Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 863 No young man is immune to spring fever

The autumn rain in Jiangnan has been lingering for days, soaking the blue tiles and white walls of the Fuliang County government office, making it even more desolate and cold. In the back garden wing, Li Zhi leaned against the soft couch by the window, his fingertips casually plucking the strings of his zither, but his eyes were always following the slender figure busy in front of the medicine shelf.

"Senior sister, it's been raining for three days, and I feel suffocated in my chest."

Xiao Wu is no longer the frail girl she once was; she has blossomed into a graceful young woman. And since her first experience of intimacy with the young man before her, she has perfectly blended youthful innocence with alluring elegance.

She was sorting the newly picked herbs when she heard this and said without turning her head, "If Your Highness is feeling bored, why don't you go to the study to practice calligraphy? The copybook that was sent the other day is perfect for studying in this kind of weather."

Li Zhi wasn't annoyed. Instead, he got up and went to the medicine shelf, gently tugging at her sleeve: "Practicing calligraphy is nothing compared to watching my senior sister make medicine. What's this?"

He pointed to a pile of pale yellow flower buds on the table.

Xiao Wu subtly withdrew his sleeve and put the flower bud into the celadon jar: "Mimosa flowers are good for calming the mind and relieving depression. If Your Highness has trouble sleeping at night, you can sew a sachet to wear."

A flower girl's calls drifted in from outside the window, long and melodious. Li Zhi's eyes suddenly lit up: "Senior Sister, wait a minute."

Without opening an umbrella, he ran straight into the back garden in the rain.

A moment later he returned with a handful of osmanthus blossoms, golden petals clinging to his clothes, water droplets still clinging to his hair, and the rich, sweet fragrance instantly filled the entire room.

"I remember my senior sister loved this flavor the most."

Xiao Wu glanced at the flower petals clinging to his clothes and sighed softly, "Your Highness is the Crown Prince; you shouldn't be doing these things."

“Here, I am just my senior sister’s junior brother.” Li Zhi gently placed the osmanthus flowers on the medicine table, then suddenly lowered his voice, “Besides, my father is far away in the Western Regions, how could he care about these things?”

These words, though spoken softly, caused Xiao Wu to pause slightly in her movements. She picked up a white porcelain bowl and began carefully sifting through the impurities in the osmanthus blossoms: "The teacher wrote to me a few days ago, telling His Highness not to fall behind in his studies, but His Highness is preoccupied with romantic moments all day long. I don't know how to answer the teacher, and it seems as if I'm the one who's holding His Highness back."

The smile on Li Zhi's face faded slightly. He silently sat down beside her and helped her pick out flowers. After a long while, he said, "Father is always like this. He doesn't talk about his own romantic pursuits, but he starts to nag me."

"Your Highness! How can you speak of the Master like that!?" The little girl's voice suddenly became stern: "The Master's every move concerns the life and death of millions of people. Who else could do what he did?"

Xiao Wu spread the selected osmanthus flowers on a bamboo sieve: "Yesterday I went to the south of the city to distribute medicine and saw several people who had fled from Jiangbei. If it weren't for you stabilizing the situation in the Western Regions, there would probably be even more refugees. Your Highness has grown up in these safe places and doesn't know how dangerous it is outside."

That makes sense, but Li Zhi turned his head away: "Senior Sister always speaks up for Father."

The cold rain outside kept pattering incessantly. The two had a minor disagreement about this, and Xiao Wu was still decocting medicine until the afternoon, while Li Zhi sat to the side reading, but the pages of the book remained untouched.

"Senior sister, do you still remember, do you still remember the rain we encountered when we went out for a trip in the summer?"

Xiao Wu paused slightly in his hand holding the palm-leaf fan: "I remember. To avoid the rain, His Highness pulled me into a cave, where we discovered a pill furnace left behind by a cultivator from the previous dynasty."

“Back then, my senior sister’s clothes were soaked, and her hair was covered in wild grass.” Li Zhi smiled. “She was much cuter than she is now, all proper and well-behaved.”

The medicine pot gurgled and bubbled, wisps of white steam rising. Xiao Wu didn't reply, but silently added some firewood. How could she not know that her junior brother was trying to curry favor with her again? This made her quite angry.

As dusk deepened, Xiao Wu poured the prepared medicine into a porcelain bowl and pushed it in front of Li Zhi: "Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine."

Li Zhi gazed at the bowl of dark brown medicine and suddenly said softly, "If we return to Chang'an, I'm afraid I won't be able to drink the medicine my senior sister brews anymore."

These words were spoken very softly, yet they caused Xiao Wu's hand, holding the medicine, to pause slightly. Just as she was about to reply, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the window. A maidservant announced from outside the door that an urgent document had arrived in Chang'an.

Li Zhi took the letter, opened it, and read it for a moment before his expression gradually darkened.

"Senior sister, my uncle has made my relationship with my father public."

These words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. Xiao Wu gently tapped the medicine spoon on the rim of the bowl, making a crisp sound. She quickly regained her composure and pushed the bowl towards Li Zhi: "Drink your medicine first, it's going to get cold. I've told you not to be greedy for cold things, but you always turn a deaf ear."

Li Zhi suddenly grabbed her wrist, the force was light, but she couldn't break free: "Senior sister, I may have to go back to Chang'an this time."

His fingertips were slightly cool, and his voice carried the stubbornness unique to young people. Xiao Wu lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on his cheeks: "Sir is His Highness's father, he would not harm you."

"So what?" Li Zhi leaned closer, embracing Xiao Wu tightly. He pressed his nose against her neck, inhaling deeply before kissing her. "These days in Fuliang have been the happiest of my life. Senior Sister, are you really willing to let go?" Xiao Wu gently pulled away from him and turned to tidy the medicine shelves. Her figure appeared particularly frail in the twilight, but her voice remained calm. "Your Highness is joking. Your Highness is the future ruler of the Tang Dynasty and should have the world in your heart. If I have delayed Your Highness because of me, I will have no choice but to atone with my death."

Night deepened, and the rain intensified. Li Zhi lay in bed, tossing and turning. The sound of rain pattering on the banana leaves outside the window was incessant. In a daze, he seemed to return to that cave, where his initial foray into intimacy and first taste of love had left him utterly captivated and unable to control himself.

He suddenly sat up, put on his coat, and quietly pushed open the door and went out.

The light was still on in Xiao Wu's room. Li Zhi stood under the eaves for a long time, his clothes soaked by the rain. Finally, he gently knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, and Xiao Wu, wearing an overcoat and holding a medical book, appeared. Upon seeing him, she frowned slightly: "Your Highness, why have you arrived at this hour?"

"I can't sleep." Li Zhi's voice was a little hoarse. "I was thinking about the osmanthus flowers I picked during the day. My senior sister said she wanted to make them into sachets. Do you need any help?"

Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped aside to let him in. The room was filled with a faint scent of herbs, and sure enough, the osmanthus blossoms picked during the day were scattered on the table.

The two sat silently facing each other, beginning to sift through the flower petals. The candlelight flickered, casting their shadows on the wall, sometimes overlapping, sometimes separating.

"Senior sister, do you know why I insist that you come back to Chang'an with me?" Li Zhi suddenly asked.

Xiao Wu's fingers moved lightly among the petals, his voice as cool and clear as ever: "I don't know."

“Alas…” Li Zhi shook his head and sighed, then looked at her intently: “It is because Changsun Wuji submitted a memorial saying that the Crown Prince has been living in Jiangnan for a long time and spends all his time with women, which is improper and should be called back to Chang’an to be taught.”

Xiao Wu's hand paused; in the candlelight, her face was somewhat pale.

"Senior Sister, don't worry." Li Zhi gently held her hand. This time she didn't pull away. Instead, she opened her hand and intertwined her fingers with Li Zhi's. "I've thought it through. If anyone else summons me back except my father or mother, I'll pretend I didn't hear it. Anyway, neither the Crown Prince nor the Emperor is as important to me as Sister Xiao Wu. I'd rather have nothing and stay here with Senior Sister forever. No matter what, I don't want to be separated from Senior Sister."

His palms were so warm that Xiao Wu was momentarily dazed.

She recalled the first time she met Li Zhi three years ago; he was a thin boy, but now he was a head taller than her.

"Why must Your Highness do this for me?"

“It’s not for my senior sister,” Li Zhi interrupted her, then roughly pushed her down onto the bed. “It’s for myself.”

The rain outside the window grew heavier, and a gust of wind extinguished the candlelight. Xiao Wu got up to close the window, but Li Zhi stopped him. In the darkness, their breaths mingled with the wind and rain, a scene full of springtime warmth.

"Senior Sister." His voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the sound of rain: "When I inherit the throne, I will definitely make you my empress."

Xiao Wu did not answer, but simply covered his snow-white body with the blanket: "Your Highness should go back now, as you need to get up early to study tomorrow."

Li Zhi didn't move, but instead reached into the clothes by the bedside and rummaged around: "This is for my senior sister."

The brocade pouch was made of fine Suzhou embroidery, with a pattern of twin lotus flowers embroidered on it. Xiao Wu took it, and his fingertips touched the contents of the pouch, and he was slightly taken aback.

“It’s the Ganoderma lucidum I picked that day. I kept a small piece.” Li Zhi’s voice carried a hint of pride: “My senior sister said that this Ganoderma lucidum can calm the mind and relieve anxiety.”

Xiao Wu held the brocade pouch, remaining silent for a long time. Only after Li Zhi got up, dressed, and left for his room did she gently open the pouch. Inside was indeed a small piece of lingzhi mushroom and a note with Li Zhi's familiar handwriting: "I wish to be the southwest wind, forever entering your embrace."

The handwriting is somewhat messy, suggesting it was written in a hurry.

Xiao Wu sighed softly, got up and tidied up. If her master's wife found out about the discord between her and Li Zhi tomorrow, both of them would be punished. She didn't care if she was punished, but she couldn't let him be punished as well.

However, she was really worried now. Although Li Zhi always reported good news and never bad news, judging from the frequency of letters from Chang'an and the recent rumors, the struggle there had probably reached a fever pitch, and Li Zhi was at the center of the storm.

Xiao Wu sighed deeply at this thought. She knew she came from a poor background, just a fallen young lady who had been kicked out of her home. But what about Li Zhi? He was not only of noble blood, but his parents were also the most powerful people in the world. He could speak so confidently now, but what about the future?

This worry brought tears to Xiaowu's eyes, as she fretted about her future, wondering if she would be kicked out of the house like her mother.

(End of this chapter)