Chapter 52

Jiandi Yue's expression shifted slightly.
He hadn't expected Buling Buling to dig up a thousand-year ginseng to redeem itself.
A sudden pang of sorrow struck his heart.
He no longer had any reason to keep these two adults and one little one.
Yun Pianpian glanced at Jiandi Yue and suddenly said, “Master, why don't you come back to Jiangjia Village with us to farm?”
Jiandi Yue was taken aback, raising his aged eyes to gaze vaguely at Yun Pianpian.
“…Go back to Jiangjia Village to farm?”
Yun Pianpian said, “There's more land in the village than we can farm. If Master is willing to help, we'll surely finish quickly.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Changyuan's cool, jade, like handsome face immediately clouded over with a frosty expression.
His wife was meddling in others' affairs again.
How should he punish such an easily distracted wife?
Xiao Changyuan stared at Yun Pianpian's red lips, his gaze grew somewhat obscure.
Yun Pianpian remained completely unaware of the subtle gaze fixed upon her.
In her heart, she was only thinking about how to coax Jiandi Yue back to Jiangjia Village.
Yun Pianpian had two reasons for wanting to take Jiandi Yue with her.
First, because in the original story, Jiandi Yue only had three years left to live, and she couldn't bear to leave the old man alone at the foot of the mountain to end his days in solitude.
Second, she wanted to disrupt Chu Yi's opportunity. If she could bring Jiandi Yue to Jiangjia Village, then Chu Yi would have no chance to meet him. Without meeting Jiandi Yue, he wouldn't be able to obtain Jiandi Yue's eighty years of profound inner strength and all his martial arts skills.
Yun Pianpian looked sincerely at Jiandi Yue and earnestly invited him to live in Jiangjia Village: “Jiangjia Village has simple, honest customs, and the villagers are warm and kind. There are mountains, water, and fields, Master would surely love it there. I've discussed with Shitou that we plan to buy five acres of land to plant fruit trees. We'll plant the saplings in spring, and by autumn, they'll bear fruit. Then we can pick the fruit and make candied hawthorns to sell in the county town. Wouldn't you like to taste the candied hawthorns we make ourselves?”
Jiandi Yue felt a wave of bewilderment in his heart. Now over eighty years old, the memory of candied hawthorns was so distant that he could no longer recall their taste.
He only remembered eating them as a child.
Back then, both his parents were still alive.
He hadn't yet grown old.
Yun Pianpian said, “Master, come back to Jiangjia Village with us.”
Jiandi Yue stared blankly at Yun Pianpian, his aged eyes seemed slightly dazed.
Almost without any hesitation.
“Alright.”
Perhaps he had long wanted to leave this bamboo forest that had confined him for over seventy years.
He was only missing a crutch to help him leave this place, and these two young people were the crutches that would support his aged body.
Their youthful vigor, steadiness, and reliability gave him the courage to break free from this prison named after the sword.
Upon hearing this, Yun Pianpian’s delicate face lit up with a radiant smile.
“Master, then we’ll set off tomorrow.”
Jiandi Yue replied, “Good.”
The next day, Jiandi Yue packed his belongings and brought along his treasured sword.
Taking one last look at the room, he closed the door and decisively locked it.
It was as if he had locked away more than seventy years of solitary suffering.
Jiandi Yue left the bamboo grove with the two young people. He had thought he would feel reluctant, but in truth, he didn’t. Having spent over seventy years here, he had long grown tired of this place.
He was eager to leave, his steps even lighter and quicker than Yun Pianpian’s.
The three of them arrived in Lingxu County.
As soon as they stepped into the marketplace, they caught the attention of everyone on the street.
People widened their eyes in astonishment, gazing at them as if they were celestial beings descended from the heavens. This was especially true because they were accompanied by an elderly man with flowing white hair, who exuded an aura of immortal grace.
Even the dog in his arms looked like a divine beast.
Yun Pianpian had stayed in the deep mountains for so long that she had almost forgotten just how devastatingly handsome Xiao Changyuan’s face was.
During this time, she had been studying medicinal herbs in the Bamboo Cottage, drinking only the clear spring water from the mountains and consuming precious medicinal meals. Her skin had become increasingly radiant, smooth as jade, and her appearance had grown even more delicate and captivating.
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly, casting an unhappy glance at the crowd.
When he frowned, an imposing aura radiated from him, majestic and dignified, making it hard for others to breathe.
The people quickly lowered their heads, not daring to stare at them any longer.
Yun Pianpian pulled Xiao Changyuan to a corner and bent down to smear dust on his handsome face.
Xiao Changyuan’s hands were not idle either. Frowning, he smeared dust on Yun Pianpian’s face, covering her until she looked grimy and disheveled.
By the time Yun Pianpian finished smudging Xiao Changyuan’s face, he was still frowning and continuing to smear dust on hers, as if no amount could conceal her beauty. His movements grew faster and faster, prompting Yun Pianpian to hurriedly say, “That’s enough, that’s enough!”
Only then did Xiao Changyuan stop.
A man and a woman, both with extraordinary presence but covered in dust, emerged from the alley.
This time, no one stared at them anymore.
This place was over a thousand li away from Jiangjia Village. They rented a carriage from a coach station in the county town.
Xiao Changyuan deliberately chose a taciturn coachman, and the group boarded the carriage.
The wheels rumbled as they traveled along the mountain path, covering five hundred li a day.
At night, they camped around a bonfire in the wilderness.
Xiao Changyuan disliked crowding together with others and did not like having people nearby while he slept, so he took Yun Pianpian to a clearing some distance from the carriage, where they lit their own bonfire for the night.
Buling Buling slept at their feet.
Yun Pianpian lay in Xiao Changyuan’s arms, drowsy and on the verge of sleep.
Suddenly, her fair, tender ear was bitten.
The man’s scorching breath sprayed into her ear, jolting her awake instantly.
She opened her eyes.
A sky full of starlight greeted her.
Against the dark night, the stars shone brilliantly, converging into a dazzling river of light. For a moment, she felt dazed, unsure of the time or place, as if she had fallen asleep amidst the stars.
But Xiao Changyuan lowered his head and nibbled on her earlobe, making her shrink back.
She quickly remembered where she was…
Fear gradually filled her almond, shaped eyes.
…Was he insane?
Her master and the coachman were sleeping by the bonfire near the carriage.
How dare this tyrant bite her like this?
Yun Pianpian was terrified out of her wits. She pushed against him, pleading in a hushed voice.
“Don’t…”
Xiao Changyuan bit her earlobe, his breath burning hot.
“Don’t what?”
Yun Pianpian was on the verge of tears. “Not here…”
The man’s voice was low. “They’re asleep.”
Yun Pianpian kept shrinking backward, the corners of her eyes moist and red, glistening with tears. Her voice trembled with a sob.
“Even if they’re asleep, you can’t…”
Xiao Changyuan’s scorching lips pressed against her ear, his voice hoarse and laden with possessiveness.
“A wife who misbehaves deserves to be punished.”
Yun Pianpian knew he was referring to her decision to bring Jiandi Yue back to Jiangjia Village without his permission. She was aware of his intense possessiveness, but half the reason she had done it was to help him.
His tongue flicked against her earlobe, still held between his teeth.
Yun Pianpian shuddered, her eyes reddening as she sobbed, “But I’m scared…”
Hearing the fear in her voice, Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly.
A flicker of conflict passed through his dark, profound eyes.
He released her earlobe, reluctantly letting go of her ear, now red as blood.
“I’ll let you off this time.”
Xiao Changyuan pinched her chin, his gaze intense and unyielding.
“Don’t let there be a next time. Understand?”
The bonfire crackled, occasionally spitting out a spark or two.
The faint firelight cast shifting shadows across the emperor’s jade, like, aloof face, lending it a bewitching, almost sinister charm. Yet the light could not illuminate the depths of his eyes nor warm his cold indifference.
His gaze remained dark and fixed on her, like a dangerous beast.
If he wished, he could tear her apart anytime, anywhere.
Tears welling in her eyes, Yun Pianpian nodded.
“I understand…”
Xiao Changyuan’s ears twitched slightly, and he frowned.
He heard movement from the other end of the carriage, Jiang Diyue was about to wake up.
Xiao Changyuan reached out and covered Yun Pianpian's head with his robe.
“Shh, Master is waking up.”
Yun Pianpian lay quietly in Xiao Changyuan's arms and nodded silently.
She held onto him, feeling at ease, though this man was dangerous and terrifying, he would never harm her.
As long as she refused, he would obediently let her go.
In his dangerous, cold eyes, there was always a trace of almost innocent tenderness when he looked at her.
So, even though his actions sometimes frightened her with their ferocity, she still adored his blend of innocence and wicked charm.
The next day, Yun Pianpian and the others continued their journey by carriage.
Xiao Changyuan suddenly said to the coachman, “Head to Xuzhou.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback. “Why are we going to Xuzhou?”
Xiao Changyuan replied, “Didn't my wife want to try the plum blossom pastries from Xuzhou?”
Yun Pianpian froze. When they had first traveled to Lingxu Mountain, the coachman had mentioned that the plum blossom pastries from Daoji in Xuzhou were famous far and wide. At the time, she had really wanted to try them, but because Xiao Changyuan's possessive nature had flared up and frightened the coachman, she had missed her chance.
She never expected that Xiao Changyuan had remembered it all this time.
She had almost forgotten about it herself.
A warmth spread in Yun Pianpian's heart. She reached out her delicate, pale hand and clasped Xiao Changyuan's larger one.
“Thank you, husband. You treat me the best.”
Xiao Changyuan didn't respond, but his cold expression seemed to soften with satisfaction.
Jiang Diyue, holding Buling Buling, sat dazedly in the corner of the carriage.
Watching these two young people act so sweetly with each other up close every day, he suddenly regretted leaving the mountains.
The group arrived in Xuzhou.
After the city gate guards inspected their travel permits, they allowed the carriage to enter the city.
Yun Pianpian lifted the carriage curtain and spotted a line of people in the distance. She looked up at the signboard of the pastry shop.
One character was written on the golden plaque: Daoji.
The carriage stopped at the end of the line. The three of them got out and joined the queue. Many food enthusiasts had come from afar, and while waiting, they chatted about delicacies from all over. Yun Pianpian listened intently and even felt like joining the conversation. But the moment the thought crossed her mind, Xiao Changyuan extended his pale, slender fingers, cupped her chin, and forced her to look up, making sure her eyes were fixed only on him.
Xiao Changyuan stared at her face, his dark, ink, like eyes filled with a dangerous warning.
Yun Pianpian saw the warning in Xiao Changyuan's eyes.
Her fair, sensitive ears were already reflexively heating up.
“Husband, I was wrong.”
Yun Pianpian's voice was soft and delicate as she grasped his large hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
Only then did the danger in Xiao Changyuan's eyes slowly recede like the tide.
Jiandi Yue stood behind them, his gaze vacant, he had grown accustomed to the way these two young people expressed their affection.
Suddenly, something hard pressed against his left leg.
Jiandi Yue heard a childish, milky voice from behind.
“Don't move.”
Jiandi Yue turned around and saw a child of about five or six.
The little boy was dressed in a sapphire, blue brocade robe, holding a small wooden sword in both hands. He was pressing the wooden sword against Jiandi Yue's leg. Seemingly noticing Jiandi Yue's gaze, the boy lifted his dark, curious eyes to look at him.
“Grandpa, why are you so old.”
Jiandi Yue stared at the child's face, his aged eyes dazed for a moment.
Yun Pianpian turned around, saw the little boy, and said in confusion, “Why does this child look so much like Master.”
Xiao Changyuan frowned slightly.
He, too, thought the little boy bore a fifty percent resemblance to Jiandi Yue.