Chapter 35
It wasn't difficult to deliver a message to Luo Yan without the mansion's secret guards; the challenge was how to avoid arousing her suspicion.
Zhu Yun pondered for a long time, his face full of worry. Just as he was about to ask her directly if she was willing to come with him, a pair of soft little hands suddenly began to grope around his clothes.
His ears twitched, and he thought to himself that Yan Yan was incredibly passionate when she was drunk.
On the way to Beijing, I inquired and learned that men, once they reach a certain age, will become erect when aroused. As for how to relieve this, the people in the brothels are used to it. Some say to go to brothels, some say to have casual affairs, and some say to buy a few picture books from the Bibo Sect.
Zhu Yun naturally looked down on it, finding it offensive to listen to even a few more words. But now, after being groped haphazardly by her, his breathing became heavy, and he began to think about finding that book, "Thirty-Two Styles," to learn.
No, his fiancée is very competitive and always wants to be number one. If Zhu Yun knows more, she might get angry when she finds out.
Let's wait until after we get married, and Luo Yan has finished learning before teaching him.
How did Zhu Yun know? He pondered for a few moments, then said uncertainly, "Listening to music, admiring flowers... perhaps."
She was amused by Zhu Yun's troubled tone and looked up: "That sounds interesting."
In just one month, Luo Yan narrowly escaped death twice. Now, when she thinks about it, she feels numb and amused.
Zhu Yun remained silent after hearing this, a small frown forming between his brows. When he spoke again, his tone was icy: "Your plan is so 'meticulous,' and your audacity is so 'great.'"
A single misstep could have cost him his life. Under his cold gaze, the big yellow dog lost its temper, whimpering and lying down on the ground.
Luo Yan peeked at him discreetly, feeling slightly relieved, before burying her face back down and saying in a muffled voice, "My legs are weak." He was tall, a head taller than her, with a broad and powerful chest that radiated heat, making her cheeks, ear tips, and neck flush red.
It feels really good.
She clung to him for a moment, half reluctantly and half playfully, before Zhu Yun pulled her away by the back of her neck. He lowered his eyes, his emotions unreadable, and said in a low voice, "I'll go tie it up."
Luo Yan quickly shook her head: "Was it you who tied it up in the backyard before? It must have missed its owner and that's why it broke free of the rope. Anyway, with you here, it can't bite me. Let it make noise, I'll get used to it after listening to it more."
Zhu Yun and she gazed at each other for a few moments, then Zhu Yun nodded.
"Dinner's ready—" She hurriedly covered her face, feeling a burning sensation in her nose, and said in a muffled voice, "Stay away from me."
Zhu Yun, unsuspecting, turned around.
Luo Yan tried to calm herself down, knelt up, and tugged at his clothes: "Where are my belongings?"
He took out an oil paper package from his sleeve. Luo Yan squinted her sleepy eyes and picked through the package, but couldn't decide. She looked up at him for help: "What would be a suitable gift?"
Luo Yan nodded: "The Chen family is poor, but they have been very generous to us. I would like to leave something as a token of my gratitude. Qing Niangzi can take it to town to exchange for money on the 25th."
The longevity lock was made of pure gold, which is easier to circulate than jewelry. She folded the two men's old clothes and then placed the gold lock in a conspicuous place.
Luo Yan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said shyly, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Qingniang's fingers flew as she skillfully styled her hair into a typical woman's bun. "The year before last, I worked as a day laborer at the county magistrate's house. All the young ladies there never lifted a finger, and even their meals were served to them. You are already much better than them."
Her eyes lit up, and she was no longer ashamed of tying her hair up. She even felt at ease thinking that if she seriously sought guidance in the future, she wouldn't be afraid of not being able to learn it.
Qingniang called out. The bath tub was large enough for two people to sit facing each other.
Luo Yan glanced at it once and immediately felt her cheeks flush. She forced herself to remain calm and walked to the window, pushing open the small window to let the cool breeze calm her thoughts.
Little did they know that the midday sun was scorching, and the heat poured down, making the thin, red lotus-shaped noodles even hotter.
After waiting for a while, Zhu Yun still didn't respond. Luo Yan blushed and turned around. She saw that he wasn't following behind her, but instead took out a blue-covered book from the bookshelf, sat up straight, and gently turned the pages with his long fingers.
The sunlight seemed to favor him, golden rays falling on his nose and lips, outlining his shimmering, exquisite features. Even the dust motes in the air seemed to float and dance, like messengers of light, circling and worshipping the handsome deity.
Luo Yan thought to herself, "I could look at such an unfairly beautiful face for three days and three nights without getting tired of it."
Her gaze seemed tangible, and Zhu Yun sensed it. Only after reading the last word at the end of the page did he raise an eyebrow and look over. Their eyes met, and two golden lights flashed in the boy's dark pupils. Luo Yan's heart suddenly contracted, and she averted her gaze as if electrocuted.
Zhu Yun looked puzzled, glancing down at the bathtub beside her. Suddenly, he understood, interpreting her evasive behavior as shyness. After all, Miss Luo was known for her cleanliness, and having traveled for half a day, she probably wanted to take a bath.
So he considerately asked, "Would you like me to order a bucket of hot water for you, or perhaps we could have a meal first?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Yan's already flushed face turned bright red. She glared at Zhu Yun reproachfully and said, "How could you say such a thing?"
The young girl leaned against the window, a gentle breeze ruffling her dark hair like a banner beckoning souls. The banner fluttered, stirring the heart. Her delicate face flushed crimson, shy and bashful, like a long-budding weeping crabapple blossom, trembling as it slowly opened.
Zhu Yun's gaze softened, and he closed the book, making the decision for her: "Take a bath first, then I'll go to East Street to buy chestnut cakes. Yesterday, Qing Niangzi mentioned these sweet but not greasy chestnut cakes that leave a lingering fragrance in your mouth, and some people were drooling over them."
Her long, semi-dry hair cascaded smoothly down her front, and her face was flushed from the steam, resembling an apple about to ripen and fall, making one want to pick it.
The absurd thought flashed through Zhu Yun's mind, but he quickly looked away, regained his composure, and placed the food on the round table.
He took out a box of thick white ointment from his sleeve and handed it over: "After applying it, rub it evenly in your palms. It can improve muscle and joint mobility and relieve soreness."
"For me?" Luo Yan was slightly surprised, surprised by his thoughtfulness.
However, just as the corners of her lips lifted, she became wary again, wondering why he was so skilled. Could he be a playboy?
Zhu Yun couldn't read minds, but seeing her changing expressions, he couldn't tell if she was happy or angry. Feeling somewhat helpless, he casually asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Without thinking, Luo Yan blurted out, "I was wondering if my fiancé...?"
She hurriedly covered her lips, swallowing back her suspicions of repaying kindness with ingratitude, lest she chill Zhu Yun's heart. After a moment, she changed her words, saying, "I was thinking that my fiancé is not only handsome, but also thoughtful and considerate; he is truly a rare and wonderful man in this world."
His praise was sincere and touching.
Zhu Yun didn't answer again, pushed open the door and went out. After instructing the waiter, he went back to his room and closed the several wide-open windows. Seeing Luo Yan standing there with an unnatural expression, he couldn't help but worry and said solemnly, "Don't open the door for anyone else before I come back."
She bit her lip, glanced at him quickly, and nodded.
After the waiter brought hot water, Zhu Yunfang left the inn. Luo Yan watched him walk away from the window, and her agitated heart finally calmed down a little.
The warm water flowed over the girl's shoulders, gently enveloping her and dispelling all the fatigue from the long journey, leaving only a feeling of ease and comfort. She crushed the bath powder with her fingertips, and while soaking in the bath, she opened the book that Zhu Yun had just been reading.
The characters differed from the traditional characters she knew, and should have been obscure and difficult to understand, but after a cursory glance, it seemed as if she had studied them a thousand times since childhood.
Could it be that he inherited the original owner's knowledge?
According to the wet nurse, the Wen family was a scholarly family, and even her deceased birth mother was known as a talented woman when she was still unmarried. It was through poetry and literature that she developed feelings for Luo Changqing, the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination...
In short, although the original owner of this body was raised in Yingzhou and mistreated by her aunt, her birth parents were exceptionally talented, and her own talent far surpassed that of ordinary people, making her half-sister Luo Rong pale in comparison.
Driven by curiosity, Luo Yan, after taking a bath, eagerly spread out a sheet of bamboo-jointed Xuan paper, wanting to see if she truly possessed the knowledge left behind by the original owner of the body.
Worried that Zhu Yun was feeling reserved, she poured him a cup of tea and asked in a low voice, "Are you enjoying the food?"
Zhu Yun nodded, but said, "I'm not used to it."
Luo Yan suppressed a laugh, picked up some greens for him, and teased, "Why are you like a rabbit, always eating radishes and greens?"
Qingniang was overjoyed. She wiped her hands and went to the courtyard to greet him.
Wu Shi was reluctant to let Luo Yan get involved, so she urged her to take Zhu Yun with her, saying that her eldest son had returned.
Qingniang rolled her eyes at him and introduced, "We have guests at home. They can ride in our oxcart to town tomorrow."
"It's not a ghost." Chen Qiu scratched his head shyly and greeted him awkwardly.
After saying that, he lightly tapped the earthen bed, which could accommodate three people lying side by side, with his index finger, and said with a sense of helplessness: "You'll have to bear with it a little longer."
Zhu Yun was speechless and stood motionless in front of the door.
Luo Yan lowered her eyes and untied her hair tie, saying casually, "Could it be that you're keeping yourself chaste for someone?"
She paused, then suddenly seemed unwilling to hear his reply, and said to herself, "Don't worry, I just want to find a place to live a peaceful life. Once the news of my death reaches the capital, the marriage agreement will be null and void, and the few days in the mountains will be nothing but a passing cloud. Besides, to put it another way, nothing ever really happened between us, did it?"
Zhu Yun insisted: "It will damage Miss Yu's reputation."
Her eyes crinkled with laughter as she leaned back on the kang (a heated brick bed): "I understand, you want to take responsibility for me?"
His face grew even redder, as if on fire, but he nodded solemnly in response to Luo Yan's bright gaze.
“There are many ways to be responsible,” Luo Yan said with a smile. “When I meet with your guards, I will have someone help me make arrangements so that if we happen to meet again in the future, we can ask each other how we are doing. For me, that is the most responsible thing to do.”
For some reason, Zhu Yun's eyes darkened.
She took off her shoes and socks, lay down on the inside, and said lazily, "Put the doormat in place, turn off the light, and come here."
Zhu Yun deliberately looked away, stood still for a moment, and then moved the long table back to its original place.
They were an arm's length apart. He felt a little more at ease, pushed the blankets aside, and said in a low voice, "I don't need it."
Luo Yan didn't stand on ceremony, wrapped up like a cocoon, only her head peeking out, her voice soft and weak from exhaustion: "What time do you usually get up?"
"Maozheng."
Luo Yan understood his implication, blinked in surprise, and then lowered her eyes and smiled.
Knowing that Zhu Yun was acting out of concern, she felt a sudden lump in her throat and opened her almond-shaped eyes wide with tender affection: "I've already been back from the brink of death once, so I'm naturally afraid, but it seems to be more than I imagined... never mind."
Having escaped the Luo family mansion, which was surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind, she felt very at ease. Her heart warmed up, and she gradually revealed her true nature.
Despite the grandeur of the general's mansion, it failed to cultivate a shrewd and intelligent mind, causing the young lady, who should have been naive and innocent, to experience numerous hardships.
Hearing this, Luo Yan smiled and said, "Don't talk about me. What about you? We weren't familiar with each other before, and I wanted to ask but didn't dare to. Was it your elder brother who harmed you?"
Zhu Yun stopped there: "It's not an internal strife within the Jiang family, but a power struggle within the imperial court."
Seeing his solemn expression, Luo Yan wisely stopped asking questions, but sighed, "It seems that danger lurks around you, and it's not convenient for me to follow you for long. Could you take me to a safe place halfway? It's a place that the Luo family can't find, that doesn't need to be too luxurious, but it has to be cheap to live in."
Luo Yan was flattered and flattered, but also couldn't help feeling proud. She reached out and tugged at Zhu Yun's sleeve, looking at him with a smile. Her pride was impossible to hide, and her eyes sparkled with delight.
She clearly has the temperament of a young girl.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Unlike her reserved demeanor during the day, Qingniang spoke directly and teasingly, clicking her tongue: "Newlyweds are certainly different. Look at the two of them, they can't be apart from each other for a moment. It's the envy of everyone."
Madam Wu poured tea, and upon hearing this, burst into laughter: "That's exactly right! If we have another big, healthy boy next year, no matter who he resembles, he'll definitely be as handsome as a New Year's picture doll!"
Luo Yan awkwardly touched her nose, unable to refute the argument, and simply ordered Zhu Yun to chop firewood in the yard.
Before losing consciousness, the sky and earth turned upside down, the lights of countless homes transformed into stars, and the setting sun seemed within reach. She reached out her hand to grasp the moon like a monkey trying to catch it, and then, nothing more.
Luo Yan's eyes were slightly moist, her raven feathers drooped quietly, and crystal tears fell. The afterglow of the setting sun pierced through them, making them instantly dazzling, like a rare piece of glass.
Zhu Yun paused, realizing with absolute clarity that Luo Yan was far more resilient than ordinary women.
Luo Yan was not sleepy at all. She stood in front of the table drawing to deepen her understanding. Suddenly, a cool breeze blew by, and the candlelight flickered.
She then put down her pen, closed the window, and when she turned around, she saw a cup of tea next to the paperweight.
Thinking back to last night, she deduced that it was tea with calming and tranquilizing effects, and perhaps her cousin Cui knew she had been frightened and specially sent it to her.
He only drank one cup and continued studying the stance for blocking the sword, but his hand holding the pen gradually began to tremble.
Luo Yan touched her burning face and asked in confusion, "Am I drunk?"
Once, on Zhu Yun's birthday, she mistakenly took his half-finished wine for water. She felt dizzy immediately after drinking it, not unwell, but her movements were sluggish. According to Zhu Yun, she insisted on sleeping in his arms, and he finally managed to fool her by stuffing a recently changed undergarment into her bosom.
But why would a maid bring wine, and why would it taste sweet and not harsh on the throat? It might be tea with side effects.
"Yanyan".
A familiar voice came from behind me.
Luo Yan thought vaguely that quite a few people had appeared behind her today.
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