Repeatedly broken branches

In the sweltering summer heat, the earth felt like a steamer, and the incessant chirping of cicadas made it hard to breathe.

Xiao Mu leaned against the couch, fanning herself with a fan while eating the watermelon served with a small spoon, but it didn't help at all.

If only there were ice cream and air conditioning. Forget about it. Where would she find those things in a place like this? I've heard Chaoyang Kingdom is even hotter; they don't have winter, only spring and summer. So if she married there, wouldn't that be…

What is she thinking?

"Where is Zhou Tingxi now?" Xiao Mu turned her eyes slightly and looked at Xiao Shao with a light gaze.

Xiao Shao pondered for a moment, then said, "The general is either in his study or on the training ground. What? When did you start asking about the general's affairs, Madam?"

Xiao Mu said calmly, "If I want to be with him properly, what do you think?"

A look of surprise flashed in Xiao Shao's eyes. She put down the plate of watermelon, moved closer to Xiao Mu, and asked in astonishment, "Is Madam really telling the truth?"

“Otherwise, we can’t keep going against him forever. It’s all in the past… we have to look forward,” Xiao Mu said earnestly.

She almost believed it herself.

If she's going to put on an act, no one around her can know, otherwise it will be hard for others to believe her.

Xiao Shao cried tears of joy, “Madam has finally come to her senses. The General is actually very good to you. He didn’t let you go out because he was afraid you would run away. You’ve known each other since you were little, childhood sweethearts. I told you it would never turn out like that. It’s not too late to back down now. The General won’t hold it against you.”

He doesn't care, so why should he? The victim is Xia Yunzhi. Xiao Shao, you opportunist, if you keep speaking up for him, I'm really going to lower my opinion of you.

Xiao Mu took a bite of watermelon. "So tell me, how should I apologize? Should I take the initiative to apologize to him? Or should I cook for him... I can't cook... Or should I go and chat with him? Our conversations are limited to childhood memories... I'm really struggling!"

She really didn't know how to please a man. She only knew that Zhou Tingxi didn't have many favorite things when he was little, except for the osmanthus cake, osmanthus sugar, and osmanthus honey made by Granny Lü. But Granny Lü had passed away many years ago. Although she was there when Granny Lü made osmanthus cake before, but...

She was stunned. She had never seen Granny Lü before, so how could she have the memory of Granny Lü making osmanthus cake when Xia Yunzhi was a child?

I mentioned in class before that if you stay there for a long time, your memories might overlap with the original owner's memories, but the probability of this is very small. No way, I actually encountered something with such a small probability?

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

"Little Spoon, do you know how to make osmanthus cake?"

"No, Madam, I only know how to eat osmanthus cake..." Little Spoon looked completely innocent, then shook her head vigorously, just like a rattle drum.

Xiao Mu smiled sweetly, her eyes crinkling. "Then I'll trouble you to go to the kitchen and get a recipe for osmanthus cake. I want to make osmanthus cake for Zhou Tingxi." The condition is, if he gets poisoned, don't come looking for me. If he gets poisoned, even better, that way I won't have to think about how to kill him.

She was only trying to please him this time so that it would be easier for her to go out and escape. Although she didn't know where she was going to escape to, if it was easier to go out, it would be too easy to escape.

After a while, Xiao Shao came running into the house with a piece of paper in his hand and a big smile on his face.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Shao spent a long time fiddling around in the house, but the osmanthus cakes they made were either misshapen or oddly shaped, making them too shabby to give as gifts.

The two women pondered for a long time, and their method was similar to that of Granny Lü. There are too many ways to make osmanthus cake, but the ingredients are all the same. Besides, the ones bought outside should be similar, right? She didn't want to make anything for Zhou Tingxi to eat!

Xiao Shao thought about it and agreed, so she secretly ran out and bought a bag of osmanthus cake.

Xiao Shao packed the osmanthus cakes she bought into a food box, arranged them neatly, and covered it up.

Xiao Mu dressed up simply, wearing the pair of bracelets that Xue had given her, and a light blue, double-breasted ruqun embroidered with delicate osmanthus flowers. It was very beautiful and made her skin look as white and tender as snow.

She carried the food box and strolled slowly to the door of Zhou Tingxi's study.

She cleared her throat, preparing to knock on the door...

"What are you doing standing there?" Zhou Tingxi appeared behind him at some point, his gaze gentle and a smile playing on his lips.

"Uh...it's nothing, it's nothing..." Why did I hesitate when I got to the words? What was I afraid of? I came to deliver food, not to poison him.

Zhou Tingxi lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the food box. With anticipation in his eyes, he whispered, "Is this for me?"

"Yes, try it..." Xiao Mu opened the lid, and Zhou Tingxi immediately recognized it as osmanthus cake bought from Linglongzhai. He picked up a piece, took a bite, and deliberately asked, "Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes...yes, is it not tasty?" Xiao Mu's answer lacked confidence; she didn't even dare to look Zhou Tingxi in the eye.

"No, it's delicious." Zhou Tingxi still had a smile on his face and said in a low voice, "You're amazing, it tastes so good on your first time making something." He patted Xiao Mu's head, his eyes full of tenderness.

"As long as it tastes good," otherwise wouldn't it be a waste to go out and buy it for nothing?

"Come in and have a seat..." Zhou Tingxi met her eyes, which were full of autumn waves, and immediately looked at her with affection.

Xiao Mu nodded blankly, "Okay..."

Zhou Tingxi asked her to sit next to him while he dealt with official business. Zhou Tingxi was so focused that all that could be heard was his breathing; he didn't say a word.

The room was eerily silent.

Xiao Mu had almost forgotten the purpose of her trip.

She turned to look at Zhou Tingxi. His handwriting was strong and slender, flowing like dragons and snakes, and he was very focused on handling official business.

Okay, when he gets serious, he's actually quite handsome.

"Are you feeling bored?" Zhou Tingxi turned his head to look at her, his eyes gentle, a tender light shimmering in them.

Xiao Mu shook her head and said softly, "I've been busy for a while and I feel a little sleepy. Should I go back to sleep?"

Zhou Tingxi laughed. "What have you been busy with? Wasn't the osmanthus cake bought from outside?" He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Then you can sleep here. Consider it keeping me company."

Xiao Mu nodded and fell asleep on Zhou Tingxi's shoulder. She even felt that this was not the first time she had slept on Zhou Tingxi's shoulder, and several times her vague memories began to overlap.

In the past, when Zhou Tingxi was writing, Xia Yunzhi would always chatter incessantly beside him. Although Zhou Tingxi was writing seriously, he responded to every word she said and never gave a perfunctory reply. When he got tired of talking, Xia Yunzhi would lean on his shoulder and fall asleep.

Zhou Tingxi glanced at her; her curled eyelashes were slightly closed, her luscious red lips were slightly parted, and her smooth, jade-like skin was very shiny.

He continued with his work, and the only sound in the room was the soft whimpering of Xiao Mu as she slept.

I don't know how long it was, but when I woke up it was almost dusk. I was still leaning on Zhou Tingxi's shoulder. He didn't move me away and let me sleep on his shoulder all afternoon.

Isn't it sour?

"Awake?" Zhou Tingxi put down the book in his hand, turned to look at her, and said in a deep voice, "The kitchen staff have come twice to ask if we want our meal served. Do you want to eat?"

Xiao Mu, still sleepy-eyed, sat up straight and stretched comfortably. "No need, Xiao Shao is probably waiting for me to get back. You can eat by yourself..." Huh? Xiao Mu? What are you doing? You came here to please Zhou Tingxi, huh? Why are you leaving again? You slept all afternoon! And now that he's invited you out, you're leaving?

Zhou Tingxi tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. His hands were fair and flawless, clean and slender, with wrists as white as jade. He didn't seem like someone who led troops into battle. She remembered that Zhou Tingxi had always been fair-skinned since childhood. Even if he got tanned, he would regain his fair skin in a winter. Even with thick calluses on his hands, they were still fair.

“If you don’t want to stay for dinner, then go back. I also need to go out and talk to some people.” Zhou Tingxi said hesitantly.

Xiao Mu blinked and said coquettishly, "Then, can I come along? Hmm?" Her eyes showed an expectant look.

Zhou Tingxi was slightly taken aback. This was the first time in recent days that she had acted coquettishly towards him, and he was already completely smitten. How could he possibly disagree?

Zhou Tingxi led her into the carriage. Even inside the carriage, Xiao Mu made no attempt to hide her joy at going out. She lifted the curtain, looking left and right, eagerly hoping to see that familiar figure.

"Are you this happy to leave the house?" Zhou Tingxi asked doubtfully. From the moment she stepped out of the Zhou residence, a smile spread across her face that she couldn't stop.

Xiao Mu closed the curtain and said resentfully, "What do you think? You can go out and play every day, while I can only stay cooped up in the house. How can I not be happy?"

After saying that, she blinked her pitiful eyes, which were filled with tears.

Zhou Tingxi smiled and said, "Then how about I take you with me every time I go out next time, no, from now on?" He deliberately raised an eyebrow at Xiao Mu.

"That would be great, but I hope you can keep your word..." Xiao Mu murmured.

Zhou Tingxi chuckled, "I would never lie. I will take you with me every time I go out from now on. Actually, if you were more obedient, like your sister, I wouldn't be so strict with you. I'm just afraid that you will run around and I won't be able to find you."

"I swear, I won't run around anymore. I was just angry and annoyed with you, that's all. It's all your fault for doing that with Ye Wanwan, it's all your fault... Forget it, I don't want to talk about the past anymore. Just be good to me from now on, like before. Let's not talk about anything else, okay?"

Zhou Tingxi pulled her into his arms and said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry you've suffered so much. I will make it up to you little by little in the future. Tell me what you want or what you want to do, and I will do my best to satisfy you in any way I can. Is that alright?"

Xiao Mu nestled in his arms, nodded, and said softly, "Now, I only have you and my sister. If you treat me the same way as before, I really don't want to live anymore..."

Disgusting, absolutely disgusting, I'm vomiting uncontrollably...

Zhou Tingxi secretly made up his mind that he would protect her, just like when they were children, they only had each other, only loved each other, in their eyes, in their hearts, and by each other's side.

After getting off the carriage, Zhou Tingxi led her to the most bustling restaurant in the capital, Moyun Restaurant, which was a melting pot of all sorts of people. Previously, Zhou Tingxi would go to Green Plum's tavern to discuss business with people, but now he never went to Green Plum's tavern again, and instead came to Moyun more often.

As soon as they entered, someone led them to a private room. Zhou Tingxi told the servant some dishes, which the servant wrote down and then hurriedly ran to the kitchen to order.

There was no one in the private room, and Zhou Tingxi hadn't made any appointments. He had originally arranged to meet with people from the Ministry of War, but since Xiao Mu wanted to come along, he was worried that she would find it boring, so he postponed the meeting until the evening.

One dish after another was served, including stuffed eggplant, Dongpo pork knuckle, pickled fresh fish, stuffed raw meat, Nanjing meatballs with white sauce and round vegetables, yellow croaker soup, braised crispy pork, and drunken spare ribs. The staple food was Yujing rice, and the drinks were jasmine soup. The dessert was red bean paste rolls and nine-layer cake, served with honey wine that had no alcohol content, but the sweet aroma of the wine was already wafting out.

Xiao Mu's mouth was watering just looking at it. She picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in her mouth. The rib was so tender that it fell off the bone with just a touch. It had a unique, fermented rice flavor.

The fried pork was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and I really liked the cumin sprinkled on top.

The pork knuckle skin melts in your mouth, packed with collagen, so delicious...

Finally full, Xiao Mu finished her meal with a bowl of jasmine soup. She patted her belly contentedly and said sweetly to Zhou Tingxi, "If only there were plum candy, it would be so nice. It's sweet and sour, and after eating so much meat, I don't feel greasy at all if I hold it in my mouth after the meal!"

Zhou Tingxi's eyes flickered slightly. "Okay, I'll go buy it for you... You wait here for me! Don't wander off, understand?"

"Okay! I won't run around!" Xiao Mu sat obediently in the chair.

After Zhou Tingxi left, she immediately put on a cold expression. She had been smiling for so long that she was almost paralyzed with emotion. Pretending to be happy and satisfied was really tiring, even more tiring than going to work.

Sigh, if she has to pretend like this all the time, it will be too tiring. She'll be exhausted, both mentally and physically. But all of this food is what she likes to eat.

Zhou Tingxi hadn't touched his chopsticks much, just watching her eat, which made her almost lose her appetite.

"Oh, Young Master Han is here. It's the same room, right? And Young Master Shen is here this time too? What a rare guest..."

"I'd like a pot of peach blossom wine."

A familiar voice sounded outside the door. Xiao Mu subconsciously looked out. Yu Yanjing slowly raised his eyelids and met her eyes. Even though he was disguised, those beautiful peach blossom eyes and that clear, cold voice were unmistakable. Who else could it be but him? Walking beside him was a man of similar height. He was handsome and exuded confidence and elegance in every gesture.

He was probably Shen Ruoxuan, Yu Yanjing's best friend.

Yu Yanjing's eyes sparkled, and he looked at her with a half-smile, before disappearing from her sight.

"Han..."

Xiao Mu spoke softly, and Zhou Tingxi walked in with a bag of plum candy. He looked down at Xiao Mu and said, "Let's go, it's getting dark."

Xiao Mu stood up and smiled slightly, "Okay, it's getting late."

As she left, she inadvertently saw several alluring and charming women enter Yu Yanjing's private room.

Hmph, all men are the same, sneaking out to cheat on their partners, huh?

I never want to see him again!

A wave of sadness washed over Xiao Mu. Her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes tightly. She tried to control her emotions. What was she so upset about? It was just a man.