Chapter 50
After drafting the invitation, Luo Yan encountered a problem when it came to signing it. Both of them had multiple identities, and some of them were not publicly known. Luo Yan's hand, which was holding the pen, hovered for a long time before she gently put it down.
Zhu Yun raised his hand and ruffled her hair, smiling as he reminded her, "Not many people in the village can read."
"That's true." Luo Yan stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. "Then just send a message and invite the people from the clinic as well."
She casually tossed the red note aside. Zhu Yun picked it up and blew the ink dry, intending to keep it as a souvenir. But then her eyes flickered, and a special idea came to her.
While Luo Yan was diligently copying the menu, he hid the invitation and said, "I have already sent someone back to Qingyuan Village to make arrangements. We can set off in a few days. Let's go to the town first."
Judging from the tone, it seems they've abandoned the idea of placing her under house arrest.
Luo Yan glanced at him sideways, her tone teasing: "Did you have a change of heart? Or did I do or say something that made you change your mind?"
"Birthday wish".
Thirteen-year-old Luo Yan tugged at his sleeve and cried, "Why do I have to get sick here? I really want to go out and see the world. I've never really seen any of this world before."
As for why he used the word "些" (xiē), Zhu Yun did not think about it deeply.
All he knew was that a girl's tears were brighter than jewels, but could burn the skin when they fell into the palm of one's hand.
So he secretly carried Luo Yan down the mountain and went to the tallest pavilion in town to see the brilliant stars in the winter night. However, the next day she was bedridden, saying she had caught a cold.
He had clearly found the rarest medicinal herbs in the world, clearly used his internal energy to block the biting cold wind, and clearly used every method he could think of, yet Luo Yan still withered right before his eyes.
For the first time in his life, Zhu Yun experienced "helplessness".
Luo Yan thought to herself, "I might as well go along with what she said and just agree with her." So she nodded.
"Don't worry, I've seen a doctor, and apart from some heart and kidney imbalance, there's nothing wrong."
Jinzhan breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good then."
As night fell, Luo Yan couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Yang Ruoyun could strut around the banquet with ease, laugh heartily, and freely choose any husband she liked.
But she could only remain in the gutter, letting resentment, envy, and jealousy spread in her heart, twisting herself into a deformed female demon.
Even just a tiny bit, she wanted to be loved.
Luo Yan suddenly realized that she wasn't innocent either.
Rather than saying she wasn't innocent, it's more accurate to say the sins were all on her own shoulders. She was the one who heartlessly took the initiative to get close to Zhu Yun, and she was also the slut who twisted her waist and begged for pleasure.
Since losing her parents, Luo Yan has become self-destructive, trying to numb herself with fleeting moments of pleasure.
She had been in the Prince's mansion for almost six years, and all that remained of her was a beautiful but twisted shell.
Luo Yan hugged the blanket tightly. She felt so cold all over in the night, and only her mother's embrace was warm. She longed to be held by her mother again.
The quilt was sewn with gold thread, it was cold and heavy, and it didn't smell like her mother.
Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Hey, why aren't you asleep yet, young lady?"
Jinzhan wanted to tuck the blanket around her, but when she reached out to touch it, she found it was covered in her tears.
"Is the young lady heartbroken over the prince's marriage?"
She hugged the golden cup.
I miss my mother.
Jinzhan held her, feeling a pang of pity. Although Pingyun was a troublemaker, she was ultimately a pitiful orphan.
Her body was warm, but she wasn't her mother after all... but that little bit of warmth was enough to coax Luo Yan into falling asleep.
The next day, Luo Yan lay on the bed with a pale face, refusing to wash or groom herself.
She didn't expect that Zhu Yun would actually push open the door and come to see her.
"Luo Yan, I heard from Jinzhan that you cried all night last night, so I came to see you."
He wore a worried expression, but in reality, he was secretly pleased to hear that Luo Yan had cried for him all night.
Zhu Yun is getting married, and Luo Yan should have cried for him.
He reached out to touch her face, but she slapped his hand away.
"Luo Yan, even if you like each other, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to get married. You should accept reality as soon as possible and stop throwing tantrums."
"You don't want me anymore."
She looked down at her fingertips.
"I didn't... I just..."
"No need for explanation. You just don't want me anymore."
Seeing that Luo Yan was getting stuck on her own thoughts, Zhu Yun had no choice but to sigh and get up to leave.
She was so foolish. How could he bear to leave her? Marriage was just a pretext to encourage people to mess around, but she took it seriously.
Zhu Yun grew up in the palace and was raised by servants, so she naturally didn't have the same obsession as Luo Yan with the idea that there should be affection between husband and wife.
"Zhu Yun, remember this: I will only marry someone I truly love, and I will never marry Zhen Fei."
He didn't look back at her and walked straight away, feeling a bit disgusted. Luo Yan's words implied that she wouldn't marry anyone but him.
He had considered all this for her, yet she still clung to him, insisting that he marry her. She was truly insensible.
In the afternoon, Luo Yan finally put on a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), reluctantly got out of bed, and went out to bask in the sun.
The flowers in the Prince's mansion were in full bloom, but Luo Yan had no mood to appreciate them.
"Miss Luo Yan..."
Zhen Fei was met with a cold reception at the general's mansion. He couldn't even exchange a single word with the young lady Ruoyun and instead received a rebuff.
When he saw Luo Yan arrive, he thought, "Why not take a look? If the prince can see her, so can I." So he opened his eyes wide and looked at her carefully.
To his surprise, he couldn't find a girl more beautiful than her in the entire capital.
He had assumed that all the daughters of officials in the city were as beautiful as Luo Yan.
Zhen Fei changed his mind. If he could marry such a beautiful wife, it seemed like he wouldn't lose anything. Besides, with the prince making the decision, marrying Luo Yan would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Moreover, he needs to make arrangements everywhere and is short of money. She has 10,000 taels of silver as a dowry, so they are a perfect match.
"The girl is so beautiful, she looks like the daughter of some royal nobleman who has been separated from her family, not like someone from a small tavern."
He thought he was being flattering, but in reality, his words made Luo Yan extremely disgusted.
This scoundrel actually dared to grab her hand! She frowned and took two steps back.
“I have parents, but they are just ordinary people, not royalty. There’s no point in talking to each other anymore. Don’t speak to me again.”
"But we're going to be husband and wife, how can we not talk to each other?"
"I will not marry you."
Luo Yan wasn't afraid to say something absolute, so she showed a disgusted expression and walked away quickly.
Who does he think he is, daring to comment on her parents?
Pooh!
Back inside, Jinzhan took out some needles and thread and urged her to learn some needlework.
"Girl, if you want to get married, you need to learn needlework. You should learn it too."
She pushed the needle and thread aside.
"Whether I'll even live to see my wedding day is another matter."
Jinzhan's expression changed, and Luo Yan said some more unpleasant things, making things more and more troublesome.
Luo Yan, carrying Jinzhan on her back, secretly found all the gold and silver valuables in the room and put them into a heavy box.
Zhen Fei just wants these things... Since that's the case, let him take them.
Luo Yan had a brilliant idea in her mind: how to teach him a lesson.
The next day, Luo Yan couldn't find the prince, so she asked where Prince Jinzhan had gone.
"Oh dear, the prince has gone on a boat trip to entertain guests. Miss, you should stay inside."
Her face was cold.
"Why didn't they invite me? It seems they invited that Miss Ruoyun instead."
Jinzhan's expression changed. What Miss Luo Yan said was nonsense. If it weren't for inviting Miss Ruoyun, why would the prince spend so much money?
A maid came in to announce that a servant was waiting at the entrance of the general's mansion looking for Jinzhan.
When Jinzhan arrived, he saw that the man was only wearing coarse cloth clothes, which he had dyed with indigo dye to cover up his ugliness. Even if he was just a servant, it was still a bit too shabby for him to wear such clothes.
The servant smiled ingratiatingly.
"Is this Sister Jinzhan? I am from the Zhen family. My master invites your Miss Luo Yan to go boating together."
Jinzhan was about to speak when, unbeknownst to her, Luo Yan, also known as Marquis Yun, followed behind her, laughing smugly.
"Hmph, Jinzhan, now you have no excuse to stop me."
Jinzhan frowned and pulled Luo Yan into the house. Unmarried girls shouldn't meet outside men, especially servants.
Luo Yan smiled.
“Young Master Zhen Fei has invited me, so I must dress up in my finest attire to catch his eye… Quickly, bring out my best silk dress and let me put it on.”
"But Miss Ruoyun is also here, so perhaps it's inappropriate for you to dress up too much..."
"Don't worry about it, just listen to me."
Jinzhan thought to herself, no matter how Luo Yan dressed up, with Luo Yan around, no one would pay attention to Ruoyun.
Since that's the case, it doesn't matter whether she dresses extravagantly or modestly, so we might as well go along with her.
Jinzhan carefully dressed her up, prepared her for the trip, and openly took her to the cruise ship.
"Hey, young lady, what are you doing with that box?"
The dress was layered and magnificent, and at first glance, you wouldn't even notice that she was holding a box.
"It's a gift I gave to Zhen Fei."
Jinzhan felt something was strange and inexplicable. Just now, Miss Luo Yan looked down on Zhen Fei. How could she change her mind so quickly?
First, she dressed up in splendid attire to meet the young master Zhen Fei, and then she prepared gifts for him.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.
"Didn't you look down on that Young Master Zhen? Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"
Luo Yan pretended to wipe away her tears.
"Someone like me is lucky to even be interested in someone, how could I dare to be picky?"
Jinzhan felt increasingly awkward, but couldn't find fault with her.
She only hoped that Luo Yan's troubles wouldn't spill blood on her.
Luo Yan's boarding of the ship certainly attracted everyone's attention.
She was a beauty adorned with gold, silver, jewels, and fine silks, like a golden bird presented as tribute from the Western Regions, every strand of her hair gleaming.
"Excuse me, who is this young lady...?"
A man dared not look directly at Luo Yan's face, but instead tapped the ground to ask Jinzhan what her name was.
"My name is Luo Yan, and I am the prince's sworn sister."
Before Jinzhan could speak, Luo Yan answered him personally.
Luo Yan basked in the attention of everyone, dressed up in her finest clothes, determined to make herself known to all.
From then on, no one believed that Zhu Yun and Luo Yan were completely innocent.
Even the most docile and obedient cat, when faced with such a delicate and beautiful golden bird, would not be able to resist devouring her.
The men looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
"With a sworn sister like you, Your Highness is truly blessed."
"Where is Young Master Zhen Fei? He invited me here, and I truly want to marry him."
Luo Yan merely smiled charmingly, and a young man eagerly led the way for her.
"That Zhen Fei is just an unknown nobody. What do you think of me?"
Blinded by his beauty, the young man could no longer offer any other blessings.
Luo Yan's face was full of allure.
"I've come here today to see Zhen Fei."
She rushed to Zhen Fei in a few quick steps, and everyone's eyes turned to the two of them, with some even tending to surround them.
Luo Yan was very satisfied; this was exactly the effect she wanted.
"Zhen Fei, I ask you, are you willing to marry me?"
Zhen Fei was standing by the boat admiring the scenery when he was surprised to find that Luo Yan had actually arrived, dressed so strikingly.
He was vaguely annoyed; didn't she notice that all those men were looking at her?
"I'm willing, but you'll have to change your personality after marriage."
Luo Yan smiled charmingly and opened the box in front of everyone, revealing it to be full of gold, silver and valuables.
"Isn't this the reason you agreed to marry me?"
Thump—
Luo Yan threw all the gold and silver valuables, along with the boxes, into the river.
"If you like money, then jump in and grab it. As long as you personally retrieve it, the money is yours, I am yours, and my dowry of ten thousand taels of silver is yours too."
The ship erupted in commotion, with everyone eager to squeeze in and watch the excitement.
"Don't worry, I sealed the box very tightly...it won't get wet. Besides, it's full of gold and silver, so even if water gets in, it won't be a big problem. And I've heard that you're a good swimmer, so you definitely won't drown."
Seeing Zhen Fei motionless, pale-faced, and almost fainting, Luo Yan became even more sarcastic, her red lips curving into a mocking arc.
"If you like money, then jump in and grab it. Didn't you hear me?"
There were few houses in the valley. Zhu Yun was eager to get home and did not want to waste time bathing in the hot spring. He took the sword box and headed straight for his lodging.
The lanterns were already lit outside the courtyard, just like in Qingyuan Village before, where lanterns would be lit whenever someone went out.
He suddenly felt as if he had been transported to another world.
On the recliner, Luo Yan was swinging her legs slightly, leisurely admiring the clouds on the horizon.
Hearing the door open, she sprang to her feet and, seeing it was Zhu Yun, ran towards him. Zhu Yun instinctively dropped his sword and embraced her tightly, then noticed tears glistening in her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I received the letter."
The two voices spoke at the same time.
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