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T/N: Thank you patrons for sponsoring this chapter.
Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir
Chapter 385 - Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you (2)
After Ning Yuxuan looked at that thin piece of wood, he shot her a glance and flashed her an insincere smile.
Ji Man had her gaze fixed on reading other people's poems.
---
The moonlight was very beautiful tonight. Ning Yuxuan and her were walking through a covered corridor and were passing by several guest rooms on their way back to their room. He had been mumbling to himself this entire way, and he finally couldn't resist asking, "Faithfulness to Buddha and faithfulness to you. Who exactly is your beloved?"
Ji Man looked at him disdainfully. Curling her lip, she said, "It's not you, marquis. You don't need to worry about it."
"Is that so?" Ning Yuxuan didn't get angry. He looked at the moonlight as he lightly said, "It's rumored that people that say one thing, but mean something else will be punished with the pain of five lightning bolts."
"Alright, let's have an extra fierce tempest come over here then.” Ji Man made a gesture as if she was hugging the sun, then she put her hands back down, yawned, and said, "Marquis, you can sleep on the floor tonight."
Ning Yuxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This type of place, I'll catch a cold if I sleep on the floor."
"I'll sleep on the floor then. I'm very healthy." Ji Man started making a bed for herself on the ground as soon as she entered the room.
"Do you dislike me that much?" Ning Yuxuan let out an extremely helpless sigh. "I wouldn't do anything to you."
The three big lies that men tell: I love you. She's only a friend. I wouldn't do something like that.
Ji Man rolled her eyes. With a slight smile, she said, "Marquis, this one is a restless sleeper and is worried about offending you. Please let me off."
Ning Yuxuan chuckled and really did lie down on the bed. He watched as Ji Man laid down two layers of cotton wadding on the floor, then she covered the layers with a thick quilt.
To be honest, the floor still felt a bit cold. However, since she had encountered an unchivalrous person like Ning Yuxuan, she didn't hold any hopes that he would be willing to switch with her. Anyways, it was fine as long as they were sleeping in different spots. The other aspects weren't important.
The two of them passed the night in silence.
---
When Ji Man woke up the next day, she was already in the bed.
Ning Yuxuan had his arms on top of her waist and shoulders. No wonder she had dreamed of the sky collapsing last night. Ji Man coldly looked at Ning Yuxuan, who was still asleep. She sat up and moved over him to get off the bed. After she was dressed in her outer robes, she opened the doors and all of the windows. The early morning wind blew into the room, and the cold air immediately woke up Ning Yuxuan.
"Why did you open everything?" He had been deeply asleep, and his eyes were a bit dazed. He actually looked sort of stupidly adorable.
Ji Man slightly smiled. "Marquis, it's time for you to wake up. Don't we still have to go down the mountain today?"
Ning Yuxuan rolled over to face her. He pouted and asked, "Do you not like this place?"
Why would she like a temple? Ji Man really couldn't relate. "I like my home more."
Ning Yuxuan's gaze didn't find a focus point for a long time. He dimly said, "I though this place was pretty good when I came here last time. It's far from the secular world. Problems can't find me here."
"That's just running away from your problems." Ji Man insincerely smiled. "Someone of your position can't escape from his responsibilities. Marquis, you should be going back. There's definitely a lot of work waiting for you."
If they went back, she would be living far away from him and have to deal with merchants every day. She looked exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes were getting worse.
Ning Yuxuan lightly harrumphed. "It's so rare for us to come out. Let's stay here a little longer. Oh, by the way, I heard that Huainan's autumn harvest is pretty good this year. Although there were a lot of places that had a poor harvest this year, there were also a lot places that had a bumper harvest. The imperial court will also be releasing grain soon, so the price for it will become stabilized. How much grain do you have left?"
He was actually showing concern about her business? Ji Man pursed her lips and honestly answered, "I already rushed to sell off my original stock when the timing was right. The imperial court will be taking part of the autumn harvest, but there will still be enough supply left for me to buy and resell for a several of months without having to worry."
"En." Ning Yuxuan nodded. "So, let's go back tomorrow."
Tomorrow? Ji Man furrowed her brow. She had thought that this trip would only take a day and a night, so she had already made plans to have a meal with Director Tang. The competition in the rice market had been fierce lately, so she naturally had to ensure that her connections with those in higher positions were good by giving them gifts.
The smile on Marquis Moyu was put away, and he was very serious as he asked her, "Is there a problem?"
Ji Man shook her head. If she compared him and Director Tang, it would obviously be worse to offend him.
---
Ji Man was happy about getting an extra day off from having to look at accounts. She listened on as the group of men from Tonghua Poetry Association occasionally chatted about state affairs.
At noon, everyone felt that eating a vegetarian meal wouldn't be flavorful enough, so the group decided that they would go out to hunt some wild animals and eat roasted meat outside of the temple. Of course, this work would fall onto the men.
As a "man", Ji Man obediently carried a bow and arrows as she followed after Marquis Moyu.
There were wild rabbits on the mountain, and Ning Yuxuan shot an arrow through a rabbit's head on his first try.
Seeing this sight, Ji Man was startled. Her brow was deeply furrowed.
"Why are you making that face?" Ning Yuxuan curled his lip and said, "Don't tell me that you feel sympathetic towards your food. It's not like you're a woman."
Ji Man took the rabbit and put into a bag. She murmured, "I don't."
"Good." Ning Yuxuan saw another rabbit. As he raised the bow and aimed it, he said to her, "You have to be ruthless towards your opponent. If you show kindness, you'll be that one that's hungry."
Was he giving her a lesson? Ji Man scoffed. Of course, she already knew this.
---
When they descended the mountain and should have split off to go to their respective homes, Ning Yuxuan asked, "How about we go to Ji Rice Store to have a meal?"