‘I made up my mind there and then — as long as you pulled through, you would belong to me. Even if you get angry or hate me, that won’t stop me!’
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Ch. 13.2
After he had left, Yin Chufan sat down and took out his tobacco pipe. As the nurses had said that smoking was prohibited, he merely put it in his mouth out of habit. Jingwan was watching the tiger cub as it extended its claws and started scratching at the flower patterns on the carpet, making a noise as it did so. Yin Chufan gazed abstractedly at the tiger cub for some time before knocking his pipe on the table, causing Jingwan to address him, ‘Papa…’
Yin Chufan sighed and opined, ‘Child, it’s too grand to be a good match.’
Although broad-minded, Jingwan could not help blushing slightly at hearing her father speak so bluntly and she forced herself to smile as she asked, ‘Papa, why would you even think that?’
Yin Chufan said, ‘When you’ve made more of a recovery, we should return to Qianping as soon as possible. It seems to me that there’s merely been some sort of misunderstanding between you and Jianzhang. You two were engaged and our friendship with the Xu family is a long-standing one. Whatever the problem is, I’m sure it can be resolved after a good talk.’
Jingwan had no idea why but besides a feeling of real anger at hearing her father say this, she had an even stronger feeling of discomfiture that could not be articulated.
She protested, ‘How come even you don’t believe me either? The only thing that Sixth Marshal and I share is our experience of going through adversity together. I can’t help it if he treats me with particular courtesy.’
Yin Chufan chewed his pipe as he observed, ‘You’ve always been clever. I don’t believe that you can’t find ways to fend off¹ his gallantry. He treats you with great courtesy whereas I see you treating him with great familiarity.’
Jingwan, who had a decidedly competitive streak, pouted and said defiantly, ‘Well, Papa, you’ll just have to wait and see. Whatever it is, I never meant anything of that kind or perhaps he’s misunderstood something. I’ll think of a way to discourage him somehow.’
Since she sounded so resolute, Yin Chufan did not pursue the matter.
¹ 推搪 tuītáng. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
Sure enough, Jingwan kept looking for chances but no opportune moment presented itself. Zhao Shuning came over today to visit her and they chit-chatted together. The former’s eye was caught by a small Western pistol inlaid with gems that was lying on a small table and she remarked, ‘I heard from Liù Gē (Sixth Brother) that this type of pistol was made to order overseas and only one pair exists, so it’s very precious.’
Before the attempted assassination, Murong Feng had made Jingwan a present of this pistol together with two train tickets. Jingwan had taken it out with the intention of returning it to him and when she heard Zhao Shuning saying that it was one half of a pair, could not help feeling somewhat embarrassed as well as another strange, indefinable feeling. She hastily changed the subject by observing, ‘Sixth Marshal is a capital shot.’
Zhao Shuning’s eyes lit up as she concurred, ‘It was the Old Marshal who personally instructed him. Liù Gē has always been really competitive even as a child. I remember once when he was about six or seven years old, the Old Marshal asked whether he wanted to be a regimental commander when he grew up and he actually said no. When the Old Marshal asked him what he wanted to be instead, Liù Gē raised his chin and declared that he wanted to “govern the country and pacify the world”. The Old Marshal was so proud of him after that and kept praising Liù Gē for being ambitious.’
Jingwan noted the obvious admiration in the girl’s voice who, noticing the former’s regard, blushed, lowered her head and apologised, ‘I’m always so long-winded, prosing away about such a trivial thing. I’m sorry if I’ve annoyed you, Miss Yin.’
Jingwan commented, ‘Not at all, I like listening to you.’ She then asked, ‘What year were you born in, Zhao Jiějie? I think you’re older than me.’
Zhao Shuning replied, ‘I’m younger than Liù Gē by a year and four months.’
Jingwan observed smilingly, ‘I’m Sixth Marshal’s sworn sister so I hope you won’t mind my addressing you as Jiějie (Elder Sister).’
Zhao Shuning gave a soft exclamation of surprise before saying, ‘Oh, you’re actually Sixth Marshal’s sworn sister. I even thought that…’ Her voice trailed off into a brief laugh.
Jingwan understood her meaning but acted dumb and said instead, ‘I’m young and foolish enough, daring to claim Sixth Marshal as my elder brother. Since you and Sixth Marshal are cousins, that makes you my elder sister too.’
Zhao Shuning could hardly fail to be won over after hearing herself being addressed as the elder sister, Jingwan’s compliments and quick wits. The more time they spent together, the more congenial they found each other. After that, Zhao Shuning started going over frequently to keep her company.
On this particular day, commander Yu had invited Yin Chufan to dinner. Murong Feng always came over before going to bed to see how Jingwan was but as his meetings always tended to end late at night, she was invariably asleep by that time. Today his meeting had ended earlier so she had not gone to bed yet.
He thus remarked with a laugh, ‘At last I’ve managed to catch you awake. When I came yesterday and the day before, you had already fallen asleep.’
Jingwan told Lan Qin, ‘Bring Sixth Marshal’s supper here.’
Lan Qin carried over a bowl of noodles on a small tray. Murong Feng saw that it was noodles with shredded chicken in a clear soup covered by a layer of oil, the aroma of which wafted over. He could not help chuckling and said, ‘Thank you very much.’
Lan Qin commented smilingly, ‘Miss Yin already told the kitchen to prepare this just now but was afraid to get it cooked too early in case the noodles turned soggy.’
As Murong Feng picked up his chopsticks, Lan Qin went out noiselessly. His appetite was very good and as he ate his noodles slowly, he asked with a laugh, ‘How did you know that I like to eat this?’
Jingwan replied with a smile, ‘Why, I asked Shuning Jiějie. She’s really observant — your favourite food and drink, your likes and dislikes — she remembers them all.’
Murong Feng’s expression changed slightly and the hand holding the chopsticks full of noodles was arrested near his mouth.
Not wanting to be too clever for her own good², Jingwan did not dare continue in that vein and asked smilingly instead, ‘Why not carry on eating?’
Murong Feng laughed shortly and countered, ‘Why not carry on talking?’
² 弄巧成拙 nòngqiǎo-chéngzhuō. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Despite his smile, his eyes were grave and stern which made Jingwan afraid and she said with a smile ‘Dà Gē’ (Elder Brother). Before her voice had trailed off, he was already slapping his chopsticks down on the table. The chopsticks were originally joined together by a fine silver chain which now snapped under the force, sending one chopstick flying while the other fell on the floor and the bowl of soup spilled its contents. His eyes looked ready to devour her as he eyed her belligerently.
‘Yin Jingwan, don’t push your luck. Let me make something clear to you today: I’m not your elder brother or anything so absurd. I care for you. That bullet didn’t nearly just kill you, it almost killed me as well. I made up my mind there and then — as long as you pulled through, you would belong to me. Even if you get angry or hate me, that won’t stop me!’
Jingwan had not expected him to say that. His eyes were bright, like two blazing flames. She was sitting on the edge of the bed and he reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders. Even as she turned pale with fright, his imperious and warm lips were already covering hers. She tried to struggle and the faint movement caused a pang around her wound, which caused her to gasp slightly. He took advantage of it and deepened the kiss. Greatly frightened, she tried to push him away only to feel his hold tighten. His imperiousness was making it hard for her to breathe and she could only lie limply in his arms. It was not until her nails scratched the back of his neck painfully that he finally let go of her.
His breathing was agitated. Although Jingwan had a daring nature, she was filled with consternation for some reason and was also breathing fast.
He said ‘Jingwan’ quietly.
She lifted her face slightly. His eyes were burning fiercely with emotion but his voice was stifled and husky.
‘Jingwan, I hope you can stay by my side. The Cheng-Ying conflict is going to start again soon: I can’t let you leave, neither can I let the fighting³ separate us.’
³ 烽火連天 fēnghuǒ-liántiān. Please consider reading from hiding in plain sight rather than from novelscraping sites.
Jingwan had no idea what she was thinking of herself; her predominant feeling was trepidation and since she rarely felt frightened, such a feeling was causing her to tremble. She could still taste his kiss — imperious and scorching on her lips — and it felt as though some secret corner in the recesses of her heart had been lit. Shying away from this thought, she bewilderedly asked the first thing that came to mind, ‘Why must you all go to war?’
His eyes were bright as if still smouldering with the embers of passion. ‘This battle is inevitable. The Cheng and Ying armies have been facing off for many years, but it’s hardly viable as a long-term strategy. I’ve been planning for this in the last few years. The only option is to pacify the sixteen provinces of the North, then defeat Jiang Shuangxi and Li Chongnian once and for all in the South. The disintegration of this country needs to come to an end.’
Jingwan was gazing at him with astonishment and gasped, ‘You’re crazy. The North is coveted by the Russians while the Ying Army has always been a match for the Cheng Army’s strength. If you direct your full strength towards attacking the South, gambling everything on winning there, it’ll leave the North utterly exposed — how can it be defended then? If you have to engage enemies on both fronts, how can you ever hope to win?’
Murong Feng gazed at her for a while before suddenly dropping a light kiss on her hairline. Jingwan was so startled that she did not even duck.
He looked at her smilingly and stated, ‘Aren’t I just? Crazy about you, that is. All these pressing military responsibilities are a man’s burden and I shouldn’t be telling you about them. But I want the whole world to see, and I want you to know, the kind of ambitions I have. Jingwan, I want to give you the kind of happiness every woman respects and admires; I want to lay this world at your feet.’
(Approx. 1835 words)
12’s notes:
Edited after post was published.
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