Chapter 49: 47

Zuo Ran was originally the daughter of the head guard serving the rich merchant Wang’s family. She had followed her father to practice martial arts since she was a child, and grew up with Wang-gongzi. But Wang-gonzi fell in love with the fire-burning girl at home. The old lady was very angry and forced him to marry his fiancee as soon as possible, planning to give Zuo Ran to him as a concubine.

This matter was known to Yin Pinglu, who was a concubine. She was calm and tranquil, and wrote an unauthorized letter of divorce, which was blocked by the magistrate.

Then something happened to Wang-gongzi. It turned out that the fire-burning girl had come to avenge her father, and after the two died together, Zuo Ran’s father was also executed by the old lady because of his incompetence. 

The magistrate completely canceled the marriage, but he was not idle, and planned to send Yin Pinglu to renew the marriage with an official who was over fifty years old.

Yin Pinglu didn’t want to be a vassal in the struggle for power and profit for the rest of her life, so she packed her bags and prepared to escape. However, she ran into Zuo Ran at the gate of the city. She thought that the other party was there to arrest her, but unexpectedly, she took the initiative to sit in the carriage, driving the horse to gallop away, and said: “I have no home……you’ve brought enough money, and as long as you take care of me, I will always protect you.”

The two went all the way north, wandering around the mountains and rivers, enjoying themselves leisurely until they met the ration team that was besieged by heavy rain on a blocked road. Yin Pinglu happened to be familiar with the terrain, so she took some soldiers to open the way and asked Zuo Ran to take a group to report to the large contingent and bring people to rescue them.

Thus, the two became acquainted with Yan Mingting.

Yan Mingting saw that the two of them had suffered some injuries due to this incident, so they stayed in the military hospital for treatment and Yin Pinglu suggested a few ideas from time to time to help the army fight. Yan Mingting laughed and called her a little think tank.

Zuo Ran also became friends with Zhong Yuehong and the others, spending all day in the military camp, practicing with them and going to the battlefield with them. It was only that she was unwilling to give her name, just wanting to be an unknown person so as not to be found by the Magistrate Yin.

After the war ended in victory, the two stayed at a small town on the border. Yan Mingting left some money for them so that the two could live and work there in peace. 

The good times didn’t last long, and the Magistrate still found them out there, taking Yin Pinglu away while Zuo Ran was out shopping. When she returned home, she found a mess and a note left by Yin Pinglu in the dark – “My father’s people. Quickly go to the General.”

Zuo Ran had been on the road day and night. The skin on both sides of her thighs was worn away, she barely had time to swallow anything but her saliva, and she had hardly closed her eyes.

“General, only you can help us.” Zuo Ran burst into tears and said, “Her father has power and authority. We don’t know anyone more powerful than him, so I’m begging you.”

“Don’t worry, ba, we will find a way.” Yan Mingting patted her on the shoulder to calm her down.

It was easy to say such a thing, but a little troublesome to actually accomplish. As the saying went, even an honest and upright official would have difficulty resolving a family dispute. It was unreasonable for a general far away in the capital to meddle in the family affairs of a prefectural magistrate out of the blue.

It could be said that the magistrate’s daughter was already promised in marriage, and no one would object to him taking her back to marry her off.

Would it be possible to tell the world that Yin Pinglu didn’t want to get married at all, and that she and Zuo Ran could support each other until they grew old?

Would anyone believe it?

They would think that it was a big joke, that it violated the three principles and five virtues.[1] How could there be a woman who did not marry?

Public opinion would only turn in favor of the magistrate.

“Is it not simple?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Everyone looked at him together and heard him say: “Go and ask the magistrate to betroth his daughter to you, then you can intervene in this matter openly and aboveboard. If Magistrate Yin fears your notoriety as an evil star, he will not agree to this matter. If he is not afraid, you can simply get her through the door and let Zuo-guniang live in the General’s Mansion as a maid. This time they would both be protected, and no outsiders would know what goes on inside the General’s Mansion.”

When He Cuizhang heard this, he also thought it was feasible. In any case, only the people who were close to them would know about the situation inside. The General would not touch them, and no one would dare to bully Yin Pinglu and Zuo Ran in the future.

Yan Mingting, however, said: “I don’t agree.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him, calm and unruffled.

“Although I wouldn’t do anything to them, they escaped because they didn’t want to become vassals and servants. How could they return to the same fate?” Yan Mingting said.

Zuo Ran nodded heavily.

Zhao Yelan raised his brows. He didn’t expect him to reject a simple, effective, and harmless solution for the reason of putting himself in the shoes of these two women. He was confounded, and at the same time felt unavoidable admiration. This was the magnanimous Yan Mingting, ah.

“Let me look at the map first.” Zhao Yelan took out the map in his pocket, and as soon as he unfolded it, they saw the big turtle on the map.

Several people: “……?”

Zhao Yelan’s face froze. He immediately crumpled it into a ball of paper and threw it aside, saying: “Is there a more detailed map in the study?”

“There is.” Yan Mingting glanced at the ball of paper curiously, feeling that the turtle was himself. After all, Zhao Yelan had painted it on his face before. While guessing when and where the other party drew it, he rummaged through boxes to find a map of the Xuan Dynasty that his father had drawn before, which was very detailed.

“Found it!” He took the map out of a drawer and unfolded it on the desktop.

“How long did it take Zuo-guniang to return to Beijing?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Five days,” answered Zuo Ran.

“Starting from the border town, you, a woman, traveled all the way through the deserts and mountains, and it only took five days for you to reach the capital. This is certainly not easy. The Magistrate’s men must not be rushing as hard as you. If they go at a normal pace and follow the official roads, they must still be in the area of Quzhou. The terrain there is complicated, and the official roads are all built into the hillside, so it is not easy to travel. There should still be ten days before they arrive in Huaizhou.” Zhao Yelan pointed at the map as he made his analysis.

Zuo Ran let go of the fearful uncertainty she had been holding onto all this time. In ten days, they would definitely be able to rescue Yin Pinglu before she got married!

“What if they don’t follow the official roads?” Yan Mingting pointed to another remote path. “From here, Quzhou is directly bypassed, and it should take seven or eight days to get there if they travel overnight.”

“Even if we arrive in Huaizhou in seven or eight days, Magistrate Yin may not be busy with the concubine’s marriage right away.” Zhao Yelan glanced at him, pointing to the route to the south of the capital. “Look at this route again.”

Yan Mingting thought for a moment and suddenly realized: “The teams transporting the disaster relief money are about to arrive in Huaizhou and Zhizhou, and he will soon commence this important matter of the court.”

“Exactly. If you want to go south to suppress the bandits, you will definitely have to set off the day after tomorrow. After arriving in Huaizhou, the excuse of being old acquaintances can be used to temporarily take Yin-guniang out of the manor, and you can make arrangements for the future according to the specific situation,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Thank you, Zhao-daren!” Zuo Ran was very grateful.

“Go back and rest first. Seeing you like this, you must not have slept well last night. Take a good rest these two days, adjust yourself, and then go south with me,” Yan Mingting ordered.

“Yes, I’m going to rest now!” The stone in Zuo Ran’s heart was put down, and she felt a lot more at ease. She turned around and went back to the room to catch up on sleep.

“General, then I……”

“You first send a few teams south today, and then go talk to the Ministry of War again.”

“Yes!” He Cuizhang took the order and hurriedly left the General’s Mansion.

There were only two people left in the room. Zhao Yelan put away the map and stuffed it into his sleeve casually. This map was much more detailed and effective than the one he drew from memory, and it would definitely be more useful in the future.

“I just wanted to ask, could the turtle you drew above be……” Yan Mingting picked up the ball of paper and asked cautiously, “Could it be……”

“Don’t bother guessing, it’s you,” Zhao Yelan said frankly.

“Why are you painting me again, ah? Where did I offend you?” Yan Mingting looked at him aggrievedly.

Seeing this, Zhao Yelan’s mood improved slightly and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up: “I just wanted to paint, do I need a reason?”

Yan Mingting shrugged unconcernedly and put it away with a smile: “Ai, you affirm with your lips but deny with your heart.”

“I what?”

Yan Mingting walked in front of him and arched his eyebrows: “You looked at the map and counted the days. So much trouble, isn’t it just to convince us to set off at a later date?”

“You originally planned to leave the day after tomorrow?” Zhao Yelan looked up at him.

“Yes, the Emperor wanted me to leave tomorrow, but I deliberately postponed it for a day.” There was a hint of a smile in Yan Mingting’s eyes, but it was as bright as the sun shining onto his head. “Because tomorrow is my birthday, and I want to spend this year’s birthday with you.”

The hand hanging by Zhao Yelan’s side pulled back slightly.

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“Do you also want me to celebrate my birthday with you before leaving?” Yan Mingting asked.

Zhao Yelan didn’t speak, but the other party took a step closer, caging him in by the table, and he admitted straightforwardly: “Yes.”

Although it was the expected answer, after hearing his confession, Yan Mingting still couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest as if he was about to burn up. He restrained his pounding heart and smiled, saying: “I’ve never looked forward to my birthday so much.”

Zhao Yelan returned to the Imperial Academy preoccupied and disinterested in politics. From time to time, Yan Mingting’s expectant look flashed before his eyes, and he couldn’t help but wonder: what kind of expression would appear on that face after he left?

Fortunately, time would heal all wounds. Even if he would be sad for a while, Yan Mingting should also recover soon. The most important thing right now was to spend his birthday with him.

“You’ve been restless all day, are you really all right?” Ruan Xian asked worriedly.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Didn’t you notice that your book is upside down?”

“……” Zhao Yelan calmly turned the book around.

“I lied, you just now put the book upside down.”

“…………” Zhao Yelan gave him a sharp look. “Go away.”

Ruan Xian didn’t intend to go away at all, and started to guess: “Recently, everything in the Imperial Academy has been normal, as well as in the court, so what is it that makes you so unsettled? These few days……by the way, tomorrow is General Yan’s birthday, right?”

“How do you know?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“You are confused, ah, everyone knows the birthday of General Yan. After all, many people are thinking of……” Ruan Xian lowered his voice and said, “Currying favor with him.”

Indeed, his thoughts were very confused. He even forgot such a simple truth, believing that he was the only one who knew about this day.

It seemed that there would be a lot of excitement in the mansion tomorrow. What sorts of gifts could be given that would not be the same as others?

“What are you going to give?” Zhao Yelan asked him.

“I wanted to ask you, what does General Yan usually like?” Ruan Xian asked.

“All kinds of weapons.”

“Anything else?”

“Tanghulu.”

“Uh……anything else?”

Me. Does that count?

Zhao Yelan’s mind shifted, and he inwardly spurned his own wild thoughts.

“You can figure it out, ba.” Zhao Yelan himself was still worried.

When he returned to the mansion, Zuo Ran was still sleeping. It seemed that she wanted to make up for her lack of sleep these past few days all at once.

Yan Mingting said not to disturb her, and after dinner with Zhao Yelan, he went back to the room and pretended to read The Art of War while secretly observing Zhao Yelan’s movements.

He saw Zhao Yelan open a brocade box, take out a wooden hairpin from inside, wrap it properly in a handkerchief, and then put it away carefully.

Zhao Yelan suddenly looked over, and Yan Mingting looked away at once. On the surface, he read The Art of War seriously, but in his heart he wondered what kind of congratulatory gift this was. Regardless, it didn’t matter if it was a wooden hairpin or a gold or silver hairpin as long as it could bind the hair.

Zhao Yelan put away his mother’s belongings so that they could be taken away with him. When Yan Mingting left the day after tomorrow, he would go back to the Zhao mansion and take his parents’ ashes.

He walked around the room while deciding what to take away.

Yan Mingting saw him pick up a knife for a moment, then drop it and change to a sword, repeating this until he finally sat by the bed with a sigh.

Yan Mingting really wanted to tell him: I like them all! I love these knives and weapons! Give whatever you want, don’t sigh!

However, Zhao Yelan fell into deep thought. With so many weapons, he couldn’t use anything. It would be wasted on more than twenty of him, and he couldn’t even lift the dueling sword. In the end, he may still just have to bring his small crossbow.

In the end, Yan Mingting saw him pick up a stack of ledgers and begin to look through them by candlelight. The entirety of the family property was contained within.

Yan Mingting was extremely excited – could it be that Zhao Yelan, an old money fanatic, was going to give him all the family property?!

Seeing him frowning while checking the accounts, Yan Mingting thought that there was no need to worry about it. If he really didn’t want to part with something, it was fine not to give it. Anyway, he wouldn’t take so much property, the thought itself was already touching!

Zhao Yelan was indeed very worried. There was so much money, enough to squander in another lifetime, but alas, he didn’t have another lifetime.

“Don’t you go to bed early?” Yan Mingting was distressed for his eyes. He had been busy with his congratulatory gift up to this point, and he hurriedly urged him to go to bed.

Zhao Yelan rubbed the space between his brows. When the other party went to the kitchen, he put away the ledger, which he also had to take away. But it was possible to save a little for Yan Mingting to let him buy a bunch of tanghulu.

After he took a bath, Yan Mingting returned to the room holding a few freshly made stuffed steamed buns and said: “Come and try my buns, I learned from Shopkeeper Minji last time.”

“You just made buns?” Zhao Yelan walked over in astonishment.

“En, you’ve been busy all night and must be hungry. Eat something first, and we’ll eat better things tomorrow.” Yan Mingting picked the biggest one and handed it to him.

Zhao Yelan accepted it in disbelief and took a few slow bites.

“How is it?” Yan Mingting looked at him expectantly.

Zhao Yelan directly brought the one in his hand to the other’s mouth. Yan Mingting was stunned, and when he lowered his head, his gaze inadvertently swept across his chest.

The weather had become hot, and Zhao Yelan only wore a white undershirt after bathing. The chest was open, and when he stretched out his hand, it hung down to reveal a small piece of fair skin, incredibly white.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter!

Yan Mingting took a deep breath, and then a big bite of steamed bun. As he ate, his expression became ugly.

“Thick skin and undercooked stuffing. You need to practice more.” Zhao Yelan held back a smile, and was about to take another bite when Yan Mingting snatched it away.

“Don’t eat it, be careful not to get an upset stomach.” Yan Mingting threw away the rest of the stuffed steamed buns and solemnly promised, “Next time. I will definitely succeed in making them next time!”

Next time……

Zhao Yelan nodded and lay down on the bed sleepily. He heard the sound of the other party making his bed, the sound of candles being extinguished, and the sound of even breathing.

In the early hours of the morning, Zhao Yelan was still unable to sleep, but a rustling sound was heard.

Yan Mingting knelt down beside the bed and poked Zhao Yelan’s face: “Mengting, wake up.”

Zhao Yelan opened clear eyes and propped himself up with his hands, black hair hanging behind him as he looked at him in the hazy moonlight: “What is it?”

“It’s time.” Yan Mingting was all smiles.

Their gazes met, and although the light was not much, Zhao Yelan seemed to see his eyes shining. The corners of his own eyes unknowingly carried a hint of a smile as he whispered: “Yan Fangli, happy birthday.”

[1] The three rules are: “Ruler guides subject, father guides son, and husband guides wife.” The five virtues are: “Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Fidelity.” ⮐

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