Chapter 8 Drunkenness "Are you trying to be cute with me?"...
"General Lu, Miss Ruan woke up last night."
The setting sun cast its last rays, making the distant moat shimmer and sparkle, while the evening breeze rustled the golden willows along the riverbank.
A young man in armor sat on the battlement. He put down his xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument), and the melodious and distant sound that had enveloped the city gradually dissipated.
Upon hearing this, his wheat-colored face showed no emotional fluctuation. He lazily leaned one elbow behind him, picked up a wreath made of foxtail grass, put it on his head, and then plucked a twig and put it in his mouth.
The huge red sun hung in the sky, and the smoke from burning straw created a shimmering effect. After a long day, the people unloaded the grain from their livestock, shook their heads, and sighed as they returned to the city.
"How is he?"
The soldier said, "The young lady is unusually quiet, but you instructed us that she cannot be released without your permission."
Lu Wenjin jumped down from the battlement and tossed the red-tasseled spear leaning against him to his attendant: "Go take a look."
That night, after receiving Yuhe's letter, he immediately sent men on horseback to catch up with the Ruan family's wedding procession. Unfortunately, heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, and the men he sent were unable to salvage the situation.
Upon hearing the tragic news, he rushed to the scene in the pouring rain that very night. He found Yuhe's body and Ruanxi, who was almost buried alive, but he couldn't find any trace of Ruanyang. All he found was a broken, blood-stained jade pendant of two fish in the grass.
The cliff was so high that it was impossible to see the bottom. If a petite woman were thrown off, she would probably be smashed to pieces. That day, he sat in the rain and thought about Ruan Yang all night.
Upon returning to the Lu family home, just as they reached the door, they heard faint sobbing coming from inside. Ruan Xi was dressed in a white dress, her dark hair hanging down her neck, and her forehead was wrapped in thick gauze. Even so, it could not diminish the stunning beauty of the young girl in her white dress.
Although the two Ruan sisters were not born of the same mother, they inevitably shared similarities in their eyes and brows. However, Ruan Xi was the legitimate daughter and was not merely beautiful; she was naturally renowned throughout Sichuan.
Ruan Yang was usually quiet and didn't like to play with her sisters. She was always a nobody. Even when she was sent to marry the Crown Prince, Ruan Xishan felt that she was not capable of being trusted and could not win Ning Xian's favor.
Upon seeing Lu Wenjin, Ruan Xi quickly climbed off the bed, grabbed the boy's clothes, and tearfully questioned, "General Lu, where is my sister? She must be with you, right?"
Lu Wenjin said coldly, "Yangyang wasn't by my side. When I arrived in Danzhou that night, I only found you buried in the ground. It was my hunting dogs that threw you out of the pit, and that's how you survived."
Seeing that Lu Wenjin had not informed the Ruan family of her survival, Ruan Xi tried to grasp at the only straw and knelt down, saying, "Axi begs General Lu for mercy."
Lu Wenjin stared intently.
Ruan Xi tugged at Lu Wenjin's sleeve and said, "Ning Xian has his eyes on Bashu. If he finds out I'm still alive, he definitely won't let me go!"
Ruan Xi shook her head: "As you know, if Ning Xian finds out that I have returned to the Ruan family, it will confirm Ba Shu's crime of kidnapping and hiding the Crown Princess. If he then uses this as an excuse to mobilize the palace guards, Ba Shu's forces will probably be unable to resist."
Lu Wenjin raised an eyebrow and said, "Your father can protect you."
“Given my father’s temperament, if he knew I was alive, he might have given me to the Shuobei people. I do not want to sacrifice myself and marry into a barbaric land to suffer.”
Seeing his cold attitude, Ruanxi sobbed, "He knew that the Eastern Palace was a den of dragons and tigers, but he still pushed me out. Everyone laughed at me, saying that I used despicable means to force Ningxian to marry me, but the truth is not what I wanted."
Although it was her father's idea to drug Ning Xian, who could force her if she didn't want to?
She had considered that Ning Xian would hate her, but she never imagined that Ning Xian would try to kill her.
"Please, General, take me in for my sister's sake."
Lu Wenjin scoffed: "You want to stay by my side? Then what are you to me? A concubine? Yangyang is an insecure girl. If you're by my side, she might misunderstand our relationship."
"But she's probably dead! Otherwise, if you two loved each other so much, why didn't she come back to you?"
In order to survive, Ruan Xi abandoned her dignity and pleaded, "General Lu, I look similar to Yang Yang. I don't mind if you treat me as her and use me to relieve your loneliness at night."
Lu Wenjin pulled her hand away, frowning: "I don't need it."
Remembering Ning Xian's last words to her, the girl gritted her teeth and said, "But if Yangyang were still alive, and she knew you left me to die, she would never forgive you! Do you want her to leave you and fall in love with someone else?"
Lu Wenjin paused.
He dug the person out of the pit and saved Ruan Xi because, in Ruan Yang's heart, Ruan Xi was her best sister.
Seeing that he was moved, Ruan Xi said, "How about this, I will change my face and pretend to be a man by your side in the future, so that people can avoid misunderstandings."
"Don't worry, Ruan Yang is my sister. I will definitely behave myself and never let others misunderstand that I have an affair with you."
......
With battle imminent, Ruan Xishan stood before the map, his mind in turmoil. Although Lu Wenjin had returned to the city with the remaining 50,000 elite troops, he had no idea how many troops the central government would send.
Seeing the soldier hurriedly reporting the news, Ruan Xishan asked, "What did they say over there?"
"The military governor of Danzhou said he was willing to join forces with Bashu to resist the invasion of the Ji clan, but the reinforcements would not arrive for at least half a month."
Lu Wenjin said, "We can ambush them on their inevitable route to block their troops and supplies, which might delay them for some time."
Ruan Xishan said, "This is the only way. Make the arrangements."
"yes."
...
After dusk, Ruan Yang accompanied Ning Xian to dinner, then sat alone under the candlelight to mend the robe that had been torn by tree branches on the way there.
Once the Awakening of Insects arrives, spring thunder rumbles, and several rain showers can fall in a single day, leaving everything damp and covered in moss.
Outside the courtyard, a gray haze hung in the air. The drizzling rain washed the flowers, plants, and trees inside, making them even shinier. Rainwater dripped continuously from the eaves, splashing onto Ning Xian's clothes.
Ruan Yang carried Ning Xian's clothes to the center of the room and saw a pot of wine spilled on the small table where he was sitting. He didn't seem to care, his elbow resting on the table, his back to her, lost in thought.
The fruit wine, mixed with the earthy aroma, permeated my lungs.
Ruan Yang lifted her skirt and walked over. She saw two traces of rouge on the man's face, and his narrow phoenix eyes were half-closed as he looked into the courtyard. She slowly knelt down and draped the clothes in her hands over him: "Are you drunk?"
Ning Xian acted as if she hadn't heard.
Several streaks of light flashed across the sky, followed by a loud "boom" as the rain intensified.
Ruan Yang felt the man beside her tremble noticeably. He closed his eyes, his long eyebrows furrowed, and he tried to control the trembling in his hand holding the wine cup.
Ruan Yang was taken aback: "Are you afraid of thunder?"
Ning Xian glanced at her and said lazily, "Can't I?"
Seeing that he was in a bad mood and was ignoring her, Ruan Yang picked up the wine glass on the table and smiled, saying, "I'll go warm up some hangover soup for you. It's not pleasant to be drunk."
A sudden gust of wind and rain caused the pale yellow gauze curtains inside the house to flutter like white banners. Then, a flash of lightning, extremely blinding, struck Ning Xian. Seeing that the person was about to leave, Ning Xian subconsciously grabbed her sleeve.
Ruan Yang was startled; the man's strength was so great that she couldn't help but fall backward.
The wine cup shattered into pieces. Ruan Yang nestled in his arms, struggling but unable to shake him off. After a while, she hummed and rested her head on Ning Xian's chest, whispering, "What's wrong? Are you being affectionate with me...?"
The man slid down, burying his head in the girl's shoulder and neck, and closed his eyes as if exhausted, saying, "Do you know any little tunes?"
"Little tune?"
Ruan Yang recalled the scene a few days ago when Ning Xian forced her to sing nursery rhymes before she fell asleep. She was extremely embarrassed because she had never sung in tune since she was a child, and even Yu He often laughed at her.
Her face flushed, and she bit her lip, saying, "You're asking a question you already know the answer to. I sing terribly..."
Ning Xian nuzzled against Ruan Yang. The girl was using the same sachet as her mother today, and even her singing of little tunes was just like hers, always off-key.
“That’s unique, I like it, and Ah Heng will stay by my side and sing for me for the rest of her life.”
Ruan Yang pouted and pulled his black outer robe closer to Ning Xian's neck. The rumbling thunder and rain, along with the woman's singing voice, carried him into a dream.
Ning Xian's mind flashed back to the image of her mother, her face covered with her hair, her mouth stuffed with chaff, dying in humiliation.
A lifetime is too long. How could he allow Lady Ruan to stay comfortably by his side for the rest of her life?
He gritted his teeth and clutched Ruan Yang's clothes. After thinking for a long time, he finally gently kissed the girl's forehead and said in his usual gentle manner, "Okay, Aheng, I'll be leaving for quite a while."
"...Are you leaving?" Ruan Yang asked tremblingly as she got up from his arms.
Ning Xian nodded: "The situation in the court is unstable right now, and a major battle between the two armies is imminent. Danzhou is the main battlefield, and when the smoke of battle rises, I will not feel at ease leaving you here alone."
Ruan Yang rubbed her dazed head. Only now did she realize that she had no idea about the outside world, including who the current emperor was and who the crown prince was.
Has the country already reached the point of national collapse and family ruin?
Ruan Yang asked, "Are you going to take me with you to escape the disaster?"
Ning Xian gripped the girl's hand tightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes: "Yes, come north with me and seek refuge with my uncle. Don't worry, I won't lie to you, Ah Heng. I am your husband, you must trust me."
Ruan Yang leaned back slightly. Although she felt that Ning Xian was acting strangely today, she didn't dare to ask any further. She lowered her eyes and nodded, "Okay, I'll go with you."
...
The group headed north the next day, and apart from Ruan Yang, there were no other women in the group.
Ruan Yang couldn't ride the tall, strong horses in the army, so she could only ride with Ning Xian. Although she had some doubts, she didn't dare to say anything. She just quietly clutched Ning Xian's sleeve and asked, "Are we really going to seek refuge with your uncle?"
"Of course, why would I lie to you?"
Ning Xian gently rested his chin on her neck, and the pleasant lotus fragrance emanating from the man enveloped her. Even though his breath was warm, Ruan Yang couldn't help but shiver.
(The female lead is finally, soon, going to meet the second male lead.)
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