Chapter 18

After lunch, seeing the bright sunshine outside, he said to the woman beside him, "I've been out for quite a while this morning, Xue Ran must be a little tired. Would you like to take a nap? If you don't want to rest, I can take you for a walk in the yard, okay?" The woman looked at the warm spring sunshine shining on the flowers and plants in the yard, making them full of life, and couldn't help but want to go and see them. She said softly, "If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'll just go for a walk in the yard by myself."

"What could be more important to me than Xue Ran?" Xi Yimin smiled at the woman before him, his voice warm, like the gentle spring weather, both comforting and endearing. The woman turned her head away from the tender gaze of the man beside her, afraid that if she looked too long, she would become hopelessly enamored. She rose and walked towards the garden in the courtyard. Xi Yimin followed, naturally taking the woman's hand. This time, she didn't struggle at all, letting him lead her. His smile deepened. "Xue Ran, would you like to go for a walk tonight?" Leng Xue Ran looked at Xi Yimin strangely, puzzled. "Isn't there a curfew in Fengcheng?"

"A curfew is imposed, but if Xue Ran wants to go out, I have ways to let us out." Leng Xue Ran laughed, "Like a thief, going out for a stroll?"

"Why not? Doesn't Xue Ran think it's romantic?" the woman teased. "I'm afraid it won't be romantic in the end, but rather a mess!" Xi Yimin opened his folding fan, sat down gracefully on a chair in the garden pavilion, and laughed heartily. "Money can make the devil turn the millstone. I, a merchant from Fengcheng, still have some wealth. As long as I can win a beautiful woman's smile, I don't care about a thousand pieces of gold!"

"So, Miss Xi, how many beauties have you won over in Fengcheng?" Xi Yimin stood up, closed his folding fan, walked to the woman's side, faced her, and took her left hand, saying softly, "Only Xue Ran! And only for Xue Ran!" The woman blushed slightly and teased, "Such eloquence, but I find Miss Xi's words mostly unbelievable." Xi Yimin became anxious, "It's not surprising for merchants to be eloquent, but those sweet words have never been said to anyone else. Why doesn't Xue Ran believe it?" Leng Xue Ran looked at the man holding her hand tightly, his eyes full of seriousness, and her heart softened. She smiled warmly, "I believe you then." Upon hearing this, Xi Yimin's face lit up with a smile, like the sun after a rain, and he said cheerfully, "Come on, I'll take Xue Ran to the lotus pond. The lotus leaves are in full bloom there." The woman smiled and let him lead her by the hand, slowly walking towards the lotus pond.

Inside the Gu residence, a lively scene unfolded. A few days prior, Master Gu had held a martial arts contest to find a husband for his daughter, and now, with matchmakers in hand, preparations for their marriage were underway. Inside the boudoir, one woman was seething with anger, while the other remained expressionless. The furious one was none other than Miss Gu Xiyan, and the other was Qi Ziyue. "Qi Ziyue, are you truly not going to marry me? If not, why did you come up here to compete?" Seeing Qi Ziyue's silence, Gu Xiyan was enraged and lashed out at him. Qi Ziyue didn't retaliate, letting her hit him. After a couple of blows, he embraced her, his voice trembling with tears, "Ziyue, I know you love me, but why can't you marry me?" Qi Ziyue embraced the woman in his arms, speaking softly, "Xiyan, I have many secrets I haven't told you." "I'm afraid to tell you, I dare not tell you, those secrets make me afraid to marry you!" Gu Xiyan said urgently, "What secrets make you afraid to marry me? I don't care about anything, Ziyue, tell me!" After a long silence, Qi Ziyue still didn't tell her the secret. She was truly afraid that the woman in her arms would abandon her. She loved this woman to the core, otherwise, why would she have traveled thousands of miles overnight to return when her subordinates told her that Gu Xiyan was going to hold a martial arts contest to choose a husband? She hadn't closed her eyes until she appeared on the contest stage, exhausted but filled with comfort, thinking, "Thankfully, I made it in time..." "Thank goodness, she was just being willful and wanted to force me to marry her, not really wanting to marry someone else. It's all good. The timing was perfect; she doesn't have to marry anyone else, nor does she have to force herself to be strong and bear the consequences of her willfulness. I'm so glad!" Qi Ziyue raised his right hand and gently stroked the back of the woman's head. "Xi Yan, when is our wedding date?" Hearing this, the woman in his arms looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "Ziyue, what did you say?" Qi Ziyue smiled gently. "I said when will you become my bride?" The woman's eyes were filled with tears and laughter as she retorted, "How would I know? Father is still discussing this with the matchmaker in the main hall!" "Looking at the woman before him, Qi Ziyue's mind raced. "Allow me to be selfish for a moment. I know this woman is unwilling to part with me, unwilling to see her heartbroken, unwilling to see her leave. So, I won't reveal this secret now. I'll wait until later... until she can't keep it up anymore, until she gives up on me, and until I can hold onto this temporary happiness. The calamities to come will be my punishment for today's selfishness, it doesn't matter!" Thinking of this, Qi Ziyue felt deeply ashamed and felt even more pity for the woman before him who was unaware of the truth. This love, ingrained in his very bones, truly made him selfish and greedy, just like Qi Ziyue now. He kissed Gu Xiyan's forehead and laughed, "Xiyan, we're getting married now, we should be happier. Your eyes are red, you've been crying, you look like a red-eyed rabbit!" The woman retorted, "You're the red-eyed rabbit! It's all your fault! It wasn't anyone else who was acting crazy and didn't want to marry me." Qi Ziyue quickly apologized, "It's my fault, I shouldn't have made Miss Xiyan cry. My heart still aches." Gu Xiyan rolled her eyes at her, "I wonder who you've been with outside? You were so well-behaved before, but now you've become so glib." "So, Xiyan doesn't like me like this anymore?" The woman retorted, "Shameless! How come I never noticed you like this before?" "You people." With that, she sat down on the recliner by the window, smiling at the somewhat embarrassed person before her. This person's skin hadn't thickened much; a mere scolding was enough to make her blush. "Ziyue, don't stand there, come here." Qi Ziyue looked at the woman sitting on the recliner and slowly walked over. Before he could ask why he had called her over, Gu Xiyan suddenly stood up and pulled him to sit on the recliner, then sat across Qi Ziyue's lap, nestled in her arms, causing Qi Ziyue to blush deeply. He stammered, "Xiyan, this isn't very elegant. What if the servants come in and see?" The woman laughed, "What's there to be afraid of? Who would dare say anything about me? Besides, we're getting married soon, what's there to hide?"

“Precisely because we are getting married, we shouldn’t see each other anymore.” The woman said urgently, “You dare! If you dare to leave my sight again, I’ll break your legs.”

"Can't you leave even after getting married?"

"No," the woman immediately retorted.

"But I haven't finished the things Young Master asked me to do yet?" Looking at Qi Ziyue's troubled expression, Gu Xiyan felt that she had been too restrictive, so she said softly, "Then take me with you."

Qi Ziyue looked lovingly at the woman in his arms and said gently, "But the journey is arduous, and I can't bear to let Xiyan suffer with me." Gu Xiyan, nestled in his arms, mumbled, "I'm not afraid of any hardship by Ziyue's side, I just beg you not to abandon me!" Hearing this, Qi Ziyue looked down at the woman in his arms and said softly, "When have I ever truly abandoned Xiyan?" The woman in his arms pinched the soft flesh of Qi Ziyue's waist and said angrily, "But you always avoid me! Have you ever cared about my feelings? Every time we meet, you rush away. Do you know how much it hurts me? I thought it was because I had a bad temper that you didn't like me, so I changed everything!" Qi Ziyue felt guilty and tightened his arms around Gu Xiyan, saying gently, "Xiyan doesn't need to change anything. Don't wrong yourself for anyone." "Even if it's me, I'll love Xi Yan no matter what. I was such a jerk before, I shouldn't have hurt Xi Yan like that. I won't do it again. I only ask that if I ever make a mistake, Xi Yan won't abandon me." Gu Xi Yan asked doubtfully, "Why would I abandon Zi Yue? Does Zi Yue have someone else in his heart?" Qi Zi Yue hurriedly retorted, "How could that be? I only have Xi Yan in my heart, and I always will. I'm just saying that if I make a mistake, I beg Xi Yan to forgive me and not abandon me, otherwise I'll feel like I'd rather be dead." Hearing his urgent and serious words, he smiled and said, "Zi Yue, as long as you haven't betrayed me, I will never let you down." Qi Zi Yue felt bitter inside, but dared not say it. He truly hoped that what Zi Yue said was true, and that he wouldn't abandon him because of those moral principles and worldly views. He had used his womanly body to love another woman, which was against the natural order. Would it not end well? Would he still be abandoned in the end, left with a body full of wounds, wandering aimlessly until his death? His heart trembled slightly, filled with fear that this woman really didn't want him anymore.