He whispered softly, deeply moved, "If you had told me all this sooner, none of this would have happened. You’ve always kept everything bottled up, leaving me not knowing what to do with you. Qiluo, you’ve made my life miserable, but thank heaven you didn’t die, thank heaven the child is still here, and thank heaven I followed the pull in my heart and came to Hangzhou, or we would have spent our lives apart, heartbroken in different places. If you had just expressed your feelings, told me what you wanted, instead of repeatedly trampling on my sincerity, I would never have agreed to marry those three princesses. I thought you didn’t care! Yes, I was somewhat concerned about our differences in status, but if you had just spoken up, I wouldn’t have cared about any of that! You always had a way of angering me so easily, and your tears always made me weak. Don’t cry; I don’t want to see you cry." He lowered his head and kissed away her tears.
"Why did you come to Hangzhou? Was it because you found out I wasn’t dead?"
This was the first question in her mind; and why was it only now that she understood he hadn’t harmed her, that he truly did love her…
Knowing all this, she began to worry about him storming into Hangzhou and alerting the authorities.
Why would he do such a thing? After seeing her "die" with his own eyes, he shouldn’t have had any hope that she was still alive. So why did he come?
He shook his head.
"Three days after you jumped off the cliff, the Eastern Dan Kingdom rose in rebellion. The Khan, to divert my rage and prevent me from harming myself over your death, sent me to lead the army to quell the uprising. It took three months, and I forced myself to clear my mind. During that time, I began to feel a strange pull, something that drove me to come to Hangzhou, to the Jun family; it felt as though the answer to the turmoil inside me lay in the place where you grew up. I found that the grief over your death was far outweighed by the anger I felt at your constant resentment towards me. Later, when Duo Luo Zhiwa attempted to crown himself king, I spent some time dealing with him. Once everything was settled, I came here!"
"All by yourself? And making sure everyone knows about it?" she demanded angrily. "Are you trying to die a 'glorious' death?"
He flashed a handsome smile; this little woman was making him very happy. Everything she said and did showed how deeply she cared and worried for him, even though she stubbornly spoke in contradictions! At this moment, he was finally certain that he hadn’t been acting alone in this love story.
"You…" She couldn’t help but want to hit him again.
He smiled nonchalantly.
"I did it on purpose."
"Why?"
"You scared me for six months, so I figured this was a small way to repay you, to let you know: I’m here! I’ve come to claim my bride!"
She growled in frustration, "Oh, so first you scare me, then you plan to kidnap me in front of the whole city and take me back to Khitan, where you won’t have to worry about the officials chasing you. I’m sure you’ve already planned the escape route! But what you didn’t anticipate is that I’m about to give birth! I can’t go anywhere right now, and after giving birth, I’ll need at least a month to recover. You’ve really miscalculated!"
"Indeed! That was my original plan. It seems I’ll have to stay for one or two more months before we can return to Khitan."
"You…" Jun Qiluo stared at him in disbelief.
Was he insane? Or just foolish? Hangzhou wasn’t that big, and now that his identity was exposed, they would surely capture him within three days. His blue eyes alone were enough to get him killed!
"Can’t you return to Khitan and come back in two months?"
He shook his head firmly. After finally holding her in his arms again, he couldn’t bear to be separated from her, let alone return to Khitan alone. He would go back, but only with his wife and child.
"You said you wanted to marry me!"
"Yes!" he replied with a smile. "With unwavering determination."
"I don’t want to become a widow before I’ve even married!"
He kissed her gently. She had finally admitted that she wanted to marry him, to be his.
"Is that a bit of coquettishness I hear?"
"Yelü Lie, I’m going to call for help!"
Just as she said this, there was a knock on the door from outside.
"Sister! Sister! What’s going on?" It was Jiangjuan’s voice.
"Qiluo, open the door!" came the voice of Jun Chengliu.
And there were other voices, all talking at once.
Jun Qiluo’s face turned pale with fear. She quickly slid off his knee, grasping his hand in panic, not knowing what to do.
"You… you need to leave, quickly!"
She had only been joking earlier, never expecting that someone would actually come up. Had they been that loud?
Yelü Lie stood up.
"I’ll be back."
"Please! Can’t you just go back to Khitan for now?" They walked together toward the window. She was almost begging him, her expression involuntarily turning soft and pleading.
He couldn’t resist pulling her into a tight embrace, kissing her deeply. He had never seen her display such open tenderness, and it was all for him.
"If you want to be a hero, just tell the soldiers that I’m hiding in the alley on Rongchuan Lane. But I won’t leave until after you’ve given birth!"
"You…" She grabbed onto his clothes.
He gently stroked her belly.
"No matter if it’s a boy or a girl, I won’t let our child suffer the same fate as Dong Yin."
"Dong Yin… is she doing well?" Jun Qiluo carefully watched his eyes, wondering if he had figured out that Dong Yin was the one who had helped her escape.
"I know. And I’ve taken the appropriate measures." He gave a cold smile.
The knocking outside grew more urgent, as if they were about to break in.
"You… she… she…" Her heart sank, unsure of how to ask.
"I’ll tell you next time."
With that, he jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night along the rooftop…
Moments later, Jun Chengliu had the servants break down the door, and he was the first to rush into the inner room.
"Qiluo! You…"
But there was no man here, just his heavily pregnant daughter. His heart, which had been racing, finally settled down, though he wasn’t sure what to say.
"Is there something wrong? What happened?" Jun Qiluo asked calmly, glancing at the six or seven servants in the hall, all holding clubs, as well as her father and younger sister in the room.
Jun Jiangjuan looked around and then said, "A maid passed by your small building earlier and thought she heard a man’s voice coming from your room. She also said she saw two shadows against the candlelight! We thought there might be a thief! Sister, why didn’t you say anything or answer the door?"
"I was in a deep sleep. How could there be a man? I’m just a pregnant woman—what thief would target me?"
Jun Qiluo tried to keep her face expressionless, but her heart was still heavy with worry for him.
"As long as nothing’s wrong, that’s good! It’s just that with those two Hu people showing up, the whole city is on edge, so it’s understandable that everyone is being extra cautious." Jun Chengliu dismissed the servants and left the room, but not before giving one more instruction: "Jiangjuan, you should stay with your sister tonight. The two of you will feel safer together."
"Yes, Father."
After closing the door, Jun Jiangjuan helped her sister sit at the dining table.
"It’s been a while, and you haven’t touched your dinner. At least finish the tonic."
Jun Qiluo placed a hand on her belly; it wouldn’t do to let the child go hungry. She took the chicken soup her sister had served and sipped it absentmindedly.
"Sister, why are your lips so red and swollen?" Jun Jiangjuan asked curiously. By the light of the candles, she noticed that her sister’s lips were a deep red, unlike their usual pink hue, and they looked fuller than before.
A blush spread across Jun Qiluo's cheeks. She quickly covered her mouth, feeling a bit flustered as she stared at Jiangjuan, unsure of how to respond.
"Did the chicken soup burn you?" Jiangjuan touched the outside of the bowl. "But it doesn’t seem hot—the soup has already cooled."
Jun Qiluo, eager to avoid the embarrassing question, swiftly changed the subject, asking, "How has Zheng Shuting been behaving lately?"
"After we sent him ten taels of silver a few days ago, it seems he’s learned to appreciate what he has a bit more. He told Father that as long as Second Sister returns to his side, he won’t ask for anything else and won’t rely on the Jun family’s wealth anymore." Jiangjuan’s face showed her skepticism. She didn’t believe a person’s stubborn nature could change so easily.
"Perhaps he can manage it. Zheng Shuting has some pride, especially now that he’s seen reality for what it is. If he doesn’t work hard to succeed and earn his reputation, he’ll never be able to hold his head high."
"Can pride fill your stomach? Reading requires effort. If he claims he’ll never rely on our family again… ha! Let’s hope he doesn’t become the subject of everyone’s jokes, used for people’s amusement!"
Jun Qiluo smiled and shook her head.
"I suppose you’ve decided you’ll never marry a scholar."
"And I won’t marry a brute either," Jiangjuan added suddenly, a giant’s figure flashing through her mind.
Strange? Why did he leave such a strong impression on her? That man was a brute, yet he had a calm demeanor that didn’t come across as crude or uncultured.
She tilted her head slightly. "Sister, I never knew that Zheng the bookworm had such a giant for a friend! He was so tall, so strong, riding a big black horse. He must be a Northerner. A few days ago, he was even drinking with Zheng Shuting."
Jun Qiluo smiled, unconcerned.
"If you traveled more, you’d notice that our Southern men lack some of the grandeur and strength found in the North. In the North, on the frontier, you’ll see tall and strong people everywhere, with a diversity of skin tones and hair colors that you can’t even imagine. In the land of the Arabs, for example, people’s skin is all black, and some have eyes that sparkle like jewels—green, blue, gold… there are so many!"
Jiangjuan let out a sigh.
"So, it’s not surprising that Khitans might have blue eyes? They’re not monsters, are they?"
"Of course not!" Jun Qiluo’s reaction was a bit too passionate. Noticing her sister’s curious look, she added sheepishly, "We shouldn’t ignorantly label people as monsters or freaks just because their hair or skin color is different. It’s simply that our knowledge is limited, and we assume everyone in the world is just like us. Jiangjuan, as people in the trade, traveling the world, we need to have this level of understanding and awareness."
Jiangjuan nodded, full of longing. "If only I could travel the world too, how wonderful that would be!"
"Indeed!"
Strict societal rules, established over thousands of years, had become entrenched norms, like layers of silk cocooning women, keeping them trapped in darkness for their entire lives. And so, they believed that the confines of the cocoon were the entirety of the world, remaining ignorant until the end of their days.
How many more years would it take for women to break free from the cocoon?
The future seemed bleak, with not a glimmer of light in sight. Jun Qiluo sighed softly, lamenting the sorrow of being a woman…
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