On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

That evening, Lin Yi went to Tingsongyuan again.

Yang Mi was already waiting, with two plates of snacks and a pot of warm wine on the table.

When Lin Yi entered, she was leaning out the window looking out. When she saw him, she ran over and tugged at his sleeve.

"Your Highness has arrived! I've saved some osmanthus cake for you!"

Lin Yi was pulled into the house by her and sat down on a chair.

Mimi was very attentive, pouring tea and handing out snacks every now and then, like a little puppy circling around you.

Seeing her busy running around, Lin Yi smiled and said, "Stop spinning around, aren't you getting dizzy?"

"Hehehe~" Mi Mi chuckled twice and obediently sat down opposite her.

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again: "Your Highness, when I looked at those two pine trees in the courtyard today, the more I looked at them, the more they seemed to resemble two soldiers on guard."

"..."

"I even gave them names, one is called Song Da and the other is called Song Er."

"..."

"Your Highness, do you think it sounds good?"

Lin Yi looked at him with drooping eyes. This girl was unusually talkative today; she probably had something to say.

"Just say what you mean, why beat around the bush?"

Mimi pursed her lips, looking somewhat embarrassed: "Your Highness, this morning Shuying came to me with personnel matters. I think... she's quite good, efficient, and honest. So I asked her if she wanted to have a title and become a mistress in the manor."

Lin Yi asked curiously, "Why are you asking her this?"

"I didn't mean anything by it! I just feel that Shuying has been serving the Prince for so long, yet she's always been just a maid. If she's willing, I'll put in a good word for her with the Prince and ask him to take her in..."

Yang Mi said she was helping Shuying, but actually she just wanted to put on a show in front of him, to express that she was magnanimous, not jealous, and obediently acted as a pimp for the prince, thus establishing her persona.

Lin Yi was well aware of this little scheme.

"What did she say?"

Mimi tilted her head: "Shuying said she didn't want to..."

"Huh?" Lin Yi hadn't expected this result.

"I also find it strange. She clearly likes Your Highness quite a bit. Last time we played hide-and-seek, Your Highness even hugged her... Anyway, I can tell that she has feelings for Your Highness, but she says she doesn't want to put Your Highness in a difficult position."

Shuying is timid but reliable. When she says she doesn't want to make things difficult for Lin Yi, it's probably because she feels she's not qualified and doesn't want to cause him trouble.

Lin Yi nodded: "Okay, I understand."

"That prince..."

"I said I understand!"

Lin Yi came in with a stern face, and Mi Mi immediately dared not speak. She lowered her head to eat the osmanthus cake, and after taking two bites, she raised her head again.

"Your Highness, I have something to say from the bottom of my heart."

"explain."

"When I first asked Shuying, I did have my own selfish reasons. I thought that rather than some unknown woman who might suddenly appear out of nowhere, it would be better to have Shuying. At least I would know her background and it would be easier to get along with her in the future."

That's true.

Lin Yi didn't comment, but stood up and walked towards the bed.

Mimi quickly followed and helped him take off his outer robe, muttering, "Anyway, I'm just informing Your Highness. You can decide what to do next..."

You talked too much today.

"Very well, in order to avoid talking, I will wash Your Highness's feet."

"Just wash your feet, why are you opening your mouth? Hey, hey, you, ouch..."

So he was washing her feet himself! Where did this girl learn this new trick?

……

Lin Yi woke up early the next morning.

Beside her, Yang Mi was sleeping like a log, drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, making soft breathing sounds.

He gently pulled his arm out.

Mimi turned over, mumbled something indistinctly, and turned back to continue sleeping.

Lin Yi got dressed and went out.

When I got to the corridor, the two maids who were in charge of serving Tingsong Courtyard had already gotten up and were squatting there washing handkerchiefs.

Upon seeing Lin Yi emerge, he quickly stood up and bowed.

"Good morning, Your Highness!"

Lin Yi nodded and walked towards the study.

Qiangzi had already set out breakfast.

With millet porridge, steamed buns, and two dishes of pickled vegetables, Lin Yi sat down to eat. Qiangzi said from the side, "Your Highness, Liu Wentao's daughter came to the Prince's residence yesterday."

Lin Yi's chopsticks never stopped.

Qiangzi continued, "Her name is Liu Jing. She waited in the front hall for more than an hour, and left when she saw that you hadn't returned."

Lin Yi felt uncomfortable drinking porridge with a spoon, so he picked up the bowl and poured it directly into his mouth.

Liu Wentao hadn't come out for a long time, staying in the palace with his whole family, attending court every day and never leaving the house.

The reason he sent his daughter to find him this time was probably because the palace had been sealed off again, preventing him from sending anything he wanted inside or sending out any orders.

To put it bluntly, Liu Wentao and Guo Ao's entire families were confined to the palace and couldn't leave at all.

"What did she say?"

"They didn't say anything specific, they just said they wanted to see the prince."

Lin Yi put down the bowl: "Tell her to come again tomorrow, I'll see her."

"Yes."

After Qiangzi left, Lin Yi began annotating documents, mostly miscellaneous tasks, and soon it was noon.

Lin Yi stretched and decided to go out and move around; he couldn't just sit there all the time.

……

There were two persimmon trees planted in the east courtyard. In winter, all the leaves fell off, leaving only bare branches sticking out to the sky.

I remember back in the autumn, Lin Yi brought Nangong Min and Mi Mi here to pick persimmons. Yang Siyu didn't come out then; he was reading inside.

When Lin Yi entered the courtyard, he saw Yang Siyu sitting under the eaves.

Several bamboo trays were placed in front of me, with many orange peels neatly arranged inside.

The winter sun isn't strong, but it shines warmly, giving the edges of the orange peel a pale golden hue.

Today she was wearing a plain-colored long jacket with the sleeves rolled up to her wrists, revealing a section of her fair and clean forearm, and she was squatting there picking through orange peels.

Turn the dried ones over and move the ones that aren't fully dried to a sunnier spot.

The movements were neither too fast nor too slow, like doing needlework, very meticulous.

When Lin Yi walked over, she realized someone was there and quickly put down the orange peel she was holding and stood up.

"Your Highness."

"Yes, you don't need to get up, you can just sit."

Yang Siyu stood and performed a half-bow before sitting down again on the small stool.

Lin Yi sat down on the stone bench next to him.

"I've come today to talk to you about Consort Hui's situation."

Yang Siyu continued working: "Oh? What's wrong, Miss Su?"

"If you count the days, she'll be giving birth soon. Try to visit her more often these days. She's all alone in Beiyuan, and she's feeling uneasy staying there all the time."

"I've been visiting frequently these past few days, so Your Highness can rest assured."

"Zhang Ma is arranging the midwifery; could you check to make sure there are no oversights?"

"it is good."

After finishing the business, Lin Yi should have gotten up and left.

But he didn't move. He just sat there watching Yang Siyu turn over the dried tangerine peel, picking it up piece by piece and holding it up to the sunlight to check for any moldy pieces before putting it back in the bamboo tray.

Yang Siyu just let him watch while he went about his work, saying, "The oranges are good this year. The peels have a very nice color after drying. We can store them until next spring to make tea and drink it to get rid of dampness."

Lin Yi stared at the dried tangerine peel between her fingers for a moment, then said softly, "Is Your Highness finding it comfortable here?"

I don't know when it started, but Lin Yi's way of addressing her has changed.

Yang Siyu naturally noticed this as well, but she didn't care or ask. She simply put the orange peel back, patted the crumbs off her hands, and looked back at him.

"I'm more comfortable here than in the palace."

This is the truth; life in the palace is unbearable for humans.

They had to get up before dawn to pay their respects, and were constantly being criticized by the Empress. Their daily lives were governed by strict rules.

At least here you can sit on the veranda, bask in the sun, and sort through dried tangerine peels, and nobody will bother you.

A gust of wind blew by, and a few pieces of dried tangerine peel that hadn't been pressed properly were lifted out of the bamboo tray.

Yang Siyu reached out to press it.

Lin Yi also reached out, but he didn't grab Chen Pi; he only grabbed her fingers.

The two looked at each other, neither of them spoke, and then each withdrew their hands.

Yang Siyu lowered her head and continued to sift through the orange peels, as if nothing had happened.

Since Lin Yi had already gotten up, there was no reason for him to sit back down, so he said, "Let's go."

Yang Siyu stood up and saw him off two steps: "Your Highness, please take care."

"Okay." Lin Yi left.

As I reached the door, I turned back for some reason.

Yang Siyu had already sat down again, looking down at the dried tangerine peel.

The afternoon sun in winter shone from the side, illuminating half of her face and outlining a soft contour.

She lowered her eyes, looking very focused, but her movements were much slower than before.