Chapter 94 A Perfect Match
Faced with the prince's favor, Ning Jue was momentarily surprised. After a pause, he politely declined, saying, "I'm afraid I will disappoint Your Highness. Ning Jue is an orphan. I was fortunate to be adopted by my master when I was young and learned martial arts. Without my master, there would be no Ning Jue today. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Ning Jue has long regarded my master as his father, so I cannot accept Your Highness's words."
The Great General seemed to have guessed that he would refuse, and had already prepared his words of persuasion: "It is rare for you to value kindness and righteousness so much. Of course, I will not force you. However, the two are not contradictory. Although it is not common among aristocratic families, there are many common people who recognize others as their godfathers while their biological father is still alive. I only want to take you as my adopted son. It will not prevent you from respecting your master."
This statement is well-founded and indeed persuasive.
It seems that the prince must have thought it through carefully before speaking, rather than acting on a whim.
Ning Jue still did not budge. He stated, "Your Highness may entrust me with other tasks. No matter how dangerous they may be, as long as they do not violate morality or require me to harm innocent people, Ning Jue is willing to risk his life to serve you in order to repay your kindness."
Upon hearing this, General Wang sighed, a look of regret on his face.
He didn't make things difficult for Ning Jue, nor did he insist on persuading him further. After a moment of silence, he explained, "Recently, there have been bandits roaming the outskirts of the capital, and they have been repeatedly suppressed without success. His Majesty is quite troubled. The other day, Prince Rui submitted a memorial to His Majesty recommending me. After some ill-intentioned words, he finally got his wish and entrusted this troublesome task to me. His Majesty's decree has arrived, and I cannot refuse. However, Lady Wang is about to give birth, and I am worried about her. I plan to disguise myself as a commoner and pretend to enter the temple to accompany her during childbirth..."
At this point, the Grand General smiled wryly. Originally, given his high status, why should he care about what others said? However, His Majesty was paying special attention to this matter, and as the Imperial Uncle, he could not take the lead in offending His Majesty. So he could only pretend to do it.
But he inevitably wronged his beloved and unborn child, and he hated Prince Rui to the core.
With a slightly serious expression, the Great General continued, "In that case, I am unable to spare the time, so I will leave the task of suppressing the bandits to you and your men."
Ning Jue pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement to the task, thus fulfilling the first of the three things the Great General had mentioned.
To repay the prince's kindness, and also to express her apology for the innocent Lady Wang being implicated and forced to leave the luxurious royal palace and humbly go to the temple to give birth.
Most importantly, by doing this, Hua'er's guilt will lessen, and she will probably feel better.
...
When Bai Hua heard about this later, her first thought was not for others, but for Ning Jue's safety.
Avoiding others, the two spoke face to face by candlelight. Bai Hua spoke anxiously, "Your martial arts are superb, but you have never led troops. The former is about fighting alone, where one person can rely on their strength to be invincible and escape danger without worrying about the consequences; however, the latter requires knowledge of troop deployment and comprehensive planning. The leader's decisions are related to everyone's lives. How can someone without practical experience command respect? The Great General Wang acted rashly, abruptly assigning you such a difficult task. As a result, it is inevitable that some of the soldiers under the Great General Wang will be dissatisfied and disobedient."
Bai Hua spoke at length without feeling thirsty. After a pause, she was about to continue explaining her other concerns when Ning Jue smiled and interrupted her.
“What Hua’er is considering is indeed reasonable. However, the Prince did not send me 100,000 soldiers to guard the border of Great Yan. They are just a few bandits, petty thieves. Even without the people sent by the General, I can easily wipe them out with Zang Fan and Chen Fu. You can rest assured about this matter. If I were not confident, why would I agree to take the risk and make you worry for nothing?”
Hearing this, Bai Hua felt a little more at ease, but still had some concerns: "What if the people under the Great General King don't trust you and treat you poorly or make things difficult for you?"
Ning Jue looked at Bai Hua with a confident expression to reassure her: "In the military camp, the general commands the soldiers, and the superior controls the subordinate. This is similar to the survival mode of the martial arts world where the strong are respected. The incompetent will not be respected anywhere. Since I can navigate the sword fights in the martial arts world with ease, I may not be at a disadvantage when leading troops to capture bandits."
He spoke with confidence and appeared calm, as if he was determined to wipe out the bandits.
Seeing Ning Jue like this, Bai Hua was slightly stunned. Her mind involuntarily recalled the scene when she first met Ning Jue at the restaurant. At that time, he was dressed in white and carried a sword. He was aloof and unapproachable, and his eyes were indifferent but deep and bright. Although she did not know why he was troubled and seemed preoccupied, the feeling he gave people was still that nothing could defeat him.
The same is true now.
Bai Hua concealed her worry, believing that he could overcome all the obstacles ahead.
She stopped analyzing the disadvantages of the situation for him, took his hand, and said gently, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back safely."
...
The night before we parted.
Bai Hua helped Ning Jue pack his things simply, at his own request, not to pack anything else, just one or two sets of clean clothes would be enough.
Soon, two small packages were arranged on the table. The one on the left, shriveled and simple, belonged to Ning Jue, while the one on the right, filled to the brim, naturally belonged to Bai Hua.
She planned to move to her brother's house after Ning Jue left the palace; otherwise, she felt uncomfortable and somewhat lonely staying in the palace alone.
Ning Jue also felt that this arrangement was more appropriate, and the two hit it off immediately.
Just as she finished packing her bags, Bai Hua suddenly remembered something, slapped her forehead, sighed in frustration, and then hurriedly unfastened and opened the two packages again.
Seeing this, Ning Jue asked, "What's wrong?"
Bai Hua moved a little hastily: "I left something behind."
Just as Ning Jue was about to ask what she had forgotten, he saw Bai Hua reach into her bag and rummage for a while before pulling out an exquisite sachet. She then untied the drawstring and took out a yellow amulet, which she unfolded in her palm.
Ning Jue looked up and examined it carefully, guessing that it was prepared by Hua'er for him.
Bai Hua stretched out her hand, gesturing for him to take it, while explaining the situation verbally.
"A year ago, Xiao You and I were strolling around a temple when we accidentally stumbled into a crowd of worshippers. By chance, I took the opportunity to draw this blessing. I didn't believe the prophecies spoken by the monks, but the fortune slip I drew that day read, 'I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, but I didn't look back. I kept looking ahead, and we met again amidst the mountains and rivers.'... The master interpreted the slip as meaning that my destined person was not nearby, but far away, separated by mountains or rivers. Now that the prophecy has come true, I think that temple is very efficacious, and I also believe that this peace blessing I drew from the temple can bring you good fortune and ward off evil. You might as well wear it on your person or put it in your bag for good luck."
After Bai Hua finished speaking, without waiting for Ning Jue to respond, she reached out and placed the peace charm into the package and secured it.
Ning Jue suddenly clenched his fist, leaving the talisman in his palm, and said, "Help me hang it on my belt. It's so small, it won't hinder my movement."
Bai Hua nodded happily. Originally, she had been worried that the pink satin sachet with gold thread was too bright and seemed a bit too feminine. If Ning Jue thought it lacked masculinity, he might not want to wear it.
Unexpectedly, even though she didn't insist, Ning Jue took the initiative to ask to wear it.
Bai Hua stretched out her finger, hooked it onto his belt, pulled him forward with force, and then lowered her eyes to help fasten it.
The breathing above her head grew increasingly hot and heavy. Bai Hua's eyelashes curled slightly, but she pretended not to notice and continued her slow, leisurely movements.
After tying the cord, Bai Hua let go and looked up, only to meet a pair of dark and deep eyes. Their eyes met, and it seemed as if a flame suddenly shot out as their gazes met.
Ning Jue took a half step forward, reached out and grabbed Bai Hua's waist, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "This bandit suppression mission will take at least ten days, and at most a month. Since you came to Xianyang Mountain and stayed by my side, we've rarely been apart for this long. Hua'er, I can't bear to part with you..."
"January...that's a long time."
Bai Hua was also moved by his reluctant tone, feeling melancholy and a deep sense of longing. She tiptoed and hugged him back, pressing her chest tightly against his, still feeling it wasn't enough.
Both of them seemed to have been thirsty for a long time, but in the end they only got a sip of water. However, this sip of water did not quench their thirst, but instead aggravated their inner torment of thirst.
With the atmosphere built up to this point, it was truly difficult for the two to separate. However, simply embracing was not enough to ease the bitterness and reluctance of impending separation. To completely relieve the tension, they would probably need a strong remedy.
Ning Jue took a deep breath, not wanting to wait any longer.
He strode over, bolted the window, extinguished the candle, turned back to Bai Hua, lifted her up in his arms, and carried her straight to the bed. The two rolled onto the bed, tearing at their clothes, drenched in sweat. Bai Hua timidly climbed onto his neck, her eyes filled with tenderness, her body going limp as she let him press down on her as he pleased.
Clothes were scattered haphazardly at the foot of the bed and on the floor. After they were all removed, not long afterward, muffled breathing mixed with coquettish moans rose and fell, one after the other.
If any servants in the courtyard were to get up and wander around at night and inadvertently hear noises coming from the main room, they would probably be so agitated that their faces would turn red and their necks would bulge.
Bai Hua usually cares most about what others think, but tonight, with her impending separation from Ning Jue, she can't care about anything else. She only wants to give herself completely to Ning Jue, accept everything about him, and enjoy happiness with him.
At the height of their passion, Ning Jue held her in his arms and called her name in a hoarse voice, his tone tinged with restraint and suppressed emotion.
"Hua'er, you are my sheath. Only with your acceptance can this sword find its true home..."
Bai Hua opened her mouth but couldn't reply, tears welling in her eyes, whimpering and acting coquettishly to the extreme. Ning Jue shattered her tears, utterly adoring her like this.
Swords and scabbards are the essential tools for swordsmen navigating the martial world. Top-tier swordsmen, in particular, cherish their swords and pay close attention to choosing suitable scabbards to match them, with only one scabbard for each sword.
Whether something is "suitable" or not depends on fate; it's something that can't be forced.
Ning Jue lowered his eyes, gazing intently at the beautiful woman stretching out beneath him. He thought to himself with satisfaction that he had experienced countless battles and knew all too well whether or not they were a good match.
That narrow scabbard could not be penetrated by a sword tip made of as hard as black iron. No one else was suitable, and no one dared to be suitable.
Of course, Hua'er's cooperation was indispensable. She obediently listened to him and followed his advice, willingly turning her body into water to warm his sword blade, allowing him to sheath the sword and gain its belonging.
The sword and scabbard fit together perfectly, neither could be separated from the other, and he and she were destined to be a perfect match.
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