Chapter 272 Sun Jing's Love
The back hall of Yunshang Pavilion was filled with the fragrance of medicine.
For three consecutive days, Lu Zhaoruo locked herself in the back room.
Her left arm was still injured and wrapped in thick gauze, preventing her from touching the loom or embroidery frame. So she buried herself in ledgers and patterns all day long, making careful annotations with a red pen, or pondering and selecting new fabrics. She forced herself to fill every moment with this almost stubborn busyness, numbing herself.
She remained calm, deliberately avoiding any topic related to the turmoil outside.
But when he occasionally rests and looks out at the bleak autumn scenery, the deep weariness and silent pain in his eyes are impossible to hide.
The most worried person was none other than his elder brother, Lu Bohong.
He hesitated several times, his gaze falling on his sister's bandaged left arm, but finally settling on her forced composure. His brows furrowed with resentment at the malicious rumors and anger at Xiao Yeming's cowardice and retreat.
"Little sister, those people outside..."
He finally couldn't help but speak up, "And Xiao Yeming too..."
Lu Zhaoruo gently put down the account book, raised her eyes, and forced a relaxed smile. Her tone was urging as she interrupted him: "Brother, don't worry about those things. Have you forgotten? The Ministry of Rites' provincial examination is in five days."
She looked at him with clear eyes, her tone turning serious: "In this provincial examination, archery and horsemanship are your strengths, but military strategy and policy are even more important, as they determine whether you can truly embark on an official career. Right now, this is the most important thing, and we cannot afford to waste a single moment."
Seeing that Lu Bohong still had a furrowed brow and his fists clenched unconsciously, clearly still resentful about the rumors and the grievances she had suffered, Lu Zhaoruo leaned forward slightly, softened her voice, and teased playfully, "Or is it that... Brother is no longer in a hurry to make achievements and doesn't want to go and ask for your Lady Fujun in a grand manner?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Bohong's body trembled slightly.
The name of Fu Jun acted like the most effective sobering agent, pulling him back from his anger.
Looking at his sister's forced smile that couldn't hide her pale face, he felt a mix of sorrow, responsibility, and a surge of indignation for her.
He took a deep breath and clasped his hands tightly in a fist salute: "Don't worry, little sister! Your brother... will certainly live up to your expectations! I will definitely earn a reputation and never let you suffer such humiliation again!"
After saying that, he resolutely turned around, turning his resentment and worries into motivation, and threw himself back into the intense preparation for the exam.
As Lu Zhaoruo watched her brother's departing figure, she whispered, "Brother, in this life, I will never let you have any regrets."
Anzai, deep within the courtyard.
Since his hasty departure from Yunshang Pavilion three days ago, Xiao Yeming has gone straight to hide in this secluded An Linglong residence.
One reason was to temporarily escape his mother's relentless pressure.
Secondly, he personally cared for Gu Xian, who was seriously ill.
The courtyard was filled with fallen leaves, desolate and lonely.
He sat alone on a stone bench, holding a crudely made wooden box in his hands.
Several plum blossoms are crookedly carved on the surface of the box, with varying depths of knife marks, revealing a clumsy stubbornness.
His fingertips trembled slightly as he gently lifted the lid of the box.
The box was lined with dark velvet, and a snow-white plum blossom hairpin lay quietly on it.
The hairpin is simple and elegant, with five plum blossoms inlaid with delicate white mother-of-pearl. Three rice beads adorn the center of the flower, giving it a restrained and cool appearance, untouched by the dust of the world.
This hairpin was handcrafted and meticulously inlaid by him under the lamplight, based on a fleeting glimpse of its beauty from his memory, back in Jizhou City.
Every step of the process hides his unspoken feelings.
But it was never sent out.
Hesitation after hesitation, retreat after retreat, until today, everything has changed.
He gripped the hairpin tightly, the icy touch piercing his palm. A wave of pain, a mixture of endless regret and despair, surged over him, threatening to engulf him completely.
"General!"
Wang Wu's hurried footsteps and calls suddenly broke the deathly silence in the courtyard.
Xiao Yeming snapped back to his senses, quickly closed the wooden box, and hid it in his sleeve.
When he looked up again, the turbulent emotions in his eyes had been forcibly suppressed, leaving only his usual coldness: "Speak."
Wang Wu strode forward, his face grave, and reported urgently in a low voice: "General, there has been a major breakthrough in the assassin's trail! Following the clues, we've discovered that the style of the curved swords they used and their seamless teamwork strongly resemble a secret assassination organization called 'Dark Assassins.' This organization operates in secrecy, handling dirty work for the powerful and wealthy."
"Darkness?"
A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yeming's eyes. "Continue."
“More importantly,” Wang Wu’s voice lowered, tinged with fear, “we’ve discovered that this ‘Dark Slaughter’… does indeed have clandestine dealings with the Japanese pirates!”
Xiao Yeming's pupils suddenly contracted, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Go and fetch Sun Jing for me immediately! And be quick!"
The Lu residence was shrouded in twilight.
Lu Zhaoruo returned from Yunshang Pavilion and sat alone on a stone bench in the corner of the courtyard.
The afterglow of the setting sun gilded her slender figure with a pale gold, but it only accentuated an indescribable loneliness.
She lowered her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the unknown distance, as if gazing at the twilight, or as if nothing else caught her eye.
In the shadow of the corridor not far away, Sun Jing's tall figure stood there quietly like a silent wall.
This man, around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, had a face weathered by time, and usually kept his lips pursed, his eyes as calm as an ancient well, revealing no emotion.
But at this moment, his eyes, which were always habitually lowered and concealing his emotions, were fixed on Lu Zhaoruo's back.
His gaze held concern, heartache, and an impulse to step forward and shield her from all the storms, but more than anything, it held a softness and determination that was tightly suppressed deep within his heart and almost invisible.
A determination to protect her even at the cost of one's life.
He knew he had been given a second chance at life, his past stained with indelible blood, and he was unworthy of someone as pure as her.
He also knew that she had someone else in her heart.
All he could do was stay by her side like a shadow, swallowing his secret thoughts and turning them into the most handy knife and the strongest shield, ready to risk his life to stand in front of her when she needed him.
He stood there motionless, as if trying to become a mountain, hiding himself in the shadows, content as long as he saw that she was safe and sound.
Just then, Dong Rou came from the corner of the corridor carrying tea and snacks. She looked up and happened to meet Sun Jing's overly focused gaze, which he hadn't had time to completely conceal.
Sun Jing suddenly snapped back to his senses, as if he had been burned, and quickly lowered his eyelids, resuming his wooden and silent demeanor.
He sidestepped Dong Rou, nodded slightly, and strode away, disappearing almost hastily into the depths of the corridor, his back stiff.
Dongrou stood there, stunned. She looked in the direction where Sun Jing had disappeared, then glanced at her oblivious wife. Her heart skipped a beat, and she seemed to sense something unusual.
She sighed softly, picked up the tea and snacks, and walked towards Lu Zhaoruo.
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