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Chapter 294 The Night Grows Deeper
After the matter of the elixir was explained, the close sisters fell silent in the room.

Because there was no conversation, once people quieted down and looked at the two red plum blossoms on the bed, the vivid scene easily replayed itself in silence.

Although she had many beautiful dreams and was no stranger to Ji You's galloping, she never imagined that her first encounter would be with the young appraiser.

Childhood wishes may seem like innocent childish remarks, but they are certainly not made casually.

She couldn't help but glance at Yan Shuyi and noticed that the young appraiser's cheeks were slowly turning as red as the morning sun, but soon her almond-shaped eyes narrowed and she put on a very serious expression, as if she was thinking about something.

"Sister Caiwei truly lives up to her reputation as a top-tier alchemist; that backache pill is really effective."

"?"

Yuan Caiwei looked up slightly with a clear sense of bewilderment and saw the young appraiser speaking calmly.

Her eyes were exceptionally beautiful, with a faint pinkish hue, which, combined with her delicate nose and cherry-red lips, made her both cold and stunningly beautiful.

However, the words that came out of those cherry-red lips could not be understood in a straightforward way.

Yesterday was clearly the Elixir of Rejuvenation, not the Elixir of Lower Back Pain.

After a long period of bewilderment, the woman from the Pill Sect suddenly understood the meaning of her words, and her red lips parted slightly.

You can't pretend it didn't happen; my sister's still acting like a child...

At this moment, Ji You had already met with Kuang Cheng and the others in the courtyard and discussed the arrangements for the day.

The New Year's celebrations are usually the same: cleaning, preparing food, strolling around, having a meal, and enjoying the lanterns. However, this year there is an extra step: posting Spring Festival couplets.

He used to live in the Heavenly Academy, so such things were unnecessary, but this year he is staying at the Wulu Trading Company, so the proper customs still need to be observed.

As for Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, they were looking at Ji You's bedroom window with curiosity.

They could vaguely see figures inside, and were certain that it was their master. They couldn't help but imagine all sorts of martial arts techniques.

While chatting with Kuang Cheng, Ji You kept glancing at her bedroom out of the corner of her eye.

After confirming that the two women had gotten up, he felt he should give them some time to wash up, so he called Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu to make paste, and then sent everyone away under the pretext of hanging paper lanterns and pasting Spring Festival couplets.

Why did Brother Ji have a faint smile on his face this morning?

"A smile?"

Kuang Cheng pointed to the corner of his mouth: "Since you left the house, Brother Ji's mouth has never stopped turning red."

Ji You touched the corner of her mouth: "Is it that obvious?"

"Looks like something really good has happened."

“Someone gave me a precious gift yesterday.”

"?"

Ji You unfolded the couplets, then took the brush from Ding Yao's hand, smeared paste all over the porch, pasted the couplets on, and then stepped back a few paces to take a look.

This is the storefront of the Wulu Trading Company. The couplet reads, "May there be no hunger in the world, and may the grain in the granary gather dust." The horizontal inscription reads, "May everything go smoothly and peacefully."

Then they put up some new paper lanterns, hung paper lanterns under the eaves, and returned to the courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, everyone saw Yan Shuyi in the tea pavilion.

She had already washed up and was wearing a light blue floor-length dress made of flowing gauze and silk. Her eyes were calm and serene, and against the backdrop of the white snow on the ground, she had an ethereal beauty, like a goddess descending to earth. She was sipping tea with her red lips slightly parted.

The young appraiser's skin has always been fair, no less so than Luo Xue's, but today it has a touch of vibrant pink.

I don't know what changed, but it just made it look even more captivating.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu couldn't help but exchange a glance, thinking to themselves that the Master of Appraisal had indeed stayed overnight last night...

And since she came to stay so quietly, she probably already gave herself to the son-in-law yesterday.

The two of them were somewhat irritated, their minds filled with the scenes described by the storyteller at Zuixianlou.

Why does the appraiser choose to avoid the prospective son-in-law instead of directly refusing? It's because he lacks backbone and is afraid that if she asks for it, she'll give it to him, so she prefers to pretend to be a stranger.

Therefore, the two believed that there was a high possibility that the person being appraised had lost their virginity.

However, the two of them immediately dismissed the idea the next moment.

They saw Yuan Caiwei in the side hall, who had changed into a black silk dress with a gold gourd and double happiness pattern and was sitting quietly in front of the tea table in the side hall, lost in thought.

They lived in the same courtyard and naturally knew that Yuan Caiwei was not in the courtyard yesterday, but they did not expect that she was also here with her son-in-law.

Since both of them were staying overnight, the chances of the appraiser being pulled into the endless cycle of life were much smaller...

Given her own personality, it's fine for her to be a little coquettish in her son-in-law's arms, but she would never show that coquettishness to others.

Ji You also came to the courtyard at this time, looking at the woman who had been intimate with him last night with gentle eyes.

The two seemed to be deliberately keeping their distance, as if to indicate that they hadn't been making out together last night.

"Sister Appraiser is here so early."

Wei Rui, being the most innocent and guileless, waved happily to Yan Shuyi.

She didn't know that her idol, Sister Yan, hadn't left early; she had simply passed away the previous night.

The young appraiser originally intended to pretend that nothing had happened, but she couldn't ignore Wei Rui's call. So she looked over following Wei Rui's voice and caught sight of Ji You. Her eyes were filled with the fierceness of a raging storm.

If it were an ordinary woman who had been taken by her lover, he would naturally hug and kiss her, and say some sweet words.

But Yan Shu was no ordinary woman, and the situation last night was really complicated. In addition, there were other people in the courtyard. If she really did that, it would only make her draw her sword.

So Ji You pretended not to see it and called Kuang Cheng to put up the couplets in the house.

The couplets for the shops had been ordered in advance, while the couplets for the courtyard were all written by Kuang Cheng, who brought a large stack of them.

Ji You selected the painting after some deliberation, then picked up the one depicting a courtyard filled with three wives and four concubines, a throng of beautiful women, and numerous children surrounding him in a bustling, lively atmosphere.

Kuang Cheng's eyes widened in surprise. When he realized that Ji had actually chosen this one, he was taken aback: "Brother Ji, you didn't dislike this one, and you even felt angry after seeing it?"

"I like it today."

"?"

After Ji You finished applying the paste, she pasted up the couplets. Looking at the four characters "many sons and daughters," she couldn't help but frown slightly, unsure whether she had been equally blessed the previous night.

He smoothed out the wrinkles in the couplet, turned his head to look in the direction of the tea pavilion, and found that the arrogant ghost was glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. After reading his expression, the arrogant ghost looked as fierce as the clean-shaven little water tiger from yesterday.

Kuang Cheng spoke softly from the side: "Fairy Yan is always jealous, I knew she would be angry when she saw this first line of the couplet."

"What angered her today was probably the second line of the couplet."

"What's there to be angry about?"

Ji You shook her head: "I don't know either."

Kuang Cheng was puzzled for a while, then Wei Rui called him to chop vegetables to prepare for the New Year's banquet that night.

Yuan Caiwei came out of the room, lowered her head and walked up to Ji You, whispering that she needed to go back and asked him if it was alright.

Although the daughter of the Dan Sect is gentle, she wasn't always this obedient and docile.

But this questioning revealed a personality that completely obeyed Ji You's every whim.

She flew countless times yesterday, thinking about it from early morning until she finally remembered that she had a younger brother.

She remembered that she had already told Yuan Chen yesterday that she wouldn't need to cultivate today and would come to Wulu Trading Company to celebrate the New Year, but he still hadn't shown up.

Yuan Caiwei didn't believe he was cultivating; the only possibility was that her younger brother had stayed up all night reading a storybook and hadn't gotten up yet.

So, after obtaining Ji You's permission, the daughter of Danzong headed towards the Wei family's villa.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu went to put up window decorations, and then Ji You arranged for them to go shopping on the street to buy some things that Xin Yuan would need.

Suddenly, the courtyard fell silent, leaving only Ji You and the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain.

Ji You noticed that Yan Shu was also secretly watching him, but quickly looked away when he turned his head away.

Seeing this, he put down the paste and brush, walked towards the fairy in the tea pavilion, sat down next to her and watched for a long time, and couldn't help but pinch her rosy cheeks.

I used to think she had a charming contrast; she had the authority of an appraiser, but also the gentleness and cuteness of an ordinary woman.

But after seeing her snuggle in his arms and whimper for him last night, he felt no sense of authority at all; he only thought she was soft, cute, and incredibly adorable.

Yan Shuyi did not react to his arrival, seemingly an aloof and heartless fairy, but as he sat down, her cheeks gradually turned red, and her eyes revealed a hint of shyness.

“You mere disciple of the Heavenly Academy, why don’t you kneel down and pay your respects to this master?”

"You're being cheeky again. I'd like to ask the Master of Appraisal why he pretended to be asleep and ignored me this morning?"

"Kneel down and pay your respects, and I, the judge, will tell you."

Ji You recalled the scene of her kneeling for half the night and exhausting herself trying to persuade him, and knew that she was feeling unbalanced and wanted him to kneel back.

Yan Shuyi looked at him and muttered again, "A disciple of the Little Heavenly Academy..." "The Master knows in his heart that such a way of addressing someone is biased."

"?"

The young appraiser frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "I've always called you Little Heavenly Academy disciple this way, so how could it be considered biased?"

Then she suddenly remembered the thing that had beaten her so badly last night, and her eyes sharpened even more.

I first saw it at the Tiandao Society. I only caught a glimpse of it while I was busy taking my shoes and socks, so I didn't get a clear look, but I was still startled.

The clearest view was taken when An Yuancheng was unconscious, and he was deeply troubled for a long time.

But she knew very little about men and did not know that a lack of interest was not the same as being "on a hot day," so it was not until last night that she saw the most terrifying side of them.

At this moment, Ji You picked up a melon seed from the tea tray, gently peeled it open, and handed it out: "Open your mouth."

"I'm going to beat you to death..."

"It's just sunflower seeds, nothing more."

Yan Shuyi felt the melon seeds enter his mouth, and his eyes became even more predatory.

Although she took the initiative in the first round last night, she was basically fed in the following rounds, so she's a bit stressed now and gets angry just thinking about it.

Ji You peeled a few more pills and fed them to her: "Actually, I've already found out what happened last night. Although it was a problem with the pills, it was bound to happen eventually, so it's hard to say who was right and who was wrong."

Yan Shuyi's eyelashes trembled slightly: "I wonder what kind of pills they contain."

“Yuan Caiwei has already admitted it, and she has also told me about the process of you asking her to refine pills.”

"I don't know anything about Yuan Caiwei."

"Then who am I?"

"A strange man, a friend of Rui'er's lover."

Yan Shuyi couldn't bear to say she didn't know him, nor did she dare to say that he was a disciple of Xiaoxiaotian Academy.

However, she answered "I don't know" to all the remaining questions, giving the impression that she didn't do it, didn't eat it, didn't cook it, and didn't call for it, which made his lips twitch involuntarily.

Just like the kiss last time, as long as they don't admit it, it's as if it didn't happen.

In fact, simply cultivating with Ji You meant nothing to the young master of Lingjian Mountain. Although she wouldn't admit it, she did like Ji You in her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed Zhuo Wanqiu to keep calling him "son-in-law" and wouldn't have come to see him whenever she had free time.

But the thought of being fed on her knees yesterday, and of curling up in his arms calling him "husband," made her want to run away.

Especially when threatened, he admitted in a moment of distraction that he was Little Water Tiger.

That person wasn't her; she couldn't possibly be like she was last night.

Why did you wake up in my yard this morning?

"I just arrived a little early."

"Where did you sleep yesterday?"

"The Wei Family Villa".

"If she gets pregnant, she can't call me uncle anymore."

Upon hearing his words, Yan Shuyi looked at her lower abdomen and couldn't help but narrow her eyes, then punched him hard.

Yuan Caiwei and Yuan Chen quickly returned from the Wei family's villa. The seventeen or eighteen-year-old young men were in a hurry. After entering the courtyard, they saw Ji You and went into the tea pavilion, while Yuan Caiwei followed slowly behind.

"Brother-in-law, Sister Xiaojian, do you know what happened? My sister seems to be much gentler, but her voice is a little hoarse."

Yan Shuyi narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, while Yuan Caiwei outside the pavilion turned her gaze to the side.

Many things happened last night, more exciting than what Zuixianlou forbade him to hear, and it is not something that outsiders can tell.

Ji You turned to look at Yuan Chen's dark circles and changed the subject appropriately: "You didn't really stay up all night reading novels, did you?"

"No, I stayed up all night last night refining what my elder sister gave me."

"real or fake?"

Yuan Chen pursed his lips: "The new year is almost over, so I plan to hurry up and not disappoint my older sister again."

After muttering to himself, he dashed off to the kitchen to see what dishes were served that day.

The three left alone looked at each other. Yuan Caiwei's face was the first to turn red, and even the usually icy-faced Xiao Jianzhu's cheeks gradually turned rosy.

However, this atmosphere was quickly broken when Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who had gone out to buy things, returned with large and small bags. After putting the things down, they went to the tea pavilion.

After the pills from the Pill Sect were sent to Spirit Sword Mountain, they were bestowed upon the disciples a few days ago. Only then did the disciples from the mountain send word, and I was led into the courtyard by them.

Yan Shu also took this opportunity to drive Ji You away, claiming that this was the mystery of Lingjian Mountain and that no outsiders were allowed to listen in, leaving Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu stunned.

They felt that the appraiser was acting strangely today, and his voice was hoarse for some reason.

After being kicked out, Ji You could only go to the kitchen to help with cooking, becoming a third wheel for Wei Rui and Kuang Cheng.

"Brother Ji, how about we just make a simple chicken soup for lunch?"

"Add some red dates."

"That's fine, but what about twice-cooked pork?"

"Add some red dates too."

"?"

As wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, lunch was brought into the hall.

Yan Shuyi and Yuan Caiwei saw that every dish was full of red dates, and their cheeks puffed up as they thought of the two flowers on the bed sheet.

[The scoundrel's concern]

However, by late afternoon, the sky had already darkened slightly, and red lanterns adorned the streets, while the sound of string music filled the air, spreading far and wide throughout the streets and alleys.

Ji You and the others changed their clothes and went out together, walking into the streets of Shengjing.

The ten-mile-long street was brightly lit, with colorful lanterns hanging high in front of vermilion gates and embroidered doors. Peonies made of silk gauze and carp made of gold foil swayed gently in the night breeze, making the bluestone road shimmer with light.

Along the moat, thousands of lotus lanterns float on the water, their wicks soaked in tung oil, burning with a trembling halo on the surface, their reflections mingling with the lanterns on the bank to create a river full of golden scales.

Yan Shu also refused to walk with Ji You and kept staring at Yuan Caiwei.

Ji You had been looking forward to traveling arm in arm with Ruyi for a long time, but after yesterday's fierce battle, she is now all alone.

However, this situation did not last long. When the city was ablaze with color, Yan Shuyi couldn't help but follow along. Even Yuan Caiwei walked to his left, watching the lanterns and keeping up with his figure.

The group strolled along the road and came to a theater, where they were attracted by the lively scene.

King Chong invited a theatrical troupe to perform Qingyun's traditional song "Ascension in the Daytime," which attracted a large crowd.

Ji You found a secluded spot, and as soon as he stood there, two people came up to him, peering down at him with colorful eyes.

Yan Shuyi has been clinging to him so closely lately that she's practically crawling into his arms, and she doesn't seem to realize it herself.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu followed behind their master, and after traveling together, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves in the crowded theater.

"The appraiser is acting strangely today. He was cold and aloof to the young master all morning, and he was also very jealous when he looked at Yuan Caiwei. Just now, he said he wouldn't go shopping with the young master."

"She became very well-behaved as she walked, going wherever her son-in-law told her to go, and even walking with a 'da da da' sound."

"She's about to snuggle into my arms..."

The two looked at the appraiser in front of them. She was being embraced by her son-in-law, her fair hands gripping his arm, her toes barely touching the ground as she swayed gently.

Once attention is diverted, it is difficult for a person to maintain the persona they are portraying.

Even Yan Shuyi herself realized that when she forgot to pretend to be aloof, she seemed to cling to the strange man even more.

However, when it was time to leave, the young appraiser remembered what happened last night, his eyes cold and arrogant, his face full of hostility.

As night falls, preparations begin for the New Year's feast.

Although they often get together, it's rare to have everyone together like this, so they had a great time all night.

After a satisfying meal, Wei Rui and Kuang Cheng were going to the poetry gathering in the city, while Yuan Chen was going to continue watching the performance of "Ascension in the Daytime." Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were tasked with keeping an eye on Yuan Chen and also taking the opportunity to wander around.

This was their first time visiting Shengjing to celebrate the New Year. They had been so focused on their own appraiser that their minds were completely blank when they came back.

After everyone left, the courtyard became quiet. Ji You sat at the tea table in the side hall, brewed the tea, and then turned to throw some charcoal into the stove.

Yan Shuyi and Yuan Caiwei stood silently in front of him, holding their teacups.

"The night is deep again."

"?"

(End of this chapter)