Rumor Has It That I'm Pregnant with His Highness' Child

312 Handwrap Dumplings

Yu Niaoniao put on the mask again.

Perhaps because she had drunk too much, she walked unsteadily.

Xiao Juan had no choice but to hold her arm.

“Are you okay?”

Yu Niaoniao shook her head. “I don’t feel too good. The aftereffects of this wine are a little strong.”

This place was a little far from where they had parked their horses. They had to walk for a while.

Xiao Juan squatted down in front of her and turned his back to her.

“Come up. I’ll carry you.”

Yu Niaoniao did not hesitate and lay down.

She wrapped her arms around Xiao Juan’s neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Xiao Juan stood up with her on his back and walked forward steadily.

Many of the people who came to watch the lantern festival were young men and women. There was no lack of feelings between them, but they only exchanged gifts. At most, they held hands.

No one was as brazen as Yu Niaoniao and Xiao Juan.

Along the way, many pedestrians looked at Xiao Juan and Yu Niaoniao strangely.

Yu Niaoniao was secretly glad that she was wearing a mask. No one knew it was her.

As for Xiao Juan, he had never cared about what others thought. At this moment, he did not care at all.

They reached the place where the horses were parked.

Xiao Juan was worried about Yu Niaoniao riding alone, so on the way back, it became two people riding the same horse.

After returning to the Justice Department, Xiao Juan went to the kitchen to boil hot water so that Yu Niaoniao could take a bath.

Unexpectedly, Yu Niaoniao followed him to the kitchen.

Xiao Juan asked, “Why did you follow me?”

Yu Niaoniao rolled up her sleeves. “You didn’t eat much tonight. You’ll definitely be hungry. I’ll cook you something.”

There was still dough left over from the steamed buns for lunch in the kitchen.

She cut the dough into small pieces and rolled them into thin pieces. She wrapped placed in meat stuffing and wrapped it into a hand wrap.

She liked to eat spicy dumplings, but Xiao Juan’s stomach was not good and he could not eat spicy food. She used chicken soup to prepare the base and added seaweed, shrimp, egg slices, and cabbage. When it was out of the pot, she sprinkled some green onions.

A hot bowl of soup was ready.

Yu Niaoniao returned to the house with her hands. At this moment, Xiao Juan had already poured hot water into the bathtub.

Xiao Juan called her to take a bath. She called Xiao Juan over for supper.

Yu Niaoniao took a detour behind the screen, took off her clothes, and soaked in hot water. She narrowed her eyes in comfort. It felt too comfortable to eat and drink her fill before taking a hot bath.

Xiao Juan sat at the table and ate quietly.

He never once glanced over the screen.

But the occasional sound of water drilled uncontrollably into his ears.

He ate slower and slower. Hazy images gradually appeared in his mind. The protagonist of those images was the same person—Yu Niaoniao.

Xiao Juan felt very ashamed.

He forced himself not to think about things he shouldn’t.

After a while, the sound of water on the other side of the screen finally stopped.

Xiao Juan secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

He could finally be free.

However, in the next moment, he heard Yu Niaoniao exclaim.

“Ah!”

Xiao Juan stood up. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Niaoniao scrambled up from the ground and rubbed her knees.

“The water on the ground was too slippery. I accidentally fell just now.”

Xiao Juan wanted to see how she was, but he was worried that he would offend her. For a moment, he was in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

A moment later, Yu Niaoniao limped out from behind the screen, fully dressed.

Her long hair was down her back, her face was flushed, and her eyes were misty. She looked as if she had just been bullied. She was pitiful.

Xiao Juan quickly walked over to support her. “Where are you hurt?”

Yu Niaoniao pointed at her right foot. “I twisted her ankle.”

Xiao Juan helped her sit on the bed, then squatted down and held her ankle for a closer look.

“It’s a little swollen. I’ll get you some medicinal wine.”

“Yeah.”

Xiao Juan quickly brought over a bottle of medicinal wine.

He sat on the edge of the bed and placed Yu Niaoniao’s foot on his lap. The medicinal wine was rubbed hot in his palm. Then he smeared it on Yu Niaoniao’s ankle and rubbed it gently.

Yu Niaoniao trembled in pain.

...

Xiao Juan pressed her calf to stop her from moving.

“It’ll hurt a little at first. Just bear with it.”

Yu Niaoniao pursed her lips and nodded.

Because of the pain, her toes could not help but curl up. Her slender white calves were taut.

Xiao Juan did not dare to be too heavy-handed, but it was useless if he did not use any strength.

In order to control it well, he massaged it especially carefully the entire time.

When he was done, he was exhausted.

He placed Yu Niaoniao’s leg on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

“It’s getting late. Go to sleep.”

Yu Niaoniao turned to look at him. “What about you?”

Xiao Juan said, “I have to pour the bath water.”

...

He first took the water out of the bathtub and poured it out. At the same time, he sent the bowls and chopsticks on the table to the kitchen. Then, he washed up with the remaining hot water.

When he returned to his room, Yu Niaoniao was already asleep.

Xiao Juan lifted the blanket and lay down beside her.

Yu Niaoniao felt a familiar aura approach her and subconsciously leaned toward him.

Xiao Juan dodged back.

His body was still very cold and he did not want to freeze Yu Niaoniao.

In the end, his entire action woke Yu Niaoniao up.

She asked with half-open eyes, “Why are you dodging?”

Xiao Juan said, “I’m afraid of freezing you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t freeze.”

As Yu Niaoniao spoke, she reached out with her claws and held his large hand. Her own heat covered kept him warm.

She asked, “Were the handwrap dumplings tasty?”

Only then did Xiao Juan know that the thing he had just eaten was called handwrap dumplings.

“Delicious.”

Yu Niaoniao smiled. “When your stomach has healed, I’ll make you spicy ones in the future. Those would be even more fragrant.”

Xiao Juan agreed softly.

Yu Niaoniao asked again, “Do you know why I made handwrap dumplings for you?”

Xiao Juan said that he did not know.

Yu Niaoniao interlaced her fingers with his.

She smiled.

“Because I want to hold your hand.”

Xiao Juan held her hand tightly.

At this moment, there were a thousand things he wanted to say to her, but he did not know where to start.

When he finally figured out how to speak, he realized that the woman beside him had fallen asleep again.

Xiao Juan listened to her light and calm breathing and felt very helpless.

Forget it. He would talk about it later.

She woke up the next morning.

Yu Niaoniao realized that the man beside her had disappeared.

She was used to this.

Pan Dafu brought breakfast as usual. There were hot fresh meat stuffed buns and freshly cooked mung bean porridge.

Yu Niaoniao ate buns and ate porridge, thinking that it would be even better if there was another plate of pickled vegetables.

Thinking of pickled vegetables made her crave the dish.

She had not eaten pickled vegetables since she left Bashu.

Yu Niaoniao remembered that there were a lot of vegetables stored in the cellar of the Justice Department’s kitchen. Because it had been too long, many of the vegetables had already wilted. They did not taste good when cooked. This made them perfect for marinating with pickles.