Chapter 75 Sexual matters are also worth learning

As soon as Yan Wuxin entered, seeing the men all with teary eyes, he teased, "Oh, I've come at the wrong time. Jinlan, they're all reluctant to part with you, are you still going?"

Lu Jinlan smiled, "Go ahead, what about you?"

Yan Wuxin: "I'll go too."

Lu Jinlan asked in surprise, "You're going too? Did the Prime Minister agree?"

"Of course I disagree. My mother gave me a good scolding, saying that with my mediocre skills I was trying to show off, and told me to stay home. But am I that kind of honest person?"

Yan Wuxin said, holding up the bundle in his hand, "I'll stay here for the night, and we'll set off together tomorrow."

Lu Jinlan said happily, "Great! I thought you weren't going to be able to leave."

Yan Wuxin laughed and said, "We have to go, even if we can't. I'm worried about you two without me by your side."

As the two were talking, Xiang Ruzhen arrived.

Xiang Ruzhen glanced at the two of them and guessed what was going on, so she suggested, "Could we stay a day longer?"

The two men hurriedly asked, "What are you going to do?"

Xiang Ruzhen smiled, "We'll get married. Xueqing wants to wait for me to return as her husband."

The two were taken aback. Yan Wuxin frowned and thought for a moment, "There's not enough time. There's still a month and a half until the wedding date, and the bridal chamber hasn't been decorated yet. Where are we going to find a band to play music so late?"

Xiang Ruzhen decisively said, "We don't need any of that. Let's keep it simple. Anyway, the wedding dress is already made. You can come with me to pick up the bride tomorrow morning. We'll just have a simple wedding ceremony, and a pair of red candles in the bridal chamber will suffice."

Lu Jinlan said, "That won't do. Before the city gates close, I'll have Ximo quickly take people over there to make arrangements. Time is of the essence, so let's do as much as we can. Will we have time to invite the guests? What about the banquet?"

Xiang Ruzhen shook her head. "The guests are just the two of you, plus the men from both your families. The dean lives nearby, so I'll go invite her tomorrow morning. Besides that, there's no one else. The Jin family isn't planning on having a big party either, just family members. Two or three tables will be enough."

All of this happened so suddenly. Lu Jinlan sighed, "Alright, then let's finish your wedding banquet before we go mount our horses and fight."

*

Although everything was kept simple, the festive atmosphere was not diminished at all. At the banquet, Xiang Ruzhen, as the bride, drank several cups of wine, drinking all the few guests under the table.

Jin Yunning and Ling Zhixu were each carried back to their respective residences. While Lu Jinlan was still conscious, she had to persuade Xiang Ruzhen: "I know you're happy, and you have a high alcohol tolerance, but please don't drink anymore. We really can't afford to keep you company any longer."

Yan Wuxin: "That's right, that's right. Let's save our energy for the wedding night."

Xiang Ruzhen blushed and smiled slightly, "Okay, then you guys keep things in order for me, I'll go keep Xueqing company."

"Wait a minute!" Yan Wuxin staggered after her, and Lu Jinlan quickly supported her. Seeing that no one was around, Yan Wuxin stammered, "Ruzhen, um... do you know how?"

Xiang Ruzhen was taken aback. "What?"

Yan Wuxin blushed and said, "Your family isn't here, so I don't think anyone can tell you. Um, you know how to have a wedding night, right?"

Lu Jinlan leaned against the wall, laughing so hard she was shaking. Xiang Ruzhen said with a stern face, "I'm not stupid."

Yan Wuxin pulled a small booklet from his pocket. "Here, this is my private collection. You can study it."

Xiang Ruzhen glanced at the explicit cover, frowned, and hesitated whether to accept it.

Lu Jinlan advised, "Ruzhen, you're so serious, you should read some less serious stuff too, so people won't think you're clueless about romance. Here, as they say, understanding the ways of the world is a form of learning, and this... this bedroom stuff is worth learning too."

Xiang Ruzhen nodded. "That makes a lot of sense." She accepted Yan Wuxin's booklet and turned to go to the study.

Looking at Xiang Ruzhen's determined back, Lu Jinlan murmured, "I believe she will definitely learn something. Let's go, we should go back too."

Lu Jinlan turned back into the hall, and Lou Yumin immediately came to greet her. "I got up early this morning to get you a peace talisman. The Taoist priest said to sew this onto your clothes so that it can protect you from swords and spears."

Lu Jinlan smiled. "You actually believe that kind of talk?"

Lou Yumin lowered her melancholy eyes, her long eyelashes casting a shadow. "I believe anything as long as it's for your own good."

Lu Jinlan's heart softened, and she took his hand. "Then let's go home now so you can sew the amulet on for me."

Yan Wuxin leaned against the wall, watching Lu Jinlan walk out with her men, and muttered to himself, "Good, good, you all have someone to accompany you, while I'm all alone."

Just as she was about to check if her servants had left, someone suddenly grabbed her arm. "Master, are you drunk?"

Yan Wuxin, his eyes still blurry with drunkenness, took a closer look and said, "It's Huaixing, my good disciple. Help your master onto the carriage."

Huai Xing helped Yan Wuxin into the carriage. She was already drowsy and mumbled, "Take me back to my private residence. Before I leave, I want to have some meat. Once I'm on the battlefield, I'll have to eat vegetarian food every day..."

Huai Xing glanced at her secretly and whispered to the coachwoman, "Return to Zhongyong Garden."

*

Jin Xueqing, her head covered by a veil, waited anxiously in the bridal chamber. It was only afternoon when her dowry servant hurried over to report, "The mistress has arrived."

Jin Xueqing quickly straightened her clothes and sat up straight.

The door creaked open, and he straightened his back nervously, swallowing unconsciously.

The veil was lifted, and Jin Xueqing looked up to see Xiang Ruzhen dressed in a bright red wedding gown. She was tall and imposing, with striking features and an extraordinary presence.

She stared intently at him, her gaze focused and direct.

Jin Xueqing's heart fluttered under his gaze, her face flushed slightly, and she softly called out, "My mistress."

"Mmm." Xiang Ruzhen responded, then raised her hand and pinched his fair cheek.

"It hurts..." Jin Xueqing protested softly.

A smile appeared in Xiang Ruzhen's eyes. She rubbed his pitiful, reddened skin with the back of her finger and explained, "I didn't use any force."

Jin Xueqing muttered, "My wife is naturally strong. You've already hurt me even without using force. If you use force, I'm afraid you'll pinch my face until it's swollen."

Xiang Ruzhen smiled, "No, I can't bear to."

She turned and looked at the other people in the room. "We don't need you here anymore."

Several male servants filed out, and Xiang Ruzhen personally brought two cups of wine. She drank the wine with Jin Xueqing, and then said apologetically, "The wedding was too rushed, I'm sorry to have wronged you."

Jin Xueqing quickly replied, "I'm not wronged at all. I'm very satisfied to marry you."

Xiang Ruzhen nodded. "That's good. Take off your clothes."

"Ah?" Jin Xueqing's face instantly turned as red as blood. "But...but it's still daytime."

Xiang Ruzhen calmly replied, "No one says the wedding night has to be at night."

As she spoke, she began to undress and toss a small booklet onto the bedside.

Jin Xueqing glanced at it and quickly turned her head away, "What...what is this?"

“I think we should look at the textbook together.” Xiang Ruzhen said, pulling the person in front of her. “Excuse me, you’re too slow. Let me help you take it off.”

*

Early the next morning, Lu Jinlan came out of Yu Mian's room and said to Xi Mo, "Send someone to Yan Shao Niang's courtyard and ask her to come to the main hall for breakfast. We should set off after we finish eating. Ru Zhen should be here soon."

Xi Mo smiled and glanced at her. "Young Master, why don't you wait a little longer? Young Madam Yan got drunk yesterday, and Huai Xing was serving her in her room. Uh... there's still no movement from that courtyard."

Lu Jinlan paused for a moment, then gradually smiled and said, "Okay, I'll eat first."

While Lu Jinlan was eating, the men had already helped her pack her things and then surrounded her, chatting away for a long time.

Song Lincheng said, "You don't need to worry about things at home. I'll write to you as soon as I give birth. If it's a daughter, we'll name her Anbei. But if it's a son, what will we name him?"

Lu Jinlan took a bite of the three-delicacy pie and mumbled, "As for our son, let's call him... I can't think of anything right now, you can choose a name for him yourself."

Lu Qilang hurriedly asked, "What about me? If I have a daughter, what will she be called?"

Lu Jinlan said, "Let's call him Anxi, which means northeast and southwest. Let's start by naming our family in that order."

Lu Jinlan had just finished eating and wiped her hands when Lou Yumin picked up Lu Andong and said, "You don't know when you'll be back. Let me hug Dong'er."

Lu Jinlan took the child and held her little hand. "Mother is going to war. When Mother comes back, she will teach you martial arts. In the future, we will fight side by side as mother and daughter and conquer all directions together."

The baby babbled in response, and Lu Jinlan handed the child back to her father. Looking up, she saw Xiang Ruzhen enter with a beaming smile, carrying a bundle on her back. "Good morning! Where's Wuxin?"

Lu Jinlan also picked up her bag. "Let's go, let's go call her together."

The two entered the courtyard where Wu Xin lived, and were about to speak when they suddenly heard a sharp crack from inside the house, causing them to pause in their tracks.

Immediately afterwards, Yan Wuxin cursed, "Traitor! Who gave you permission to disobey your superiors?"

Lu Jinlan concealed her footsteps and quietly peeked out the window. She saw Huai Xing kneeling on the ground, covering her face, and saying aggrievedly, "Master gave permission last night."

Yan Wuxin retorted angrily, "Nonsense! Didn't you see I was drunk? Can you take drunken words seriously? I'm telling you, just pretend nothing happened, and don't you dare to overthink it."

Lu Jinlan wanted to look around some more, but Xiang Ruzhen coughed and said, "Wuxin, it's time to go."

Yan Wuxin came out with a sullen face, carrying his bundle. Lu Jinlan quickly asked, "Would you like to eat something before you leave?"

Yan Wuxin: "I have no appetite, I'm full of anger, let's go."

The three of them didn't say much, focusing on their journey during the day, only having a heart-to-heart talk when they rested at an inn at night.

As they got closer to the front lines, everyone had more and more things on their minds.

Xiang Ruzhen: "We don't have an imperial decree, and we set off a day later than the main force. We haven't caught up with them yet. What should we do when we get to the front line?"

Lu Jinlan said, "The main force will only have two destinations: some will join the Ling family army to fight the Jiang Kingdom, and some will join the Song family army to fight the Qu Kingdom. The two army camps are not far apart, and the three of us are free men, so we can decide our own destinations. If you ask me, let's join the Song family army. With my mother-in-law around, she won't let us sit on the sidelines."

Yan Wuxin agreed, "Yes, let's go to the Song family army. Don't forget, the Ling family army has a grudge against us. Last time we wiped out Ling Zhijing's 100,000-strong army in Beizhou, she's been dreaming of strangling us. If we run into the Ling family army's camp without any clue, it's more dangerous than running into the enemy's camp. We won't even know how we died."

Xiang Ruzhen said, "Then let's go to the Song family army first. However, the Ling family army is suffering defeat after defeat. I think we can't avoid it sooner or later."

Yan Wuxin: "If we can't avoid it, we'll talk about it later; if we can avoid it, we'll avoid it first. It's not that I'm afraid of death, but dying on the battlefield makes one a heroine, while dying at the hands of one's own people is cowardly. Hey, let's be honest, are you afraid of death?"

Lu Jinlan: "I'm not afraid, because I'm sure I won't die. If there's any real danger, just hide behind me, and I'll make sure you're safe."

Yan Wuxin closed his eyes, pulled the blanket over himself, and stretched out his body, saying, "You're just bragging. You're not a god; you can't be immortal."

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "I have a cheat code."

Yan Wuxin: "Here we go again, always saying you have a vest, but I haven't seen it anywhere. But I do admit, you have more talent in martial arts than I do. I haven't seen you practice before. When we first met, you weren't even my match. Now, even though I've been practicing hard, I still can't beat you. Of the three of us, I used to be the worst in academics, and now I'm the worst in martial arts too."

Xiang Ruzhen smiled and took something out of her bundle. "Wuxin, this is for you."

Yan Wuxin opened his eyes a crack and sat up abruptly. "Golden silk soft armor?"

"Yes, Xueqing said this is the Jin family heirloom. It's a pity that Senior Yihuai was summoned to the front line overnight, and the family didn't have time to give it to her. My mother-in-law probably didn't expect the war to be so fierce. It's strange, the Ling family army has 400,000 troops, while the Jiang Kingdom's army has less than 300,000. Who could have imagined that they would suffer defeat after defeat?"

Xiang Ruzhen sighed as she spoke, touching the thin, soft gold-threaded armor. "Xueqing gave it to me yesterday, but I don't need it. Jinlan and I are both better than you in martial arts, so you should wear it."

Yan Wuxin chuckled, "Your husband gave it to you, so I'm too embarrassed to accept it. But I've heard that this thing is a treasure, and this is the first time I've seen it. I'll try it on first and see how it feels."

She had just put it on when someone from the post station knocked on the door. "Young Madam Yan, come out for a moment. Someone is looking for you."

Lu Jinlan frowned and said, "We don't know anyone here, who would look for you? Wait for me to put on some clothes, and we'll go out together."

Yan Wuxin pressed her down, "Don't worry, I have golden silk armor, who am I afraid of? I'll go see what's going on."

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Author's Note: The three main romantic pairings actually have quite a few interesting points, but I'm in a rush to get to the battle, so I won't elaborate on them here. If I have the chance to write side stories later, I'll definitely give you a proper dose of sweetness in various flavors!