Chapter 61

Chapter 61

[The Male Chauvinist’s Victory – 2]

Wrapped in a cloak, Li Jiangxue stood outside the door, hesitating over what she should do next.

Should she simply go in?

It was rather late. Could Yan Hongguang already be asleep?

And if he was not, what would he think? She had whipped him during the day, only to come fawning over him that very night.

Would he forgive her if she apologized?

Caught between conflicting impulses, Li Jiangxue wavered for a while. Then she happened to notice how sparsely furnished the courtyard was, and her resolve abruptly hardened.

What was there to fear?

Yan Hongguang had not yet ascended the throne. He was merely an ordinary young man dependent on the Li Family. However gifted he might be, he could not possibly place himself above her!

She had already lowered herself so far to win him over. Surely he would not refuse to let the matter go and insist on whipping her in return before he was satisfied.

Her confidence restored, Li Jiangxue coughed to clear her throat, ordered her maid to wait outside, and pushed open the door.

Yan Hongguang’s quarters were every bit as humble as she had imagined. They were not quite bare-walled, but there was nothing of value in sight. Even in the unlit darkness, the room looked painfully empty.

There was a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe beside the bed. Beyond those, there was no other large furniture.

Li Jiangxue gave the room a cursory glance, then quickly looked away. Carrying the superior wound medicine her maid had hurriedly found, she lightened her footsteps and approached the bed.

It was the fifteenth night of the month, and the moon shone brilliantly outside. Yan Hongguang had not lowered the bed curtains before going to sleep. Moonlight streamed through the window and fell hazily across his face.

Li Jiangxue stopped beside the bed to look at him-and stared until she was entranced.

Yan Hongguang was exceptionally handsome. His nose was high and straight, his features deep-set, and his long, narrow eyes had a keen edge to them. Ordinarily, those eyes were cold and indifferent, as though nothing in the world mattered to him. Now, deep in sleep, his eyes were closed and his lashes lowered, lending him an unexpected gentleness.

The Southern Dynasty enforced rigid distinctions of rank and family status. His birth father had died young, his mother had remarried, and his family had long since fallen outside the recognized ranks of nobility. Even so, noble young ladies still stole glances at him whenever he went out, and the maids in the residence blushed whenever they mentioned him-all thanks to that face.

Had Li Jiangxue not repeatedly picked fights with him precisely because this handsome cousin was too aloof, never fawning over her like the other young men of Jiangdong?

A handsome face, a troubled past, and the added aura of a future emperor who would unite the realm…

Li Jiangxue’s cheeks could not help growing warm.

Because of the wounds on his back, Yan Hongguang was sleeping on his stomach. Li Jiangxue composed herself, carefully pulled aside his upper robe, and took out the medicine, intending to apply it for him. Instead, she found that the wounds had already been treated and neatly bandaged.

Her heart instantly sank. Remembering her maid’s report, she hated Li Jiangyue all the more for getting there first.

The wounds had already been properly treated. She could hardly tear off the bandages simply to apply her own medicine. Yet she was unwilling to leave just like that.

She had come expressly to deliver medicine. If she accomplished nothing, would this trip not have been wasted?

And how else was Yan Hongguang supposed to learn of her remorse and heartfelt concern?

Li Jiangxue hesitated, wondering what to do, when Yan Hongguang suddenly murmured in his sleep.

In the stillness of the night, the sound struck her like thunder. She nearly leaped three feet into the air. Clutching her chest, she leaned closer and saw that Yan Hongguang seemed deeply unsettled in his dreams. His dark brows were tightly furrowed, and his lips moved from time to time.

Li Jiangxue swiftly surveyed the room. Spotting a pot of cold tea on the table, she hurried over, poured a cup, and carried it back to the bed to give him a drink. Just as she was about to sit down, she heard him speak in a tender, almost sighing voice.

“Jiangxue…”

Li Jiangxue froze where she stood, the teacup in her hands, as though struck by lightning. When she recovered, astonishment and delight surged through her together.

She crouched to study the handsome face before her, half eager and half incredulous. “What? What did you just say?”

Yan Hongguang’s brows remained furrowed, but he did not speak again for a long while. Li Jiangxue waited beside the bed until her legs went numb. Just as she tried to rise, he called once more in a dreamlike murmur, “Jiangxue.”

Her legs gave way, and she dropped to the floor. She stared at the man on the bed with flustered, delighted eyes. Only after a long moment did she let out a startled cry.

The instant the sound escaped, she hurriedly covered her mouth. Seeing that Yan Hongguang remained asleep, unawakened by her cry, she stroked her burning cheeks and finally let the shock and joy inside her run free.

So Yan Hongguang-the true Son of Heaven from her previous life-had secretly loved her with all his heart?!

No wonder he had never taken a wife despite years of campaigning, even though he kept concubines!

No wonder he had never fought back or complained to her father, no matter how she humiliated him during his years with the Li Family!

No wonder her soul had gone to his side after her death. Heaven must have been moved by his devotion and intended to fulfill their destined marriage!

No wonder she had been granted another life and reborn before her marriage!

So that was it. That was the truth!

Stormy waves surged through Li Jiangxue’s heart, but those waves were made entirely of joy. They tossed her up and down until she felt as if she were floating among the clouds.

Gradually calming herself, she sat at the edge of the bed and gazed infatuatedly at the man’s sharply defined profile. “Why did you never say anything?” she murmured. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Li Jiangxue reached out to stroke his face, her eyes brimming with tenderness. “Yan Hongguang, you fool. You are the greatest fool in the entire world!”

Liu Che: “…”

The emperors: “…”

Someone really ought to record that and play it back to her every single day from now on.

…

Perhaps the medicine Li Jiangyue had instructed Tingyu to deliver was genuinely effective. When Liu Che opened his eyes the next morning, the wounds on his back no longer hurt as much as they had the day before. An uncomfortable sensation remained, but he was much improved.

After lying facedown all night, scarcely able to move, his muscles were inevitably aching and numb. When he opened his eyes, he found Li Jiangxue sitting beside his bed, leaning against the headboard in her sleep with drool running from her mouth.

Liu Che felt thoroughly disgusted, but his face betrayed nothing. He slowly flexed his limbs and back, then feigned the dazed surprise of a man just awakened from a deep sleep. “Jiangxue? What are you doing here?”

Li Jiangxue had not been sleeping deeply. At the sudden sound of her name, she woke in a haze, turned her eyes, and met a deep-set gaze filled with concealed astonishment.

Her mind cleared instantly. Remembering the events of the previous night, she sat upright, both shy and delighted. “You’re awake? I came last night. You were sleeping the whole time, and I did not dare disturb you.”

Liu Che stared at her as if unable to believe it. Only after a long while did he murmur, “Why did you come here?”

Three parts remorse appeared on Li Jiangxue’s face. “Yesterday was my fault. I lost my head and did something so awful to you, Cousin… After they carried you away, I felt terrible, so I brought medicine to see you. I never expected to arrive too late. Your wounds had already been bandaged.”

Tenderness flickered through Liu Che’s eyes. He studied her for some time before saying, “I am fine. I will recover after resting for a while. Do not worry.”

“It was all my fault. I was young and foolish. Cousin, please don’t be angry with me.”

Not only did he refrain from blaming her, he even comforted her. Thinking again of his deep and unwavering love, Li Jiangxue felt heat flood her heart. Her nose stung and her eyes reddened. “I know I was wrong. I will change, Cousin! Besides, if I had not come last night and kept watch over you, how would I ever have learned that… that you…”

Liu Che’s expression paused. Looking somewhat flustered, he asked, “Learned what?”

Li Jiangxue flushed scarlet. Yet the emotions she had worked up earlier sent tears spilling down her cheeks.

Liu Che panicked at the sight and hurriedly sat up. He reached for her hand, then seemed to remember the proprieties between men and women and hesitantly withdrew it. “Jiangxue, why are you crying? Who upset you?”

Seeing how anxious he became at her tears, Li Jiangxue was deeply moved. Then she saw him pull back because of those tiresome proprieties and felt angry, annoyed, and shy all at once. “Who else could it be but you?”

She rose and stamped her foot. “How can you expect a girl to say such a thing?!” With that, she fled outside, her face burning.

Liu Che hurried out of bed to chase her. The movement was too violent and pulled at his wounds. He sucked in a sharp breath and went rigid.

Hearing that something was wrong, Li Jiangxue rushed back. At the sight of him, her tears fell even harder. “Cousin, don’t frighten me!”

Liu Che comforted her instead. “I am fine. I only need to rest for a moment.”

“I’m sorry, Cousin. I didn’t mean to!” Li Jiangxue supported him back onto the bed. “Does it hurt? I’ll summon a physician at once!”

Liu Che gazed intently at her lovely face. A fond smile slowly softened his cold features. “Silly girl.”

Li Jiangxue stiffened, her pretty face turning crimson. In a voice scarcely louder than a mosquito, she whispered, “Cousin.”

Li Shimin could endure no more. “All right, that’s enough!”

Emperor Gaozu added, “Could the two of you possibly be any more revolting?”

Zhu Yuanzhang tore off two pieces of paper, crumpled them, and handed them to Ying Zheng. “What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. Don’t listen.”

Ying Zheng accepted the paper balls and silently plugged his ears.

Liu Che acted as though he had heard nothing. After trading tender words with Li Jiangxue for a while, he soon had her firmly in his grasp, coaxed so thoroughly that she no longer knew which way was up.

Just think of the women Liu Che had once dealt with.

Empress Dowager Dou, Empress Dowager Wang, Grand Princess Dou-which one of them had ever been easy?

And then there had been the three thousand beauties of his harem. The emperor might stand supreme, but even he occasionally needed to coax those young women into a good mood.

He had handled far more formidable people without ever slipping up. It would be astonishing if someone like Li Jiangxue proved his undoing!

Li Jiangxue might have lived twice, but her two lives combined amounted to less than thirty years, while her mental capacity remained under fifteen. Facing an ancient monster like Liu Che, battle-hardened in such matters, it would have been strange if she did not lose everything down to her last coin.

The two sat together and spoke lingeringly for a while. Then Li Jiangxue ordered someone to summon a physician, insisting that Yan Hongguang be carefully tended so her beloved would suffer no lasting injury. She also had more ornaments and furnishings brought over to redecorate the courtyard.

Liu Che naturally would not reject anything that benefited him. He accepted it all gladly and settled down in the courtyard to recover.

Instead, it was Li Jiangxue’s sworn enemy, Li Jiangyue, who sensed something amiss when she heard the news.

Li Jiangxue had always thought herself above everyone. Since when had she ever spared a glance for that penniless cousin Yan Hongguang?

No one offered kindness without a motive. Who knew what scheme she was plotting?

When Madam Wei, Li Dongshan’s principal wife, heard about it, she specifically summoned her daughter. Frowning, she said, “I know what happened that day. You injured him, so it is only proper to send a physician and order the servants to care for him. But there is no need for you to attend him personally day after day. He is a grown man, and you are no longer a little girl. If you spend every day together, people will gossip.”
Li Jiangxue’s mind was entirely occupied with clinging to a powerful patron and becoming Empress. How could she listen to that?

After Madam Wei finished speaking, Li Jiangxue hesitated for a few moments, then dropped to her knees and pleaded, “Mother, Cousin is in my heart, and I am in his. We love each other. I will marry no one but him in this life, so please never say such things again!”

Madam Wei nearly fell out of her chair. “What did you say? Jiangxue, have you lost your mind?! Yan Hongguang may have some ability, but look how far the Yan Family has fallen! You would marry into a household like that? If word gets out, you will become the greatest laughingstock in Jiankang!”

A laughingstock?

Li Jiangxue thought that if she failed to marry him now and let this opportunity slip away, she would become the laughingstock of the entire realm!

Madam Wei gave her no chance to speak. She summoned several older female servants and ordered, “Take the young lady back to her own courtyard. She is not to leave without my permission!”

Then she turned a cold gaze on Li Jiangxue. “Your father is already considering marriages for you. The Cao, Zhuo, and Kang families are all among the finest households. You are young and foolish. Marrying some ruined family on a whim-that would be truly blind and senseless!”

Li Jiangxue was already angry at her mother’s opposition to Yan Hongguang. Then she heard that the first of the three families mentioned was the one she had married into in her previous life. Remembering the husband who had killed her without mercy, her hatred surged and her resistance intensified. “I will marry no one but Yan Hongguang! No one, even if I die!”

Madam Wei had not expected such vehement defiance from her daughter, and her expression changed in shock. “Marriage has always been decided by the command of parents and the words of matchmakers. How could you possibly decide it yourself? Someone, take her back to her room!”

The servants dared not defy their mistress and moved to seize Li Jiangxue.

Hardening her heart, Li Jiangxue snatched up a vase from the table and smashed it. She held a shard against her throat. “I will marry no one but Yan Hongguang in this life. He is the only man I acknowledge! If Mother insists on forcing me to marry someone else, you might as well let me die before your eyes right now!”

With that, she pressed harder. The porcelain cut the skin of her neck, and blood ran down her fair throat to soak her collar.

Madam Wei turned deathly pale and stamped her foot. “You foolish child! Has he bewitched you?!”

Li Jiangxue’s chest heaved violently. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I want to marry Yan Hongguang! Mother, you know my temper. If you refuse, I would rather die!”

No one understood the wretched creature she had borne better than Madam Wei.

This was flesh that had fallen from her own body. Could she truly stand by and watch her daughter die?

Left with no choice, Madam Wei said resentfully, “Put that down. Stop this nonsense!”

Hearing the concession in her tone, Li Jiangxue did not press further. Her fingers loosened, and the shard dropped to the floor.

The servants breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to find medicine and gauze for her wound. Li Jiangxue moved close to her mother instead and called cautiously, “Mother.”

Madam Wei flung her away in exasperation. “I am not your mother! Yan Hongguang is your mother!”

Li Jiangxue burst out laughing. Seeing her mother’s icy glare, she hastily suppressed her smile, took Madam Wei’s arm, and pleaded, “Mother, Cousin and I truly love each other. Your daughter is begging you-please let us be together! If you and Father promise me to anyone else, I will kill myself. I am not joking!”

Madam Wei sighed helplessly. “Jiangxue, then I will tell you the truth. Convincing me is easy. Convincing your father will not be. The Yan and Li families may be related through their ancestors, but the Yan Family has fallen into ruin. How can you marry into a household like that?”

Without hesitation, Li Jiangxue said, “Uncle Yan was Father’s savior. If I marry into the Yan Family, we can say it is to repay that debt. The great families of Jiangdong might even respect Father more for it!”

“Enough of that nonsense!”

Madam Wei’s expression grew stern. “Do not mention that matter before your father. You know it is the one subject he cannot bear anyone raising.”

“I know. Father went to war hoping to earn glory, only to be routed. Uncle Yan saved him, but Father considers it humiliating and has never allowed anyone to mention it!”

Li Jiangxue pouted and grumbled unhappily. Then another thought occurred to her, and her eyes gradually lit up. “Mother, you say Father objects to Cousin and me only because the Yan Family has fallen and Cousin possesses neither power nor influence. If Cousin wins merit and makes a name for himself, wouldn’t Father take the initiative to arrange our marriage?”

Madam Wei gave her a faintly mocking look. “You have that much faith in Yan Hongguang?”

Of course she did!

In her previous life, he had carved out a place for himself entirely alone. Now he would have the Li Family’s support. How could he possibly fail?

“I believe in him!” Li Jiangxue replied without hesitation.

Madam Wei intended to stall for time while preparing for either outcome.

If Yan Hongguang truly was talented enough to distinguish himself, there would be no harm in letting him marry her daughter. If he failed, it would be because he lacked ability. When she and her husband opposed the marriage then, their daughter would have no argument left.

Having made up her mind, Madam Wei looked at her hopeful daughter and said softly, “Very well. I will give the two of you a chance. He must move out of the Li residence. Once his body has recovered, let him accomplish something and prove himself to me. If he succeeds, nothing will obstruct your marriage. If he does not…”

Li Jiangxue was brimming with confidence. “He will!”

With the matter settled, Li Jiangxue rushed off excitedly to tell her beloved.

Liu Che was not surprised in the least, though he showed no delight. He merely reached out and touched the bandage around her neck with utmost care. “Why would you go so far…” he said in distress.
Li Jiangxue gazed at him in adoration. “Cousin,” she said softly, “I was willing.”

Liu Che looked at her with deep emotion and vowed, “Jiangxue, I understand your heart. I swear I will never fail you!”

“Cousin!” Warmth flooded Li Jiangxue’s heart. She wrapped her arms around his waist and threw herself into his embrace.

…

Madam Wei had made her decision, and neither Li Jiangxue nor Liu Che objected. The next day, Liu Che packed his belongings and moved out of the Li residence.

Yan Hongguang possessed a small amount of family property, along with the money the Li Family had given him years ago. Liu Che chose a courtyard in which to settle. At home, he studied maps of the current Northern and Southern Dynasties. He held little meetings with his old companions, discussing where they should launch future campaigns and how they would secure supplies. Once his body improved, he also frequently went to the training ground to spar with others.

Yan Hongguang stood eight feet tall and possessed extraordinary martial power, enough to face ten thousand men. He had never lost a match at the training ground. In the past, he had been rather withdrawn and disliked speaking to others. Liu Che, however, was a shameless rogue who could talk to anyone from any walk of life, tailoring his words to the company before him.

Whenever others encountered trouble, Liu Che was willing to help. If anyone struggled with some aspect of martial technique, he gladly offered instruction. After a month, he had not only learned about the customs and lives of the people in the Northern and Southern Dynasties from these wandering heroes and soldiers who came from every region, he had also established genuine prestige. He was already showing signs of becoming their leader.

One day, after Liu Che finished a bout, he went to drink tea with the others. While they were talking, several young soldiers came running from a distance.

“Young Master Yan, hurry home and take a look! Two young boys have appeared at your door. They say they are your brothers. Their parents died of a sudden illness, so they came here to seek your protection.”

Liu Che thought, My father in this life died long ago, and my mother remarried. Where did these brothers come from?

They were probably two swindlers hoping to sponge off him.

He was about to say there was no need to bother when he suddenly remembered that Yan Hongguang’s mother, Lady Xue, had remarried into the Guan Family. He had heard that she later bore sons. But by then, Yan Hongguang had already moved to the Li Family. As Lady Xue’s son by her former husband, it had been awkward for him to associate too closely with his stepfather’s household, so the relationship gradually faded.

Perhaps the two boys at his door really were the cheap little brothers born to Lady Xue and her second husband.

Liu Che thanked the messenger, called a farewell to the men around him, and rode home.

Li Shimin asked, “Are they really your brothers?”

Zhu Yuanzhang had reached much the same conclusion as Liu Che. “Most likely Lady Xue’s sons by her second man.”

Two half brothers who shared his mother…

Ying Zheng was in a foul mood and had nothing to say.

Emperor Gaozu sighed. “Their parents are both dead, and they have no choice but to seek out a half-related elder brother they barely know. The poor things.”

“They’re pitiful? Who pities me?”

Liu Che sneered. “I’m already having a hard enough time keeping myself alive. Where would I find the leisure to raise someone else’s children? Back in the Han Dynasty, I acknowledged the daughter my mother had by her former husband because I had money and leisure, and because my mother was still my mother. I have no time for charity now! Giving them some money and sending them away would already be generous!”

Li Shimin nodded. “Exactly. Liu Bang even kicked his own children out of the carriage while fleeing for his life. Standard behavior for the Liu Family!”

Liu Che rode back to his house. From some distance away, he saw two boys waiting at the entrance, one standing and the other sitting. The elder appeared eleven or twelve, while the younger looked seven or eight.

The older boy carried a filthy water flask on his back and was giving his little brother a drink. Probably hearing the hoofbeats, he hurriedly pulled the younger child to his feet and looked over uneasily.

Still mounted, Liu Che critically inspected the two cheap little brothers who had come to sponge off him. His eyes traveled from their heads to their feet. When his gaze settled on the older boy’s face, bewilderment suddenly flickered in his eyes.

Emperor Gaozu asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah!” Liu Che sucked in a sharp breath. “He looks like Wei Qing!”

Emperor Gaozu: “????”

Liu Che scrambled off his horse. He brushed aside the younger boy’s hair where it hung over his face and stared at him. Surprise and delight filled his nostalgic voice. “It’s my Champion Marquis!”

The emperors: “…”

Emperor Gaozu asked, “Give them some money and send them away?”

Liu Che beamed. “How delightful!”

Both boys were filthy. Their hair was tangled, and they were so thin that their bones showed.

Liu Che stroked one, then the other, and tears instantly poured down his face. “How did this happen? Just how much hardship did you suffer on the road to end up like this?”

“Come, quickly, come inside! Don’t stand on ceremony here. This is your home!”

Showing not the slightest trace of disgust, he pulled them through the door. His voice choked with emotion. “When your brother heard you had arrived, I didn’t dare stop once along the way. My heart felt as if someone were squeezing it. I was sick with worry…”