treasure.
Suddenly, Chen Jingzong lifted her onto his lap and gently held the back of her head.
Hua Yang followed his direction and looked up.
At the foot of Phoenix Mountain was Long Lake. The water of Long Lake was clear and vast, and the vast misty waves merged with the sky.
There was a layer of indigo clouds in the sky. At this moment, a red sun like a fire disk breaking through the clouds little by little, revealing its face.
Brilliant red glow spread across the sky, casting a red hue on the lake surface. The gorgeous light of the dawn rippled with the water, extending all the way to the foot of Phoenix Mountain.
Hua Yang’s eyes were also filled with the magnificence of this sunrise.
Chen Jingzong just held her, and when she finally made a move, he said: “Can such a gift be something you will never forget?”
Hua Yang didn’t want to let him become cocky, so she said: “It’s just the sunrise, it’s nothing special.”
Chen Jingzong: “My gift is not the sunrise.”
Hua Yang was puzzled: “What is it?”
Chen Jingzong turned her face to him, looked at her and said, “It’s a round of Hua Yang (magnificent sun). Don’t you think it’s a treasure?”
Hua Yang:…
Can she say that “Hua Yang” is not a treasure?
She snorted, took his hand away, and continued to look at the sunrise and lake scenery in the distance.
When wisps of smoke floated from the roofs of houses in the distance, Chen Jingzong picked up Hua Yang again and took her down the mountain.
They returned to the boat the same way, then leave the carriage to Fu Gui.
Chen Jingzong continued to row toward the center of the lake.
Hua Yang wetted a handkerchief, sat on the small stool at the door of the cabin and wiped her face. While admiring the lake view, she asked him: “What to do next, swim in the lake?”
Chen Jingzong glanced at her and asked, “We wake up so early, don’t we need to catch up on sleep?”
What Hua Yang saw in his eyes was not “catching up on sleep”.
She immediately closed the door to cover her suddenly hot face.
After returning to the center of the lake, Chen Jingzong put down the anchor and entered the cabin.
He came in from one end and Hua Yang went out from the other end. Chen Jingzong only saw a sliver of white skirt.
Chen Jingzong smiled. Discerning her footsteps, he opened the south window.
Hua Yang heard the movements and looked over, and saw Chen Jingzong taking off his clothes.
She glared at him and continued looking at the lake view.
There were two buckets of water in the cabin. Chen Jingzong picked up one bucket and put it next to him, wet a towel, and talked to her while wiping himself: “You have to come in sooner or later, what’s the point of hiding?”
Hua Yang turned her back to him and said, “Who said I have to go in?”
Chen Jingzong: “If you don’t come in, I’ll go out and catch you. The boat is only this big, aren’t you just wasting your energy? Or have you read too many books, and want me to play the scene where a bully forcing himself on the boat girl?”
Hua Yang covered her ears.
Chen Jingzong closed the window, and soon the sound of water disappeared.
Hua Yang looked over warily.
As expected, Chen Jingzong put on his outer robe and stepped out from the bow of the ship.
Hua Yang’s heartbeat was racing. Without looking at his face, she hurriedly ran to the back door of the cabin and hid inside.
Chen Jingzong deliberately walked around the boat slowly. When he entered the cabin again, he found that she did not run away, but got into the bed. A pair of embroidered shoes were scattered on the floor, with one toe facing south and the sole of the other shoe facing up.
The waves in the lake were bigger in the morning, and the boat was swaying from side to side, as if it was drunk.
Chen Jingzong came to the side of the bed and patted the tightly wrapped quilt: “You are like this, does it count as ?”
Her muffled scolding came from the bed: “Shut up!”
Chen Jingzong stopped talking and grabbed the corners of the quilt and pulled hard.
Hua Yang couldn’t stop him with her little strength, and after two attempts in vain, the quilt was thrown onto the chair by Chen Jingzong, leaving only the two of them facing each other.
After a brief look at each other, Chen Jingzong took her into his arms and did whatever he wanted on this narrow and closed boat.