Chapter Thirty-Six

  The July grassland is stunningly beautiful, a vast emerald ocean, with the gentle breeze blowing, wave after wave. The blooming wildflowers are scattered on the green background, like exquisite brocade when still, and like mountains and rivers dancing together when in motion.

  Under the sunset glow, the two of us often strolled hand in hand through the blue sky and green grass. Sometimes we wouldn't say a word for half a day, just walking quietly, and when we were tired, we'd sit down randomly to rest, watching the sunset together as the night turned dark and the moon rose.

  Sometimes I would chatter on and on to him about my likes and dislikes, complaining in detail about the scorching sun, how dry my hair was. He would listen with a smile on his face. I would point at the sun and ask him if it was true that Kuafu chased after it, and then demand he tell me clearly whether it was or not. If he said yes, I'd say no; if he said no, I'd say yes. I'd drag him into a long-winded argument, bringing out all my debating skills from back when I participated in debate competitions.

  Or we'd gaze at the moon and I'd beg him to recite all the poems about it for me to listen to. He would softly chant them in my ear, sometimes I'd doze off, and he'd gently lift me onto his horse. I'd snuggle into his chest as we slowly rode back.

  When we saw stars, we'd look for the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden constellations together. He'd say he found it, but I thought I did, and only when I pouted and refused to talk to him would he laugh and hug me, saying "You're right!" Even trying to keep a straight face, I couldn't help but smile at the corners of my mouth.

  Minmin kept asking me to teach her how to sing opera, and I had no choice but to teach her a short play that my dormitory sisters and I used to perform during class gatherings. But when it came time to actually teach her, I suddenly had an idea and we seriously rehearsed several times. One evening, I smiled at Minmin and said, "Tonight, I've invited someone to watch us sing opera!" Minmin curiously asked, "Who is it?" I just smiled and didn't answer, but instead changed into a long white robe, tied a golden belt around my waist, combed my hair and put on a small hat.

  Minmin looked at him and laughed, "You wear men's clothes, but you have a unique elegance!" I looked her up and down and also smiled, "You wear this Jiangnan girl's dress, it's also uniquely charming and captivating!"

  Two people were joking with each other, and Minmin's personal maid came in to say: "The Eighth Beile has arrived!" Minmin smiled and said: "Is the person you invited to watch the play him?" I nodded, and Minmin ordered the maid: "Please invite the Eighth Beile to come in and sit down!"

  I and Minmin hid behind the screen, watching as Eighth Brother came in and sat down. He seemed slightly surprised that the host had not yet appeared, but after his eyes scanned past the screen, he probably guessed that we were hiding behind it, smiled, and calmly picked up his tea cup to take a sip.

  I patted Minmin on the back and whispered, "You go out first!" She didn't move, whispering, "I'm a bit nervous!" I smiled and asked, "What's there to be afraid of? You've sung and danced in front of so many people before?" She muttered under her breath, "But this is someone else's debut performance!" As she spoke, she adjusted her clothes, picked up the basket and hung it on her arm, and walked out from behind the screen.

  I peeked through the gap to look at Eighth Brother's expression, he saw Minmin's dress and his face slightly stunned, then his eyes turned to the screen, a slight smile, and turned back to look at Minmin. I hid behind the screen, knowing that he couldn't see me, but seeing him smile still made my heart skip a beat.

  Min gently pulled the basket, pretending to pick mulberry leaves. I lightly swayed my folding fan and walked slowly upwards, singing: "Autumn Hu rushes home on horseback, travelers' horses hurry on the road..." Min and I sang back and forth, she playing the role of Luofu, who had been guarding an empty house for over twenty years, and I playing the role of Autumn Hu, returning home to visit his wife. On meeting his wife, he pretended to be a stranger and flirted with her in order to test her chastity.

  I picked up the folding fan and lifted Minmin's chin, with a smile that was not quite a smile, my eyes slanted, teasingly looking at Minmin, with an air of a frivolous young master. I sang: "...... Abandoning the elder sister to guard the empty room, you are like the bright moon in the clear sky, and also like gold buried in the earth. You are like fresh flowers that no one appreciates, and I am like the flower picker. In the mulberry garden, there is no one to visit, let's be like the heavenly maiden paired with King Xiang." After finishing the song, I casually stroked her face with my hand.

  Min's face turned red, and she opened her folding fan. With a coy smile, she sang: "Sir, you speak without thinking, I have something to say, listen carefully..." Usually when we sang together, I had never been so serious and playful in teasing her, probably no one had ever dared to do so with this little girl, and now she was blushing at being teased by another woman! Now where did the angry woman who scolded others for teasing her go? Instead, she looked like a shy and coquettish maiden.

  Two people finished singing, I was calm as usual, but Minmin's face turned red with embarrassment, and she glanced at the eighth prince who was applauding and laughing, then hastily left the tent. The eighth prince smiled at me and sighed: "If Su Wang knew that you taught his daughter to sing these songs, what would you do?" I turned my head and smiled at him, saying: "What can be done? This seems to be your problem, not mine!" He shook his head slightly, smiling at me and said: "I'm afraid I'll have more trouble in the future! However..." He walked closer to me, whispering in my ear: "Please take care of yourself for your husband's sake, don't get into too much trouble! Your husband wants to spend more time with you!" After saying that, he also gently stroked my face. Although I have a thick skin, I couldn't help but feel a little shy, and my face became hot. He carefully observed my expression, then smiled and retreated.

  When Minmin came out again, she had changed into new clothes. Seeing me standing there with a red face, she couldn't help but lower her head and smile, asking: "Are you going to change your clothes?" I hadn't spoken yet when Eighth Brother smiled and said: "Don't change, this way of dressing has a certain...flavor." He glanced at Minmin and still said "romantic charm". I gave him a stern look. But Minmin didn't have any unusual reaction, looking at me with a smile and saying: "I think so too!"

  I dressed up like this just for the Eighth Prince, now that my goal has been achieved, I smiled at him and flipped open the fan with a 'pop', shook out my long braid, and lightly fanned myself as I walked out of the tent to change clothes.

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  As soon as the day shift was over, before even entering the tent, a faint fragrance wafted in, puzzling him - had Yutan knocked over the jasmine powder box again?

  Pushing open the curtain, what caught my eye was a sea of white. On the table, on the floor, on the chairs, and on the bed, everywhere I looked, there were jasmine flowers, hanging in clusters, filling the air with their warm and leisurely scent. The green leaves sparkled elegantly like transparent jade, while the small flowers that had just bloomed shone pure white like freshly fallen snow. I stood there, stunned. I really didn't know where he had gotten so many flowers from. A thread of joy flowed through my heart; although this gesture was a bit cliché, it still moved me. I couldn't help but bury my face in the flowers and let out a long sigh!

  I was lost in thought, "Sister!" I panicked and quickly turned around to face Yutan, but didn't know how to explain the room full of jasmine flowers. Yutan smiled and said: "These were just sent by Zhang Gonggong's people, saying that the young lady instructed him to bring back some fresh jasmine flowers when he went to make purchases. Does sister have any use for them?" I hastily followed up with: "There are many uses, brewing tea, bathing, wearing in hair, isn't it much better than dried flowers?

  I bathed in jasmine flowers, tied up my hair, took a sachet, stuffed a few flowers inside, and hung it on my waist. I walked quickly to the agreed location, saw him already sitting on the hillside waiting for me. I tiptoed over, quickly covered his eyes with my hands, and asked in a low voice: "Who am I?" He put his hand on mine, smiled and asked: "Grassland fairy?" I hummed: "No! It's a man-eating monster!" He laughed loudly, pulled my arm, turned around and pressed me to the ground. His head was buried in my neck, sniffing, murmuring: "It turns out it's Jasmine Fairy!" He raised his head, gazed at me gently, our faces were so close that I could see myself in his deep black pupils. My heart started beating violently. He slowly lowered his head, warm and soft lips printed on mine, my mind suddenly flashed the picture of Fourth Brother's icy lips touching mine, my heart skipped a beat, I tilted my head, dodged his kiss.

  He didn't mind, thinking I was shy and hiding, lightly laughed and leaned in to gently kiss my cheek, then softly and shallowly made his way to my lips. I closed my eyes and warmly responded to his kiss. His tenderness, affection, and love were all conveyed through the entwining of our lips. My initial tension and confusion slowly dissipated, leaving me feeling as if I was floating on clouds, dizzy and numb, with a softness in both body and mind.

  He held me in his arms and whispered, "Ruoxi, do you know how happy I am?" My head resting on his shoulder, I blurted out, "Will it be happier than when we first met your sister?" As soon as I asked, I wanted to slap my own mouth. I'm crazy! I actually compared him to his sister!

  He fell silent for a moment, supporting my body, and gazing into my eyes said: "That's different! When I first saw Ruo Lan, I was indeed overjoyed, and after the Emperor decreed our marriage, I thought I would be happy. But when I lifted Ruo Lan's veil, I knew I was wrong, I only thought about possessing that bright smile, but didn't know..." He paused for a moment, gently stroking my cheek and said: "Ruo Xi, I've already made one mistake, how could I make another? You and Ruo Lan look similar, I was indeed startled when I first saw you. But since you caused a scene at the 10th brother's birthday banquet, I realized that you and Ruo Lan are different. In the midst of falling leaves, you questioned us 'why must our fate be decided by others', your cold expression is still vivid in my mind to this day. At the wedding banquet, the 13th brother took you away, and you returned frozen stiff, but not a hint of resentment from you. I was actually unhappy about it, only then did I realize that unknowingly, you had already left an impression on me."

  He gently stroked my eyebrows with his fingertips, saying: "All these years, do you know how much I've missed you? But I want you to willingly and happily marry me. I don't want what happened with Ruo Lan to happen again. Yet your heart is always so hard to read, it seems like you have feelings for me, but I don't understand why you keep rejecting me. I don't know what I need to do to make you willing." He suddenly covered my eyes with his hand: "Don't look at me like that! Why do you always look at me with such a sorrowful gaze? Even four years ago when you were still a little girl, your eyes had this same sadness. What are you sad about?"

  I shook my head again and again, stretched out my hand to hold him, and the two of us hugged each other tightly. The scenes from that year flashed through my mind, thinking about his good deeds and his bad ones. I remembered how he made me stand in the study for half a day, and how he pinched my chin coldly to force me to speak. I suddenly bit him on the shoulder. He let out a soft "hmm" sound, holding me still without moving. I slowly loosened my grip, and he looked at me with confusion. With a hint of smile and pride, I raised an eyebrow and said to him: "A gentleman takes revenge ten years later!" He was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing loudly, his laughter clear and bright, filled with joy that echoed across the grassland.

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  In September, the autumn wind rises, and the sky and earth are even more vast. Under the double training of Eighth Brother and Minmin, I can ride a horse quite well now. I can gallop freely in the blue sky and green grass, enjoying the feeling of flying in the wind mixed with sunshine and fragrance of grass.

  I and Mianmian both extremely love the feeling of galloping horses at extreme speed, with the sound of wind rushing past our ears. The thrill is beyond what words can describe, as if we can roam freely between heaven and earth, going wherever we please without any constraints. Eighth Brother, however, doesn't pursue the thrill of speed like us. He often lags behind, laughing as he watches Mianmian and me galloping wildly on horseback. The two of us often compete in races, although I lose more times than not, but occasionally winning against Mianmian feels even better.

  I and Minmin always laugh again and again, when she gets excited, she starts singing Mongolian folk songs, I don't understand the lyrics, but I know she's singing about this blue sky, this green land, these white clouds, this gentle breeze, she's singing her joy and delight. Because I also love this world so much! Since ancient times, my laughter has never been as much, as bright as it is now! Only in this world, only on the back of a galloping horse, can I temporarily truly forget everything, I am myself! Not Ma Tai or Ye Xuan.

  At the time, I always kept a distance from Ba Aguo. Although I knew that lies would eventually be exposed, I didn't want to face it now. Ba Aguo had a smile on his lips and teased me with a few glances, but he didn't force it anymore. However, his gaze never left me. When I laughed loudly, he looked at me with affection; when I was proud, he looked at me with admiration; when I praised Minmin's singing, he shook his head slightly with a smile, as if he didn't think so. Sometimes I really feared that Minmin would notice and glare at him, but he would just laugh and look away. Yet, whenever my gaze accidentally swept over him, our eyes would still meet, and his would be filled with a smiling intent.

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  After finishing the night watch, I headed towards the tent, thinking that after taking a bath, I would go have dinner with Eighth Brother. The Crown Prince walked slowly towards me and I hastily stepped aside to pay my respects to him. After he told me to get up, he looked me up and down several times and smiled, saying: "Miss, you seem to be very busy these past few days?" I smiled but didn't respond, as he had already started speaking, there would naturally be more to come.

  He stared at me and said, "I heard that the young lady has been very close to Eighth Brother recently, and the two of you often go horseback riding together." I smiled and replied, "The prince doesn't know who he's listening to, but I've always gotten along with Eighth Brother. Why would there be rumors about us being especially close now? Besides, I was allowed by the emperor to learn horseback riding. Eighth Brother is just helping me because he wants me to learn quickly and not waste the emperor's kindness. After all, those soldiers are careful because of my status and are afraid of making mistakes, so they're all thinking 'don't seek merit, but avoid blame.' They don't dare to teach me wholeheartedly."

  The prince smiled at me, not making a sound. After I finished speaking, I lowered my head and stood quietly. After a while, he nodded with a smile and turned to leave. I bowed to see him off, then quickly returned to my own camp.