It wasn't until they turned the corner and saw the glutinous rice cake stand that Yu Chi finally understood.
Ji Shisu, who had repeatedly ordered in the army that soldiers were not allowed to harass the people, must have felt uneasy about his unintended fault just now.
He came here to make amends.
"My lord?"
Wasn't he here to make amends? Why was he standing there motionless and in a daze now?
Seeing that Ji Shisu didn't answer for a long time, Yu Chi followed his line of sight.
What he saw was a young veiled woman in a plain blue dress with floral patterns.
The figure seemed vaguely familiar.
Yu Chi didn't know why he had such a feeling.
Except for the veil on her face, which made her a bit different, the woman was dressed like an ordinary village woman.
He really couldn't remember when he had ever had an encounter with her.
It wasn't until the "village woman" opened her mouth to say goodbye to the old man who sold glutinous rice cakes.
The familiar, gentle and melodious female voice reached his ears, and Yu Chi suddenly gave a start and came to his senses.
No wonder he felt that this "village woman" was familiar.
That figure was clearly that of the second young mistress.
I'm afraid his lord had recognized her at the first sight.
Ji Shisu must be overjoyed. At this moment, he was standing there like a wooden stake.
If Ji Shisu hadn't turned back to compensate the old man this time, he might have missed Zhao Luoning again.
The person he had been longing for for so long was right under his nose as soon as he turned around.
Fate really loves to play tricks on people.
"My lord? My lord, if you don't call out to the second young mistress, she'll leave."
Seeing that Zhao Luoning was already saying goodbye to the old man, Yu Chi kindly reminded him.
This finally woke Ji Shisu up.
Unexpectedly, when Ji Shisu opened his mouth, it was a loud roar.
"Stop."
The old man who sold glutinous rice cakes and Zhao Luoning were both stunned there.
The old man didn't know where she had offended this general. She just wanted to pack up her stall and go home. She hadn't done anything illegal.
As for Zhao Luoning, it was because she hadn't heard that familiar voice that made her so angry for several months.
Ji Shisu!
That man who had said that he would let her wait for him for three years and then had disappeared without a trace!
Yu Chi sensibly led the old man away.
Before leaving, he stuffed a silver ingot into the old man's arms and said some words of apology.
What the old man was more worried about now was that kind - hearted girl. The anger in the general's shout of "Stop" seemed to be directed at that girl.
"What did that girl do to offend the general?"
The old man's innocent words actually amused Yu Chi. Looking at the backs of the two, Yu Chi gave a soft smile and replied.
"Old man, don't worry. That girl is our general's wife whom he has been looking for. Our general would never let her suffer the slightest bit of grievance. Besides, among husband and wife, it's hard to say who has offended whom."
When they were in the Ji Mansion, his lord often suffered setbacks because he couldn't argue with the second young mistress.
"So she's the general's wife. It's the general's good fortune to have such a wife."
Although she had only met this girl once, this girl was gentle and kind - hearted. She was a good girl.
Yu Chi smiled and replied meaningfully, "You're right, old man. It's really our general's good fortune to marry such a wife."
Yu Chi was really sensible. He rushed back to share the good news with everyone.
Only Ji Shisu and Zhao Luoning were left in place.
At this moment, there were many people on the street, but it seemed as if there were only the two of them left.
A strong wind blew up, and the dust was flying.
It blew Zhao Luoning's hair into a mess.
The handkerchief she had temporarily used as a veil couldn't withstand such a strong wind at all.
The veil slowly fell in the wind, revealing her natural face without any makeup.
This sudden gust of wind made Zhao Luoning flustered. She had to take care not to let her skirt be blown up and also chase after the veil that was rolling on the ground.
She was far from the calm and composed person she had imagined herself to be during a reunion.
Compared with Zhao Luoning, Ji Shisu's situation was much better.
For the convenience of traveling, he was wearing tight - fitting clothes.
Not only was it not easy to be blown up by the wind, but even the cape fluttering in the wind only added a bit of elegance and charm to him.
Zhao Luoning was angry with Ji Shisu.
That night, he had broken into her boudoir, immobilized her with acupressure points, and left after saying such nonsense. She couldn't forget it so easily.
If she were to meet him, she would have to be dressed in the most gorgeous clothes and appear in front of him in the most imposing manner.
She wanted him to know that she didn't have to be with him.
If he abandoned her, it would definitely be him, Ji Shisu, who would suffer.
She wondered if God was deliberately playing tricks on her. After all the commotion, the veil finally landed in front of those black riding boots.
If she hadn't seen those boots, Zhao Luoning wouldn't have realized that there was less than a step's distance between her and Ji Shisu when she was distracted.
Wasn't this like "throwing herself into his arms"?
Even without looking, she knew that the man above her must be wearing a smug smile like a successful villain.
Forget it. She didn't want the veil anymore!
Zhao Luoning straightened up and was about to turn around bravely and imposingly.
But her speed was far slower than Ji Shisu's.
Before Zhao Luoning could stand still, Ji Shisu had already taken off his cape and wrapped her small body completely in it.
The disparity in strength between a man and a woman was obvious.
Following the warm cape came his strong arms and the familiar scent that she hadn't smelled for a long time.
"Just accept your fate," he whispered in her ear.
Zhao Luoning's small body was just a tiny bundle in his arms.
She had lost a lot of weight.
She must have suffered a lot on this journey.
All the blame that he had originally planned to scold her with to teach her a lesson had now turned into heartache.
If she continued to act like this, she might fall down with just a gust of wind.
Although she missed this embrace;
Although she missed the warmth of being protected in someone's arms;
Although she missed this familiar smell;
But that didn't mean she would forget the old scores.
She couldn't just let go of the matter of him immobilizing her with acupressure points and leaving her on the bed that night.
"Accept my fate? Ji Shisu, you haven't explained clearly what happened that night."
If he had known that she would still remember that incident, Ji Shisu would never have immobilized her with acupressure points.
It could only be blamed on his lack of caution. At that time, he thought he wouldn't see her for several years. The emotion of parting had disrupted his mind, so he hadn't even noticed that she wasn't asleep.
Only she had the ability to make his mind in a complete mess and make a mistake that only beginners would make.
Zhao Luoning wanted to break free from his embrace, but the disparity in their strength, combined with the fact that she had been walking on the mountain road all day and had very little strength left.
Moreover, in the eyes of outsiders, her feeble struggles seemed like flirting.
Fortunately, her face was hidden in the cape. If he wasn't afraid of being embarrassed, why should she be?
So, passers - by all cast sidelong glances at them.
Suddenly, four generals had emerged, and they all had the surname Bai. To distinguish them, people named them after the last character of their names.
Among them, General Qing, Ji Shisu, was the most popular.
He was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also the backbone of the army. Many ingenious and victorious military strategies were proposed by him.
Moreover, he was a man of integrity. He didn't even have a maid around him, let alone other women.
So, this huge contrast now made everyone feel surprised.
General Qing, who had always been uninterested in women, was actually forcefully hugging a village girl on the street?!