At dusk, the sweat on the girl’s face gleamed with a honeyed glow under the orange sunset.
Yan Shi sat up from the ground, his gaze quickly scanning the loose bandages wrapped around his body before lifting his eyes to look at Li Mianyu.
His eyes were calm and clear.
He looked at her without saying a word, then slowly nodded.
Li Mianyu exhaled in relief.
Feeling that sitting on the ground was rather undignified, she planned to stand up.
But at that moment, Yan Shi had already awakened.
She no longer had to worry about him dying, but the pain she had ignored in her foot that morning suddenly surged—threatening to consume her entirely.
The pain was unbearable.
Tears welled up instantly in her eyes.
She lowered her head to look at her foot.
Her shoe had vanished somewhere during her sleep—she had no idea where she’d kicked it off.
She wasn’t wearing socks, only the bandages Yan Shi had wrapped around her foot, which were stained with a little blood.
Seeing the bloodstain made Li Mianyu dizzy again.
Then she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything all day, and she felt weak and powerless.
She looked at her Dark Guard with some grievance.
“I haven’t eaten all day. I don’t have the strength to walk anymore.”
Yan Shi’s complexion was much better than in the morning, no longer pale.
Supporting himself with his hands on the ground, he stood up.
He took two quick steps forward, bent down, and slipped his long, strong arm under Li Mianyu’s knees, easily lifting her up in his arms.
Naturally, Li Mianyu placed her hands around her Dark Guard’s neck.
Her black hair swayed in the curve of his arm.
A breeze blew a few strands onto Yan Shi’s face.
Yan Shi instinctively glanced down at Li Mianyu.
Her face still held that slight grievance as she looked down at her foot.
He followed her gaze.
Her long skirt hid her legs, revealing only those two bandaged feet, wrapped up like little bundles and stained with blood.
They looked painful just to see.
Yan Shi bent down and picked up Li Mianyu’s embroidered shoe, then carried her back into the dormitory. The bamboo bed was empty.
He turned to the table, intending to place Li Mianyu on the long bench first, but then he saw the loquats and cakes laid out there.
There were several wild loquat trees on the Back Mountain of the Southern Pure Temple.
This was the season for them to ripen, and the Abbot often picked them as offerings.
As for the cakes, they were corn cakes the Abbot frequently made as offerings.
These things shouldn’t have been here.
Yan Shi looked down at the person in his arms.
The young man’s handsome face was calm, his bright eyes slightly raised in curiosity.
Li Mianyu also noticed the Offering on the table.
Her face flushed red, and she struggled a bit in Yan Shi’s arms.
“Put me down!”
Yan Shi gently placed Li Mianyu on the long bench but kept his gaze on the Offering.
Li Mianyu’s cheeks remained flushed, but her brow furrowed.
“I don’t know where these came from. I was too weak to resist when you held me and I fell asleep. Maybe the Abbot returned and left them.”
She feigned ignorance but clenched her sleeve tightly.
She wouldn’t let her Dark Guard know that she—a Princess—had gone to take the Offerings.
Yan Shi lowered his head, picked up a loquat, and said thoughtfully, “Maybe it’s the Blessing of the Buddha.”
Li Mianyu relaxed.
“Yes, it must be.”
Yan Shi’s dark eyes lifted to look at Li Mianyu again.
With his black eyes and red lips, his focused stare was piercing, making her nervous.
Fortunately, Yan Shi quickly withdrew his gaze, took the loquat, and left.
When he returned, he held a bowl.
The loquats had been washed, peeled, and placed inside.
He handed the bowl to Li Mianyu, who looked at the yellow-orange fruit flesh, her mouth watering, and eagerly accepted it.
From yesterday until now, everything had happened so suddenly.
It was only now that Li Mianyu truly felt starving and thirsty, but…
She only looked at her own hands and quietly said, “My hands are so dirty, and I haven’t brushed my teeth or rinsed my mouth yet.”
She stretched out her hand for Yan Shi to see.
Yan Shi looked at the ten pale, delicate fingers extended before him but said nothing.
He went back out and soon returned carrying a wooden bucket and basin.
Li Mianyu recognized the bucket as the one she had accidentally dropped into the Well.
She didn’t know how Yan Shi had managed to retrieve it.
Thinking about Yan Shi fetching the bucket, she guessed he must have known it was she who dropped it into the Well.
Her face flushed.
She glanced up at him nervously.
Yan Shi noticed her gaze.
Li Mianyu quickly looked away, watching as Yan Shi brought the water toward her.
\There was no basin and no bath beans.
Yan Shi set the wooden basin below and began to pour water…though a bit wildly, Li Mianyu was stunned for a moment, then extended her hands under the flow.
The Well water fell gently, clear and cool.
She cupped the water, carefully washing her fingers, then used it to rinse her mouth and face.
She wanted to use a handkerchief to dry, but remembered the undershirts and other items in her Imperial Pouch and felt embarrassed to ask Yan Shi to fetch them. Instead, she let her face stay wet and lightly shook her hands.
Only then did Li Mianyu pick up a loquat, about to put it in her mouth.
But she thought: since this was “taken” from the Buddha, it should be for Yan Shi to eat.
Would the Buddha be angry if she ate it first?
She handed the loquat to Yan Shi.
“You eat first.”
Yan Shi thought it was a Princess’s custom to have someone taste the food first, so he took it and popped it in his mouth.
“How is it?”
Li Mianyu asked immediately.
Yan Shi paused for a moment.
His bright, dark eyes looked at her.
“Not bad.”
Li Mianyu then took another and bit into it, but within seconds, tears streamed down her face.
The sourness was overwhelming.
Her eyes and nose crinkled tightly.
She looked at Yan Shi with watery eyes.
But Yan Shi had already turned away, heading to the wardrobe.
He took out a black martial robe, tied up the loose bandages on his body a bit, then wore the robe.
Afterward, he fetched a clean sheet and duvet cover, spread them on the bamboo bed, and went outside to pick up some bedding, shaking it vigorously before bringing it inside.
He changed the sheets and made the bed neat and tidy in no time.
Yan Shi carried the dirty bedsheet he had taken off and the outer robe Li Mianyu had dropped to the floor and was about to leave again when Li Mianyu, now recovering from the sourness of the loquat, hurriedly called out, “Where are you going?”
“To the Kitchen to get something to eat, then to the Back Mountain’s spring to fetch some spring water.”
His voice was like striking metal, crisp and clean.
Li Mianyu bit her lip.
She didn’t want Yan Shi to go too far, but her foot hurt badly and she couldn’t walk the mountain path anymore.
She hesitated, unable to speak immediately.
Yan Shi looked at her.
“It’s very close. I’ll be back soon.”
Before she could reply, her stomach growled loudly.
So unladylike, and her face flushed again.
She tried to act unaffected, straightening her back naturally.
“Then you go ahead.”
Only then did Yan Shi leave.
As soon as he was gone, Li Mianyu slumped back down, rubbing her stomach.
She looked at the remaining loquats in the bowl, unable to eat another bite, and then at the corn cakes, which looked too dry to swallow.
Besides, these were meant for her Dark Guard; it was better to wait until Yan Shi brought her something to eat.
Yan Shi was very familiar with the temple kitchen.
When he pushed open the door, the Abbot had apparently been away for the past two days.
The kitchen was spotless, without dust, and the rice jar was half full.
He rummaged around and found some rice and flour.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
The temple didn’t have meat.
After some thought, he washed the rice and cooked it, then took a wooden bucket and went to the Back Mountain spring.
When he returned, he carried the wooden bucket filled with fresh spring water in one hand, and in the other, two plucked and gutted wild mountain chickens.
At the stove, he also took out a few wild chicken eggs from his chest.
Li Mianyu sat on the long bench with nothing to do, her hunger growing.
She stretched her neck and stared out the door, wondering why Yan Shi was taking so long.
At first, she just muttered silently in her heart.
But as time passed, she became restless, her mind racing, worrying if Yan Shi had fainted again or if those chasing her had come back and were fighting with Yan Shi.
Outside, she wanted to find her Dark Guard.
Her hands clenched tightly.
After waiting a while longer, she was about to get up and look for him.
Just then, a fragrant aroma drifted in from outside.
Li Mianyu felt she had never smelled anything so fragrant in her life.
She inhaled deeply, her eyes instantly brightening.
She stretched her neck to see a young Dark Guard carrying a tray, walking steadily toward her, bathed in the sunset.
Li Mianyu swallowed secretly but maintained her Princess’s poise.
Before he stepped inside, she pulled back her neck, then, as if just noticing the sound, gently tilted her head and softly said, “What did you make? It smells so good.”
Her almond-shaped eyes glistened with tiny stars as she looked at him, shimmering faintly.
Yan Shi paused, then walked over and set the tray on the table.
“Caught two wild mountain chickens on the Back Mountain, and picked a few eggs.”
Li Mianyu eagerly looked at the tray.
She had never seen a bowl this big and battered, almost as large as a basin.
The rim was chipped, and it was filled with red-braised chicken pieces.
A few peeled eggs stewed together were faintly visible, along with two large bowls of rice.
The rice was yellowish, unlike the white rice she was used to eating.
Li Mianyu hesitated, staring at the rice.
Yan Shi picked up a tea bowl on the table, rinsed it with spring water from the tea pot, then poured a bowl for Li Mianyu.
He said clearly, “The temple is humble. We usually eat coarse rice and cornmeal.”
Li Mianyu nodded, blushing for not recognizing coarse rice before.
She accepted the rough tea bowl.
Though very thirsty, Li Mianyu still sipped carefully in small mouthfuls.
When she finished, she lifted her head and smiled softly, her eyes bright.
“Yan Shi, this water is sweet. Have you drunk it?”
The young man looked at her and nodded.
Seeing him still standing nearby, Li Mianyu gestured to the side.
“Sit.”
Only then did Yan Shi sit down beside her, placing a large bowl of rice and wooden chopsticks in front of Li Mianyu.
She looked at the bowl, bigger than her face.
“I can’t eat this much.”
Yan Shi said, “Princess, eat first. If you don’t finish, there’s still me.”
Li Mianyu was taken aback.
She never let Qingling eat her leftovers, and naturally hadn’t thought to let her Dark Guard eat leftovers either.
She wanted to move some rice to his bowl, but upon closer inspection, Yan Shi’s bowl was even bigger than hers, piled high like a small mountain.
Li Mianyu inhaled the aroma of the chicken again and, forgetting everything else, picked up a piece with her chopsticks.
She was so moved that her eyes grew wet.
She had never eaten such delicious chicken in the Imperial Palace.
She ate well, though hungry, taking small, slow bites.
Yan Shi watched her but didn’t understand why tears welled up in her eyes.
Did he cook badly?
Li Mianyu ate a tender piece of chicken, then looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
“Delicious.”
She lowered her head to eat some rice, but the moment it touched her tongue, she paused for a long time before continuing to chew and swallow.
She touched her throat, feeling as if she had just eaten grit—it was so rough, her throat ached as she swallowed.
“This rice is so coarse and hard.”
Li Mianyu finally shed real tears.
Yan Shi was silent, then looked up at her.
“The temple only has this.”
Li Mianyu had been doted on by the Emperor since childhood.
When in the Imperial Palace, Qingling responded to her every request, and whatever she didn’t want to do simply wasn’t done.
She had never tasted hardship before.
But now, holding the chopsticks, she couldn’t find words for a long while.
Just the thought that even Qingling Nanny might not get to eat this kind of food made it impossible for her to stubbornly refuse.
She lowered her head and was silent, taking another bite of rice, chewing slowly before swallowing again.
When she looked up, her face was wet once more.
“It’s…not bad.”
Just bear with it for now.
When she returned to the Imperial Grandfather’s side, everything would be just like before.
Li Mianyu picked up an egg, but before biting it, she noticed Yan Shi sitting quietly beside her, not touching his chopsticks.
She had wanted to share but hesitated at the last moment.
There was no separate dish for sharing; she had never put her chopsticks in the same bowl as another person.
Yan Shi read the hesitation on her face.
“Princess, you eat first.”
Li Mianyu blushed but said nothing more and buried her head in her food.
She ate for a long time.
The chicken bowl was only a little emptier, and the rice just a small portion less.
Li Mianyu subconsciously reached for a handkerchief to wipe her mouth but realized it was all in her Imperial Pouch.
She held back and looked at Yan Shi.
“I’m done using this.”
Only then did Yan Shi move his chopsticks.
He was just a teenager, a few years older than Li Mianyu, still growing.
His movements weren’t rough but he ate very quickly.
Li Mianyu watched in amazement as her Dark Guard devoured the food like a whirlwind.
The mountain of rice disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The bowl was spotless.
When Yan Shi looked up at her, his bright dark eyes asking something silently as he glanced at her leftovers, she quietly pushed her remaining rice to him.
Yan Shi quickly finished her leftover rice along with the chicken.
He even ate the two corn cakes and a small bowl of loquats without a change of expression, despite the sourness of the fruit.
Li Mianyu couldn’t help but glance at Yan Shi’s belly.
She remembered seeing him undressed earlier—his waist was slender and flat.
How could he possibly fit so much food inside?
Then she thought about her Dark Guard’s strength—he carried her effortlessly through the night without even panting.
Eating this much wasn’t surprising at all.
After the meal, Yan Shi didn’t wash the bowls immediately but said to Li Mianyu a rare long sentence, “There were two groups searching for the Princess yesterday. One should be the rebel army; the other Dark Guard of unknown faction. Do you know anything about them?”
Li Mianyu tensed and shook her head.
“No.”
Yan Shi said, “We’ll rest here tonight. Tomorrow I’ll go inquire about the current situation.”
Li Mianyu first nodded but then shook her head.
She looked at Yan Shi and whispered, “I don’t dare stay here alone.”
If Yan Shi left and those who came for her found this place, it would be a trap.
Besides, she wanted to know news of the Imperial Grandfather as soon as possible.
But…her foot was injured and she couldn’t walk far.
She couldn’t follow Yan Shi.
Her eyes grew moist again.
She looked at Yan Shi, who was frowning sharply.
His fierce, wild brows made him look almost angry, as if annoyed by her trouble.
She was instantly annoyed, about to say “How dare you,” but her young Dark Guard spoke quietly, “Tomorrow I’ll go to the beggars’ nest to ask around. It’s full of beggars as dirty as the Twelfth Prince who crawled through a dung heap.”
Li Mianyu gasped, “…Then it’s probably best I stay here in the mountain.”
Yan Shi took the bowls and chopsticks to wash.
Li Mianyu remained rooted in place, lost in thought.
The Twelfth Royal Uncle was already her nightmare.
Thinking of him made her stomach ache.
She rubbed it, trying to push the image out of her mind.
But no matter how hard she tried to forget, the pain in her stomach only worsened.
Li Mianyu frowned slightly.
The next moment, she covered her belly, her face flushing red.