After Chu Changge left, Wang Chao was in a good mood. He hummed a little song all the way as they smoothly went out of the city. By contrast, Murong Yunshuâs mood had turned much worse. Being brushed passed by Chu Changge made her feel a little lost, and the lump she had in her heart wouldnât go away. She didnât know if it was because of Chu Changge or she did it to herself.
Dogâs Tail Grass
Other than looking just like weed, the ancient Chinese people had used them for traditional medicine based on the article linked below. Though it was hard for me to read it since it seemed like it had been MTL before being posted.
Image Credit | Best China News (Rural people treat it as a weed out, old Chinese can use it to save lives!, Apr 11th, 2017)
âZhang Yu, can you guess where Chu Changge is right now?â asked Wang Chao who had his head slanted while grinning with a dogâs tail grass inside his mouth.
âI donât know.â Zhang Yu wasnât in the mood to pay much attention to him.
âGuess.â Wang Chao stared at him sideways, insisting him to make a guess.
A trace of impatience flashed between Zhang Yuâs nonchalant thick eyebrows. Suddenly, his eyebrows frowned, and he urgently stopped the carriage.
Wang Chao wasnât mentally prepared that he stumbled, and nearly threw his body out of the carriage. âYou plan to kill me?!â He yelled at Zhang Yu in discontent.
Zhang Yu kept his eyes ahead of him as he sarcastically said, âMy guess is heâs right in front of you.â
âWhat do you mean heâs right in front of meâŚâ All of a sudden, Wang Chaoâs expression changed drastically. He turned his head to take a look, and saw Chu Changge sitting firmly on a tall horse, like he was living higher than them while looking down on them[+]Chinese idiom : acting condescendingly. He stared at them coldly. âYou, youâŚwhy are you here?!â Wang Chao regretted it as soon as he said it. They already changed their faces now. If they pretended to be a passerby, Chu Changge might not have recognised them. But the moment he spoke, it was equivalent to exposing their identities. Immediately, Wang Chao couldnât wait to dig a hole and bury himself.
Chu Changge gazed at the curtain of the carriage and said, âIâm waiting for her.â
At that moment, Murong Yunshu lifted the curtain and smiled. Her smiling face was like a flower as she quietly locked eyes with him.
In an instant, time froze, the world faded, and everything around them seemed to have disappeared. Above this vast land, only she and him were left as they quietly stared at each other. They stayed just like this, with none of them speaking, as they no longer needed words to communicate.
Chu Changge gently tugged on the reins. He rode slowly to the side of the carriage, stretched out his left hand, and softly said, âI come to pick you up.â He had used all his strength to say this brief sentence. It was only because it had been suppressed in his heart for too long, far too long.
Murong Yunshu smiled and put her hand into his palm. When a warm current went through her fingertips, it gave her the same as if she had been struck by thunder and lightning. Her heart skipped a beat. There was also a mix of sweetness and bitterness in her heart, a feeling that she was unable to explain which was unfamiliar as well as a little bit rare coming from her.
Chu Changge held her hand tightly. He gently pulled her up to the back of the horse, and at the same time exerted a little force on her waist to unlock her mute acupoint. Then he put her hands on his waist and whispered, âHold me tight.â
âMmm.â Murong Yunshu obediently wrapped her hands around his waist, while allowing her face filled with blush.
It was rare for her to be so obedient. The corner of Chu Changgeâs mouth hooked up. He raised his whip, and galloped away.
Wang Chao and Zhang Yu watched helplessly at this scene as it happened, since they didnât have the gut to say the word ânoâ. Until the dark horse disappeared out of their sight, did the two talents finally recover. However, the first thing that came to their mind was not how they could just watch them swagger away without any objection, but ratherââwhy Chu Changge didnât just kill them two.
According to reason, since they had abducted Murong Yunshu, in Chu Changgeâs eyes, they should have committed the crime that could cause nine familial extermination. So why didnât he hurt them or even give them any warning?
Wang Chao scratched the back of his head and asked Zhang Yu, âWhat should we do next?â
âReturn to the Wang[+]Princeâs Mansion.â
âBut Murong YunshuâŚâ
âAfter losing the chances twice in a row, donât tell me you still have the ability to get her back from Chu Changgeâs hand?â
ââŚno.â The current Chu Changge would definitely guard and wouldnât part with Murong Yunshu even by a tiny step[+]Chinese idiom : follow closely. For them to get closer to her would be even harder than reaching the sky[+]Chinese idiom : extremely difficult. Taking a step back, even if he got close to her and managed to catch her, he wasnât sure that he could bring her back to Wang[+]Princeâs Mansion.
As much as he hated to admit it, if he had no choice but to say it, for Murong Yunshu to play trick on him like he was a fool was as easy as turning over her hand palm[+]Chinese idiom : very easy. To put it bluntly, in her eyes, he was a complete imbecile.
He couldnât understand why His Highness had fallen for such a difficult womanâŚ
*
Meanwhile, Chu Changge together with Murong Yunshu sat astride on the horse until they came to a deserted embankment with thousands of miles white clouds over their heads and river water surging by their feet. The atmosphere was truly pleasant!
The horse seemed to understand the ownerâs mood to appreciate the scenery, thus it consciously slowed down and walked leisurely.
Just now, when the horse was running fast, Murong Yunshu was afraid of falling that she had long forgotten to take guard against the limitation between men and women. She held Chu Changgeâs waist tightly, with her forehead resting on his back and her eyes were thoroughly closed. Nothing was in her mind other than the rustling sound of the wind outside. Now that the horse had slowed down, she immediately realised how close they were at this time, and quickly released her hands around his waist. She didnât expect the horse would lift its hind legs at that moment that she nearly fell down. Thanks to Chu Changgeâs quick response, he managed to help her stayed on the house with his backhand.
âThis accident tells you one principle: you must cross the river before you tear down the bridge.â Chu Changge teased.
Murong Yunshu was speechless. She was merely loosening her grip, and this was considered destroying the bridge after crossing the river[+]Chinese idiom : abandon oneâs benefactor upon achieving oneâs goal? If she didnât let go, she would be taking advantage of him. She was a highly cultured and steeped in propriety[+]Chinese idiom : intelligent and reasonable kind of person, so how could she take advantage of a manâŚ
Chu Changge said with a smile, âBetween taking advantage and being taken advantage of, men enjoy the latter more.â
Scary! Murong Yunshu had been taken completely by surprise. Could this person have the ability to read minds? Or was there a third eye in the back of his skull? As she thought hereto, Murong Yunshu raised her head and concentrated her gaze to the back of his head. There was no third eyeâŚ
T/N : I thought you were highly cultured and steeped in propriety type of person, Yushu.
Suddenly, the wind started to blow. Chu Changgeâs long hair that was recklessly spread apart flew upward, which hit Murong Yunshu on the face. It was a bit prickly, but there was an indescribable throb in her heart, as if there was a spell, calling her to get closer to him.
Murong Yunshu immediately closed her eyes and breathed deeply, while admonishing herself in her heart that she could not approach him. Absolutely must notâŚ
The horse continued to walk, the wind continued to blow, and the two fell silent again.
After an unknown amount of time, Murong Yunshu suddenly spoke softly, âChu Changge.â
âHmm?â Chu Changgeâs voice was also very soft, for fear that it would spoil the mood coming from her words. Her tone gave him a hunch that what she was about to say was going to be very important.
Murong Yunshu was silent for another moment before saying, âTie your hair up.â
Her tone was light and calm, but Chu Changge could also hear a sigh from her. A very deep sigh, and it sounded quite helpless. This sigh was clearly not in connection with the matter about tying his hair up. Chu Changge felt that this was not what she really wanted to say. The reason for this sigh was because the original words she wanted to say could not be said, or, it was very clear that her words would only be useless. As a result, she had felt this helpless.
Although Chu Changge couldnât guess what her unspoken words were, he understood her feelings. Because, he also had the same conflict in his heart, and he also had a sentence that he wanted to say but would be very hard for him to say.
âYou can help me tie it.â Chu Changgeâs words also carried a deep sigh.
Murong Yunshuâs heart was touched. However, she bit her lips, lowered her head and confessed, âI donât know how to tie hair.â
Chu Changge comforted, âIâll teach you.â
Hearing these three words, Murong Yunshu suddenly felt so sad. It should have been such a joy to tie the hair of the person she likedâŚin the best years of her life, she had met the most outstanding man, and afterwards, her heart went pit-a-pat[+]Chinese idiom : feel a rush of excitement.
What was to be done? She regretted that she had met him a bit too late.
The breeze whipped through, blowing her long feather-like eyelashes to the side, giving her a cold sensation. Murong Yunshu suddenly found that at some point, her eyes had actually gotten wet.
After pursing her lips, Murong Yunshu took a deep breath, as she pushed down the sadness in her heart and changed the subject, âHow did you know that we would go that way?â
Chu Changge grinned as he said, âGuess it.â
ââŚâ Despite being speechless, his deliberate bickering had also cleared the haze from her chest and lightened her mood.
âNie Qing told me.â Chu Changge explained.
Murong Yunshu was startled, âDid he recognise me?â
âYouâre that happy?â Chu Changgeâs tone was a bit stiff.
What a big jar of vinegar[+]jealous. Murong Yunshu pursed her lips and stated, âNie Qing is about to become Feng Chengâs brother-in-law.â The implication was that he was Feng Lingâs man and he was not even worth half a coin[+]has nothing to do with to her.
Upon hearing what she had said, Chu Changge thought for a while. Feng Cheng was about to become his future brother-in-law, and Nie Qing was Feng Chengâs future brother-in-law. In this way, wouldnât he have a connection with that guy through marriage? He was unhappy. Truly unhappy.
âYou and Nie Qing are getting along pretty well.â Murong Yunshu smiled.
Chu Changge raised his eyebrows and questioned, âWhat is your definition of âgetting along pretty wellâ?â
âSpeaking more than one sentence.â Murong Yunshu answered.
âIs he that hard to get along with?â He felt that Nie Qing was not that badâŚ
âIâm talking about you.â
ââŚâ Chu Changge recalled for a while and said, âI talked much more than he did.â
âWere you the one who took the initiative to find him?â Murong Yunshu asked.
âYes.â
âWhy were you looking for him?â
âI was looking for himâŚâ to fight a duel with him. Of course, these words could only be kept in his heart. Chu Changge tactfully changed his wordings, âI was looking for him to make him my friend.â People in the jianghu[+]lit. rivers and lakesâpeople wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc. , considered as a social group were particular about if there was no fight, it wouldnât make them friends[+]Chinese well-known phrase : an exchange of blows may lead to friendship. With just a couple of slaps, they could turn into his buddies.
In fact, Chu Changge didnât really hit Nie Qing, because when he saw Nie Qing himself, he remembered that they had met at Hua Tuo Mountain before, and knew that Nie Qing was a weak scholar who didnât know martial arts. So, he dismissed the idea of using force to solve the problem, and stated the fact straightforwardlyâââIf you donât want to die young, just stay away from her.â
A much mature Nie Qing was not only unafraid, but also acted as if he had nothing to do with it, while saying with an incomparably calmness, âIf she was really disguised as you said, then the person I met before was really her. There were two other men travelling with her.â Then, he quickly drew the portraits of the three people with an unusual calmness. So when Chu Changge met Wang Chao and Zhang Yu disguised themselves as coachmen in main south road, he recognised them at once. The reason for him to pretend that he did not see them was simply to avoid unnecessary gossip.
If he was to pick up a woman who didnât have âMurong Yunshuâs faceâ in full view of the public, he might be subjected to a lot of gossip. He didnât mind the gossip, but sheââhe didnât want her to be sympathetised. From the day he came into her life, she had being reflected as Chu Changgeâs people. Other people could admire, jealous, and hate her. Only that they could never pity her. Because, only pitiful people could be pitied. And he, in no way, would allow her to become a pitiful person, not even as a false one.