Chapter 256 – So Ruthless
“Third sister, do you like Young Master Liu? I also think he has a good character, looks, and family background.”
Suddenly, a sentence Yan Xiaosi said yesterday surfaced in Yan Shuyun’s mind.
She trusted Xiaosi very much. If even Xiaosi thought Young Master Liu wasn’t bad, then he should be someone worthy of entrusting her life to.
“Miss Shuyun, my Little Brother Xu has you in his heart. What do you think?” Liu Ke asked again.
Yan Shuyun lifted her head with effort, blushing as she looked at Liu Ke.
“I… I am willing to agree to this marriage.”
Hearing this, Liu Ke and the matchmaker were overjoyed.
Yan Shuyun glanced at her eldest and second sisters eavesdropping at the room’s entrance. After a moment of hesitation, she added, “But… but I’m still young. Can we get married in two years?”
Firstly, her eldest and second sisters weren’t married yet. It wouldn’t be proper for her to marry first. Secondly, if she got married, she couldn’t give her full monthly wages to her maternal family anymore, and they needed money now. She still wanted to support them more.
Seeing where her gaze was directed, Liu Ke somewhat understood what she was thinking.
“Alright,” she readily agreed. Anyway, her Little Brother Xu didn’t say they had to get married immediately.
“Let’s first settle this engagement. You can get married in two years. After you move into your new home, I’ll bring Little Xu’s birth chart so you two can match them.”
Ms. Wang and Ms. Zhong invited Liu Ke and the matchmaker to stay for dinner. Liu Ke politely declined, saying the store had been quite busy recently, and left hurriedly with the matchmaker.
In fact, it wasn’t because the store was busy, but because Liu Xu was waiting at the store for news. They were afraid he would grow anxious from waiting.
When Liu Ke returned to Daxing Town and got off the carriage, sure enough, she saw Liu Xu rushing up to her.
“Sister, how did it go? Is Yun’er willing?”
Liu Ke teased, “Look at how impatient you are, truly uncontrollable as an adult.”
“Sister, don’t tease me. Hurry and tell me.”
“It’s done. Miss Shuyun is willing to marry you. But the wedding will be set for two years later.”
Hearing this, Liu Xu was overjoyed and very understanding of Yan Shuyun. “That’s only natural. The Yan family’s eldest and second daughters aren’t married yet. Yun’er is the youngest, so it’s not good for her to marry first. I’m willing to wait two years for her.”
That evening, at the Tongluo Plain military camp.
Inside a modestly-sized tent, the candlelight was dim.
“Brother Wu, does pressing here hurt?”
“No pain, no pain. It feels so good.”
Yan Xiaosi was helping Wu Bin with further treatment. Wu Bin was lying prone on his bed, one half of his face resting on a pillow, eyes slightly narrowed, enjoying it immensely.
Every time Yan Xiaosi’s hands pressed on his waist, he felt a numb tingling sensation that not only relieved the pain but also felt extremely comfortable.
“Little Brother Yan, I must say, your hands are as soft as a young lady’s.”
With Wu Bin’s remark, Wang Cheng and Zhao Xi, who were standing to the side, burst into laughter.
Wang Cheng said, “Not only are Little Brother Yan’s hands like a young lady’s, his whole person is like one too – slender and delicate, inspiring a man’s protective instincts.”
Zhao Xi added, “This morning, when Guard Long Yi brought Little Brother Yan into the tent, I thought he had brought in a young lady. I dare say many ladies aren’t as good-looking as Little Brother Yan.”
Little Brother Yan thought to himself: I am a young lady to begin with.
He knew Wang Cheng and the other two were just joking with him. In the military camp, all the men were as coarse as foot-scraping louts.
After massaging Wu Bin, Little Brother Yan took out a few needles. With a solemn expression, she meticulously inserted them into Wu Bin’s waist.
The silver needles had been obtained from the military doctor earlier that day.
As the needles went in, Wu Bin howled in pain.
The blissful expression on his face vanished without a trace. He complained to Yan Xiaosi, “Little Brother Yan, you’re trying to murder me!”
Yan Xiaosi carefully rotated the silver needles inserted in his acupoints and laughed softly, “If I wanted to murder you, Brother Wu, you basically wouldn’t have had a chance to speak. This is called ‘no pain when clear, pain when blocked’. Your waist meridians are blocked, so these needles will naturally hurt for a bit when inserted. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine in a moment.”
Sure enough, in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Wu Bin felt the pain from earlier had mostly disappeared. He moved slightly and found his waist much more flexible and his body much more relaxed.
Yan Xiaosi pressed on him with his hands and reminded, “Don’t move yet. The needles are still in your body. If they get dislodged, you’ll be in pain again for a while.”
Wu Bin turned his head and grinned at Yan Xiaosi.
His gaze fell on Yan Xiaosi’s serious face. The more he looked, the more beautiful he found it.
“Little Brother Yan, if you were a woman, I, Wu Bin, would definitely marry you as my wife.”
Not to be outdone, Wang Cheng said, “If Little Brother Yan were a woman, you wouldn’t stand a chance. I would marry her as my wife.”
Zhao Xi wasn’t about to lose either. “I’m also willing to marry Little Brother Yan as my wife. Not only are his medical skills good, he’s good-looking too.”
Wu Bin angrily retorted, “You two, get lost! How dare you fight with me over a wife?”
Seeing the three of them engage in this pointless argument, Yan Xiaosi facepalmed helplessly and reminded them, “Captains, I am a man and not interested in other men. You should stop fighting.”
Long Yu and Murong Qinjian were patrolling nearby and happened to overhear these words.
His Highness the War King was very displeased, frowning.
Firstly, he was unhappy that Wu Bin and the other two were vehemently insisting on marrying Yan Xiaosi as their wife. Secondly, he was unhappy that Yan Xiaosi wasn’t interested in men. How preposterous.
Murong Qinjian followed reluctantly behind him. When Long Yu suddenly stopped, Murong Qinjian almost collided with him.
“Long Yu, give some warning before stopping, will you?”
Long Yu hadn’t heard his complaint, his eyes fixed on the dimly-lit tent not far away.
“Attracting admirers everywhere he goes.”
Murong Qinjian immediately sensed something was wrong. Rubbing his nose, he retreated a few steps to Long Yi’s side and asked in a low voice, “Long Yi, why did your master suddenly get angry? Who lives in that military tent?”
He had been lost in thought just now and hadn’t paid much attention to the conversation between Yan Xiaosi, Wu Bin, and the other two.
Long Yi glanced at his master and said softly, “Yan Xiaosi lives in that military tent.”
“Oh, I get it.”
Murong Qinjian put on an ‘I understand’ expression, then tiptoed closer to that military tent.
The conversation between Yan Xiaosi, Wu Bin, and the other two continued to drift out from the tent.
“Brother Wu, today’s treatment ends here. You probably won’t need acupuncture tomorrow. I’ll give you a few more massage sessions to consolidate the effects.”
“Little Brother Yan, you can’t just give Wu Bin massages. I’m an injured patient too.”
“So am I.”
The protests came from Zhao Xi and Wang Cheng.
Yan Xiaosi put the silver needles back into the needle case while glancing at the two of them. “Do you two have pain in the butt? Want me to stick a few needles in you?”
Hearing this, Wang Cheng and Zhao Xi’s faces changed.
“No… no need.”
“So ruthless.”
