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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="313" data-orig-width="500"></figure>It’s past four in the morning and I’m still awake. Oh, what I do to bring the delectable Murong Feng to you all. :P
This is an adorable chapter. It’s so sweet that it puts the cute moments between Jian Zhang and Jing Wan to shame. And without further ado, I present to you, the love-struck Liu Shao.
Encountering Love: Chapter 17
Fourth Madam pursed her lips to hide a smile and said: “I’m leaving, I’m leaving right now.” She walked to the door and looking back with a smile, she said: “Continue to listen to the opera, you two.”
That day, by the time Jing Wan returned to the Tao Estate after the opera had ended, it was already almost eleven o’clock. She slept late, but because she had matters weighing on her mind, she also woke up very early. Although she was awake, knowing that besides Commander Tao, who had matters to attend to, it was customary for every one else to stay in bed until ten o’clock. So she continued to lie there, thinking about the matters weighing on her mind over and over again, and as if everything was like a motion picture, she thought about everything at hand carefully. After considering the causes and consequences, she still felt uneasy and with great difficulty, she waited until ten o’clock before getting up to wash and dress herself. Since she was staying as a guest in the Tao Estate, she was naturally very courteous to everyone. She was very generous and knowing that she was the honored guest of the Third Miss and Liu Shao, the servants tried to curry favor with her. When Lan Qin saw that she was awake, smiling, she quickly asked: “What would Miss Yin like to eat? Our Madam was playing cards through the whole night and had just fallen asleep, so the kitchen is preparing milk and pastries.” Jing Wan said: “I can eat whatever is convenient. It is so early, so I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Lan Qin went to ask the kitchen to send up some milk and pastries and when Jing Wan was just about to drink the warm milk, she heard the phone in her room ring. She was wondering who would be calling her but Lan Qin had already picked up the phone, and turned around to tell her: “Miss Yin, it’s Liu Shao.” She accepted the phone, and Murong Feng politely said: “The weather is good today and I want to invite Miss Yin to go hunting. I don’t know if Miss Yin would be interested?”
She did not expect that he would call this early just for this. After giving it some thought, she accepted his invitation. Murong Feng personally came to pick her up; he did not come in but waited outside in the car instead. Lan Qin walked her directly to the side gate and from far away, he could see that she was wearing a small, yellow jacket and delicate, grey plaid pants. The colors were so lovely and made her look smart and forthright, a different kind of refined attractiveness, like the beauty of winter jasmine swaying in the breeze. Even though he was used to seeing thousands of beautifully dressed women, none of them could compare the one in front of his eyes. After she got on the car, she saw his gaze move lower onto her pair of leather sheepskin boots, so she explained with a smile: “I thought that we might have to walk a lot today, so I decided to wear leather boots.” When he recovered, he coughed lightly, and said: “If Miss Yin does not mind, we will go outside the city to ride horses.
It was the season when the grass grew and orioles flew, when the horses’ hooves are most likely to cause problems. Murong Feng was a little worried so he personally held on to the bridle for Jing Wan; he reached out his hand to support her, not knowing that she would be as light as a swallow, but she mounted the horse in an instant. Since Murong Feng had been with the army since he was young, his horsemanship was excellent, but seeing her, he could not help but admire her posture. When he handed her the reins, he said: “I did not expect you to know how to ride.” She turned around and giving him a charming smile, she replied: “I learned a little horsemanship while in Saint Petersburg, but it’s just for show.” He had chosen a very docile horse for her, the horse was snow white in color with spots the size of copper coins on its head, and was very beautiful. When she saw how powerful the steed was, she was very happy and rode around in a circle first, as Murong Feng watched her skill before mounting his own horse.
She allowed her horse to gallop three or four miles without stopping, and only when she thought the horse was tiring did she grab the reins. The retinue of servants followed at a distance but Murong Feng was able to catch up, and upon seeing her slow down, he also restrained his horse to keep pace with her, allowing the horse to walk forward leisurely. She had a light yellow scarf tied around her neck, but the knot had loosened and when the breeze blew past them, the light square of silk was unexpectedly carried away by the wind. She gave an ‘aiya’ but luckily, Murong Feng was right behind her and with his quick reflexes, he grabbed the scarf. His only thought was that the scarf was pleasantly warm and smelled faintly of her fragrance; he did not know what perfume she used but when the scarf lightly grazed his face, the scent of her became even more compelling.
When Jing Wan saw his expression, she was startled, but she quickly reached over to take the scarf and she said with a smile: “Thank you, Liu Shao.” Since she was being so straightforward, Murong Feng quickly controlled his thoughts and replied: “Miss Yin is being too polite.” He turned around to whistle at the servants, who immediately spurred their horses to catch up to them, the galloping horses kicking up a dust storm, and crowded around the two as they moved forward.
They left the city and did not return to Cheng Zhou until dusk. Jing Wan had been riding the entire day and had also learned to shoot a gun. The German made Mauser rifle was extremely heavy, but since she was not willing to be outdone, she was truly exhausted after a whole day of hunting. There were three or four cars with them, and their military escort stood on the steps of the cars surround them. The cars stopped when they reached the street outside the side gate of the Tao Estate. Shen Jia Ping was sitting in the car behind them and had gotten off to open the door for Murong Feng, and was just about to stretch out his hand when Murong Feng gave him a meaningful look through the glass window of the car. Shen Jia Ping had a keen vision and seeing that Jing Wan’s head was leaning against Murong Feng’s shoulder, so he immediately averted his eyes and retreated a few steps. Then, he turned around to order all the servants to disperse.
The dusk closed around them like a curtain, so that everything became hazy. Because high walls surrounded both sides of the street, there weren’t many cars or people passing through; Shen Jia Ping ordered people to guard both intersections so the place became even quieter. From far away, he could hear the dingdong sound of bells as rickshaws passed by, but they also gradually disappeared. Suddenly, the gas lamps turned on and the dim light illuminated the inside of the car. Murong Feng did not dare to move a muscle and held his breath gingerly while the light scent of her hair tickled his nose. After a long time, he realized that she had pinned a row of small, white jasmine flowers to her dark hair, which were giving off the fragrance he had been smelling.