Our distinguished guest has arrived.
Before An Ruochen could even raise her head, she felt a chilling aura sweep over her. She couldn't help but steal a glance up, and it was him.
That General Long.
General Long's face was displeased, as if to say, "I'm very unhappy to be a guest here." An Ruochen looked at his cold, dark face and thought of her father's fawning smile. The contrast made her chuckle.
At that smile, everyone's eyes turned to her. An Changfu's gaze, in particular, was as sharp as a knife. An Ruochen quickly lowered her head, feigning weakness. But before she did, she caught a glimpse of General Long's expression. He saw her, somewhat surprised, and raised an eyebrow.
An Ruochen muttered to herself, "Are those eyebrows flexible or something?"
The atmosphere seemed to become somewhat awkward because of An Ruochen's smile. Fortunately, Long Da had some guests with him, and his adjutant smoothed things over, repeatedly thanking An Changfu for the hospitality. The wealthy businessmen from the city who had accompanied him also exchanged polite words.
General Long, however, did not utter a single word.
But his silence didn't stop An Changfu from currying favor with him. An Changfu introduced his family members one by one, especially his daughters who were of marriageable age and dressed up in their finest attire. He even wanted to write a detailed account of them and read it aloud with dramatic intonation in order to make a lasting impression on the general.
An Ruochen watched from the side, and almost laughed again. She held it in; she was a virtuous and gentle young lady, she had to endure it. As she did so, she stared at Long Da. He had no expression, no emotion to tell, his eyebrows were no longer raised, and his face was as hard as stone again.
Just as she was thinking this, Long Da suddenly turned his face and met her gaze.
An Ruochen was startled and quickly lowered her head to pretend to be timid, but before she lowered her head, she saw him raise his eyebrows slightly.
Pigs, dogs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese! An Ruochen told herself that she was taught by her mother to be a virtuous woman and not to use vulgar language.
At this moment, An Changfu finally introduced An Ruochen: "This is my eldest daughter."
That concludes the introduction. How concise!
An Ruochen looked up and smiled. Long Da was standing right in front of her. Seeing her smile, he twitched his lips. Then his gaze fell on her chest. This girl, whom he hadn't seen for a few days, was still as energetic as ever, but her figure had changed so much that it was both surprising and unbelievable.
An Changfu was excitedly introducing his son, oblivious to Long Da's gaze. But An Ruochen did notice.
Pigs, dogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese!
Where is he looking?
You lecher! You scoundrel! You shameless scoundrel!
Big breasts really do cause trouble! Big breasts are so annoying!
55☆、Side Story 3: The General (3)
The lavish feast that was being hosted soon began.
An Changfu arranged for his second and fourth daughters to sit on either side of Long Da's table, while An Ruochen was seated at another table. This was exactly what An Ruochen wanted. Her plan was to secretly escape home while the whole family was busy flattering and currying favor with powerful figures and neglecting everything else.
So, not long after the banquet, An Ruochen quietly left the table.
No one noticed, no one cared. Her family was all trying their best to please General Long, hoping he would say something and smile. General Long's side, on the other hand, was trying their best to smooth things over. They wanted to avoid offending the An family, the richest family in Zhonglan City, and also avoid provoking the renowned General Long.
So An Ruochen observed the situation, found an opportunity, and went back to her room.
She needed to move quickly this time, so there wasn't time to wrap her chest. But she didn't plan on a long journey, so it shouldn't be a problem.
She had to escape to that small rented room and hide before the banquet ended. While they discovered she was missing and launched a city-wide search, she could sleep soundly in that room. After some time, when they assumed she had flown far away and left the city, and their vigilance was lax, she would find another opportunity to leave.
An Ruochen had planned everything perfectly, but with maids pacing back and forth outside her door, she couldn't leave for a while. After some time, it finally quieted down outside. An Ruochen peeked out, then picked up her bundle and headed towards a secluded corner of the backyard.
An Ruochen had already scouted out every inch of the house. Outside the woodshed in the backyard, there was a pile of wood against the wall. Beyond that wall, there was a short tree, the perfect spot to scale the wall, steal the goods, and escape the arranged marriage.
An Ruochen proceeded cautiously, finally evading everyone's attention and arriving safely. She climbed onto the pile of wood, raised her arms to the top of the wall, and used the wall as a foothold to climb upwards.
The bundle behind her swayed back and forth, making it difficult for her to exert any force and extremely inconvenient. She simply took it off and threw it over the wall. Then, using both her hands and feet, twisting and swaying left and right, she finally climbed onto the top of the wall with all her might.
An Ruochen froze as soon as she peeked out from over the wall.
A burly man rode a powerful black horse, carrying her small floral cloth bundle. An Ruochen stared at the bundle. It seemed quite large to her, but in his hands it looked pitifully small.
An Ruochen raised her eyes, her gaze shifting from the bundle to the man's face, meeting his eyes directly.
General Long.
Why is it him again?
An Ruochen hurriedly looked around, but there was no one else on the back street except him. Afraid he would shout, she quickly put her index finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. Long Da looked at her calmly, expressionless, and said nothing.
An Ruochen choked, then remembered. This person probably couldn't move any part of his face except his eyebrows, and his tongue was likely stiff too. But wasn't he still at the banquet? How did he end up here in the blink of an eye?
An Ruochen looked around again and, sure enough, there was no one else. She gritted her teeth, leaned out, and prepared to climb over the wall. Now was not the time to investigate General Long; it was time to escape. Time was of the essence, and there was no going back!
Just as she was about to take a step out, she suddenly heard someone shouting from the other end of the main street, and it sounded like they were about to turn into the back street. An Ruochen quickly pulled her leg back, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw several people rushing in this direction. Among them was her father, who was dressed in a magnificent robe.
An Ruochen quickly crouched down and hid behind the wall. All that effort she put in earlier had been for nothing.
She heard someone outside calling, "General, General, please wait!"
Then came An Changfu's voice: "General, you are busy with military affairs and need to leave first. I cannot delay you. This is a small gift I have prepared. I hope you will accept it."
An Ruochen grimaced, thinking to herself that her father was really good at flattery. But she didn't hear General Long reply; instead, his adjutant responded, thanked him, and said that Master An was very kind and that he would definitely return the favor another day. After some polite exchanges, they finally parted ways.
Once the noise outside subsided, An Ruochen quickly climbed back up to look. The back street was now deserted; there was no one there. Worse still, her little floral bundle was gone too.
An Ruochen was dumbfounded. That General Long had robbed her of her belongings!
An Ruochen was actually a meticulous person. After planning her escape, she divided her belongings into three parts just in case. She carried one set of silver and copper coins with her, and divided the rest of her clothes and valuables into two sets. One set was in the previous bundle and entrusted to General Long, while the other set was in this bundle and "entrusted" to General Long as well.
The current situation is that she has nothing left except the few pieces of silver and copper coins she has. How can she escape from home?
An Ruochen clenched her fist to calm herself down. Just then, she heard voices coming from the woodshed. An Ruochen quickly jumped off the pile of wood and pretended to wander around casually. Seeing that the servants had returned to their places, she knew that the departure of the distinguished guest had cost her the best opportunity to escape.
An Ruochen returned to her room, furious. This mute general with his stiff face who could only raise an eyebrow was truly annoying. Why did he have to leave halfway through his meal? It was so rude and such a disaster.
An Ruochen plopped down in a chair. What to do now? She needed to find a chance to leave the manor and get her belongings back. She calmed herself down and thought about it, then came up with a plan.
The next day, An Ruochen was wandering around the mansion when she "coincidentally" ran into the head maid who was distributing fruit to each courtyard. However, there weren't enough maids, and the head maid was telling them to make more trips. Seeing this, An Ruochen said, "I happen to be free too, and I'd like to find someone to chat with. I'll deliver some to my sisters."
She carried two baskets to deliver fruit to her second and fourth sisters' yards.
An Ruochen wasn't particularly close to her younger siblings, but their relationship wasn't bad either. They were the type to chat briefly when something came up, and greet each other when they met. An Ruochen first went to her fourth sister, An Ruofang, and chatted for a bit, seemingly unintentionally mentioning General Long from yesterday. An Ruofang's face turned pale, saying that General Long looked very fierce and hadn't said a single word at the banquet yesterday.
Seeing her fourth sister's expression, An Ruochen realized she had no feelings for General Long and felt somewhat disappointed. It seemed she couldn't count on her anymore.
An Ruochen went to her second sister An Ruoxi's courtyard again. This time, she found out good news. An Ruoxi looked delighted and asked An Ruochen a lot about General Long.
Why ask her? Because An Ruochen had used the excuse of admiring General Long and running away from home to see his true face to lie about leaving home, for which she had been punished several times. An Ruoxi assumed that An Ruochen knew a lot about General Long, so she pulled her aside and asked her many questions.
An Ruochen had no idea about General Long's situation, but fortunately An Ruoxi was also clueless, so An Ruochen made it up. She portrayed General Long as a brave and fearless man, and said that she had heard rumors that he was taciturn but gentle and considerate to his family, and so on.
Finally, An Ruochen asked, seemingly casually, "Speaking of which, little sister, you're of marriageable age now. What was the meaning behind Father's arrangement yesterday for you and fourth sister to sit next to General Long?"
The bold and outspoken An Ruoxi blushed and stomped her foot, saying, "I'll go ask Father." Then she actually ran out.
An Ruochen smiled. It's really great to have a second sister who dares to pursue happiness.
That evening, An Ruoxi came to see An Ruochen. She said she had inquired about her father's intentions, and he did indeed want to arrange a marriage between her and General Long. However, it didn't necessarily mean that she would marry him; it mainly depended on who General Long would choose.
An Ruoxi was not confident, because her fourth sister, An Ruofang, was a famous beauty in the city. An Ruoxi knew that she was not as good-looking as her and was afraid that men would be attracted to her beauty. General Long had taken a liking to her fourth sister.
"Sister, what should I do?"
"Otherwise, think of a way to see the general more often. Give him more opportunities to get to know you, and the more you see him, the easier it will be to win his favor."
An Ruoxi nodded: "That's right. But General Long is not easy to invite. Last time, Father had to ask many people to help him come to the manor as a guest. It's only been a few days, is it inappropriate for Father to invite him again?"
“Then we’ll have to wait a little longer.” An Ruochen suddenly sighed, “It’s a pity that I’ll be getting married soon, so I won’t be able to find out about your progress with General Long.”
An Ruoxi frowned upon hearing this. It was already embarrassing for a young woman like her to arrange such things; having an older sister of marriageable age to discuss and plan with was far better than thinking about it blindly on her own. Besides, if she were to do something, having someone accompany her and act as a cover wouldn't be bad either.
Thinking about it, An Ruoxi became a little anxious: "Why don't we wait too long? What if other families also have their eyes on the general? I've heard that the Long family is a very powerful family in the capital. Not only is the general himself in a high position, but his family is also very wealthy. General Long is the eldest son, so he will inherit all these assets in the future. If I marry into the family, I will definitely help my sister out."
An Ruochen smiled and replied, "Then thank you in advance, sister."
An Ruoxi blushed slightly, realizing that she hadn't even gotten close to anyone yet, and she was already talking about such distant things. She pulled An Ruochen aside and brought up the important matter: "Sister, how about this, I'll talk to Father and say that I'll bring some food and things to visit General Long at the garrison. I'll say that I'm going on Father's behalf to thank the soldiers for their hard work."
“That’s a good idea. If the general doesn’t want to come, you can go to him,” An Ruochen agreed.
"Then you should come with me, sister."
Finally, she heard what she wanted to hear, but An Ruochen still had to pretend: "Is this appropriate? I'm a woman who's going to get married. Why would I go to the military camp and show my face in public?"
An Ruoxi's face hardened: "Sister, what are you saying? Before, when you ran out of the manor to see the General on the way, why didn't you say you were showing your face in public? Now that I'm asking you for a favor, you're making excuses. Could it be that you admire the General and are afraid that seeing him will make you even more flustered? You know you're going to get married, so you shouldn't think too much."
An Ruochen disliked her younger sister's arrogance, but still smiled and said, "Alright, alright, it's not me. I'll go with you, okay?"
An Ruoxi smiled smugly, satisfied.
Two days later, An Ruochen and An Ruoxi, accompanied by their servants and carrying a lot of food, arrived at the Long family army's camp to request an audience with General Long.
But General Long refused to see them, saying he was too busy with military affairs. He only sent an adjutant to express his gratitude, adding that military discipline was paramount and they could not accept such food, lest they spoil the soldiers and make them difficult to manage in the future.
An Ruoxi was a little anxious; she didn't want this trip to be in vain. Fortunately, the adjutant said that guests are always welcome, and since the Second Miss was here, he could show her around. An Ruoxi naturally agreed, feeling a little smug, because he had specifically mentioned the Second Miss and excluded An Ruochen.
An Ruochen had no interest in visiting any military camp; she had come prepared for this trip. She carried all her money with her, planning to retrieve her belongings and then escape. If she couldn't get them back, she would at least get away and hide in a small rented room. After all, the wedding was just a few days away, and she might not have another chance to leave. If not now, when?
An Ruochen smiled as she watched An Ruoxi and her servants leave for their tour. A guard served An Ruochen tea and then went about his business. An Ruochen was left alone in the room.
This is a golden opportunity.
An Ruochen stepped out of the house and looked around. Thankfully, no one was there! She quickly went outside, assessing whether the risk of searching for her belongings would affect her escape. Just then, she noticed a flag planted in front of a tall building not far away, with the character "Dragon" written on it.
An Ruochen's heart skipped a beat. Perhaps that was General Long's room. She should go and take a look; maybe her belongings were inside. If not, then she would abandon her belongings for now and escape first.
An Ruochen walked over. No one appeared along the way. When she arrived at the house, she found that the door was unlocked. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. Overjoyed, An Ruochen pushed open the door and went inside.
Upon entering, she gasped with delight. Her two bundles were placed on a table against the wall. An Ruochen quickly ran over, one on each side, and slung the bundles over her back.
All done, time to grease the grease and make a run for it.
An Ruochen couldn't help but grin. She turned to run, but froze in place.
The tall, imposing, and stern-faced General Long was blocking the doorway, staring at her.
An Ruochen's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously took a step back. Then, realizing what she had done, she quickly said, "General Long is back. I've come to retrieve my belongings. Thank you, General Long."
Long Da didn't say anything, but just walked forward, taking a few steps closer to An Ruochen.
An Ruochen tried her best to remain calm, holding her head high and not showing weakness.
Her chest puffed out, causing Long Da to glance at her chest, and then he couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile. She's quite interesting; she changes every time he sees her, but today she's back to being smaller.
An Ruochen followed General Long's gaze, her face flushed red, and she quickly turned the bundle to face her chest, hugging it tightly to completely cover her breasts. She had planned to escape today, so she had wrapped her chest up again. This general was truly rude; how could he look at a woman like that?
Knowing that it was better to leave sooner rather than later, An Ruochen said again, "Thank you, General. I'll take my leave now."
Just as he was about to take a step, he suddenly heard Long Da say, "You sneaked into my house to steal things, and you think you can just leave like that?"
An Ruochen's mouth dropped open in shock. So he wasn't mute after all; his voice was actually quite pleasant. But none of that mattered as much as what he said next. "What do you mean by stealing?"