The difference between a good wine and a bad wine was the taste and the headache after a hangover.
The wine he drank with Chang yesterday was his treasure. He didn't even want to let Xiao Zhu experiment with it. When he woke up in the morning, he only had a slight headache.
Xiao Huan wet the towel and walked over to help him wipe his face.
Li Yi took the towel from her hand and said, "I'll do it myself."
He wiped his face. Xiao Huan took the towel from his hand and put it back in the basin. She turned and walked out.
When he put on his clothes and got out of bed, he felt that something was wrong.
It wasn't the first time he had this feeling. Ever since he came back from Cangzhou, he felt that something was different. But when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't remember what it was.
He sat at the table and frowned. This feeling made him very uncomfortable.
He woke up late this morning. Ruyi and the others had already finished breakfast. Xiao Huan brought the heated food in, put it on the table and walked out.
Li Yi picked up the chopsticks. Halfway through, his expression froze. He knew where the difference came from.
Quiet, too quiet.
In the past, when he woke up, Xiao Huan would stand by the bed and hand him a towel. When he wiped his face, she would tell him about the new things that happened between the maids in the fu.
When he ate, Xiao Huan would sit beside him or across from him. She would hold her chin with one hand or both hands and watch him eat in a daze. When he found out, she would smile foolishly and her eyes curved into crescent moons.
When he was writing in the study, she stood by the side to grind the ink. After she was done, she walked behind him, put her hands behind her back, and tiptoed to see what he was writing, even though she didn't recognize many of the words …
Not anymore.
She would still hand him a hot towel in the morning, but she wouldn't sit across from him when he ate. When he was in the study, she would grind the ink and leave by herself for fear of disturbing him.
Several times, Li Yi saw her sitting alone in the courtyard in a daze. Xiao Huan used to be in a daze, but it was rare for her to be in a daze for several hours like recently.
Li Yi felt a little guilty. Ever since he arrived in Shu Zhou three years ago, he had been tossing and turning in the Chaotic Land and the Wu Kingdom. He rarely had any free time …
She loved to listen to him tell stories. How long had it been since he last sat in the courtyard and let her massage his shoulders while he told her a story?
It was so long ago that he could no longer remember it clearly.
Xiao Huan's significance to him, was irreplaceable, Xiao Cui could not, Xiao Zhu could not, even Ruyi and Ruyi could not.
When he first came to this world, when he was at his most hesitant and helpless, the one who was always by his side, was actually not Ruyi, nor was it Ruyi, the Xiao Huan at that time, was still a silly and adorable little maid, only knew how to circle around him, liked to listen to his stories, liked to eat the food he cooked …
She was always chattering and seemed to have endless things to say. When did she become so reticent?
Ruyi walked in from outside and sat beside him. She said softly, "Hubby."
Li Yi raised his head. She looked over and asked, "Hubby, do you know what day it is tomorrow?"
"21st March."
21st March, was not his and Ruyi's wedding anniversary, nor was it Ruyi's birthday, nor was it Ruyi's birthday. 21st March … was Xiao Huan's birthday.
Li Yi's face was full of regret. If it wasn't for Ruyi's reminder, he actually forgot about Xiao Huan's birthday.
Ruyi saw the expression on his face and knew that he had remembered. She looked at him and said softly, "After this birthday, Xiao Huan will be twenty years old."
Li Yi sighed softly, "Little maid has grown up …"
"Xiao Huan is concubine's Tong Fang maid. Concubine knows hubby felt that Xiao Huan was too young but after today, she will be twenty years old. If a Tong Fang maid is not a Tong Fang maid, she will be an ordinary maid. Others might not dare to say it openly but what would they think of her …" Ruyi looked at him, shook her head and said, "These things, Xiao Huan will not tell hubby, hubby yourself will not think of it …"
Li Yi's eyes were slightly dazed. In his memory, the little maid was always that little maid with two buns or a bun on her head, swaying around in front of him.
He did not realise that Li Duan was already four years old, Yong Ning had already grown into a young lady. In a few more months, even if it was measured by the future generation's standards, Shouning would be considered an adult …
Little maid, actually was not a little maid for a long time …
…
Xiao Cui had just coaxed Li Mu to sleep and walked back to the courtyard that belonged to her, Xiao Zhu and Xiao Huan. Xiao Zhu was packing things in the room. She walked in to take a look and came out again. She asked Xiao Huan who was sitting in the courtyard in confusion, "Xiao Huan, we will be leaving in a few days, why haven't you packed yet — what are you doing here, eating melon seeds?"
"Young master likes to eat, but he doesn't like to eat, I am peeling some for young master." Xiao Huan turned around and smiled, "You guys pack first, I have nothing to pack, I will be done an hour before we leave."
Xiao Cui looked at the bowl of melon seeds in front of her and her scratched fingers. She grabbed Xiao Cui's hand and said angrily, "Are you stupid? Your hand is already like this, why are you still peeling!"
Xiao Huan pulled her hand back, her eyes curved, smiled and said, "It's okay …"
"You!"
Although Xiao Huan was usually so gentle, but when it came to things, Xiao Cui could never be stubborn. She went back to the room angrily, looked outside and said discontentedly, "You say, why is this girl so stubborn!"
Xiao Zhu came over, sighed and said, "She is stubborn for a long time, instead of worrying about Xiao Huan, it is better to worry about ourselves, Xiao Huan is much luckier than us …"
…
"Did you guys hear, Prince and Princess are going out again …"
"I heard, I heard, I heard from Sister Xiao Zhu and Sister Xiao Cui, this time they will be out for a long time, I really envy Sister Xiao Zhu and Sister Xiao Cui, they follow Second Madam and Third Madam, they bring them everywhere …"
"They are the servant girls of Second Madam and Third Madam, they will serve them in bed in the future, they are not the same as us …"
"That is not necessarily true, look at Sister Xiao Huan, she is the Princess's servant girl, she has been with Prince for a long time, she has not been taken in as a concubine yet, you guys guess, could it be that Prince does not like her …"
"I think it is possible, Xiao Huan is not like Sister Xiao Zhu and Sister Xiao Cui, she looks silly, how could Prince like her …"
"All of you shut up!"
…
There was Gyeong Of Silla in the capital, Gyeong Of Silla in Ruyi City, and Gyeong Of Silla in Shu Province. When he left the capital, he left some servant girls to look after the house, took some with him, and left some in Shu Province. In Ruyi City, the servant girls in the house, only a few had been by his side since he was in the capital, the rest were new recruits.
The one who spoke harshly at this time was a servant girl called "Xiao Qing".
When she was in the capital, she worked in the Prince's house, and in this Ruyi City, she was also the head servant of the house, a small housekeeper. Among the servant girls, her position was only below that of Xiao Huan and the other two.
At this moment, her face was full of anger, looking at the two chatting servant girls, she said angrily, "What have I usually taught you, is this something you can say?"
Perhaps it was because Xiao Qing's usual amiable image had been deeply ingrained in people's hearts, one of the servant girls pouted and said, "Sister Xiao Qing, we are not wrong …"
"That's right, that Xiao Huan looks silly …" The other person also chimed in.
"You …" Xiao Qing raised her eyebrows and was about to reprimand, but suddenly looked behind the crowd, bowed and said, "Prince …"
Li Yi looked indifferently at the two servant girls in the crowd, waved his hand and said, "Pack your things today, go back to where you came from …"
The two of them paled and knelt on the ground with a thud, "Prince …"
Li Yi waved his hand. "Let's go, before I change my mind …"
Hearing this, the two of them trembled and broke out in a cold sweat, immediately got up and left in a hurry.
The other servant girls' faces were also slightly pale. They knew that when Prince said that he did not change his mind, he did not mean that he would forgive them. Criticizing behind their backs was a big taboo for them as servants, in those big clans, it was a taboo …
No one expected that Prince, who was usually amiable and did not speak harshly to anyone, would be so angry just because they said a few bad words about Miss Xiao Huan …
Li Yi glanced at the maidservants. Although his gaze was gentle, everyone shuddered when they thought of the two sentences he had said in such a calm manner.
…
Third year of Jingping, 21st of March.
This was a very ordinary day, Li Yi sat in the study, looking at a map of the Qi Kingdom.
Xiao Huan pushed the door open and came in, placed a small bag on the table, and said softly, "Young Master, I peeled some melon seeds, there is no skin, you should eat it soon, it will not taste good after a long time …"
"Okay." Li Yi nodded.
"Young Master, remember to eat, I will go down first." Xiao Huan smiled sweetly, turned around, a trace of undetectable disappointment appearing on her face.
This trace of disappointment quickly turned into a smile, she sniffed and walked out of the study.
She only took one step, and then she could not take another step.
Because Li Yi grabbed her hand.
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