Chapter 117 Between the Clouds (Part 7) Gradually, he possessed her. ...

The houses at the foot of the mountain were damaged in the torrential rain, and mud and water overflowed. The repair work lasted for a day and a night before the situation was finally completed.

As the sun rose, Wei Yuanzhan washed his face by the stream, his robes stained with dirt from the repairs. He glanced down for a moment, frowned slightly, then simply took off his upper garment, threw it off the saddle, and went to the stream to fetch water, pouring bucket after bucket over himself.

Lan Ye held the storage clothes and served him at his side, his gaze slightly touching his back. Compared to before he joined the army, he was not so particular, but when placed among those rough and rugged men in the army, he was truly a unique and refreshing figure.

Chang Huai got two bowls of soup noodles from the cook, and after Wei Yuanzhan put on his coat and fastened his belt, he strolled over to give them to him. Unexpectedly, Wei Yuanzhan wasn't in a hurry to eat them, and went straight to the tree, taking out bean cakes from his saddlebag to feed the horse.

Seeing that his master didn't want it, Lan Ye nudged Chang Huai with his elbow and accepted it with a smile.

Exhausted from a night's sleep, Wei Yuanzhan looked up at the sky and, seeing that the weather was nice today, suddenly felt a surge of interest.

He patted the horse's neck, turned to Changhuai and the other man, and said, "Tell them to go back to camp. I'm going out for a stroll." With that, he leaped up and mounted the horse.

"Where are you going, sir?" Lan Ye hurriedly put down the soup bowl, wiping his mouth as he walked towards Wei Yuanzhan.

The warm spring sunlight bathed the boy's cheeks, and his lips curved slightly upward, a gentle smile playing on his beautiful face: "I've heard there are many wild foxes in Yunshan. Didn't you want a fur coat?"

The implication was that he wanted to go to Yunshan to hunt a few for him.

Wei Yuanzhan is nineteen years old and will soon be of legal age in June. He still has some childlike mannerisms, as if he hadn't had any fun last night and needed to make up for it today. His energy is so vigorous that it is admirable.

Lan Ye sighed with emotion, feeling slightly touched. He trotted to the tree, mounted his horse, and whipped it into the dust as he chased after it.

The responsibility of relaying the message naturally fell on Chang Huai's shoulders. He pursed his lips, shook his head, and walked into the group of people sitting on the ground.

It was still early, and a thin mist hung over the mountains.

Wei Yuanzhan's Yueying steed, which had been idly at rest all night, suddenly became unrestrained and excited like an arrow released from a bow. The world rushed past under its hooves, splashing mud like stars.

Upon reaching the edge of the woods, Wei Yuanzhan gently tightened the reins. Yueying sensed his command, and the sound of its feet on the ground changed from rapid to slow, as it stood quietly in place.

Lan Ye followed from behind, and seeing the lush greenery, he couldn't help but be tempted: "Master, how about I hunt a few for you?"

Wei Yuanzhan tilted his head to look him over and smiled, "You've abandoned Changhuai again?"

Lan Ye immediately became reserved: "I didn't... want to follow Master."

Wei Yuanzhan maintained a slight smile, said nothing more, and rode his horse into the forest.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.

Black hooves galloped through the undergrowth, seemingly drawn by a cluster of gray-white shadows, propelling it ever deeper into the wilderness.

Sunlight filtered through the treetops, and the birdsong grew fainter. Wei Yuanzhan stared intently at the white figure, and when it suddenly appeared, he had already drawn his arrow and nocked it, shooting it into the bushes with a sharp cry.

Lan Ye examined the prey he had shot, then grabbed it by both ears and lifted it high: "Master, it's a rabbit!"

Seemingly somewhat disappointed, Wei Yuanzhan's brows furrowed imperceptibly as he turned and rode westward.

The mountain road winds its way up, and due to the layered mountain terrain, when you look down from the end, you can see the winding path below.

As his gaze swept past a shimmering figure on the path at the foot of the mountain, Wei Yuanzhan momentarily thought he had spotted Zhirou.

Suspecting he was mistaken, he loosened the reins and stared intently at the woman for a moment. When her face turned, it seemed as if a bright light was flickering in the darkness, and a smile immediately welled up in Wei Yuanzhan's eyes.

It really is her.

Ignoring Lan Ye's shouts from behind, the horse galloped forward and circled around the head of the horse.

Zhi Rou had just said goodbye to her sister, and Ling Ziheng offered to see her off, which she accepted.

As luck would have it, when Wei Yuanzhan saw her again on the mountain path, his gaze immediately fell upon a man's face.

His long, well-proportioned fingers, with their perfect balance of bone and flesh, tightened around the bow handle without any extra reaction, yet his mind was searching for a name.

There was still some distance between them. He could recognize Zhi Rou, but he couldn't tell who the man beside her was.

The spirited horse took a few steps forward, then stopped again after being soothed by Wei Yuanzhan.

Zhi Rou sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed Ling Ziheng's arm, pulling him aside.

It was not as fast as the arrow that had been shot; the arrow still grazed past his hair ornament. Zhi Rou quickly checked it for a moment, and seeing that it was unharmed, turned her gaze to the road ahead.

Ling Ziheng and she both looked in the direction from which the arrow had come.

A young man, dressed in dusty clothes, rode a horse with a dashing air, his bow hanging naturally in his hand, gently touching the horse's mane.

Meeting Ling Ziheng's gaze, the boy's lips curled upwards, and he subtly raised an eyebrow, a smug gesture.

Ling Ziheng failed to notice, but Zhi Rou seemed to understand. After the initial surprise, a slight smile subtly appeared on her lips.

Lan Ye caught up at this moment, reined in his horse behind the two, dismounted to look, and exclaimed with delight, "Master, it's a fox!"

Then, looking at the shadow in front of her, she smiled and greeted him politely, "Fourth Miss."

Wei Yuanzhan smiled, slightly tightened his feet, and rode his horse to Zhirou's side.

His features became clearer with each passing moment in the morning light, revealing a relaxed brow and a gentle gaze as he looked at her with an exceptionally focused expression.

"Zhi Rou, did you come to see me?"

The young voice held a hint of pride, causing Zhi Rou's heart to flutter. She turned her eyes slightly away, unable to hold back her blushing lips.

She quickly suppressed her emotions and raised her eyelashes to Ling Ziheng, saying, "Young Master Ling, there's no need to see me off. Miss Thirteen should still be waiting for you. See you again when we return to the capital."

When these two sentences reached Wei Yuanzhan's ears, the smile on his face slowly faded, and he finally dared to glance at the man next to Zhi Rou again, looking down at him condescendingly.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but scoff inwardly: "See you back in the capital, what kind of extraordinary friendship is this?" Then, he silently murmured "Young Master Ling" again, and suddenly paused, startled.

Slowly, Wei Yuanzhan tightened his grip on the reins.

Ling Ziheng, with the upbringing and manners cultivated by his aristocratic family, would not dwell on this matter. He nodded slightly and took a step back, as if to wait for her to go first.

She has indeed changed a lot compared to before. Even if it was just out of courtesy, she would never have said anything about seeing each other again three years ago.

Zhi Rou turned around, her fingers deftly gliding over Wei Yuanzhan's reins. With a slight tug, the horse turned around and headed down the mountain, guided by her.

Her movements carried a familiar ease, and Wei Yuanzhan stared at her in surprise, feeling slightly uncomfortable and a little embarrassed: "You..."

She couldn't finish her sentence. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling like the spring sunshine: "Didn't you lead my horse before?"

As she gazed at him like that, Wei Yuanzhan felt as if cotton wool was tickling his heart, making him feel both itchy and trembling. He couldn't say whether he liked it more or felt embarrassed, and his cheekbones quietly warmed up.

The two men, one tall and one short, rode ahead, with Lan Ye trailing behind them at a pace of about five horse lengths.

At this moment, the sunlight shone brightly, and Wei Yuanzhan's gaze remained fixed on Zhirou.

Like a short sword.

His things, after wandering around, ended up on her waist and chest, as if he were gradually possessing her. Her heart suddenly raced, and she remembered the lips that he had truly taken from her that day.

He still remembered her touch, her voice, and her uncontrollable state... Wei Yuanzhan lowered his eyes and suddenly felt an impulse to ask her for something.

Zhi Rou felt his gaze, looked up for a moment, and caught it.

Wei Yuanzhan didn't move, still looking at her, but his gaze shifted from her lips to her eyes.

He wore a dark-colored martial arts uniform, with a deerskin belt around his waist, which made his narrow waist and broad shoulders appear even more prominent. Because he had been riding a horse in the forest, his clothes were covered in dust and slightly damp. His long hair was tied up in a neat and tidy manner, giving him a dashing, youthful air.

This image is completely different from the clean and noble image of the Crown Prince of Wei that we have in mind.

Zhi Rou found it intriguing, and a playful glint appeared in her bright eyes: "Where did you come from, sir?"

Wei Yuanzhan looked down at himself and knew what she was teasing him about. Although he was a little concerned about his appearance, he had already appeared in front of her like this, so he smiled relaxedly and did not mention the fox hunting in the mountains: "The rainstorm destroyed the surrounding houses, so I took people over to clean them up."

"So early," Zhi Rou raised an eyebrow slightly, "is it already finished repairing?"

She stared straight up at him again, a habit she had when speaking to people—looking directly at them.

Wei Yuanzhan shouldn't have felt anything was amiss.

Like Zhi Rou, his gaze never wavered when he spoke. But as she almost served him by leading his horse, for some reason, he couldn't resist. He tightened his grip, jumped off the horse, and took the reins from her palm.

"I went there yesterday. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed. It was just a matter of clearing out the obstacles, and it was quick."

He glanced at her for a moment, the image of Ling Ziheng lingering in his mind. He paused, then asked the question that had been replaying in his mind: "Why did you come to Yunshan?"

Zhi Rou glanced at him meaningfully for a moment: "Didn't I come to see you?"

What should have been a flattering remark turned out to be quite sobering for Wei Yuanzhan: "How did you know I was here if you saw me?"

“I went with my sister to keep our appointment, thinking that I would go to find you as soon as we left the city, but the plan changed and it has been delayed like this.”

This was the first time the two had met since their parting at the hunting grounds. During this time, Zhi Rou wrote three letters to Wei Yuanzhan and received three replies. Judging from his handwriting alone, he was in an extremely good mood, an inscrutable kind of good.

If her mother hadn't suddenly fainted, and if she hadn't heard those words from her father that stirred up her emotions, she would have come to see him long ago.

“Wei Yuanzhan,” Zhi Rou suddenly asked, “Does everyone have secrets?”

Wei Yuanzhan, not understanding what he was saying, turned his head hesitantly.

Zhi Rou was reminiscing about that day.

When Su mentioned Han Rui, her expression was ambiguous. She roughly knew that he was hiding something from her.

Back at the Song residence, she subtly inquired about Han Rui from her mother, but to no avail. Passing by her father's study, a thought struck her: since they were both officials in the same court, it was possible her father might know something about this man.

So he stopped and knocked on the door: "Father."

It was quiet inside. After a moment, Song Congzhao's low, slow voice came: "Come in."

Zhi Rou pushed open the door and stepped into the room. The light shining obliquely from the west window shone on the desk, bathing one side of the figure behind it, while the other side was hidden in shadow. The scholar's hand was holding a brush, dipping it in ink, and writing something very patiently, without even raising his head.

Zhi Rou quietly walked over, tilted her head and looked at the desk for a long time. His handwriting was upright and profound, by no means soft and boneless, but compared with the handwriting she usually encountered, it was slightly less spirited and sharp.

As if by some strange twist of fate, she suddenly asked, "Has Father ever seen Chang Yu... his calligraphy?"

Upon hearing this, Song Congzhao stopped writing, looked up at Zhirou in the backlight, and smiled, "Why don't you ask your mother? Her writing style is six or seven parts similar to his."

After speaking, he tossed the wolf-hair brush back onto the shelf, stared intently at her for a moment, his eyes showing a mixture of pleasure and helplessness, as he guessed, "Did you have a fight with your mother?"

Zhi Rou was a little dazed.

She visited Lingxi every day, especially after Lingxi fell ill, and the two spent even more time together. Looking at Lingxi's hands, Zhirou would often be lost in thought, but no matter how many times she asked her about the cause of her injury, Lingxi would always give evasive answers.

Whenever this happened, Zhi Rou felt that Su Du was very similar to her mother, mysterious and distressing.

However, right now, perhaps because she had seen Wei Yuanzhan, she felt very calm and simply started a casual conversation.

Wei Yuanzhan scrutinized her intently, his voice languid: "Let me think..."

A moment later, his dark eyes smiled, "Have you discovered something about me?"

His teasing tone was captivating. Zhi Rou looked at his frivolous appearance, turned her face away and smiled. Then she took a few steps forward, turned around and stood still, examining him with her hands behind her back as if admiring an antique.

"Your Highness, what weakness do you have that I can use against you?"

She smiled, her amber eyes gleaming brightly, like a newly transformed demon, possessing a bewitching and mischievous beauty.

The cotton wad fell into the lake of his heart without warning, and the ripples it created grew into thoughts. Wei Yuanzhan's fingers clenched slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Not long after, he answered her previous question in a casual tone: "Many people probably have things they can't say out loud and need to hide."

"I didn't." After saying that, Zhi Rou seemed to reflect on herself several times before rephrasing her words, "I didn't have anything for you."

Her expression was so sincere that Wei Yuanzhan was first taken aback, then a smile appeared on his lips as he took a step closer to her.

If Lan Ye hadn't been following behind, he really wanted to grab her hand and pull her around.

“Even if it were true, it wouldn’t be a big deal,” Wei Yuanzhan said magnanimously. “It’s a secret, not a lie.”

Zhi Rou frowned: "Is concealing something from the truth not considered a lie?"

Hearing this, he lowered his eyes to look at her face, slightly curious: "Is that what you think?"

When he asked her a question as if he were proofreading, Zhi Rou took two steps back, then turned around, resumed her normal demeanor and pace, and spoke in a low voice.

"I just feel... it creates distance, something you can't see but can feel. You shouldn't treat someone you care about like that."

Su Du was one thing; she'd never really gotten to know him. But why did her mother always try to hide it? Was it out of worry?

Wei Yuanzhan, observing her expression and combining it with her words, revealed a complex and scheming face, his voice lowering slightly: "Are you talking about Su Du?"

"Who?" Zhi Rou turned her face in surprise, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, then she smiled indifferently, "He's not that important to me, and neither am I to him."

Is that really so? As soon as you heard that something might happen to Su Du outside the city, you ran off with that guy named Zhao Xun. Wei Yuanzhan looked at her, but ultimately didn't voice his inner thoughts. He casually tossed out a remark: "Perhaps a distance is a form of intimacy."

It didn't make much sense, but Zhi Rou was seriously thinking about it. Was her mother... distant towards her?

She frowned slightly, then suddenly smiled, as if she had realized something, and then casually looked the people around her up and down.

"Wei Yuanzhan, are you trying to keep your distance from me?"

Perhaps it was Zhi Rou's imagination, but she felt that he ignored her teasing and instead smiled, his gaze lingering blatantly on her cheek.

Seeing that she seemed about to back away, Wei Yuanzhan asked flippantly, "What are you nervous about?"

"What's there to be nervous about? Who's nervous?" Zhi Rou coughed twice in an affected manner, met his gaze frankly, but couldn't hold it for long. Her cheeks flushed red, and she headed straight for the mountain path.

Wei Yuanzhan laughed at her from behind: "Slow down...where is your carriage parked?"

Zhi Rou, her back turned, replied, "No need for a carriage. Pei Cheng has prepared a horse for me; it's at the foot of the mountain."

"Lan Ye, go help Chang Huai." Wei Yuanzhan turned around and looked at Lan Ye.

He was slightly taken aback. What could Changhuai possibly do to help? It was just a matter of delivering a message. With such a long gap between his trip and return, by the time he reached the village again, Changhuai would have already led the brothers back to camp.

But when he met Wei Yuanzhan's piercing eyes, which held commands that brooked no disobedience, he met with something else entirely.

He could only stamp his foot in agreement, too busy to spur his horse and turn it around.