CH 96

With the spring breeze blowing on their face, both Ming Zhu and Zhao Xin got a little tired.

Ming Zhu’s dress, which has been wet by the water lake, was gradually being dried by the wind.

Zhao Xin’s maidservant urged her again, “Princess, we really have to go back.”

Zhao Xin was reluctant to part with Ming Zhu, she went forward and held Ming Zhu in a hug, she said, “You absolutely must come to my birthday, I’ve already told my big brother about it.”

Ming Zhu nodded her head and said yes.

Ming Zhu accompanied her to the door and watched her get into the carriage, with some reluctance in her eyes.

The shift between seasons always brought along fatigue, she had not rested after noon today and now her eyelids were already unable to resist the fatigue.

Ming Zhu went back to her room to take a nap. When she woke up, it was almost dark outside. The golden light of the setting sun was hiding behind the clouds as the branches outside the window were rustling under the spring breeze.

She only closed her eyes for an hour, but it felt like she had slept for a very long period.

Occasionally, she still had those same dreams, over and over.

Inside the dreams, there was only Zhao Zhi, she wasn’t there.

The Zhao Zhi inside the dream looked much more unfamiliar than the one she knew.

In fact, there were many things she couldn’t remember clearly, her memory was gradually getting blurred, she only remembered the things that most oppressed her heart.

After several years of being torn apart, her heart had now gradually calmed down.

All the countless “why ?” in the end turned into “let’s forget it.”

She didn’t want to be miserable, and she wasn’t going to love him again.

Ming Zhu got up and stretched. She went to the window and, as she opened it, the sweet and pure fragrance of  pear blossoms on the trees in the courtyard assailed her nose. Ming Zhu said to Biying, “I feel like eating pears.”

Biying laughed, “How can there be pears at this time of year?”

Ming Zhu nodded, “Mmh, but I’m craving for it.”

“Miss, don’t be anxious, although you can’t eat pears, but soon you will be able to eat peaches.”

Juicy peaches were also very sweet to the taste, they would make people salivate, with their abundant juice and soft flesh.

Ming Zhu also liked to eat peaches, she even liked to use peach blossoms to make her scented pouches, she absolutely loved its rich and sweet fragrance.

She just couldn’t wait to eat peaches.

When it turned completely dark outside, Zhao Zhi came over to have dinner together.

Ming Zhu didn’t notice anything wrong with the man and lowered her head to eat. She had just eaten two bites when she heard Zhao Zhi ask a maidservant for a warm a pot of wine.

Ming Zhu was a little surprised, “You’re going to drink wine?”

He was not a good drinker.

His drunken state, Ming Zhu still remembered it to this day.

Zhao Zhi poured himself a cup of wine and said in a light voice, “Mmh, it’s a wine that was gifted by Wei Liu a few days ago.”

Ming Zhu, who hardly ever drank wine, swallowed her saliva when she smelled the aroma coming from the wine cup, she looked at him with bright eyes as she asked, “Can I have some?”

Zhao Zhi smiled faintly, “It was originally meant for you to drink.”

He personally poured her half a cup, Ming Zhu picked it up and gently took a sip, the taste of it was mild, a little alcohol was mixed into the peach fragrance.

Ming Zhu couldn’t help but take two more sips. Whenever she drank, it very easily showed on her face, thus it didn’t take long for her face to start reddening.

Ming Zhu stopped drinking after just a taste, instead, Zhao Zhi drank two more cups.

Ming Zhu vaguely felt like the man sitting across her was emitting some kind of faint loneliness from his body, a kind of sorrow that couldn’t be expressed with words.

She didn’t know what was wrong with him.

Zhao Zhi calmly looked at her face. With the passage of time, there might be many things he didn’t remember clearly anymore, but to this day he still remembered clearly Ming Zhu’s dazzling smile as she stood in that lake.

Its sweetness reached the bottom of his heart.

Zhao Zhi wanted to see her smiling without reserve at him, but unfortunately a melon picked up forcefully wasn’t sweet, although she was now willing to smile at him, but most of those smiles were forced, false and contrived.

Only in the corners where he could not see, would she open up her heart to others.

Ming Zhu didn’t want to take care of a drunken him, despite him being well-behaved when he was drunk, but it was difficult to handle. She kindly advised him, “Your Highness, although this wine tastes good, you shouldn’t drink too much.”

Zhao Zhi lowly hummed and, just like that, calmly put down the glass in his hand.

Seeing him listening so well, Ming Zhu began to wonder whether or not he was already drunk.

She chose to remain silent.

Zhao Zhi served himself more wine when she wasn’t paying attention, tilted his head and drank it all in one go.

Ming Zhu sighed, he indeed would get drunk as soon as he drank a sip.

She watched him quietly.

Zhao Zhi frowned and suddenly said to her, “Zhu Zhu, smile at me.”

Ming Zhu curled up the corners of her mouth, trying to give him the best-looking smile she could.

Zhao Zhi shook his head, “No.”

“Not that kind of smile.”

Ming Zhu was quite at as loss as to what to do, she asked seriously, “What should it be like then?”

Zhao Zhi couldn’t describe it, but anyway it wasn’t a smile like the one she was forcing out now.

He couldn’t help but reach out and poke her cheek, “Anyway, it’s not like this.”