Chapter 82 Taking What You Want

After Rong Linyan hurriedly returned to the manor, he didn't have time to go to Jinsong Pavilion to apologize to the neglected bride. Instead, he went to Chenxiang Garden first to ask his mother for details about what had happened.

Madam Rong originally wanted to make excuses, but when she heard that the wedding procession had encountered real robbers, Bai Hua had been kidnapped, and her whereabouts were a mystery, she was immediately surprised and stunned.

As a woman confined to a humble dwelling, she had never seen much of the world. Now, with unexpected complications arising, especially since she was involved in the planning, she lost her composure. Under Rong Linyan's repeated questioning, she could no longer keep the secret and quickly revealed the whole truth about Bai Hua's initiative to stage a play.

After hearing this, Rong Linyan looked dejected and disappointed, unwilling to believe that his cousin was actually unwilling to marry him.

If I don't want to marry him, who do I want to marry?

He thought of his chance encounter with Zang Fan in the suburbs, and through Zang Fan, he thought of Ning Jue.

He was so averse to this answer that the thought was abruptly cut off by his own will as soon as it arose.

Absolutely not.

At this moment, Madam Rong spoke softly, interrupting his thoughts: "Hua'er had good intentions. She was worried that the Yang family might outwardly approve of the marriage but secretly harbored ties, which is why she was willing to compromise herself and not enter the manor for the time being. Now that you are new to officialdom and your career is uncertain, you naturally need General Yang as your father-in-law to provide assistance. Hua'er wants you to be able to take every step steadily in the future, and my original intention was the same, which is why Hua'er and I made up a lie to deceive you. Lin Yan, don't blame your mother. No one could have predicted that things would develop like this and Hua'er would really be in trouble."

Master Rong placed his teacup steadily on the table, remained silent for a while, and then spoke: "Your mother has planned for you with great care and effort, and Hua'er is also a good child, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, and understanding the bigger picture. Don't blame them. Now that you have finally won the opportunity to enter officialdom, the glory of the Rong family is just around the corner. We have waited too long for this opportunity, and we must not let it slip away again."

Madam Rong nodded quickly: "Yes, Lin Yan, why don't you go back to Jingsong Pavilion to comfort her first? As for Hua'er's whereabouts, your father and I will send people to track her down and inquire about her. We will not be negligent."

Rong Linyan clenched his fists and said with restraint, "Father, Mother, how could I not know how treacherous the officialdom is? I have my own considerations before making any decision. Today, I might as well be frank with you two. Since I won the competition, the Grand General has never summoned me alone, nor has he revealed any intention to give me an important position. On the contrary, the Left Prime Minister, who was passing through Jiling on his way to visit his family, watched the competition on the stage and was quite impressed with my swordsmanship. He also talked to me privately several times, and his words vaguely revealed his intention to recruit me. However, the Grand General is caught in the middle, so he cannot directly appoint me."

"The Great General Wang may not recognize talent, but other patrons will appreciate me. My marriage to Yang Yun is not to use the Yang family's connections to strengthen my relationship with the Great General Wang, but to take the opportunity to show my loyalty to the Left Prime Minister. I will give the Yang family seven points of face, which is enough. The Yang family's daughter and Hua'er entered the family on the same day, and no one can criticize them."

Upon hearing this, Master Rong frowned, and his expression became even more serious.

He wanted to say something, but then stopped himself, ultimately suppressing his temper and continuing to listen.

Rong Linyan continued, “People in officialdom are multifaceted; you can’t tell anything from the surface. I used the victory celebration banquet to build relationships with various people and gradually figure out the deeper ways of things. General Yang may seem to be a confidant of the Grand General, but in reality, he has already boarded the Left Prime Minister’s ship. These important figures in the court each have their own considerations. Whether they see through it but don’t say it or are planning for the big picture, it’s none of my business. I only want to follow a patron who can truly appreciate me. As for whether he is the Grand General or the Left Prime Minister, it doesn’t matter at all.”

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

After a long while, Master Rong sighed, his expression revealing a sense of helplessness and dejection.

Master Rong: "When I was young, I didn't understand the importance of being prepared for danger in times of peace. I didn't strive for progress and wasted a lot of time. I even failed to maintain the connections your grandfather had built up. Now I can't help you anymore, and it's too late for regrets..."

Rong Linyan shook his head, not blaming fate or others: "Even a century-old aristocratic family cannot escape the fate of decline and short life under the tide. Moreover, our Rong family is only a royal merchant who has temporarily received the emperor's favor. The emperor's heart is unpredictable and can be abandoned at will. How can we blame Father alone?"

Old Master Rong's eyes were deep and thoughtful. Despite his advanced age, his eyes still involuntarily reddened upon hearing his son's words.

The father and son continued their deep conversation, while Madam Rong, unable to get a word in edgewise, remained silent and listened attentively.

As a woman who had spent most of her life confined to her home, she naturally lacked their perspective and knowledge. Listening to the father and son analyze the court situation and various factions, and occasionally mentioning unfamiliar names and official titles, she felt as if she were listening to gibberish. So she simply left quietly, giving the father and son some space to talk alone.

After leaving the room, Madam Rong ordered her capable maid to go to Jinsong Pavilion to investigate the situation.

The maid returned in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

She returned to report that, judging from the noises inside, the young mistress seemed to be smashing things and venting her anger, occasionally scolding the maid, and was quite fierce and aggressive.

Madam Rong felt uncomfortable hearing this; on such a joyous day, it was truly a tragedy.

Fearing that Yang might cause a bigger commotion by being alone in Jinsong Pavilion and attract ridicule from the servants, Madam Rong was agitated. She paced back and forth under the eaves at the door a few times before finally unable to resist going back inside.

Seeing that Lin Yan and her husband had stopped talking, Madam Rong stepped forward with a wry smile and gently advised her son that if there was nothing urgent at the moment, he should go back to his own courtyard to rest. As for the rest, they could discuss it in detail tomorrow morning.

It's getting late; it's almost midnight.

Rong Linyan glanced out the window at the night sky, nodded in agreement, said goodbye to his parents, and got up to leave.

Watching her son's hurried departure, Madam Rong said with some reluctance, "This child, he thinks about so many things every day, and he seems to have become even thinner."

...

Back at Jinsong Pavilion, facing his most familiar surroundings, Rong Linyan felt no sense of relaxation; instead, he tensed up even more.

From morning till night, first there was the wedding procession, then the chase after the thief. The whole day was exhausting, leaving me physically and mentally drained.

He hadn't had time to change his clothes; he was still wearing his wedding robe, which made his face flush red, but his expression showed no joy whatsoever.

Rong Linyan tried his best to relax his brow, took a breath, and hesitantly pushed open the bedroom door. What he saw was a mess on the floor—the wedding candles were broken, the dressing table was overturned, and the white porcelain cup containing the nuptial wine was also shattered.

Yang Yun was sitting on the edge of the bed, still awake. She probably had a lot of resentment in her heart and couldn't fall asleep even if she closed her eyes.

She looked up at the sound, glancing at him indifferently, her emotions unreadable.

She waited in vain for the groom, and had already lifted her veil herself. At this moment, her wedding dress was disheveled, her hair ornaments were crooked, and she was not very dignified.

Rong Linyan was unwilling to confront him directly and also admitted that he was in the wrong, so he took the initiative to say, "I apologize to you today."

"How are you going to compensate me? You've embarrassed me like this, I'm not happy at all, I wish I could curse that bitch to be kidnapped and never come back!" Yang Yun's words were sharp and left no room for negotiation, she was not someone to be trifled with.

Rong Linyan looked at her, his knuckles clenched, and he held back, saying, "It's something we agreed on a long time ago, as you know. Today, my cousin was robbed by accident, and it was only right that I went out to rescue her. If it were you in danger today, how could I not help you? Miss Yang, please be lenient and don't be so quick to argue."

Yang Yun covered her ears and shouted, "Don't try to reason with me! You're so eloquent, but I'm just a rough guy. How can I possibly win an argument with you? I won't do anything that puts me at a disadvantage!"

Rong Linyan sighed helplessly, feeling a headache coming on: "How about we talk again tomorrow when we've both calmed down? It's getting late, let's rest. If we don't sleep, none of the servants and maids in the courtyard outside will get any rest."

Yang Yun was still angry and wanted to retort a few more times, but she didn't know what to say that would be more offensive. After thinking for a while, she had no choice but to give up.

But of course, I still felt unsatisfied.

After thinking for a moment, she snorted and threw a quilt off the couch, indicating that Rong Linyan should find a place to sleep, while she lay comfortably on the main couch, with plenty of room to turn over.

Rong Linyan didn't argue with her and let her throw a tantrum. He took two steps forward, picked up the bedding, and moved away.

"Take a good rest." That was his polite remark.

Yang Yun remained silent, which was not surprising.

The two couldn't agree on anything, and Yang Yun became sullen and angry with him, refusing to share a room. Rong Linyan was equally uninterested, and seeing her attitude, he was actually relieved.

I was worried that we might be sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams, but now I don't have to worry about that anymore.

The two slept in separate beds, but still shared a room. Neither of them spoke, but neither of them seemed to be asleep.

On their wedding night, the room was cold and quiet, devoid of any tenderness or affection. One of the newlyweds lay on the bed, sulking with his back turned, while the other stared blankly at the ceiling beams, lost in thought, his mind elsewhere.

It's even more distant and unfamiliar than sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams.

...

It is more than 30 li from Jiling City, with inns along the way.

The candlelight in the guest rooms gradually went out, and the windows went dark one by one. Only one skylight emitted a faint light, which, if one did not look closely, would be mistaken for the light moonlight shining down and would not be particularly noticeable.

Of course, in the dead of night, no one would crane their neck to look up, and given the limited field of vision, regular guests would never notice that there was a dark room hidden further in at the end of the corridor.

The red candle was half-burned, and the melted wax adhered to the handle, slowly solidifying like the tears of red coral or clusters of pomegranate seeds.

The higher the quality of the candle, the slower the wick burns. There wouldn't be any inferior candles in this room. Half of it had burned out, and judging by the time, at least half an hour had passed. Yet he was still energetic and far from satisfied.

Ning Jue withdrew his gaze from outside the tent and returned it to Bai Hua. Her skin was naturally white, dazzlingly so, and under the glow of the red candlelight, it took on a faint blush pink hue, making her very eye-catching. He placed his palm on her lower back, his fingertips tracing along her waistline. The calluses seemed to bring her an unbearable itch, and Bai Hua's body trembled. At the same time, the contraction and biting sensation below became more pronounced. Ning Jue took a deep breath, panting slightly to relieve the sensation.

Bai Hua bit her lip, her forehead beaded with sweat, and reached out to push Ning Jue's shoulder, wanting to speak, but her throat was dry and she had no strength left.

In fact, she still had many questions to ask, her heart was full of confusion, and she had not yet received answers to any of her questions.

She wanted to know where he had been and whether he had finished his business.

Regarding the cause of the Sword Saint's death, he has been working hard to find the truth. Are there any new clues or progress now?

And why did he happen to appear in Jiling on the very day she was faking her wedding...?

Bai Hua spoke with difficulty, her voice even softer and weaker than she had imagined: "Young Master, I have something to ask you..."

Ning Jue rose and fell, and as he spoke, his tone changed slightly with his movements: "We'll talk about it later, focus."

Bai Hua clung to him, trying to persuade him again: "These are all important matters."

She was eager to find out what Ning Jue had been up to recently, but he was just as impatient and didn't give her a chance to talk calmly. He was like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, as if he would die if he didn't get his fill. He insisted that she wait until he had a good meal before he could talk about anything important.

Bai Hua had no choice but to reluctantly give in and let herself be taken advantage of.

The imagined scene of the two having a heart-to-heart talk did not happen. Instead, their white shirts and red skirts, as well as their undergarments, were all scattered and mixed together.

Some were laid out at the foot of the bed, while others were scattered on the floor, in an irregular and disorderly manner.

Fine, let it all be.

Bai Hua loosened her grip, no longer pushing away, and tacitly agreed to let him have his way, which Ning Jue absolutely loved.

She didn't compromise herself; she was willing to do this not because she had a good temper or was very tolerant, but because... she really missed him too.