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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="333" data-orig-width="500"></figure>Melanie, is this picture good enough to abate your anger? Wallace looks so adorable sleeping like this. :D
Things are going to come to a head in the next chapter, which I am looking forward to so we can finally get rid of the nebulous brother-sister relationship between Liu Shao and Jing Wan.
Encountering Love: Chapter 30
How would Xu Jian Zhang be able to eat? Commander Yu asked: “How serious is Miss Yin’s wound?” Xu Jian Zhang sighed and said: “Several foreign doctors take turns to watch over her every day, yet I still don’t see any improvements.” Madam Yu replied with a smile: “Miss Yin is graced with both good fortune and intelligence. She will definitely be able to turn this bad luck into good. Anyway, with Liu Shao’s strict orders, if they say that they cannot cure Miss Yin, then he will hold those doctors responsible. Do they dare to not use their best abilities?” Commander Yu heard her talk about these sensitive things, so he quickly interrupted: “Let’s drink, let’s drink.” He personally raised the wine bottle to refill Xu Jian Zhang’s cup.
Xu Jian Zhang slowly swallowed the burning Western alcohol, and could no longer hold back the words that filled him, so he said: “Commander Yu, since we are friends, please tell me the truth today. Liu Shao to Jing Wan… to Jing Wan…” After saying this twice, he could not bear to finish asking that question.
Commander Yu said to Madam Yu: “Go and ask someone to bring up that sorghum wine that they sent to us.” Madam Yu nodded and left; Xu Jian Zhang saw that he had sent away Madam Yu, he became even more uneasy, and stared fixedly at him. Commander Yu filled his cup up to the brim again, and then giving a long sigh, he said: “I think you can already see this, but Liu Shao adores Miss Yin. Let me advise you, a real man does not worry that he won’t find a wife, a wise person knows when to yield to the situation.”
The matter that Xu Jian Zhang had been worried about for several days had finally been confirmed, his heart dropped straight down, and continued to fall, continued to fall, as if he was in a bottomless abyss, and he only felt a chill that penetrated his bones. Commander Yu continued to say: “I should not say this, because anyone saying this should be slapped. But we’ve been friends for many years, and if I do not tell you, my conscience would not forgive me. Miss Yin is truly an outstanding woman, a remarkable woman who is difficult to find. Just from the courage and wisdom she had in coming to Cheng Zhou alone to save you, I want to give her a thumbs up and a round of applause. Liu Shao liking her is a reasonable thing. I am an outsider, so don’t be angry for saying this. I think that Miss Yin may also have some feelings for Liu Shao.”
Xu Jian Zhang immediately replied: “Jing Wan would not do that.”
Commander Yu sighed again and said: “Whether or not it’s true, I don’t know, but amongst the Cheng army, everyone knows that she is Liu Shao’s girlfriend. Also, she did not even try to avoid suspicion, and always behaved very intimately with Liu Shao. Miss Yin is staying at the Third Miss’ estate, which is only separated from the Commander’s Estate by a single street.” He then lowered his voice and said: “Once, because of emergency military matters, I went to see Liu Shao in the middle of the night. Shen Jia Ping was hemming and hawing, but could not say where Liu Shao had gone to, and he asked me to wait in the reception room for a full half an hour before I saw that Liu Shao had returned from the back door. Later, during the tenth lunar month, I held a dinner party and took advantage of the strength of the alcohol to ask Shen Jia Ping about that matter. [1] Liu Shao’s secretary Zhang Yi Jia was pretty much drunk, he gossiped to me with that big mouth of his, saying something that the gatekeeper does not announce the guest arriving at dawn, a new beauty named Mo Chou. [2] I am a working man and did not understand, but those secretaries all began to laugh loudly. At this moment, Shen Jia Ping then said that Miss Yin is no match for anyone else, you guys are talking nonsense over here, and if Liu Shao sees, he would box everyone here on the ears.”
Xu Jian Zhang’s heart was in turmoil, and thinking of all the clues that he had see these past few days, he felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart; he tightly fisted his hand and after a long time, he grounded out: “Jing Wan is not that kind of person, I believe that she isn’t.”
Commander Yu gave a ‘hey’ sound and said: “I don’t think Miss Yin is the kind of person to covet wealth and high position, but Liu Shao is a young hero. Even if we don’t consider his status, he is still a person with handsome features. Which woman would not look favorably upon him? The two of them have been spending so much time together, and definitely will have some feelings for each other.”
Xu Jian Zhang was confused and upset, slowly sipping his wine. Commander Yu continued: “Old brother, I treat you as my own brother, so I said some drunken words. Even if you do not think about yourself, you should at least consider your family. If you provoke that man, how can you possibly do business anymore? You’ve probably heard some about his temper, if he really gets angry with you, don’t even bother to think about your future business. If you are in the nine provinces of the north, you won’t even be able to hold a scrap of land. You still have an elderly mother and young brothers, if you risk it all, who will they be able they rely on? Think carefully about what is more important.”
After Jing Wan was wounded, her body was weak, and felt weary after just chatting for a few sentences, she felt weary and fell into a deep sleep again. When she awoke, the sun was about to rise, the crack between the curtains exposed a bluish gray ray of light, and the whole place was still just as quiet. Murong Feng was sitting in a chair next to the bed, and had fallen asleep, his head lolling back. Because this posture was not comfortable, even though he was slumbering, his brows were still wrinkled. A woolen blanket was draped over his body, perhaps one of the attendants had covered him after he had fallen asleep because he was still wearing the suit from last night.
The curtains fluttered with the early morning breeze and strand of his hair messily covering his forehead was ruffled slightly by the wind, which actually detracted from his usually arrogant and imposing manner. Seeing him like this, he seemed like a normal young man, gentle and handsome, and even some peaceful childishness peeked through. His lips were very thin, and even in slumber, he had them pressed together tightly, still appearing firm and determined.
She stared blankly for a while, and then moved slightly, disturbing her wound, she could not help but exclaim ‘aiya’. Even though the sound was soft, Murong Feng woke up suddenly, and tossed his blanket aside to look at her: “What’s wrong?” She saw that his expression was gentle and concerned, his eyes were slightly bloodshot, and knowing perfectly well that he has been very busy these past few days, yet he still stayed with her the entire night, she could not help but be moved, so she said quietly: “It’s nothing.” He yawned and said: “It’s already bright outside, I meant to only sit here for a while last night, but I accidentally drifted off to sleep.”
Jing Wan replied: “Liu Shao, please go back to rest.” Murong Feng said: “In a little while, I will need to handle some matters.” Gazing at her, he smiled slightly and said: “Let me stay with you a bit longer.” Deep down, Jing Wan was surprised, and avoiding his gaze, she asked with a slight smile: “Elder Brother, has Jian Zhang returned?” Murong Feng then called for a servant to ask, only to hear a lacking response: “Young Master Xu was drunk last night, and Commander Yu sent someone to bring him back. He is resting in the guest room right now.”
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[1] The 15<sup>th</sup> lunar day of the 10<sup>th</sup> lunar month is the Xia Yuan Festival. Commander Yu probably held a dinner party to celebrate this.
[2]Mo Chou, literally “don’t worry”, also a nickname for princess.