Chapter 50 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Red Robe.

As night fell, Yu Jing returned to her room after taking a bath. Although her injury still ached, she could now bathe herself as long as Xie Xuan helped prepare her bathing supplies. Although her movements were slow, it made things much easier.

Xie Xuan had already finished bathing, and when Yu Jing returned, he was already sitting on the couch. The room was empty and quite boring. Xie Xuan sat on the couch, staring blankly at the crimson robes Li Yun had just brought. Hearing a sound, he looked up and said, "I'm done bathing."

"Mm," Yu Jing responded softly, walking towards Xie Xuan. They had spent quite a bit of time together, so now they spoke and acted very familiarly. They truly seemed like a married couple.

Yu Jing immediately noticed the eye-catching crimson robes on the couch and asked with some confusion, "What's this?"

"Oh, this is what my eldest sister just brought. She said it was something she wore when she was young, and it's still very new. She also said we're going to see a puppet show tomorrow night, and she wants you to try this on. If it fits, you can wear it." Xie Xuan said, casually straightening his clothes.

"You can wear whatever you want at home, but you'll be going out tomorrow. A young lady should look her best, especially since Gui Yi is so beautiful; she should wear something bright." These were Li Yun's exact words when he brought the clothes over. Xie Xuan had initially wanted to refuse, but after hearing Li Yun's words, he thought they made perfect sense and accepted them.

Yu Jing reached out and picked up the crimson robe. The fabric wasn't particularly fine, but it was much better than what Li Yun usually wore. It was crimson, embroidered with several fluttering butterflies. The stitching wasn't as exquisite as that of the palace ladies, but it was clearly very meticulous. The hem was the same color as the robe, with several unfamiliar deep red flowers embroidered at the waist. The style of the robe didn't seem to be currently fashionable; it looked like it had been around for a while.

"I'll give it a try," Yu Jing said, then looked at Xie Xuan. Xie Xuan understood, stood up, and walked out.

Yu Jing slowly changed into her clothes, which surprisingly fit her perfectly. However, since there was no bronze mirror in the room, Yu Jing didn't know whether she looked good in them.

"Xie Xuan," Yu Jing called out towards the door.

Hearing a muffled sound from inside the room, Xie Xuan confirmed it was Yu Jing calling him before pushing open the door and entering. The moment he saw Yu Jing, his heart trembled, like the flickering candlelight.

A single candle burned in the room, its dim, yellowish light flickering softly. Yu Jing, dressed in a light red dress, possessed skin as white as snow and a captivating beauty. Her hair cascaded down her back, reaching her waist like a waterfall. Her face was lovely, and the flickering candlelight made her appear shy and demure.

The scene looked like they were newlyweds.

"Is it pretty?" Yu Jing asked.

"Hmm." Xie Xuan hesitated for a moment before replying, then repeated, "Beautiful!"

"That's good. I didn't expect it to fit so well." Yu Jing murmured to herself, reaching out to untie the belt at her waist. Perhaps she was too relaxed and forgot about her injury. Her movements were a bit too large, and she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her wound, unable to help but hiss.

"What's wrong?" Xie Xuan heard the voice and rushed to Yu Jing's side, asking with concern, "Did you aggravate your injury?"

"Hmm." Yu Jing's hand had already fallen to her side, but the wound on her right side still ached a little. She had been careful these past two days, including when she was getting dressed, and had forgotten about her injury, accidentally aggravating it.

"Let me untie it for you," Xie Xuan said, raising his hand to untie Yu Jing's sash.

He had helped Yu Jing undress before, but she had always been lying down. Now, she was standing. Thinking of this, Xie Xuan's heart raced. Afraid that Yu Jing would notice, he forced himself to remain calm as he untied the ribbons on his hands.

Yu Jing was wearing clothes underneath, so it wasn't a big deal for Xie Xuan to take them off for her. Yu Jing watched as Xie Xuan carefully folded the clothes and placed them on the chair, and then, noticing the injury on Xie Xuan's hand, asked, "Your injury hasn't been dressed today, has it?"

Xie Xuan raised his hand, glanced at the wound, which was peeling open and still somewhat red. He replied, "Ah, yes."

"Go get some medicine for your wounds, I'll apply it for you," Yu Jing said, and Xie Xuan responded and walked towards the cabinet.

Xie Xuan brought over the medicine, sat down beside Yu Jing, opened the box as usual, and applied it to her wound. Yu Jing placed the medicine box on the couch and applied the medicine to Xie Xuan with her left hand. Xie Xuan felt that it was too quiet at this moment, so he said, "Actually, this injury doesn't need medicine. It will heal on its own in a few days."

Upon hearing Xie Xuan's name, Yu Jing paused in applying the medicine and looked up at Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan replied somewhat awkwardly, "I suffered many injuries while I was on the frontier, but these injuries are nothing to me."

"But you feel pain too, don't you?" Yu Jing replied. "No matter how big or small the injury is, you feel pain too!"

Yu Jing was telling the truth; she felt uncomfortable even with a cut on her hand, let alone Xie Xuan, who had been injured by a carving knife.

Xie Xuan was stunned, his throat tightening, unable to speak for a moment. No one but his elder sister and mother had ever said these things to him. Xie Jin was strict; even when he was injured during training in the martial arts arena, he wouldn't say much or make him stop practicing. He would only say, "Swords have no eyes. Our own people will let you have your way, but those barbarians won't. If you can't even endure this little hardship, how can you expect to fight on the battlefield!"

Lost in thought, he felt a tingling sensation on his hand and snapped back to reality. Yu Jing had already applied the medicine and was gently rubbing the wound with her hand. Although the wound had stopped bleeding, the skin was still open and particularly sensitive.

"Does it hurt?" Yu Jing asked Xie Xuan as he looked at the injury.

"It doesn't hurt," Xie Xuan replied.

"Alright." Yu Jing spread the medicine evenly, handed the medicine box to Xie Xuan, closed the box, and put it back in its place.

"It's getting late, let's go to sleep early. We're going to see a puppet show tomorrow night!" Yu Jing was happy just thinking about the puppet show, her voice full of excitement.

Hearing her so happy, Xie Xuan's mood improved as well, and he replied, "Mm."

The following evening, after the group finished their dinner, Yu Jing went inside to change her clothes. When she came out, Li Yun's eyes lit up when she saw Yu Jing, and she said with great delight, "When I took out these clothes yesterday, I knew they would look beautiful on you."

As Li Yun spoke, he seemed to remember something and started walking into the house. Yu Jing watched Li Yun walk in with a blank expression.

Xie Xuan had seen Yu Jing wearing this water-red dress last night, and seeing her again now still gave him a feeling of amazement.

The sky is a bit overcast and stuffy right now.

Li Yun came out of the house a moment later, holding a string of red silk flowers in her hand. She walked straight to Yu Jing's side, showed Yu Jing the silk flowers in her hand, and said, "This hair accessory is a set with your clothes. I'll put it in your hair, it will definitely look good!"

"Okay." Yu Jing replied, bowing her head slightly and turning towards Li Yun. Li Yun raised her hand and put the hairpin on Yu Jing.

Li Yun didn't touch the magnolia flower hairpin that Yu Jing originally wore in her hair. Instead, she placed a silk flower under the wooden hairpin. A string of red silk flowers hung down from her black hair, dangling at her neck. The three distinct colors—fair skin, black hair, and red flowers—looked remarkably harmonious.

"To be honest, this dress is actually what I wore on my wedding day. I used to keep it because I couldn't bear to wear it, and now that I want to wear it, it doesn't fit me anymore." Li Yun said, his face showing undisguised regret. Yu Jing looked at Li Yun. Li Yun continued, "But it's alright, it fits you well, so it's come in handy!"

"Let's make some nice clothes for our elder brother and sister when we get back to the capital!"

"Alright, then I'll take care of it." Li Yun readily agreed, smiling as he said, "Since you're all ready, you can go ahead now. I'll change my clothes with Lao Sun and then head over."

"The liveliest place in the distance is it. If you still can't find it, just ask the passersby. The people in the village are very helpful."

"Okay." Yu Jing replied, preparing to walk out with Xie Xuan.

"Hey, wait a minute." Li Yun called out to Yu Jing and Xie Xuan. They turned around and looked at Li Yun. "Let's take the umbrella and candles. I have a feeling it might rain any minute now."

"Hmm." Xie Xuan responded and went inside to get an umbrella. When he came out, Yu Jing was standing in front of the flower stand, with a vast expanse of forsythia behind her. Her clothes were red, bright yellow and vermilion, both colors very eye-catching, but Xie Xuan only saw Yu Jing.

As Xie Xuancai walked to Yu Jing's side, he heard faint sounds of gongs and drums coming from afar. Even just listening to them faintly, he could sense the lively atmosphere.

The two headed towards the source of the sound, as it grew quite dark. Along the way, some of the people who had gone to see the play with them noticed Yu Jing's brightly dressed appearance and couldn't help but glance at her a few times. One of them approached and asked, "Are you guests of the Sun family?"

"Yes," Yu Jing replied softly with a smile.

"They're so beautiful!" the old woman exclaimed, looking at Yu Jing and Xie Xuan. "They're a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman!"

"Thank you!" Yu Jing replied politely. The group headed towards Gou Dan's house together. Along the way, they encountered many people, who, like the old woman, were very curious about Yu Jing. Perhaps because the village was too remote and there were few outsiders, and Yu Jing and Xie Xuan were both exceptionally good-looking, they naturally attracted attention.

This was the first time Xie Xuan had encountered such a scene, being surrounded by a group of strangers who were chattering and asking them questions about the capital. Although they asked many questions, they were very polite, and Xie Xuan did not feel offended, but he did feel a little uncomfortable.

However, he and Yu Jing were now surrounded by a crowd. Yu Jing was dressed in red and wore a red hair ornament. There were sounds of gongs and drums all around, creating a lively and festive atmosphere, just like a newlywed couple congratulating their guests.

Yu Jing and Xie Xuan arrived at an open space, where there were many wooden benches and chairs, as well as some melon seeds and fruits. Yu Jing and Xie Xuan casually found a place to sit down.

The stage was small, with only a wooden table and a board on it, from which hung a canvas, suggesting it was an indoor scene. Several wooden boxes stood nearby. Yu Jing looked up and saw many puppets with strings attached inside. The puppets were very realistic and beautiful, and Yu Jing began to feel a growing sense of anticipation.