"Hmm." Ju Mu'er didn't care much about that; what was making her panic was something else.
How can you ask for it if you don't ask?
"How do I ask for it?" she asked cooperatively, but actually she really wanted to sleep.
“I’ll give her father a talking-to, and he’ll teach her a lesson.” He’d heard from his spies about the wedding robbery; Ding Yanxiang had been forced to kneel and had been slapped twice by her father.
"Hmm." Ju Mu'er showed no awareness of being the person in charge, and her lack of enthusiasm made Long Er feel bored. He shook her and made a request: "Don't sleep, say something to make me happy."
"Huh?" In the middle of the night, did he come all this way just to have her cheer him up?
"Why is Second Master unhappy?"
"I received news a couple of days ago that the businesses in Maoping City and Ce City have been snatched away by other companies. No wonder those bosses didn't come this year."
Ju Mu'er reached out from under the covers, found his large hand, grasped it, and smiled, "It's alright, Second Master will be able to earn it back soon."
"Hmph." Long Er squeezed her little hand. He was Master Long Er, of course he could earn it back, but what he earned was not what he earned here, it was different.
"Second Master, send them wedding invitations. They just gave up your business, so they must be feeling quite nervous. Your marriage is a big deal, so it won't do if they don't send gifts, and it won't do if the gifts aren't good enough."
Long Er was stunned for a moment, then finally laughed out loud. This cunning girl really understood him. He had indeed sent out the wedding invitations yesterday. He wouldn't be satisfied unless those "traitors" gave him some benefits.
Hearing the laughter, Ju Mu'er smiled too: "Second Master laughed, so is Second Master happy?"
Long Er curled the corners of his mouth and deliberately said, "Not yet."
Ju Mu'er frowned, looking troubled: "Then what should we do? Why don't you go back and go to sleep early, Second Master? You'll be happy once you're asleep."
"You think everyone is like you?" Long Er poked her head as he saw her close her eyes, looking sleepy. "You just love to sleep. You can sleep even after you've been upset during the day."
"I can't sleep well either. I didn't sleep well before. I only feel at ease when you're here. I'm very sleepy, Second Master."
"Second Master isn't sleepy." Long Er grinned. She said she could only sleep soundly when he was by her side. Was she saying sweet nothings to him?
"Did you have a nightmare?" He remembered that when he came in, her sleeping expression didn't seem quite right.
"Mmm." She held his large hand, feeling increasingly sleepy.
What did you dream about?
Ju Mu'er moved her eyelids and replied, "I don't remember very clearly."
“If you can’t remember it, it’s not a nightmare. It’s the one you can’t forget or shake off.” Long Er brushed her hair aside and pinched her earlobe. “You’re being silly. I’m being kind, so I’ll stay here with you. You can sleep well.”
Ju Mu'er shrank back as her neck was pinched, burying half of her head in the blanket. After replying "okay," she really intended to fall into a deep sleep.
Seeing her like this, Long Er felt uneasy again: "You're just going to sleep like this?"
Ju Mu'er was so sleepy she couldn't even sigh. Didn't Second Master himself tell her to get some sleep? What exactly does he want?
"Second Master, I'm sleepy." His voice was incredibly pitiful.
Long Er fell silent, looking down at her sleeping with her eyes closed. Her long eyelashes were like tiny fans, and the moonlight illuminated the half of her face that was exposed outside the blanket. He reached out and tucked the blanket around her, and she instinctively turned her head and snuggled against his palm affectionately.
Long Er felt very satisfied. He suddenly thought that Ju Mu'er must have feelings for him. Otherwise, why would she have come to him so eagerly, and why would she have taken the opportunity to propose to him? She was smart, and of course, a little arrogant. So, given her personality, she was so affectionate towards him, and she didn't resist his touch and some intimate gestures at all. In that case, she must have feelings for him.
Thinking this, Long Er felt much better. He stroked Ju Mu'er's face, and she twitched her eyebrows. He stroked her hair, but she didn't respond at all. He then pinched her nose, and she drowsily slapped his hand away, turned over, and continued to sleep with her back to him.
Long Er thought to himself, "He fell asleep so quickly?"
She ignored him, but he still wanted to provoke her. He kicked off his shoes, sat on the bed, and, unable to bear seeing her with her back to him, simply hugged her and the blanket together.
"Mu'er..." he called, but Ju Mu'er didn't respond. He called again, still no response. On the third call, a drowsy reply finally came from under the covers.
Long Er said again, "It's dawn, Mu'er, time to get up."
"Oh." Ju Mu'er responded after a long while, but didn't move at all. This "oh" sounded like a delayed reaction from a sleep.
Long Er turned her over, saw that she was sleeping soundly with her eyes closed, and said, "Mu'er, get up and have breakfast."
Ju Mu'er didn't respond this time, but she seemed annoyed by his noise, her brows furrowing slightly. Long Er couldn't help but stroke her brow with his fingertips, and said softly, "Alright, it's getting dark again, you can go back to sleep."
Ju Mu'er continued sleeping and completely ignored him.
Long Er leaned against her pillow, brushed aside her eyelashes, touched her lips, and gently pinched her cheek. It was quite amusing; although the person he was bothering didn't respond, he didn't feel annoyed at all. He suddenly thought, "That's right, I could add a rule to the family rules: Mu'er isn't allowed to sleep if the master hasn't slept with her."
Long Er stayed there for a while, and finally got tired. He leaned against Ju Mu'er and fell asleep. Feeling cold in the middle of the night, he naturally pulled back the covers and crawled into Ju Mu'er's bed.
Ju Mu'er was fast asleep and didn't wake up when he disturbed her. She rolled into his arms with her eyes closed and mumbled, "Second Master?"
Ryuji was still half asleep and subconsciously replied, "Mmm."
Then the two of them felt at ease, snuggled together, found a comfortable position, and continued to sleep soundly.
Ju Mu'er was sleeping soundly when she was woken up by someone tapping her.
"Mu'er, wake up." It was Long Er's voice. He called her four or five times before she finally responded.
Ju Mu'er opened her eyes sleepily and asked, "Is it dawn yet?"
"It's lit up."
"Really?"
Ryuji said irritably, "Really."
"How long did it stay lit?"
"I don't know." He opened his eyes and realized he wasn't sleeping in his own bedroom. He also noticed that it was bright outside, and it was already broad daylight. He was startled, thinking that he still had many things to do today, and he didn't know what time it was. No one in the manor knew where he had gone. Would things get chaotic?
Thinking of all this, he didn't even bother to embrace the soft, fragrant body in his arms, and quickly got up. As soon as he got up, he realized he hadn't taken off his clothes the night before; they were all wrinkled and crumpled, like he was covered in dried plums. He touched his hair, and naturally, it was also disheveled after a night's sleep.
For him to go out like this and then walk through the city streets back home would be incredibly embarrassing. Long Er quickly tidied his appearance, but after looking around, he couldn't find a mirror. Then he realized, "That's right, my Mu'er can't see, so having a mirror in her room would be useless."
He turned his head and saw that the girl who had put him in such an awkward situation was fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket. Since he was in a bad situation himself, he couldn't bear to see her doing well, so he went over and patted her awake.
Ju Mu'er wasn't fully awake yet. She was hugging the blanket with a blank expression when she asked, "Why is Second Master here so early again?"
"I didn't come; I didn't leave."
"Oh, then why hasn't Second Master left yet, so late?"
Long Er pinched her cheek: "Are you awake?"
"It hurts, it hurts..." Ju Mu'er's little face scrunched up like a bun as she woke up.
Long Er then asked, "Where's your comb?"
Ju Mu'er pointed to the small cabinet: "It's in the drawer."
"There's no mirror?"
Ju Mu'er nodded.
Long Er went over, opened a drawer, and took out a comb to comb his hair, glancing back as he did so. Ju Mu'er was wrapped in a blanket, yawning. Her hair was loose, her eyes were half-closed, the blanket was tacky, and she was wrapped up haphazardly, looking disheveled. Yet, in his eyes, she was quite charming and captivating.
Since Long Er didn't have a mirror, he could only comb his hair neatly by feel. Then he went over and took Ju Mu'er's hand: "Don't doze off. Come and practice helping Master get up."
"Oh." Ju Mu'er sat up straight and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Long Er was taken aback. She was blind; what could she possibly serve him? Combing his hair was out of the question, changing his clothes was out of the question, and expecting her to bring him water to wash his face was even more hopeless. And since he had broken into her room at night, he couldn't just walk out and do things himself. It seemed he would truly return home looking disheveled today.
Long Er gritted his teeth. He was unwilling to let her do nothing, so he chose the simplest task: "Help me button my clothes."
"Okay." Ju Mu'er responded very obediently. She slowly reached out and touched Long Er's clothes, looking for the buttons. After touching and touching, she found them. She said, "Second Master's buttons are fastened. Let me unbutton them first, and then I'll help Second Master fasten them. I guarantee Second Master will be satisfied."
Long Er's face stiffened. This brat was deliberately teasing him again. He could have just pretended to cheer her up, but she actually unfastened it and then fastened it again. Then she asked, "Do you need me to fasten it again? Or should we try a different button?"
She would only annoy him. This was breaking the first rule of the family. Long Er reached out and pinched her cheek. Ju Mu'er cried out in pain, covered her face, and put on a wronged expression, saying, "How about we tie the belt? Take it off and then tie it back on?"
Long Er poked her head, and Ju Mu'er fell back onto the bed, pretending to be dead. She wondered if this would allow her to continue sleeping.
Long Er was furious to see her causing trouble. This was her boudoir, and this was only because she wasn't married yet. If she still dared to be so mischievous after they were married, he would just push her back onto the bed and discipline her until she never dared to be arrogant again.
As Long Er thought this, a heat rose in his lower abdomen. He suppressed the restless feeling in his body and coughed heavily twice. But the heartless girl was still lying in bed, and because of his lustful thoughts, Long Er didn't dare to go over and bother her anymore.
He coughed again and said in a gruff voice, "I'm leaving." After he finished speaking, he strode heavily toward the door.
Ju Mu'er suddenly sat up abruptly and shouted, "No!"
Long Er paused, a smile playing on his lips: "What, you don't want me to leave?"
“We can’t go through the gate. People come and go in the courtyard during the day. It would be bad if Second Master were seen by someone.” Ju Mu’er pointed to the back window: “Second Master, go out through the window.”
Long Er's head was steaming: "You want me to climb out the window?" Although he knew she was right, he wouldn't rashly open the door and go out. Of course, he would also check that no one was outside before opening the door. But he was still quite displeased that she was so confident in asking him to climb out the window.
"It's fine if you don't have to climb. Second Master must know how to use light-body skills, so jumping out is fine too."
"What's the difference?" Long Er was still angry. He should have known better than to come see her, which had led to his current predicament.
Just then, the sound of Old Man Ju humming a tune came from outside the door, followed a moment later by the sound of him carrying something. Ju Mu'er was a little nervous, but Long Er crossed his arms and deliberately tried to scare her: "I won't jump out the window."
"Then how did you get in last night, sir?" she asked, shutting him down. She had bolted the door before going to sleep, but left the window half-open for ventilation. When Long Er came to her room, he couldn't bring himself to pry open the door, so he tried to wake her up, but seeing the window was open, he jumped inside.
But jumping in on your own and being told to jump out are two different things.
Long Er glared at Ju Mu'er, who couldn't see him, so she faced him with an innocent expression. The more Long Er glared at her, the more pointless it became. So many people had succumbed to his sharp gaze, but this trick was completely ineffective against a blind woman.
The blind man even asked, "Second Master, are you glaring at me?"
The second master didn't reply; instead, he quietly jumped out of the window.
This chapter has also been revised; the later chapters were moved up, but the content itself hasn't changed much.
34 Blind woman robbed in an accident
Second Master Long didn't wash or change his clothes, and was even forced to secretly relieve himself in the woods before riding back to the manor in a disheveled state. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. If he went to see her again, he wouldn't be Second Master Long!
How could he possibly think that woman had feelings for him? That woman was practically trying to drive him crazy. Humph, she'll just wait and see. Once she enters his Long family, he'll definitely show her what true patriarchal authority is.
But the act of asserting one's authority as a husband can only be done after one has become a husband, and for a husband to be considered a husband, it must be after a formal wedding ceremony.
So, Master Long had a strong desire to assert his authority over his wife, but he lacked the necessary status. He comforted himself, telling himself there was no need to rush; this wife was a sure thing for him to marry into the family. All he needed now was patience; he would just wait. He patiently waited until the appointed day, and then he would become the groom.
But Ryuji didn't expect that there would always be unexpected events in this world.
This was the day Ju Mu'er was to go to Fuling Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings, as was customary. According to the customs of Xiao Kingdom, before the wedding, both families would bring the birth dates and times of both parties to the Bodhisattva to pray for blessings, hoping for a harmonious and happy married life, the addition of children, and a long and happy life together.
According to etiquette, the man and woman should not meet and should go separately on separate days. So this day was the day Ju Mu'er went to pray for blessings. Long Er could not join in the fun, so only Ju's father and Su Qing accompanied her, while the two guards of the Long family kept watch from a distance.
After Ju Mu'er finished worshipping the Bodhisattva and performing her rites, Ju's father thought about buying some incense for Mu'er's mother so that she could live a comfortable life in the afterlife, so he told Mu'er to wait outside.
Fuling Temple was the most popular temple near the capital, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, many families flocked there to offer incense and pray. The temple was bustling with people, filled with the smoke of incense, and bumps and knocks were inevitable as people came and went. Ju Mu'er, being blind, said she would wait by the carriage. Old Master Ju agreed, and Su Qing helped Ju Mu'er slowly walk towards the carriages outside the temple.
Because many people came to offer incense today, the carriage was parked far away. Ju Mu'er and Su Qing walked for quite a while before they finally saw the carriage. After walking for so long, the smell of incense in the air finally disappeared, and Ju Mu'er was able to catch her breath. Su Qing pointed to the woods by the roadside and said, "Sister, let's rest in the woods for a while and get some fresh air."
Ju Mu'er agreed, and the two headed towards the edge of the woods. Su Qing saw a large, square rock and quickly ran over to get a handkerchief to place on it. Just as she was about to say, "Sister, please sit down," she turned around and saw several burly men rushing towards Ju Mu'er from behind. Their menacing demeanor clearly indicated they were not good people.