Teahouse Daily Life (1)
Is it a lie that one doesn’t drink tea in the winter?
Inside Houshengtang, one winter day.
Today, the teahouse just closed for business. The three 『former』 shadow guards, having some free time, gathered to play cards.
“Ah, why did I lose again and again and again!”
When Ming Qin, after racking her brains and thinking hard to play what she thought was a perfect card, still lost to her senior sister, her face wrinkled like a bitter melon.
“Ah, Qinqin, thank you for letting me win.” Smiling cheekily, Song Shuqing reached out to the person with the bitter face in front of her and took a string of copper coins, “As expected, it’s easier to win from Qinqin. It’s not like Ah Yun, who plays so cautiously.”
“Naturally, one has to be careful when it involves money.” Cao Yun said lightly, stacking the cards on the table and dealing them again.
“Ugh… why can’t I win even once.” Ming Qin rubbed her temples in pain, took the cards in her hands again, frowned, and looked serious.
“Qinqin, don’t mind it. Winning and losing are common in battles. Just consider it a small subsidy for your senior sister… Oh no.” Glancing towards the door, Song Shuqing’s smug smile suddenly froze.
“Princess, Miss Zi Yan.” Cao Yun turned sideways, cupped his hands towards the two people, and then calmly continued to play his cards.
Hearing the man’s words, Ming Qin, who had her back to the door, turned and smiled brightly at the newcomer, “Yanyan, you’re back? Earlier than I thought. Did you not find the rouge you liked?”
She wanted to get up and offer her seat, but the white-haired woman waved her hand.
“It felt like it was going to rain, so I came back early.” Murong Yan came behind Ming Qin, gently placed her hand on the shadow guard’s shoulder, leaned over and encircled the seated person, “…Ah Qin, it’s better to play this card later.”
Surveying the cards in Ming Qin’s hand, the woman pointed with her free hand to the rightmost card.
“No!” Holding her head, Song Shuqing looked at her junior sister being guided by the princess with a look of despair.
Ziyan, who came in after, sighed helplessly as she watched the woman dramatically look up at the sky, “Lord Song, stop it.”
Like a child seeing their backbone, Song Shuqing clutched Zi Yan’s sleeve as if complaining, “Dear Zi Yan, look at them, this is so unfair.”
Ming Qin played the card on the right, tilted her head, and sincerely said, “Senior Sister, you can also ask Zi Yan for help. More people, more power!”
Song Shuqing looked longingly at her beloved, but received a helpless expression. The shadow guard could only turn to her senior brother, hoping to at least get some support, “Ah Yun… don’t you think this is unfair?”
“No.” Cao Yun calmly played his card, pausing before adding, “You just won six strings of copper coins from Qinqin, I think that’s more unfair.”
Rebuffed, Song Shuqing looked at the cards in her hand, mumbling, “Damn… the ATM is gone, gone.”
Sure enough, with Murong Yan’s guidance, after a few rounds, Song Shuqing had no choice but to 『return half of her winnings to their original owner』.
As Song Shuqing’s eyes went blank, repeatedly murmuring 『ATM… ATM…』, Zi Yan sighed, holding a tray of tea and interrupting their game, “Take a break, have some tea.”
“By the way.” Looking at the teapot, Cao Yun suddenly thought of something. He got up and took out a finely wrapped tea brick from the cabinet, “Here is some white tea, brought from the capital a few days ago.”
“Ah, was it sent by the person in the capital? We must try it then.” The previously dejected Song Shuqing straightened up, reaching for a plate of melon seeds from the table beside her, full of anticipation.
“So it was sent by Little Eleven? How thoughtful of him. Next time I see him, I must praise him for growing up.” Ming Qin put away the scattered cards, offered her seat to Murong Yan, and then fetched a stool for herself and Zi Yan.
ZiYan nodded in thanks, pouring the tea while asking in Song Shuqing’s ear, “Little Eleven? Is he a friend of Qinqin in the capital?”
Unable to resist smiling, Song Shuqing tilted her head and thought, “Hmm… indeed, only Qinqin can call him a friend.” Just as the woman beside her was about to pour tea into the porcelain cup, she suddenly spoke up, “After all, His Majesty the Emperor indeed has a good relationship with Qinqin.”
Zi Yan’s hand holding the teapot shook, spilling a few drops of tea.
His Majesty the Emperor?
The current emperor indeed was the eleventh prince.
But, is this a name that can be called so casually?
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Blinking, the woman was a bit panicked.
Unafraid of the heat, Song Shuqing took the overly full teacup, wiped the spilled tea on the table with her sleeve, and smiled to comfort her, “Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous, it’s okay.”
Just as the meticulous Cao Yun was about to hand the tea Zi Yan brewed to Murong Yan, Ming Qin suddenly remembered something and patted her leg, “Ah Yun, don’t give Yanyan tea.”
Seeing Cao Yun’s confused expression, Ming Qin added with certainty, “Yanyan said she doesn’t drink tea in winter.”
The others, hearing these words, were somewhat incredulous.
After all, everyone knew that Princess Chongwen was addicted to tea.
Murong Yan, whose hand was suspended in mid-air about to take the tea, paused, then suddenly chuckled helplessly, as if recalling something, “Qinqin, you really remember such things from so long ago.”
She withdrew her hand and no longer looked at the fine white tea sent from the capital, instead tidying the hair of the person beside her.
“Qinqin, are you sure your princess really doesn’t want to drink?” Song Shuqing raised an eyebrow, shaking the porcelain cup in her hand. “This tea is really good, you know.”
Tilting her head, Ming Qin repeated, “But? Yanyan said she doesn’t drink tea in winter.”
Without waiting for the others to react, Murong Yan turned her head and confirmed, her expression showing no flaw, “That’s right, I don’t drink tea in winter.”
Her tone was firm and decisive.
Song Shuqing snorted lightly, completely unconvinced, with a look that said, “What are you talking about?” She waved her hand dismissively and said boldly, “You big liar, don’t try to fool me. I clearly saw you just…”
Before she could finish her skeptical words, Zi Yan quickly stuffed a plum into her half-open mouth.
Seeing her normally sharp and agile beloved always courting trouble in front of the princess, Zi Yan felt exhausted.
Ignoring the wrinkled face of the shadow guard munching on the fruit, Murong Yan asked Cao Yun to pour her a cup of water, then calmly took a sip, avoiding Ming Qin, who was busy cracking sunflower seeds for her. Her gaze lightly swept across the others at the table.
Feeling a chill down their spines, everyone fell silent, and Zi Yan put the remaining tea bricks back into the wooden cabinet. She gestured to Murong Yan as Ming Qin got up to throw away the seed shells.
Murong Yan, drinking water, understood and nodded slightly.
They chatted idly until the rain outside gradually lessened, nearing dusk.
Feeling her hand on the leg of the person beside her being gently squeezed, Ming Qin returned the gesture, holding Murong Yan’s hand as she stood up and said, “It’s getting dark, we should go.”
“Won’t you wait a little longer? It’s still raining,” Zi Yan looked out the window with concern, trying to persuade them to stay.
Murong Yan didn’t show any extra expression, just tightened her grip on the hand she was holding. Ming Qin understood and shook her head, “No, we need to leave now.”
She tied a cloak around the shorter woman beside her, took the oil-paper umbrella handed by her senior brother, opened the door, and looked at the light rain outside. She turned back and waved to everyone, “We’ll go first.”
Opening the umbrella, holding Murong Yan’s waist, Ming Qin stepped into the rain.
Standing against the wind, shielding the person in her arms from the evening chill, the two walked unhurriedly.
“Yanyan…”
Drip drip.
Amidst the pitter-patter of raindrops, Ming Qin suddenly spoke.
“Is it a lie that Yanyan doesn’t drink tea in winter?”
Their steps remained in sync. Murong Yan looked straight ahead, her expression calm, “If it is a lie, would Qinqin be angry with me?”
“No.” Ming Qin shook her head vigorously, causing the hand holding the umbrella to sway slightly. She answered with certainty, “How could I ever be angry with Yanyan?”
“Really?” Murong Yan turned her head, her eyes hiding a smile, suddenly curious, “Then what would I have to do to make Qinqin angry with me?”
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“Hmm…” Struggling to think, Ming Qin furrowed her brows tightly and after a while shook her head firmly, “I can’t think of anything.”
“I can’t think of anything that would make me angry with Yanyan.”
“Even if I hurt you? Even if I ordered you to leave?” Murong Yan tested one scenario after another, “Even if… I decided to be with someone else, Qinqin… wouldn’t you be angry?”
Speaking the latter part, she turned to stare at the person beside her, her tone stiff, her eyes flashing with suppressed obsession and madness under the shadow.
“Hmm.” Ming Qin tightened her arm around the woman, still looking troubled, “But… when Yanyan hurts me, I never feel angry.”
As if remembering something, the shadow guard grinned foolishly, “When you scratch my back in bed, when you can’t help but bite me, I only find you adorable, I can’t possibly be angry.”
“If Yanyan ordered me to leave, I would leave…”
Her tone suddenly dropped. Ming Qin bit her lower lip, her eyes sneaking glances at Murong Yan’s face.
“But I would still follow you secretly, please don’t be mad at me. It’s just…” Fearing the woman’s displeasure at her disobedience, she hurriedly explained, “I just think it’s too dangerous for you to be alone. I wouldn’t be at ease. Yanyan needs my protection.”
Tilting her head to rub her sore eyes, Ming Qin continued, “If… if Yanyan found someone else, as long as that person is good, as long as they treat you well, then I… I would protect both of you.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded slowly, as if trying to convince herself like a child growing up.
Seeing the unwillingness in the shadow guard’s eyes, Murong Yan smiled silently and asked again, “What if the person is unworthy?”
Looking up, Ming Qin stared at the drizzle, her eyes suddenly clear like a torch being ignited in the gray rain mist.
“If that person is unworthy, hurts Yanyan, makes Yanyan sad…”
The shadow guard muttered, her killing intent rising, the raindrops at her feet seeming to scatter chaotically in a sudden wind, “I will personally execute them, no matter the time or place.”
“… No mercy.”
Immersed in surging killing intent, as if ready to draw her sword to break through the clouds and rain at any moment.
Ming Qin’s hand gripping the umbrella handle tightened uncontrollably, the bamboo making cracking sounds.
“Qinqin.”
Just as the torrent was about to erupt, Murong Yan spoke, her voice like a clear spring, “I wasn’t lying.”
“Hmm?” The fierce consciousness retracted, like a beast returning to its cage. Ming Qin blinked, making a puzzled grunt.
“I wasn’t lying about not drinking tea in winter.” The woman placed her hand on the umbrella handle, her palm pressing against the shadow guard’s hand. Her tone was firm.
After all, it was easier for her to act on her words to avoid disappointing Qinqin, turning the lie into truth effortlessly.
But it meant wasting the tea Zi Yan had reserved for her.
“Really?” Ming Qin, not minding the abrupt change in topic, grinned happily and bounced slightly, “I told you! Senior Sister didn’t believe me. Yanyan told me, and I never forget anything Yanyan says!”
“Yes, Qinqin didn’t remember wrong. Song Shuqing was confused.” Unhesitatingly shifting the blame to the absent woman, Murong Yan naturally spoke falsehoods.
(At this moment, on the teahouse roof, Song Shuqing, listening to Zi Yan play the guqing, sneezed repeatedly. Zi Yan, worried it was a cold, forced her to drink ginger soup to warm up, half coercing, half coaxing.)
The rain grew heavier, water droplets sliding down the slanted bamboo umbrella, forming a curtain of beads on Murong Yan’s side.
Discreetly peeking, Murong Yan noticed the shadow guard’s right shoulder exposed to the rain was soaked, the water stains spreading from her shoulder to her chest, while her own side was well protected, completely dry.
“Qinqin.”
She stopped, looking up and calling softly, “I can’t walk anymore, my legs hurt, carry me.”
Following the woman’s steps, Ming Qin stopped, “Indeed, the ground is too slippery, Yanyan must be struggling.”
Switching the umbrella to her other hand, the shadow guard unhesitatingly bent down to lift Murong Yan by the hips, letting her lean on her shoulder, “Leave the rest to me.”
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Holding the umbrella closer to herself to better shield the woman in her arms from the rain, Ming Qin’s pace was no longer slow. Despite the slippery road, she walked steadily with large strides.
Hugging Ming Qin’s neck, Murong Yan covered the shadow guard’s wet clothes with her wide sleeve. Even though the cold rain seeped into her originally dry sleeve, she didn’t mind.
As long as it could warm the umbrella holder a bit, as long as it could dry the shadow guard’s wet shoulder, she didn’t mind anything.
Oh…
Suddenly remembering something, Murong Yan sighed inwardly.
Since they were both wet, she could drag Qinqin to bathe together later, right?
Lying in Ming Qin’s arms, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, secretly planning.
Alright.
She didn’t completely disregard everything.
Some things.
She still had to care about.
LP: Re-translated on May 28, 2024
poor shuqing LMAO