Chapter 78 This seemingly upright gentleman's shamelessness is growing ever more remarkable...
"You have to come." Qu Zhen suddenly grabbed her hand. "Like this, appear hand in hand with him, to disgust Ling Qieting."
"Isn't this bad?" Wang Yan was still shaken by what had happened today. He was worried that she might change her attitude again and leave him in an awkward position.
Qu Zhen felt that she was being fussy and indecisive, and not straightforward at all. "What's wrong with that! I told you to come, so come! You might only get married once in your life. You have to come and see me. I'm no worse than you. It's Ling Qieting who has no taste."
Wang Yan chuckled dryly, not yet deciding how to reply, when Qu Zhen had already gracefully departed. Just moments ago, she had wondered if her junior sister was possessed; during the day she had been speaking up for her second senior brother, and just now she had opened her heart to her. Could it be that in the short time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she had managed to influence Qu Zhen?
Guests from all directions poured into Xinzhou City. Hearing that Li Changling and Wang Qingyue had not yet arrived at the mountain, they all came to ask for swordsmanship advice. It was one thing that Li Changling couldn't win, but that little girl who appeared out of nowhere was able to fight the Emei Sect leader to a draw. Among them, only a handful of people had the opportunity to fight the sect leader.
Since Li Changling's old friend reappeared, and he's been nowhere to be found, those who came to spar with him have all set their sights on Wang Yan. These past few days, he's been leaving with his sword in the morning and returning only at dusk. Yan Xun, carrying his sword case, has been running around with Wang Yan, sparring with many martial arts masters. Shen Minghuai has also come along, though he never participates in this playful fighting, his eyes never leaving Yan Xun. Whenever Yan Xun makes any overstepping of boundaries, a figure will suddenly appear between him and Wang Yan, like a towering mountain, completely blocking him.
With Ling Qieting and Qu Zhen's wedding date approaching, after the group went up the mountain, Wang Yan, who had been competing one after another, finally had a moment to catch his breath. He hid in Qu Zhen's room for two days and only showed up on the wedding day.
The Righteous Alliance hadn't been this lively in a long time. Seats were arranged from the palace gate all the way to the mountain gate, with Wang Yan and Li Changling sitting in the seats closest to the palace gate, while Shen Minghuai and Yan Xun were arranged at the end of the long seating area.
Qu Zhen, dressed in a red wedding gown, had lost all the aggressive air of the previous day, and instead appeared bright and lovely. Wang Yan waited anxiously for the tedious ceremony to end. She cared nothing for the title of the third-best swordsman in the world or the number one swordsman in the martial arts world; what she cared about was the exquisite feast the Righteous Alliance would serve their guests. After the disciples served the dishes and poured the wine, the leader of the Righteous Alliance waved his sleeve to begin the banquet.
Wang Yan had secretly tested the food for poison in the meal she and Li Changling prepared. The dishes, which looked appetizing but were actually bland and tasteless, greatly disappointed her with this sect banquet. Suddenly, she missed her private chef. Looking past one head after another, she finally saw a handsome but blurry face, only to find that the person was also looking at her.
Wang Yan hurriedly turned around and made small talk with Li Changling, just as the groom and his wife came to toast. She was only supposed to drink one cup of wine, but she didn't understand why the newlyweds were toasting each other, and Ling Qieting only came to toast her after toasting Li Changling.
Just as Qu Zhen bent down to pour the wine and Wang Yan raised the cup to the groom, Ling Qie Ting swiftly flicked a small amount of white powder from his fingertips, which dissolved instantly in the wine, leaving it colorless and tasteless.
Wang Yan thought he was going to poison her drink, so she quickly splashed the wine out, soaking a large part of the groom's wedding dress.
"I'm so sorry! My hand was shaking. I'll punish myself with a drink. Sister Qu, please take your husband to change his clothes. Don't neglect the guests who are coming up."
This sudden action caught Ling Qie Ting off guard, causing her to lose her grip on the wine glass and spill the drugged wine all over the floor. The couple glared at her, put down their glasses, and were about to leave when suddenly, the Zhang family head of the Righteous Alliance shouted.
"Wait a minute!"
The head of the Zhang family, reeking of alcohol, arrived with his sword drawn, pointing at Ling Qieting and saying, "Li Changling! Do you dare to fight me again!"
As Wang Yan and Li Changling exchanged bewildered glances, the Zhang family head, ignoring the explanations of those around him, launched a series of attacks. Ling Qieting hurriedly drew his sword to parry the onslaught. In the blink of an eye, the tide of battle turned. As the two fought, the Zhang family head's sword slipped from his grasp, flying towards Li Changling's position. In mid-air, the sword broke in two and fell straight to the table. Li Changling and Wang Yan, who had been sitting there, had vanished without a trace.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Li Changling, who had been crouching behind his old friend, stood up, clapped his hands, and cheered, "Excellent! But Patriarch Zhang, you should get a better sword."
Qu Zhen beckoned with her finger, and several disciples of the Righteous Alliance snatched away all the swords and knives from those who were eager to fight, throwing them in the center of the long table. The bride, dressed in red, expressionlessly broke them one by one.
"Let's see who dares to be disrespectful on my wedding day!"
Wang Yan, sitting in Yan Xun's seat, was dumbfounded; she wasn't the only one stunned.
"Were these swords dealt with beforehand?"
The night they went up the mountain, Shen Minghuai invited Qu Zhen to meet him and gave her some pointers, but little did he know she had tampered with the swords. The act that Zhang Family Head and Ling Qieting had just put on was enough to prove that the Righteous Alliance harbored ill intentions.
Qu Zhen nipped any potential trouble in the bud, and after the minor incident, the banquet returned to normal. Shen Minghuai and Yan Xun were the last two guests they were to toast. Wang Yan keenly noticed that Qu Zhen smiled at Shen Minghuai, as if they shared some unspoken secret.
That night, the four of them went down the mountain. Wang Yan, who was starving, led them to Gengxianlou, where they ran into the people from Bihuogong again.
"Heroine Qingyue!" Wu Baihu hurriedly presented her with a pot of wine. "I knew those people from the Righteous Alliance had no good intentions! Luckily, you two are clever enough not to fall for their dirty tricks."
Ever since that sword duel outside the city, Wu Baihu seemed to idolize her to the extreme. Today, the pungent smell of gunpowder was much fainter. Wang Yan invited him to sit down, "How do you know they have ill intentions?"
Wu Baihu's flattery was deafening: "Not only are your swordsmanship and that of Young Hero Li superb, but you are also so handsome. The Righteous Alliance has always cared about appearances, and they only choose good-looking disciples. How can they not be jealous?"
Yan Xun suddenly realized, "No wonder all the weasels I saw today were handsome and refined."
Wu Baihu chimed in, "This young man is right, he really is a weasel! He's up to no good."
Wang Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Why did you all come down the mountain so quickly?"
Wu Baihu looked disgusted. "Is that food fit for humans? It's practically inedible. Why don't we come to Gengxianlou for a proper meal?"
Wang Yan readily agreed and, with a wave of her hand, put the cost of Bi Huogong and the other two's meal on her tab. Wu Baihu looked extremely grateful; if she hadn't stopped him, he probably would have kowtowed to express his gratitude.
After a satisfying meal, Wang Yan returned to the inn and had just taken a bath when there was a knock at the door. Shen Minghuai appeared, looking serious, and said he had something to say. Wang Yan, still somewhat confused, let him in, only to realize he had fallen for his trick again.
Shen Minghuai looked at her with his affectionate eyes, "Aying, are you angry?"
"I didn't." Wang Yan turned her head away from him, but was chased back step by step until she fell onto the couch.
Shen Minghuai braced himself on the edge of the couch, pulling her into his arms. His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips. "You still say no. Is it because of Qu Zhen?"
Wang Yan looked at him in surprise, "How could you—you already said no."
Shen Minghuai moved closer and coaxed softly, "You're jealous. You have feelings for me."
These words made Wang Yan feel hot all over, and she reached out to push him away, saying, "No, you guessed wrong."
Shen Minghuai took her hand and placed it on his heart. "Then listen to this, I have you in my heart."
He had just showered and was wearing a loose-fitting nightgown. The moment Wang Yan's hand touched his chest, it burned her so much she pulled it back. She didn't dare look up, but out of the corner of her eye, she had already caught a glimpse of his alluring figure, making her face burn. Shen Minghuai leaned in and embraced her, burying his head in her shoulder.
"Please don't send me away, okay?"
He then repeated every word he had said to Qu Zhen during their meeting, but Wang Yan didn't hear a word he said; her heart was pounding in her ears. At his pleading, she inexplicably agreed.
"good."
The next day, without waiting for Yan Xun to return to the ancestral temple for worship, the three of them set off back to Yangzhou. Wang Yan couldn't shake the feeling that agreeing to stay the previous night had been too hasty; she must have been tricked by his drunkenness and beauty, causing her to nod in a daze, so it didn't count. Shen Minghuai seemed oblivious to her words, frequently entering her room along the way. Before she knew it, he had coaxed her into hugging and holding her hand, as if he had bewitched her!
Back at Wanchun Garden, the chill of autumn had already crept onto her collar. Wang Yan hurriedly pasted talismans all over her room and explicitly forbade Shen Minghuai from stepping into her courtyard. The weather had turned cool, but her bed was warm. Waking from a sweet dream, she looked down and saw that the person from her dream had gotten into her bed! And had even held her all night!
"Shen Minghuai!"
Wang Yan, slipping on his shoes, looked around. The talisman was properly affixed; how could it have failed to protect him? It must be that Yan Xun's skills weren't up to par… But his shamelessness was only growing; he'd even learned to climb into bed! What happened to that upright gentleman he was when they first met…?
Wang Yan straightened his clothes and warned him, "Young Master Shen, please have some self-respect."
"Hiss—" Shen Minghuai, who had been kicked off the bed by her, clutched his waist and abdomen, his face contorted in pain.
Wang Yan hurriedly checked his injuries, "Has the wound reopened?"
Shen Minghuai's pained expression vanished in an instant, and he quickly grabbed her hand, "You came back, didn't you?"
Wang Yan then realized he had let something slip and vehemently denied it: "No."
Shen Minghuai held her tightly, not letting her go. "Just when I was about to die, you came back. That tear, it wasn't an illusion, was it?"
Hearing the word "death," Wang Yan's heart ached terribly. She truly couldn't let him go; upon learning of his arrest, she immediately rushed back to the capital from Xiangyang. She quietly sneaked into the Shen residence and found him, having just been pulled back from the brink of death.
Seeing that she remained silent, Shen Minghuai asked in a hoarse voice, "Why did you leave again?"
Wang Yan bit her trembling lips, trying to calm herself down, "Because I don't like it."
Shen Minghuai gently hugged her from behind, "Since you like it here, then I'll stay—"
"Why did you abandon me?" Wang Yan mustered her courage and asked, but dared not listen to his answer. She cut him off after he had only uttered the word "I".
"Never mind, it's not important."
"Very important."
Shen Minghuai turned her around and noticed that her face was covered in tears. While wiping away her tears, he explained, "I didn't want you to come back to the capital with me because I didn't want you to be in danger because of me. You shouldn't have been trapped in that place in the first place, so why should you stay in that dangerous place and suffer?"
Wang Yan shook her head, sobbing, "No. I am someone who can share hardships with you all, why are you abandoning me alone?"
Shen Minghuai held her tightly in his arms, his heart aching even more. "No one abandoned you. We thought this was the best way to protect you, but we never asked how you felt."
"You're not allowed to leave me again." Wang Yan clutched his clothes tightly, buried her face in his chest, and spoke in a sticky, affectionate tone.
At this moment, any promise made would seem pale and powerless. Besides, promises are made in the heart and in action, not in words. Shen Minghuai could only keep stroking her head and murmuring, "It won't happen again, it won't happen again."
After she stopped crying, Shen Minghuai went to the kitchen and prepared some food. He then conjured up nine wooden carvings from who-knows-where, each depicting a different emotion: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. He clearly remembered the color and pattern of each garment. Wang Yan placed them alongside her most treasured wooden carving; these were all proof of their journey together.
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