Arrancando flores y sonriendo

Capítulo 69

I nodded blankly, and instinctively moved closer to him—I must have been mistaken! Why was there such a cunning glint in his eyes at that moment?!

"Enough?!" Huaiyuan emerged from the forest like a ghost, shoved away Wufeng's outstretched hands, pulled me into his arms, held me tightly, and looked coldly at Wufeng: "Get out of here after you've finished talking nonsense! Stop drooling over other people's wives all day long!"

"Hmph! You call yourself a good brother? I painfully gave you all of Qingqing! So stingy, can't even hug her once?!" Wufeng mimicked Huaiyuan's classic expression, scoffing lightly, then turned to avoid Huaiyuan's palm strike and gracefully disappeared into the depths of the plum blossoms...

"What? Xiao Qingqing...!" I was so angry I almost died. Before I could protest, he had already disappeared laughing—I'm doomed! I'm now 100% sure he really heard me! I was so ashamed I wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

"Are you stupid? He said he wanted to hug you, and you actually leaned in?" Huaiyuan pressed me against his chest with displeasure, ruffling my hair forcefully, his deep voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of anger: "Stay away from that guy from now on!"

I cautiously looked up. His dark eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, shimmered with starlight. His thin lips were pressed tightly together, carrying a slight, childlike sullenness. I carefully spoke, "Huaiyuan, are you angry? Or are you jealous for no reason?!"

Huaiyuan was taken aback, then gave an unnatural snort, striking a cool and disdainful pose.

"Hehe, I guessed right." I smiled smugly: "You really are jealous!"

"Let's go, it's late, let's go back." Huaiyuan avoided my gaze, wrapped me directly in the dark green cloak he had brought, and walked back with me in his arms.

"Huaiyuan, when did you arrive?"

"..."

"You knew about Wufeng's feelings all along, didn't you?"

"..."

"Are you deliberately staying out of the way to give Wufeng a chance?"

"..."

"Huaiyuan, you actually arrived a while ago, and you heard it, right? You were touched, weren't you?"

"……,kindness"

"You actually saw it too, didn't you? You're captivated by me, aren't you?"

"……,……,……,snort!"

——--------------------------------------------------------------——

I originally wanted to write a side story for Wufeng, but then I thought better of it. This format might be more suitable for the style of this book—it would seem strange to suddenly add a side story after using the first-person perspective the whole time!

Hmm, it seems you guys aren't too satisfied with Ru Xue's chapters? There are so few comments! Sigh! Considering how much I've written, dear readers, perhaps you could offer Ru Xue some encouragement occasionally? Or, if I get angry, I might... hmph!

[Volume 4 Finale: Chapter 14 Leisurely Playing on the Water by Boat]

The person Huaiyuan had been waiting for did not arrive within the expected time, but an uninvited guest arrived at the mansion instead—Prince Kang, Zhao Gou. As I had hoped, on the eve of the army's northward migration, Wanyan Zongwang replaced Zhao Gou with Prince Su, Zhao Shu, who was sent to the Jin camp as a hostage, and released Zhao Gou back to the Song Dynasty.

In the past, Zhao Gou was always dressed in a fine hat and fur coat, a noble young master, with a large retinue of guards. This time, however, he traveled lightly, bringing only two personal guards to pay his respects. This experience as a peace envoy and hostage had indeed taught him one of the most important lessons of his life.

"My safe return from the Jin camp this time is largely thanks to Miss Ye. I am deeply grateful, and in the future, if Miss Ye ever needs anything, I will do my utmost to serve her." As he spoke, Zhao Gou's beautiful eyes still held a hint of tears—it seems he truly appreciates me, his "benefactor." Being a person from the future is really great! See, with just one sentence, I've managed to get an emperor to be my backer! Ah! So satisfying!

"Not at all, I was just mentioning it casually, Ninth Prince, please don't take it to heart." — He offered me a ladder, so of course I'll climb up quickly and immediately throw away his "Your Highness Prince Kang" label—wouldn't that be a loss for me? Calling him Ninth Prince is much more friendly!

"Speaking of repaying, hehe." I chuckled and moved closer to Zhao Gou, looking at him with ill intent. "There's no need to wait until later. Right now, there's something you're sure you can do. I just don't know if Ninth Prince is truly sincere?"

"Miss Ye, please speak freely." Zhao Gou said with a serious expression—aren't you afraid I'll sell him out? Sigh!

"As you know, this time my elder brother, uh," I cautiously glanced at Huaiyuan's expression. Well, thankfully, he only frowned slightly. Relieved somewhat, I continued, "This time, Wanyan Zongwang's southern invasion resulted in a small loss at Cizhou due to General Zong's forces! However, precisely because of this, scattered soldiers and homeless refugees from the surrounding area have all flooded into Cizhou. This has caused Cizhou to become overcrowded, and now medicine and food are extremely scarce, you see…"

"Miss Ye, do you mean you want me to secure some military funds and donations for General Zong in court? You needn't worry about that, Miss Ye; I have the same intention. However, while money and provisions are easy to obtain, we need to find a capable person to handle the matter of medicinal herbs." Zhao Gou, after all, was a seasoned official; he couldn't possibly not understand when I put it this way. So he immediately made his point clear.

“I do have someone in mind. My second brother left Cizhou for the capital this time specifically for this matter. However,” I chuckled, stroking my chin, and stared at Zhao Gou with a mischievous glint in my eye for a while, then held up two fingers at him, “Does Young Master Zhao only intend to offer his words? After all, this is a matter for your Zhao family, isn’t it?”

"Of course." Zhao Gou was a sensible man, and he immediately understood what I meant, and readily agreed: "A mere two hundred thousand taels of silver is something I can afford."

"Ah? It's a deal!" I was overjoyed, but then I was filled with regret. If I had known he was so easy to talk to, I should have slapped him earlier! Sigh!

For a long time after Zhao Gou left, I was still immersed in immense grief—I had swindled five hundred taels of silver from Wufeng, and Xiao Rao had been nagging me about it for the past two years! He made me think everyone in the world was as stingy as him! Sigh! He really is a prince! I only wanted him to give me twenty thousand, but he agreed to two hundred thousand in one go! Unbelievable!

"Girl, don't go too far!" Huaiyuan flicked my forehead with his finger and looked at me with a knowing expression.

"I just didn't want my second brother to be so worried about this that he couldn't eat or sleep!" I slumped weakly on the table, giving him a long, resentful glance, and waved my hand haphazardly. "You won't let me use my eldest brother's money! We finally got a good deal, but you only bled half of it out. Can you imagine how disgusted I am?!"

"Hmph! Don't mention that person to me." Huaiyuan frowned, glared at me, and walked straight to the other side of the desk to sit down, burying himself back into the pile of account books that seemed to be endless.

"Fine, I won't mention it then." I stuck out my tongue and continued to slump on the table, mourning the banknotes I hadn't yet received—well, no, they should be silver notes. Sigh!

For a long time, Huaiyuan was still writing furiously, battling with that pile of numbers. "I can't take it anymore!" I jumped up and snatched the pen from his hand. "Huaiyuan, when are you finally free? I'm so bored being cooped up at home all day!"

"Girl, bored?" Huaiyuan looked up at me, his eyes calm and expressionless—of course! How about I lock you in your room for a month or two and make you drink black potion every day?!

"Hehe." He chuckled as he stood up, taking my hand. "Let's go, I'll take you out for some fresh air. But let's make it clear first, no fuss, and no more picking up random people!"

"What? They didn't bring back many people!" My loud protest gradually weakened under Huaiyuan's gaze: "Uh, they only picked up Xiaofeng, Xiuyu, and maybe Ahdai at most. Well, Zhang Bing doesn't count, he came here on his own! Tch! So stingy! They call themselves the number one manor in the world, but they complain about supporting three or four more people? Besides, my habit of picking up people is actually something I learned from you!"

Huaiyuan stopped, raising an eyebrow at me with a puzzled look—"Heh, don't understand now?" I smiled smugly, pointing to the tip of my nose: "Me? You've forgotten? I'm the one you picked up!"

"Yes, you are mine." Huaiyuan gazed at me quietly for a long time, then gripped my hand tightly and said calmly but firmly.

I wanted to argue with him, to remind him that he forgot to say the word "pick up," but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. So I broke free from Huaiyuan's hand, and under his surprised gaze, I put my arm around his and smiled sweetly at him: "Yes, I am yours, forever."

"Qing'er!" Huaiyuan stopped and looked down at me, his dark eyes gradually darkening—I suddenly burst out laughing, broke free from him, ran far away, and turned back to make a face at him: "Haha, are you touched?!"

"You naughty girl, how could you..." Huaiyuan laughed and scolded me helplessly.

"Huaiyuan, shall we take a boat ride?" I suggested enthusiastically, gazing at the shimmering lake. Facing Huaiyuan's meaningful smile, I suddenly remembered our first kiss—it seemed to have been in Jiangning, on Xuanwu Lake, on a boat? A surge of heat rose in my heart, and my cheeks inexplicably flushed. Before I knew it, we were already boating on the sparkling lake.

Jinming Pond is actually an artificial lake, created by excavating and irrigating it with water from the Jinshui Canal. It was early spring, March, and the banks were ablaze with peach blossoms and willows, a riot of color. Newly sprouted lotus leaves swayed gracefully in the breeze, and tourists thronged the shore, creating a lively scene. A long bridge spanned the lake, and pavilions and towers, with carved beams and painted rafters, stood majestically in the center, complete with docks, wharves, warships, and pleasure boats.