Volume 1: Swan Goose Chapter 111: Tonight is as Long as Last Night (2)
"What did you say?" Yu Fengjin seemed not to hear clearly, so she asked again.
Lu Ning saw the bottomless look in his eyes as he looked at her. Suddenly, his cheeks felt hot and his heart beat faster. He no longer had the courage to repeat what he just said.
"I, I mean, does Your Highness know that the Emperor is looking for beautiful girls?" Lu Ning lowered his head and fiddled with the ends of his hair, his voice not much louder than before.
"Well, I only found out this morning." Yu Fengjin's expression was indifferent, a little indifferent.
"My name... is also on the list..." Lu Ning bit her lip, her voice full of bitterness.
Yu Fengjin picked up the tea cup and took a sip without saying anything. When she put down the tea cup, her hand shook and a drop of tea splashed on the table: "Then...is there anything I can do to help?"
Lu Ning took a deep breath, raised her eyes to stare at him, and summoned up all her courage before asking: "Your Highness, will you marry me?"
Yu Fengjin's pupils suddenly enlarged, and he stared at her with a blank look on his face: "In order not to participate in the draft, you want to marry me?"
"Yeah, not entirely." Lu Ning was so nervous that her mouth went dry, and she quickly poured a cup of tea and swallowed it in one gulp. Putting down the tea cup, she said very seriously: "Your Highness, I like you. I don't know when I started,
I have this feeling for you. And this draft forced me to face my feelings, so I can’t wait to tell you..."
"What...are you going to tell me?" Yu Fengjin was caught off guard, but quickly calmed down.
Lu Ning's cheeks were stained with two shy blushes, her eyes were shining, and her voice was touching and sweet: "I wish to have the person of my heart, and we will be together till the end of our lives."
Yu Fengjin's whole body trembled slightly as if he was electrocuted. He quickly stood up from the chair and looked out the window with his hands behind his back. In an instant, all kinds of thoughts poured into his mind and quickly became tangled into a ball.
Upset.
Lu Ning was startled by his sudden move. She felt that her heartbeat was so fast that it was difficult to breathe, and the fabric at her knees was almost scratched. She began to regret expressing her feelings so hastily, and the idea of escape kept jumping in her head.
.
It seemed like he had been waiting for a lifetime before he heard Yu Fengjin let out a heavy breath, and then said the words that Lu Ning was most afraid of hearing: "I'm sorry, I can't marry you."
"Why, why?" Lu Ning's heart skipped a beat, and her body almost swayed. Although her whole body seemed to be frozen, she still tried her best to smile.
Yu Fengjin did not turn around, but sighed softly: "I regard Miss Lu as an ally, or even a confidant, but I have never had any wrong thoughts." After he said these words readily, he immediately closed his mouth.
"But..." Lu Ning had a slight smile on his lips, but his eyes were full of sadness: "On the night of Buddha's birthday, I went to give you a cloak. At the door, I heard you say to Miss Fangyi... you
Like me..."
Yu Fengjin was speechless for a moment, and after thinking for a long time, she said softly: "I didn't expect that these words made you misunderstand... If I had known that you were outside the door at that time, I would have explained it to you earlier."
Lu Ning lowered his eyes and smiled, feeling sad: "It's not too late to explain... now."
"At that time, Fang Yi was making trouble unreasonably, and I had no choice but to make up this lie. I just wanted to make her give up." Yu Fengjin's tone sounded a little guilty.
"Then your care and concern for me for so long, and your anxiety when I was injured, were all just acting?" Lu Ning looked at his back in shock and asked in disbelief.
Yu Fengjin slowly turned around and stared at her, her voice was particularly gentle: "No, that's not acting. Miss Lu risked her life many times to save her, and I'm extremely grateful in my heart. No matter how much I take care of you, it can't be compared to how much you care for me.
One ten thousandth of."
"So, you are just grateful for my kindness?" Lu Ning held on to the edge of the table and managed to sit down. A gust of wind blew past the window, raising the corners of her dress and skirt, and she felt a chill all over her body, and she couldn't help but shiver slightly.
"Miss Lu..." Yu Fengjin frowned and said in a hard voice: "You...are you okay?"
Hearing his concerned words, Lu Ning's heart felt more and more painful. She raised her eyes proudly and reluctantly asked: "In that case, why did you save me when Ruan Lang was searching the annex that day? And why did you tell Ruan Lang...
Say I am your woman?"
Yu Fengjin's eyes flashed and he sighed softly: "Ruan Lang was already crazy that day. If I didn't say this, he would not let it go so easily. You and I are on the same boat, and it is my responsibility to protect you, just like
You are also protecting me."
"It turns out that's the case." Lu Ning lowered his eyes, and the last glimmer in his eyes gradually dimmed: "It turns out that it was all my own fault..."
"I'm sorry, Miss Lu..." Yu Fengjin said with difficulty, suddenly feeling a dull pain in her chest.
"No need. You can't force whether you like someone or not. What's more, marriage is a lifelong matter. What's more, Your Highness is not sorry for me at all. I misunderstood you. Let's talk about it today..."
Lu Ning said these words with a smile. He had obviously dressed up deliberately today, but he felt that he was now disgraced and embarrassed.
"I've said all that needs to be said. I won't disturb Your Highness and take my leave!" Lu Ning bowed her hands to him, stood up with strength, and hurriedly walked towards the door.
"I'll see you off." Yu Fengjin saw her frivolous steps and quickly took a few steps to follow her.
"No." Lu Ning refused resolutely: "I don't know how to face you yet. Please let me leave here quietly."
"Sorry." Yu Fengjin suddenly felt guilty when she saw Lu Ning's dull face.
"I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I should have said sorry for putting His Highness in trouble." After that, Lu Ning opened the door and ran away without looking back.
Yu Fengjin stood motionless while looking at her figure. After a sound of opening the door, everything returned to calm. He slowly sat down holding on to the table, looking at the empty seat opposite and the half bowl of dessert on the table.
Ning's voice, appearance, smile, silly laughter and anger were all vivid in his mind. A storm surged in his heart: Are the words he just said...all sincere?
He took a sip of tea to suppress the answer that was about to come out. He didn't want to hear it or think about it. Now he only wanted revenge and didn't want to be distracted by the love between his children!
I don't know when the sun was shining outside had turned gloomy. Lu Ning rushed out of the Crystal Palace, jumped on horseback and hurried down the mountain. The road back was obviously as long as when she came, but she felt like she couldn't see the end.
The feeling. The flowers and plants on the roadside were looking at her and smiling, as if they were laughing at her overestimation of her abilities.
Yes! He is a high-ranking prince, with royal blood flowing in his body, and the only person who can match him is a famous lady. I am just an illegitimate daughter born from an affair between my parents, and she has such an unsightly past. Is she eating the wrong thing?
What kind of medicine would make me come here to woo him!
Crazy! He must be crazy! Lu Ning felt that the deepest parts of his body were burning as if on fire, the air in his lungs was quickly drained, and breathing became difficult.
After entering the city, there were draft announcements all over the streets, sisters hugging each other and crying, and parents matching each other. Everything told her that everyone's fate was in the hands of Emperor Yu, and no one could.
Escape!
She reined up her horse and stopped suddenly in front of the gate of Zhuang Tower. Four gatekeepers came over to say hello, but she jumped off the horse and walked through the door without saying a word.
"How's it going? Have you told him?" As soon as he opened the door, he ran into Mr. Murong, who had been waiting for a long time.
Lu Ning bit her lip and glanced at him, but said nothing and ran to the embroidery building without looking back. After closing the door, she gasped for air, clutched her chest and slowly slid down. As soon as she sat down
On the ground, she couldn't help but scream: It turns out, this is what it feels like to be sad! She finally understood!
But it was strange. She touched her dry face and was filled with doubts: Isn't it said that a lovelorn woman would cry all day long? She was obviously so heartbroken, why couldn't she shed a single tear?
She closed her eyes hard and then opened them again. Her eyes were still as dry as the desert in southern Xinjiang.
Is it because I don’t love you enough? Or have you already expected what will happen today?
She held her swollen head and was too lazy to think about it anymore. She walked to the small kitchen and took out two wine jars. Today she didn't want to think about anything, she didn't want to see anyone, she just wanted to be with wine.
But after half a cup of wine, the memories that he wanted to leave behind became clearer and clearer: Facing Zhang Heng's butcher knife, King Yi stood in front of him without hesitation; on the top of Phoenix Mountain, he personally carried it for him
A personal amulet; he was injured trying to save Xia Yunqing, and he
Zhang Di took him home to bandage his wounds...
They drank and talked together, rode horses in the rain, and walked under the moon... After experiencing so much together, was it possible that the only person they cared about was themselves?
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Hua Fangyi's eyes that were always full of resentment. She suddenly felt empathy with her: It turns out that she couldn't get what she asked for, was infatuated, and was self-indulgent, which is what she looked like now!
It's really stupid. Now that you have learned from Hua Fangyi's mistakes, why do you still rush to the flames? Do you think you are special? Don't be stupid! In the end, it's just a dream and you're doing it yourself!
The strong alcohol flowed into her throat like spring water. She collapsed on the ground and had no strength to resist anymore, letting those memories flood her mind. Gradually, the memories and all the sadness disappeared from her mind. In the end, even she herself disappeared...
I don't know how long I slept, but the room became as hot as fire. Lu Ning sat up from his drunken dream, staggered to the window, pushed it open, and leaned half of his body out for some air. A cool breeze poured into his nose.
Her stomach was churning, and she couldn't help but hold on to the wall and vomit.
After vomiting for a long time, she sat down against the wall. She felt that her entire body had been hollowed out, and her groggy head weighed a thousand pounds.
"Lu Ning, open the door." There was a sudden knock on the door, it was Mr. Murong's voice.
Lu Ning managed to stand up while holding on to the edge of the table, took a deep breath to calm down, and then dragged her unruly legs to open the door.
Just as Mr. Murong was about to speak, he saw the look on her face and couldn't help but frown: "Didn't I just reject you? How did you get yourself into such a horrible state? Are you not afraid of the jokes of your brothers?"
"You, you know everything?" Lu Ning stared blankly, his face full of astonishment.
"Huh, you were raised by me, how can I still not understand you?" Mr. Murong didn't wait for her to speak, he opened the door and walked in, but he immediately stopped.
Seeing the wine jars all over the room and the pungent smell of wine, his face suddenly sank: "It's really outrageous!"
Lu Ning hurriedly walked in and picked up the wine jar on the ground, muttering in a low voice: "This is also my first time to drink to relieve my sorrow, so please don't scold me."
"I just want to drink to drown my sorrows. Can this matter be forgotten?" Mr. Murong lifted his robe and sat down.
"What else can I do? Force marriage?" Lu Ning washed his face in the wooden basin and stared at the reflection in the water in a daze.
"The draft is imminent. Do you really plan to enter the palace to serve the emperor?" Mr. Murong reminded seriously.
Lu Ning bit her lip and said nothing. She was so confused that she couldn't think of any way to escape, but she was unwilling to enter the palace.
"If you don't want to enter the palace, I have a way." Mr. Murong saw through her thoughts and started to tell the truth again.