Awakening
Liang Youan had a dream.
Under the bright peach trees, she was stopped by several mischievous children.
"My mom says someone as fat as you will never get married," the ringleader of the brats mocked her without restraint.
Her face flushed red. She had specially worn a pomegranate red dress to the banquet today, and Aunt Liu covered her mouth and laughed out loud when she left.
“Young Miss, you look absolutely stunning in this outfit. It makes you look… well,” Aunt Liu carefully chose her words, “very blessed.”
The father was being held by Aunt Liu's arm, and he didn't even bother to look at her.
Suddenly feeling disheartened, she went straight into the carriage.
She rarely goes out, but this time she made such a big fuss to support the Mu family. It is said that the eldest son of the Mu family has passed the martial arts examination and has a bright future, so she has to hurry up and make friends with him.
While the young master of the Mu family is still unmarried, let's bring all the daughters of the family over to try our luck; maybe we can even become relatives through marriage.
Aunt Liu's two daughters, her younger sister, were both slender beauties. When they saw her come in, they disdainfully moved aside.
It seems that anyone who gets close to her will also become that fat.
She sat down, and the carriage seat beneath her creaked. The third sister covered her mouth and chuckled, "Eldest sister, you should eat less in the future. If you collapse the carriage, how will we ever get around?"
She could only silently pull her feet back, pretending she didn't exist.
She hates crowded places and attending parties. The way everyone stares at her makes her feel uncomfortable; she hates them!
So she slipped away when no one was paying attention, but she didn't expect that someone would still not let her go.
"You're so fat, yet you can eat so much. Did you steal these pastries from the kitchen? Believe me or not, I'll tell everyone you're a thief!"
"I didn't steal it!" she shouted.
But they didn't believe her, and their shouting attracted everyone's attention. Faced with countless pairs of questioning, scrutinizing, and disgusted eyes, she felt like she couldn't breathe.
I didn't steal it; it wasn't me. Someone else gave it to me.
I was invited here too, so why are you mocking me and looking down on me?
Too much anger and resentment filled her throat, rendering her speechless.
In her despair, a figure blocked her way. "What's all the noise about?"
She looked up, but could only see a heroic figure from behind, with a small, antique-looking dagger tucked at his waist.
"Big cousin..." The arrogant brat who was just now suddenly lost his confidence.
"What are you doing causing trouble here again? Believe me or not, I'll tell your mother and she'll beat you up!" Mu Chengwu grabbed the brat's ear and said to the people around him, "The kids in the family don't know any better, everyone disperse."
As the crowd dispersed, Mu Chengwu dragged the person over: "Come here and apologize to your sister."
The mischievous child obediently lowered his head: "Sister, I'm sorry. I lost a game and they sent me here. I didn't mean to say you were fat."
Mu Chengwu looked up and sure enough, several small heads were peeking out from the artificial hill.
Taking advantage of the opening, the unruly child under his command ran away from him, yelling and screaming as he ran.
These brats!
Mu Chengwu looked apologetically at the girl behind him: "My child is too disobedient. I will discipline him properly. Are you alright?"
Liang Youan finally saw his face clearly; it was more dazzling than the sun in the sky, shining straight into her heart.
She shook her head frantically, "I'm fine." Then she looked down and saw her large, bulky body hidden under the pomegranate-red skirt, looking like an overly thick and greasy sausage.
So ugly.
She turned and ran, ignoring the surprised questions from those behind her.
Her tears dissipated in the wind; she should hide away somewhere where no one is around, looking like this.
There are so many slim and beautiful girls in the world, why can't there be one more like her?
I can't count how many times I've fainted from hunger strikes, and when I wake up, my mother holds me and cries.
Her mother had been thin since childhood, and she didn't understand why. She would just cry and ask, "An'an, let's stop dieting, okay? You're too weak, you need to eat something good."
She pushed the bowl aside, her voice weak but resolute, "I won't eat, Mother. If I can't lose weight, I'd rather die."
There is nothing in this world that cannot be done well, as long as you can endure a hundred or a thousand times more pain.
When you're not even afraid of death, what can possibly defeat you?
The day she finally lost weight, she stood in front of the mirror and was surprised to find that she actually looked pretty good.
Unlike Aunt Liu and her sisters' alluring charm, she possesses a gentle, lovely, dignified, and elegant temperament.
At least by standing in front of him in this manner, she shouldn't have to run away in panic.
After much effort to inquire, they learned that he had been transferred to the area outside the Great Wall and was no longer in the capital.
The autumn rain that night was extremely bleak. She unusually indulged in her diet, buying a table full of delicious food and even stealing a pot of her father's wine.
When she was completely drunk, her mother shook her awake and asked, "What happened this time? How did you get so drunk?"
She laughed and said, "Mother, I'm not drunk. I've been drunk for so long, and I've finally woken up."
She opened her eyes and was plunged into endless darkness.
The cold moonlight in this foreign land shone through the window paper, adding to the silence and desolation.
So much time had passed, she thought she had forgotten, but she never expected that seeing him again would stir up memories deep in her heart.
At the banquet years ago, he only helped her out of convenience, yet she has never forgotten him for so many years.
She worked hard to lose weight and become beautiful, but he had already been transferred to the border region to become a general.
She could only hide her feelings deep inside. Her father forced her to attend the marriage selection banquet, and she figured that since the young master of the Shen family wouldn't even look at her, she might as well go.
After all, that's all she's worth to the family.
The weak and ordinary daughter born to the unfavored first wife would hardly be given a second glance in the family if it weren't for her status as the legitimate daughter.
Her father favored his concubines, neglecting his wife, and her status in the family was even lower than that of the concubine's favored maid.
Her mother was weak and incompetent, which led to her being timid and quiet. She could only gain a little kindness from others by becoming kind and friendly.
After living like this for so long, she actually got used to it.
But some things I cherish still make me sad when I think about them at night.
She told herself that she should have forgotten it long ago.
Now, he is simply Mu Chengwu, the older brother of her good friend Mu Chengwen.
Those past events are unimportant; people don't remember them anyway, so why dwell on them and cause unnecessary trouble?
She sighed softly and closed her eyes again.
-
"You'an, I'm going to see my brother today. Will you come with me?" Mu Chengwen asked her.
Liang Youan withdrew her hand from the snacks. "I'm not going. What would it look like if I went when you two siblings meet?"
“You’re not an outsider, you’re my good friend. You’ve seen how annoying my brother is, he’d drive me crazy if you weren’t around.”
"Then you can let Ya'er go with you, I'm not going anyway." Liang Youan got up and left.
Mu Chengwen asked in bewilderment, "What's going on? Weren't you just defending my brother before?"
She looked at Ya'er, "Do you know what happened?"
Ya'er shook her head blankly: "I don't know, but Miss You'an doesn't seem to be in a good mood lately."
Mu Chengwen slapped his thigh: "It must be because my brother is too annoying. He got tired of him after seeing him a few times, and even You'an couldn't stand it."
"I knew it. With my brother's temper, he can't stand girls after seeing them a few times."
Her gaze fell on Ya'er, her expression sorrowful: "Ya'er, save me, come with me."
Ya'er: "...It can't be that exaggerated, can it?"
"This is cured pork, osmanthus cake, almond shortbread... and your favorite martial arts novels." Mu Chengwu showed her the contents of the package one by one, carefully tied it up, and handed it to her.
Mu Chengwen: "...Brother, I'm really not a child anymore. I can buy these things myself with my own money."
Mu Chengwu: "What if you get scammed? It's dangerous for a girl to go out alone."
Mu Chengwen retorted, "With my good relationships with so many people, how could I possibly be alone?"
Mu Chengwu's gaze fell on Ya'er beside her, and he asked casually, "Where is Miss You'an?"
Mu Chengwen: "You still dare to talk? Did you bully her before? I feel like she's starting to get annoyed with you. This morning, no matter how much I begged her, she wouldn't come with me."
Mu Chengwu frowned in confusion: "...No, I don't think so."
"Anyway, you need to figure out the reason yourself. I don't think you'll ever find a wife if you keep going like this. Then I won't have a sister-in-law anymore, that would be terrible."
Mu Chengwu: "Let's go! Let's go quickly!"
He shouldn't be worrying about his sister so much.
They're the kind of people who can drive you crazy.
-
"Achoo!" Zhu Qinghe rubbed her nose and tightened her cloak.
The sky lantern ceremony is less than half a month away, but she still knows nothing about the situation of the Silver Tenon tribe.
Yinluoha seemed to be deliberately avoiding her; she couldn't catch him for days on end. If this continued, when would the mission ever be completed?
This is really worrying.
Zhu Qinghe, wearing a cotton cloak, wandered around near Yinluoha's bedroom. It has to be said that the climate of the Yinshan tribe is really too extreme.
The wind was so strong it almost blew people's noses crooked. She had only been there a few days, but she already missed the sunny and breezy weather of Licheng.
Just as I was feeling melancholy and homesick, a soft, warm blanket suddenly covered my head.
She looked up, reached out and touched it; it was a felt hat.
Shen Er looked down at her, his expression not very friendly: "It's freezing cold, why isn't the princess staying in her bedchamber? What are you doing out here?"
Zhu Qinghe was reminded of that day when she saw him, and she was furious. "I came to see my husband, what's it to you?"
Whether it was her imagination or not, the moment she uttered those words, the air pressure around her seemed frighteningly low.
Shen Er's face didn't change much, except for his eyes, which were as deep as the sea.
"The princess changes her mind very quickly, and she calls him 'husband' quite naturally."
Zhu Qinghe: "What? Are you feeling sorry for your young master?" She sighed, half-jokingly, "What can we do? He's not here, and I'm Princess Jialing now. Do you think he'd offend His Majesty for my sake?"
Shen Er calmly replied, "The princess hasn't even tried it, so how do you know he's unwilling?"
Zhu Qinghe: "Even if he were willing, I wouldn't. I've come to terms with it. There's nothing wrong with being a princess. Rather than betraying His Majesty for love and ending up on the run, it's better to separate peacefully."
"After all, it's better to forget each other in the vast world than to cling together in hardship."
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