Chapter 101 Aji
"Sit down! Sit down and talk!" Luo Dinglian waved his hand and turned back to sit on the armchair. He even ordered the person standing beside him, "Come here!"
Then he remembered that no one answered, so he laughed and shouted outside the hall, "Hurry up and prepare lunch, and keep Pei Shaoqing here for dinner!"
"Stay...stay for dinner?" Pei Ji was completely dumbfounded.
Just now I entrusted my life to you, and now you want to leave me a meal?
This turn of events was like a bolt from the blue, which completely stunned him.
Luo Dinglian looked at him standing there stupidly, his eyes wide open, and he seemed to have forgotten to breathe. He looked completely different from his previous wise and calm appearance.
The old general's last bit of complicated emotion was diluted by this rare dullness. He couldn't help but pat the armrest again, and was actually amused and laughed heartily:
"Why? You want to marry my daughter, but you won't even eat with her father? Or do you despise the simple food in my general's mansion?"
He laughed and scolded, then changed the subject:
"I've agreed to it! But the proper etiquette must be followed! When we get back today, get everything ready! Find the best iceman in the capital! The most respectable betrothal gifts! The three letters and six ceremonials, every step of the way, there can't be a single mistake!"
"I want everyone in the capital to see this: my daughter, Luo Dinglian, is getting married! There must be no grievances, no compromises! It must be glorious, upright, and legitimate! Let everyone know that Zhaohan is the apple of my Luo family's eye and deserves the best in the world!"
He looked at Pei Ji, who went from being stunned to being almost unable to stand due to the impact, and his heart felt sour and soft, as if a bottle of five flavors had been overturned.
The general raised his voice to the door again in a bad mood:
"Hurry up! Master Pei is almost stone-faced waiting!"
The steward outside the door responded and ran away hurriedly to prepare.
The footsteps hurried away.
In the hall.
Pei Ji still stood there blankly, the general's words still seeming to echo in his ears.
Every word seemed to carry a buzzing echo, shaking his mind and making him feel as if he was in a dream.
The sudden and immense happiness was more violent than a thunderstorm, and even my steps felt shaky.
The magnificent and solemn hall before him, and the smiling face of the general in the main seat, all seemed blurred as if separated by ripples of water.
Luo Dinglian looked at his silly, absent-minded look and finally couldn't help himself any longer. The corners of his mouth widened, and the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes stretched out, revealing a rare, hearty smile.
The hearty laughter lingered in the empty hall.
Luo Dinglian's big hand like a palm-leaf fan fell on the shoulder of Pei Ji, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and pushed forward with great force, with an unquestionable posture.
Pei Ji was caught off guard and staggered slightly.
He was still feeling a bit light-headed. General Luo's sudden push made him look up in surprise.
"Cough," Luo Dinglian didn't look at him. He just retracted his hand, put his fist to his mouth and pretended to cough. He tilted his chin to the left, pointed his index finger at the door with moon-white curtains behind the screen, and pointed again heavily.
The movements were crisp and clear, and the gestures were extremely clear.
Your sweetheart... is hiding behind that door.
After a moment of blankness, a huge current of heat suddenly exploded from Pei Ji's heart, and finally rushed straight to the top of his head with a bang.
The surprise came so suddenly that it almost overwhelmed him.
He even forgot to look at General Luo's mischievous expression. His feet seemed to have lost sensation, and there was only one thought left in his body.
past.
His steps were a little unsteady, but he walked towards the door with moon-white gauze curtains with extreme eagerness.
My fingers touched the cool and soft curtain, but my heart felt like a ball of burning charcoal.
He took a breath, trembling slightly, and slowly lifted the veil to one side.
The warm sunlight of the winter afternoon flowed in through the open window lattice. It was not dazzling, but like crushed gold foil, evenly splashing on the plain figure by the window.
Luo Zhaohan was wearing a frosty-colored dress with a half-worn bamboo-green cotton bodice over it. She sat quietly in the armchair by the window, slightly tilting her head to look at the old plum tree outside the window that had lost all its leaves. She seemed to be watching the birds jumping among the branches, and seemed to be in a trance.
The sunlight reflected on her black hair and smooth profile, which was incredibly soft, and gave her a furry warm golden outline.
Perhaps it was the sound of the curtains, or perhaps it was the feeling of the overly passionate gaze behind him.
Luo Zhaohan slowly turned around.
Those eyes, as clear as autumn water, met his gaze accurately in the golden sunlight.
There were clearly tears gathering rapidly in her eyes, about to fall, washing away her usual coldness and making it seem as if it was about to collapse.
She just looked at him, her lips moving silently, but no sound came out.
The tears that filled her eyes finally couldn't bear the weight anymore and slid down her pale cheeks.
Pei Ji almost staggered and rushed to her without caring about his manners.
There were no words, not even a slightly excited call.
He bent his knees and without hesitation half-knelt in front of the low stool next to the armchair where she was sitting.
It was an extremely humble posture, lowering his tall figure and placing his eyes even lower than her who was sitting.
The warm sun at noon in winter finally enveloped the small corner by the window tightly, and wrapped him and her in it without reservation.
The shadows of the two people stretched and intertwined in the warm sun, dragging into a blurred ball on the ground, as if they could no longer be separated from each other.
"Zhao Zhao..." Pei Ji raised his head and called softly.
He called out her nickname, which only the two of them knew privately, in a low, hoarse voice.
He stared at her tear-stained face, the pity in his eyes almost overflowing, "Don't cry."
He tried his best to make his voice as soft as possible, for fear of disturbing anything.
"Lord Pei..." Luo Zhaohan's voice was torn into pieces by suppressed sobs, and he still called out the familiar official title.
She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the tears that surged, but it was in vain. She could only look at him and said in a hoarse voice: "You...you actually came..."
"I have never lied to you," Pei Ji continued, looking up at her with a scorching, determined gaze. "Last time at the alley entrance, I said I loved you. Today, I've arrived with all my formalities to ask for your hand in marriage. Every word I say comes from the bottom of my heart, and I would never dare to lie to you."
"Luo Zhaohan, you are the only one I, Pei Ji, desire in this life."
This frank and almost reckless confession was like an unstoppable gust of wind that suddenly blew away the heavy clouds on Luo Zhaohan's heart.
She stared at him blankly, her eyes intently tracing his handsome brow bones, straight nose bridge, and landing on his jaw line, which was slightly tense due to excitement and looking up.
She pursed her lips, and her tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and she actually burst into laughter.
The smile was light at first, his shoulders shrugged slightly, and then the corners of his eyes curved, tears still hanging on his long eyelashes, "You..."
She sniffed, her voice thick with nasal sounds, but with a rare sweetness and innocence in it: "Are you always so blunt? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at..."
Pei Ji nodded seriously and answered as a matter of course, "What you think in your heart is what you say." He did not show any embarrassment at being teased. Instead, he emphasized seriously, "This is especially true when it comes to you."
The sunlight fell on his upturned profile, giving his handsome features a soft golden edge.
Luo Zhaohan looked a little dazed.
The warm sunshine dispelled the coldness that had lingered in my limbs for many days, and quietly melted the ice in my heart.
A courage she had never felt before grew within her. Almost without thinking, and on an impulse that surprised even herself, she raised her right hand.
The cold fingertips paused slightly in mid-air, and then, with tentative tenderness, gently rubbed Pei Ji's cheek which was close at hand.
Pei Ji's whole body was tense, and the blood rushed to his head uncontrollably, causing his eyelashes to tremble violently, and his bottomless pupils suddenly became astonishingly bright.
After the astonishment faded, a huge ecstasy swept over him and swallowed him whole.
The situation was even more embarrassing than Luo Zhaohan's.
Luo Zhaohan came to his senses. What was he doing?! He actually took the initiative to touch a man's cheek?
Oh my god! This was simply... a huge panic overwhelmed her.
She took a deep breath and wanted to retract her fingers as if she had been electrocuted!
However, Pei Ji's reaction was faster than hers!
At the moment when the cold little hand was about to escape, his warm and broad palm came down like a swift shadow and held the back of her hand tightly.
Pei Ji maintained a half-kneeling posture and looked deeply into Luo Zhaohan's shy and frightened eyes.
With a hint of inquiring earnestness, he tilted his head slightly.
She rubbed her cheek against the palm of her hand gently and slowly.
This time, he felt it clearly.
A very subtle sigh silently escaped from his lips, carrying with it an indescribable sense of satisfaction and pity.
Pei Ji finally laughed softly.
His chest vibrated slightly, causing the hand wrapped around her to tremble slightly.
That smile was filled with bright joy and the relief of having gotten what he wanted. He followed her wishes and released his palm from the back of her hand at the right time.
The burning feeling in the palm of my hand suddenly disappeared, bringing with it a chilling feeling of emptiness.
The wide cuffs fell down, covering up all the evidence of what had just happened, but the fingertips of the hand hidden in the sleeves were still uncontrollably burning slightly.
Pei Ji finally stood up from the stool.
The tall figure immediately cast an oppressive shadow around Luo Zhaohan. He slightly adjusted the hem of his robe, which was slightly wrinkled from half-kneeling, and used this action to calm his overly excited mood.
When he spoke again, his voice was much lower, with a hint of negotiation: "From now on... between you and me, there is no need to use such a distant address as 'Master Pei', right?"
Luo Zhaohan was staring at the fine lotus pattern on his cuffs with his eyes downcast, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the words.
She raised her eyelids slightly and her gaze quickly swept across Pei Ji's handsome face. His embarrassed and shy yet forced calm look actually gave rise to a subtle and cunning idea in her heart.
"Then..." She drew out her voice, turned her face slightly, and curved her lips into an extremely shallow arc, revealing a few pointed white teeth.
Her eyes flickered with a rare hint of playfulness and boldness. She tilted her head slightly, and asked with an expression of both innocence and sincerity, "Isn't it too early to call you 'husband' now?"
boom--!
These two words were like a thunderclap exploding above Pei Ji's head.
"Husband"?
Called out from her mouth?
The overwhelming impact made him feel shaky and his knees suddenly softened. His body, which had been straight for a long time, actually swayed and he almost lost his balance and fell backwards.
He hurriedly held onto the back of the armchair beside him and managed to steady himself.
Where was the calm and composed Dali Temple Junior Official who usually solved cases like a god? He was just a pure-hearted boy whose defenses were completely broken by a single word from his beloved!
He stared at the obvious mischievous smile in Luo Zhaohan's eyes with his mouth open. It took him a long while to regain his strength. He almost gritted his teeth, his throat choking again and again, and finally squeezed out an inaudible murmur, the voice was hoarse and unnatural: "Nonsense..."
With a strong sense of shame and helplessness, but also with a deeper sweetness hidden, "Miss Luo...you...be serious..."
Seeing that the usually calm and self-possessed Shaoqing of the Dali Temple was so helpless and blushing because of her word "husband", the embarrassment and awkwardness that Luo Zhaohan had just felt for rubbing his cheek miraculously disappeared, and a warm current spread in his heart.
She looked at him, looking so embarrassed that he almost wanted to crawl into the ground, and tried hard to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out of her throat. However, that sly fox-like smile could not be hidden, and it filled her sparkling eyes.
"Okay, okay, I was just joking," she held back her laughter and finally mercifully let him go, "Then... what should I call you?" She also stood up and walked one step closer to Pei Ji, looking up at his flushed face slightly, her eyes clear and bright, "Pei Ji? Jingzhi?" She called his name and surname in turn, pronouncing each word clearly.
"It's up to you." Pei Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief from the earth-shaking word "husband", but his heart was still beating like a drum.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the burning sensation on his face, and said in a hoarse voice, "Anything is fine."
Luo Zhaohan's eyes rolled slightly, and a deeper hint of mockery appeared at the corners of his lips.
"Then..." She deliberately dragged out the tone, with a hint of playful nasal sound, "How about calling me 'Aji'?"
Ah Ji?! A name that is ten times more intimate than a courtesy name.
Pei Ji's heart felt like it was struck by a hammer, neither light nor heavy. He finally realized belatedly that he had been tricked by her! She was simply teasing him on purpose! From "husband" to "Aji", she was leading him step by step, watching him panic!
This woman...was her shyness just now real? What kind of quirky and cleverness is revealed in her eyes now?
After figuring out this key point, Pei Ji felt both amused and helpless, and at the same time, he was willing to be led by her in a doting manner.
He stared at the bright smile of triumph in her eyes, and finally just let out a sigh helplessly. The traces of tension between his brows completely melted away, turning into helpless tolerance.
"...Okay." He nodded slightly in a low voice.
The word "good" was finalized, as if some invisible chains had been untied.
Luo Zhaohan looked at Pei Ji's helpless and indulgent expression, and the last bit of uneasiness in his heart disappeared.
A hint of blush quietly flew up her cheeks, compared to Pei Ji's blush, it was like a shy rouge on peach petals in early spring.
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