Chapter 40: When did you ever say you didn't like Hua Lang? ...
With the doors and windows of the dormitory closed, Zhan Yunmei stood outside the eaves, holding a small hand warmer, waiting for evening to arrive.
"General, should I go to the dining hall and bring some food over?" Yao Shuniang asked in a low voice to avoid waking the people inside the room.
Zhan Yunmei shook her head, "No need. Go and arrange the carriages and horses. We'll leave as soon as Hualang wakes up. The vegetarian food is bland; he won't be able to eat much."
"yes."
The small hand warmer continued to radiate warmth. Hua Lang often held it in his hands, and it was infused with his incense. You could smell the fragrance without even having to sniff it closely. Enveloped in the heat, it was no longer pungent or cold, but rather a warm fragrance that seemed to melt snow.
Zhan Yunmei stared blankly at the gilded pattern on the edge of the small hand warmer.
"General?"
Someone called her softly from behind.
Zhan Yunmei turned around and saw Hua Lang, dressed in a plain white undergarment, standing barefoot on the wooden board. He was a sound sleeper, and his hair wasn't too messy. Worried that the cold wind outside would chill him, she stepped inside and closed the door.
She took his thin wrist, sat down on the edge of the small couch, looked up at him, and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Hua Lang shook his head. "I'm not hungry. What time is it?"
"It's just past five quarters past 5 pm, still early. If you're not fully awake, you can sleep a little longer."
It's five quarters past 5 pm... Ordinary families would have already eaten dinner by then, so what's so early about that? Hua Lang looked at Zhan Yunmei with a puzzled expression.
The expression on her face didn't seem like she was joking.
He couldn't help but think deeply that she must care about him a lot, and perhaps he held a much heavier place in her heart than he imagined. Otherwise, why would she tolerate his repeated tests and endless retreats?
Hua Lang knew, of course, that his personality was completely unlikable and that no one would tolerate him like that.
“Oh…I’m awake,” he said, slowly sitting on the couch and moving closer to Zhan Yunmei.
The panic and tension of waking up to an empty room was completely replaced by uncontrollable joy upon opening the door and seeing a familiar and reliable figure.
He still preferred the General's Mansion; at least when he woke up in an empty room, he didn't feel as anxious as he did here.
"How long do you want to hold me?"
When Zhan Yunmei spoke, Hua Lang realized that he was actually in her arms.
Hmm.
How could that be?
She must have pulled him into her arms when he wasn't looking, right?
The general then asked him in return how he could be so shameless.
Hua Lang chose to forgive Zhan Yunmei and left her warm embrace, putting her clothes back on one by one.
Zhan Yunmei did not expose it.
At the lantern festival in the market, after leaving Fengtian Temple and boarding the carriage, Yao Shuniang hurried forward, and Zhan Yunmei had just stepped one foot onto the carriage.
Hua Lang understood that there was probably some military matter that had come to her. He was already quite useless to her, and she couldn't cause him any more trouble, so she had to make do with him in every way.
He quickly said, "General, go ahead and get busy. It doesn't matter whether you go to the lantern festival or not."
What do you mean by "it's the same whether you go or not"?
A slight displeasure rose in Zhan Yunmei's heart, but her face remained calm and unchanged.
Hua Lang is truly a wicked person; all he thinks about is how to run away, without ever considering her wishes.
Zhan Yunmei blinked. "Okay, then you go back first."
She raised her hand to call the coachman and whispered some instructions, but Hua Lang didn't hear them. He only knew that after she finished speaking, she didn't even look at him. The servant closed the door, and she quickly disappeared from his sight.
Even though there was regret for not trying to salvage the situation, most of the time they pretended not to care, lowering their eyes and remaining silent.
The carriage moved.
They drifted further and further apart.
“General, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace. He wants you and Deputy General He to discuss the troop mobilization after the spring,” Yao Shuniang said.
Zhan Yunmei said, "Tell His Majesty that I have caught a cold and am too weak to go to the palace. I will go to the palace first thing tomorrow morning to discuss this further and apologize."
Yao Shuniang opened her mouth, wanting to persuade Zhan Yunmei to enter the palace, after all, that was the emperor. But then she thought that the general had his own plans, and she didn't need to say anything more, she could just do as she was told.
However, this reason is rather weak. A person who was fine during the day caught a cold in the evening, even though he was a strong and healthy person.
.
The carriage stopped, but it was very noisy outside.
Hua Lang instantly became alert, his knee-shaped pattern clenched so tightly it wrinkled.
The area around the General's Mansion was extremely quiet. Horses and carriages were prohibited within five miles. Because it was located at the foot of the Imperial City, there were many rules at night, and even frequent movement was not allowed. Strangers could hardly get close.
Why is it so noisy here?
The noise was heartbreaking.
Despite the noise outside, Hua Lang's heart was pounding with tension, and he could hear the rapid, throbbing of his own heartbeat inside his chest.
He lifted the curtain and asked the driver, "Where is this?"
"Eunuch Hua Lang, this is the market area. The general instructed you to go and explore it on your own."
Hua Lang was taken aback, but said firmly, "I'm not going. Send the carriage back to the manor."
"Father-in-law, I dare not disobey the general's orders."
"Then just say I've finished shopping!" Hua Lang emphasized, his tone leaving no room for discussion; his words were an unquestionable command.
"But……"
Hua Lang interrupted, "Can't you understand?"
She wasn't so angry that she felt dizzy. Hua Lang gradually calmed down and leaned back on the couch. "If you don't tell me, and I don't tell you, how will the general know?"
"The general has long since entrusted me with the affairs of the mansion. So, you don't intend to listen to me either?"
The driver persisted.
"This doesn't harm your interests."
After thinking it over, the driver agreed, but the carriage door was suddenly opened.
Hua Lang glanced at the car door, his brows furrowed, a fierce look on his face. But when he saw who it was, he looked confused.
Blink twice.
"General?"
The fierce cat retracted its paws and nuzzled against her.
Zhan Yunmei pushed Hua Lang away, ignoring his attempts to curry favor. She pointed at the coachman, then at him, and said, "You want to shirk my orders too?"
“No…” Hua Lang retorted subconsciously, pursing his lips. He felt it was strange that she was standing on the car, looking up at him.
He got off the car, stood in front of Zhan Yunmei, and lowered his head to shake her hand.
She tucked her hands behind her back.
"No? Then what just happened?"
Hua Lang's hand froze in mid-air, neither grasping those warm hands nor withdrawing to his side.
"I just don't want to go," he muttered under his breath, then turned away with a huff, grumbling resentfully, "The general promised to stay with me, but he has to go to attend to some business. So I'll go back to the manor, is that not allowed? The general is so stingy, unwilling to give his servant even the slightest right!"
Let's just go all in! At worst...
Hua Lang suddenly realized that he couldn't accept how she treated him. He liked things as they were and didn't want her to hate him.
I regret uttering those words so quickly.
I really want to rip my tongue out.
"I'm sorry..."
Before she could utter the word "start," her soft laughter could be heard first.
"Then why didn't you say you wanted me to come with you?" Zhan Yunmei pinched Hua Lang's cheek, forcing him to lower his head and lean closer. She narrowed her eyes, meeting his stubborn gaze. "Hmm—"
To draw out the end of a sentence.
"Could it be that we in Hualang are afraid to speak up?"
"Nonsense! Foolish talk!" Hua Lang's voice suddenly grew louder.
"Trying to cover it up only makes it more obvious," she said.
"So what? I'm just that stubborn. If the general doesn't like me, just send me back to prison!"
He desperately wanted to tear his own mouth apart.
Why are you spouting nonsense again?!
"No...no," Hua Lang stammered, his thoughts in disarray, unable to make sense of anything, his hands and feet trembling. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, General, that's not what I meant...I just..."
My vision was blurry, filled with shimmering water.
Never clear, her cheeks were covered in scalding water.
Zhan Yunmei watched Hua Lang cry silently for a while. After he broke down in tears, she finally opened her arms and pulled him into her embrace.
"When did I say I didn't like Hua Lang?" She maintained a gentle smile, seemingly endlessly patient. "Then tell me, do you want me to stay with you?"
As if grasping at a lifeline, Hua Lang wished he could embed himself into her body, hugging her tightly and banging his head against hers, "I want to...I want to..."
“Okay, then I’ll stay with you,” she said, ruffling his hair. “It would have been so much better if you had said it out loud.”
Fortunately, he was standing at the entrance of the market, not too close to the bright lights, so no one could see his predicament and avoid tearing off his thin skin again.
As the crying gradually subsided, Hua Lang slowly regained her composure and realized that this was another deliberate act by Zhan Yunmei.
He bent down, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and whispered, "I know, I will definitely tell her in the future, and I won't throw tantrums anymore."
Zhan Yunmei knew that what he said was all a lie.
He will no longer speak frankly, nor will he be able to control his temper. That's just the kind of person he is—stubborn beyond belief, with an unpredictable temper. Half of his problems stem from the blows he has suffered in the world, which have rendered him unable to communicate normally, while the other half come from physical trauma, which has caused him to lose control.
She didn't care.
She knew his personality well; if he weren't like this, he wouldn't be Hua Lang.
Zhan Yunmei suppressed a laugh and patted Hua Lang's hunched back. "Go release the lanterns first, little cat."
Hua Lang carried the lantern, raised his arm to wipe his eyes, and rubbed them until his already red eyes became even redder.
Is your face really covered in smudges?
"He's alright, but he looks like he's suffered a lot," she joked casually, squatting by the river and patting his hand to signal him to release the lantern.
The thin ice on the long river has long been broken, and lanterns float on the tranquil river. Occasionally, a gust of wind carries them away, making them even more distant.
Hua Lang groaned and squatted down next to Zhan Yunmei.
After losing control of my emotions, I became exceptionally clear-headed.
Why does Zhan Yunmei like to deliberately provoke him into anger? If he suspected her of having a special fetish during the day, now it's confirmed.
So that's why she likes him this way...
Hua Lang pondered this in secret.
He seemed to understand something.
There was a faint sense of joy.
She even tolerated his bad temper.
“Cat,” Zhan Yunmei raised her hand and pressed it against Hua Lang’s eyes, forcing him to close them, “Why are you crying again?”
Hua Lang thought for a moment and said, "I feel wronged."
"What's there to feel aggrieved about?" Zhan Yunmei raised an eyebrow slightly and lightly patted his face. "You're feeling aggrieved about releasing a lantern?"
“Yes,” he nodded, enduring the humiliating slap.
It feels so strange.
“We Hualang people shouldn’t be eunuchs,” she said. “We should be performing in plays, putting on airs, crying whenever we want, without even needing to prepare.”
His face turned embarrassed.
How did she find out?
You've found out, aren't you going to comfort him?
never mind.
Hua Lang reached out and took Zhan Yunmei's hand. Compared to trying to coax her into kissing or holding his hand, it seemed that going straight up to her and kissing and holding her hand was much faster.
“General, you mustn’t speak carelessly,” he said.
"Oh, okay."
Children ran and jumped along the riverbank, chasing each other. Excited about the New Year, they didn't care that there were people around them and scooped up river water to splash on their friends.
Hua Lang was the first to suffer.
Hua Lang frowned and tried to dodge, but still got splashed with water.
cloak!
The cloak that Zhan Yunmei tied for him was all wet!
"Don't get angry with a child." Just before Hua Lang was about to explode, Zhan Yunmei squeezed their clasped hands and led him away.
After walking a few steps, Zhan Yunmei came across a clothing shop. Thinking that Hua Lang shouldn't be cold for too long, she decided to buy a piece of clothing to make do, since there were plenty of other clothes in the mansion.
She had chosen a men's cloak and was about to call someone to come and collect it when she saw a man who was both familiar and unfamiliar.
He glanced at Hua Lang's pale, beardless face and said strangely, "Yun Mei, it's been a long time since I've seen you. You even went out personally to buy clothes for the servants in the manor?"
Having served in the court for many years, Hua Lang's ability to observe people was already superb. He immediately recognized the resemblance between Zhan Yunmei and this man in their brows, and quickly noticed the strangeness in the man's tone of voice. He was not very friendly to either Zhan Yunmei or him.
Before Zhan Yunmei could speak, she suddenly felt Hua Lang leaning closer to her and speaking first, her voice laced with hostility, "I'm not."
-----------------------
Author's note: I overestimated my typing speed. [Sweating emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
