In the banquet hall of the Yuecheng Palace, the lights were like silver dragons, the tables were filled with delicacies, and music played. The ministers of Changsha State sat in a row, all looking at the young man who was sitting in the second most honorable seat next to the King of Changsha.
This young man named Xie Changgeng was the new son-in-law of the King of Changsha. Just three days ago, he came here to ask for marriage, to marry the only beloved daughter of the King of Changsha. After three days of consideration, the King of Changsha finally agreed, and decided to marry the daughter three years later when she turned sixteen. Xie Changgeng readily agreed, and the two of them became father-in-law and son-in-law, which led to this feast tonight.
The ministers naturally knew the identity of this young man. Don't be fooled by his outstanding appearance and gentle conversation. In fact, he is a leader who has become famous in the Yangtze River in the past two years. Although he is not notorious, everyone knows that he is a big bandit. At first, they were all surprised to learn that the King of Changsha actually agreed to marry the king's daughter, but how could they not know the king's painstaking efforts? Since he is the son-in-law recognized by the king, how dare they not respect him? They all catered to the king on the seat and toasted him frequently. So at the banquet, the guests and hosts were happy, the atmosphere was lively and festive, and everyone was laughing and talking. Who knew that at this moment, behind the curtain hanging low to the ground beside the side door in the northwest corner of the banquet hall, there was a girl hiding.
The girl had black hair and fair skin, and looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. Although she had not yet fully grown, she was already slender and beautiful. But at this moment, there seemed to be reluctance in her eyebrows and eyes, as if she was not very willing to come here, but she came here despite her sister-in-law's persuasion.
The sister-in-law put her lips close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, sister. He is really a handsome man, young, handsome, and speaks in a gentle manner, without any violence or rudeness. If you don't believe me, take a look at him yourself, and you will know that the sister-in-law is not lying to you."
This girl is the princess Mu Fulan. Her sister-in-law, Mrs. Lu, was upset when she heard the news of the marriage, so she went to see the man secretly. In view of the background and origin of the man surnamed Xie, she had prepared for the worst, but she didn't expect that the other party was such a talent. She breathed a sigh of relief and came back to tell her sister-in-law about her opinion. Seeing that she didn't react much, she thought she didn't believe it. In order to comfort her sister-in-law, she coaxed her and brought her here. She expected that after seeing the man with her own eyes, even if she still had resistance to the marriage, she would not be too scared or sad.
Her father agreed to a marriage proposal from a sudden bandit and promised to marry her to him. Although she knew that marriage was not up to her, Mu Fulan's mood darkened from the moment she heard the news. The bright smiling eyes she met by chance in Junshan a few days ago flashed before her eyes, and her mood became more melancholy.
Although she tried her best to hide it in front of her sister-in-law, she still couldn't be as emotional as usual. She knew that her sister-in-law saw it, she cared about her and couldn't bear to disappoint her.
She smiled, opened a narrow gap, and looked out lazily.
The banquet hall was brightly lit and filled with laughter. With so many people around, she immediately spotted the man sitting in the second most prestigious seat below her father.
It was really because his appearance was too outstanding. Even though there were crowds of people around him, he was still unique and beautiful, like jade and emerald green, which made people notice him at first sight.
Her eyes fixed.
Although it was only a profile picture, she recognized him immediately. This man was the one who had helped her rescue a baby bird that fell off the cliff under the old cypress tree in Junshan a few days ago!
As if they had telepathic connection, as if he knew that she was hiding there watching him, and without any warning, he slowly turned his head, and both of his eyes were directed unbiasedly at the curtain where she was hiding.
She stood there in a daze, without reacting for a moment, until she saw the corners of his lips curl up slightly and he smiled, then she came to her senses.
He found himself! He was smiling at her!
Her face suddenly became hot, her hands trembled, and the curtain between her fingers slipped away and closed in front of her, like a ripple of water gently swayed by the wind, blocking her from his sight.
Mu Fulan was still standing there, motionless. Suddenly, someone whispered in her ear: "What's up? Did you see him? He's the one next to father. Sister-in-law didn't lie to you, did she?"
Mu Fulan's face flushed, her heart was beating wildly, she didn't dare to stay, let alone lift the curtain to take another look, she turned around and left her sister-in-law behind, and ran back to her boudoir in one breath as if escaping. She closed the door, ordered no one to enter, threw herself on the bed, pressed her face against the quilt, and didn't move.
Everyone said that Laobai was a psychic and could help people find love. Or maybe it was the Emperor Junshan who had mercy on her. Otherwise, why was she so lucky that the young man she could never forget after seeing him on Junshan Mountain that day was actually the future husband that her father wanted to marry her to
In front of her eyes, she could not help but recall the day when she turned her head helplessly and saw him standing quietly on the mountain path. The mountain wind blew the leaves and fluttered the corners of his clothes, and he stood quietly, staring at her - as if he had been waiting there a long time ago, just waiting for her to run to him and ask for help.
She turned over, raised her hands and covered her hot face. Joy, like honey, slowly surged up from the depths of her heart.
…
Xie Changgeng slowly withdrew his gaze from the curtain hanging low in the corner of the banquet hall.
He was still sitting in the banquet hall, chatting and laughing with the ministers of Changsha State, with no clue on his face. But in his heart, he was recalling the frightened look on the girl's face when he caught her peeping just now.
The smile on his lips grew wider.
He finally got his wish and became the person who helped her rescue the bird.
Three years, and then another three years, he would come back to marry her and make her his real wife.
By that day, he had become the Jiedushi of Hexi, the youngest Jiedushi in the court, and his fiancée, the princess of Changsha, the girl at that time, had finally grown up and was about to become his wife.
In the old house in Xie County, he and she worshipped heaven and earth, and then he watched her being sent to the bridal chamber amid the congratulations of relatives, friends and colleagues.
He had waited too long for this moment, much longer than three years. He was so eager to see the girl of his life. He quickly left behind the guests who wanted to get him drunk and laugh at him, and walked towards the room where she was amid their unceasing boos.
He walked to the door that reflected the red candlelight and stopped.
Just before she was ushered into the gate of the old house, he had a long talk with his mother. He told her that the woman who was about to come was not only his wife, but also the powerful support for his promotion to a high position in the past three years. He would only marry her and had no other intentions. He wanted his mother to treat her as her own daughter.
And in this life, tonight, on this upcoming wedding night that belongs to them, there will no longer be any imperial envoys to disturb them - the group of envoys carrying the imperial edict were detained by a group of unknown origin who suddenly appeared on the way when they were about to enter Xie County in the evening.
Their wedding night would not tolerate any distractions.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself, raised his hand, gently pushed open the half-open door in front of him, took a step, and stepped over the threshold.
He saw his lovely little wife, wearing her wedding dress and a red veil on her head, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, waiting for his arrival.
He walked towards her, came in front of her, and reached out to take off her veil.
She bowed her head deeply, extremely shy, her eyelashes like feathers, covering her beautiful eyes, refusing to look at him.
He gently lifted her chin, stared into the pair of shy and timid eyes that finally looked at him, and smiled at her.
As if she was infected by his smile, she stopped avoiding him and looked at him for a moment. She opened her red lips and said softly, "I was waiting for you here just now, but I don't know why, but I always feel like I've been here before..."
Xie Changgeng stared at her and smiled, "As promised in the previous life, I will fulfill it in this life. You are my wife."
She thought the man in front of her was teasing her, so she bit her lip and said nothing more. However, her heart was leaping with joy, and a faint blush appeared on her pretty face.
The candles were burning brightly and the lights were flickering. She hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up all her courage and said, "Husband, I will help you change your clothes..." Her voice was as thin as a mosquito, and she could not hear it before she finished speaking.
Xie Changgeng suppressed the infinite love and pity that welled up in his heart, stretched out his arms, held her in his arms, and removed her hairpins one by one.
Her long hair fell, her clothes gradually faded, and her body trembled slightly in his arms: "Husband, I'm afraid..."
He lowered his head and opened his mouth, gently holding her pleading voice and the most delicate and soft lips in the world.
The brocade curtains were lowered, and the night was full of love. At dawn, Mu Fulan opened her eyes in the arms of her newlywed husband, still a little groggy. Before she could experience the shyness and joy of turning from a young girl into a newlywed woman last night, she was stunned by a sudden piece of news.
Early in the morning, a group of messengers sent by the court came to the Xie family and brought an extremely urgent message, saying that the King of Jiangdu had rebelled, and the court urgently summoned Xie Changgeng to go and quell the rebellion immediately.
This group of people should have arrived last night, but they were unexpectedly detained and held all night. They were released again this morning for no apparent reason. They came here in a hurry and were extremely anxious. They presented the imperial edict and waited on the side.
They had their wedding night last night, and today her new husband is leaving home, and she doesn't know when he will come back.
She felt extremely lost, but she knew that the man had made great achievements and she could not keep him. Moreover, the orders from the superiors were as heavy as mountains, so how could she ask for his continued stay
She reluctantly let go of the hand that was holding his sleeve, and holding back the tears that were about to burst out, she whispered: "I'll go pack your things for you..."
She sat up and was about to get out of bed when a pair of large hands suddenly reached out to her, held her hands, and then picked her up and sat her on the edge of the bed.
He squatted down, took her stockings, lowered his head, carefully helped her put on the stockings, and then put on her shoes.
Mu Fulan was shocked, and finally reacted. She tried to retract her foot, but he held it.
He helped her put on her shoes, helped her stand up, and whispered in her ear, "I want to take you to Jiangdong. Are you afraid?"
Mu Fulan was stunned.
When she was waiting to be married, she had learned some things about him. She knew that he was filial to his widowed mother. Now that she was married, if he wanted to go out, she would stay at home to take care of his mother for him.
She couldn't believe her ears. She looked at him with wide eyes. He looked at her with a smile, not like he was trying to coax her. She hesitated and whispered, "Can I really go with you?"
He raised his eyebrows: "Why not? The imperial decree did not say that I could not bring my newlywed wife with me."
After just one night of marriage, he called her "beloved wife".
Her heart was pounding, her face turned red, and her misty eyes shone with joy. Unable to contain herself, she jumped up excitedly and threw herself into his arms.
"I'm not afraid! I'm going!" She nodded vigorously, and her arms tightly hugged his neck again, as if she was afraid that if she let go, he would change his mind.
Xie Changgeng caught the girl who would throw herself into his arms out of surprise, and in an instant, his heart softened.
He had trampled through mountains and rivers, mended the cracks in the sky, stood at the top of the mountain, witnessed the most magnificent waves in the world, and also fell into the abyss, and experienced the most heart-wrenching dark moments in the world.
Isn't she the same
Now they met again. He wanted to protect her, shelter her from the wind and rain, and make her fearless and worry-free. Even if the west wind made the waves of Dongting Lake old, many years later, even if they were both gray-haired, she would always be the girl who ran to him for help with her skirt lifted on Junshan Mountain that day.
After a while, seeing that she was still holding him with her arms and refused to let go, he bent his fingers and gently tapped her forehead: "If you don't ask someone to pack your things, I won't take you with me."
"I'll clean it up right away!"
His sweet wife immediately let go of him, ran quickly to open the door, called people in, and packed up their things.
Looking at her back, which was like a happy bird, he could no longer bear it and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of his lips.
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