Her hair was cloud-like and beautiful! She opened her eyes and found herself back in the third year

The couple ate dinner together tonight.

Qin Yizhen felt stuffy in the room, so she simply had a bamboo mat laid out under the crabapple tree, and then a low table placed on it, so that the couple could sit facing each other on the floor.

Qin Yizhen was holding her anger in her heart and resentfully put her food into his bowl.

Although they said they were dining together, they actually ate separately.

Qin Yizhen ate simple food, but now that it was springtime, it was time to eat spring pancakes and perch soup, along with vegetarian steamed chicken, shrimp balls, lotus seed fish balls, and so on. She ate with particular delight.

Cheng Yan eats both vegetarian and meat dishes, but he prefers meat. Today's braised bamboo shoots with pork, roasted mutton, and braised chicken are all to his liking.

He accepted all the spring pancakes Qin Yizhen put in his bowl without hesitation.

Thin pancakes rolled with green and red vegetables, one bite and you get all the flavors of radish and watercress. He thought it was pretty good, and it helped to cut through the greasiness in his mouth.

Seeing that he was eating with relish, Qin Yizhen picked up a piece of roasted mutton with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. The taste of the broth hit her head. She frowned slightly and chewed it several times, not knowing whether to swallow it or spit it out.

Cheng Yan handed her a bowl: "Put it up."

Qin Yizhen shook her head. As long as it wasn't poisonous, she had no reason to spit it out after eating it; that would be far too impolite.

She chewed a few more times and swallowed, then drank several more mouthfuls of tea, still feeling the taste lingering in her mouth.

Finally, she frowned as she stared at the two different dishes on the table: "I just don't think we'll ever be able to eat together."

"Why can't we eat at the same table anymore? Aren't we at the same table now?" Cheng Yan strongly disagreed with this statement.

Not only can they eat at the same table, but they can also sleep in the same bed.

Qin Yizhen stared at the roasted mutton he was about to put down his chopsticks. Cheng Yan paused, then looked up at her.

Qin Yizhen said, "You have so much of this, it must smell quite strong. If so, why don't you go back to Qingyuan tonight..."

Cheng Yan reached out and put the roasted mutton aside, refusing to eat it.

Qin Yizhen's words caught in her throat, and she couldn't continue for a moment.

"Is it okay now?" he asked, looking up at her. "If you keep picking, I'll eat the same thing as you."

"Oh...okay." Qin Yizhen had nothing to say, so she could only shut her mouth and quietly eat her spring pancake.

Cheng Yan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had finally calmed down. Then he reached out and ladled half a bowl of soup for her: "Drink more soup. You can eat two spring pancakes, but you can't eat them as a meal."

"I know, I know..."

Qin Yizhen responded vaguely and ate her meal slowly.

As the sun sets and darkness descends, the afterglow fades, and the bright colors between heaven and earth slowly disappear, leaving the scene before us hazy and indistinct.

Lüqiao and Granny Jin, along with their maids, lit lanterns in the courtyard, and one by one, the lanterns hanging under the eaves and on the trees lit up.

The lanterns, one after another, shone brightly, illuminating a bustling and prosperous scene.

Qin Yizhen saw several people lighting lanterns in the courtyard and frequently glanced over at them.

Today she had Green Qiao and the others put away the red silk draped with red and green ribbons, but she thought the lanterns in the courtyard were quite pretty, so she left them alone. Now it seems they are indeed pretty.

Cheng Yan gestured for Lü Qiao to come up, then asked her for the tinderbox from her hand and called her to get up: "Come here."

"Hmm?" She looked up blankly, and then saw that he had already stood up and was standing under the crabapple tree, reaching out to take down the palace lantern hanging under the crabapple tree, which was painted with banana and peach branches in spring.

He beckoned her over: "Didn't you want to order? Come here."

Qin Yizhen suppressed her lip, wanting to refute his words, saying that this was childish and not fun at all, and that she didn't want to participate.

But looking at the lantern he was carrying, and then at the lanterns lit up one by one in the courtyard, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and he took a step forward.

When she came to her senses, she was already standing beside him, holding a tinderbox, while he took out the candle from the lantern and asked her to light it.

So she sincerely blew on the tinderbox and lit the candle.

Cheng Yan let the candle burn for a while, then dripped a little wax onto the bottom of the lantern, carefully placed the candle back, and then hung the lantern back up.

After lighting this lamp, he took another one from the crabapple tree to light for her, then simply pulled her forward to light the lamps. He lit them for her as he took them, then hung them back up, and the two of them gradually became engrossed in the moment...

"Hey! Look!" Green Qiao nudged Granny Jin and pointed the two of them out to her.

Granny Jin squinted at them, then instructed, "Tell them not to order anything, let them play. Oh, and have someone clear the table, and then have the kitchen prepare hot water."

Lu Qiao nodded in agreement and then went off to do her work.

Cheng Yan and Qin Yizhen had a great time playing together. They walked around the yard and lit up all the lanterns hanging on the trees that hadn't been lit yet. In the end, Cheng Yan even picked out a rabbit lantern for her to carry around and play with.

Qin Yizhen kept touching the rabbit lantern as she carried it, and after taking a few steps, she worried that the candle inside might not be properly placed and could burn the lantern, so she had to check it.

Looking at the uncontrollable smile on her lips, Cheng Yan suddenly understood something and felt a pang of sadness.

Perhaps he was a good husband to her, but never thought about how to be her lover.

He would give her food and necessities, and although she had nothing to lack, he always wanted to give her the best.

He would be tolerant of her. Sometimes she would be stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason or talk to him. He would get so angry that he would have a headache. But he would think that she had married him at such a young age and that he was so much older than her, so he should be more tolerant of her.

In addition, everything was forced upon him, so he could only suppress his feelings and indulge him.

She had no romantic feelings for him, for a simple reason: she married him at a young age, and he had never let her experience any romantic feelings, so naturally she didn't, and could never give them to him.

Therefore, it seems that he not only has to be her husband, but also her lover.

I made a promise to meet her after dusk, to speak my heart under the flowers and the moon, and to wish for a long and lasting love, until we grow old together.

Only in this way can she develop a sincere heart, with him being all she thinks about.

Just like the poem says, I wish to stay with you until the mountains crumble and the heavens and earth unite...

Cheng Yan understood this, and his heart was filled with excitement.

The candlelight that filled the courtyard seemed to ignite a fire in his heart, which eventually burned into a raging inferno, consuming him to the point of losing all reason.

"Little Begonia," he suddenly called to her, his palms sweating as he held her hand.

Qin Yizhen paused, stopped in her tracks, and looked up at him, seemingly somewhat confused by his way of addressing her.

She was born in March when the crabapple blossoms were in full bloom. Because her mother loved crabapple blossoms the most, she gave her the nickname 'Little Crabapple'.

Since her mother's death, no one has called her that anymore.

Her hand gripping the lantern handle was a little tight.

Cheng Yan smiled and looked at her, saying, "It's too late for the Lantern Festival this year. How about we go to the market to see the lanterns during the Dragon Boat Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"Also, your birthday is coming up in a few days. How about we celebrate it, or go wherever you want?"