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Turtle Prime Minister took Lin Xiao from Lin Qingmo's arms. Lin Qingmo clutched the large sleeve of Turtle Prime Minister, her voice trembling with tears as she pleaded, "Turtle Prime Minister, you must save him! Save him!" A string of "save him" left Turtle Prime Minister momentarily speechless. After a long pause amidst her earnest words, he finally managed to find a small opening to respond, "I will save him, Crown Princess." He hesitated for a moment, his gaze dropping before lifting it again as he added, "Crown Princess, you should return to the palace. It’s best if the Crown Prince doesn’t know about this."
Lin Qingmo glanced at Lin Xiao's pale face, which resembled a piece of white silk, and numbly replied, "I understand."
Having held Lin Xiao and witnessed the brutal deaths of Lin San and Lin Liu, both Lin Qingmo and Xi'er were stained with blood and reeked of its metallic scent. According to Xi'er, Ao Yan might not have returned yet, but Lin Qingmo remained cautious and took Xi'er to the hot springs for a bath. Fortunately, there were spare clothes in the changing room, though they were just bathrobes. After their bath, Xi'er was extremely hungry and didn’t wait for Clam Spirit to serve dinner; she went to the kitchen alone to eat. Lin Qingmo was also starving but found it inconvenient to move around in a bathrobe. He decided to return to his chambers to change clothes. To his surprise, Ao Yan had already returned.
Ao Yan sat at the table, bowing his head as he drank soup. Two Clam Spirit maids stood on either side of him. A steaming soup basin sat on the table beside a small white porcelain bowl. After finishing his soup, one Clam Spirit maid filled the bowl again while another continued serving from the basin.
One Clam Spirit maid noticed Lin Qingmo first; she greeted him with a bow, saying, "Crown Princess." The other maid followed suit with a slightly delayed greeting. Ao Yan's eyes lit up as he jumped from his seat and rushed over to Lin Qingmo with a cheerful smile, taking his hand and saying, "Wife, wife." Lin Qingmo's heart raced wildly at the proximity of Ao Yan and Lin Xiao; fear gripped him as he turned away from Ao Yan's gaze and looked at the small bowl on the table instead. "You... you’re back? No, where did you go today?"
Ao Yan squeezed Lin Qingmo's hand as if kneading dough in his palm before placing it against his chest. He gazed at him as if they hadn’t seen each other for years. Fearing that Ao Yan would see through his secret, Lin Qingmo pulled his hand away and said, "I’m hungry." One Clam Spirit maid immediately responded, "I’ll prepare dinner for the Crown Princess." Another maid asked Ao Yan, "Your Highness, will you finish this soup?" Ao Yan glanced at the remaining half bowl of soup; he hesitated but then picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go before the Clam Spirit maid retreated with her tray.
Ao Yan grew bolder; he wrapped an arm around Lin Qingmo’s waist and pulled him onto his lap. He kissed Lin Qingmo’s hand gently and asked, "Where did my wife go just now?" Having never lied before, Lin Qingmo felt blank at Ao Yan's question. After a moment of silence, he managed to say, "I was playing in the back hall with Xi'er." Ao Yan caressed the back of his hand while staring intently at him. But that gaze felt like it penetrated through Lin Qingmo’s very being, making him increasingly uneasy.
Dinner included a plate of braised chicken legs and a plate of roasted pork tenderloin. Ao Yan picked up one of the chicken legs and said, "This morning I went to Linhai Town. I saw you were still sleeping when I left; I didn’t want to wake you." In truth, he thought to himself that while he didn’t want to disturb her sleep, he feared that waking her would mean she would want to accompany him. Halfway there, seeing Lin Family Village would only stir up homesickness.
As he brought the chicken leg to his mouth, Lin Qingmo lowered his head and took a big bite. The initial panic began to subside. Leaning close to Lin Qingmo’s ear, Ao Yan whispered softly, "I bought many things; let’s look at them together when we get into bed later." Lin Qingmo kept his head down and focused on eating without responding. However, his ears felt as if they were steaming hot and flushed red.
After dinner, Ao Yan went to take a bath while Lin Qingmo lay on the bed staring blankly at the canopy above. After some time had passed without Ao Yan returning—a rather unusual occurrence—he turned onto his side and slipped his hand under the covers for warmth. The heat only added to his restlessness. He thought about lulling Ao Yan to sleep before going to check on Lin Xiao.
While under the covers, his hand brushed against something hard and cool; pulling it out revealed a large book with a colorful cover adorned with clusters of chrysanthemums as big as bowls. In white lettering across it read: Thousand Blooms of Chrysanthemums Open.
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