Chapter 11 Good days are ordinary and down-to-earth, but sweet and hopeful...
"Your Highness, isn't what we're doing... a bit too lewd?"
Le Jin bent over, sticking her butt out, leaving space for Yuan Jingming to squat.
"Shh—" Yuan Jingming patted her leg and reminded her, "Keep your voice down."
In the study, Jiang Yingyun, dressed in a plain robe and with a Taoist scarf reaching her waist, sat facing Meng Cizhang, one tall and one short.
They had no scriptures in their hands; instead, they were craning their necks to look for something on the table. A series of crisp, clattering sounds rang out, like pebbles hitting each other.
Yuan Jingming muttered, "What are you doing..."
Jiang Yingyun is now Meng Cizhang's female lecturer, living in the Meng Family Ancestral Temple, and no longer returns to Yuyang Nunnery.
As soon as Yuan Jingming's injuries healed, he rushed to see her, but he was worried about his father. So, the dignified Prince Pingning, along with his eunuch, secretly peeked through the window cracks, wishing they could stick their eyes inside.
Le Jin glanced at Yuan Jingming, who was squatting down, and silently shook her head.
How come I never noticed how simple-minded he was when I read the book before? Does love make people stupid?
"Young Master, Fourth Madam Jiang is safe and sound in the Meng residence now, why are you so hung up on her?"
"Tsk." Yuan Jingming glanced at Le Jin impatiently, shaking his head at her lack of understanding of him.
“I'm the one who brought her to this strange place, so I have to take responsibility. What if she loses weight? What if she can't sleep well? What if she's not used to it? What if she misses me…”
Yuan Jingming quickly covered his mouth, his cheeks flushing a deep pink. After a long while, he muttered again, "Anyway, I have to make sure she's doing well. That's a man's responsibility."
His pounding young heart was laid bare before Le Jin's eyes.
She couldn't help but laugh.
Oh well, it's not like she's the one dating, so let him be a little silly.
Suddenly, a greenish-blue fruit landed with a "thud" on Yuan Jingming's robe.
Le Jin and Yuan Jingming both stared wide-eyed.
Someone's there!
They quickly looked in the direction from which the fruit had been thrown, only to see Meng Shutai leaning against a pink and white flowering tree on a rolling green hillside, smiling as he looked at them.
"That scared me to death." Yuan Jingming patted his chest, stood up, and ran towards Meng Shutai.
"I thought it was my father's bastard guard!"
"What are you doing here?" Meng Shutai glanced at Yuan Jingming. "Is the pain gone?"
Yuan Jingming stood with his hands on his hips, exuding the air of a proud rooster. "My physique is second to none in Luojing!"
He suddenly remembered his business and hurriedly pulled Meng Shutai to sit down at a small stone table on the slope.
"Shutai, I have something important to tell you."
Yuan Jingming's lips curled up, his still somewhat childish eyebrows and bright eyes sparkling with anticipation and joy.
"I'm going to join the Beijing Guard!"
“I confronted my dad, saying that since he always thought I was no good, I might as well send me to the army to train. Once I've made something of myself, he won't have to keep an eye on me anymore. Guess what? He agreed!”
"The Imperial Guard." Meng Shutai turned his gaze to Meng Cizhang's study. "Then wouldn't you be in the same unit as Lady Jiang's father?"
Yuan Jingming pursed his lips into a thin line, held his breath, and straightened his upper body. He turned around and exchanged a glance with Le Jin.
"Actually... I still have a little selfish motive."
Upon hearing this, Meng Shutai withdrew his gaze, raised his brow in silence, and spoke with a tone full of helplessness.
"My personal favorite is Jiang Si Niangzi."
"Given your status, it won't be long before your military rank surpasses her father's."
If she surpasses her father, she can naturally use her own strength to protect Jiang Yingyun.
He sighed. "Do you really want to tie your life to hers?"
Meng Shutai's eyes were as dark as ink. "I don't understand."
Yuan Jingming's lips froze, and he lowered his head to retort softly, "My father has already agreed. I thought you would be happy for me..."
Something's off.
Le Jin's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stepped forward to mediate, saying earnestly, "Your Highness is joining the army to pave the way for yourself. In the future, if any major events occur, Your Highness will have the confidence to make his own decisions."
"If he only receives a hereditary title, the heir will be bound by the prince's control for life. I'm sure you understand this, young master."
Yuan Jingming chimed in, "That's right!"
"Was it your idea again?"
Meng Shutai's gaze swiftly fell upon Le Jin, and it seemed to exert a powerful force upon her, almost making Le Jin unable to breathe.
This is how the famous eldest son of the Meng family behaved when faced with changing circumstances: calm, insightful, and perceptive.
Le Jin couldn't hide it from him, nor did she intend to, so she nodded honestly.
Jiang Yingyun's crisis is over, but Yuan Jingming's problem still needs to be dealt with.
In the book, Yuan Jingming is controlled by his father, Prince Pingning, and is betrothed to Princess Anding, the daughter of the Prince of Xuzhou, without his knowledge. In the end, he and Jiang Yingyun are separated.
Like Jiang Yingyun, he must first find his own way out.
Yuan Jingming wasn't cut out for studying, but luckily he had Le Jin, the concept god who controlled the fate of everyone in the book.
After much deliberation, she still chose to push forward with the original book's arrangement and persuade Yuan Jingming to join the Capital Guard. For him, the future Right Commander of the Capital Guard, joining the army and making meritorious contributions was indeed a bright and promising future.
Seeing that she had acknowledged him, Meng Shutai's gaze lingered for a long time before he finally smiled faintly and said, "Jiu'an, are you his strategist? Why do you always think of things from his perspective?"
For some reason, Le Jinxi sensed a hint of sourness in those words.
...like vinegar.
She squeezed her cheeks upwards and gave a shy smile in response.
Meng Shutai tapped the stone table lightly with two fingers, speaking slowly and deliberately: "The Imperial Guard is indeed a good place. Holding military power and accepting fate would be the best way to help him bypass the Prince."
"I just don't understand..." he frowned slightly, "Is Fourth Sister Jiang really that important?"
Yuan Jingming immediately perked up, his eyes sparkling, and nodded earnestly: "Yes."
He clenched his fists, his expression serious and solemn.
"I consider her an important person in my life, a close confidante."
The sky was a clear, cloudless blue, and the sunlight was bright and warm, falling on the green grassy slopes. Le Jin's heart suddenly softened.
Who can truly understand the feelings a young man has? I only know that you are very important to me.
What others consider insignificant is a precious stirring in someone's heart.
The meaning of love is simply that I care about you.
Le Jin's heart softened because of Yuan Jingming's words, like a pure white silk hanging high under a clear blue sky, fluttering in the wind, soft and gentle.
Even if everything before me is just a game of transmigrating into a book, the emotion I feel at this moment is undeniably real.
"elder brother!"
A clear, crisp voice suddenly rang out; it was that lively little pony again.
Meng Cizhang ran over and threw himself into Meng Shutai's arms as if he had found a savior: "Brother, do you have any sachets or jade pendants? I want them."
Meng Shutai smiled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Hearing this, she took off her own jade pendant and asked, "What about yours?"
Meng Cizhang tugged at his brother's long sleeve and said in a spoiled tone, "I lost it all."
"Loss?" Yuan Jingming raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you studying scriptures in the study?"
Just as Meng Cizhang was about to answer, Jiang Yingyun rushed over, panting, lifting her skirt. She took a big step past Yuan Jingming and covered Meng Cizhang's mouth with her hand.
When she saw Meng Shutai, who had chosen her to enter the Meng family, she was so frightened that she cried out to cover it up: "He's studying the scriptures!"
Jiang Yingyun frantically winked at Meng Cizhang, who quickly blinked and nodded.
The interaction between the two brought a smile to Meng Shutai's thin lips, and Le Jin smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry, Fourth Sister Jiang."
“Master Meng knew from the beginning that you were not well-versed in the classics, and he did not invite you here to teach you.”
Jiang Yingyun was startled, "Huh?"
Yuan Jingming became alert, turning his body away to deliberately avoid looking at Jiang Yingyun, his eyes fixed on the colorful fruit platter on the stone table. But fearing that Jiang Yingyun might actually ignore him, he secretly nudged Le Jin with his elbow.
Le Jin was both amused and exasperated by the boy's awkwardness. She slapped him back and explained to Jiang Yingyun, "Our young master was afraid that you would be bullied at Yu Yang Nunnery, so he specially asked Young Master Meng to help you."
Yuan Jingming clenched his fist and coughed to his lips to hide his unease.
Jiang Yingyun was slightly surprised. She really thought she was lucky to be chosen by the Meng family and never dared to imagine that Yuan Jingming had gone to such lengths for her.
She glanced at Meng Shutai without making a sound, then turned to look at Yuan Jingming, who was stiffening his neck and putting on airs.
The girl laughed at his awkwardness, "Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Young Master Meng."
"No thanks, no thanks!" Yuan Jingming quickly waved his hand casually, but when he met Jiang Yingyun's gaze, he suddenly didn't know what to say next.
Unexpectedly, his greatest expectation turned out to be a clever trick, slipping out without thinking: "I will be entering the capital's garrison in three days. Will you be able to come see me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Jingming slapped himself hard across the face.
What kind of talk is that! It makes it sound like he has ulterior motives...
Jiang Yingyun was taken aback at first, then smiled sweetly: "I will go."
She was more decisive than him: "I'll definitely go."
Yuan Jingming was stunned by her smile, and soon his face turned even more flushed, showing a shy demeanor.
His embarrassment only subsided slightly when Meng Cizhang pulled Jiang Yingyun to the grass to continue playing with pebbles.
Meng Cizhang, as expected of Meng Shutai's younger brother, was not upset that he lost everything to Jiang Yingyun. Instead, he had more and more fun playing with this beautiful older sister.
Jiang Yingyun squatted down and whispered to him, "Young man, let me return your things. We were just playing a game, don't take it seriously."
Meng Cizhang, though young, was precocious and shook his head, saying, "Take it seriously, take it seriously."
"Once the game starts, there's no room for cheating. Come on, come on!"
The two were completely absorbed, and bursts of delighted laughter rang out from time to time.
Yuan Jingming was so engrossed in looking at Jiang Yingyun that a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
Le Jin took in all this joy, then looked up at the clear, golden sunlight.
"Today is a good day."
May this insignificant speck of dust enjoy the good days of dancing freely in the sunlight.
Her neck was sore from looking up, and she had just bent down to rub it when she saw Meng Shutai pick up a small round persimmon from the fruit plate on the table and hand it to her.
White frost clings to the thick, chewy, golden-orange dried fruit—a winter treat.
It is now early summer.
Le Jin had long noticed that many of the things the Meng family owned were out of season.
But this is the Meng family, a place overflowing with gold and jade.
It has a magic that transcends time.
Le Jin smiled, took the persimmon cake, and bit into it. The rich, smooth honey filling flowed between her lips and teeth.
So delicious!
It felt like a gentle breeze caressing her face, or like a light veil clinging to her body. Suddenly, Le Jin felt something invisible brushing against her, making her feel itchy.
"Hmm, I like sweet things."
"What?"
"You like sweet things."
Meng Shutai squinted and smiled like a fox, "Last time I ate lotus seeds, they were crisp and mild in flavor, so my eyes didn't sparkle and my lips didn't curl up."
It turned out he was the one watching her.
No, it should be "pull open," his gaze slithering like a snake into her body.
Unbeknownst to anyone, her eating habits and preferences had been analyzed, and Le Jin felt an indescribable shame, her face burning slightly.
"It's just a persimmon cake. Looking at you like this, have I wronged you?" Yuan Jingming clicked his tongue, very dissatisfied with Le Jin's uncultured attitude.
Just thinking about it made Le Jin angry. She threw all her previous embarrassment to the wind and retorted angrily.
"Your Highness, Prince Pingning, it seems like I'm always serving you food whenever you eat! You never have the chance to eat such delicious food!"
Yuan Jingming was about to retort, but after thinking about it, he realized it was true and replied awkwardly, "Then... I'll have the kitchen cook some dishes for you from now on. You can order whatever you want to eat."
"But what were you talking about, 'lotus seeds'? I don't know anything about that."
Meng Shutai smiled faintly, "I won't tell you."
"Hey!" Yuan Jingming bristled slightly.
Le Jin chewed on a persimmon and smiled.
Swallowing the sweet, runny center and the crisp, chewy, and plump persimmon flesh, Le Jin seemed to see a future filled with the aroma of candied fruit, where every day would be ordinary, down-to-earth, but sweet and hopeful.
A note from the author:
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There are a bit more words today~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
