Chapter 231 Don’t irritate me in the future (Part 2)

The two walked into the moon door, passed through the curtain, and came to the table.

"Wu Jing," Chen Yi let go of her hand and counted, "One... two... three... open your eyes."

The moment she opened her eyes, Wu Jing was surprised by what she saw.

Tiny flames danced in the dark night, flickering on and off, their light shining like stars in the sky.

"Is this... a firefly?" she asked.

"What fireflies? These are stars." Chen Yi said proudly, "Isn't it beautiful? I picked them for you."

Wu Jing pursed her lips, but couldn't help but raise them: "Why did you give me this?"

"I promised to show you the stars on your birthday, but later..." Later, something happened in Xiayang Marquis's Mansion, and he was busy saving the Jiang family and forgot about it.

"Anyway, I promised you, I can't break my promise." Shen Yi asked, "Does it look good?"

Wu Jing nodded.

A dozen fireflies were encased in a round glass jar. They flickered in the darkness like a flowing river of stars. A halo of light emanated from the transparent jar, illuminating the faces of the two men.

"Where did you get these?" Wu Jing asked.

"I caught them by the field."

"you?"

"Don't believe me? I caught them all myself, from dusk till now, for a full two hours. Look..." Chen Yi pulled up his sleeves: "My arms are still scratched by the grass, and they're very itchy."

Wu Jing looked at him and realized that he hadn't even changed his clothes. He was still wearing his official robes. The robes were wrinkled and looked very disheveled.

Her heart was touched, as if a stream of warm spring water was flowing through it, warm and soft, and with a bit of soreness and swelling, like a needle-like pain.

"Just to catch fireflies?" she said, "Are you stupid?"

Chen Yi looked at her and smiled, then after a while, he calmed down and suddenly said, "Wu Jing, why don't you go back to Lu?"

The smile on Wu Jing's face slowly faded.

Chen Yi said: "You stay in the capital, I will take care of you, Lu State..."

His throat moved, but he couldn't utter the words.

He had known from the beginning that the Emperor had long intended to annex the State of Lu. But he didn't know when it started, but he actually became a little afraid. He was afraid that the State of Lu would be destroyed, and that Wu Jing would know the truth.

But this day seemed to come earlier than he expected.

Today, I received a letter from Pei Xingju, which mentioned that Prince Wenle was secretly colluding with Liang Jinxian. Prince Wenle's actions would undoubtedly infuriate the Emperor and hasten the fall of the State of Lu. If his suspicions are correct, the Emperor would have already learned of the news by the time he received this letter.

But Wu Jing knew nothing about all this and still wanted to return to Lu. But he couldn't tell her that she might not be able to go back to Lu.

Wu Jing saw that he looked serious and asked blankly, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No." Shen Yi shook his head.

"Then what did you say happened to the State of Lu?"

Chen Yi forced a smile and said, "Lu is too far away. It will be too troublesome for you to go back. It would be better for you to stay in the capital."

Wu Jing glanced at him suspiciously: "Are you really not hiding anything from me?"

.

Just as Shen Yi expected, Prince Wenle colluded with Liang Jinxian and conspired to cause the defeat of Dazhao, and Li Jinyu also got the news.

There was a hint of smile in Li Jinyu's eyes, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"How daring!" He placed the secret report on a candlestick and let it burn slowly. "You haven't even established your foothold yet, and you've already hidden a knife behind my back!"

The chief eunuch stood aside and did not dare to respond.

"How dare a tiny nation dare to try to shake a mighty tree?" Li Jinyu ordered, "Go, invite General Gu to the palace. My troops have rested for a long time, and it's time for them to go to the battlefield for training."

"Yes." The chief eunuch immediately left the palace.

.

On this day, a red banner was hung at the door of Zhuangji Shop.

After several days of renovations and renovations, Zhuang's Seafood Snack Shop officially opened for business. To Zhuang Wan's surprise, business in Shuzhou was incredibly booming, especially for its spicy dried fish, which was incredibly popular among the people.

She stood in the hall and looked around for a while, then turned and went into the accounting office in the backyard.

A newly opened shop naturally had many accounts to check. However, she felt somewhat absent-minded when she sat down today. The reason was simple: she hadn't seen Pei Xingju in a few days. She had hung banners at the door twice before, but Pei Xingju hadn't come. She didn't know what had happened to him.

She sat like this absent-mindedly for a long time. Nearing two o'clock in the afternoon, she stared intently at the sun outside the window. She didn't know how long she had been staring, but she felt dizzy and thought to herself, I'm afraid Pei Xingju won't be able to come today.

Just when I was feeling lost, there was suddenly some movement at the west wall.

She immediately turned to look. She saw the wall being pushed open from the other side. Her eyes widened in fear, but when she saw Pei Xingju coming out from the other side, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She asked in surprise: "When was this wall built?"

"The day before yesterday." Pei Xingju stood there, smiling at her with his arms open.

Zhuang Wan also laughed and ran into his arms.

"I haven't seen you for a long time. I was so worried." She said, "There's a red banner hanging at the door. Why don't you come to see me?"

"Liang Jinxian already knows that I have come to Shuzhou." Pei Xingju said.

"Got it?" Zhuang Wan stepped back and looked outside in panic: "Did he find you?"

"No, I just have to be careful." Pei Xingju said, "Haven't you noticed that more people are following you?"

Zhuang Wan shook her head. She really didn’t notice.

Thinking of something, she immediately pushed him: "Then leave quickly, so as not to be discovered."

"No problem." Pei Xingju said, "I came from the opposite direction, no one knew."

He bought the neighboring house a few days ago and asked Xue Gang to send someone to break through the wall and set up a mechanism overnight.

"Liang Jinxian is very busy now, so there is no need to worry," he said.

"How do you know he is busy?" Zhuang Wan asked.

"That's exactly what I want to tell you today." Pei Xingju pulled her to the house opposite.

Zhuang Wan took a look around and realized it was a bedroom. It was simple, with only a bed and a chair, a bamboo hat hanging on the wall, and a linen coat draped on a shelf.

She surveyed the surroundings as Pei Xingju continued, "Liang Jinxian will be busy training his troops. The war will begin soon, so he won't have time."

"Is the Emperor preparing to attack Changguo?"

"Yes." Pei Xingju said, "I came to see you today to tell you that I'm afraid I won't be free from now on. Please wait quietly in the palace and don't leave again."

"So when will I see you again?"

"No rush, just listen to me." Pei Xingju hugged the person and held him tightly against his chest: "On the tenth day, you still come here at this time. Remember, just like any other day, there is no need to hide or prepare anything."

Zhuang Wan's heart was pounding. "Are you going to take me away?"

"Yes," Pei Xingju said, "If my estimate is correct, Dazhao's army will arrive in Shuzhou by the middle of next month. Before then, I will take you away."

"Okay." Zhuang Wan nodded.

She held Pei Xingju's face in her hands: "But I still have to wait until the tenth day. I miss you already."

Pei Xingju was helpless, but a sweet feeling welled up in his heart.

He pretended to be calm and said, "Just wait for me obediently, and I will send someone to take you back to Beijing."

"You're not going back to Beijing?"

"I... need to stay here."

The Emperor intended to dispatch the Pei army to attack Changguo. General Gu had informed him of this two days earlier in a letter, and the court was currently debating who would take command. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the one to take command.

Zhuang Wan guessed what he was thinking and asked, "Are you going to the battlefield?"

Pei Xingju hummed softly. Seeing her worry, he soothed her, "Don't worry. The ones accompanying me on the expedition are my father's veterans. They're all experienced fighters. I'll definitely return safely."

What do you mean by safe return? In this era of cold weapons, no one can boast like that.

Zhuang Wan found it difficult to understand the cruel reality before, but now that she is in the situation, she truly understands what it means to be surrounded by danger.

"Can't you change to someone else?"

"No one can command the Pei family army."

The implication is that only he can do it.

"Wanwan," Pei Xingju said, "Don't worry. I promise everything will be fine. Please return to the capital and wait for me."

"By the way..." he continued, "Your mother and brother miss you and also wrote to me."

He took the letter out of his pocket and said, "Destroy it after you've read it. Don't let anyone find out."

"Um."

Zhuang Wan had no intention of reading the letter now. She put it aside, suddenly jumped up, hung on him, and kissed him hard.

"You must be well, understand? No acting alone, no showing off. You must return to the capital in one piece."

Pei Xingju endured her eager and passionate kiss and couldn't help laughing: "It's too early to say these things before the war even starts..."

"I don't care!" Zhuang Wan continued to kiss him, "I want you to promise me."

"Okay, I promise you."

.

Just as Pei Xingju had said, Liang Jinxian also sensed the impending war and spent the entire day busy preparing for it. By the time he returned to the palace, it was already after the hour of Xu.

He walked straight towards Mingluan Palace. When he reached the palace gate, he heard the commotion inside.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Your Majesty." Seeing him coming, the palace maids stepped back.

Inside the hall, Zhuang Wan stood in front of the mirror holding a red dress. She didn't turn her head, but just looked left and right in the mirror.

When Liang Jinxian saw it, he stopped two steps away and admired it with his arms folded.

"This wedding dress suits you," he said.

Zhuang Wan nodded. "I think so too. Red suits me. Red brings wealth."

“…”

After a while, Zhuang Wan put down her clothes and turned around to see that he was still in his military uniform. She asked casually, "Going to practice again? How's it going today?"

Liang Jinxian didn't respond to this sentence, his eyes always had a faint smile, a bit cold and a bit romantic.

"I heard that you have been going out of the palace frequently recently?" he asked.

Zhuang Wan blinked: "Yes, didn't you allow me to leave the palace?"

"It's just a shop..." Liang Jinxian slowly walked to the table, picked up the phoenix crown and admired it carefully: "It's a bit too frequent."

Today, he heard that she stayed in the accounting office for a long time before coming out. Even though his people were guarding outside, it was too suspicious that she cared so much about a shabby shop.

Zhuang Wan's smile faded. "What do you mean? Are you doubting me again?"

"Zhuang Wan," Liang Jinxian warned, "Don't forget, you will be married to me soon and you will be my woman."

"Liang Jinxian, you're not really deeply in love with me, are you?" Zhuang Wan looked him up and down carefully. "You're suspicious of me because I left the palace to run a shop, or are you angry and frustrated because you couldn't catch Pei Xingju these days?"

After he finished speaking, Liang Jinxian suddenly pulled her closer, with a murderous look in his eyes.

Zhuang Wan's wrist was pinched by him and it hurt. She frowned and hissed.

Liang Jinxian noticed it, looked down, and saw a red mark on her wrist.

He suddenly felt a little reluctant.

"Anyway," he said in a softer tone, "your wedding is coming soon, so you'd better be content."

"I understand." Zhuang Wan withdrew her hand: "I will stay in the palace from now on."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Jinxian grabbed his wrist again.

"What?" she asked puzzled.

Liang Jinxian pulled her straight to the dressing table and took out a porcelain bottle from the drawer. This porcelain bottle was sent by Liang Jinxian earlier. Because of the many mosquito bites, Zhuang Wan had many lumps. This ointment can clear away heat and detoxify.

At this moment, Liang Jinxian opened the porcelain bottle, dipped his fingers in some white cream and smeared it on Zhuang Wan's hand.

He applied it carefully and attentively, with a gentle expression.

Zhuang Wan wasn't used to it: "I'll do it myself."

"Don't move." He suddenly raised his head and said softly, "Don't irritate me in the future."