"Lord Chu, this is my seat."
"Seeing that you're safe and sound now, the heavy stone in my heart has finally fallen."
Cui Jintang's fingertips trembled, and she subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand. But Chu Yingfeng noticed it and tightened his grip on her hand. The warmth of his palm was unusually scorching, making Cui Jintang feel extremely uncomfortable.
Cui Jintang exerted force again and directly pulled her hand back.
Beside them, A Xun was curiously turning her head non - stop. She looked at the dejected Chu Yingfeng for a while, and then at the embarrassed Cui Jintang.
A Xun blinked her eyes, reached out and wrapped her arm around Cui Jintang's, and thus blocked herself between the two of them.
Cui Jintang felt A Xun's action and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. She gently patted the back of A Xun's hand to signal her not to worry.
Cui Jintang lowered her eyes, her tone full of apology. "Yingfeng, before you came to the capital, my relationship with you..."
"Before I came to the capital, you said that if I achieved success, you would congratulate me properly!"
Chu Yingfeng interrupted her with a smile and took a step back voluntarily. There was a mischievous look on his face, with the familiarity and playfulness of friends, as if the brief awkwardness just now had never happened.
"Now I've been back for so long, and I've received a lot of congratulatory gifts. Why are you the only one who hasn't given me anything?"
Chu Yingfeng deliberately raised his chin. His tone was brisk, but his eyes fleetingly passed over her face unnoticed. He asked in confusion, "Don't tell me you're trying to renege on your promise?"
Cui Jintang was slightly stunned by his appearance, and the heavy feeling in her heart dissipated a little. She glared at Chu Yingfeng and said, "Do I look like someone who would renege on a promise?"
Hearing this, Chu Yingfeng pretended to be in deep thought and stretched out his hand towards Cui Jintang. "Ordinary things probably won't catch my eye."
Cui Jintang immediately reached out and slapped his hand away. She laughed and said, "I've already prepared a gift for you. I'll ask Zhu Er to send it to your mansion later."
Chu Yingfeng pretended to rub his slapped palm exaggeratedly, with a pained look on his face. "Did you do that on purpose? You have to compensate me with your congratulatory gift. If the gift is too shabby, I'll definitely come to your door to ask for an explanation."
Cui Jintang frowned in disgust and couldn't help shaking her head. "I really miss the Chu Yingfeng who was once called the 'elegant young master'!"
The three of them immediately burst into laughter, and there was no trace of awkwardness left.
Just then, the waiting maid came in with tea and snacks. Before leaving, the maid asked, "Miss, should I ask the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes today?"
A Xun beside her nodded quickly and plopped down on the embroidered stool, looking determined not to leave.
Chu Yingfeng also laughed and said, "It's better to obey than to be polite."
Cui Jintang looked helplessly at the two who were determined not to leave and nodded to the maid. "Go ahead and do it."
When it was time for the meal, the maid led the three of them to the dining hall. The table was already filled with delicate dishes, all of which were Cui Jintang's favorites.
Chu Yingfeng also noticed this and sat down with a smile. "I'm really in for a treat today."
Cui Jintang was just putting a piece of steamed perch with the bones removed into A Xun's bowl. A Xun looked up and gave Cui Jintang a sweet smile. She also imitated Cui Jintang and put a shrimp dumpling on Cui Jintang's plate, signaling her to eat.
Seeing this, Chu Yingfeng couldn't help smiling. His voice was clear and smiling. "Seeing how much A Xun cares about you makes me think of two years ago. In order to get you a hot plate of hibiscus cakes, she went to the shop in the middle of the night. The shopkeeper was almost going to report to the authorities."
"When you and I finally got to the yamen, this girl was crying even more aggrievedly than the cake seller."
Hearing this, Cui Jintang couldn't help laughing. On the contrary, A Xun pouted, her eyes blazing with anger. She gave Chu Yingfeng a disgruntled look. A Xun blushed, pointed at Chu Yingfeng and stammered "ah" for a long time. Unable to say anything, she reluctantly closed her mouth.
Cui Jintang's lips curved up as she defended A Xun. "You still have the nerve to say? I don't know who used me as an excuse to deceive A Xun into thinking that I wanted hibiscus cakes?"
There was a long - lost liveliness in Cui Jintang's voice.
The three of them were chatting so enthusiastically about the past that no one noticed the sudden hasty footsteps outside the hall.
Chu Yingfeng raised his eyebrows and smiled to defend himself. "But didn't you eat that whole bag of hibiscus cakes in the end?"
Cui Jintang turned around, a bit annoyed and was about to retort when, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a person standing at the hall door.
The man was wearing a jet - black brocade robe. His figure was as straight as a pine, his face was cold, and there was a hint of weariness between his eyebrows. It was Pei Zhaolin, who had been busy with Pei Ying's matter in the past two days.
It seemed that Pei Zhaolin was still holding something in his hand, which he had brought back carefully protected.
The chatting and laughing in the hall stopped abruptly at this moment. Only the soft sound of Cui Jintang putting down her jade chopsticks could be heard.
Cui Jintang's heart skipped a beat. Meeting Pei Zhaolin's deep, ink - like eyes, she inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt. She coughed lightly, stood up and said, "You're back? We're just having lunch. Join us?"
As soon as her voice fell, Chu Yingfeng put down his chopsticks, slowly stood up and bowed. "Your humble official pays respects to Prince Pei. May the prince be in good health."
A Xun, who didn't know what was going on, blinked her eyes and also obediently put down her chopsticks and stood up.
In Pei Zhaolin's eyes, he seemed like a sudden intruder, ruining their original warmth and harmony. Realizing this, Pei Zhaolin gritted his back teeth so hard that they were about to break.
He hooked the corner of his lips, but the smile faded before it reached his eyes. To everyone's surprise, Pei Zhaolin raised his eyebrows and replied with a smile, "Sure."
Under everyone's gazes, Pei Zhaolin walked straight to Cui Jintang's side and handed her the well - protected snacks in his hand.
"On my way back just now, I passed by a newly opened pastry shop. Seeing a long queue of people, I bought some butterfly pastries that you like."
His tone was delighted. He carefully unwrapped the pastries and fed them to Cui Jintang's lips. Seeing her take a bite and say "delicious" with bright eyes, he instantly looked extremely proud.
Chu Yingfeng stood aside, taking in the whole scene. His fingers holding the teacup tightened slightly, but he still maintained his outward calm and took a sip of the warm tea.
"Zhu San said you can't eat too much now. You can only have a bite once in a while to satisfy your craving. Have lunch first, and you can eat this later."
Saying that, Pei Zhaolin naturally reached out and wiped the pastry crumbs off her lips with his finger. His fingertips were slightly cold from being outside, but they made Cui Jintang's cheeks flush with heat.
Cui Jintang glared at him and pulled A Xun, who had been wanting to eat fish for a long time, to sit down.
There was a smile in Pei Zhaolin's eyes, but when he turned around and saw Chu Yingfeng sitting steadily in the seat beside Cui Jintang, his face darkened a bit.
Looking at the annoying and obstructive Chu Yingfeng, Pei Zhaolin forced out a smile, but his jaw was tightly clenched. Pei Zhaolin narrowed his eyes and "reminded" in a hostile tone, "Lord Chu, this is my seat."