Union

Chapter 197 Kiss
Although she knew in her heart that she had been tricked, Yunying felt no anger at being tricked. At this moment, she was overjoyed and everything looked beautiful as if it had been filtered.

"Hehe, Sister Yuanhua, it's not my fault. It was my second brother who forced me to do this. If you want to settle accounts, go find my second brother. I'm leaving now, hehe."

Chen Yanxi waved cheerfully to Yun Ying, then prepared to find a quiet place to stay.

Where Yunying couldn't see, she gestured to her elder brother: Remember to settle the remaining payment when you get home; he still owes her five hundred taels of silver.

Even siblings should keep clear accounts; she'll still step in if anything happens in the future!
Chen Yanxi ran off happily, while Yun Ying watched Chen Yanzhou approach without blinking.

Without realizing it, the corners of her mouth were turning up in a smile. Then, realizing how silly she looked, Yunying quickly straightened her lips. But she was too happy inside, and her movements were a little clumsy.

She quickly covered her mouth, but the smile still uncontrollably spilled out from her eyes.

Chen Yanzhou walked up to her, and seeing her like this, the suffocation in his heart finally eased.

But he was still uncomfortable, so he simply grabbed Yunying's hand and rubbed it in his palm, saying, "You really have no conscience. I don't write to you, and you ignore me?"

Yunying was indeed in the wrong, but she was just too busy and hadn't had time to deal with it.

That makes sense, but you can't say it like that. Yunying then turned the tables, "I'm a young lady, I should be more reserved. If you don't write to me, how will I know what you mean? What if you're tired of me? Would I just be making a fool of myself by going after you?"

"What utter nonsense!" Chen Yanzhou gritted his teeth in anger, glaring at Yun Ying. "If you dare to spout any more nonsense, I'll... I'll..."

"What will you do?" Yunying asked confidently, though also somewhat curious.

Chen Yanzhou chuckled coldly, "I'll have His Majesty bestow a marriage upon me!"

Yunying was startled.

How did we end up talking about an arranged marriage?
How long has it been since they confessed their feelings? They haven't even been dating properly, and they're already asking for a marriage decree? Who would want to marry you?

Besides, do you think His Majesty is your father? You think you can just grant a marriage like that? You're dreaming.

Yunying didn't say it aloud, but her eyes said it all.

Chen Yanzhou reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Don't forget, the Second Prince is His Majesty's own son. His son wronged me, so what's wrong with me paying off his son's debt?"

The Second Prince's affair with Lin Shuqing indirectly led to Chen Yanzhou's divorce from Lin Shuqing. Chen Yanzhou is now without a wife, so His Majesty is giving him one. If that's the case, then there's nothing wrong with it.

However, "His Majesty is not a foolish ruler. He can't possibly compensate your family at the expense of my family, can he?"

She's her father's daughter, not the emperor's. His Majesty isn't a foolish ruler; he wouldn't use someone else's daughter to fill the hole his own family has created.

If that's the case, then her father and grandfather should go to His Majesty to seek justice.

Yun Ying's retort left Chen Yanzhou speechless.

At this moment, Chen Yanzhou was truly at a loss for words, unable to decide whether to be angry or amused. He couldn't hit her, nor could he bear to scold her. All he could do was hold Yunying tightly in his arms and give her a good rub.

He muttered resentfully, "You heartless person, you really are heartless."

The heartless Yunying felt guilty after being nagged, so she could only coax people in a soft voice.

She said for a moment, "I miss you very much, but it's not right for me to write to you so often. I am now a young lady of the Duke's mansion, and I have to be mindful of my appearance."

He added, "We don't know how many people are watching us, so let's keep a low profile for a while."

She continued to sweet-talk Chen Yanzhou, saying in a soft voice, "You care about me, so you'll definitely consider things from my perspective. You certainly don't want to put me in a difficult position, right?"

Chen Yanzhou: "..."

I really lost to her.

No matter what you say, she's always right, so even if he feels wronged, he has to swallow his anger.

But this isn't something that can be resolved in a few breaths; who knows how much longer we'll have to endure this.

Thinking about this, Chen Yanzhou felt dizzy and truly felt like he had no will to live.

He boldly suggested, "If I have my parents come to propose marriage, what do you think the chances are that Uncle Shi will agree?"

Yunying exclaimed "Ah!" and then laughed, "Do you want me to tell the truth or a lie?"

Chen Yanzhou took a deep breath and gave her waist a hard squeeze. "Alright, you don't need to say anything more."

Yunying smiled and pulled Chen Yanzhou behind the artificial hill.

This place is relatively secluded and not easily seen by others. Moreover, because some cold-resistant flowers and trees have been planted nearby, they are lush and green, completely blocking out the sky and earth. Unless you get close, you won't find the two of them.

Yun Ying was completely relieved and then carefully examined Chen Yanzhou.

He remained as refined and elegant as ever, tall and slender, showing no signs of thinning. However, his eyes held a greedy glint, so much so that the description "like a wolf or a tiger" wouldn't be an exaggeration. He stared intently at Yun Ying, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Yunying blushed instantly and turned around. "You should restrain yourself a bit."

Chen Yanzhou was also a little embarrassed; his ears turned red. But he still turned Yunying around and hugged her, saying, "I've already restrained myself... I think about you every day. If I didn't still have some reason left, I would have..."

She didn't dare ask Yunying anything.

But in her heart she was wondering, did they hug or kiss after just one meeting?

Hugging is fine, they've hugged before, but kissing...

Just thinking about that scene made Yunying's cheeks burn like fire, and even her breath became scorching.

Chen Yanzhou immediately noticed something was wrong with her. He took a slight step back and looked over, only to see that Yun Ying's face was flushed with a rosy blush, and her eyes were watery. At this moment, Chen Yanzhou truly understood just how beautiful the phrase "face like a lotus, autumn water brimming with waves" really was.

The moment those affectionate eyes met his gaze, they hurriedly looked away, as if a bewildered fawn had seen something that frightened it, so it chose to flee.

But the wilderness is vast, and the deer has a place to go, while she is trapped in his grasp, her slender waist tightly controlled by his hands. Where can she hide?
Chen Yanzhou's breath also became scorching hot.

He gradually moved closer to Yunying's cheek, his voice rough and hoarse, as if it had been sanded. At that moment, the air became incredibly ambiguous, and everyone's heart raced wildly.

Chen Yanzhou's lips brushed against Yun Ying's ear, and he said, word by word, "Yingying, what were you thinking just now?"

Yunying shook her head vigorously, "I didn't think about anything."

"You're lying." Chen Yanzhou directly exposed her, his lips slowly approaching her cherry lips, "Are you thinking..."

Yunying blushed and quickly covered his mouth. "You guessed wrong, I wasn't thinking anything."

A genuine smile appeared in Chen Yanzhou's eyes. "Yingying, I haven't said anything yet, why are you panicking?"

"Who's panicking? I'm not."

"If you're not flustered, then take your hands away." In the end, Chen Yanzhou coaxed her to move her hands away.

But because of this movement, he moved even closer. His hot breath sprayed onto Yunying's cheeks and lips. His lips slowly moved down, getting closer and closer...

"Slow down, don't make a mess, or you'll spill the jade wine again."

"Be observant and keep a close eye on what's happening on the field. That young lady needs to change her clothes, and that lady needs to touch up her makeup. Be careful and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Sigh, we all remember Mom."

……

The group walked through the artificial hill and headed towards the flower shed next to it. They were carrying food boxes filled with freshly squeezed juice.

Fruits are rare at this time of year, and making juice from them requires a significant investment. Only the Duke of Xuan's mansion, with its extravagant spending, could afford to buy fruits from merchants' ice cellars to fill the market. Ordinary families would feel a stinging pain just thinking about the expense.

The maids and servants passed by quickly.

Completely absorbed in the food box in their hands, they didn't notice that there were two other people hiding behind the artificial hill.

If they had just moved a little closer or turned to the side, the two figures would have been completely exposed.

But they didn't, so Yunying felt she had escaped unscathed.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Yunying's tense nerves gradually relaxed.

She let out a soft breath and turned to look at Chen Yanzhou, "That was close, I almost got caught, ugh..."

She didn't get to say the rest; Chen Yanzhou silenced her with a forceful kiss.

The young man seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time. At first, he only made slight attempts, his thin lips just pressed against hers, without making any other moves.

She was only slightly startled and did not push him away immediately, which emboldened Chen Yanzhou.

His eyes changed instantly, and his breathing became agitated. He held Yunying tightly in his arms, gently licking her, forcefully opening her mouth, and fiercely conquering her.

Their breathing grew heavier and heavier, yet it could never surpass the pounding of their hearts.

Yunying had never doubted as much as she did now that she might suddenly die from a rapid heartbeat.

She struggled and resisted, trying to get Chen Yanzhou to slow down and be gentler.

Chen Yanzhou assumed she was having trouble breathing, so he released her and, without giving her any time to speak, forcefully blocked her throat.

Yunying didn't know when the kiss ended.

All she knew was that her body was burning hot, and her face was flushed with a scorching sunset.

Her lips hurt too; even a light lick caused a stinging sensation. Without even looking in a mirror, Yunying knew her lips were definitely swollen. She looked as if she'd just been assaulted; she couldn't possibly face anyone.

Yunying slammed her head into Chen Yanzhou's chest and slapped him twice hard. "Can't you be a little gentler? I still have to see the guests off later."

Chen Yanzhou gently kissed the strands of hair on her head. The delicate fragrance traveled through his nose and into his lungs, but instead of calming his restless breath, it made his breathing even more disordered, and his body tensed up like a string ready to be released.

However, we really can't continue. I'm afraid it will frighten her, and I'm also afraid that the elders will find out.

Chen Yanzhou could only try his best to suppress himself, while still holding Yun Ying's waist, and apologized in a humble manner, "It's all my fault, it's my fault."

He made no mention of a next time, but instead tried to explain his grievances, hoping to soften Yunying's heart. "I've missed you so much, otherwise I wouldn't have been so reckless..."

"So you knew you were reckless, huh?"

Chen Yanzhou chuckled, "I know, but I just can't help it. The moment I see you, I want to hug you and kiss you."

Yunying covered her ears and sobbed, "Stop talking, I'm about to get a fever."

Chen Yanzhou was amused by Yun Ying's action and laughed out loud. Yun Ying then quickly covered his mouth, saying, "Do you want to be discovered?"

"think."

"Huh?" Yunying's eyes widened.

"Once you're discovered, you won't be able to escape. I'll get my parents to come and ask for your hand in marriage so I can bring you home as soon as possible."

Yunying's initial shock had vanished, replaced by a tender feeling in her heart. "Father, Grandfather, and Grandmother will not agree to me getting married so soon."

"What should we do then?" Chen Yanzhou held her close, whispering in her ear, "It's already February, and my appointment will be finalized in the next few days. I'll be going to take up my post then. Yingying, what do you think we should do? Can you still come with me?"

Yunying wanted to nod, but she knew that neither her grandparents, father, nor her two brothers would allow her to do something so thoughtless.

Yunying sighed, "I guess it's impossible."

"Wouldn't that mean we'd have to live apart? Yingying, can you bear that?"

Yunying couldn't bear it, but the two of them weren't married or engaged, and it would be a real joke for her to go with them.

But if she didn't go, she really couldn't bear to be separated from Chen Yanzhou.

She just lied to Chen Yanzhou.

She's thought about him more than once these past few days.

When having breakfast, if she tastes delicious crab roe soup dumplings, she'll want him to try them too, to see if the ones from Yun Gui County are better or the ones from the manor; when she sees the clothes her grandmother sent, she'll want to tell him that the style is similar to the ones her mother gave her before, and she quite likes them; and with so many account books and assets, the first thing she wants to do after receiving them is to share them with him, to tell him that she's richer than him now, and that if he's ever short of money in the future, he can borrow some from her, but he'll have to pay interest…

Unfortunately, Chen Yanzhou wasn't around, so she could only swallow her words and process them herself.

She really missed him, which is why she gave in to him and accepted him when he kissed her.

But Yunying didn't want to say these things.

This was her burning desire, a secret she wrote in a letter, but she was still considering whether or not to show it to him.

Yunying had been spending a lot of time with Chen Yanzhou, and if she stayed any longer, her secret would be exposed, so she had no choice but to suggest leaving.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanzhou visibly became sullen.

Seeing him like this made Yunying even more heartbroken.

However, if they can't even bear being apart for a few days, how can they endure a long period of separation?
Yunying didn't say anything discouraging in the end. She simply comforted Chen Yanzhou, saying that she would be going with her maternal grandfather to offer incense to her mother in a couple of days, and would also be going to the temple. If he had time, he could take the opportunity to see her.

Hearing this, Chen Yanzhou's gloomy mood improved somewhat. He nodded with some restraint and agreed to meet her at the temple.

(End of this chapter)