Song Wanchu woke up with a start, her back drenched in sticky cold sweat.
She couldn't fall asleep again for the rest of the night.
Those who also couldn't sleep were Liang Yuzhou and Shi Luohan.
The two entered the same tavern one after another.
Their eyes met. Between these two tall and handsome men, their looks were full of hostility.
Unfortunately, the tavern owner failed to notice the tension between them and warmly greeted them.
"Gentlemen, please sit wherever you like. Try our osmanthus wine. It's been made with a century - old recipe and is a specialty in the south of the Yangtze River. Even the founding emperor of our dynasty praised its excellence when he visited the south!"
Liang Yuzhou sat down first, his black eyes glinting with coldness.
Not to be outdone, Shi Luohan sat opposite him.
The food and wine were quickly served. The osmanthus wine indeed had a mellow and rich taste. Just the aroma was intoxicating.
Shi Luohan had lost a drinking competition last time and was still holding a grudge. He took the lead and downed a cup.
As the wine slid down his throat, a flood of emotions welled up. He slammed the cup down hard, looked at Liang Yuzhou with coldness in his eyes, and said, "Liang Yuzhou, you've won again."
Liang Yuzhou sipped his wine slowly. His emotions were calmer than Shi Luohan's, but there was an undercurrent surging beneath his black eyes.
"I've only won against you."
Wanchu still didn't want to return to him. What good was it that he had won against Shi Luohan?
"Don't have any unrealistic illusions."
Shi Luohan sneered, his eyes full of deep sarcasm. "Wanchu is very clear - headed. She always knows what she wants. You've been kicked out of her future life."
"You know what she wants, yet you still force her to marry you. Shi Luohan, you're a hundred times more despicable than me!"
Liang Yuzhou's words were like invisible sharp blades, stabbing precisely at Shi Luohan's most painful spot.
He clenched his cup tightly and gulped down three cups in a row. As the alcohol took effect, his face gradually turned red, and so did his eyes.
He couldn't refute Liang Yuzhou. In fact, he was even more despicable than Liang Yuzhou described.
He had almost betrayed Wanchu.
And as the alcohol clouded his mind, Yaoguang's charming face appeared in his mind again.
In the past few days, he had gone out deliberately to keep himself busy, trying to cool down his heart.
He had seriously thought about it. His feelings for Yaoguang should just be a momentary infatuation. She was so beautiful, and as a normal man, it was normal for him to have such a reaction.
Wanchu was his true love. He had loved her for more than a decade, and it was impossible for him to fall in love with someone else overnight.
He still wanted to marry Wanchu, but he also clearly knew that Wanchu didn't love him. She had agreed to the marriage just to fulfill his wish.
As the initial ecstasy of getting her promise faded away, Shi Luohan fell into confusion and panic again.
He didn't know how to face Wanchu.
"Why don't you say a word? Are you afraid that Wanchu will find out about your wrongdoings, or do you feel guilty?"
Liang Yuzhou looked at him meaningfully.
Shi Luohan snorted. His sharp intuition told him that Liang Yuzhou didn't know about the ambiguous relationship between him and Yaoguang.
He was just probing, trying to catch him out.
In his dreams.
He retorted rudely, "Late - coming affection is more worthless than grass. No matter how much blood you pour on a withered rose, it can't come back to life. Liang Yuzhou, I let you off once four years ago. It was you who squandered Wanchu's love for you. Now your act of pretending to be affectionate will only make Wanchu loathe you more!"
The two men attacked each other mercilessly, leaving no room for mercy.
In the end, they had said all the words they had ever wanted to scold each other with in their lives.
The wine jugs were lying empty all over the place. The tavern owner was really afraid that these two men would drink themselves to death.
He wanted to make money, but he just wanted to make money, not cause any fatal accidents!
These two men didn't look like good people. Their intimidating auras were so overwhelming that one could hardly breathe.
The tavern owner nervously advised them, "Gentlemen, we're about to close, and we've run out of wine. Do you need us to arrange rooms for you?"
Liang Yuzhou was still relatively sober.
He usually didn't drink, but his tolerance was better than Shi Luohan's. He threw down a silver ingot and left alone.
Not long after, Shi Luohan also threw down a silver ingot and staggered out.
His legs somehow led him to the mansion where Yaoguang lived.
It was already late at night. The gatekeeper had already fallen asleep. He wasn't too drunk yet and could still steady himself. He climbed over the wall and entered the yard.
"Who?"
A cold female voice sounded beside his ear. As soon as he landed, there was a cold sensation on his neck.
When Yaoguang saw that it was Shi Luohan, she heaved a sigh of relief and removed the sword from his neck.
"Why are you here so late? Have you been drinking?"
The strong smell of alcohol on him, mixed with the fragrance of osmanthus, wasn't unpleasant but rather intoxicating.
Shi Luohan's eyes were a bit blurred. Yaoguang's face was swaying in front of him. In the moonlight, she looked even more charming.
"Have you been crying?"
Yaoguang stared at him. Wasn't this guy drunk? How could he still see so clearly?
"So you can cry." Shi Luohan laughed foolishly, looking completely different from his usual calm and steady self.
Then his gaze shifted, and he saw six mounds on the ground. Beside each mound, there was a plum blossom.
He couldn't laugh anymore.
"What are these?"
"Today is the Day of Mourning in the Gaochang Kingdom. On this day, we pay homage to our ancestors and remember our deceased relatives. Normally, we should place a rose on the graves of our loved ones, but there are no roses in Yunzhou. The only flower that's still in bloom this season is the plum blossom."
Shi Luohan looked at the six mounds, and his heart ached for no reason.
Watching six close relatives die under the enemy's swords must have been a scene of extreme despair and grief.
The wound in Yaoguang's heart was far deeper than the wounds on her body.
No wonder she had shed so much blood and was trembling in pain but didn't shed a single tear.
"I'm sure they won't mind."
He comforted her softly.
Tears welled up in Yaoguang's eyes. "How can they not mind? My mother didn't like pale - colored flowers. Her dresses were always gorgeous and colorful. She said that a woman should live a brilliant life.
And my little brother. He loved desert roses the most. He planted a pot by himself and always complained that the flowers weren't bright enough. When he was killed, his blood spurted five feet and dyed the rose petals red..."
Yaoguang looked up at the sky, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall.
Although Shi Luohan hated speaking well of Liang Yuzhou the most, he still had to say, "Liang Yuzhou crippled Yue Chenkong and spared his life. It's so that after you recover, you can avenge your relatives by killing him with your own hands."
"I will."
Yaoguang wiped away her tears fiercely. "I'll cut him into pieces and turn him into minced meat. I'll make sure he has no place to rest in the afterlife!"
She shed tears and spoke with such hatred, uttering the most bloody words.
"But they'll never come back."
"You're not alone, are you? Liang Yuzhou treats you very well, and so do Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yan. They're just like your relatives."
Yaoguang smiled gratefully.
Shi Luohan thought that this Yaoguang was far more vivid and beautiful than the cold, taciturn, and proud beauty she usually was.
He felt parched, and his heart was pounding.
"I'll go and rest first."
He instinctively wanted to escape, but when he pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold, he clumsily stumbled.
A soft hand supported his arm. When he looked up, he met Yaoguang's beautiful smile.
"Thank you, Shi Luohan. To comfort me, you're even willing to say good things about your master."
She gently pursed her lips, like a blooming rose. "I think you're also very nice to me."
Shi Luohan felt that the blood in his whole body was boiling. With the help of the alcohol, his desire became even stronger.
"Yaoguang, do you know that I'm just an ordinary, normal man?"
He asked with his last bit of reason.
Yaoguang stared at him blankly.
The man's big hand suddenly grabbed the back of her neck, and a passionate kiss fell.