Chapter 21
Jia Yufang said, "Yun-ge'er has been by our side for more than two years. He is quick-witted and handsome."
Luo Yan was confused, but nodded in agreement: "Yes, A-Yun has been good to me, so why did Grandmother suddenly bring this up?"
“I’ve been thinking about it.” Jia Yufang looked up at her expression, slowly uttering each word, “How about letting Yun-ge’er be your husband?”
She could understand the words, but it took her several breaths to make sense of the sentences. Suddenly, it felt like she had stumbled into a bathhouse with a blazing fire; her ears were ringing and steam was rising from her head to toe.
Having eaten for decades, Jia Yufang could easily see that Luo Yan was shy, and continued with a smile:
“If you want to marry into a high-ranking family, you have to go to the capital. If you stay in the village, no one can compare to Yun-ge’er. You two are compatible in temperament, so in my opinion, you can get engaged next spring.”
Luo Yan couldn't bring herself to refuse, even though she wanted to tell her grandmother that it was still uncertain whether she would be able to get through the winter safely.
“Back in Cangxi, the manor hosted many young men,” Jia Yufang shook her head. “They were unambitious and often had illegitimate children before even getting married. If our Yan’er were to marry into such a family, it would be no different than jumping into a fire pit.”
But Zhu Yun came to Qingyuan Village at the age of thirteen and grew up under their watchful eyes. They knew her inside and out and were completely innocent.
In addition, it was several martial arts figures who saved Luo Yan and sent her and her grandmother out of Cangxi, so Jia Yufang couldn't help but feel affection for them.
Luo Yan pressed the cup against her face to cool it down, and asked, "From what you're saying, it doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision."
"nature."
Jia Yufang recalled a conversation from two years ago, briefly recounting it to her with a lighthearted air of revealing a secret: "Yun-ge'er is also a fool. He suddenly said 'childhood sweetheart,' and I was so happy at the time that I forgot to correct him."
She thought it was a fitting description, her almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents as she proudly declared, "He entered our family at such a young age; isn't he my childhood sweetheart?"
"Judging from what Sister Yan said, is she willing to settle down?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Yan covered her face in embarrassment and peeked at her grandmother through her fingers: "I'm willing."
At this moment, Jia Yufang was extremely grateful that she hadn't sent Zhu Yun away.
But it wasn't enough for family members to agree; they still needed to inform the capital first. Luo Yan was still worried about the plot, and taking advantage of her grandmother's illiteracy, she only mentioned in her reply that the marriage was not something her cousin needed to worry about.
As for the Ye family, I won't bother writing about them.
After she finished writing the short letter home, her grandmother was still secretly pleased, muttering, "They're both family, so there's no need to worry about dividing the family property. When good fortune comes, it's unstoppable. Once the engagement is finalized, we'll immediately go to town to buy a house as our new home, so it will be convenient for our great-grandson to go to school in the future."
"Grandmother!" Luo Yan covered her ears in embarrassment. "I'm still young, what great-grandson?"
Jia Yufang covered her mouth and said, "You can write in peace. I'll go outside and have a laugh."
"......"
She let the ink dry, then thought for a moment and added:
Many thanks to my cousin for his care; I am doing well in Linchuan. However, whenever I receive gifts from you, I am reminded of my deceased parents, and I cannot sleep peacefully at night. From now on, it is best if we cease all contact.
The tone seemed a bit harsh.
But she was so afraid of going to the capital that she couldn't bring herself to speak kindly to Cui Wuyang.
Just as his left and right brains were clashing, a hand with distinct knuckles snatched the letter away. Zhu Yun quickly glanced at it and commented, "Too roundabout. You should have just told him to get lost."
The boy had just emerged from his bath, his body still fragrant with bath soap, and his sharp features appeared even more gentle in the candlelight.
With each glance, Luo Yan felt her breath catch in her throat.
"you......"
He touched Luo Yan's bright red earlobe with the back of his hand; it was so hot. "What were you talking about just now? Your grandmother was digging a hole in the yard in the middle of the night instead of sleeping."
They really dug a hole.
Jia Yufang touched the buried daughter's red wine, felt slightly relieved, and covered it up with soil again.
Luo Yan sighed, "Grandmother, really, doesn't she find it troublesome?"
Zhu Yunfu, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, captured her chin and leaned down to ask, "We talked about our marriage, didn't we?"
She shook her head slightly, signaling Zhu Yun to let go of her, but he moved even closer until their foreheads touched.
The boy's eyes lit up, and the corners of his lips silently turned up, as if he had suddenly figured out many things. He said to himself, "So you blushed not because you felt guilty, but because you were shy."
"Shut up."
"Yanyan." Zhu Yun raised an eyebrow, letting her see the smile in his eyes. "You're so easily embarrassed."
Luo Yan, unable to bear it any longer, slapped his hand away forcefully and said angrily, "You shameless thing. Do you even know what liking someone means, yet you dare to think about getting married?"
His long eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing a confused expression.
"I knew it." Luo Yan turned her face away, the candlelight flickering and burning in her pupils. "You have no understanding of love between men and women."
After saying that, he was startled by the grievance in his own voice, so he silently picked up his teacup.
She sipped her tea slowly, trying to be as gentle as possible, when she suddenly noticed that Zhu Yun was unusually quiet. She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively turned to the side, wanting to peek at him out of the corner of her eye.
The boy then crossed his arms, rested his chin on the back of his hands, and looked at him with great interest.
Luo Yan was furious: "What are you looking at!"
Zhu Yun blinked: "You kissed my cup."
"?"
She lowered her eyes, holding an ordinary white porcelain cup in her hand, about to retort, when she suddenly remembered that her grandmother had taken away the cups before leaving. This was indeed Zhu Yunxin's cup, and she had even drunk half of the tea from it.
"Ahem," she stammered, "Why be so formal among family members?"
Zhu Yun straightened up, unconsciously touched her earlobe, and twirled it a few times before speaking: "You kissed my cup."
Just now, Luo Yan clearly pressed her lips against the spot he had used, leaving a very faint trace of lip rouge.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became, and his breathing became hot.
“I took the wrong one,” Luo Yan insisted. “Besides, it’s ‘using’ your cup, not ‘dear.’ Please watch your words.”
"You're shy again."
"I'm angry."
"Why are you angry when you kissed me?" Zhu Yun added tea to his cup, turned the side with the lip print towards himself, tilted his head back, and drank it. "I won't be angry."
Luo Yan witnessed him press his lips close to hers, linger for a few moments, and then slowly pull away. Her eyebrows shot up, her face flushed crimson, and she wanted to question him about why he kissed her cup.
"......"
Zhu Yun watched quietly, vaguely discerning the difference between her guilty conscience and her shyness.
When feeling guilty, her voice often rises unconsciously, and she looks him straight in the eye, full of fighting spirit. But when she's shy, her eyes dart away, and she falls silent immediately if she can't win an argument.
Like right now.
The atmosphere became enchanting in the silence.
Luo Yan was extremely embarrassed. She picked up the fallen letter and fled to the study without saying goodbye. But when she smelled the scent of bath beans, her steps faltered for the first time ever.
This place had long since become Zhu Yun's bedroom, so why had she never realized it?
The newly added cabinet replaced the display shelf, storing longswords, scimitars, silver whips, and other items, while arm guards and daggers lay in their cases. The bed had also been changed, from a single-person daybed to a spacious canopy bed.
Not to mention the screen that separated the bathroom, where the bathtub and his personal clothing were placed.
but--
The two shared a desk, and there were also two armchairs. Several jade hairpins were scattered in front of the bronze mirror, and a woman's cloak embroidered with plum blossoms was draped over a plain clothes rack.
Even on the bedside table, secret manuals and storybooks were piled up alternately.
Her traces were everywhere, as if they were husband and wife.
Footsteps approached from behind her. With nowhere to retreat, she braced herself and went into the room. She rummaged through her bound manuscript and said, feigning composure, "Yesterday you mentioned that the Seven Star Sect Master was killed by his concubine and son. What happened afterward? Did his son inherit the position of sect master?"
"Probably."
Zhu Yun picked up a pot of tea and a teacup, glancing at the strangely shaped characters under her pen, quite puzzled, "These are all low-class matters of the martial arts world, is it really worth you writing them down?"
Luo Yan replied in a muffled voice, "Just think of it as me being bored and having nothing better to do."
About eight months ago, she heard from Zhu Yun about an event that corresponded to the original book, and learned that although he lived in Qingyuan Village, he was very knowledgeable about the movements in the martial arts world.
From then on, he kept pestering him to ask about it, and he wrote two thick stacks of notes, but it seemed to be of no use other than spoiling the plot.
"Why don't I have the luck of a protagonist who's destined for greatness?" She angrily crossed out the word "male lead." "So what if you can foresee the future? You're only foreseeing other people's future."
"What are you muttering about?"
Zhu Yun, unable to resist, pinched her puffed-up cheek, his eyes full of laughter.
Luo Yan looked up and, surprisingly, her anger subsided. She grasped the boy's hand in return, met his astonished expression, and said solemnly, "A-Yun, haven't you always been curious about my relationship with my cousin?"
"I didn't." He didn't pull his hand back, but just lowered his eyelashes angrily.
She nuzzled Zhu Yun's palm ingratiatingly and began to speak: "My cousin is a chosen one. He himself is without fault, but the people around him die for him for various reasons. Therefore, I am very reluctant to go to the capital."
Zhu Yun lifted her eyelids slightly to indicate that she was listening.
"I have never met my cousin." Luo Yan paused, her voice fading, "I am willing to marry you, so please don't be jealous of your cousin anymore."
The five fingers that were caressing her cheek suddenly trembled, like countless tiny feathers brushing against her, stirring up a faint itch that seeped from her skin into her heart.
Then, she clearly felt the boy's body temperature rise, and even his breathing became disordered.
But Luo Yan was too embarrassed to look at her directly.
"Yanyan." Zhu Yun suddenly withdrew his hand, guiding her to lean against him, and said in surprise, "Listen, it beats as fast as your heartbeat."
"......"
"I think I like you."
She looked up in disbelief, meeting the boy's incredibly sincere gaze. He added smugly, "It's the kind of love between a man and a woman you're talking about."
"......"
This wasn't the first time Zhu Yun had experienced this "symptom," and he often saw Luo Yan blushing, accompanied by an excessively strong "thump-thump" of her heartbeat.
But this intertwined sound was truly the first time he had ever heard it before. After a moment's thought, he immediately understood the reason.
Luo Yan couldn't refute him, and even sincerely admired his understanding. But compared to the boy's sudden enlightenment, she felt a slight sense of panic.
"Ah Yun," she said sadly, loosening her clenched lips, "I might die."
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