But times have changed. Chang Lili has grown up and found her own place. Although she has suffered a lot, she is now at peace and happy.
Is this tranquility really going to be broken?
As I hesitated, the hellish scene flashed before my eyes: mangled corpses lying haphazardly with their eyes wide open in death, burned palace walls, demons wielding knives and plundering everywhere, and innocent people fleeing in all directions.
Despair and hatred arose, and they narrowly escaped the calamity. When they escaped from hell with the little girl who was too scared to cry anymore, she was in a daze for a long time.
At that time, she was filled with grief and hatred, raising that child and seeing her as the hope for revenge.
But as the days went by, her back gradually became hunched, her face became wrinkled, and the little girl grew into a playful, lively, and carefree young woman. Her original lofty ambitions were reduced to a gentle, flowing stream.
She suddenly realized that so-called hatred and revenge might not be necessary. Time has passed, people are gone, so why should the living continue to suffer?
She only hoped that the girl in front of her would always have that carefree smile on her face and live a peaceful and harmonious life.
Chang Lili was exhausted that day. After taking a shower and changing into her soft clothes, she threw herself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep in no time.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun was high in the sky. She shuddered, hurriedly put on her clothes, and rushed out, muttering that she would be late to the military supply depot.
But as soon as she pushed open the door, her face, which had been showing annoyance a moment ago, suddenly became startled and pulled her feet back into the room, closing the door behind her.
Everything happened too fast. When Meng Yuxiu, who was sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, looked up, he only had time to see the door of Chang Lili's house, which had just been closed.
He couldn't resist his curiosity and got up, but before he could even look up, he heard his mother-in-law say, "Hasn't Lili come out yet?"
Chang Lili leaned against the door, patted her chest, still shaken. Meng Yuxiu's calm voice came from behind: "No."
The mother-in-law's exasperated voice came through: "This child, what time is it and she's still sleeping? But she's not usually like this. She's probably exhausted from yesterday. Oh dear, could she have caught a cold yesterday?"
As she spoke, her mother-in-law became a little anxious, but Meng Yuxiu quickly stopped her, his voice tinged with amusement: "Don't worry, I just heard some noise coming from inside the house. It was quite loud. If someone were sick, they wouldn't be able to make such a commotion."
Chang Lili blushed instantly, and then she heard her mother-in-law actually exhale a sigh of relief. After inviting Meng Yuxiu to drink tea, she said she wouldn't disturb him anymore.
The mother-in-law had previously disagreed with Meng Yuxiu and Chang Lili getting married, but now it seems she is very happy about it.
Chang Lili was not very happy. She was glad that her mother-in-law did not object, but she always felt that her mother-in-law's tone implied that her ugly daughter was not good enough for the general, as if she was afraid that Meng Yuxi would dislike Chang Lili.
She stormed up to the bronze mirror, tidied her messy hair, and then opened the drawer of the dressing table.
She always went out without makeup, but she did have one or two boxes of cosmetics hidden away, though she almost never used them.
Now those two boxes of cosmetics have finally seen the light of day. Chang Lili opened the cosmetic boxes with great seriousness and began to apply them to her face, but her movements were so clumsy that it was unbearable to watch.
She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction, thinking that she must impress Meng Yuxiu. For this reason, she specially changed into the dress embroidered with peach blossoms that Meng Yuxiu had given her before.
Outside, the sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze blew. The general seemed to be in a good mood, sitting upright under the shade of a tree, leisurely sipping tea.
Actually, my mother-in-law and her family didn't have any good tea; it was just the most ordinary tea available on the market, and the teacups were old.
But the way Meng Yuxiu leisurely sipped his tea was as if it were divine nectar.
He looked towards Chang Lili's door, puzzled, and when he saw that there was still no movement, he became a little anxious.
The door opened the next instant, and a figure in a pink and white dress came into view. Her figure was slender, and the breeze made her dress flutter.
His posture was like that of a figure in a painting. As his gaze moved upward, Meng Yuxiu choked on the tea he had just drunk.
The usually calm and composed general had never lost his composure like this before, but he simply couldn't help it. After all, the graceful figure that appeared on the face was not that of a celestial being, nor was it Chang Lili's pretty and lively face. Instead, it was a face with cheeks as red as a monkey's bottom and lips that were also strikingly red. Only a pair of clear eyes revealed the clean and beautiful nature of the face.
Chang Lili, sporting what she thought was a carefully applied face that others found utterly ridiculous, stormed up to Meng Yuxiu. Seeing Meng Yuxiu grinning from ear to ear, she snapped, "What are you laughing at! Don't you know it's incredibly disrespectful to mock a girl like that?"
"Didn't you dress up like this on purpose just to make a scene?" Meng Yuxiu said, still unable to stop laughing.
Chang Lili, who never took others' harsh words to heart, was stunned. The anger in her eyes was replaced by confusion, and even her heavily made-up face looked pale.
Her slender body seemed to sway slightly, and a trace of sadness and shame appeared in her eyes.
Meng Yuxiu had never seen her like this before. His heart felt as if it had been stabbed, and his smile crumbled like thin ice.
He stood up and grabbed Chang Lili's wrist, but quickly composed himself, frowning angrily as he tried to break free: "Let go of me!"
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just think this kind of vulgar makeup doesn't suit you." As he spoke, he pulled Chang Lili towards the place in the courtyard where the wooden tubs were placed.
The clear water in the wooden bucket reflected the light. He looked at Chang Lili tenderly and went to find a towel.
Chang Lili originally intended to take the opportunity to leave, to go back to her room and never see Meng Yuxiu again, that unromantic man who only knew how to kill. Out of sight, out of mind.
But the way he acted just now was something she had never seen before; he was nervous and trying his best to explain, and the gentleness in his voice seemed to melt away ice and snow.
She felt that if she just left and ignored him, he would probably be even more heartbroken than she was.
She couldn't help but look down into the water, wondering if her makeup was really that bad.
Then she saw a scene she never wanted to remember again.
When Meng Yuxiu returned with the towel, she obediently stood there and waited, but she was unwilling to remove her hands from her face.
"Don't look at me! Get out of here! My reputation is ruined!" Chang Lili said in a muffled voice, her voice filled with sorrow.
Meng Yuxiu scoffed, "It's not that serious. I'm the only one who's ever seen you like this. As long as I don't tell anyone, no one else will know."
Chang Lili knew he was telling the truth, but for some reason, she felt that she would rather anyone else see her in this inhuman, ghostly state than see Meng Yuxiu.
However, she was still happy to hear Meng Yuxiu comfort her like that.
"Then... am I ugly like this?" she asked cautiously.
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