After the first month of the lunar year, Mingyu packed her luggage and, escorted by Xu Mingye, headed westwards towards Xi'an Prefecture. Lixiang followed along the way to take care of Mingyu. Originally, Mingyu didn't want Lixiang to go on this long journey again. After Mingyu got married, Lixiang would also marry Dongyuan. This round trip would delay another two months.
When Lixiang heard that she was not allowed to see Mingyu off, she burst into tears and kept saying that she would not marry Dongyuan and would stay with Mingyu for the rest of her life. Mingyu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so she had to agree to let her see her off.
When the carriage team was about to leave the Xu family, the second and third branches of the Xu family heard the news and came to send off the bride. Hu and Li also brought dowry for Mingyu. Hu hypocritically pulled Mingyu aside and talked to her for a long time, wiping away tears that did not exist at all.
The moment she was about to get on the carriage, Mingyu suddenly felt uncomfortable. Thinking about her future life away from her relatives, fear and terror surged in her heart for no reason. Mrs. Xu hugged her and cried, and she couldn't help crying too. She hugged her mother tightly, and refused to let go. She even didn't want to get married. She just wanted to stay in the Xu family where she felt safe and comfortable, and live out her life.
Xu Mingye's eyes were sore from watching this, he turned sideways to wipe his eyes, smiled and pulled Mingyu and Madam Xu apart, saying: "It's a good thing for the girl to get married, mother, don't be too sad, otherwise Mingyu will feel uneasy after getting married and will always miss you!"
After hearing what her son said, Mrs. Xu quickly wiped her face and said to Mingyu, "Yes, don't cry. Take care of yourself when you get over there, and don't worry about me and your father..." Then she couldn't help crying again.
Xu Changqian came forward and gave Mingyu a few words of advice. His voice became strange and he quickly waved his hands and stood aside, fearing that he would cry in public if he continued.
It was not until the sun was high in the sky that the carriage began to move forward. Mingyu sat in the carriage with tears on her face, recalling her father and mother standing there. Even until the carriage went away and they became a blurry black dot, they still stood there stubbornly, wanting to take one more look at their daughter and unwilling to go back.
She secretly blamed herself for being too willful. It would be great if she could marry someone whose family was in the capital, close to her parents! She could avoid the pain of separation from her loved ones.
Li Xiang took out a handkerchief to wipe Mingyu's tears and said with a smile: "Don't be sad, young lady. As long as you live well, the master and his wife will be satisfied. When the northwest is pacified, you can ask the marquis to take you back to your parents' home, and you can go back whenever you want."
Mingyu smiled. Silly girl, the northwest was so stable when Sima Qing was here, and Miao Shi couldn't go back to the capital whenever she wanted. She has been married to Tianshui for so many years, and she has probably only been back three times at most. Here, a married woman is someone else's daughter-in-law, and her parents' home is no longer her home.
However, looking at Lixiang's expectant face, Mingyu said, "Okay, then you have to ask my sister-in-law to reserve a room for me at home."
Li Xiang laughed and sat next to Mingyu, "Young lady really loves to tell jokes. Young mistress's favorite person is you. Even if she doesn't let the young master stay, she has to let you stay."
Because there were two female relatives in the carriage and the dowry included things given by the palace, Xu Mingye did not dare to walk too fast along the way, for fear of encountering bandits. He only walked on the main road during the day and checked into the hotel in the afternoon. After walking for almost a month, they finally arrived in Lintong on February 29th. After handing over Xu Mingye's business card, the group entered the city gate of Lintong and checked into an inn in Lintong that night.
Xu Mingye sent someone to Xi'an Prefecture to find Sima Hong to deliver a letter, asking him to send someone to pick him up early tomorrow morning to discuss the wedding process. At night, Xu Mingye went to the first floor of the inn to find the waiter to ask for food and hot water. Lixiang went to the well to wash clothes, leaving Mingyu alone in the room.
Just as Mingyu was sitting there staring at the flickering flame of the oil lamp in a daze, he heard a few strange cat calls outside the window. He opened the window, and outside the window was the store's vegetable garden. A man was standing there holding a torch, looking up at Mingyu and smiling. The light of the torch cast a layer of warm gold on his face, and that smile was particularly bright.
Mingyu could hardly remember how long it had been since she last saw Sima Hong, maybe half a year. When she saw that handsome smiling face again, her breathing seemed to stop for a moment.
"Why are you here?" Mingyu whispered, touching her hot cheeks. She didn't dare let Xu Mingye hear it. Unmarried men and women cannot meet before marriage. If Xu Mingye saw Sima Hong, he would definitely beat him out with a stick.
Sima Hong threw the torch aside. The soil in the vegetable field was soft, and Sima Hong used his feet to push some soil onto the torch to cover it. Then he rolled up his sleeves, climbed up the pillar outside the inn nimbly, squatted on the window, and was about to jump into the house.
"No, no!" Mingyu stopped him and refused to let him in. Sima Hong had just walked around the vegetable garden and his feet and trouser legs were covered in mud. The bed was next to the window, and if he got down from the bed, there would definitely be mud everywhere, and Lixiang would notice it as soon as she came in.
"Okay, okay." Sima Hong was extremely depressed and could only follow his wife's wishes. He squatted on the window like a large owl, praying in his heart that the window of the inn was strong enough to support his burly body.
The wife he had been thinking about day and night was right beside him, only a few steps away from him. He could see her but couldn't touch her, which made Sima Hong feel very hurt. Looking at his beautiful wife, Sima Hong said seriously: "You don't have to let me go down, you have to kiss me."
Mingyu's face turned red when he said it so directly. This was really shameless!
Seeing his wife was shy, Sima Hong pretended to jump off the windowsill. Mingyu was frightened and quickly stopped him, saying shyly: "I kiss you, is it not okay for me to kiss you?"
Sima Hong immediately offered his face.
Mingyu blushed, smiled, and kissed Sima Hong gently on the face. Her soft lips touched Sima Hong's face lightly, and then she withdrew her lips. Sima Hong felt as if a butterfly landed on his face and then flew away immediately. The itchy and tingling feeling was really good.
Sima Hong smiled intoxicatedly, looking at Mingyu's face as beautiful as peach blossoms in March in the dim candlelight. He couldn't tell whether it was satisfaction or joy that surged in his heart. His heartbeat was like a drum. He thought in a trance that if it were a few years ago, he would never have dreamed that he and Mingyu would have such a sweet and happy day.
"Come here and sit here. I have something to tell you." Sima Hong said.
Mingyu sat down on the bed, took off her shoes and knelt down on the bed, leaning against the windowsill. "What's the matter?" The little girl tilted her head and asked seriously.
Sima Hong moved closer to her, their breaths were very close, their intertwined breathing entangled together, Mingyu's heart began to pound, she could almost feel Sima Hong's hot breath on her face and ears, making her heart beat uncontrollably.
Sima Hong looked at the face of his beloved girl so close to him, met her beautiful eyes, and her pink lips... Talking to Mingyu was just a cover, his real intention was just to get Mingyu closer to him. He hadn't seen the little girl for half a year, and he missed her terribly. Starting from half a month ago, he would go to Lintong every two days in the afternoon to see if the little girl had arrived.
"Yu'er, have you missed me?" Sima Hong asked in a low voice. Without waiting for Mingyu to answer, he pressed on Mingyu's lips, held her pink lips, licked and bit them gently, but still not feeling satisfied, so he used his tongue to pry open Mingyu's lips and teeth, and rolled Mingyu's tongue to lick it back and forth.
Mingyu's face was so red that blood seemed to be dripping out. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of Sima Hong. Sima Hong's breath swept across her face, making her feel itchy. Mingyu tilted her head back and tried to escape, but Sima Hong reached out and held her head down, kissing her even more passionately.
The night in Lintong at the end of February was still cold, but Mingyu felt that the air was scalding hot. She could feel Sima Hong's lips were soft and warm. Between sweetness and trance, she suddenly thought that people with thin lips are said to have a cool personality, but Sima Hong's lips didn't seem to be thin...
After a long time, Mingyu felt that she couldn't breathe, and Sima Hong let her go. He couldn't help but kiss Mingyu's cheek and forehead. He put his forehead against Mingyu's forehead and asked with an unstable breath: "Why are you here so late?"
Mingyu whispered, "My brother was afraid of something happening on the road, so he only traveled in the morning and at noon. When he arrived in the city in the afternoon, he went to the inn to complain that he was walking slowly on the road."
Sima Hong smiled and said, "Didn't I write to Mingye before? I'll stay at the posthouse after we pass Shanxi. Just send me a message and I'll pick you up."
"You wrote a letter to my brother?" Mingyu asked in surprise, and then a smile appeared on her face. Xu Mingye probably wanted to give his sister a ride a little longer, so he ignored Sima Hong's courtesy.
Sima Hong looked at Mingyu's smiling face tenderly. In fact, he would not complain no matter how late he came, as long as his wife was safe. Mingyu's smile was like a flower blooming in spring, which made him dizzy.
"Hey, why are you here? Go back quickly. My brother said that we can't meet before we get married." Mingyu said.
Sima Hong raised his eyebrows, "I came all the way here, why can't I see my wife?"
Mingyu lowered her head and smiled with a red face. She had no way to deal with Sima Hong's roguery.
Xu Mingye, who had already gone upstairs, heard the voices in Mingyu's room. He frowned and shouted at the stairs: "Mingyu, what's going on? Who are you talking to?"
Mingyu was startled and hurriedly urged Sima Hong to leave quickly. Xu Mingye saw him and his impression of him was lowered again. Sima Hong was very unhappy. He came to see his wife, and he was bothering someone. He acted like a thief and refused to leave.
At this time, Xu Mingye's footsteps had already reached Mingyu's door, and he was about to push the door open to come in. In a hurry, Mingyu stretched out her hand and pushed Sima Hong, but she didn't expect that in a hurry, her hand was too strong, and Sima Hong was not prepared at all, and fell down, falling on the soft vegetable ground, with a sore butt. After getting up from the ground, looking at Mingyu's worried and panicked face in the second-floor window, Sima Hong snorted twice, clenched his fists, and said, "Just wait and see, little girl!"