Higher first-grade National Grand General would marry a menial daughter of a concubine? All people here were astonished. Their focus now was transferred from the assassinators reported just now to the unusual behavior of Leng Changxi.
“Marriage matching should be the first consideration,” Imperial Concubine Yun added, “General Leng, I believe your sincere heart to her, but your plan destroyed the family-status equivalence. If the emperor granted your marriage, the rule of marriage-matching would be destroyed first and then all the following noble marriages would be in a mess.”
Xima Xiu said reproachfully, “You are the most unruly one in this palace, but now your words seem to be reasonable.”
Qin Yunuan felt touched. Sima Xiu did not turn to be angry so he granted the marriage? The fingertips of Qin Yunuan shook a little and then she found her hands were still tightly held by Leng Changxi. She moved her hands and tried to withdraw her hands back first, but Leng Changxi suddenly raised their hands holding tightly and said seriously, “Please grant the marriage, emperor.”
The big wheat hands and fair and white small hands which were held together tightly attracted much attention. The scene hurt many people here. They thought General Leng was unduly brave.
“I prefer not to break loves, but the family status is a barrier indeed. Though I am willing to grant your marriage, people always gossip,” Sima Xiu added, “How about this. Now the Queen Mother feels sick and I am busy in national affairs. The empress should take care of Ray. We lack a person to pray in the imperial temple for the Queen Mother. So I want to let the daughter of the concubine from Qin Family to the temple. She should burn incense tranquilly, and then has bathes and fast for 49 days. It will be a great merit. When she finishes the whole process, I will grant a title for her. How about this?”
Praying for the Queen Mother? Qin Yunuan pondered immediately. She thought carefully that Sima Xiu was helping her. Now the Queen Mother was very anile and only had Infanta Shuhua beside her. But the Infanta always made troubles. Sima Xiu was making a right path for Qin Yunuan to gain the title and higher position after she could apple-polish the Queen Mother.
But Leng Changxi refused the idea and said straightly with his head rising, “49 days are too long.”
Leng Changxi might be the only one to have a bargain with the emperor in this land.
“In this case, how about 81 days?”
“Well, 49 days will be more considerate.”
Qin Yunuan felt surprised about the words of Leng Changxi and the emperor. They had a very common daily talk in a natural mood without any solemnity between the emperor and his official.
Empress Chen found this unusual phenomenon quickly and said, “Emperor, the imperial doctor said just now that Ray woke up and wanted to see you.” Imperceptibly, Empress Chen distracted the topic back to the injured Sima Ray.
It worked. Sima Xiu turned to be anxious again. He looked at Wanyan Su who kept silent all the time and then said in a less passionate mood, “The Seventh Prince from Wanyan Family, we should not bother you before the whole thing was figured out. But this time, the investigation to the assassinator is involved in North Di. You could come back to your tent for a rest. We must prove that you are innocent after the whole thing is clear.”
To be frank, Sima Xiu did not believe Wanyan Su completely. After all, Qi had fought against North Di for many years. This time almost half of the officials in the imperial court suspected the imperial matrimony for peace between the two countries. Now Sima Xiu let Wanyan Su out of this investigation, and he aimed to make the whole thing clear smoothly.
Wanyan Su did not mind that. He gave the emperor a fist-bowing salute which was the style of the Central Plains and then left.
Things came to an end. Sima Xiu and Empress Chen came together to look at Sima Ray. Those generals left after they received their tasks. Li Weijun and some maidens from the Royal City crowded around after few people were left here.
There was a strange point here. A few maidens from the Royal City were invited to this hunting activity. They should be some prominent maidens or daughters of legal wives of noble families, but except Qin Yunuan, there were three daughters of concubines. Besides, those maidens who were the daughters of legal wives were just from ordinary family backgrounds or had common appearances.
But Qin Yunuan could figure it out shortly. It must be the tricks arranged by Dou Qing’e. Since Qin Yunzhuang could not show up in the feast, Dou Qing’e had not allowed other prominent maidens to surpass the elegance and beauty of Qin Yunzhuang.
So that was why Li Weijun from Siqing Li Family became the relative shining maiden among those maidens presents. She was so shining by her foment dissension instead of her beauty and ability.
“You are so tricky, the daughter of the concubine of Qin Family,” Li Weijun stepped closer and glimpsed at Leng Changxi. She and Qin Yunzhuang both thought that though Leng Changxi was in a high position and powerful, he was not a fully qualified noble young master compared with other eupatrid families. So she did not fear Leng Changxi, “Could you teach me how to play those sultry tricks? You seduced men one by one, from the Third Prince to the Fourth Prince, and then today, you tempted Grand General Leng. How did you manage to do it? Tell me?”
Qin Yunuan just glimpsed at that aggressive Li Weijun. Li Weijun’s brother, Li Jiaxuan was such an elegant and humble man and they had the same father but different mother. How could these two people become so different? Suddenly, she figured it out. Qin Zhi had said that the third young master of Li Family was also in the list of match-making. That was Li Jiaxuan. So that was why Li Weijun was so aggressive to Qin Yunuan in the hunting activity.
Before Qin Yunuan answered, Leng Changxi said coldly, “The best advantage of Yunuan is that she never talks nonsense.” Leng Changxi stared at Li Weijun more gloomily. Just in a flash, Li Weijun felt blank and shuddered as if she had seen a frightening monster.
“Especially, she will not talk nonsense in front of many people.” And then Leng Changxi turned back and pulled Qin Yunuan with their hands holding tightly. They went out of the tent straightly. Those bodyguards saw it and just pretended that they never saw it, though their love news had already been given out.
After a while, Qin Yunuan felt her wrist a little bit hurt. She tried to shake off but could not resist the powerful big hands of Leng Changxi who practiced martial arts throughout the year. They returned to the hillside behind the shooting range. Under the hillside, soldiers and bodyguards were searching, but on the hillside, there were no other people here.
All went together to search for the assassinator all night. Now the sun rose, and golden sunshine was cast onto the hillside, like the bright color of the yolk of a salted duck egg.
“You hurt me.” Qin Yunuan tried hard to shake off the big hands of Leng Changxi which held her hands the whole time, and then turned around to massage her painful wrist. She seemed not to realize how charming her words were. She was like a little girl who was fawning.
“Did you meet with him here?” Leng Changxi tried to keep his voice stable and calm, but still said in a slightly rising voice with many emotions like anger, anxiety, compromise and jealousy as sour as vinegar.
Qin Yunuan lowered her head. She knew that “he” Leng Changxi meant was Wanyan Su. She also knew that Leng Wu must have told Leng Changxi everything. She just grumbled, “Yes.”
“How close did you stay with him at that time?” Leng Changxi added, and then he reached out hands to measure, “20 centimeters like this? 50? 100?”
Having seen Leng Changxi walked closer and was about to touch her body, Qin Yunuan reached out her hands to ward off Leng Changxi. Her soft small hands exactly touched his left atrium. The strong heartbeats seemed to be the elevated tum of ward drums, which expressed the unique charm of men.
“Not so close. Maybe three steps away. No, five steps away.” It was the first time that Qin Yunuan became so tolerant. She had never feared anything even when she faced the plot of Dou Qing’e and sharp insult from Li Weijun. But this time, she felt very guilty like a kid who did something wrong. And Leng Changxi was like a strict official in the court who forced her to be frank about anything.
She was afraid of his misunderstanding, and she could not tolerate it at all. The impulsion of her will to explain the issue made her raise her head bravely and said positively, “Actually, I….”
She opened her mouth slightly and was about to explain, but then Leng Changxi kissed her forcedly. The overwhelming masculine breath of Leng Changxi conquered Qin Yunuan completely with some smell of sweat and light fragrance of green grass. All the smell was gathered on the tongue tip of Qin Yunuan.
Leng Changxi seemed to show his professional ability to try hard to conquer a city. He went deep into it and swept each place to consume the fighting capacity of the enemy’s army. Finally, he could do anything willfully.
Ambiguity and tenderness lasted for so long. His sexual passion would be about to release even though he tried hard to suppress it.
The sun rose from the east. After a long time, Leng Changxi let Qin Yunuan off who was tightly held by him all the time. The corner of his mouth seemed to have the sweet fragrance left by this hedgehog. He licked the corner of his mouth to enjoy each fragrance of her.
His behavior made Qin Yunuan blushed more. She tried to turn her eyes into the distance, but she seemed to fail to control herself in front of Leng Changxi. She looked at him with her head aslant and Leng Changxi seemed to fill her mind completely.
The passion still existed in the corner of her lips and her waist. She saw that Leng Changxi was trying hard to take a deep breath with his red face. Leng Changxi had never been so exhausted even when he was practicing shooting with his corselet under the hot sunshine in the afternoon.
“Are you OK?” Qin Yunuan asked gently.
Leng Changxi raised his head to stare at Qin Yunuan. He could not tell her that he could not help but want to have sex with her. He used his internal force but failed to suppress the enthusiasm of his lower body. He waved hands to Qin Yunuan and said, “Come here.”
