Chapter 146 The Shura Field of Two Black-Eyed Chickens...
Xu Runnian didn't know martial arts and suffered a bit after being captured and taken to the mountain.
He was rubbing his wrist, which was chafed raw by the rough rope, when he saw Lu Jinlan push the door open and enter. He quickly stood up and bowed, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
"Shh!" Lu Jinlan whispered, "No need for formalities outside, be careful not to be seen. Get up quickly."
Xu Runnian had just stood up when she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear, how come there's such a big oil stain on your clothes? Didn't you marry a husband here? How does he take care of you? Don't the men in this mountain stronghold know how to wash clothes?"
Lu Jinlan glanced at the tiny oil stain, about the size of a fingernail, on the hem of her dress and chuckled, "You can't see it unless you look closely. I wasn't paying attention; it was probably spilled on me by accident when I was eating crabs with the other bosses at noon."
Xu Runnian frowned. "The men here are so unhelpful. When you were in the palace, when did we ever let you wear dirty clothes? Is there a basin here? Take them off and I'll wash them for you."
Lu Jinlan sat in the chair, smiling as she took his hand. "Stop fooling around. I'm a rebel now. You're just a concubine of the emperor. What right do you have to wash my clothes? Besides, you're injured. Let me see where you're hurt."
Xu Runnian squatted down, pitifully placed her hand on Lu Jinlan's knee, and said angrily, "That man is really vicious. Huaixing and I were shopping on the street when he said his father had fainted in the alley and asked us to go and help him."
"I thought nothing had happened in all these days, so I just went out for a short stroll. Huai Xing knows martial arts, so I didn't ask any guards to come with me. I never expected to run into that wicked man surnamed You, who tricked us and arrested us."
Lu Jinlan frowned slightly as she looked at the wounds on his hands and the bloody streaks on his face. "That poisonous man, I've wanted to deal with him for a long time. Once things are settled in a couple of days, I'll chop off his dog's head first. Does your face hurt? Have you applied any ointment?"
Xu Runnian shook his head, then suddenly smiled, "They brought over some medicated oil, but I haven't applied it yet."
As he spoke, he placed the small porcelain bottle containing the medicated oil into Lu Jinlan's hand, saying, "I wonder if it would be of your great honor, Alliance Leader Lu, to help me apply the medicated oil."
Lu Jinlan chuckled and curled the corners of her lips. "Come here."
Xu Runnian moved closer and rested his head on her lap. Lu Jinlan dipped her fingertip in some medicated oil and gently rubbed it onto the bloodstains on his face. Gradually, tears welled up in Xu Runnian's gentle eyes.
Lu Jinlan asked softly, "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"
Xu Runnian shook his head, his nose stinging with tears, and said, "No, it's because I feel bad seeing you suffer here."
Xu Run gently stroked the corner of her mouth, tears welling in his eyes, and said with heartache, "You've only been out of the palace for a few days, and you've already lost weight. The weather is dry, and you're used to being carefree, not knowing how to take care of yourself. Your lips are all chapped."
Lu Jinlan touched her lips and said strangely, "It's strange, maybe it's because this place is dry. It wasn't like this in the capital in previous years."
Xu Runnian laughed and said, "That's because every autumn and winter, the Emperor would instruct everyone to apply a layer of moisturizing lip balm to your lips every night before you went to bed, no matter where you were resting. Sometimes you were engrossed in reading and sometimes you fell asleep and didn't notice. When you were resting in my palace, I even added Solomon's seal and sand ginseng to your tea to nourish and moisturize, so naturally it wouldn't be like this."
Lu Jinlan held his hand and said gently, "No wonder I always felt something was missing when I got here. It turns out it was because you were not by my side. You usually take very good care of me, which is why I specially brought you out this time. I was thinking of promoting you to a higher rank and making you a Noble Lady after we return to the palace."
Xu Runnian leaned against her and whispered, "I don't care about these things. As long as Your Majesty has me in your heart, I will be content."
Lu Jinlan stroked the back of his neck, their foreheads touching, getting closer and closer, when suddenly they heard a series of hurried footsteps outside.
Immediately afterwards, Yan Wuxin said loudly, "Oh, isn't this the Alliance Leader's husband? Here to see the Alliance Leader?"
The two quickly separated. Xu Runnian turned his back and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes when Yuanzhen came in with a tea tray.
He glanced at the scene inside the room and smiled, "I've come to bring tea to my wife."
Lu Jinlan glanced at the teacups on the table. "There's already tea here."
Yuan Zhen said, "It's probably too cold. It's cold, and drinking cold tea can upset your stomach. This cup of mine was just brewed."
Xu Runnian snorted coldly upon hearing this, "This must be Alliance Leader Lu's husband, Ji Yunshi. She seems quite virtuous, how come she didn't even notice that her wife's clothes were dirty?"
Xu Runnian was known in the palace as a kind-hearted person, rarely showing any sharpness in his words. But at this moment, he was indignant on behalf of Lu Jinlan, so his words were barbed.
Yuan Zhen's ears ached from hearing this. He gritted his teeth and said bluntly, "She's not dirty yet since she just woke up. There's a lot of dirt outside, and you can easily get it on her. But you don't need to worry about my wife's affairs. I'll help her change her clothes when she goes back to her room later."
The men's sarcastic and veiled banter made Lu Jinlan rub her ears, unsure of what to say.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ji Yunliu peeking in from outside the door, so she asked, "Sixth Brother, what are you looking at over there?"
Ji Yunliu coughed awkwardly, "Alliance Leader, I have something to discuss with you. Please come out and talk to me."
Lu Jinlan glanced at the two black-eyed chickens in the room, and was hesitating when Yuan Zhen suddenly asked, "What's that on their hands?"
"Uh, medicated oil." This stuff has such a strong smell, it's hard to say what it is.
Lu Jinlan pursed her lips. "Xu Huangshi is a distinguished guest of our alliance. He was injured, so I'll help him apply some medicine."
Yuan Zhen rolled her eyes at Xu Runnian. "I don't think his hand is broken. Why should I let you apply it to him? It's ridiculous that a man from the palace doesn't know the proper etiquette between men and women. Look, you've gotten your hands dirty. Let me wipe them for you."
Yuan Zhen carefully wiped Lu Jinlan's hands with a handkerchief. Xu Runnian saw him holding Lu Jinlan's hand and glared at him fiercely several times.
Yuan Zhen wiped himself a few times and advised, "Go wash up. Give me the medicine, and if he feels uncomfortable anywhere, I'll apply it for him. We're all men, it'll be more convenient, and it'll prevent any gossip."
Lu Jinlan was pushed to the door by him, and he urged her, "Go ahead and don't worry. I'll be your good wife and take good care of the guests."
Lu Jinlan sighed helplessly, "Alright, then you two... have a good chat."
Just as Lu Jinlan was about to leave, Yuan Zhen suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
"Um"
As Lu Jinlan turned around, Yuan Zhen leaned in front of Xu Runnian and kissed the corner of her mouth. His cheeks flushed slightly, and he whispered, "If you don't have anything to do later, go back to your room early. I'll wait for you."
Lu Jinlan had never seen Yuan Zhen so bold before. She turned around blankly with her hand raised. Ji Yunliu was looking at the sky, and Yan Wuxin was looking at the ground.
Lu Jinlan touched the corner of her mouth, smiled, and shook her head.
*
Yuan Zhen closed the door, his smiling face instantly turning cold as he stared at Xu Runnian.
Xu Runnian rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you glaring at me? Are you scared?"
Yuan Zhen sneered, "What do I have to be afraid of? I am the lawfully wedded husband of the Queen. Naturally, she treats me differently from those shameless women outside who deliberately seduce her. I am not like you. You are a concubine and you are still not content. Aren't you afraid that this kind of thing will reach the Emperor's ears?"
Xu Runnian curled the corners of his mouth, straightened his sleeves, and sat down calmly. "I am restless, and I have the right to be restless. I am a concubine, and I have the ability to be one. Take serving women, for example. I take care of the Emperor in an orderly and meticulous manner."
“You are different. You occupy the position of husband, but you don’t fulfill the duties of a husband. I just saw that your wife’s clothes were dirty and her lips were chapped. When I serve the Emperor, I don’t serve him as perfunctorily as you do.”
"The Emperor is never uncomfortable with me. I heard you once wanted to enter the palace. Humph, with your clumsy hands, how could you possibly serve the Emperor? Even if you were lucky enough to get into the palace, you would probably be kicked out."
Yuan Zhen gritted his teeth, his voice trembling with anger, and said, "What's so good about going to the palace? I'm married to the Emperor now, and I wouldn't even consider becoming his consort. You did go to the palace and serve the Emperor, but if you were doing well, how could you be so shameless as to seduce other men's women?"
Xu Runnian chuckled, "You said it yourself. If the Emperor summons you to the palace in the future, let's see if you go."
Yuan Zhen retorted, "Stop worrying about my affairs. If the Emperor finds out what you did today, let's see if you're afraid."
The two glared at each other and parted on bad terms.
*
Yuan Zhen hurried home, only to find that Lu Jinlan was not there.
He hurriedly asked the people outside, "Hasn't the alliance leader returned?"
The person cleaning outside said, "They just came back. Someone from You Shun's side came over and said there was an emergency, so they asked the alliance leader to leave."
Yuan Zhen felt relieved and thought to himself: You Shun is nothing. He is ugly. Even ordinary women would not look at him, let alone my wife who rejected him in public.
Yuanzhen picked up the cookbook on the table again and began studying how to prepare dinner.
*
Lu Jinlan was led to You Shun's room, and the person who had led the way left.
You Shun, in the inner room, said gently, "Alliance Leader, please come in and speak with me."
Lu Jinlan said warily, "No need. You said you had something urgent that needed to be discussed in person, so I came here. My time is precious, so please speak quickly."
After a moment of silence, You Shun came out from the inner room. “I heard that the Alliance Leader loves tea, so I personally brewed a pot of top-quality Zijuan Pu’er tea. Please do me the honor of tasting it.”
Lu Jinlan glanced at him, truly unwilling to grant him the honor. To be honest, she hadn't really looked at You Shun's appearance closely in all these days.
There was no other reason; it was simply because he was so ugly.
Although the facial features appear to be in their proper places, they are still so ugly that people don't want to look at them closely.
He had a pockmarked face, dark skin, and some pustules. He wore coarse black clothes every day, making it impossible to tell whether he was clean or not.
Lu Jinlan glanced at his hands; they were indeed long and slender, finally there was something worth looking at on his body.
You Shun touched his face. "I know that the Alliance Leader does not wish to sit at the same table as me. Then please go to the table and have some tea. I will go and freshen up."
Lu Jinlan quickly waved her hand, "Go ahead."
Lu Jinlan sat down at the tea table, poured himself a cup of fine tea, and indeed the aroma was enticing, the tea soup was clear and bright, it was a rare and excellent tea.
Lu Jinlan took a sip, savoring the lingering aftertaste.
A low chuckle came from behind the screen, "As expected of the Alliance Leader, you are a tea connoisseur. You've always thought me ruthless, aren't you afraid I might poison your tea?"
Lu Jinlan said coldly, "I was naturally prepared to deal with you, you poisonous husband. You can't do anything to me."
You Shun laughed and said, "As expected of the Alliance Leader, you are both wise and brave. A man like Ji Yunyuan, who is so naive, is not worthy of you. In my opinion, if you had a man who is good at using strategies by your side, he would definitely help you reach a higher level."
Lu Jinlan sneered, "You're not describing yourself as someone who's good at using schemes, are you?"
You Shun said, "It is indeed I. I am unworthy, but I am willing to serve the Alliance Leader."
Lu Jinlan put down her teacup, stood up and said, "No need. A beauty trap requires a beautiful woman to work. You'd better not waste your time."
You Shun hurriedly said, "Wait a minute! Do you really think I'm that ugly?"
Lu Jinlan turned around in surprise, hardly believing her eyes.
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