Chapter 64

When you love someone, everything they say and do seems right, and their whole being shines in your eyes. You never doubt a single vow they make, never even considering that they might be a lie.

In her previous life, Yuan Liu Niang saw Zhao Shi Xian in the same way.

In this life, Yuan Qiong views Lin Qiang in the same way.

The difference is that Zhao Shixian did not keep his oath, while Lin Qiang defended his oath with everything he had.

"Girl, let's go back to Black Cloud Village."

A clear sky with light clouds drifting by, three cicada chirps herald autumn. Coarse cotton and linen shirts with gauze sleeves, smiling eyes meet smiling eyes.

"I will leave today."

Yuan Qiong was stunned for a moment. Black Cloud Village?!

Why go to Black Cloud Village?

She gently twirled a strand of his high-tied hair around her finger, her brow furrowing slightly. "Big Beard, I want to go back to the capital. The Yuan family needs me now." This was the first time Yuan Qiong had spoken to someone in a consultative and explanatory tone. "I need to go back and find out the cause of my grandfather's death and avenge him."

The pursuing soldiers were left far behind by Lin Qiang. He sighed softly, looked at the setting sun, and crossed the city wall to a dead old locust tree, where a chestnut horse was tethered.

He stopped and placed her high on the horse's back. Looking up, he saw Yuan Qiong staring at him with eyes as clear as glass beads.

She grabbed his sleeve and repeated what she had just said: "Big Beard, I want to go back to Beijing."

Lin Qiang knew perfectly well how stubborn the little girl was. The fact that she could now discuss things with him instead of making decisions on her own was already a huge improvement.

Lin Qiang grasped the delicate hand clutching his sleeve, chuckled softly with satisfaction, then looked up and pinched her cheek affectionately, saying, "The capital is now under Yuwen Zhe's control. Going back now would just be walking into a trap. Do you think that Prince Yan, Yuwen Jing, can help you?"

With her grandfather dead, it was no surprise that the capital would fall into Yuwen Zhe's hands. Yuan Qiong was silent for a moment before saying, "Sheng Ran will help me."

Sheng Ran? Why are you calling him so affectionately? Lin Qiang thought of the childhood sweetheart relationship between the two in the book, and his eyes darkened. Then he definitely couldn't go back!

"When news of your death spread, Yuwen Zhe secretly sent a message to Guan Shengran. Without imperial orders, Guan Shengran led his troops back to the capital for the funeral, which gave your grandfather a reason to punish him. He was immediately stripped of his military rank and imprisoned, and he hasn't been released yet. Do you think he can help you?"

".......madness!"

Yuan Qiong cursed, her face turning extremely ugly. She'd been completely out of touch lately; she knew nothing about something this big! When did Guan Shengran become so stupid? All that trust she had placed in him! Couldn't he see through such a simple scheme of using someone else to do his dirty work? He'd been so easily outmaneuvered by Yuwen Zhe!

Lin Qiang chuckled lightly: "That's not called foolishness, that's called deep affection."

How deep was his affection? So deep that Lin Qiang felt a pang of jealousy whenever he thought about it.

Guan Shengran, a free-spirited and unrestrained scholar, willingly abandoned his studies to join the army for Yuan Qiong, exchanging his scholarly robes for battle armor. In the book, he also willingly became a pawn in her hands, dying for her. What else could this be but deep affection?

"..." Yuan Qiong was speechless. How could someone as intelligent as her not sense Guan Shengran's feelings? She was just pretending not to know.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you touched? I'll get jealous if you do that." Lin Qiang looked up and said with a smile, "I'm the kind of person who likes to do naughty things when I'm jealous, so don't force me."

Suppressing the rising violence within her, Yuan Qiong snorted and grabbed his ear: "You said it all, what did I force you to do?"

Thankfully, he was there, so she knew she didn't need to be afraid of falling down, because there was always someone behind her to catch her, no matter what.

Hmm...that seems to be true. Does that mean there's no excuse to do bad things?

Lin Qiang grinned, removed the small hand from her ear (which hadn't exerted any force at all), quickly mounted his horse, pulled the person on the saddle into his arms, and whispered in her ear with a smile, "Come with me. Trust me, it won't be long before I can make you return here in the most proud manner, back to the capital of Great Yan."

The man spoke very casually, as if he were talking about something very simple, his tone confident.

Yuan Qiong turned around and smiled brightly: "Okay."

I believe in you, and I believe in myself even more.

A thin mist and thick clouds cast a pall over the long day; the incense burner's golden beast burner burns out. After dusk, I drink wine by the eastern fence, and a faint fragrance fills my sleeves.

**

In the fourth year of the Chengde reign, the health of the Great Yan King deteriorated rapidly, and he became extremely weak. His younger brother, Prince Cheng, acted as regent, exercising royal power on his behalf.

Among the popular uprising forces, the Hong family army grew increasingly powerful, occupying several cities around Jiangbei. They did not commit any offenses wherever they went, and gained extremely high prestige.

At the same time, Prince Yuwen Ting of Jin joined forces with six other princes to launch a joint attack. The banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle" remained unchanged, but the target of the "purging" had changed from Yuan Su Hui to Yuwen Zhe.

There is also a fourth group that operates outside the three major powers. They do not participate in the struggle between any of the three powers. Whoever offers the most money and pays the highest price can get the information they want from them. They maneuver between the three powers, taking all the benefits and doing all the bad things, making all three powers hate them to the core but helpless.

On a winter's day, the bright sunshine shines on the still-melting snow, making it sparkle with the most dazzling light.

Outside the training ground, Cheng Mingyu, dressed in a white shirt and blue scholar's robe, "whoosh!" opened the folding fan in his hand and began his daily routine of showing off.

"Look, look, what's this? What's this? This is a treasure!" Young Master Cheng smiled and showed the fan to the bandits who had gathered around him. "Do you know what the founding emperor of the previous dynasty was called? Fu Yuan! Do you see those two characters written on this fan? Do you see them?"

The bandits all shook their heads; they were completely illiterate!

"You, you bunch of ignorant fools!" Cheng Mingyu exclaimed in anguish, "The words 'Fu Yuan' are written on this fan! This is the first paper fan made after Emperor Wu invented papermaking! It's an antique among antiques! It's incredibly valuable!"

"Oh, oh!" the bandits exclaimed in realization.

"This is something I begged Lin Jiangzhi to give me a piece of his treasure a while ago. I'm bringing it here today for you bunch of ignorant bumpkins to take a look at! Am I generous?"

"Tsk, that's generous." Feng Zhi appeared out of nowhere and said with a grin, "But did you get them by begging or by sneaking around? I heard that Jiang Zhi's Qing Que came to the boss again these past two days asking for people. How about we send you over?"

"Wind!" The bandits watching immediately bowed respectfully, then made a hasty retreat.

You absolutely cannot offend Envoy Jiang! Otherwise, if you lose all your sparrows, you'll have nowhere to turn! Cheng Mingyu is the best example; he was at odds with Envoy Jiang at every turn, and now he doesn't even have a single sparrow!

"Tch~" Cheng Mingyu curled his lip and twirled the fan between his fingers: "The boss is the best. He would never be willing to send me to that madman Lin Jiangzhi's hands. Besides, I have the best disguise skills in the village. If I leave, who will help you pick on the troublemakers?"

Feng rolled his eyes: "Heh!"

Just then, the iconic "ding-a-ling~" bell rang. Feng Zhi didn't have time to banter with Cheng Mingyu anymore. He turned around and left, not wanting to see Tan Xiaoque, that troublemaker, at all.

"Hehe~ I thought it looked pretty lively here just now~ Where did everyone go?"

"Little Sparrow's here!" Cheng Mingyu greeted her with a smile, raising his hand. "Come and see my new fan!"

"Did you steal this from Brother Jiang again?" Tan Xiaoque walked over with a grin, hands behind her back, and examined the fan in his hand. The pink tassels on her twin buns were delicate and charming. "Hmm~ When Brother Jiang comes back, you're going to get at least three beatings~"

"Hmph, I'll let him have his way! Otherwise, I'll beat him so badly he won't be able to get out of bed for half a month!" He said, fanning himself hard a few times, but a gust of cold wind blew, making him shiver violently. "Achoo!"

"Hahahaha..." Tan Xiaoque laughed mercilessly: "Come on, with your small frame." After saying that, she looked around: "Where is the chief? I've searched the whole village and can't find him."

"My sister-in-law said it was boring up in the mountains, so my eldest brother accompanied her down the mountain to play."

"Goed down the mountain to play?" Tan Xiaoque's face instantly darkened. "When did this happen?"

"In the morning."

"What's so fun about being in such chaos down the mountain! Humph! The area outside the mountain is full of assassins. Going down the mountain at this time is just asking for trouble!"

Cheng Mingyu chuckled and patted her shoulder: "You little brat wouldn't understand, would you? For the eldest brother, the more dangerous it is, the more interesting it is. With your brother's martial arts skills, those assassins wouldn't even be able to touch a hair on your sister-in-law's head."

"Stop calling her 'sister-in-law' all the time. The head of the household isn't even married yet! What kind of sister-in-law is that woman?!"

"Hey, it was bound to happen sooner or later." Cheng Mingyu was oblivious and didn't notice anything wrong with Tan Xiaoque at all. After saying that, he swaggered away, leaving Tan Xiaoque there alone, gritting her teeth.

**

Black Wind Forest at the foot of Black Wind Mountain is a place no one dares to approach, a place rumored to be a place where one may enter but never leave. Today, a burly man with deep-set features and an extraordinary temperament suddenly emerged from the forest. After the man left the forest, he turned around and reached out his hand. A petite and delicate woman took his hand, lifted her skirt, nodded, and walked out.

The silver-white fox cloak made the woman's small face appear even whiter and more delicate. Two strands of tiny white pearls were tied diagonally on her straight bun, and two small white fluffy tufts were adorned at the back. With her overall demeanor, she looked like a snow fairy who had just emerged from the mountains.

Yuan Qiong looked up at Lin Qiang and smiled slightly, her slender eyes curving into crescent shapes: "Guess how many people are following us now?"

"Hahaha... What if I guessed right and they cheated and didn't send out that many people?"

The assassins openly discussing them in the woods were filled with mixed emotions. Did they really look down on them that much?!

Lin Qiang gently put his arm around her slender waist, feeling that the little girl was too thin and light, as if she would break if he squeezed her.

"I've been feeding him for so long, why can't he gain weight?" He shook his head in frustration. "Looks like I'll have to feed him even more from now on."

"Do you think this is feeding pigs?" Yuan Qiong rolled her eyes at him, then naturally opened her arms, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "I don't want to walk anymore, I'm too tired, carry me."

"Why won't you let me carry you?" Lin Qiang asked, feeling wronged. "It's too much trouble to carry you."

"You think I'm a nuisance? Big black beard, it hasn't been long, and you're already finding me annoying? Tell me, are you regretting it? Have you fallen for another woman? Are you...?"

"Okay, okay, I'll carry you, I'll carry you, I'll carry you." Before she could finish speaking, Lin Qiang quickly raised his hands in surrender: "I was wrong, I apologize."

Hmph, that's more like it!

Yuan Qiong lifted her skirt and kicked his boots: "Squat down, I'll do it myself."

"Okay." Lin Qiang resignedly squatted down. Yuan Qiong, feeling playful, walked several steps away with her hands behind her back, turned around, and made a running start gesture: "Haha, big beard, I'm coming, don't fall down."

After saying that, like a rabbit frolicking in the snow, it leaped and pounced onto Lin Qiang's broad back, where Lin Qiang remained firmly and steadily.

"Hahahaha..." She hugged his neck tightly, her voice filled with undisguised joy: "You're amazing."

Lin Qiang helped her stand up and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

Yuan Qiong buried her head in his neck, her breath filled with his unique scent of fresh grass, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"Big Black Beard, will you be this good to me for the rest of your life?"

"Of course, definitely."

Would you be this nice to other women?

"No, no, absolutely not."

“Me too.” Yuan Qiong pressed her head against the back of his neck and declared, word by word, “I will be good to you for the rest of my life.”

"Um."

Two people, one pair of feet. Every step they take leaves behind a sense of peace.

No matter how much wind and rain lies ahead, as long as you are here, I will have no fear.

Author's Note: One day, in the royal palace.

Yuan Qiong: I just went to the Imperial Physician's Office and saw Yuan Liu Niang getting medicine there.

Lin Qiang: Yuan Liu Niang? What medicine did she go to get?

Yuan Qiong: Oh, you care about her so much? Don't you care why I went to the Imperial Physician's Office?

Lin Qiang (quickly smiling): Why did you go to the Imperial Physician's Office?

Yuan Qiong: You still know how to care about me?

Lin Qiang: That's right, that's right.

Yuan Qiong: She has a very strong will to survive!

Lin Qiang: Of course, of course.

Yuan Qiong: Then explain to me why Yuan Liu Niang is at the Imperial Physician's Office? Didn't you say she left the capital a long time ago?

Lin Qiang: ...

Lin Qiang: Ah, this is so hard for me... Every question is a potential death trap...

(This is a short joke I saw before, modified and I'm sharing it with you all~)

**

I'm too exhausted today, I'll add more on Sunday...