Chapter 1 Reunion "Close the doors and windows to prevent theft and burglary..."
"Close doors and windows to prevent theft..."
The intermittent sounds of the second watch clappers drifted in from the distance. It was late at night, but the prefectural government office was still brightly lit, and servants hurried to and fro, busy preparing things.
Under the corridor, red lanterns reflected the red plum blossoms in the courtyard with ice crystals. A man who looked like a manager entered from the corner door, followed by a girl in servant's clothes.
The girl was wearing thin clothes, with her head slightly lowered, but her back was straight, which looked quite strange at first glance.
When I walked under the lamp, I saw that she had a face as beautiful as a lotus, a gentle and graceful demeanor, and a slender and graceful figure. If she smiled, she would definitely be unforgettable.
But at this moment, he lowered his eyes and concealed his expression.
The two walked one after the other without stopping. The steward said as they walked: "Since you have followed our master, you should be obedient. Good days are ahead. Otherwise..."
He snorted rudely, pushed open another door, and took the opportunity to take a look at Ji Yunchan.
I saw her with snowy skin, watery eyes, thin eyebrows and long eyelashes.
Even though he had found countless beauties for the prefect, Manager Liu was still secretly shocked. No wonder the master decided to take her for himself as soon as he saw her.
This beauty is very stubborn and won't tolerate any hard or soft actions. Now she is shivering with cold, but her back still doesn't bend.
Then she thought again, this kind of hard bone is really fun, the master has his own way to make her soften bit by bit.
It would be difficult for her to feed her whole family if she were full, but it would be much easier to deal with her timid sister, young brother, sick old mother...
Just like this time.
Realizing that the gazes on her were too unscrupulous, Ji Yunchan turned away slightly and asked, "Now that I'm here, can my sister go home now?"
"Don't worry, Miss Ji. Our master's word is his bond."
"I told her to go back half a quarter of an hour ago. But this little girl is so impulsive. As the eldest sister, Miss Ji needs to teach her a lesson."
Butler Liu held the door open for Ji Yunchan, his attitude humble, but his words were a clear warning.
"So as to avoid any unbearable disaster in the future."
The fingers clenched in her sleeves tightened, and the draft, carrying snowflakes, penetrated into her thin sleeves. Ji Yunchan did not respond. She recalled the feeling of falling into an icy cave when she suddenly heard that her sister was detained in the evening. She had felt the extreme bone-chilling pain, so she felt numbness in the snow tonight.
Ji Yunchan closed her eyes and felt that she could still smell the fishy-sweet smell of her mother vomiting blood in the cold air.
She hummed softly and stepped over the threshold where snowflakes were falling.
Perhaps it was because they had arrived in front of the main hall. The courtyard in front of them was several times larger than before. Dancers in white clothes and red plum blossoms on their heads were dancing in twos and threes, their skirts swaying like water, which made Ji Yunchan dazed for a moment.
For the first time, there was something other than numbness in her eyes. She subconsciously looked towards the wall, but stopped abruptly halfway - she didn't even know what year it was.
Ji Yunchan sneered in her heart.
She looked away, no longer looking or thinking.
He stared intently at the road in the small space and quickened his pace following the steward of the prefectural government.
However, the corner gate behind him was pushed open again with a creaky sound, and a servant hurriedly caught up and bowed to the steward in front of Ji Yunchan: "Steward Liu, the people have arrived outside the city. The master is outside the mansion gate and is looking for you now."
"So soon?"
Upon hearing the voice, Manager Liu became alert and turned to leave.
Seeing Ji Yunchan still standing, he paused for a moment and said perfunctorily, "Miss Ji, please wait here a little while. The master is busy right now."
After saying that, he left her and hurried out.
Ji Yunchan stood there in a daze, blinking unconsciously.
The dancers whispered about the "big shot" who was to be personally welcomed by the master, and Ji Yunchan inevitably thought of the red plum blossom branch right in front of her, which she had deceived herself into not wanting to see.
She also wore red plum blossoms and danced in the snow for someone.
"He is the general who recently conquered twelve enemy cities. I heard that he is not even thirty years old yet." A dancer shared the news she heard with her companions.
Another one couldn't help but say, "Hey, I heard that this general is not only young, but also very handsome."
......
Young, handsome, general.
Almost the next moment, a handsome young man appeared in her mind, and he said to her with high spirits: "Ji Yunchan, I will join the army in the future and will definitely defeat the barbarians and become a marquis and a prime minister."
It was as if a hole had been broken. Ji Yunchan stared at the intertwined shadows on the ground, and couldn't help missing the young man with lofty ambitions who would give her a red plum blossom.
When he was serious, he called her Ji Yunchan, and on ordinary days, he called her by her nickname Yuanyuan.
——Yuanyuan, I brought the prize back to you.
The young man had handsome features and was squatting casually on the wall, holding a small branch of red plum blossoms firmly in his hand.
That was the New Year's Eve, the beginning of a banquet for all officials in the palace.
At that time, Ji Yunchan, who was the daughter of the Minister of Rites, was absent due to a cold. The always outstanding person was recuperating at home. She went to the backyard to admire the moon wearing a thick cloak, and ran into someone who was afraid that she would be lonely.
The first red plum blossom that bloomed in the palace was worn on her temples.
That was her childhood sweetheart. Ji Yunchan grew up with him and was used to seeing him being smart and sharp, and being able to handle everything with ease. However, she had never seen him being so clumsy and at a loss when he put the flower on her finger.
——Yan Heng, let me dance for you.
......
"I wonder if the general will notice me when we dance later."
The dancer's shameless words awakened Ji Yunchan from her memories.
As soon as these words were spoken, the dancers started to play around.
"You wish!"
"Who says it isn't?"
"I don't know..."
Everyone seemed to ignore Ji Yunchan who was standing quietly in the corner.
She raised her head and looked at the red plum blossoms, then lowered her head as if burned.
If everything goes smoothly...
But when he needed help the most, she ruthlessly killed him.
"Don't be so hypocritical, Ji Yunchan."
'You are the least qualified person to miss him.'
Ji Yunchan thought briefly, she took a deep breath and stopped recalling.
The noise was interrupted by Manager Liu who came back from the main gate.
He just stood in front of the door and clapped his hands three times in front of the dancers. The dancers wearing red plum blossoms spontaneously dispersed, and knelt down on the snow at staggered intervals, like a vivid painting of beauties in the late snow.
So Ji Yunchan, standing there alone, looked lonely and awkward.
Only then did Manager Liu remember to leave Ji Yunchan here.
But the man had already reached the door, and it was too late to make other plans. He gestured to Ji Yunchan, indicating her to kneel down.
Ji Yunchan had no other thoughts and just lowered her eyes and did as she was told.
At the moment he knelt, the main gate of the prefectural government was opened from both sides. The cold wind raised dust and snow. Amid the interweaving of light and shadow inside and outside the gate, someone walked in wearing cold, hard black riding boots.
The man was very tall, and the cloak he wore made him look imposing. The prefect and the associate prefects gathered around him, and he seemed to be very accustomed to standing among the crowd and being the center of attention.
Yan Heng took two steps forward under the guidance of Manager Liu. When he saw the scene in the courtyard clearly, he paused slightly and said in an unreadable tone, "Master Wang, what do you mean?"
The voice is cold and low, with a bit of magnetism.
Just one sentence, and Ji Yunchan in the corner bent her always upright back suddenly even though she lowered her head and knelt.
Yan Heng raised his eyes slightly.
No...it won't be him.
Ji Yunchan's heart was beating like a drum, but she didn't even have the courage to take a peek to confirm.
The prefect took two steps forward, his face full of fat squeezed together by laughter: "General Yan."
Yan Heng turned to the prefect.
The doubt in his heart was interrupted, and he withdrew his gaze and stopped paying attention.
The prefect flattered him, "General Yan has returned victorious, and you must be exhausted from the journey. I will certainly give you a warm welcome."
...General Yan.
Ji Yunchan heard the prefect call him that.
Yan Heng.
Ji Yunchan could almost hear the sound of her blood flowing backwards.
The ridiculous self-esteem that she had deceived herself with came back to bite her. Ji Yunchan clutched the corner of her clothes tightly, with only one thought left in her mind:
Don't find me.
But the courtyard was as bright as day, illuminating every corner clearly.
Don't find me.
Ji Yunchan buried her head deeper into the ground.
"Oh? Really?"
Yan Heng responded with a smile, but didn't say whether he agreed or not.
A threatening gaze swept across the dancers present, and finally fell on the thin figure in the corner.
The action, which was restrained but still revealed the flaw, did not escape his eyes.
For a moment, Yan Heng almost thought he had seen it wrong.
Yuan...Ji Yunchan?
How come she is here?
At this time, she should be in her boudoir in Beijing with a heating system on.
Instead of kneeling in the wet and cold snow in this bitter and cold border.
Yan Heng stared at it for a moment, and suddenly, he laughed.
He picked up his pace again, neither hurried nor slow, approaching her inch by inch.
Don't...find me.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely, and the sound of shoes stepping on the bluestone and breaking snow sounded like a slow slicing of flesh falling on Ji Yunchan.
She didn't dare to look up, and kept her eyes fixed on the small space, trying to cover her ears and steal the bell.
After a long time, the footsteps stopped.
A pair of cold and hard riding boots appeared before my eyes.
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