Lanting

Capítulo 52

I nodded and helped her up.

A murmur rippled through the crowd behind him. He glanced back casually and swallowed hard. What a stunningly beautiful woman! Tall and slender, her smile radiant, her brows exuding an indescribable beauty and eeriness. Her resolute beauty was simply heart-wrenching.

In the dazzling light, the magnificent scene in the room seemed to dim somewhat because of her arrival.

She moved with light, graceful steps, wearing a magnificent and exquisite long robe with jewels hanging from her waist.

Lan Mo'er sighed softly, "A humiliation is inevitable."

I quickly understood what Lan Mo'er meant.

After settling down, the man poured himself a cup of Zhuyeqing liquor, a smile playing on his lips as he drank. Looking at the surrounding chattering girls, he frowned slightly and parted his thin lips, "Xiangyu, what did I tell you? I wasn't kidding when I said you're not suited to the Flowing Cloud Bun hairstyle. Ziyun, you look older in purple..."

The man didn't hesitate to criticize each girl, and as the girls' initial joy gradually turned into displeasure, he realized that Lan Mo'er was self-aware.

"Lan Mo'er—you think I can't find you just because you're hiding there? You're so shameless—" That mocking gaze drifted to the corner, swept over Lan Mo'er, and then stopped abruptly as if it had seen something else.

I looked up and met him.

Their gazes swept across the hall, which was filled with guests.

collision!

Miss Jin narrowed her eyes, her right hand slightly gripping the wine glass on the table, and chuckled softly, "Very good..."

Lan Mo'er suddenly raised her head, her face flushed. This was perhaps the first time she had heard this old customer praise her.

Miss Jin raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I wasn't talking about you, Mo'er."

She stood up as she spoke, her gaze falling on the top of my head.

"Hey girl, what's your name?"

I calmed my breathing. "Yan Zheng."

"Good, very good..." This sentence sounded like a murmur to oneself.

Yuange Pavilion.

The aroma of tea wafts through the air, filling the air with its fragrance.

I sat opposite Miss Jin.

I stared at him silently: "I'm telling you, what are you pretending for in front of me? Take that disguise off, you're acting like some kind of seductive woman. How many women in the Central Plains are you going to kill with envy looking like that—"

He remained silent, but gazed at me for a long time. Finally, he sighed and pulled me into his arms. I greedily inhaled the faint scent of saffron emanating from him.

“I knew it, waiting here wouldn’t be a mistake…” I slowly closed my eyes and leaned on his shoulder.

"Although Tianmang Star has dimmed, it has not fallen, so you must still be alive. It's just that I never expected to find you here, all over the world. You brat, you really know how to torment people."

"Why aren't you letting me go?" I laughed, nonchalantly. "Or I'll tell Murong."

Murong Qi... the woman he loved most...

"Anyway, Murong is angry now that I'm always flirting with other women, and he's ignoring me." He smiled gently, his sadness like that of a beautiful flower in the dead of night.

I smiled foolishly; I'm always completely captivated by his smile.

Nangong had completely removed his woman's attire, and I looked at him with satisfaction. Gazing at this stunningly handsome man who radiated dazzling light, his eyes and brows were breathtakingly beautiful.

"Nangong—" I called softly.

"You've fallen for me?"

"Um."

Nangong glanced at me. "There's no good reason for someone to try to please me. So, what is it?"

"Disguise myself."

Nangong's gaze turned cold as he looked at me. "Don't tell me you're going back..."

Chapter Three: Old Friends

"What do you think that is?" Nangong said unhurriedly, "You can come and go as you please."

“So, I’m waiting too.” I smiled at Nangong, “waiting for someone who is just as obsessed with romance as you, Nangong.”

Nangong Yi smiled, "You'll probably have some unexpected gains."

"Accident?"

"Yes. The Liao general accompanied the envoy to the capital, and it just so happens that he will be staying in Yangzhou for two or three days."

Nangong's eyes were unfathomable; I could no longer discern the joy or sorrow within them.

On the first day of the third month, the Liao general accompanied the envoy to Yangzhou...

When the news spread, people flocked to the city gate.

The first time I saw him, I was mixed in with the crowd.

Fifty-six cannons fired in succession, and a grand procession, with black horses slowly walking along the imperial road, followed by magnificent carriages... He sat upright, a truly imposing general.

Crowds flocked to the imperial road, eager to catch a glimpse of the Liao people's grandeur, making it completely impassable.

The figure on the carriage drew closer. He was so dazzling… why were his eyes so deep? What were they concealing?

His smile was so indifferent. It seemed not to be a smile for anyone. Just a habitual, faint smile. Seeing such a smile didn't bring warmth; instead, it sent a chill down my spine. It was this faint smile that brought tears to my eyes. So familiar yet so strange. I seemed to recall such a faint smile before, one that brought comfort, unlike the cold desolation before me.

I walked straight ahead, weaving through the crowded throng. My eyes never left him.

I walked onto the imperial road. I stood before the slowly moving carriage. Those deep, dark eyes fell upon me. He saw my impropriety. His gaze, for some reason, became heavy and silent…

A group of guards, each wielding a cold, longsword, surrounded me.

"How dare you! You dare to block the Great General's carriage—"

I continued to gaze at him, trying to pierce his eyes with my indifferent gaze, to see the depths of his pupils, to see what was hidden behind his indifferent smile, and why it hurt me so much to look at him.

The soldiers tried to capture me, but he stopped them with a stern expression, then quickly regained his friendly demeanor.

"Let's go around it," he casually instructed the person beside him.

The long procession passed by me and circled around to my back.

A wave of heat surged through my chest. Why is this happening? So many years have passed, Xuan... don't you recognize me anymore?

I stumbled and ran to the gate of the Yangzhou Prefectural Government, where heavy soldiers blocked my way.

No matter how much I pleaded, no one would let me in.

Nangong held me tightly.

I just wanted to go and see if it was him. This joke was too much for me; I couldn't accept it.

Nangong pulled me through the wall and into the huge mansion. I couldn't even sense where he was.

When I stood outside the courtyard, he was facing away from me. He had changed out of his armor and was wearing his usual white clothes. He had even lost weight.

I must be dreaming. I'll never see that person again, never again. But who is that figure that's so clearly swaying in front of me?

Only one thought kept repeating in my mind: It was him, he came back, he emerged from the grave on the south slope, he came back to life...

"You've finally waited for me..." Nangong's voice was muffled. I didn't answer. In fact, my eyes were already brimming with tears. I had never waited for him because I always thought that he was the one I was waiting for, that he was waiting for me to see him in the cold underground. I never waited for his appearance. My long-extinguished expectations could not bear the long wait. I always looked forward to seeing him instead of waiting.

I hate waiting the most.

What general? He is not a general, nor is he the son of a Liao person. He is the young man who smiled and called me "Zhao'er" under the peach grove, the young man who warmed my hands in the snow, the young man who smiled under the winding corridor of the Huainan Prince's Mansion, the young man who collapsed into my arms in the quiet wooden house by the lotus pond and wiped away my tears with his blood. Now this young man in white has returned, still so quiet and peaceful.

All eyes turned to me, and even the incessantly pressing official beside me nervously stopped talking, watching me stumble and laugh as I walked towards the center of the hall.

Every moment is like a thousand twists and turns tearing at my memories, crushing my heart. The bitterness of the past four years will bury all my courage. I really will go crazy.

"Who are you? It's you, you..." A hand reached out and blocked his way; the person in front of him was so familiar.

Back then, she stayed by Xuan's side and followed him all the way.

It was her... who rushed into the blood-soaked wooden house, clutching Xuan's blood-stained white clothes, trembling so much she dared not touch him. It was also her... who snatched Xuan from my completely numb arms and slapped me hard across the face. That pain has haunted me for four years, and it still burns to this day.

But now, why did she go back to him before me? I'm jealous, I'm actually jealous... But as long as he's really back, as long as he's still here, I won't care how many people I share him with, I won't be willful anymore...

A hand had already grabbed a corner of his robe, and he heard his own hoarse voice: "Xuan."

Someone kept pulling me along. I looked at her clear, bright eyes with almost desperate longing. "You've been with him for so long, so let me... be with him just this once, okay?"

“Zhao’er…” the woman struggled to speak, her voice trembling, “He’s not…”

“Ran Ning—” I interrupted her stubbornly, “He is.”

Ran Ning turned her head, her voice low but striking my heart heavily, "He really isn't Xiao Xuan. Don't you remember burying him with your own hands? Four years..."

I let go of her hand, but she still wouldn't turn around. I just stared at her, lost in thought, and said, "Xuan, turn around and let her see, it's you... there's no mistake."

The white-clad figure trembled, then slowly turned around. I stared at that all-too-familiar face, and my eyes felt a stinging pain. That face remained indifferent, and those eyes, staring at me, no longer held any pain. At that moment, he looked at me as if I were a complete stranger.

He said calmly, his voice and tone incredibly familiar, “Miss, you’ve mistaken me for someone else… I am Yelü Mengshuo.”

"Take him away and interrogate him personally," the envoy, who had been holding back for a long time, finally ordered.

Several Liao soldiers had already stepped forward, but I knew that Nangong would not allow them to touch me.

"What kind of rule is this? How dare the Liao people wage war on our territory?" The voice behind him was clear and crisp, and his casual tone was very much like his own.

Upon seeing the person behind him, the envoy became extremely nervous, quickly stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Eighth Prince, I am so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."

"There's no need for a welcome." The person behind me stepped forward, not looking at me, and went directly to the front of the hall, saying to the envoy, "His Majesty sent me to receive the envoy, but unfortunately I witnessed a farce."

The envoy was somewhat embarrassed and hurriedly welcomed Lu Xiu to take a seat.

Lu Xiu settled into the main seat before looking at me, his face expressionless, showing no surprise at our long-awaited reunion.

"You woman," he said, pointing his folding fan at me, "you have quite the nerve."

Having said that, he turned to the envoy and said, "I will personally interrogate this woman and give the envoy and the general an explanation."

“No need.” Xuan, who was standing to the side, picked up a cup of tea and brought it to his lips, but did not drink it. “She’s just a madwoman, not worth mentioning.”

Perhaps it is no longer appropriate to call him Xuan at this moment; he should be called General Yelü.

Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow, glanced at General Yelü, then looked at me and ordered the people behind him, "Take him away."

In the backyard of the prefect's mansion, Ran Ning stood silently behind me. "It wasn't him..."

Why not him?

“Apart from his appearance, there’s nothing about him that resembles Brother Xiao.” Ran Ning sighed softly. “By chance, I saw him in Youzhou City and mistook him for him, so I came here. Zhao Zhi, I’ve always wanted to ask you, how much do you like Brother Xiao?”