When Gu Tian Xiang walked into the courtyard, he was stunned by the sight before him. Lanterns had been hung up in the courtyard and several large braziers had been set up. The begonias seemed more delicate and charming in the warm atmosphere, the crimson red flowers glowing brightly in the smoke. Liu Jue was lying lazily on a chair, drinking wine.
He strode over and sat down under the flowering trees as well, pouring himself a cup of wine. As soon as the wine entered his mouth, he frowned. He could not help saying, “Intoxication?”
Liu Jue raised his eyebrows in astonishment, “How rare! This is the first time that Master Gu has taken the initiative to speak to me since I’ve come here!”
Gu Tian Xiang glanced at him coldly, “Are you really pretending that I wouldn’t know? Turns out they were your people, and I had thought they were Cheng Jin’s.”
Liu Jue smiled lightly, “I knew I would not be able to hide it from you. These subordinates really are dim-witted, they should have kept their distance upon seeing you.” Gu Tian Xiang remained silent, yet his mind turned. For what purpose did Liu Jue have people follow that Cheng Jin?
“Having them follow closely had it’s advantage. They reported that this afternoon, General Tian Xiang laughed a total of six times, six times!” Liu Jue suddenly sat up straight, his eyes widened exaggeratedly and he shook his fingers in front of Gu Tian Xiang. “Tian Xiang, you cannot laugh anymore for the rest of the year since you’ve already laughed your entire year’s worth in one afternoon. How could I not go and buy Intoxication to see what a good wine it is? Tsk tsk, six times, you actually laughed six times.”
Gu Tian Xiang kept a stony expression, yet a slight smile flashed within his ice-cold eyes. Liu Jue was like this and sometimes his exaggerated actions were just like that of a child. He did not reply and drank the whole cup of wine in one go. This wine was truly good, full of an aromatic mellowness after being warmed up and he was a little envious of Liu Jue being able to enjoy it. The garden had been kept so beautiful even in the depths of winter.
“It is truly refreshing to see such flowers bloom in the middle of winter. It’s fortunate that they were able to bloom in time.” Liu Jue murmured as he looked fascinatedly at the tree full of red flowers.
Gu Tian Xiang did not respond and simply drank Intoxication sip by sip. When he was a child, he and Liu Jue, along with the other princes, studied together for two years. Liu Jue was lively and mischievous, whereas he was quiet and introverted. With their different identities, he kept his father’s warning in mind and in his heart, he deeply admired Liu Jue’s powerful and unconstrained style, being able to do as he wished. Adding Liu Jue’s enthusiasm to this, he was willing to follow him and the two of them had a good relationship. Now that they were staying in Lin Nan City, meeting up occasionally to drink and chat, they were also happy. He rarely talked and Liu Jue was always boisterous with a cheeky grin, being content in his own company. Having known each other for so long, they were used to having one person talking to himself while the other was silent whenever they met up.
“Ah! This Intoxication is truly a good wine, with a good name! I’m feeling slightly drunk. Tian Xiang, why did you laugh six times when you saw that person today?” Liu Jue could not help but ask in the end.
Standing to the side, Liu Ying sighed inwardly when he heard this. Whenever it was related to the Third Miss, his Master lost all sense of himself. He appeared calm, yet he was very anxious in his heart. Sure enough, Gu Tian Xiang did not speak and drank his wine in a leisurely manner. After a long moment, he asked slowly, “Are you gay?”
Liu Jue choked on a mouthful of wine, coughing until his face turned red. He smoothed his breathing and calmed himself down. Then he looked at Gu Tian Xiang and said, “Yes, those eyes look just like Ah Luo’s.”
Gu Tian Xiang frowned. Three years ago, it was said that Liu Jue’s engaged princess, the Third Miss of the Minister’s family, was abducted and taken down south, and Liu Jue had cleared all the mountain bandits along the way. Depressed, he stayed in the army and refused to return to the Feng City that saddened him. Now the situation had worsened and he would not even let go of a man with similar eyes. No wonder he had always felt that Cheng Jin’s eyes were familiar since they were similar to the ones on the portrait. He was silent for a while, then finally said, “That Cheng Jin is not a spy from the enemy country and seems to be from a wealthy family. He talks well, though I’m afraid he will not comply with you.”
“Yes. After following for half a day, I still cannot decide whether to act or not.” Liu Jue said with a faint smile as he watched a begonia flower trembling in the cold wind.
Thinking of Cheng Jin, Gu Tian Xiang felt pity. Such a person was so unlucky to have similar eyes. He could not help but sigh lightly.
“You will sigh too? You will smile at him, then sigh for him, and you have only just met. You will not snatch him from your brother, right?” Liu Jue teased.
He actually cared so much?! Gu Tian Xiang was slightly disbelieving of his own ears. Since he had smiled and sighed, why not scare him a little more? With a cold face, Gu Tian Xiang said, “It does not matter if I snatch or not. I have not fought with you for a long time anyway.”
Liu Jue was startled. His hands tightened. The wine in the cup shook. He drank it in one gulp. Gu Tian Xiang was slightly amused yet also felt slightly sorry. Although Liu Jue was older than him by one year, he had taken care of Liu Jue since they were children. “That Cheng Jin really has facial features that look like they were carved from jade and has an easy grace. People who are not from a wealthy family would not have such a temperament. He was very natural when talking to me. It is rare to encounter such a person like this. He seemed to know many things that I do not know about and it is very surprising.”
“This is the first time I have heard you comment on someone so much. Moreover, you keep giving praise.” Liu Jue was a little bored. He was unsure why, yet he desperately wanted to hear about Ah Luo from Gu Tian Xiang. However, he felt uncomfortable when he heard it.
“I was just about to visit him since I want to chat and drink wine with him again.” Gu Tian Xiang added lightly.
Liu Jue snorted inwardly, a wicked smile curling up at the corner of his mouth, “Oh, then let me tell you. He lives in the Chang Le Restaurant in the Western District of the city.”
Gu Tian Xiang felt that something was amiss. Liu Jue should be angry, yet it was like he was encouraging him to go and find Cheng Jin. He finished his cup of wine in silence, then stood up and said, “It’s getting late, I will return to the barracks.”
Just as he turned around and was about to leave, Liu Jue smiled and said in a low voice, “The beauty who brewed Intoxication should be playing the zither again. Ah, it’s snowing. Liu Ying, remember to bring an umbrella to General Tian Xiang.”
Liu Ying held back a smile and said, “General, this way please.” Gu Tian Xiang stiffened his back. His murderous aura came out instantly.
Liu Jue chuckled lightly again, “Oh my cold-faced yet passionate general, if you like it then you like it, what is so embarrassing about saying it?”
Gu Tian Xiang stomped his foot, glaring at Liu Jue bitterly then left the residence with a stony expression.
Liu Jue laughed loudly. Considering everything, he felt more comfortable. The fine snowflakes fell denser and denser. He sat quietly for a while then muttered to himself, “It will be cold tomorrow. I wonder if Chang Le Restaurant would have hot wine.”
To come across Gu Tian Xiang, one of the five noble sons of Feng City, who had slipped through the net in Lin Nan City was an unexpected occurrence. This Gu Tian Xiang with his superficial smile seemed to enjoy their talk yet kept scouting her out. As he was very vigilant and naturally cautious during the conversation, he was not an easy person to deal with. Having been appointed General Ping Nan, Liu Jue was also in Lin Nan City. Of these two, one was in charge of the army and the other commanded the navy. When would she encounter Liu Jue? How has he changed in the past three years? After separating from Gu Tian Xiang and going home, Ah Luo had been in deep thought.
Not long after leaving Feng City, she had heard rumours about Liu Jue on the road. Along the way, the people who mentioned him were in both awe and fear. They said that he rid the citizens of harm by clearing out the bandits and said that he was extremely cruel and merciless, killing without batting an eye. In short, they had praised more, for who had told him to discipline the South Army so well? Hearing these descriptions, Ah Luo recalled the Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention. She did not understand military management and in the modern times since she was young, this was the only impression she had of a good army.
Seventh Mistress and Xiao Yu had once asked her worriedly if she would be caught and brought back upon meeting Liu Jue. Ah Luo had laughed and said, “Do you think no one from the Minister’s family would come looking for us? It is likely that Zi Li will also search. Liu Jue is arrogant and if he wants to bring me back, he would find it boring if I simply obeyed. With his personality, he would be unhappy, unsatisfied, and unwilling. Let us travel leisurely towards Lin Nan City. If we are found by him before we arrive, then it would be our misfortune. If we are found later, then we would have had our fun. Let us not think about the future and just discuss it when it happens. Can we hide forever? Go to another country, stir up trouble, yet flee again? We will have to face it eventually.”
Seventh Mistress sighed, “San’er, you are stronger than before. It is just that sometimes, you cannot only be strong.”
“There will be a way. Let us just head southward and if we have enough money, we can go to the Chen Empire and see. I wonder if we would be satisfied in a gentle land of water. Mother is right, you cannot be strong for everything. What do we have? With neither money nor power, I am just betting on Liu Jue’s temper. If we can get through him, the Minister’s family will be easy to handle. Moreover, it has been three years, as if there would be someone so stubborn, he simply feels unbalanced.”
After saying this, Ah Luo paused and remembered Liu Jue’s face when he had once sincerely said that he would protect her forever. She sighed and smiled brightly, “Since we still have money anyway, let’s play first and talk later. You need not worry, mother, since Ah Luo will be filial to you. Xiao Yu, as your husband, I will support you!”
Carrying this mentality, they travelled for more than two years until they reached Lin Nan City. Within the past three years, Liu Jue had not found her and neither had Zi Li nor the Minister’s family’s people. They did not know if it was their luck or if there were some other motive. Either way, they happily passed these days.
Ah Luo frowned and sighed. It was one thing to think of it, yet it was another thing if they really met. What would she do if Liu Jue flew into a thundering rage? What if he harbored a grudge? What if he forcibly brought her and Seventh Mistress back?
Since they had met, it was always her who had angered Liu Jue. Despite this, she had yet to see him actually want to take revenge. However, escaping marriage had caused Liu Jue to lose a great deal of face and Ah Luo was unsure of how he would react. She was a little regretful that she had been too confident.
At this moment, Madam Zhang came and said that she had found a good house. According to Ah Luo’s request, she had searched near the cliff, west of the city. Seventh Mistress asked curiously, “Why did it need to be near the cliff?”
Ah Luo did not want to worry Seventh Mistress. It had been difficult to leave the Minister’s residence and in these past few years, Seventh Mistress had become much more cheerful. Any anxiety would cast a shadow and she would not be able to bear the psychological shock. She smiled and said, “It’s remote and quiet there.”
Ah Luo decided not to think about whether she would meet Liu Jue or not. They had already come and they had not met right now, so she should just move according to plan and talk about it later when they actually met. She planned to move out of Madam Zhang’s Chang Le Restaurant the next day.
