Arrancando flores y sonriendo

Capítulo 59

"Cough, cough!" I coughed twice, then whispered in embarrassment, "Huaiyuan! Why do you keep bringing this up? He already knows he was wrong!"

"Why are you coughing again? Are you still not fully recovered?" Huaiyuan hurriedly tucked me in with a silk quilt, then hugged me with deep remorse. "It's all my fault for being too impulsive. I should have been more patient. I knew you were exhausted from your long journey, and I shouldn't have hit you, causing you to fall ill. Qing'er, I'm sorry."

"No, it's because I was too willful." My voice was barely audible, and I felt incredibly ashamed. "I promise I'll never, uh, throw things around again! I promise!"—This time, I broke his head and embarrassed him, but Huaiyuan didn't say a word of blame. I sighed! I felt a warm current slowly flowing through my heart, warming my entire being.

"Huaiyuan, you..." I nestled against him silently for a long time before finally lifting my head from his embrace and gently calling his name—only to find that Huaiyuan had already fallen asleep quietly, leaning against the bedpost. The dim light cast a faint shadow on his straight nose, his disheveled black hair on his forehead was tangled with a hint of worry, and his slender eyes were filled with an unconcealed weariness. His thin lips were slightly pursed into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

Yes, he's been driving me around day and night these past few days, eating and sleeping outdoors, and he's already exhausted. Then we had a huge fight, and I just fell ill and that was it. He, on the other hand, is struggling with worry, self-blame, regret, and pain; he probably hasn't had a good night's sleep in ages!

I quietly slipped out of Huaiyuan's arms, gently pulled the silk quilt over him, then tiptoed off the bed, quietly closed the door, and finally let out a long sigh of relief. A gust of cold wind made me shiver. Looking up at the sky, I saw that heavy snow had begun to fall, turning the whole world into a silver sea.

I stood quietly amidst the swirling snowflakes, and in no time, they covered my entire body. I breathed softly on them and rubbed my hands together, feeling a warm glow inside.

"You're just getting a little better, why are you out in the wind again? Be careful not to catch a cold." Huaiyuan draped a crane cloak over my shoulders from behind, his tone slightly reproachful.

"Awake? Why didn't you sleep a little longer?" I didn't turn around, but held his big hand tightly, savoring the rough yet warm touch.

"I'm afraid you'll disappear again, so how could I dare to sleep any longer?" Huaiyuan replied with a playful laugh—but it suddenly made my heart ache, as if a thin string had tightly stretched my soul—how deeply had I hurt Huaiyuan, who seemed so strong?!

"I'm sorry." Tears streamed down my face as I nestled tightly in his arms. I looked up bravely into his eyes and whispered firmly, "Huaiyuan, no matter what happens in the future, I will never leave you again!"

"I know." Huaiyuan smiled faintly and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Silly girl, don't cry, your face is going to freeze!"

I burst out laughing through my tears and lightly punched his chest. "I'm hungry! Shall we go find something to eat?"

“It seems Xiao Rao is right about one thing, you really do look like a starving ghost reincarnated!” Huai Yuan couldn’t help but pinch my small nose and helplessly led me to the kitchen.

"...Will Sister Qingyang not let me off the hook tomorrow?" Before I even reached the kitchen, I heard faint voices—it sounded like Xiuyu was speaking? I subconsciously slowed my pace, took Huaiyuan's hand, and slowly moved closer—this little girl, she's not satisfied with teasing me during the day, she's going to badmouth me behind my back at night too?!

"Sigh, Grandpa Guan repeatedly told me to memorize his words, but I dare not repeat them exactly. No matter how I change them, it seems I'll hurt Qingyang's feelings! Binglang, tell me, did I go too far today?" Xiuyu's voice was filled with obvious worry—at least you have some conscience, knowing I'd be hurt. But what does this Guan Dingshan fellow have to do with this? And who is Binglang? Could that wretched sand pig really dare to come to Bianjing?!

"Xiuyu, don't worry. I don't think Miss Ye is an unreasonable person. Besides, by saying that, you've done Hero Jiang a huge favor, which is also a way of repaying his great kindness in taking us in. Otherwise, given Hero Jiang's personality, he probably wouldn't have said a single word in response, even if it meant his death." — Listen to what he's saying! Does he really think Huaiyuan is such a stubborn person?!

"Well, actually, Grandpa Guan was quite an interesting man. Back then, when he took Sister Qingyang to the capital, he originally intended to send a message to Hero Jiang. But after he discovered that people were constantly following Sister Qingyang, he changed his mind. He said that if he reported back to the manor, it would seem as if he, the Blood-Handed Butcher, was afraid of those petty scoundrels and asked the manor for help, which would damage his reputation! So, he kept quiet and silently dealt with those villains. That's why Hero Jiang and Sister Qingyang missed each other."

How could this happen? How come I didn't know? Everything seemed peaceful the whole way; I didn't see any troublemakers! Besides, Guan Dingshan had been mocking and ridiculing me the whole time; I thought he really disliked me. Who knew he'd been secretly protecting me the whole time?!

"I think Grandpa Guan and Hero Jiang look like grandfather and grandson." That Zhang Bing actually dared to laugh at Huaiyuan? I resisted the urge to jump out, gripped Huaiyuan's hand tightly, and listened quietly. "I heard from Hero Liu that Hero Jiang secretly booked the entire inn where Miss Ye is staying..."

The more I listened, the more surprised I became, and I couldn't help but blurt out, "What? There is actually...!" Before I could finish speaking, Huaiyuan covered my mouth with his hand, grabbed my waist, and leaped onto the roof...!

[Volume 4, Finale: Chapter 3, In the Camp of the Imperial Envoy]

"Zhang Bing said you booked the entire inn? What does that mean?!" I stared intently at Huaiyuan, as if he wouldn't give up until he explained himself.

"Hehe, don't listen to their nonsense, it's all baseless." Huaiyuan smiled faintly, pulling me tightly into his arms, trying to cover it up.

"What exactly happened? Tell me now!" I'm not falling for his charm! — I pushed him away forcefully, determined to get an explanation — I don't want to be a fool again, kept in the dark about everything — What I really want to know is, while I was feigning sorrow, how much effort did Huaiyuan actually put in for me?!

"Actually, it's nothing. Well, as you heard, I did book that inn." Seeing that he couldn't escape, Huaiyuan could only brush me off lightly.

"Really? Then why are there other customers coming and going in the store?" — You don't want to say, huh? That's fine. I'll slowly squeeze the truth out, like toothpaste!

"Hehe, wouldn't it be strange if the whole inn only housed you and me? Of course, the innkeeper should selectively let some guests in each day," Huaiyuan explained casually.

"I get it. It's like lying; you can't lie in every sentence. You just need to mix one lie into ten sentences, right?!" I was both annoyed and amused, glancing sideways at Huaiyuan. "Don't tell me you went to all this trouble just to show off how much money you have?!"

"Uh, I just wanted to make you more comfortable." — Huaiyuan's reason was really far-fetched!

"Really? Are you sure?" I lowered my voice, drawing out the words as I looked at him suspiciously. "Isn't it just to make it easier for someone to do something bad?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" — Hmm, Huaiyuan's voice clearly lacked confidence? Could it be that my casual remark actually came true?!

I remained silent, only squinting and glancing sideways at Huaiyuan. He looked guilty, a suspicious blush slowly creeping onto his handsome face—was there really something wrong?! "You didn't book the whole inn just so you could spy on me at night, did you?!" I suddenly dropped a bombshell.

"Absolutely not! I only did this for your safety!" Huaiyuan reflexively muttered, only realizing his mistake when he met my smiling eyes. He helplessly revealed the reason: "In fact, you've been watched since you arrived in Cizhou. The inn is too crowded, so I had to book that entire inn to keep anyone trying to approach you under my watchful eye. Didn't you notice that no other guests have ever stayed in the west wing of the inn?!"

"Really? I thought it was a remote border town, so it's not surprising that there aren't many guests!" I gradually understood, but one thing still confused me: "I have nothing, I don't know anyone, and I haven't offended anyone. Who would be so bored as to come with me to the battlefield?!"

"You're not naive enough to think that just because Ye Da left a letter and died so mysteriously, people in the martial world would actually believe him and let you go, are you?" Huaiyuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "In fact, the moment you left Jiangning, you were followed. Grandpa Guan only started following you because he sensed something was wrong, you fool! By the time I met Grandpa Guan, you had already disappeared. When I finally managed to capture Ah Dai, the messenger, and disguised myself as him to infiltrate Prince Kang's mansion, before I even had a chance to speak with you, you went to Cizhou with Zong Ze. I think that's why they haven't had a chance to make their move, which is why they followed you all the way to Cizhou..."

"Huaiyuan!" My heart skipped a beat, and I whispered, suddenly throwing myself into Huaiyuan's arms, tightly hugging his neck—in that instant, my heart ached terribly for the suffering Huaiyuan had endured all those days; yet I also felt incredibly happy, because at this moment, I possessed the whole world—so, while I thought the world was at peace, immersed in inexplicable melancholy, I had actually weathered so many storms and treacherous waters, witnessed so much open and covert struggle around me?! And I had been misunderstanding, even complaining about the one who silently protected me?!

"Alright, it's all in the past." Huaiyuan gently put his arm around my shoulder, comforting me with a faint smile. "Now, aren't we together again? What could be more important than this?!"

I leaned quietly against his chest for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Huaiyuan, all this time, you really haven't sneaked into my room even once?!"—Uh, I was genuinely curious! Strangely, I even felt a little bit of anticipation?!

"Uh, just once." Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment before slowly revealing the truth, his handsome face turning as red as the sunset clouds on the horizon—hehe, so cute!

"You didn't just go inside, did you?" I winked mischievously, teasing him playfully. "You even stole a kiss from me, didn't you?!"—So that sweet dream wasn't just mine alone. Ah, how wonderful!

"You naughty girl!" Huaiyuan muttered gruffly in a low voice, giving me a seductive smile before lowering his head to kiss my chattering lips—outside, snow was falling heavily, but it could no longer conceal the warm spring atmosphere inside the room...

What I initially thought was just a minor cold turned out to be a severe illness that lingered for over ten days. While I lay confined to my bed, unable to recover, the Jin army's eastern route had already captured Xinde Prefecture. After a brief encounter with Zong Ze at Cizhou, failing to capture it, they bypassed Huaxian and advanced rapidly. The Song troops along the way fled at the mere sight of them. The Jin army of 60,000 men moved as if they were in an empty field, using only a dozen or so small boats they had seized. Amidst the maniacal laughter of their eastern commander, Wulibu, they crossed the undefended Yellow River, reaching the gates of Kaifeng on the eighth day of the first month of the first year of the Jingkang era. (The dates mentioned in the previous chapters are in the Gregorian calendar; this is the lunar calendar. I'm too lazy to calculate the Gregorian calendar date, haha.)

When the Jin army marched south, Cai Jing, the leader of the Six Traitors, had already "prepared boats and amassed wealth, fleeing overnight" and was the first to escape Kaifeng to avoid the war. Emperor Huizong, the retired emperor, used the pretext of going to the Taiqing Palace in Haozhou to burn incense to escape Kaifeng overnight. Tong Guan led tens of thousands of elite troops, shooting down hundreds of soldiers who knelt and wept, begging Huizong to resist the Jin, before following Huizong south. For a time, the entire court and the city's nobility were in a state of panic. It was Li Gang who, in this critical moment, strongly advocated fighting back. He led the soldiers and civilians of Kaifeng to complete the defensive deployment in just three days, from the fifth to the eighth day of the first lunar month. When the Jin army attacked the city, he personally went to the city gates to supervise the battle, repelling several attacks by Wanyan Wulibu and successfully halting the Jin army's southward advance.

When I finally recovered and stepped out of that secluded courtyard, I learned that the Jin army had besieged Bianjing for five days. Huaiyuan and Wufeng had already responded to Li Gang's call and actively joined the battle to defend Kaifeng.

Bianjing was in a state of panic, having long lost its former prosperity and liveliness. The young and strong had all rushed to the city walls, while the elderly, weak, women, and children had long since closed their doors and windows, anxiously awaiting news of the battle from the front. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

That day, right after breakfast, after seeing Huaiyuan and Wufeng off, a guest came to our house—the shop assistant of Zhao's Antique Shop. He brought a letter from Manager Zhao, inviting me to his shop for a chat.

"Sister Qingyang, the situation is so chaotic right now, you'd better not go." Xiuyu looked at me with a worried expression, trying her best to stop me from going.

"Everything will be alright, I'm in the city. He might have news of my elder brother, I absolutely have to go." I smiled calmly, reassuring Xiuyu, "I'll be back quickly, don't worry!"—Kaifeng didn't fall during the first Jin army siege, what do I have to worry about?!

"Manager Zhao, do you have any news about my elder brother?" — The chubby Zhao Qingwen appeared before me, and I happily went to greet him.