Chapter 138 All Clothes Were Taken Off
Ji Yunliu said, "They ran away."
Lu Jinlan was taken aback. "They ran away?"
Ji Yunliu laughed and said, "The groom is shy. He must have run off to hide somewhere. But you don't need to worry, Alliance Leader. This is his home. Where can he hide? Once everything is ready, we'll catch him and bring him to the wedding ceremony."
Lu Jinlan shook her head. "That's not necessary. Forced relationships never work. By the way, Sixth Brother, I can tell you also like Yuanzhen. Don't you resent me for marrying him?"
Ji Yunliu hurriedly said, "How could that be? But to be honest, if this had happened before today, I definitely wouldn't have been happy. My junior brother is a beauty like a celestial being, and I wouldn't have been satisfied no matter which woman he married, not even the Emperor. But you are different."
Ji Yunliu said with eyes full of admiration, "Today I have witnessed what it means to have unparalleled divine skills. Alliance Leader, with your extraordinary abilities, you are more than a match for my junior brother. I admire you to the point of prostration. If I were a man, I would want to marry you."
Lu Jinlan chuckled, "Alright, enough with the flattery. Do you even know where Yuan Zhen went?"
“I know, he must have run to his secret cave. I'll take you there.”
*
Ji Yunliu led the way, and soon they arrived at a hidden cave entrance.
Ji Yunliu quietly pointed inside, "Look."
Lu Jinlan looked and saw that Ji Yunyuan was indeed sitting on the stone bench with his back to the cave entrance, quietly lost in thought.
The cave was about the size of a room, furnished with a stone bed, stone table, and stone benches. There was also a natural pool of water inside the cave, crystal clear.
Yuan Zhen looked at her reflection in the pool, and hearing the sounds coming from outside the cave, she sighed helplessly, "Senior sister, come in, I can hear your footsteps."
Ji Yunliu gave an awkward smile and said to Lu Jinlan, "I've always had heavy footsteps, so I gave myself away. Well, let me go in and talk to him first, so he doesn't get angry and offend you."
Lu Jinlan nodded, and Ji Yunliu strode in, saying loudly, "Junior brother, what are you doing here? It's all bustling outside, everyone's preparing for your wedding. You're getting married, it should be festive, go back and get ready."
Yuan Zhen rolled her eyes at her, "Why are you so happy about this celebration? If you want to, then go ahead and get married."
"Hey, you think I don't want to? If I were a guy, I would have pounced on him already. You wouldn't even have a chance."
As Ji Yunliu spoke, she glanced at the cave entrance and lowered her voice, saying, "Junior brother, senior sister knows you're unwilling. We grew up together since we were little, and I know you don't like us rough people."
"You like someone like Lu Jinlan, who is both literary and martial, witty, can utter literary works with a single word, and can command the wind and rain with a flick of a finger."
"This Lu Er is indeed quite different from Lu Jinlan. Putting aside everything else, she's even more of a bandit than I am."
“Today, the two of us went to buy steamed buns. The shopkeeper tried to cheat her. Before I could even open my mouth, she said, ‘One tael of silver each. You’ve got your father in the bun.’ The shopkeeper was so scared that he immediately apologized.”
Ji Yunyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud. Ji Yunliu said, "Don't laugh. But then again, she's the leader of the alliance now, almost like the emperor here. Don't be too proud. A woman like her, how many men in the world would be eager to marry her?"
"The person you wanted to marry before is completely out of our league; we're simply not good enough for him. Why not be more realistic? What's wrong with marrying the Alliance Leader? After tonight, you'll be the Alliance Leader's husband. Which man in the village wouldn't envy you?"
Yuan Zhen kept his head down and remained silent. Ji Yunliu then whispered, "She's outside right now. You need to behave yourself. Don't act out before you're even married. If you upset your wife, how will you live your life?"
Yuan Zhen's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded with her lips pursed.
Ji Yunliu came out and said to Lu Jinlan, "He's just a little embarrassed, nothing else. You two chat, I'll go check on the preparations downstairs."
As soon as Ji Yunliu left, Yuan Zhen quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
When Lu Jinlan came in, he smiled slightly and said, "I forgot to congratulate you on winning the position of Alliance Leader."
Lu Jinlan said calmly, "It's a small matter, nothing to be happy about. However, our marriage is indeed a joyous occasion."
Ji Yunyuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Lu Jinlan smiled, "I know this marriage isn't what you expected. Actually, it was unexpected for me too. You saw what happened just now; the heads of the family got carried away and the topic of my marriage came up. I don't want to marry You Shun, so I'm sorry to trouble you."
Ji Yunyuan hurriedly said, "Don't say that, there's nothing to feel wronged about. In everyone's eyes, I'm afraid I'm not good enough for you. But... but..."
Lu Jinlan continued, "But you don't want to be associated with me; you're still unwilling. There are many marriages in this world that you can't afford, but if those people really came to marry you, as long as it wasn't Lu Jinlan, you wouldn't want to, right?"
Ji Yunyuan looked at her in surprise, "You said all the things I didn't know how to say. You are really amazing."
Lu Jinlan sighed, "What's the use of being capable if I'm not Lu Jinlan? I'll never win your heart. But I have a question: if the Lu Jinlan you imagine is completely different from the real her, would you still be willing to marry her?"
Ji Yunyuan was truly puzzled, "How is it different?"
"For example, if she were like me—capricious, willful, like a bandit or a rebel—she wouldn't be the emperor you imagined. Would you still like her?"
Ji Yunyuan answered with certainty, "Yes."
Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "Why?"
Yuan Zhen said, "Because that's all her. She's always done whatever she wanted. Maybe she'd get tired of being an emperor and wish she could be a bandit for fun, but unfortunately she doesn't have that chance."
"A person like her can excel at anything. Even if she went to a bandit's den, she could be the leader. Even if she went to a rebel's den, she could be the leader of the rebels. A person like that can always win people's hearts."
These words made Lu Jinlan look at him with new respect. Although Ji Yunyuan was indeed her dream man, her dream was quite real, and he was right.
Lu Jinlan couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Are you talking about her? She sounds so much like me."
Ji Yunyuan was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized that Lu Er had indeed just become the leader of the rebels. The eight words "doing whatever he pleased and acting recklessly" were how Lu Er described himself.
Ji Yunyuan was somewhat dazed; he seemed to have accidentally confused the two. The few words he had just spoken sounded like a confession to Lu Er.
He blushed with embarrassment and said hastily, "I wasn't talking about you, but maybe... maybe you do have some similarities."
After saying that, he realized how offensive his words were. How could he praise another woman in front of his future wife?
He stood up nervously. "I misspoke just now. Anyway, don't worry, after we get married I will be a dutiful husband and never think of her again."
He spoke frankly, but some things are easier said than done.
For him, Lu Jinlan was his teenage dream, his ideal type, his dream wife, and his unwavering obsession.
Just saying those words felt like something was blocking my chest, and I felt a dull pain in my heart.
He couldn't help but glance at the stone table, where he practiced calligraphy. There were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as Lu Jinlan's articles and poems.
Not long ago, he sat there, practicing calligraphy diligently, stroke by stroke, dreaming of one day being able to enter the palace again and be by her side.
But now he's getting married, and his wife's surname is also Lu, but it's not her.
He was about to become Lu Fulang, and could no longer hope that those unrealistic dreams would come true; he didn't even have the right to dream anymore.
Ji Yunyuan felt a pang of sadness, her eyes reddened, and two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.
Lu Jinlan was looking at his calligraphy when she turned her head and saw the beauty crying. She quickly asked, "Why are you crying?"
She quickly handed him a handkerchief, saying, "I can't stand seeing handsome men cry, wipe your tears quickly."
Ji Yunyuan turned his back, and Lu Jinlan changed the subject, saying, "Aren't you illiterate?"
Ji Yunyuan choked up as she said, "I started learning as soon as I came back from the capital, and I already know several hundred characters."
His tone was extremely proud.
Lu Jinlan smiled, picked up a poem he had written many times, and read aloud: "The river flows windingly around the fragrant fields, the moon shines on the flower forest like scattered snowflakes. You wrote the character 'snowflakes' wrong, you missed the rain radical, and wrote it as 'scattered' instead."
"It's written wrong." Ji Yunyuan came over and took a look. He hurriedly flipped through the poetry collection and carefully checked. Sure enough, it was wrong.
The tears he had just stopped suddenly welled up again. He cried, "I've been doing such stupid and ridiculous things all this time. How could I be so foolish?"
Sigh! Lu Jinlan sighed. She knew he wasn't crying because of the word, but because he could finally use it to cry freely.
Lu Jinlan patted his back. "Don't cry. I know you don't want to marry me. Actually, you don't have to."
"I won't marry," Ji Yunyuan looked at her with teary eyes. "The marriage is already arranged, and the banquet is being prepared. How can I not marry? It's my parents' decision and the matchmaker's words. That's how it is for us men. There's nothing we can do but accept it."
Lu Jinlan said, "Everything in this world has its unavoidable circumstances and difficulties. But marriage is the only exception; one must follow their own heart. Otherwise, wouldn't the rest of one's life be nothing but torment?"
"Since you only want to marry Lu Jinlan, why force yourself to marry Lu Er?"
Ji Yunyuan was so surprised that he forgot to shed tears. He looked at her, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
While he was in a daze, he desperately hoped that someone would tell him that he didn't have to marry Lu Er.
He had considered that the person might be his mother or his senior sister, but he never imagined that the one who said those words to him would be Lu Er himself.
Ji Yunyuan stared at her blankly, "But you are Lu Er."
Lu Jinlan smiled, "Couldn't Lu Er have advised you against marrying Lu Er?"
She gently wiped away the tears on his face. "To be honest, although Lu Er is attracted to your beauty, he doesn't like to force people to do things against their will."
"And I forgot to tell you all that I've already married many husbands, and you might not get along with them. This matter is far too hasty; I think we should just forget about it."
"Don't be sad. I'll go and talk to your mother and the other heads of the household to cancel the marriage. Don't cry."
As Lu Jinlan spoke, she got up to leave, but Ji Yunyuan quickly stopped her, "Wait! If you... if you don't marry me, they'll make you marry someone else. You finally got to the position of alliance leader, how can you give it up so easily?"
Looking at his innocent expression, Lu Jinlan frowned and gritted her teeth.
In fact, if she had simply said something like, "Well, there's no other way. For the sake of the alliance leader's position, I have no choice but to reluctantly marry that annoying You Shun," Ji Yunyuan would have definitely changed his mind and said he would marry her without any coercion.
He's too gullible. Lu Jinlan is an unparalleled master of deception, yet she can't bring herself to lie to someone so easily fooled.
Lu Jinlan said, "Don't worry, I will not give up my position as the leader of the alliance, nor will I let them make things difficult for me."
"No one in this world can force me to do something I don't want to do. I will certainly not force myself to marry a man I don't want to marry."
She spoke with such certainty and ease, as if the affairs of the world were all within her grasp in a mere thought.
He couldn't help but think: Lu Jinlan must also be arrogant and disdainful of the world.
The traitor before me actually possessed the aura of an emperor.
Ji Yunyuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "So you promised to marry me..."
Lu Jinlan curled the corners of her lips. "Of course, it's because I want to marry you. But unfortunately, you don't want to marry me."
"I'll tell them in a bit that it's my fault for not wanting to marry you, not yours, so you can save yourself some trouble. I'll be a good person to the end and leave you to Lu Jinlan."
Ji Yunyuan kept his head down, his brows furrowed, seemingly lost in thought.
Lu Jinlan sighed softly and took a step to leave, but was suddenly pulled by his sleeve.
"Wait, I'll marry you."
Lu Jinlan paused for a moment, then said, "There's no need to force yourself."
Ji Yunyuan said sincerely, "I won't force you. It's my blessing to marry you, and I don't want to miss out. As for her... please give me some time, and I will try my best to forget her."
Lu Jinlan pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright, let's get married tonight."
*
Yan Wuxin attended Lu Jinlan's wedding banquet again. While everyone was drunk, she secretly went down the mountain to inform Xiang Ruzhen of the latest situation.
Li Yi had been secretly monitoring the group of rebels with his men. Seeing that they were hurrying up and down the mountain and acting very strangely, he quickly reported back.
Upon receiving the news, Zhang Siyuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in the room.
Xiang Ruzhen rubbed her forehead and said, "Stop spinning, it's making me dizzy."
Zhang Siyuan said, "Your Excellency, I am really anxious. The more I think about it, the more dangerous it seems. We shouldn't let the Emperor take such a risk. If something bad happens, we won't have enough heads to chop off, and we will be infamous for eternity."
Xiang Ruzhen said, "I understand the Emperor. With her intelligence, even if she encounters an accident, she will have a way to escape."
Zhang Siyuan said with a sigh, "That's hard to say! There's no guarantee. After all, the mountain is full of rebels, and Xu Lin doesn't know martial arts. The Emperor and Grand Commandant Yan can't fight against so many people. If something happens, the country will be doomed. No, please allow me to risk going up the mountain to take a look. I really can't wait any longer."
Xiang Ruzhen frowned. "If we're going, we'll go together. Have Li Yi inform the commander-in-chief of Yaozhou to muster the troops and prepare for battle."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Yi accompanied Yan Wuxin as they pushed open the door and entered.
Yan Wuxin's face was unusually red. She had sent a message late at night, but Lu Jinlan was nowhere to be seen. Xiang Ruzhen's heart skipped a beat. "Has something urgent happened? How is the Emperor?"
Yan Wuxin thought for a moment, "The Emperor is probably already dressed."
Xiang Ruzhen's eyes widened. "Were they taking off her clothes and torturing her? Did they expose her identity?"
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Author's Note: Happy Birthday Jinlan on September 6th! Happy Birthday Wuxin on September 7th in advance! Wishing all the sisters reading this happiness every day!
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