Chapter 62 I want to talk to the two elders about betrothal...
"Your Majesty, look, these mandarin ducks have bright feathers and beautiful crests. Therefore, both of them are male."
The heat of July is intense, and the lake surface ripples.
Xiao Xun narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a long time before softly saying, "That doesn't necessarily mean homosexuality. Perhaps it's just that they're as close as brothers and have a deep bond."
The faint sigh was rippled across the water by two streams.
For no apparent reason, tears welled up in Lin Yuan's eyes.
She felt a dull ache in her heart, a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
He stood there silently for a while, then walked forward with his head down without turning back.
Xiao Xun stared blankly as Lin Yuan walked further and further away.
In the turbulent political arena, he had witnessed countless conspiracies and schemes, and always believed himself to have a keen eye for human nature, until he met his match with Lin Yuan.
It works every time.
They suffered repeated defeats.
Did she not hear me clearly?
There was no more sound of Xiao Xun's voice or the sound of horses' hooves following behind, so Lin Yuan slowed down.
With tears welling in her eyes, the road ahead was blurry and dazzling. She was somewhat dazed and accidentally tripped over a tree root.
He stumbled, then the world spun around him, and before he knew it, he was being lifted up by the waist.
Xiao Xun gave a whistle, and Ta Yun broke free from the hands of the Imperial Guards holding it, rushing towards this place.
"Put...put me down!"
Although there were few pedestrians around, most of those who passed by were villagers, and people would occasionally cast curious glances at them.
Lin Yuan said sullenly in a low voice, "I want to go home. Let me go and let me go home."
"I'll take you home."
"I can go back by myself."
"It's five li away."
Xiao Xun ignored her, placed her on the horse's back, and said indifferently, "It's only ten miles round trip. Your neighbor who's rekindling his old flame doesn't care, but I do."
Having said that, he mounted his horse himself.
"But that's not good."
Lin Yuan's cheeks were flushed.
Just now, an elderly woman in her seventies stared at her for half a day, whispering to the person next to her, "Is this a girl from the Lin family or a girl from the Zhao family?"
She wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
However, the only place she could hide was in Xiao Xun's arms.
She steeled herself, turned her face away, and replied, "From the Zhao family."
Hearing the sound descending from the sky, the two old women suddenly realized what was happening. They chatted about the Zhao family, about how the Zhao family's daughter had changed to a tall and handsome husband, and then walked away.
Lin Yuan frantically tried to reach the stirrups to dismount, but the Cloud Stepping Horse was too high, and she couldn't reach them no matter what she did.
Xiao Xun's hands wrapped around his back and pulled on the reins.
He spoke with his head down, his breath almost brushing against her cheek: "Sit still, don't move around. Be careful not to fall off the horse."
With a flick of her horse's hoof, Lin Yuan swayed on the back of the horse, pulling on the reins and looking ahead.
A mile away, walking by, was Ah Yin's old woman.
To the left front is Ah Jin's older sister.
To the right front, coming towards us, is Zhao's daughter, arm in arm with her husband.
Lin Yuan still wanted to dismount: "No, no, my neighbors all love to gossip. If they see this, who knows what they'll say about you and me."
"Oh, I see." Xiao Xun replied casually, then said seriously after a moment's thought, "That's good. It'll save you from having some Xia Yang, Chi Yang, or Yun Yang officials coming to catch up with you tomorrow or the day after."
Lin Yuan felt that her reputation would probably suffer the same fate as the Zhao family's daughter, an undeserved calamity.
Is this Xiao Xun's revenge?
She bit her lip, her face flushed red, and remained silent for a long time.
The horse's back was wide, and she sat on the saddle, constantly moving forward, trying to get as far away from Xiao Xun as possible. She was almost touching the horse's neck.
"You don't want people on the street to see you, right?" Xiao Xun asked.
He lifted the reins, and Ta Yun stopped.
Lin Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Mm."
"Alright."
Just as Lin Yuan was pondering why he suddenly had a change of heart, she turned her head slightly and saw him smiling broadly, saying softly, "Then, hold on tight."
"If you can't hold onto the reins, hold on tight to me."
The second half of that sentence has already been carried away by the wind.
Lin Yuan realized what was happening, and with a crisp crack of her whip, she took flight, almost soaring through the air.
Pedestrians became phantoms, the road beneath their feet turned into yellow clouds, and the shadows of the trees became a green mist.
Fortunately, her riding skills seemed to have improved by leaps and bounds ever since the Azure Cloud Steed went mad. Even high on the Cloud-Stepping Peak, holding only the reins, she remained very stable without the slightest sway.
Then look again, she's completely in Xiao Xun's arms, and she's not holding onto the reins, but rather his hand that's gripping the reins.
Xiao Xun's arms were wrapped tightly around her, his chest pressed against her back.
Two heartbeats pounded together, merging into one, leaping in unison with the horse's hooves.
She was afraid. What was he?
The wind blew against her face, hitting her chest and making her heart pound wildly, pulling the two of them even closer together.
Xiao Xun pulled on the reins, turning the horse around so it no longer headed towards Yonghe Lane, but towards a wide-open field.
“Where are you going?” she called out.
"Get to know your hometown, the place where you grew up." Laughter drifted away in the wind.
The gentle breeze along the paths, the rosy clouds on the horizon, and the warbling of orioles in the empty valley rushed towards her from all directions, enveloping her in their arms and striking his heart.
As the horse slowed down, Lin Yuan's heart relaxed.
"Look over there, there's a grove. In the summer nights of April and May, there are lots of fireflies. When I was little, I often went there to catch them and play with them. I would put them in my bag and use them as lanterns when I got home, which could keep the lights burning all night."
"On the mountain over there, there's a stream, and along its banks grow many peach and pear trees. In spring and summer, imagine walking along the stream—"
Xiao Xun exclaimed, "Hmm, the petals fall and drift with the current; it must be incredibly beautiful."
Lin Yuan touched her nose, brushed back a strand of hair that was blowing in the wind, and laughed, "You can sometimes scoop up pears and green peaches from the water. They're sweet and cool, and the taste is absolutely wonderful."
"Did you see that black-roofed temple? The village god is enshrined there. In the spring, around the Shangsi Festival, the villagers would hold a ceremony together. When we were kids, the happiest thing was that after the ceremony, we would share the sacrificial offerings, which were the three kinds of meat: pork, beef, and mutton."
"Oh right, it's on this road. Lin Yu used to take me horseback riding all the time, like this..."
"Giddy up!" The cloud beneath him suddenly quickened its pace.
So they circled around and around their home three times before finally stopping at the intersection.
The wind stopped, but the pent-up emotions in my heart returned.
Lin Yuan glanced at Xiao Xun, pondering wildly how to explain to Madam Qin that she had taken Ade out with her, but he had returned as a completely different person. And... it wasn't even dark yet.
It's no use getting dark.
As they approached the courtyard gate, they saw Ade's mother and Qin holding hands, reluctant to part.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Ade's mother turned around first, paused for a moment, and then loosened her grip on his hand, which had been so reluctant to let go: "Ah Yuan's mother, you're right. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I was too hasty in this matter. We'll talk about it later, later—"
"Hey, Ade's mother, wasn't it you who insisted on coming over earlier, saying there were two children..."
Qin chased after them to the outside of the courtyard and caught a glimpse of Lin Yuan and Ade's slightly yellowed hair behind the hedge.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't Ade at all, but a golden-coated horse with its head down, searching for grass to graze on.
The man beside the horse was smiling as he looked at A Yuan.
"……match."
Her eyeballs fell to the ground along with the rest of her words.
Silence reigned at the table where the meal was served.
The only sounds were the clatter of bowls and cups on the wooden table, the chopsticks touching the cups, and the lacquered dagger striking the rim of the bowl.
Qin Shi's face was clouded with gloom. Lin Wu and Lin Yu cautiously glanced at her, looking at each other in silence, neither daring to speak.
Lin Yuan met Lin Yu's questioning gaze, her face turned awkward and her expression listless. She remained silent and buried her head in her mouth, stuffing a piece of roasted meat into her mouth.
Xiao Xun, however, was used to not speaking while eating or sleeping and did not notice anything unusual.
Seeing that no one spoke for a long time and that she was the only one sulking, Qin felt even more resentful.
Finally, she couldn't help but snatch the wine cup from Lin Wu's hand: "Drink, drink, all you know is drinking?! Do you know what Ade's mother came to talk to me about just now?"
"What is it?" Lin Wu felt innocent, and the wine was even more innocent. He carefully took the wine cup back, slurped down the wine in one gulp, and then chuckled ingratiatingly, "What, her son Liu De has been promoted again? He was promoted to Gongcao two years ago, and even now, he still mentions it to everyone he meets."
He ladled out a bowl of white soup. "Why bother with her? Our Ayu isn't interested in this. Even if the emperor begged her to take up an official post, she wouldn't agree."
Coughing sounds rose and fell in waves.
"Eat slowly, and serve yourself some soup."
Lin Wu glanced at his two children, blew on the soup to cool it down, and handed it to Qin Shi with both hands. "As for character, appearance, poetry, and talent, let alone Dongping Township, even looking at the entire Chang'an City, it would be hard to find anyone who can compare with A Yu!"
He looked around the dining room and saw Xiao Xun, and couldn't help but blink.
When I opened my eyes again, the person was still there, kneeling before the desk, elegant and with handsome features.
"Hiss. This one..."
Qin interrupted, "Hey! What does this have to do with A-Yu? If A-Yu were even half as good as A-Yu, would I be so worried? I'm so worried that I can't even eat."
She slammed the bowl of soup down on the table.
Lin Yuan adjusted her hair: "Mother!"
Lin Yu patted Lin Yuan on the back with sympathy and served her a bowl of soup.
Qin's words caused some of the roasted meat on the tip of the full bowl to spill out.
“Ade’s mother came here today specifically to tell me that yesterday, the two children met and chatted happily.”
Lin Yuan was scooping up a spoonful of soup when she heard this and almost choked on the minced meat.
They were having a pleasant conversation? What were they talking about?
Yesterday, Ade stared at the plum blossom stitches she was embroidering. After a long while, his face turned red, but he couldn't utter a single word.
"So, she came today to discuss the betrothal!"
Qin's voice grew louder and louder, almost shaking the roof, "If it had gone well, we would have sent a matchmaker to propose marriage in a couple of days. The betrothal gifts are all prepared and are on the table in the room, waiting for you and Ayu to come back and take a look, to see if it's a good match. But Ayuan, on the contrary, brought along a..."
Her words caught in her throat.
Because I was so angry, I didn't even have time to ask this uninvited guest who he was or what his name was.
"No way!"
Two voices exploded in my ears at the same time.
Qin choked even more hard on her words.
Lin Yuan's lacquered dagger in the soup trembled.
The bamboo chopsticks in Lin Wu's hand rolled once on the ground.
He looked up at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu coughed lightly and said seriously, "Ade, how can that frail body be worthy of Ayuan?"
He turned his head again and looked at the unfamiliar young man in the room.
Xiao Xun looked at Lin Wu and Qin Shi and said solemnly, "I came here uninvited today because I wanted to talk to you two about betrothal."
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