.webp)
.webp)
Love is colder than death.
For Wan Deng, her love is a lifelong encounter, but it has never begun. It is wrapped in tears and dripping into the unknown undercurrent. Before it disappears, it is more gorgeous than the dying peony.
Love is something colder than ice, but warmer than spring flowers. It has never solidified, it is as eternal as a river, it has never stopped, it has never stayed, and it has never forgotten.
Wan Deng hugged her knees and sat dumbly on the mahogany board with folded legs, watching her sister Wan Xiang put on her makeup in the mirror.
Wan Xiang's body is covered with layers of red, strong and intense red, her eyebrows are curved with fragrant ink, her cheeks are covered thick and pink, and a hint of beauty slowly emerges from the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
The old lady took a piece of snow-white bellyband from the pile of brocade red silk and gently wrapped it around Wan Xiang's chest. The bellyband is embroidered with acacia flowers, plain in color, and as soft as spring snow, wrapped around Wan Xiang's body. It covered the pair of plump and tender br*asts, reflecting a deep round groove. Wan Xiang's fine and fragrant hair cascades down, casting a few dark shadows, making the pair of snowy br*asts even more gorgeous, like a round pink ball held in the palm of your hand. Wan Xiang's skin was fair, and instead of being weighed down by the snow-white bellyband, her complexion made her look even more beautiful. She was as pink as jade, and she melted into the pile of fragrant powder and rouge.
The beauty of Wan Xiang and Wan Deng are very clear, because she also has the same beauty, and it is exactly the same.
Because Wan Deng and Wan Xiang are identical twin sisters.
Wan Xiang pursed her lips shyly and smiled, putting on the layers of wedding clothes.
There was a gentle knocking outside the door, and the old nanny muttered.
"What kind of broken rules are these? If you don't wear a red bellyband, you have to wear a white one. How unlucky..."
She closed her mouth and opened the door under the restrained gaze of Wan Xiang.
Today is the day to get married.
Times have changed.
The downfall of the former Qing Dynasty, once upon a time, the luxurious and enchanting streets, exuding a subtle and dry charm, are no longer seen. Everyone no longer wears braids, young men have neat short hair, and young girls have pierce their ears and cut their hairs. The decadent dynasty, shrouded in a misty spring mist, has faded away, leaving behind a Beijing city filled with the smell of gunpowder.
The smell of gun powder lingers in the sky over Beijing and cannot be shaken away.
The new era has come, and freedom has come. Some places are like a fish in water, making drastic changes, such as Shanghai, while some places are cautious, shrinking into a corner and continuing to live out their old dreams, like Beijing.
The people holding incense and holding lanterns are the last beautiful afterimage left in history by the ancient rut of the Qing Dynasty that has dragged on for hundreds of years. They were born in the last period of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and witnessed the demise of the dynasty in their infancy. It is the surname Aisin-Gioro, and the last two characters with titles.
"I have to find a way, I must find a way..."
One night, the old prince who is their grandfather and the others went to the courtyard to enjoy and view the epiphyllum flowers, but Wan Xiang held her hand and sat on the bamboo seat and chatted.
"What's the matter?"
Wan Deng lit a candle and read a collection of poems. Sixteen years old was the most fresh and innocent age. Like dewdrops on flowers, they are moistened one after another. She looked at her sister with her shining eyes. .
"The situation in the palace is getting worse and worse," Wan Xiang said.
She never read poetry collections and held account books since she was a child. Everyone in the palace, including the old prince and Wan Deng, thought that Wan Xiang was strange, but she can't say anything.
"Grandfather is getting older. In the future, just the money for medicine will be a big expense. He had too many people to collect houses in the past, and they all only knew how to eat. Now, brother has the same disease as him. Marrying back one after another, the previous dynasty has been destroyed, and our Eight Banners have no salary to earn, and we can't support the entire palace with just a little land."
Turning on the lamp, she sneered.
"Sister, are you worried about this? No matter how bad the situation in the mansion is, we sisters are never short of food and clothing. Even if we don't have salaries, our century-old palace will sell anything in the house. It’s worth a lot of money.”
Wan Xiang shook her head and sighed softly with sadness in her eyes.
"Now that the world is so chaotic, no one will pay a lot of money to buy our antiques. No matter how valuable things are, they will only be bought at a low price. Everyone is in a hurry to escape, so who has the mood to pack up cultural relics?”
She glanced around, nervously holding her sister's wrist holding the lamp, and hesitantly.
"The reason why our palace is still supporting the expenses is because I sold some antiques in the family warehouse to foreigners.”
"Foreigners?!"
Wan Deng was startled and raised her voice.
"How dare you sell to foreigners? What grandfather hates the most are foreigners!"
"Don't scream!"
Wan Xiang was anxious and covered her sister's mouth.
"I have no other choice! Ever since General Sun Dianying and others dug up the Queen Mother's tomb, many foreigners have come here to hunt for treasures. They offer high prices and don't know much about the goods. They don't know how much they ask for. Here, I only sold a few ordinary antiques and sold them for a very good price after a few words. They gave me not gold coupons, but gold and silver! This way, the palace can survive to this day!”
But even so, the incense sticks cannot keep the palace's huge expenses like running water. The high taste cultivated by aristocrats for centuries, and everyone's optimistic attitude without any fear, make this once prosperous mansion more and more of an empty shell.
"I will definitely find a way, I will."
Wan Xiang wrinkled her little face and slipped down to the ground with her bare feet, stepping on the soft and fragrant soil. This soil is fragrant, with the sweet taste of citrus and pear. It was bought by the old prince from the flower pond in the south of the Yangtze River with a hundred gold coins. It was spread on the courtyard floor of the two golden boudoirs. It is Aisin-Gioro's. It is an enjoyment that can only be enjoyed by their family’s most precious treasure, golden branches and jade leaves.
Wan Deng looked at her sister, then lowered her head and continued to read her collection of poems, but there was something strange in her heart. She always felt why even though they were the same age, Wan Xiang seemed to be very thoughtful.
At that time, she couldn't understand how tiring it was for Wan Xiang.
The last thing Wan Xiang thought of was to marry herself off.
The person she was going to marry was an upstart businessman far away in Shanghai. In order to marry her, the other party offered a huge betrothal gift, enough for the palace to squander for a while.
Although the former Qing Dynasty was overthrown, the unique status of the twin sister is still valuable. This represents the status of a nobleman for hundreds of years. For those vulgar businessmen who only have money, being able to marry a royal princess will not hesitate to greatly improve their status. They imitated the way of getting married between the new European aristocrats and the declining old aristocrats, handing over money and making friends, thus fulfilling their noble dreams.
Wan Deng was disgusted and turned into a mess.
Shanghai, according to their grandmother, is a place of promiscuity where jackals, tigers, and leopards live in a state of intoxication, where demons dance wildly. How could Wan Xiang marry herself to such a vulgar place!
"Are you crazy?! We are Princesses, not prostitutes! You are not allowed to go, our palace will not miss this food!"
Standing in the prosperous courtyard, she held the lantern and pulled her sister's wrist tightly and shouted, the nails left red marks on her skin.
"It will be."
Wan Xiang's voice was light, looking at the red marks on her hands that were pulled out by her sister, her eyes were like shards of ice, filled with cold water vapor.
"Believe it or not, if I don't get married today, the palace will run out of food tomorrow."
"How is that possible?" Wan Deng was speechless.
"Don't we still have a lot of antiques at the palace..."
"Can we sell them?"
Wan Xiang's expression seemed to be broken, hurting Wan Deng's heart. The sparkling eyes under her slender eyebrows seemed to be broken. She murmured.
"I don't want to sell it to foreigners and have them take it far away to the sea and display it to a group of people."
People with yellow hair and green eyes look shameless and despicable!
As she cursed Wan Xiang, she knelt down, trembling, and hugged her weak knees tightly, with tears pouring down her face.
For Wan Xiang, these antiques are all golden fragments left behind by this country's splendid civilization. Drop by drop, they are the purest blood and bones of China accumulated over thousands of years. And in order to survive, she exchanged the bones and blood of her motherland for thousands of years for food and clothes. She couldn't swallow it at all! She would rather sell herself than sell them again.
The old patriarch was nestled on the couch, knocking out a piece of soft black ash with his long pipe, which was knocked into the red crystal agate ashtray. He looked at the betrothal gift list in his hand with an expression of pride and helplessness.
He was proud that the betrothal gift was so huge, but unfortunately, it was the money spent to his beloved granddaughter's life in exchange for.
"It's okay, it's okay, the emperor will come back..."
The old prince said to Wan Xiang who was kneeling on the ground, mumbling repeatedly. He was getting older, and there seemed to be phlegm in his throat. He was coughing and whining and couldn't speak clearly, but he kept biting these words over and over again for days.
This stubborn old prince stubbornly believes that the former Qing Dynasty can make a comeback and the glory and prosperity of the past will be restored. He waited stubbornly, just like the long mottled brass pipe he held in his hand, refusing to replace it with a new one.
But the reality will not change because of his stubbornness. The old patriarch knows very well how bad the palace's finances are.
In order to eat, he had to bow to the nouveau riche far away in Shanghai and marry the woman he had cherished for most of his life, without hesitation.
"This man hasn't even gotten married yet, but he has already raised several wives. How unbecoming! Does my Xiang'er want to compete with others for her husband's favor just after she got married?!"
The house was full of joy, but Wan Xiang's mother was worried. She couldn't sleep at night, and the spring rain made her feel cold, as if she was sick, every fiber of her body was cold.
What made it even more intolerable was that although the groom’s family had prepared a full set of wedding accessories, they also sent a white bellyband, designated for the bride to wear on her wedding day! Is this a wedding or a funeral?!
But no matter how sad their mother was, she couldn't change the fact that her daughter was getting married. After crying for a while, she was persuaded to leave by her daughters. Wan Xiang touched her snow-white bellyband and sighed softly, smiling at the sister whose face was flushed with anger.
"Mother has misunderstood their family. Shanghai people love to imitate foreigners and think white is a symbol of purity, so they give it like this."
She blinked her red eyes and stroked her sister's cheek.
"I won't let Deng'er suffer such injustice. Deng'er will marry the one you love."
Wan Deng opened her eyes wide in surprise, and saw Wan Xiang quietly pushing a box to her. When she opened it, it was filled with heavy gold bars, and the yellow color was extremely pure.
"This is the dowry money I left for you. There are too many people in each room of our palace. Once the patriarch becomes seriously ill and passes away, mother's weak nature will not be able to protect you. As for our brother, don't let him spend it randomly. Thank God for the money. The third house is a scoundrel. When the time comes, you can keep the money to marry into an ideal family. I will try my best to bring mother to my side..."
Wan Xiang hugged her sister's slender shoulders, buried her forehead in the crook of her neck, and murmured. Wan Deng felt that her neck was itchy and hot. She clenched her hands and hugged her crying sister like she did when they were still children.
In that season when peach blossoms flourished, the flowers of Beijing bloomed all over the city amidst the faint smell of gunpowder smoke in the blue sky.
The royal residence was decorated with lanterns, and waves of red and green rippled through the carved corridors in preparation for the marriage of the Grand Princess.
Wan Deng sneaked out of the house and wanted to choose a souvenir for her sister. She picked the shop and just as she was about to raise her head to ask, she saw the landlady staring at the door with a dazed look on her face.
Wan Deng turned around reflexively, but for a moment she didn't even know that her nails had pierced the flesh and blood of her palms.
A young man with picturesque features, as beautiful as a fairy, was surrounded by girls of all ages. The corners of his lips were slightly raised, and he was holding a lot of girls' trinkets in his hands, but he was not shy at all. His black hair was as smooth as satin. He rested his hand on the door frame of the silk and satin shop next door while looking through the latest new fabrics in the store.
He looks kind, and he is charming and graceful in all kinds of ways, like the ashes of silk that have been annihilated long ago. Wearing a light blue robe, it looks like a beautiful young man with thin eyebrows walking out of a book in a banana leaf window beside a drizzle lake in the south of the Yangtze River. The sounds of warblers and swallows singing softly around him seem to have faded away.
On such a charming and beautiful face, there is actually a pair of dark, cold eyes, like the blade of a knife dyed by the cold winter and autumn, with a little amber transparency.
Wan Deng clicking her tongue, she felt something hot and scorching coming out of her heart. It was so hot that she couldn't hold onto her chest, couldn't move, and couldn't even shift her gaze.
There is something that desolates the world and moistens the heart, just for a moment.
"Young Master, this is the best material we have here..."
The owner of the silk and satin shop was tongue-tied and rolled up a large piece of lake-blue brocade to show it to the stunning man who came to buy it.
He shook his head, smiled and bent his cold and beautiful eyes, and pushed away the wrinkled lake blue brocade. His voice was clear and gentle, bringing out the feeling of loneliness in the world.
"No, I just want the red one."
"Red?" The landlady looked dumbfounded at his smile.
"Yes, it's best if it's embroidered with peonies or mandarin ducks and other colors."
He paused and touched the messy trinkets in his hands. The blue clothes were like a pool of clear water, with an obscure flicker rippling in the sunlight. His eyes were like the melting light of black crystal.
The owner was so embarrassed that she pulled the man and whispered.
"Master, this kind of silk and satin is used to make undergarments for ladies. Why do you want to buy this?"
"The owner has good taste. I want to use it to make a lady's undergarments."
After saying that, he smiled and told the boss lady a few approximate sizes in her ear.
"Make ten robes for me and deliver them within three days. I'll give you double the wages."
The owner's eyes bulged, and she was helpless as she watched the man's slender jade-white fingertips press lightly on the soft satin. His attitude was lazy and carefree, not a bit coquettish and charming, but his eyes were clear and desolate.
Whose young man has such a picturesque face that he can paint endless romantic pictures in one stroke?
Wan Deng as if she was drunk, stepped out of the store across the street and looked at the man longingly. The sunlight broke away from the shadows and illuminated her beautiful face.
He seemed to sense something and tilted his head slightly to look across the street.
She held the lantern tightly, and the moment she met his eyes, she was so startled that she almost jumped up, her face turned red, she picked up the corner of her skirt, turned around and ran away.
"Please wait!", the man across shouted.
His cool and soft voice chased after her, and Wan Deng's heart tightened, burning, and she couldn't help but look back at him while running.
The man was pushed by the women who were swarming in front of him like female spiders. He helplessly curved the corners of his soft lips, put one hand on the door frame, and gave her a gentle smile in the warm sunshine of early spring.
His red lips were opening and closing, and he was saying something, but she could not hear clearly when he turned on the lamp. When he turned around, she had already slipped away like a frightened deer.
"Young Master, isn't that the future young lady?", the man's servant asked, stretching his neck.
"It's her."
A trace of softness appeared on Hua Yong's lips, and there was a faint mist in his eyes.
“Why did you run away at the sight of me, you coward.”
The last three words, held deeply, were half doting and half laughing.
"The Ning family is the richest family in Shanghai, uh..."
The matron from the south said, wearing a face of fancy rouge, moving her fat *ss close to Wan Xiang, with a smile and a mouthful of sparse teeth.
"As for Young Master Ning, even though he has raised several foreign wives before, he is not serious about it! No, in order to get the young mistress to marry, Young Master Ning has already dispersed them all! The young lady will be the only precious person that the Young Master will love. Young Master Ning has a gentle personality and is very easy to get along with. His appearance and character are..."
The matron narrowed her eyes in admiration, and was in a daze for a while. Her fat and oily hand held Wan Xiang's soft and pink little hand.
“A girl would probably be charmed by a single glance! Young lady, you are so lucky!"
Wan Xiang let her hold her hand obediently and looked down at the petals falling on the table, not knowing what she was thinking.
Wan Deng sneered coldly. These women all have mouths that can coax people into blooming. Zhong Kui can also say that he is Pan An. Only crazy people will believe this kind of words.
When the other rooms in the palace heard that the Grand Princess will get married, they all rubbed their hands and feet excitedly. Wan Xiang took over the finance of the palace at a very young age and is very stingy! The government was not allowed to hire a theatrical troupe, and each room was only allowed to make a complete set of clothes for a month. They had to take care of everything, including food and transportation.
Wan Xiang tightly grasped the financial power of the palace, causing complaints from all the houses. Now that she is getting married and leaving, the old prince has a cowardly temperament, and the eldest son is a failure, so the extended houses have been gearing up for a long time, preparing to grab the money as soon as Wan Xiang leaves.
Wan Xiang handed over the key to the family's inner treasury to Wan Deng. She only trusted her sister. Wan Deng had a fierce and sharp temper. After she leaves, she can only rely on Wan Deng to maintain the final fortunes of this decaying royal household.
Wan Deng indeed had the charm of exploring spring in Dream of the Red Chamber. Before Wan Xiang could get married, she cleanly recruited the aunties who had taken over the house in the past, and each gave them enough silver for retirement, intending to send them all out of the house.
"Little Princess! You are too cruel. We are all aunts who entered the palace early, and we have serve your family for a long time. Why are you sending use away after giving us money?"
The room was noisy, like a hundred crows croaking.
Wan Deng's prestige in the mansion was far inferior to that of Wan Xiang. She stared coldly at the panicked and jumping faces of these young and charming concubines who had been arrogant and domineering in the early years.
"There is no reason. It is not the time for the Qing Dynasty now. The palace cannot afford to support these idle people. You aunts, can take the money and go back to your hometown, or find another good place to marry. Anyway, my grandfather has been dead for many years, so I won't delay all your youthful years!"
"Ah! Shut up! You are a little b*tch with no hair at all. How dare you drive us away us away when you've got your wings!”
"Call the Grand Princess!"
"Yes, call Princess Wan Xiang!"
The room was noisy and chaotic. The aunts stretched out their finger bones like white bones and banshees, and their fingertips, which were as red as smeared with human blood, crowded around and pushed to rushed on Wan Deng. For a moment, everyone in the room was on their backs.
"Stop it."
The soft and gentle voice made the whole room feel peaceful.
Wan Xiang walked in from the back room, glanced at the broken porcelain and overturned tables and chairs in the room, and held several account books between her fingers.
She threw the account book to the ground with one hand and said in a hoarse and cold voice.
"Aunts, please take a look."
The women with smudged makeup rushed forward and tore the account book into several parts. As they looked at it, the faces of the aunts and ladies turned black and blue, and there was a deathly silence in the room.
"This account book contains the debts of our palace. You have all seen the amount. Even if we supplement all the betrothal gifts sent by the Ning family, it is impossible to pay back. I am afraid that now I have to work hard for all the aunts to do some mending work. Help me make money to pay off our debts, oh! And these slaves, all of them are sold at low prices! Those who are smart will go out to find work for me to make money!"
Wan Xiang's eyes turned cold.
"If we can't repay the debt, I'm afraid that all the people in this palace will be sent out. We can only sell the palace. Then, how about asking all aunts to stay in the palace and let's get through the difficulties together?"
"Haha, this... Grand Princess, we are all used to living a good life, how can we do any work to make money for the palace... Otherwise, how about I go home for two days and reduce some of the burden on the palace."
Third Yiniang smiled, grabbed the silver that had just been distributed by Wan Deng, twisted her waist and swung her hips and ran out of the door.
"I'm going out to relax for a couple of days." Jiu Yiniang then left.
"I remembered that my aunt back home was sick the other day, so I go and check on her..."
Sixteenth aunt was still young and had already fallen in love with a young man, so she didn't want to stay in the palace to work to pay off her debts, she also took the money and leave.
"And I..."
"I also……"
In a few days, all the beautiful aunts who were crowded in the mansion left, and no one planned to come back. Wan Deng used the same method to send away several of his brother's concubines, and suddenly the courtyard became quieter with green trees and became much cleaner.
"The palace really owes so much debt?"
Wan Deng looked at the crumpled account book and asked, but saw Wan Xiang pinching her face dotingly, feeling a little proud.
"Of course not. These are all fake accounts, just to fool these freeloaders."
Wan Deng's eyes widened when he saw Wan Xiang holding her cheek and rubbing her forehead so gently.
"When Wan Deng was sending people away, she was so powerful! Even I was frightened."
She raised her big finger at her sister.
"No way." Wan Deng pouted.
"They don't even listen to me. In the end, you have to come..."
"It took me many years to achieve this point, but you have such courage in just a few days. Wan Deng, you are better than me."
Wan Xiang chuckled.
"I didn't even dare to think of dismissing our aunts, but you just did it, it’s amazing! You have grown up.”
Wan Xiang smiled at her with appreciation in her eyes, shining brightly.
The night before the wedding.
The wedding banquets of the Ning family and Princess Wan Xiang were scheduled in two places, one in Beijing and the other in Shanghai. The sky smelling of smoke in Beijing was filled with a thick red and pink joyfulness. The newspapers in Shanghai had already been covering the sky, and both parties were making a fuss.
In order to marry Wan Xiang, the Ning family organized a wedding banquet in the north according to the old Manchu customs. The banquet lasted for seven days. All the famous people in Beijing came, offering gifts and money, and accepting even more generous rewards with smiles.
The Ning family in Shanghai are so rich! It's a fortune for the princess!
"Hehe, Mr. Ning, about the real estate in Shanghai..."
A dry and old voice came from inside the bamboo curtain. After turning on the lantern, Wan Deng was passing by the the window and happened to hear the faint voice in the patriarch's house.
"No problem."
A soft, firm man's laughter sounded as cold as white lotus, but so pleasant.
"There is an entire building rented to HSBC Bank in the best part of the Shanghai Concession. I'll gave it to the patriarch as a meeting gift as your grandson-in-law. Please accept it."
The bamboo curtain is half rolled up, revealing a faint spring light, and the cool breeze stirs the water with the fragrance of green lotus.
There seemed to be a beautiful stream of light flowing out. She turned the lamp and hid behind the pillar outside the window, and saw the blurry slender figure in the bamboo curtain. His voice made her feel like hit by a lightning, making her dazed.
Isn't this the voice of that man? A startling glance on the street, lingering in the world of mortals, admiration blooming like a peony, but who is he? Why do you call yourself, grandson-in-law to our grandfather?
A terrible premonition ran up her back from the soles of her feet. He held the lamp and tried her best to look under the bamboo curtain, trying to see clearly the man who was speaking.
Ning Huayong smiled lightly, crossed his legs on the big mahogany chair, and handed a few thin pieces of land deed paper to the old prince. The light yellow contrasted with the color of his slender and soft white fingertips, and the nail strips With a touch of faint coral red, it was extremely gorgeous. His fingertips tapped on the table, making a faint crisp sound.
"Besides these, the best shopping malls of the Ning family in Nanjing and Wuhan are all part of the betrothal gift. To show my filial piety to you, I also have some properties in Hong Kong, so I will give them to you as well. I hope you won't mind it."
Her grandfather was embarrassed, and took a few land deeds with trembling hands.
"Master Ning, although you are marrying my own princess, I still feel that your family has given us too much. This---this palace is not for sale. Daughter, will my Xiang'er be looked down upon by you if she marries you..."
The man's behavior was like being bought out by a large sum of money, which made the old man very worried!
The old man thought sadly.
What's more, this child was born really well. He is not a handsome boy with oily hair and pink face like the ones in Beijing, but a fresh and cool beauty, which is free from the kitsch and soft red, as if coldly bent in the winter water, the most beautiful lotus in the world. .
Can such a beautiful person be restrained by Wan Xiang? Besides, Ning Huayong is well-known in Shanghai.
"Don't worry, these betrothal gifts are my private property and have nothing to do with the Ning family. This grandson-in-law will take good care of Princess Wan Xiang. If you miss her. Send a telegram and we will come back to visit relatives. How about it?"
Ning Huayong curled his lips and called out sweetly, and the old prince was immediately elated.
"Good...good boy..."
The old patriarch didn't ask any more questions. He had already seen the expression on this beautiful child's face.
Ning Huayong had a faint expression on his face, but with a doting smile. He held the teacup firmly with one hand and listened carefully to the Beijing film erhu faintly coming from the window. The sound was dry and lonely, but there was a low tone and mild flavor.
Wan Deng looked around anxiously, panicking to the point of tears. The room was so quiet that she couldn't hear anything.
She moved a few more steps, got closer, held the lamp unsteadily, and fell to the ground with a pop.
The two people in the room were alarmed. Ning Huayong raised his eyebrows and saw a pair of small white hands from under the bamboo curtain. There was a slight warmth in his beautiful eyes, and he stood up and walked over.
I lay on the ground in pain and raised my head. I saw fingers that were more delicate and white than Tianshan jade stretched out from the corner of the bamboo curtain, holding up the thin bamboo curtain that swayed slightly in the wind, layer by layer, slightly rolled. Going up, every inch revealed a radiant face of an elf.
The remaining fragrance of spring is gone, and the rain is silent.
The spring rain is so boring, the floor is as cold as ice that penetrates the bone marrow, peach blossoms are swirling all over the city, the leaves on Ning Huayong's hair leaves fall residual fragrance, and the spring clothes are stained with light colors.
He squatted down slightly in her, stretched out his hand to lift up the jade doll that was staring straight at him, his long fingers were warm and dry, and under his long thick eyelashes, his glass-like eyes were smiling, with a hint of warmth.
"Princess, I am Ning Huayong, and I am your..."
Wan Deng abruptly stood up and pushed him hard, turned around, and ran away!
Ning Huayong! Ning Huayong! The eldest young master of the Ning family, her future brother-in-law!
Wan Xiang's husband!
The peony blooming in my heart, in the silk and satin shop across the street, jade-white fingers caressing the silk and satin, the beautiful young man smiling like mist in the spring, the blue robe sparkling in the lake light, and the clear and soft black hair like glass silk.
Why did she look back and see him then? Why do I feel so heartbroken for him in that moment?
Fate was so cold and dead. When she ran, she seemed to see sarcastic and mocking eyes, and the world was turned upside down.
"Coward."
Ning Huayong sighed with a smile and chased after her without hesitation.
When she turned on the lantern, she felt a lightness in her body, and the fragrance was lingering. The man's slender arms hugged her, hugging her tightly behind the rockery.
There was a cold and charming fragrance on his body, like a lotus flower. Ning Huayong smiled and held the panicked Tear Baby in his arms, holding her head with one hand, gently cherishing her. A light kiss placed on her ear.
"Xiang'er."
His fingers were cold, and his fingertips lightly pressed against her chest, but she couldn't move. That whisper sent chills all over her body!
This man can’t tell the difference! He regarded her as Wan Xiang!
"I don't---" I'm not Wan Xiang!
"Why do you run away when you see me, bad girl?"
Those clear lotus-like eyes revealed a happy smile, blocking the unspoken words of Wan Deng.
He is so gentle, so beautiful, so intoxicating.
This may be the only time in this life that I can be so close to him...
Wan Deng's whole body was stiff and unable to resist. He let him caress his pretty face in admiration and took out a pile of red soft satin from his arms.
"It's for you."
He bent his eyes with a smile, turned the lamp and took it in his hand. It turned out to be a bellyband made of ten red clouds!
Ning Huayong's eyes were as charming as peach blossoms, and the tip of her white nose reflected the graceful and abnormal curves on her side. She had a thrilling beauty. In comparison, Wan Deng's beauty was only dull.
He gently held up her trembling little hands.
"Silly girl, are you frightened by the white bellyband sent by the Ning family? The Ning family's grandfather is Spanish and uses white for everything he says. I can't persuade him. I apologized if you feel wronged. Guessing you didn’t like it, I rushed to Beijing to make some red ones. If you like to wear red next to yours on the wedding night, just wear red.”
He almost laughed out loud because of her nervous look. The little girl, with her fine velvet hair on her head, stared at him with round eyes, as if she was scared to death. She was so cute that you couldn't help but raise the corners of your mouth.
Wan Deng hugged the red bellyband on his chest tightly, her face was too hot to speak.
Playing with the bangs on her forehead twice with his long fingers, Ning Huayong looked at the beautiful princess whom he fell in love with at first sight in the foreign trading hall, and smiled softly.
"Princess Wan Xiang, please call me Huayong."
"Hua-- Hua Yong."
Um.
He responded, with indescribable softness and warmth in his eyes. He held her little face and smiled.
"I apologize for this, princess."
A kiss as gentle as a butterfly wing lightly pressed on the trembling lips of the woman he loved, with a little treasure and sweet moisture, and then slowly moved away.
"Princess you will be my wife the next time we meet, don't hide from me anymore. And...remember to call me by my name."
His eyes were as clear as water, like the melting ice of a snow-capped mountain. The man let go of her shoulders, turned around and walked out from behind the rockery, far away. Only the person holding the lantern was left, squatting down with the red bellyband in his arms, and gently , laughed out loud in pain.
She clenched the red clothes in her arms, feeling pain in her chest like fire. The karma in her heart burned her love, and she could not be reincarnated.
Ning Huayong liked his fiancée, and his expression couldn't be fake. He thought she was Wan Xiang, so he kissed her so tenderly.
What if she told the truth?
Can she still be so close to his warmth? Maybe, the two sisters have exactly the same face, and he likes this look, so no one will treat him differently, but maybe not? She and Wan Xiang have different temperaments. Which one does he like?
The most important thing is that tomorrow, Wan Xiang will get married, and Ning Huayong is destined to be her brother-in-law.
-The Eight Banners (baqi 八旗) were a military & a social structure in China during the Qing dynasty(1644-1912).
-General Sun Dianying was a Chinese bandit leader, warlord, and National Revolutionary Army commander who fought in the Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War, and Chinese Civil War, earning notoriety for changing sides multiple times in course of these conflicts.