Yunling didn't quite understand this guy. He was just asking her to judge his clothes, why was he staring at her so intently? She rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and replied bluntly:
"They're dressed quite well, they look presentable."
Lu Yinghuai smiled and deliberately leaned close to Yun Ling's ear, whispering:
"Woof woof~"
"You're such a dog."
Yunling had warned him not to whisper in her ear anymore, but he wouldn't listen and kept barking in her ear. How could she tolerate that? She immediately raised her hand and hit him.
Lu Yinghuai decided to tease Yunling. Just as her hand was about to land, he took off running. Yunling, seeing nothing, was naturally dissatisfied and quickly chased after him.
Seeing Lu Yinghuai escape from Yunling's grasp, and watching the two chase after him, Zifu felt a surge of joy. But then he noticed the expressions on Gangzi and Tang Ling's faces. This...this...his sir had been beaten up, what if he...?
Having experienced what happened last time, Zi Fu knew he couldn't possibly take on four punches on his own, so he pretended to be calm and turned his head to the other side. But what he got in return was even stronger stares from Tang Ling and Gang Zi. He couldn't hold back any longer and joined Yun Ling and Lu Ying Huai's pursuit.
When Yunling saw Zifu join them, she stopped chasing after him. She casually picked out a moon-white cloak for Lu Yinghuai, paid the coins, and had dinner with everyone at Rainbow Bridge before returning home with her money.
**
The next day, the Lu family's merchant ship returned from Jiangnan. Chen Jie rushed back from the dock in the evening. Yunling and Gangzi were overjoyed. Chen Jie also brought back silks, porcelain, tea, and many trinkets from Jiangnan for Yunling.
When Lu Yinghuai and Zifu returned, they brought several popular snacks from the restaurant. The six of them gathered together again, and Chen Jie talked about the scenery along the way from Bianjing to Jiangnan. Everyone chatted and laughed, and the whole house became lively.
With Chen Jie's return, the Lu family's merchant ships began preparing goods, which also meant that Yun Ling and the others were about to return to the two towns below Pingcheng.
The thought of going back and seeing Zhang Shi, Yun Laoniang, Yun Shenghua, Yun Laodi, Yun Ruoxia, and Yun Chu filled Yun Ling with joy and excitement, like a bird leaping for joy.
She quickly helped Tang Ling pack her things, carefully distributing all the items she had acquired, noting who each item belonged to and where they should be placed.
Then she thought of the Fan family, Uncle Village Chief, Old Man of Craft Street, Shopkeeper Zhou, the owner of Ren'an Hall, the Qin family, and other people in the village who were useful to her, so she went to the street again and bought some trinkets that were not expensive but had the characteristics of Bianjing.
Time slipped away amidst these trivial matters, and on this last day, Yunling went from wanting to leave Bianjing and return to Pingcheng to feeling extremely reluctant to leave.
Bianjing was the farthest place she had traveled from home this time, and also the place where she stayed the longest. The prosperity and bustle of Bianjing, and the cultural landscape she encountered there, will surely make her miss it for a very long time.
Yunling's mind quickly flashed through images of mutton soup noodles, spicy vegetable pancakes, the bustling crowds of Zhouqiao Bridge, special winter drinks, braised rabbit, roasted pork skin, tile-roofed houses, restaurants, alleys, the Lantern Festival, building snow lions, having snowball fights, staring at peach charms, donating money for lamp oil, and so on.
The more she thought about it, the more her past experiences seemed to be filtered through the most beautiful lens, leaving her unable to find any fault with them. The more she thought about it, the more awake she became, and the sleepiness that used to cling to her as soon as she lay down vanished completely.
She sat up, put on her coat, slipped on her shoes, and went outside. The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, spilling across the courtyard and illuminating the surroundings.
After Pei Lin left, Lu Yinghuai moved back to his own room. Since he was leaving Bianjing the next day, he wanted to finish his work before resting. But soon he caught a glimpse of a figure in the courtyard out of the corner of his eye.
His heart skipped a beat. The first thought that came to his mind was that the house had been broken into. But then he thought that Chen Jie had been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for many years, so his sharpness and perception must be excellent. Therefore, if he didn't make a sound, then this person probably wasn't a thief.
Lu Yinghuai looked up at the window, a slow, upward curve to his lips. Come to think of it, this man was also a thief, but he didn't steal money; he only stole his heart.
He immediately put down his brush, pulled over the cloak from the shelf, and went outside.
"Lingniang, is there something you need from me?"
"Me? Oh, no, I just couldn't sleep so I came out for a stroll. The moonlight was so beautiful tonight, so I stayed a little longer. This is..." Yunling tilted her head and looked into his room. She saw that the candles were still burning inside, and there were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table. She then asked, "Did I disturb you?"
No.
Lu Yinghuai wondered why the little one, who usually falls asleep as soon as she hits the bed, couldn't sleep today. She had already bought all the things she wanted. Was she missing her family, or was she reluctant to leave Bianjing after staying there for so long?
Lu Yinghuai naturally leaned towards the second idea. It was true that he missed his family, but he was about to return home, and there was still plenty of time for him to miss them. It was just that Bianjing...
"Would you like to go for a walk outside?"
"No, you should finish your work as soon as possible and get some rest."
"It's alright. I was just thinking about something and got stuck on a problem. I couldn't come up with a solution even after thinking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Maybe going outside for a walk and getting some fresh air will clear my head."
Yunling bit her lower lip and asked softly:
"Where do you want to go for a stroll outside?"
"There is an old watchtower nearby that can see the lights of Bianjing at night. It was abandoned by the Kaifeng Prefecture, but to prevent people from going up there for the sake of excitement, there is a yamen runner guarding it down there."
"Since he's guarding the place, why don't we knock him out?"
Lu Yinghuai smiled and said:
"If we knock out the constables, we'll be in jail tomorrow and won't be able to return to Pingcheng."
When Yunling thought about how she and Lu Yinghuai were both captured and sent to the Kaifeng government office, where they were trapped in a dark, damp prison infested with rats, eating white rice and coarse vegetables, she felt both amused and pitiful.
"If we don't knock him out, how can we get up there?"
Lu Yinghuai immediately pulled out a string of copper coins from his sleeve.
"Hey, based on this."
Yunling initially thought of using money to smooth things over, but then she realized that if they could pay to pass, others could too. What was the point of trying to prevent people from getting too excited? It would just be a waste of time.
However, despite Yunling's complaints, when she actually stood on that watchtower overlooking Bianjing, she felt that the two strings of cash she had been asked for were really worth it.
This view is quite different from the view from the restaurant on New Year's Eve. The view here is much wider, as if you can take in all the night scenes of Bianjing City. It's absolutely beautiful!
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