Chapter 524: He’s Not Happy (1)
Chu Lian clung onto the new source of heat next to her out of habit.
The softness of her chest was pressed closely against his body. While He Sanlang still kept his usual icy expression on his face, the backs of his ears were already flushed red.
He lowered his deep gaze to look at the petite woman in his arms. The hand that he had wrapped around Chu Lian’s waist slipped downwards slowly until it reached a soft and curved area.
He didn’t want to disturb her, so he settled for some light touching in the end.
The first rays of dawn emerged from the horizon, setting off the drops of morning dew on the leaves outside. Chu Lian had gotten a good night’s sleep. When she finally opened her eyes, the other side of the bed was already empty.
She reached out and felt around the empty area. There was still some warmth left under the blankets and a familiar scent.
Chu Lian furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Wasn’t there a saying about men who had just awakened and how they were as voracious as wolves and tigers? So why was He Sanlang so… so restrained?
Could it be that he didn’t have any interest in that?
Chu Lian shook her head. Considering the way he had acted the night they consummated their marriage, he didn’t seem like someone who lacked desire though…
However, she still wasn’t all that comfortable with those sorts of activities, so it was actually a good thing for her if He Changdi didn’t want it.
Chu Lian laid in bed with her eyes open as her mind wandered into flights of fancy. Wenlan seemed to have heard her movements from outside the room, so the maidservant walked over to the bedside and called out softly.
Chu Lian pulled open the gauzy bed curtains and got out of bed. After she finished washing up in the bathroom, she sat in front of her dressing table and realised that there was already a bowl of soup placed there.
Wenlan was in the middle of choosing a dress for Chu Lian when she turned her head and noticed the questioning expression in her master’s eyes. She smiled, “Third Young Madam, I brewed that soup myself early this morning. It’s a nourishing soup. Third Young Madam should drink it while it’s still warm.”
Chu Lian took the bowl into her hands and scooped up a spoonful of the concoction. There was a faint aroma drifting up from the soup and she could detect a mixture of scents of medical herbs that she couldn’t quite identify. She gave it a taste. Upon realising that it didn’t taste bad and that it was at just the right temperature to drink, she downed it in a few gulps.
It was just a small bowl of soup, so there wasn’t a lot of it.
Wenlan hung the dress that she had picked out on the dressing screen before going up to Chu Lian to help style her hair.
Chu Lian was currently picking out accessories at the dressing table.
“Did momo say what this herbal soup was for?”
Wenlan didn’t hide the truth from her and replied honestly, “Great Doctor Miao said that Third Young Madam’s body is a little weak. There’s also some remaining ‘coldness’ within your body, which might have been caused by the low temperatures at the northern border. He had a discussion with momo and they came up with a prescription for you. It’s just two bowls of soup daily, one in the morning and one in the evening.”
A weak and cold body?
Chu Lian smiled bitterly. That sounded about right.
She had stayed out on the freezing, snow-covered plains of the northern border for an extended period of time. Moreover, she had just recovered from an injury then. It was already rather fortunate that she had come away from that with just some physical weakness and a slightly cold body. No wonder her limbs always felt cold when she slept without He Sanlang. She never felt warm enough even after sleeping under thick blankets for the whole night.
Wenlan had skillful hands; she quickly transformed Chu Lian’s loose hair into one of the trendiest hairstyles in the capital. Chu Lian opened her jewellery box, thinking of picking from the accessories that Royal Princess Duanjia had sent over at the end of last year.
However, she was stunned still when she opened the jewellery box.
Her five-layered mahogany jewellery box was filled with brand new accessories…
A jade hairpin with a spiral-shaped topaz inlay, a flower-shaped clip with a pearl center and coral and agate petals, a jade phoenix hairpin, a sapphire necklace… She was almost blinded by the sight of all the precious accessories.
She was very familiar with the designs of most of these accessories. How could she not? More than half of them had come from Treasure Pavilion. She had drawn those designs herself!
But… she hadn’t requested for any of these? She had specifically told Royal Princess Duanjia that she didn’t have to send her one of each accessory. She wouldn’t be able to finish wearing them all since there were so many.
Wenlan was watching Chu Lian’s expression closely!
The bewildered expression on the normally calm and clever Third Young Madam caused Wenlan to give a snort of laughter.
Chu Lian glared at her with a very clear meaning, urging her to give her an immediate explanation.
Wenlan couldn’t hold back the smile growing on her lips, “Third Young Madam, Third Young Master picked all these out himself and had them sent over last night.”
Chu Lian was slightly surprised, “These are from He Changdi?”
Where did all his money come from? This whole pile of jewelry wasn’t cheap…
It would cost at least four to five thousand taels. The jewellery at Treasure Pavilion were all high-end accessories.
Although He Changdi had been given a reward during the bestowal of his noble title, it wouldn’t be enough to buy all these accessories.
Wenlan was genuinely happy for her young madam, but she was also somewhat shocked. It seemed like Third Young Madam really didn’t know that Third Young Master had bought so many accessories for her.
With a quick turn of wit, Wenlan chose not to ask about the reason despite her curiosity. She changed the subject instead by asking, “Third Young Madam, why don’t you pick one to wear now?”
Chu Lian suppressed the suspicion within her heart. She picked out a pair of golden butterfly hairpins with ruby inlays and handed it to Wenlan, “This one.”
Wenlan inserted the golden butterfly hairpins on the two sides of Chu Lian’s head. The butterflies were so realistic that they looked like they had just landed on her lush, dark hair and their wings shook with the slightest movement of her head. They moved just like a real pair of butterflies. Wenlan looked at them and sighed in admiration.
There was a reason why the accessories of Treasure Pavilion were so popular amongst the noblewomen of the capital.
No one would have thought that their Third Young Madam was the one who had designed these exquisite pieces.
Chu Lian was also satisfied with the two golden butterflies. The craftsmen at Treasure Pavilion were very skilled and they had been able to express the essence of her designs in their work.