Chapter 24 Revlon (6) Taste
Lu Jihan flew into a rage upon hearing this, charging forward and engaging in another scuffle. This time, the two of them were like two bare-chested beasts, punching and kicking each other with real force, hitting each other hard.
"I'll tear your mouth apart, you beast! How dare you slander me! What kind of good man would dress up as a woman for no reason?"
"What does it have to do with you that I'm good-looking? You're such a daring scoundrel! You've really hit a brick wall by provoking me!"
"When did I tease you?"
The Miao young man deliberately spat: "If you're not teasing me, then why are you holding my hand and not letting me go? And you even insisted that I lift my veil to show you. I've seen a lot of rascals like you. It disgusts me to death."
Lu Jihan: "I just...I just thought you looked familiar."
"What a clumsy method and excuse." The young man from Miao said contemptuously.
Lu Jihan said, "Stop talking nonsense! Hand over the antidote to me now. Do you know who I am?"
"No! Give it to me!"
"Alright, if you don't hand it over, even if I die, you'll be buried with me... No, die with me for love!"
"Suicide for love?" The Miao boy had an ugly expression on his face, as if he had eaten shit. "You wish!"
Seeing his provocation working, Lu Jihan unleashed even more scoundrel energy. "I'm thinking of beauty. With a man as beautiful as you dying for me, I'd be able to die a beautiful death."
Xie Yun: ...What, what is all this?!
She quickly asked Si Wu to bring the palace soldiers to stop this farce. When they were pulled apart, the two were still threatening and shouting at each other, neither of them would let the other go, and they looked like they were going to tear each other apart.
Xie Yun immediately stepped forward to take Lu Jihan's pulse and check his condition.
Not good!
Xie Yun was so angry that she raised her hand and slapped Lu Jihan on the head. "Sister Lingyu is so smart and dignified. How could she have such a foolish and reckless brother like you?"
Lu Jihan recalled Xie Yun's identity from her words. He had indeed met this sister before, along with Yu Xian. They were just not very familiar with each other. He still had a suspicious and rebellious look on his face, full of dissatisfaction towards the thin and frail woman before him.
"Why did you slap me on the head? My sister never lectured me like this. And don't mention my sister all the time. I remember you. You are Xie Qingyun's daughter, the daughter of a traitor."
Lu Jihan's words immediately pierced Xie Yun's heart. Sure enough, people like Lu Lingyu were still a minority.
"Remembered? Then what can you do, kill me?" Xie Yun pinched the wound on Lu Jihan's hand left from the fight with a fake smile. The pain made him jump up and scream, "Looking at the way you are now, forget it. I only need to use a little trick, and you will die faster."
"No, is there any law here? Who are you to threaten me like this, standing before the Emperor?!"
The Miao boy standing by couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!"
"I laugh at you for not knowing what's good for you." He paused, "I also laugh at you... for looking down on others."
After saying that, he turned to look at Xie Yun and said obediently, "Sister. I'll give you the antidote. Whether you give it to him or not depends entirely on your mind. Just ask your people to let me go."
He came to the capital for another mission and didn't want to be too conspicuous or cause trouble. Who would have thought that he would run into Lu Jihan, such a difficult person.
Xie Yun agreed, turned around and whispered a few words to Si Wu, asking him to get the antidote and then release the man.
"Thank you, sister! My name is Wu Si, see you later." Wu Si was still dressed in women's clothes, and waved at Xie Yun with a sweet smile, then disappeared under Lu Jihan's resentful gaze.
Xie Yun ordered someone to bring a bowl of water from the inn and fed Lu Jihan the antidote. After saving him, he patted Lu Jihan's head as he had patted Xie Run's head when they were children, "No matter what, I saved you. Remember to repay the kindness, brother."
Although Lu Jihan was unwilling to accept it, he had to admit that if it weren't for Xie Yun, he wouldn't have been able to discover he was poisoned so quickly. Even if he had the ability to get the antidote from Wu Si, if the poison had penetrated deeply into his internal organs, his life would be in danger.
He made a low sound.
"Chu Yang."
It’s the voice of Second Brother Yu!
This was Lu Jihan's handwriting. He looked over and saw Yu Xian and Yan Huinan who had just returned from court. They were both dressed in official uniforms and sitting high on their horses, looking at this place from afar.
"Second Brother Yu!" Lu Jihan was overjoyed and rushed to Yu Xian.
Xie Yun patted her sleeves in frustration. She was about to leave if she was fine, but she was left there by this ungrateful little bastard. And in front of Yan Huinan, what a shame.
She had originally wanted to ask Prince Yu for this favor, to have him release the flying mirror. Prince Yu's marriage to someone else had caused considerable harm to Lu Lingyu, and he had always felt guilty about it. Even if she had just mentioned this, Prince Yu would have agreed to her request.
But it wasn't Yu Xian! Yu Xian and Yan Huinan were inseparable, as close as brothers. With Prince Yu's help, rescuing Fei Jing quietly might have been possible, but if it was Yu Xian, it would have been impossible.
She decided to find someone else to ask for the favor.
Without waiting for Yan Huinan to speak, Xie Yun turned around and walked towards the carriage.
But after only a few steps, she heard the slow sound of horse hooves approaching from behind. Xie Yun turned around to look, and was caught off guard by a hand that tightly embraced her. Yan Huinan exerted force and suddenly lifted Xie Yun onto the horse's back like a chicken, making her lie flat on her stomach.
Lie down!
Xie Yun felt dizzy and was roughly carried onto the horse's back. The horse's hard and firm back hurt her chest and made it difficult for her to breathe.
She held the reins with one hand and slapped the culprit with the other hand, "What are you doing? Let me go, I can't breathe!"
Yan Huinan turned a deaf ear to it.
"I'm dying. I'm being shaken to death. Yan Huinan, this hurts."
She yelled for a long time before Yan Huinan pulled her up and adjusted her position so that she sat sideways on the horse. This forced Xie Yun to lean against him a little.
Yan Huinan took advantage of the situation and put his arm around her. Xie Yun could only follow his fur to avoid any pain. She found a comfortable and safe position to lean against.
In this way, her head just rested on the crook of Yan Huinan's neck, and most of the weight of her upper body was supported by Yan Huinan.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked. He was so close to her that Xie Yun could even slightly feel the rise and fall of his chest with each breath as Yan Huinan spoke.
Xie Yun said coldly, "Is the General's wife going to be restricted from leaving the house? If that's the case, I won't go out next time."
However, Yan Huinan ruthlessly exposed her words: "Don't say such angry words. You and I know it very well. You won't do it even if you say it."
Xie Yun was seen through, she was speechless at this moment, and could only say, "Come out to buy some herbs."
Yan Huinan's throat rolled over, and he tightened his arms around her slightly. Xie Yun pressed her entire body against Yan Huinan's upper body. He said in a deep voice, "Yes. Next time, if you need any herbs, just tell the servants. You don't have to come out in person."
"Also, don't play any other tricks. I'll know. I know you very well, Xie Yun."
This is the warning he gave.
Xie Yun did have many evil thoughts. But how could she possibly let Yan Huinan know? She nodded, pretending to be innocent, and smiled: "He who knows the current situation is a hero. I understand this truth."
"Really?" Yan Huinan chuckled, so calmly that it was almost an understatement. "If you're like your father, I'll kill you."
Xie Yun's heart suddenly trembled and tightened. She heard the cruelty in Yan Huinan's words. He was not joking.
The one who threatened him was Yan Huinan, whose hands were stained with the blood of countless people.
She had never killed anyone, never truly fallen off a cliff. She was still kind, soft-hearted, and valued life. But Yan Huinan was different. He had vacillated between life and death, he had killed people, and in his eyes, some lives were worth less than grass. He could control the lives of others, and he had. In his life, profit was more precious than life.
The transformation she could experience was far inferior to Yan Huinan's rebirth from the ashes and growth that was like his tendons and bones being torn apart.
She was increasingly afraid of Yan Huinan. He had let her go on that rainy night not out of kindness, nor out of any regard for their past relationship.
And if he married her, it must have been just as Huaixiu and the others had said, that he simply wanted to make her live in pain for the rest of her life. He himself had said that he wanted her to despair. He had truly become the one who was so high and mighty that he could easily control her fate.
Just like a cat will not kill a mouse immediately after catching it, but will keep playing with it until the mouse is dead.
Xie Yun's hands gripping the reins tightened unconsciously, and fine beads of cold sweat covered his back.
-
On a starry night, outside Quchuan Garden, there was a sound of hurried footsteps.
Si Wen entered the study to report the news he had just received: "General, Wu Maode, the man in charge of escorting the grain at Nangu Pass, has confessed everything. He was the one who leaked the grain transport route to the Liang army in advance. A large amount of gold, silver, and jewelry was found at the bottom of his well. It would have been impossible for him to have accumulated such a large fortune with his salary. However, he just committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment."
Wu Maode, the top military scholar of the Minghua 13th year, initially served as a vanguard under Prince Cheng. However, due to his inflexible and unyielding character, he offended his superiors and was demoted to an obscure position as a garrison commander in Qianzhong Road, where he has served ever since. Prince Yu, having recently recognized a man known for his knowledge of the Shuzhong region and his integrity, decided to appoint him as the grain and fodder escort officer at Nangu Pass.
But I never thought it was this person?
Too much rigidity can easily lead to breakage, so after being demoted, he also learned to be flexible and adaptable, and actually bent his back to the bottom...
"Where are his wife and children?" Yan Huinan asked.
Si Wen: "They are all in prison. However, those who returned from Qianzhong this time said that Wu Maode had previously rescued a young boy named Wu Yue, a name Wu Maode had given him. He raised him like his own son. He was a skilled martial artist and a leader among the Qianzhong garrison. He was also in the army escorting the grain, but his whereabouts are unknown now. I wonder if he was killed in the Battle of Nangu Pass."
Yan Huinan frowned. "Wu Maode was colluding with the Liang army, so the sneak attack must have been under his control. When the Nangu Pass defenders arrived, the granary had been burned down and most of the people were dead. It doesn't make sense that Wu Maode could survive while his son, whom he loved like his own, died. Could it be that he finally had a change of heart and allowed his men to defend the city to the death, using his son as a human shield? To show his loyalty? Search again. Turn Qianzhong upside down to find him."
Si Wen nodded, "Yes!"
"By the way, don't let the capital go. My adoptive father's family has been brought to the capital. Since he is a martial arts expert, he might follow them. What does the child look like?" Yan Huinan asked.
"It looks like he's from Miao." Si Wen took out a portrait.
Yan Huinan glanced at the portrait. It had a unique appearance, a mix of male and female, beautiful to the point of being almost seductive. There was a long, hard-to-miss scar under the left eye. "Post the news that Wu Maode committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment, along with the news that Wu Maode's wife and children were to be beheaded. Post a portrait of his son next to it."
Late at night, Yan Huinan left his study and saw Qu Chuanyuan in the moonlight. He felt a moment of daze and strangeness.
"Is that a camellia tree?"
Camellias go perfectly with the garden of blue bricks and black tiles. Although not as elegant as peonies, they are still dignified and beautiful, with a hint of arrogance. When they bloom in late winter and early spring, they are extremely enthusiastic and look pleasing to the eye.
Si Wen followed the direction of Yan Huinan's gaze. The old branches there used to be a nuisance, but now they've been replaced with two pruned camellia trees, resembling puppies with their fur stroked. "Well, one has white flowers, the other red. But Madam said this flower has another name..."
Yan Huinan gritted his teeth and even sneered in anger, "Broken head flower."
Si Wen: ...The general is truly knowledgeable.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: The Broken Head Flower, such a… harsh hint. No, an explicit one!!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
