Although Fu Yun had always lived in a large family, she was still quite familiar with the prices of food and oil in the countryside.
After a brief discussion, the two returned to the inn.
Xie Rongyue took out all the money that Wang Hezhan had left for her.
Fu Yun was left to serve her by her aunt. She was very loyal, and she had no worries about Fu Yun plotting against her mistress for money.
The aristocratic class was known for its extravagance, spending over ten thousand coins a day on food alone, while ordinary people could not afford to eat. In this turbulent era of frequent wars, there were refugees and bandits everywhere.
Xie Rongyue had no idea how much money an ordinary person would spend on a meal.
Fu Yun stared in astonishment at the thick stack of silver notes and counted them.
"If this were in a small town, it should be enough."
Hearing this, Xie Rongyue breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Then why don't we just stay here?"
Fu Yun was delighted upon hearing this, "Miss has come to her senses?"
"Um."
The two have been staying at the inn for the past few days and have been looking at quite a few courtyards.
Finally, at the end of March, I bought a clean and elegant little courtyard. It was a two-courtyard house with a tall crabapple tree planted in the garden, its branches full of red flowers, making the courtyard quiet and secluded.
Xie Rongyue had been raised by a noble family since childhood, and at first she was not used to it, but after living here for a long time, she grew to like it.
The interior decoration was the same as her house in Yandu, only the furnishings were not as exquisite.
That day, the master and servant had just returned from buying groceries in the street when they saw a man in an indigo robe standing under a tree in the courtyard, with several guards standing under the eaves.
After several months apart, Xie Rongyue didn't recognize the person at first glance. But when she turned around and saw who it was, her heart skipped a beat.
"General?"
Wang Hezhan turned around and saw her dressed in a light blue dress, her jet-black hair held up with only a hairpin and cascading down her back. She had a fair face and red lips, a slender waist, and was as beautiful as a peach blossom.
His dark eyes narrowed, and he said sarcastically, "You seem to be living a very comfortable life."
Xie Rongyue swallowed hard, walked over, and asked obediently.
"Why is the general here?"
Seeing her like this, Wang Hezhan suppressed his anger from his months-long search for her and questioned her.
Why didn't you go to Xunyang?
“Xunyang is far away. When I arrived in Fancheng, I fell ill and stayed here.”
Xie Rongyue obediently finished speaking and went to pour him tea.
He showed no respect whatsoever and brushed it aside.
"Then why did you just leave without saying a word?"
As agreed, she would leave Yandu with the money before his marriage, so as not to give anyone cause for gossip.
What do you mean by questioning me now?
Xie Rongyue felt a chill run down her spine, lowered her long eyelashes, and explained.
"I spoke with the steward of the estate before I left."
Besides, they should be married now, so what is he doing here, and what right does he have to question her?
Wang Hezhan wouldn't listen to her, and didn't know why he was so angry. He was even angrier when he saw her rosy-cheeked face.
He suddenly grabbed her hand and led her into the house.
The teacup shattered on the ground, and everyone in the courtyard silently withdrew.
Xie Rongyue stumbled along as he pulled her along, knowing what he wanted to do. But when she thought about how he was already married, she couldn't help but struggle and shake his hand.
The door slammed shut, and he carried her to the couch, leaning down and pressing her down on him.
Xie Rongyue reached out to push him.
No--no--
But he grabbed her hands and raised them above her head, sealing her lips with his.
In the struggle, their clothes were disheveled; he only took off his underpants before barging in.
The moment their skin touched, he let out a satisfied sigh.
"Moon".
He lowered his head to kiss her, holding her close and caressing her body.
Xie Rongyue trembled with desire at his touch, her slender fingers gripping the quilt as she moaned softly, her beautiful eyes glistening with tears.
Light streamed in through the latticework curtains, and on the bed, the figures of two people entwined in a hazy, indistinct way could be seen.
Xie Rongyue was tossed and turned, and as she vaguely saw the face in front of her, the scenes of their time together at the manor couldn't help but float into her mind, and all sorts of complicated feelings welled up in her heart, making her tremble.
He's always been like this, used to being carefree and doesn't care about others at all.
After an unknown amount of time, night fell over the courtyard, and the noise inside the house gradually subsided.
Wang Hezhan felt much better all over. He held her and kissed her tenderly and passionately. Seeing that she was breathing heavily, he finally let her go.
Xie Rongyue lay panting on the couch, her eyes shimmering like peach blossoms, her exquisite body flushed crimson.
She weakly raised her hand, snapped out of her daze, glanced at the satisfied man leaning against the bed, and then propped herself up, wrapped in the blanket, to sit up.
Their eyes met, and she asked in a low voice, "The general took a wife, and we parted ways. What do you mean by following me here and doing all this?"
Wang Hezhan was suddenly flustered by her questions, and he didn't even know what he was doing.
He put on his robe, got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked at the moonlight outside.
For a moment, the room was silent.
Seeing him like this, Xie Rongyue glanced at his tall back and concealed the expression in her eyes.
She looked down and saw the red marks on her body, then slowly got off the bed and went to the back bathroom to wash up.
When she came out after her bath, she saw him still standing by the window in the cold wind. She lowered her eyelids, said nothing, and silently went back to bed to sleep.
Fancheng is a small city near Kuibei Mountain. The climate is pleasant, unlike Yandu, and the nights are not very cold.
Xie Rongyue, covered by the quilt, stared blankly at the bed curtains above her head.
After a while, a familiar scent approached, the curtains were lifted, and his voice came from beside the bed.
"Come back to Yandu with me."
Xie Rongyue paused, her hand hidden under the quilt trembling slightly.
She lowered her eyes and spoke softly.
"Will I be your concubine?"
Wang Hezhan came from a prominent family and was raised and educated by them from a young age. In his view, the safest way to consolidate family interests was through marriage without firing a single shot.
He didn't know why she would rather go far away to Xunyang than become his concubine.
"Moon, your background makes you unsuitable to be a legitimate wife."
Xie Rongyue felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She forced a smile and said...
"I know."
He was the eldest son of the Langya Wang clan, and she knew from the beginning that he would not marry her, as he was never short of noble ladies.
Young masters from noble families don't even need to pretend; they are born this way.
"The general promised that you would marry your wife and I would take the silver and leave Yandu."
When Wang Hezhan heard her words of disassociating herself from the situation, he couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment.
He flicked his robe, sat down on the edge of the bed, and spoke in a deep voice.
"Why didn't you go to Xunyang?"
"What does it matter whether I go to Xunyang or not? As long as I leave Yandu and prevent the general and his wife from having any disagreements, that's enough."
She paused, then added a sentence.
"Don't worry, General. I will never return to Yandu in my life. Those past events will be buried like yellow earth."
Wang Hezhan was silent for a moment before speaking, "Are you going to stay in this godforsaken place for the rest of your life?"
Xie Rongyue hummed in agreement and reminded him, "General, you should return to Yandu as soon as possible and not come here again."
Wang Hezhan's face darkened as she urged him on like this. He got up, put on his cloak, and pushed open the door to leave.
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