The Noble Woman's Guide On How to Tease One's Husband

101-105

Chapter 101 – Reunion

The sky was pitch dark while the stars and moon were diminishing. A tall figure stood stiffly like a statue on the deserted and secluded Zhuolutai, looking over the scattered firelights below the mountain.

Winter would arrive soon and the cold wind nearly chilled one to the bone but he only wore a thin gray robe and had stood at the top of this steep mountain for a long time with no intention of leaving. The person beside him could not stand it anymore and persuaded in a soft voice, "Wangye, the hinterland between these peaks is extremely vast and it will take some time to find. You have been here for most of the day, why don't you go back to the campsite for a rest?"

Chu Jinglan did not move a muscle.

When he arrived here, there were still faint blood threads seen on the long white stone steps and following the traces all the way here, it was two steps away from the cliff. Even a martial arts practitioner like him felt dizzy looking down, let alone an ordinary person yet his Yang'er was forced step by step by them to reach here then jumped off into the bottom of the valley. How scared did she feel at that time?

He has come back now, but his return is too late as they can't find traces of her anymore. He felt dejected yet there's no place for him to mourn.

Thinking of this, Chu Jinglan immediately felt his heart ache and could not calm down for a long time. There was a gush of blood in his chest that seemingly would surge up his throat whenever he coughed. Forcing it down, he continued gazing at the bottom of the mountain for troops who were looking for Ye Huaiyang's corpse.

Next to him, Tang Qingfeng had long been anxious like ants on a hotpot and just short of pacing around. Just at this moment, a shadow guard came to report something. His expression immediately unfolded after hearing what was said and reported word by word, "Wangye, Young Master Huaixin has arrived at the campsite."

The ashened face of Chu Jinglan finally showed traces of life. He hesitated for a long time before suddenly turned around and stepped down the flight of steps.

He wanted to look for Ye Huaixin to ask clearly what had actually happened on the day of the incident.

The night was late with torches brightly lit up the tents that lined at the foot of the mountain. At first glance, it was no different than usual but some subtle anomalies could be perceived once he approached closer yet the eagerness to seek the truth caused Chu Jinglan to not notice in the slightest as he dismounted the horse to go see Ye Huaixin but who knew he would suddenly halted in front of the commander's tent.

Something's not right, why are there lights in the tent?

He remembered Meng Chen always used the pretext of sending medicine to come in and go out of his room which she carried on despite repeated prohibition. Perhaps she was doing this again today, hence he abruptly pushed the curtain aside and went in. Sure enough, behind the blue-green canopy vaguely revealed a delicately beautiful figure who was nestling in bed for a nap. The breathing was gently light that softened the listener's heart.

Flying in rage, Chu Jinglan rushed over to lift the canopy and about to drag her out but who knew his outstretched hand stopped stiffly in midair as lightning struck and thunderclap swiftly blasted in his ears.

A rainstorm is approaching.

The person in bed was slightly flustered being awakened by the thunderclap and instinctively huddled up but instantly revealed a sweet smile the moment she saw him and pounced into his arms without hesitation.

"You came back so late that I fell asleep while waiting."

Hearing the familiar coquettish voice, Chu Jinglan's hostility dissipated completely as he leaned over very naturally to hug her.

This is already an uncountable hallucination that appeared. In the past, Ye Huaiyang would appear when he was injured or exhausted but now it was becoming more erratic. Whether his mind was crazy or dyingly ill, he was already satisfied being able to see her more.

"It's my fault." He coaxed her gently, just like he usually did at home, "Just sleep a little longer if you are tired. I will accompany you."

Ye Huaiyang was indeed very tired and his soft gentle voice was like the warm breeze brushing over her heart that made her go back to sleep again in a daze. Just when she fell into his arms, her whole person shot up by a sudden jolt.

How could he react like this?

All the sleepy bugs disappeared instantly. Ye Huaiyang opened her eyes wide to look at Chu Jinglan and her heart could not stop flustering yet he didn't seem to notice as he squeezed her smooth face and said, "Why are you not sleeping? Afraid of the rumbling thunder?"

Ye Huaiyang nodded in a trance.

Looking like he knew what was going on, he reached out to wrap his arms around her and lay down with her like embracing a kitten. He then pulled the quilt to cover each other with a very familiar action.

Without saying, this was Ye Huaiyang's favorite posture. As her hands and feet were cold during winter, she would huddle herself up into this big heating furnace yet she was twisting restlessly today as if feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Sensing it perceptively, Chu Jinglan couldn't help letting go of his arms and asked, "What is it?"

Ye Huaiyang stared straight at him for a moment before grabbing his hand that was under the quilt and placing it slowly on her belly with a thin smile on the corners of her lips.

"We have squeezed him and he is throwing a tantrum."

The soft bulging thing was pushing against Chu Jinglan's palm and the arc was so obvious that he was suddenly stunned. Not knowing how long it took before the big palm lightly moved half an inch to the left then tracing back slowly. After several repetitions, he began to tremble violently when he abruptly folded his arms to embrace Ye Huaiyang tightly.

Ye Huaiyang had always wanted a child but until she died, he still could not give one to her. Is this hallucination actually recounting her wish or revealing his remorse?

Propping against her shoulder, Chu Jinglan repeated the words hoarsely, "Yang'er, I'm sorry ... I'm sorry ... "

He was so strong as if wanting to crush her into his flesh and bones that Ye Huaiyang could not bear it anymore. At the same time, she could also sense his abnormality, so she struggled free from his strong arms. His frantic eyes were unresolved, seemingly caught in a nightmare. Realizing that it was not good, she forced him to meet her eyes. The bright and soft radiance snarled the out-of-control storm yet it still could not stop it.

"Yang'er, I know you want children. It's all my fault. Wait till the next life ... the next life when I will be an ordinary person, without the power struggle, no myriads of hardships and hazards. I will give you whatever you want and you will still be my wife, okay ..."

Chu Jinglan stroked her delicate face but his voice slowly chilled the bones with a great sense of despair. Ye Huaiyang's breathing stopped for a moment when a light seemed to flash through her mind and woken her suddenly.

He thought that all of this was a hallucination!

In an instant, her heart felt as if being forcibly torn by something with bursts of acute pain.

That explained why he was so natural at first. Perhaps such hallucinations had appeared countless times that he had become accustomed to it until he felt the child in her belly which ripped a hole in this perfect illusion. So he began to plead with her, fearing that he would not be able to meet her again in the next life. His every sentence and word were so humble making her feel extremely sad.

What kind of days did he actually live through these whole time ...

Taking a deep breath, Ye Huaiyang still could not hold back her tears as it trickled down and dripped everywhere along the corners of her eyes. Like always, Chu Jinglan wiped it off for her yet she flashed a charmingly radiant smile at him then lifted her under-clothes and said softly, "Jinglan, just touch and see. The child and I are real. There's no need to wait until the next life. We are by your side now."

A bolt of lightning flashed into the blue-green canopy from outside the window. The instant it lit up, Chu Jinglan could clearly see the perfectly round snowy white belly under the clothes. Although it was merely a slight bulge, it appeared to arouse joyfulness that he couldn't help but reach out to stroke it. It was warm and seemingly able to feel the little life growing inside.

How can it be so real?

Ye Huaiyang let him hold her belly in a daze. She then kissed his thin lips and the tip of her tongue gently provoked him while a damp and hot breath rushed into his mouth.

"Did I kiss you like this in the dreams?"

Chu Jinglan looked at her dazedly and replied in a hoarse voice, "No, you always leave very quickly ... "

Hearing that, Ye Huaiyang's tears broke out even more but she tried her best to stabilize her voice and said, "So this is not a dream. Jinglan, I'm still alive and have come to find you with the baby."

"You ... are still alive?" He repeated her words, seemingly unable to understand the meaning of these words for a moment.

"Yes. Xin'er set up a big net below and steadily caught me the day I jumped off the cliff. I am totally fine." Ye Huaiyang paused then gently placed her hand over his to caress the small meatball in her belly, "Baby is conceived in the bamboo house. He is very strong and has been behaving well in my belly. It's almost five months now."

Chu Jinglan listened to her narrative while his hands were trembling like the sieve that he could not hold her belly at this moment. Gripping his hand patiently, Ye Huaiyang placed it on her belly and moved it in circles to let him feel that this was real. Just at this moment, there was a sudden slight quickening sensation from the belly like a small fish wiggling its tail, so mild and fast that both of them were instantly stunned for a moment.

He moved?

Ye Huaiyang reacted very quickly. Even though her eyes were still full of hot tears, they were glowing brilliantly.

"It's true that father and son are really connected. All these months he has been very quiet but as soon as he saw you, he greeted you with excitement."

Chu Jinglan stared blankly at his own hand. His pupils contracted as he was shocked to the point of not being able to move. At this moment, he finally realized how the current situation was different from his previous hallucinations — it was too real. The tiny fetal movement and the hot tears were provoking his senses and seething his mind with excitement. Even with such close contact, she did not disappear as easily as before.

She is real.

At this point, the dark clouds shrouding Chu Jinglan's mind were finally pierced through where beams of light leaked brighter and brighter through the cracks until the muddling was nowhere to be seen and the bright sky eventually appeared.

"Yang'er?"

He called out in a trembling voice while Ye Huaiyang followed in wake and replied softly, "I am here."

"You're really still alive ... " Chu Jinglan's hands stroked her crescent-like eyebrows before sliding to her shoulders and arms then caressed them back and forth as if he still had lingering fears.

"I still owe you a debt of 100,000 troops. How could I dare to go ahead alone?"

Ye Huaiyang smiled and buried into the long-awaited embrace which was warm as before and made her feel at ease. Hugging her soft body, Chu Jinglan only felt that the life and death, the joy and sorrow that he had experienced were over in this instant, and the roller coaster he felt seemingly was a lifetime ago.

He has never felt so grateful to Heavens.

His mind rumbled while body trembled and his heart was still beating wildly but Chu Jinglan's hands embraced the big baby in his arms tightly without letting go for a moment. After a long while, he finally regained his scattered wits before lowering his head and fumbling for her lips to kiss her. Amidst the sentiment, she seemed to hear him mutter a sentence vaguely.

"Yang'er, don't ever leave me again."

Ye Huaiyang replied softly, "No more. I will never leave you again."