Chapter 104

"You..." Zhao Ling stared at Fu Tingjun in shock.

He had never imagined that the clever, beautiful, confident, outgoing, lively, and generous Miss Fu of the Fu family would be jealous, envious, even to the point of being unable to restrain herself!

Was it because of him?

A strange emotion suddenly surged from the depths of his heart, as if it would burst forth at any moment and engulf him.

He couldn't help but step forward.

The sound of water splashed loudly beneath his footsteps.

Zhao Ling shivered.

Was she standing in the river merely because of the hot weather and a casual desire to cool off? Or was it a resolute act of "When the Canglang River's waters are clear, I can wash my cap tassels; when the Canglang River's waters are muddy, I can wash my feet"?

If it were the former, why was there not a trace of sweetness or shyness in her words, which seemed like an outpouring of her innermost feelings? If it were the latter...

In the scorching heat, he had traveled over a hundred li, yet now his back was chilled with cold sweat.

Was it because of this that she could open her heart to him without reservation?

She had already decided to cast aside the past, and thus, whether shy or sweet, she could speak of it frankly, as if bidding farewell... With no more future ahead, no longer needing to care about the other's likes or dislikes, she instead found greater courage.

What had he missed?

What had he overlooked?

Zhao Ling's mind was in turmoil, spinning like a revolving lantern, yet he could never find a thread to grasp.

But years of decisive experience in action told him that the most important thing now was not to determine right from wrong or to find the cause, but to keep her here and dispel the unease in her heart.

"You misunderstand!" he said urgently, his expression revealing undisguised anxiety. "When Miss Tang came to find me, I was at Minhe with several centurions, discussing matters for winter this year. I only returned yesterday. Upon learning of Miss Tang's purpose, I refused her on the spot. But since Old Master Tang had once given me a helping hand in the past, and now that he has passed away, leaving Miss Tang with no one to rely on, I cannot simply turn a blind eye. I promised Miss Tang that I would help her find an intermediary whom the Feng family would respect. Since I have promised you that I would join the army, I will sever all ties with the past completely and will never meddle in former affairs again..."

Zhao Ling had never changed.

Once he promised something, he would always keep his word.

A drop of kindness would be repaid with a gushing spring.

The one who had changed was her.

Fu Tingjun felt her eyes sting, as if she could not hold back tears.

"No, no, no," she turned her face away, unable to bear looking at his sincere expression. "I'm not talking about Miss Tang. I'm talking about myself... Today it's Miss Tang, tomorrow it might be Miss Li, and the day after, perhaps Miss Wang... I cannot suppress the unease in my heart..."

"You..." Zhao Ling's eyes widened.

Fu Tingjun bit her lip, gazing at the brilliant sunset clouds on the horizon.

A brief silence fell between them.

"If, I mean if," Zhao Ling spoke slowly, a flicker passing through his eyes as if something had glimmered, only to quickly return to clarity, "that person were not me, would you still feel the same?"

Fu Tingjun raised her head, looking at Zhao Ling in surprise.

Zhao Ling's expression was grave, but his gaze was utterly earnest, as if this were a matter of life and death to him.

Her heart could not help but pound wildly.

He, what did he mean?

Her heart suddenly fluttered with panic.

"Naturally, no, no!" she stammered, her words stumbling. "Among my former dowry maids, there were also those who were to become concubines..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Fu Tingjun fell into a scorching embrace.

A scent both unfamiliar and familiar, a hard chest unlike her softness, made her snap to her senses after a brief moment of daze—Zhao Ling was actually holding her.

"You..." Fu Tingjun's face burned as if on fire. She panicked and tried to push Zhao Ling away, but his arms were like walls of bronze and iron, leaving her unable to move.

"You, let go of me!" Fu Tingjun, embarrassed and furious, shoved hard against his chest.

Because it was him, she could not bear it—did that mean he was special and unique to her?

Fu Tingjun's answer made Zhao Ling feel as if he were treading on clouds, his heart filled with joy.

Even the distance of facing each other became unbearable, and he pulled Fu Tingjun into his arms in one motion.

That impossibly soft figure, the warm breath carrying a faint fragrance, were both unfamiliar and utterly captivating to him. He could not help but hold her tightly, tightly... as if you were within me, and I within you... The sound of her anxious and angry scolding reached his ears, and only then did he suddenly realize his impropriety. In a fluster, he abruptly released his arms.

Fu Tingjun had pushed twice without managing to push Zhao Ling away, never expecting that a single shout from her would make him let go.

One pushed with force, the other released in haste.

Fu Tingjun's foot slipped, and with a loud splash, she fell into the river, sending up a spray of water.

Zhao Ling was stunned.

"Help, help!" Fu Tingjun, caught completely off guard, felt her clothes soak through and her body grow heavier. She swallowed another mouthful of water and, panicking, flailed about wildly in the river.

Zhao Ling snapped back to his senses and lunged forward, grabbing hold of Fu Tingjun's arm.

The river water quickly soaked through his clothes.

Fu Tingjun, as if clutching at a lifeline, wrapped her arms tightly around Zhao Ling's arm in return.

Caught unprepared, Zhao Ling saw how tightly Fu Tingjun was gripping him and didn't dare pry her hands loose. He was dragged down into the water by her...

Fortunately, the river wasn't deep. After a few strokes, his feet touched the riverbed, and he half-carried, half-dragged Fu Tingjun ashore.

Fu Tingjun had swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Sitting on the grassy bank, she coughed for a long while before asking Zhao Ling worriedly, "Am I going to get diarrhea?"

Though it was summer, the sun had already begun to slant westward. Soaked from head to toe, she felt the evening breeze against her skin and knew it would be cold.

Zhao Ling wrung out his clothes as he said, "I'll fetch a physician for you when we get back!"

Fu Tingjun nodded.

A gust of wind blew past, and she instinctively crossed her arms over her chest.

"Take off your clothes, I'll wring them dry for you..." Zhao Ling said as he walked over. His gaze fell upon her and seemed to stick, unable to look away. His voice grew softer and slower with each word.

Fu Tingjun was puzzled and followed his gaze downward.

She saw her soaked moon-white Hangzhou silk gown clinging tightly to her body... Because of her crossed arms, the fullness of her figure was even more pronounced...

"You bastard!" Fu Tingjun quickly turned around, her face burning hot. But strangely, she didn't feel much anger in her heart—more shyness than anything else.

"I, I didn't see anything, really, I didn't see anything!" Zhao Ling's face was as red as a piece of scarlet cloth as he stammered his defense, though the alluring sight he'd just glimpsed grew ever clearer in his mind. "I was just afraid you'd catch a chill. If you catch a chill in summer, it's harder to cure than in winter..."

Fu Tingjun remembered that she had a change of clothes in the carriage and dashed inside in a flash.

After removing her clothes, in the dim light of the carriage, her bare body appeared even fairer and more delicate, glowing with a lustrous jade-like sheen.

She couldn't help but look down at herself.

Is it really that beautiful?

Thinking of Zhao Ling's somewhat dazed gaze just now... she bit her lip and blushed deeply.

...

Zhao Ling felt somewhat vexed.

Miss Tang's matter was still unresolved, and he'd gone and played the lecher again without thinking. This time, Fu Tingjun's resolve to cut ties with him was probably even firmer.

He needed to untangle the knot in Fu Tingjun's heart as soon as possible.

He gloomily put his wet clothes back on.

From inside the carriage came Fu Tingjun's hesitant voice: "Wearing wet clothes will give you a chill. I have a cloth here that I use to wrap clothes—when unfolded, it's about three chi wide. You, you can make do with draping it over yourself for now!" The carriage curtain lifted, and a jade-white hand emerged, holding out a piece of dark blue coarse cloth.

Zhao Ling's heart leaped with joy.

As long as she was still willing to talk to him, he would find a way to win her back.

He took the coarse cloth and thanked her, but didn't drape it over himself—as long as he wasn't wearing wet clothes, he wouldn't catch a chill or feel cold. He'd only been worried about being too forward with Fu Tingjun earlier. Better to find a way to dry his clothes properly; he couldn't very well walk back to Nianbo Station wrapped in that coarse cloth!

Zhao Ling found a spot where the wind was strong and spread his clothes out on the grass.

Fu Tingjun lifted the carriage curtain a crack to peek outside. In the distance, she saw that tall, slender figure.

He wore only a pair of knee-length shorts, bare-chested, revealing broad shoulders, a sturdy chest, and long, well-built legs...

Fu Tingjun quickly let the curtain fall.

That fellow!

Good thing she'd been worried about him being improperly dressed and had secretly taken a look beforehand—otherwise...

At the thought, her cheeks grew even hotter.

What should she do now?

...

Zhao Ling was also thinking about what to do next.

It was already dusk, and they were over a hundred li from Ledu, where the Nianbo Station office was located. There was no village ahead and no inn behind—no food and no place to rest. And his clothes were soaked... The only option was to head to Minhe Town, which was a bit closer.

That area was also under Nianbo Station's jurisdiction, and the centurion in charge there, Si Da, was a generous and good-natured man.

With that in mind, he walked over to the carriage and told Fu Tingjun his plan.

If they went to Minhe Town looking like this, and Minhe Town was under Zhao Ling's jurisdiction, what would the people there think?

Fu Tingjun didn't want to go.

But thinking of Zhao Ling's completely soaked clothes, she hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Zhao Ling re-harnessed the carriage, tied his horse to the back, and drove toward Minhe Town.

Along the way, neither of them spoke, the only sound being the rumbling of the carriage wheels grinding over the gravel road.

Upon arriving at Minhe Town, Centurion Si received them warmly—his eldest son personally brought out wine from the cellar, his second son led the horses to the stable, and his wife boiled hot water and prepared ginger soup to attend to Fu Tingjun.

"How did you end up falling into the river?" Centurion Si's eldest daughter-in-law asked curiously as she took away her clothes for washing.

"The horse was startled." Fu Tingjun wrung out her wet hair with a cloth, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry to trouble you all—I'll have to squeeze in with you today."

Centurion Si's home had the same size and layout as her own home in Zhangye, yet it housed Centurion Si and his wife, his widowed mother, his eldest son, eldest daughter-in-law, and second son—it was rather cramped. Fu Tingjun had no choice but to share the bridal chamber with Centurion Si's eldest daughter-in-law, who had married into the family only this spring.

"Not at all!" Centurion Si's eldest daughter-in-law, fifteen years old and a year younger than Fu Tingjun, blushed slightly at the remark. "You are the betrothed of Centurion Zhao—we could never even hope to invite you on ordinary occasions!"

Fu Tingjun froze. "You say... I am the betrothed of Centurion Zhao?"