Chapter 29: The tenderness and sweetness of a couple must be theirs. The sky is completely dark, and the night market...
As darkness fell, the night market became more and more lively. The lights were lit one by one, like thousands of pearls flowing in the night. Because it was still the New Year holiday, the shops along the street were basically open all night long. People were shoulder to shoulder in the street, all with happy smiles on their faces.
Yun Yang looked around, finding everything new and interesting. She bought a bunch of gadgets she couldn't name, filling up her bag. She didn't let him carry them, but held them herself, her eyes shining.
There were a lot of people gathered in a circle in front. Yun Yang ran fast and pushed through the crowd to get in. It turned out that some people were guessing lantern riddles. There were rows of colorful lanterns hanging in various colors, and the riddles hanging below were different. If you guessed the riddle correctly, you would get different prizes as a prize.
Yun Yang was delighted to see this. There had been lantern riddle guessing competitions in Youzhou before, but none of them were as large-scale or as exquisite as the one in Shangjing. The lucky charms included lanterns shaped like rabbits with wind chimes hanging underneath, and the candlelight inside the lanterns would spin, and as it spun, the rabbit would start to run!
Yun Yang spotted the rabbit lantern and turned to Xue Yu, inviting him warmly, "Brother-in-law, come and try it?"
Xue Yu shook his head.
Yun Yang refused, jumping up from the crowd and shouting at him, "Come on, come quickly, brother-in-law! Please!"
Xue Yu glanced at the riddle on the lantern. It was clever, but not much. For Xue Yu, who had once served as an editor at the Hanlin Academy and had participated in setting questions for the imperial examinations, this was child's play. If he really participated, he would be bullying the common people who were competing with him in the riddle-solving competition.
But when he saw the girl looking up at him, he couldn't say no.
"Please, brother-in-law!" Yun Yang shouted.
Xue Yu sighed and walked over. Not wanting her to wait, his originally dignified steps became faster and faster.
Si Qing stood there in a daze. How come the calmness and humility that were engraved in the young master's bones were gone?
Seeing that the young man was not satisfied with solving one riddle, he solved another one, one after another, because the rabbit lantern that Miss Yun Er liked was the most valuable prize on the riddle stall, and he had to solve five riddles in a row to get it.
Seeing that more and more people gathered around and the young master remained calm, Si Qing felt that she didn't know the young master anymore. The young master laughed too much that night. Didn't he always dislike the hustle and bustle?
Every time Xue Yu answered a puzzle correctly, Yun Yang would clap his hands and cheer, attracting people around to come and watch, and the cheers continued one after another.
Xue Yu suddenly felt dizzy. Even when the top three candidates were announced in the Golden Hall, he had never felt this way...
Yun Yang took the still slowly rotating rabbit lantern from the boss's hand with a smile, and glanced at Xue Yu approvingly. He didn't show his excitement on his face, and said lightly, "We are just joining in the fun. Boss, next time you have a better-looking lantern, remember to make the puzzles harder."
The light was translucent, and the flowing light cast colorful spots, illuminating the girl's pretty face. Her smile was like a crescent moon, very sweet and charming.
Xue Yu suddenly realized that Yun Yang had really grown up. After shedding her skin and transforming into such a seductive and unaware enchantress.
The owner of the lantern riddle shop was once a scholar. He had worked hard throughout the night to come up with each riddle. Now that the man in front of him had solved them one by one, he felt like he had met a kindred spirit. Moreover, this kindred spirit's method of solving the riddles was obviously much better than his.
Looking at the people in front of him again, the man was very tall, with a good appearance and a gentle and steady temperament. The woman was pretty, charming, and graceful, but her face did not have the shyness of ordinary women. She was determined to get what she loved. The two of them were talking and laughing, and they were so affectionate that they must be a couple.
"Young master, you are so talented that I really admire you! I wonder who your teacher is? My last riddle is a quatrain that I can't even solve myself! You are so good at making couplets!" The owner of the riddle shop bowed and praised sincerely.
Yun Yang was incredibly proud and smug. She desperately wanted to tell her boss that he was personally mentored by the top-ranking scholar who had won the highest three imperial examinations. But she knew Xue Yu was a modest man who wouldn't want her to reveal his identity in public. Yun Yang had no choice but to hold it in, though it still felt like she was walking in the dark under the weight of her finery.
What a wonderful man her brother-in-law is!
The boss, beaming, excitedly gave Yun Yang another small lantern, spouting auspicious words. "Today, during the Lunar New Year, I'm giving you two an extra Hundred Years of Happiness Lantern. You can hang it inside the tent, and when it spins, the light spots will be cast on the top of the tent. It's quite interesting! I wish you two a happy marriage and a son soon!"
Xue Yu paused while helping Yun Yang carry her bag, raised his eyes and said seriously, "You misunderstood. She is my wife's sister."
Yun Yang felt ashamed and let go of the hand that was holding his sleeve. He cursed himself for forgetting the difference between men and women, and trusted his brother-in-law more and more.
It started to drizzle when the temple fair ended. The colorful lanterns were all turned off, and the people who came to admire the lanterns and the view retreated like the tide, but the noise was still there. There were children who were dissatisfied that they did not buy the nine-linked rings from the stall, there were couples who shared a bowl of sweet wine and were very happy, and there were also people who were in a hurry to go home with bags.
Xue Yu and Yun Yang walked in the crowd and suddenly merged into the night.
The rain became heavier and heavier. Many tourists did not bring umbrellas and got soaked, but they did not mind. Instead, they laughed and sought shelter from the rain under the eaves.
The carriage was parked in an alley not far away. Instead of waiting for the carriage to pass through the crowd, it would be better for the two of them to walk over quickly.
Xue Yu's face was calm. He took off his cloak and put it on Yun Yang, then tied her hood tightly. "Walk faster, don't catch a cold."
The rain was light and drifting, hitting Yun Yang's head, but he suddenly felt warm. His nostrils were filled with the pleasant scent of agarwood, and the cloak still carried his body temperature.
She looked up at him. Through the rain, raindrops slid down Xue Yu's thin neck. His thin skin was cold and white, and after being washed by the rain, he had a sense of clean abstinence. A fierce rain blew from somewhere and quickly soaked the brocade robe he was wearing inside. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The sky-blue robe stuck to his chest and abdomen, outlining the strong and firm chest that was particularly suitable for young people.
She was stunned for a moment, then ran forward following his footsteps.
Xue Yu was tall and had long legs, so Yun Yang had to run hard to catch up with him. However, she stepped into the mud where the bluestone slabs were tilted and shaking. Her embroidered shoes with white plum blossoms were immediately stained, and the mud and water soaked her silk stockings. A chilling coldness came from under her feet.
Xue Yu stopped and suddenly realized that he was walking too fast.
He squatted down in front of her and said, "Come on, I'll carry you."
*
Yun Yang had fallen asleep in the carriage, and in a half-awake state, he fell into the invisible darkness. He frowned, tilted his head to one side, and muttered something.
Xue Yu stared at her beautiful face in the dim light. Unlike her previous excitement, her face was slightly pale, her beautiful face was frowned, and she looked confused and frightened, as if she had no one to rely on and had lost her backbone.
The wheel shook, and when her head hit the wall of the carriage, Xue Yu reached out and placed a hand behind her head.
Xue Yu really wanted to tell her that she didn't have to worry about the future, that he would properly arrange her life and let her live in peace and stability like she had in the past ten years.
The Yun family had raised her to be so innocent and spoiled that she had to suffer injustice just because she was with him? That wouldn't do.
Yun Yang's face was pressed against his palm through her long, satin-like hair. The carriage was so dark, and the dim light of the sheepskin lamp outside the window flickered. Xue Yu clearly saw her rubbing her hands affectionately.
Her face was so white, pale and bloodless, and there seemed to be traces of tears on her face. Her nose was twitching, as if she was crying in a dream.
Xue Yu felt a sudden pain in his heart, and the pain spread to every part of his body. It was unbearable, uncomfortable, and restless.
He felt like he was crazy. He actually wanted to hold her in his arms and coax her gently, to shield her from the storms of the world, and to hold her and never let her go.
She murmured something softly, her plump red lips moving.
Xue Yu moved closer as if possessed by a ghost and heard the words clearly, "Sister, my brother-in-law is very good..."
Yes, she said he was good more than once today.
Even in the letter she wrote to Yun Jia, every word between the lines was full of sincere praise for him, saying that he was a gentleman like jade, upright and dignified, and worthy of being a husband.
Every word of her praise fell on his heart and sank deep into it.
Xue Yu's hand, which was resting on Yun Yang's shoulder, finally clenched into a fist, the knuckles turning slightly white due to the force, and then fell down dejectedly.
The favored son of heaven who always had clear goals seemed to be defeated by invisible emotions. Xue Yu felt that his recent actions were contrary to the principles he had followed for many years. He knew that he should not have lynched Uncle Yun, nor should he have pushed the heavy disaster relief work to his colleagues. He ran to the countryside to look for her. He could clearly send someone, but somehow, his body had its own ideas, and before he reacted, the knife was already on the neck of the human trafficker.
He shouldn't have taken her out of the house to the temple fair without permission, nor should he have solved the lantern riddles, nor should he have put his cloak on her, nor should he have carried her on his back in public without regard for the difference between men and women.
There were so many things he shouldn't and couldn't do, but he did them all.
My heart feels like it's carrying something heavy, which gets worse day by day and night, yet it also has a faint and intoxicating sweetness. I don't know when it will collapse and get out of control.
"Go to sleep, and I will let you go when you wake up." He said softly in the night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com