The maids had actually detected that there was someone in the room. What should she do? What should she do!
Jiang Mian's mind was racing as she tried to come up with a solution.
Su Xue chimed in, "This servant seems to have heard something too..."
Su Lan hesitated for a moment, then looked towards the gauze screen. "It seems to be coming from that direction."
All three of them had heard it. It wouldn't be appropriate for Jiang Mian to say that they were hallucinating. On a sudden inspiration, she said, "Oh, what you heard just now was the barking of Dahuang."
The yellow dog was no longer at the entrance of the gauze screen. It should have slipped inside and was staying with Xiao Jingcheng.
She deliberately spoke loudly, hoping that the person inside would be sensible enough not to make any more noise. If they were discovered by Su Lan and the other two, it would be really hard for her to explain!
Moreover, these three maids had only started serving her today and she hadn't fully trusted them yet.
"Really?" Su Xue scratched her head. "When Miss's dog barks, it sounds just like a man. I thought..."
Su Yu immediately scolded her, "Miss just said this morning that we should be cautious in our words and deeds. How can you talk like this casually?"
Su Xue's face turned pale. She quickly knelt down and apologized. "This servant spoke out of turn. Please punish me, Miss!"
Jiang Mian said, "It's okay. It's not your fault. Dahuang's bark is indeed a bit strange. Get up."
Su Xue stood up and continued to help her take off her clothes and loosen her hair with Su Lan and Su Yu.
Jiang Mian was extremely anxious and nervous, but she didn't dare to show it at all. Seeing that they had no intention of leaving, after sitting down on the bed, Jiang Mian said seriously:
"I like to rest in silence at night and don't like to have people in the room. You can all go back to the side room and rest. I'll call you if I need anything."
Since she had spoken, Su Yu and the others naturally didn't dare to disobey. They left a lamp for her and then retreated.
After confirming that the maids had all left, Jiang Mian got up and hurriedly walked around to the back of the gauze screen.
Meeting a pair of clear and bright eyes, Jiang Mian confirmed that Xiao Jingcheng had woken up again.
He opened his mouth. "Jiang..."
Jiang Mian rushed forward in a hurry and covered his mouth, whispering in a low voice:
"Keep quiet! My maids are in the next side room. If you make too much noise, they'll hear it!"
She didn't notice at all that her whole body was pressing on him. In order to protect her, he slightly raised one hand and placed it loosely on her waist. It looked as if he was holding her in his arms.
His nostrils were filled with the fragrance of her body. Feeling something soft pressing on his arm, Xiao Jingcheng's Adam's apple rolled up and down.
"If I move my hand away, you have to speak as softly as possible. Do you understand?" Jiang Mian said.
Hearing a muffled response from Xiao Jingcheng's chest, she then let go of her hand.
But when she sat up, she felt something pressing on her waist. Only when she found that it was Xiao Jingcheng's hand did she realize how inappropriate their posture had been just now.
Her face changed. She quietly moved to the side, avoiding his hand, and shifted her gaze, not daring to look at him. She said stiffly:
"If you have anything to say, say it quickly. Otherwise, I'm going to rest."
"I'm hungry." Xiao Jingcheng said softly. To Jiang Mian, this sounded a bit aggrieved. "Jiang Mian, have you completely forgotten about me? I haven't had a hot meal since morning. If I didn't make a sound, by the time you fell asleep, there might be one more wronged soul in the Li Mansion, and it would be starved to death."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Jiang Mian said hurriedly. "I didn't forget about you. I was just too busy today and really didn't have time to take care of it."
Xiao Jingcheng held back his laughter. "Really?"
Jiang Mian felt a bit guilty. She really had forgotten because of her busyness. So she took the initiative to ask, "What would you like to eat?"
"Nothing special. Just a bowl of clear - soup noodles. But I don't want the noodles cooked by others. I want the ones you cook." Xiao Jingcheng said pitifully.
Jiang Mian instinctively wanted to refuse. Kneading dough was so troublesome. It was so late at this time and she was really sleepy.
But thinking that she had let him go hungry for a whole day, she felt bad.
"Okay, then you wait in the room. Don't make a sound. I'll go and cook noodles for you."
Xiao Jingcheng nodded and watched Jiang Mian leave.
She put on her clothes, opened the door, and called out "Su Yu". Immediately, there came a response from the side room next door.
"Does Miss have any instructions?"
Jiang Mian lied calmly. "Well, I'm a bit hungry. I want to cook a bowl of clear - soup noodles."
Su Yu said, "This servant understands. Miss, please wait in the room. This servant will go and tell the kitchen."
"No need. I'll go by myself. You come with me."
Su Yu didn't expect that Jiang Mian still planned to cook the noodles herself. She was stunned for a moment and didn't dare to ask too much. She picked up a lantern and went to the kitchen with Jiang Mian.
Listening to the footsteps of the two gradually fading away, Xiao Jingcheng propped his hands behind his head, and the smile on his face gradually faded.
Once she regained her identity as the daughter of the Li family, it would be even more difficult for him to eat the clear - soup noodles cooked by Jiang Mian in the future.
In order not to arouse the suspicion of Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing, Jiang Mian deliberately cooked more noodles. She even included the one for the Taoist priest Yuan Zheng and asked Su Yu, Su Xue, and Su Lan to deliver them respectively.
For the wedding in two days, Li Zhao and Jiang Zhiqing hadn't gone to rest either. Learning that Jiang Mian had personally cooked the noodles and sent them over, Jiang Zhiqing was surprised and a bit touched.
"This girl Mujin, really..."
Smelling the familiar aroma of the noodles, Li Zhao was beaming with joy. He handed the chopsticks to his wife and said, "Try it. It's our daughter's kind thought. Don't look at this plain - looking noodle. The noodles cooked by Mujin are especially delicious. You won't be disappointed."
"Really?" Since Li Zhao had praised it so much, Jiang Zhiqing also became curious. She picked up a strand of noodles with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth with the clear soup. Immediately, her eyes lit up.
"I didn't expect Mujin to be so good at cooking!"
On the other side, when she returned to the room, Jiang Mian took the tray from Su Yu's hand. She found an excuse to send the maids away. After confirming that they wouldn't disturb her, she entered the room, walked around to the back of the gauze screen, and helped Xiao Jingcheng to the table.
"The noodles are ready. Eat quickly, or they'll get lumpy in a while."
Although the noodles looked so plain that they didn't seem appetizing, they tasted extremely delicious when put into the mouth. It was the taste that Xiao Jingcheng had missed for a long time.
Every time he woke up, he was like a seriously ill person, weak all over. But he still had the strength to feed himself. Watching him eat seriously and carefully mouthful by mouthful, Jiang Mian inexplicably felt happy.
She still remembered that when he had forgotten everything and followed her around like a dog, he really liked to eat the noodles she made.
Although he had looked disgusted at the broken porcelain bowl, he still finished a big bowl of noodles.
Xiao Jingcheng was also very appreciative this time. In front of Jiang Mian, he drank all the soup in the bowl.
"Don't go to sleep for a while." Jiang Mian whispered in a low voice. "Wait until all the maids are asleep and there's no sound outside. Then I'll send you back to the Taoist priest."
Xiao Jingcheng paused and said,
"What, do you think I'm bothering you by staying here?"