Chapter 48: The Maiden in the Artificial Hill

  Thanks for avdfgdsf4d's reward!

  Yue Yun and Geng Zhe looked at each other, and it was indeed Liu Bao. He came up to them and pulled the two men along, saying: "General Geng, Master Yue, let's go over there and have a drink! The guards in front of our camp are all over there playing rock-paper-scissors. Especially you, Master Yue, everyone wants to toast you with a cup!"

  Yue Yun's face turned gloomy after hearing this, thinking that so many generals wanted to toast him, it would be strange if he didn't get drunk. Originally, getting drunk once and then stopping wasn't a bad idea, but the problem was that if things went like this, his plan to make connections with the grain merchants would fall through, which would affect his main goal.

  But looking at their enthusiastic appearance, it's hard to say no. So he had to plan to muddle through.

  Yue Yun hastily nodded repeatedly and said: "No problem. However, I'm a bit urgent to use the restroom right now, let me go to the toilet first and then come back to accompany you brothers for a drink, how about that?"

  "Oh! Then you go first! Our drinking place is just inside that pavilion!" Liu Bao heard and didn't mind, then pointed to the pavilion where those few people were sitting for Yue Yun.

  Yue Yun couldn't wait to get away from the pavilion as far as possible, so he responded with a "yes" and then ran off in a puff of smoke.

  He walked forward for a while, passing through two courtyards, and found that the number of guests had greatly decreased. Occasionally, he saw a few young women in colorful clothes passing by, but they all stared at him with strange eyes, making Yue Yun feel very uncomfortable.

  After walking through a long corridor, Yue Yun felt that her eyes were suddenly opened, and she saw a lush green garden with blooming flowers in front of her. The garden had everything, including a pond, artificial hills, pavilions, and kiosks. It made Yue Yun feel carefree and joyful.

  What surprised Yuen Cloud was that the people coming and going were all women, from 7 or 8 year old girls to 60 or 70 year old elderly women. They either sat by the pond watching the lotus flowers or chatted with each other about gossip news of this family and that family, feeling very comfortable and relaxed.

  Yue Yun stayed for a moment, feeling somewhat uneasy, and was about to turn around and leave. But unexpectedly, he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from outside the courtyard: "General Liu, did you indeed see that Yue Xian-di came this way?"

  Yue Yun suddenly realized that this was indeed Geng Zhe's voice.

  Then it was Liu Bao's voice saying, "Yes! When I took you out for a drink, Master Yue said he wanted to pay his respects and walked in this direction. As a result, after waiting for half a day without seeing him come back, I searched all the way here and only then discovered that this is the path leading to the inner courtyard. Heh heh, I think Master Yue also knew that the ladies are all in the inner courtyard, probably thinking of going to take a look at which family has a suitable young lady."

  "Hum! We can't let him get away with this, we have to make him drunk today!" Geng Zhe hummed and said: "Today I'm going to compete with Brother Yue to see who has a better capacity for liquor!"

  Yue Yun finally understood why there were only women in this courtyard. Seeing Liu Bao and Geng Zhuo coming to grab him for a drink, he was greatly anxious in his heart. Originally, getting drunk with these bold and uninhibited generals wasn't a bad thing, but he had important business to attend to. And that Korean Yan Zhi was also nowhere to be seen until now.

  Yue Yun felt anxious in her heart and immediately looked around to see if there was any place to hide.

  At a glance, I saw a small hole beside the fake mountain, which was covered with some green vines. If you don't look carefully, you can't see it.

  He was overjoyed in his heart and immediately rushed in headfirst.

  As soon as Yue Yun entered, he saw a frightened and pretty face. It turned out that there was already a girl hiding in the cave, and when she suddenly saw another person, a man, crawling in, she was startled.

  Yue Yun saw her cherry mouth slightly open and was afraid she would shout loudly, so he quickly made a "shh" gesture.

  The girl, although very surprised, listened obediently and didn't make another sound.

  At this time, the sound of Liu Bao and Geng Zhuo's footsteps had already come from outside the cave. The two walked while scolding, saying that Yue Yun was really fast, and in just a short while, even his shadow couldn't be seen.

  After the two of them had gone far away, Yue Yun's face finally revealed a relaxed smile and said: "Alright! They've finally left!"

  The girl looked at Yue Yun carefully and then laughed: "Why are you so afraid of them? Do you have to hide?"

  Yue Yun said casually, "They want to drag me out for a drink. I wasn't afraid originally, but now there's something urgent to attend to, so naturally I don't dare go drinking. General Geng and General Liu and those martial generals of theirs, not one of them has a poor capacity for liquor. If I were to go alone, it would be strange if I weren't drunk under the table!"

  The girl listened, opened her big eyes, pursed her small mouth and smiled: "Hehe, you have some self-awareness, Generals Geng and Liu in Chu State are famous for their heavy drinking. You're just a weak scholar, no match for them! But I'm curious, why would those two martial generals be so eager to find you to drink?"

  "A weak scholar?" Yue Yun couldn't help but secretly laugh, however, he also knew that with his current attire and appearance, it was impossible for anyone to believe that he was the General Yue who had fought bravely on the battlefield.

  He then took a closer look at the girl's appearance.

  The girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a pink cross-collared garment with a light green cloak over it. It being summer, the clothes were all very thin, and the waist tied with a pale blue ribbon with a lanflower knot looked particularly slender. On her head of raven-black hair was inserted a shining silver pin.

  Although she was dressed in simple clothes and had no ornaments, her slender fingers like flowers, her delicate white wrists, all made people feel that they were so beautiful. She stood in front of him with a gentle and elegant demeanor, giving people a feeling as if they were basking in the warm spring breeze.

  The girl saw Yue Yun staring blankly at herself, seemingly forgetting her own question, and couldn't help but let out a "heh" of laughter, with two shallow dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth, making Yue Yun even more stunned.

  "Hey! Someone is asking you a question!"

  Yue Yun finally came to his senses, gathered his slightly fluctuating heartstrings and said: "I'm in a hurry to find some big merchants to build relationships with, so I can buy grain from them. Where do I have time to drink with you? Originally, Han Yan said he would introduce me, but this kid has disappeared without a trace, and now even General Geng and General Liu are here, you say I'm not wronged?"

  Yue Yun's words surprised the young girl, because Han Yan was the eldest son of Han Shi Zhong. In Chu State City, whoever saw him would be polite and courteous, even her father would address him as "Young General". But this young man who looked like a rich family's son actually called him "young boy", apparently they were close friends. However, she really couldn't remember which family's son in Chu State City had such a relationship with Han Yan.

  "This young master, judging from your tone, seems to be quite familiar with General Han. Is your respected father a local official?" The girl asked with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

  Yue Yun smiled and said: "I am not a local official's son, I came from Zhuxiantown, my name is Yueyun."

  The girl listened, slightly stunned, and immediately her pretty face showed a look of surprise. She exclaimed: "You are the Young Master Yue who defeated the Golden Army's elite troops at Yingchang and Yancheng! No wonder you can address General Han like that."

  She paused for a moment, then frowned slightly and said: "Young Master Yue, why did you come to Chu Prefecture to borrow grain? Is the food of the Yue Family Army not enough to eat?"

  "Ah, this is a long story!" Yue Yun sighed and felt that being with this girl was quite intimate. Adding to the fact that borrowing grain wasn't a secret in the first place, he told her about the situation the Yue family army was facing in Zhuxian Town, but naturally omitted the "mass petition" incident which involved too many people.

  After finishing speaking, Yue Yunfang asked: "Hasn't the young lady's surname and full name been asked yet?"

  The smiling girl covered her small mouth and smiled, saying: "Hehe, my surname is Li, and my name is Li Yurou."

  "Li Yurou?" Yue Yun murmured the name, then praised: "This name sounds pretty good. Are you also from Chu State?"

  Li Yurou originally thought that Yue Yun would be more surprised to hear her name, but looking at his expression, there was no change. Instead, she felt a little disappointed in her heart. She secretly thought, isn't he trying to get close to the big businessman? How could he not even have heard of my name?

  However, she didn't know that Han Yan had been held up by Niu Tong and Guan Ling until now, and he rushed over in a hurry without having time to explain to Yue Yun.

  "Miss Li?" Yue Yun saw that Li Yu Rong seemed hesitant.

  "Oh, I was just thinking about something earlier. Sorry about that!" Li Yurou apologized.

  "It's nothing! I was just casually asking, if Miss Li doesn't want to answer that's fine." Yuke Yun felt a slight sense of disappointment in her heart.

  "Oh, no, I really just spaced out for a moment and forgot to respond!" Li Yu Rong hastily explained. She paused for a moment before continuing: "I'm not from Chuzhou either, I came from Lin'an."

  "Lin'an? Not bad! That's the capital city... By the way, how did you end up hiding in this cave too?" "Won't someone be pouring wine for you?" Yue Yun laughed heartily.

  Li Yurou's eyes widened in surprise, her bright gaze swept across his face twice before she suddenly pursed her lips and burst out laughing: "Young Master Yue, you're really amusing! Our girls' family can't afford to drink like your men do, gulping down wine the moment they sit down! The women of Beidi Jin are still somewhat decent!"

  Yue Yun only then remembered that the influence of Confucianism had gradually become more severe during the Song Dynasty, as could be seen from the fact that men and women were already separated when receiving guests. If someone like Zhu Xi, a famous Confucian scholar, were to appear on the historical stage, it's likely that even conversations between women and unfamiliar men would be considered harmful to public morals. It seems that the task of educating young Zhu Xi is still a long way off!

  At this time, Li Yurou poked her head out to take a look and said with joy: "Alright! Now there's no one outside, we can go out!"

  The two of them walked out of the cave entrance of the fake mountain, naturally and shoulder to shoulder, walking slowly forward. Yue Yun and Li Yu Rong had just been together for a short while, although they only chatted for a few words, but felt very harmonious.

  Yue Yun couldn't help but become very curious about her identity, so she asked in a soft voice: "Miss Li, you are so well-read and courteous, your speech is not common, is your respected father an official in the imperial court?"

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  The first well-known female protagonist in this book has appeared, should everyone vote for her or not?