Chapter 5: Out of reach
In contrast, Luo Dinglian appeared calmer and more rational. His eyes were complex and deep as he looked at Liu Yueli, his tone firm and serious: "As long as you are willing to continue to stay in the General's Mansion, I will ensure that you live a carefree life. However, from this moment on, you are not allowed to see Xie Wuqi again."
Liu Yueli felt a wave of desolation at Luo Dinglian's resolute words. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the Luo family, her heart filled with endless grievance and resentment. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked with sobs, "You...how can you be so cold-blooded and ungrateful? Aren't you afraid of being spurned by the world?"
Luo Zhaohan's gaze fell directly on the ecstatic Xie Wuqi, and he said sarcastically, "Since Xie Wuqi loves you so deeply, he will naturally take you into the Xie family and make you his principal wife. Isn't this what you've always dreamed of?"
After hearing this, Xie Wuqi immediately nodded and promised Liu Yueli, "Yueli, just come with me!" He continued, "If we continue to stay in the Luo Mansion, I'm afraid you and I will never see each other again. Besides, after what happened today, the Luo family will definitely not have a place for you anymore."
He said eagerly, "I will take you back to the Xie family right now and tell my parents my feelings immediately. They will definitely understand me and agree to let me marry you as my legal wife!"
Xie Wuqi's words were full of sincerity and earnestness, and there was even a hint of pleading on his face.
Liu Yueli's fingertips brushed across the thin calluses on Xie Wuqi's palm.
"Let's go." Xie Wuqi gripped her hand tightly, his armor gleaming coldly in the twilight. The black iron token hanging from his waist swung, the "Xie" character etched deep enough to be seen through the bone.
The teacup in Luo Dinglian's hand cracked.
"Become my wife, and run away as my concubine!" Qin Wan suddenly ripped off the coral string on her wrist, and the round beads rolled over the tip of Liu Yueli's embroidered shoes. "Once you leave this door, you are no longer a member of the Luo family!"
Liu Yueli's steps paused slightly, and Xie Wuqi immediately moved sideways to block Qin Wan's sight.
"Yue Li and I are married through formal matchmaking!"
Luo Zhaohan suddenly chuckled, his fingertips brushing against the Tiger Saber on the table. The dark brown bloodstains on the scabbard reflected the setting sun, reminiscent of the battle flag Lieutenant General Liu had set up when he was covering the rear. "General Xie, do you know that the Northwest Army plants willow branches in the parade grounds every Qingming Festival?"
Xie Wuqi's Adam's apple rolled. He certainly remembered his father saying that it was to commemorate the heroic feat of Lieutenant General Liu in breaking a willow branch into a spear.
"Because the youngest of those 1,963 heroic souls is only fourteen years old." Luo Zhaohan unsheathed his sword, a cold light flashing across Liu Yueli's pale face. "They are all waiting to drink in the Xie family's wedding wine."
Liu Yueli suddenly coughed violently, and Supa's fingers, which covered her mouth, were as slender and white as paper.
Xie Wuqi embraced her shaky body and helped her leave the Fuyuan General's Mansion.
"Zhao Zhao..." Luo Dinglian suddenly turned around, the scales of his armor colliding with the sound of swords, "Follow me in."
As wisps of green smoke rose from the incense burner in the main hall, Luo Zhaohan looked at the broken pottery figurine on the Duobao Pavilion—it was the one Liu Yueli had broken when she was ten years old. Her father had never been willing to throw it away, always saying, "Yueli is very skillful and can mend things."
"Did you deliberately send Chunxi to search for evidence?" Luo Dinglian stroked the list of casualties with his fingertips, and the cinnabar annotations had faded into dark red.
Luo Zhaohan knelt down: "Yes."
"Tell me in detail how you know all this."
…
Thunder roared outside the window and heavy rain poured down.
Qin Wan stood in the corridor and stuffed the Xie family's heirloom jade pendant into Chunxi's hand: "Be sure to tell General Xie before Xie Wuqi and Liu Yueli return home that his son is too outstanding and our Luo family is not worthy of him!"
"I obey your command!" Chunxi jumped onto the horse, revealing half of her soft armor under her straw raincoat - that was made for her by Luo Zhaohan himself last year.
The copper bells in the corridor rang in the night wind.
Qin Wan's fingertips traced the lotus-patterned window lattice, watching the falling crabapple petals in the courtyard. Dan Kou pinched crescent-shaped marks on the window screen. Did the Xie family father and son really think they could treat the girl from the general's mansion as they pleased?
"Mother." Luo Zhaohan walked out from the moon-shaped door, her pomegranate-red horse-face skirt sweeping across the blue bricks.
She looked at the new Chilong jade pendant on her mother's waist - it was the Xie family heirloom that she had ripped off Xie Wuqi at noon, and a dimple appeared on her lips. "Do you want your daughter to accompany you to the theater?"
Qin Wan twisted the tassel of the jade pendant around her finger and played with it. "Your father always says that I have a quick temper, but he doesn't know that some people need to be hurt immediately before they learn their lesson." She suddenly tightened the silk ribbon, and the jade pendant made a crisp sound when it hit the railing.
In the twilight, the vermilion lacquered gate of the Xie Mansion was getting closer and closer, and the Taotie pattern on the door knocker was opening its bloody mouth.
Chunxi knocked on the corner door of Xie's house holding a black lacquered and gold-painted box.
As the little maid passed through the winding corridor, she heard General Xie's hearty laughter coming from the flower hall: "When Zhao Han marries, the military power of the northern border will be in the hands of our Xie family..."
"I am Chunxi from General Fuyuan's mansion, and I am here to pay my respects to you on the orders of my mistress." A clear voice broke the joy in the room.
General Xie's teacup swung, and the Biluochun tea soaked the tiger-head leather belt. He looked at the humble maid at the bottom of the stairs; she was clearly Zhao Han's personal maid.
Madam Xie clenched her Buddhist beads, the jeweled armor scratching fine lines on the sandalwood armrests. She recognized this maid; last year during the Laba Festival porridge distribution, it was this maid who publicly exposed Concubine Zhang's withholding of rice.
"But Zhaohan has a message?" General Xie said, trying to smooth things over with a smile. "The betrothal gift list is still short of two loads of coral. We'll complete it tomorrow."
Chunxi held the lacquer box high above her head, the dragon jade pendant within gleaming faintly. "My wife said that your young master is of such exceptional stature that the Luo family wouldn't dare marry him." She paused deliberately, "I have another message for you, Madam. The memorial tablet that your concubine Zhang had donated to Puji Temple has been removed."
"Bang!" The Buddhist beads in Mrs. Xie's hand hit the blue bricks, and the southern red agate splattered like blood.
She stood up suddenly, her peony-patterned jacket sweeping the tea set off the table. The memorial tablet was dedicated to her deceased young son. How dare Aunt Zhang be so presumptuous!
General Xie kicked over the rosewood footstool and said, "Nonsense! Wuqi is still proposing marriage to your eldest daughter at the Luo Mansion!"
"Master Xie brought Miss Liu back home half an hour ago." Chunxi looked up at Madam Xie's pale face, "They went through the west corner gate."
Thunder roared outside the window, and raindrops hit the glazed tiles with a crackling sound.
Mrs. Xie suddenly clutched her chest and fell back into her chair.
"Please excuse me, young lady..." General Xie reached for the lacquer box with a trembling voice, but Chunxi dodged him sideways.
The maid placed the jade pendant heavily on the Eight Immortals table, causing fine cracks to appear on the boxwood surface. "My young lady has sent a message – men from the Northern Territory value their word above all else. Now that we have accepted the letter of withdrawal, I hope your family will not pursue this matter any further."
In the rain, Chunxi opened twenty-four oil-paper umbrellas.
The red plum blossoms painted on the umbrella reflected the sneer on her lips. The expression on Mrs. Xie's face when she heard the words "rebirth tablet" just now was even more interesting than the face-changing on the stage.
Next, it’s Aunt Zhang’s turn to take the fight!
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