Chapter 89 Chapter 89 One Day

Zhe Rou pursed her lips, not wanting to pay any attention to it at all, and turned around and walked back.

At the moment when they were about to pass each other, Lu Chen suddenly reached out, grasped her arm, and pulled her back.

Her wrist was thin and slender, and even through a layer of quilted winter clothes, Lu Chen could easily cover it with one palm. However, the strength in his hand was not strong, and she was able to break free with a little effort.

She didn't know how long he had been standing in the snow. Her palms were icy cold, and the chill seeped through her clothes, making her shiver slightly.

Zhe Rou couldn't help but frown and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly, his deep eyes staring straight at her. "When do you plan to have Zhou Xiao send you off?"

Her heart suddenly tightened, and Zhe Rou raised her head abruptly, looking at him warily, "What do you mean?"

Lu Chen chuckled softly, "Xie Mingqi left someone behind before he left, wanting to protect you and secretly leave Lingzhou. Do you think I didn't know?"

Zhe Rou unconsciously clenched her fingers, fearing he would vent his anger on Zhou Xiao again. She could only deny it flatly, "I don't plan to leave. Zhou Xiao is just following orders. Don't make things difficult for him."

As their eyes met, Lu Chen twitched the corners of his lips in self-mockery. "In your eyes, this is all I am, isn't it?"

Zhe Rou was annoyed at his madness last night. She wanted to answer yes when she heard that, but she heard the desolation in his voice. For some reason, she pursed her lips and turned away.

Lu Chen stared at her trembling eyelashes for a while, then suddenly said, "Miss, how about we make a pact?"

His Adam's apple rolled up and down as he spoke word by word in a hoarse voice: "Stay by my side for one day, be the same sister you were before, and treat me as you did before. Then, as long as Xie Mingqi lives to come back, I will never bother with you again in this life."

Zhe Rou was startled and suddenly turned her head to look over.

Lu Chen was very close to her, his breathing almost meeting hers. The white mist exhaled by the two of them dispersed in the cold wind and then quickly entangled into a ball.

Hearing him suddenly make such a promise, it would be a lie if she said she was not shaken at all. However, she could not help but have doubts. Her heart was tight and her voice was trembling. "How could you..."

"I was wrong to force you before, but I do regret it..." Lu Chen said in a low voice. After a pause, he continued, "Besides, Mingqi is one of the rare people with the purest and clearest mind I've ever met in my life. I respect him."

Zhe Rou's heartbeat gradually became rapid, thumping and trembling, and for a moment it was somewhat out of control.

"But you know...know..."

The past is past, the estrangement and resentment are hard to eliminate, and she can't go back to being the same sister she used to be.

Lu Chen looked at her steadily, his dark eyes as deep as a well, as if to suck her in.

"Miss, I only want this one day."

"You and I have been married for so many years. Have I ever broken my promise to you?"

Zhe Rou opened her lips, vaguely wanting to say something in rebuttal, but the words lingered on her tongue for a long time before she could utter anything.

Although Lu Chen had deceived and coaxed her in the past, he always kept his promise as long as he was willing to agree.

Only one time did not count.

That year, he was seriously injured while fighting in the army. He recuperated at home for more than a month and was about to be able to walk normally when his aunt came to make trouble. She was holding a book of unknown origin and claimed that it was a letter left by her mother. She used this to threaten her and forced her to pay money to pay off her cousin's gambling debts.

Lu Chen promised her that he would not cause trouble, but he still sneaked out at night, blocked the back door of the gambling house, and broke one of her cousin's legs with his own hands to vent her anger.

However, his tossing and turning caused the wound that had not yet healed to open again. He was afraid that she would smell something, so he took a cold shower in the cold winter and completely washed away the smell of blood on his body before he dared to enter the house.

Zhe Rou lowered her eyes, and suddenly felt a bitterness in her heart, and even her breathing became cold.

After a long while, she finally nodded gently, with a faint sour taste in her nose, "...Okay."

A smile appeared in Lu Chen's eyes. After sending her back to the house, he turned around and went to the central military tent.

Nan Heng had been waiting outside the tent. Seeing him return, he hurried forward and called out, "My dear."

Lu Chen didn't stop and went straight inside. "Are the people and things I want ready?"

Nan Heng followed closely and replied in a deep voice, "It has been arranged. It will be ready tonight at the latest."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, walked over to the desk, and handed him two secret letters that had been written long ago. He instructed, "Send the first one urgently to the governor of Qinfeng Road, asking him to borrow 5,000 troops. The sooner the better. Keep the second one for now, and I'll give you instructions later."

Nan Heng immediately accepted the order, carefully put away the two letters, put them in his arms, turned around and quickly retreated.

The big tent was empty in an instant. Lu Chen stood quietly for a while and began to change clothes and wash up.

After everything was packed up and important military affairs were handled, Lu Chen took a horse and went to Zhe Rou's residence to look for her.

Although Zhe Rou had made some preparations, she still felt a little uneasy when she saw him coming over. She asked cautiously, "Where are you going?"

Lu Chen was quite relaxed. He reached out and lifted her onto the horse's back, then he swiftly jumped on top. He pulled the reins and encircled her in his arms, his warm breath falling on her ear. "Where do you want to go?"

Zhe Rou's back was pressed tightly against his warm, solid chest, and she couldn't move even if she wanted to. After a moment, she pursed her lips and whispered, "Let's go to the Big Buddha Temple and ask for a fortune for Ming Qi."

She had heard before that the Dangxiang people also worshipped Buddhism, and there was a large Buddhist temple built in Lingzhou City. It had always been very popular and the divination sticks were very effective.

Knowing that she was feeling uneasy and wanted to draw a line between them, Lu Chen pursed his lips and sneered, but he was not in a hurry for the moment. He gathered the reins, gently squeezed the horse's belly, and led her towards the Buddhist temple.

The Big Buddha Temple is located in the north of the city. The halls are majestic, with deep eaves and brackets. The pagoda behind the hall stands quietly in the snow, simple and solemn. Before you get close, you can hear the golden bells on the eaves of the pagoda colliding with the wind, and the clear sound is clanging in your ears.

Lu Chen tied the horse to a tree beside the road, turned around and took her hand very naturally.

Zhe Rou subconsciously wanted to struggle, but in the end she remained still and let him take her hand into his palm.

As if sensing her retreat, Lu Chen curled the corners of his lips slightly, clenched his knuckles, and held her tighter.

Entering the temple gate, there is an ancient Bodhi tree in the courtyard that requires two people to hug. The treetop is covered with snow and the branches are lush and twisted. There are red ropes and wooden plaques with wishes hanging on them. The wind blows through the treetops, making a rustling sound.

The front of the temple was filled with the smoke of incense, and at this hour, there were already many people coming and going to burn incense.

Zhe Rou followed the other pilgrims who came to seek fortune, took some incense sticks, walked around the Buddhist temple where scriptures were being chanted, and bowed three times devoutly.

After getting the fortune stick, she walked past the corridor pillar and looked up to see Lu Chen standing under the Bodhi tree waiting for her.

Compared with his cold and hard appearance in the army, now he took off his armor and wrist guards, wore a dark blue round-necked robe with dark patterns, and a cloak. At first glance, he really looked like an ordinary noble young man, but there were a few traces of frost on his temples, which did not look like the appearance of a man in his prime in his twenties.

Suddenly remembering Mingqi saying that he had not had a good life in the past few years, Zhe Rou stood there, unable to describe the feeling in her heart, a mixture of bitterness and resentment.

She resented him for using any means necessary to avenge his father, hated him for ignoring her wishes and forcing and humiliating her repeatedly, was angry at him for going mad and treating human life as worthless, and was even more annoyed at his domineering and tyrannical nature, which had destroyed their love beyond recognition.

But he was not completely bad, so her heart was still entangled with the tenderness of her youth that was hard to let go, occasionally mixed with some guilt for almost causing his death on the ship, and a trace of reluctance to see him haggard and desolate.

After so many years of entanglement, she loved him deeply and hated him deeply. Although she wanted to stay away from him and be with others, she could not treat him as a stranger.

After hesitating for a while, just before leaving the temple, Zhe Rou finally frowned and asked, "What's wrong with your hair?"

Lu Chen paused slightly, then chuckled. "Nothing much, just the hard work of marching these past few years in the bitter cold of the north." Then, he subtly changed the subject, "Lingzhou is famous for its Tan sheep. I've heard their meat is tender and not smelly. I'll take you to try some."

How could Zhe Rou not hear the evasiveness in his words, but since he didn't want to talk about it anymore, she didn't ask any more questions.

After leaving the Big Buddha Temple, Lu Chen held the reins with one hand and held her tightly with the other, and the two of them walked slowly along the long street towards the south of the city.

Although the war had just ended, the business in Lingzhou City had already returned to normal. There were many street vendors shouting along the streets, and the aroma of food wafted through the air.

Before they had walked far, they met an old lady selling sundries. Zhe Rou didn't pay attention to her at first and wanted to continue forward, but Lu Chen suddenly grabbed her and said, "Come here."

Zhe Rou didn't understand what he meant, "Hmm?"

Lu Chen was obviously in a good mood. He picked for a while in the old woman's basket with his long fingers, selected a crimson silk ribbon, paid the money, turned around and untied her hairband.

Zhe Rou was caught off guard by his sudden action and let out a low cry of surprise. She quickly raised her hands to protect her hair, "What are you doing?"

Lu Chen glanced at her and sneered, "Didn't you change your shoes every day? This one has only been used for three days, it should have been replaced long ago."

Zhe Rou couldn't help but be stunned.

When she was young, she lived with her uncle and aunt. She could not afford to buy silk ribbons to tie her hair, so she could only tie her hair up casually with coarse cloth strips. Later, when she was with him, she had no other hobbies, but she liked to collect all kinds of silk ribbons, and tie them in different ways every day, and never repeated the same one within ten days.

She had been in the military camp all this time and was so busy that she had forgotten about it.

Lu Chen moved quickly and took advantage of her distraction to put the old silk ribbon into her sleeve pocket, and then carefully tied the new one on top, wrapping it tightly.

After wandering around the streets for a long time, the sky gradually darkened and the cold stars rose. Zhe Rou's mind, which had been tense all day, gradually relaxed, and she and Lu Chen went to the famous Boyue Tower in the city for dinner.

The quality of Lingzhou's beach lamb is indeed excellent. When paired with the best lamb wine, it has a mellow and sweet aftertaste and tastes wonderful.

She drank a lot without realizing it, and when she was about to leave the restaurant, she was already a little drunk. Lu Chen carried her onto the horse and returned to the camp.

The warmth in the cloak wrapped her tightly.

The lamb wine had a long-lasting aftertaste, and Zhe Rou had eaten a little too much. The alcohol was now rising in waves, and she soon felt sleepy from the gentle bumps on the horse's back. She unconsciously moved her body and found a position that was barely comfortable. Her eyelids gradually drooped, and she fell asleep in a daze.

After riding the horse for a while, Lu Chen suddenly felt a heat on his neck. He reached out and found that a small area of ​​his neck was wet with her saliva.

After a moment of stunned silence, Lu Chen couldn't help but chuckle. He turned his head slightly and bit her delicate cheek lightly with a hint of punishment.

They rode slowly all the way and it was almost night when they returned to the camp outside the city.

Lu Chen carried her back to his residence, gently placed her on the couch, took her out of her cloak, took off her shoes and socks, and covered her with a quilt.

Zhe Rou was drunk and slept soundly, not being disturbed at all.

After everything was settled, Lu Chen sat down silently beside the couch, his eyes quietly fixed on her peaceful sleeping face.

Everything was silent, and the cold moonlight slowly moved across his face. As if in just one breath, the sky had gradually turned pale, and the hazy light moved into the window lattice inch by inch. The deadline for the one-day appointment was about to end.

Zhe Rou was awakened by him while she was still in a daze.

"妱妱."

She heard Lu Chen's voice in a daze, her consciousness still in a drowsy chaos. She struggled for a while before she reluctantly opened her sleepy eyes.

"I have urgent military business to attend to and must leave immediately."

Lu Chen raised his hand and touched her face, staring at her intently, and whispered, "Miss, look at me again."

Unable to explain why, Zhe Rou's heart suddenly tightened, and her sleepiness disappeared in an instant. She sat up in a daze, hugged the quilt, and looked up at him, "Lu Bingyan..."

The two looked at each other for a long while, and seemed to be finally satisfied. A smile appeared in Lu Chen's deep black eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her between the eyebrows, then stood up and walked out the door.

Although it was a one-day appointment that had been made earlier, he looked inexplicably different from usual at this moment. Everything seemed unreal, as if he was still in a dream.

The warmth of his lips still lingered between her eyebrows.

A faint feeling of something strange flashed through Zhe Rou's mind, but she didn't catch it clearly. She just subconsciously called out to him, "Lu Bingyan!"

The sunlight came in through the window lattice, dim and hazy. Lu Chen stopped and turned around, staring at her quietly for a long time.

After a long while, he seemed to recall something, and smiled, "Pingchuan sent a letter home the day before yesterday, saying that Xiaoli had given birth to a litter of puppies. If you want them, I'll have someone send them to you when I return to Shangjing after the war is over."

Zhe Rou opened her lips for a long time, but didn't know what to say. It seemed like many words were welling up in her heart, but in the end she just nodded lightly, "Okay."

Lu Chen looked at her deeply, with a smile on his lips, and turned around and pushed the door open to leave.