Escape to Your Heart

Chapter 134 Reunion

Fu Tingyun's hands were soft and delicate, carrying a slight coolness like the finest mutton-fat jade. Her eyebrows were dark and thick, as gentle as feathers, adding a touch of softness to her face. Her large almond-shaped eyes were always bright and lively, like the most dazzling stars of a summer night, unforgettable to anyone who saw them... Zhao Ling gazed quietly at the person before him. The hesitation he had felt when deciding to follow Prince Mu, the worry for her safety after their separation, the self-doubt after defeat, and the pressure to push forward after victory—all seemed to fade into insignificance.

Layers of warmth rippled in his eyes.

Yet Fu Tingyun only felt her face grow hot.

This man... how could he stare at her so unabashedly without a hint of shame!

She wanted to pull her hand free from his grasp but feared knocking over the teacup and spilling tea on him. Unable to help herself, she chided, "Are you going to drink the tea or not?"

Her voice was sweet and tender, like a pool of spring water.

Fu Tingyun flushed with embarrassment, her cheeks as rosy as dawn.

Zhao Ling, however, felt his heart tighten. He firmly grasped her hand, the corners of his lips curling as he whispered in a warm, suggestive tone, "Feed it to me." The intimacy in his voice made her ears burn.

"Not a chance!" She yanked her hand back in haste, no longer caring about the teacup.

Amidst the clinking of porcelain, Zhao Ling fumbled clumsily, barely managing to catch the cup—though some tea still splashed onto his hand and his sapphire-blue silk Straight Robe.

Such a flustered Zhao Ling... was a rare sight.

Fu Tingyun pressed her lips together, suppressing a laugh.

Zhao Ling shook his head, his eyes filled with indulgent resignation.

For some inexplicable reason, Fu Tingyun's heart swelled with joy. Her smile widened as she took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. "Here, wipe your hands."

Zhao Ling gazed at her sparkling eyes and the playful smirk at the corner of her lips. A sudden impulse seized him—he reached out, grabbed her wrist, and with a slight tug, pulled her, handkerchief and all, into his lap.

"Wipe it for me," he murmured in her ear, his arm tightening around her waist.

His warm breath brushed against her neck, sending a tingling numbness through half her body.

"No!" She bit her lip, as if to hide something, and struggled fiercely in his embrace. Her rosy lips were as vivid as the oleander blooming on the long table, radiant and alluring.

A strange glint flickered in Zhao Ling's eyes. "Nannan," he called, his voice low and husky. "Stop moving."

You tell me not to move, yet you're the one holding me so tightly!

Fu Tingyun grumbled inwardly but only struggled harder... Suddenly, her eyes widened. She froze in Zhao Ling's arms, stiff as a wooden doll.

Zhao Ling let out a bitter laugh.

Gently stroking her hairline, he coaxed, "Be good, don't be afraid. It'll pass soon." His ears were red, and a blush crept across his cheeks.

Fu Tingyun listened, on the verge of tears.She was about to be married, with all her dowry prepared, including the erotic paintings discreetly passed to her by her mother through her sixth aunt... That hard part pressing against her thigh... Of course she knew what it was... But how could this happen? She hadn’t done anything improper—just played around with him for a while... This scoundrel, if he knew, why did he keep holding her so tightly? If he had just let her go earlier, things wouldn’t have come to this! Or if he had stayed silent, she could have pretended not to notice... They could have both let it pass. But now, with all this fuss, she couldn’t possibly feign ignorance anymore...

Yet those erotic paintings hadn’t taught her what to do in such a situation. She didn’t dare disobey Zhao Ling, but sitting in his lap felt like sitting on pins and needles—humiliated and bashful, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Zhao Ling, who had been anxiously watching Fu Tingyun, panicked when he saw this. But this wasn’t something he could control—the more he tried to calm himself, the harder it became. Yet seeing Fu Tingyun upset pained him deeply. He held her tightly and whispered, "Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s all my fault, I’m the one to blame!" He gently kissed her forehead and added, "The Emperor has agreed to oversee our marriage. You don’t need to worry..."

"What did you say?" Fu Tingyun exclaimed in shock, leaping out of Zhao Ling’s arms.

Only then did she notice that Zhao Ling wasn’t just blushing—his neck was flushed red too.

Was he... embarrassed?

The thought flickered through her mind but was quickly replaced by confusion. "What on earth is going on?" she pressed.

Relieved that Fu Tingyun was no longer focused on their awkward situation, Zhao Ling steadied himself and explained, "The Emperor has decided to enter the capital with a light cavalry escort and needs highly skilled guards. Marquis Yingchuan recommended me, Mo Yi, Lin Chi, and Tao Mu. The other three have well-documented backgrounds, but mine is unclear. The Marquis summoned me to personally inquire about my origins... and yours."

Fu Tingyun suddenly understood. "So that’s why Marquis Yingchuan called you in—to ask about your background!" They had mistakenly assumed the Marquis was after Shopkeeper Ye San. The realization made her furious. "So you had already decided to go to Huguang back then, yet you didn’t breathe a word of truth to me! Instead, you lied and told me to return to the capital! Do you have any idea how worried I was? I couldn’t sleep night after night..." Her almond eyes glared at him, trembling with anger. "If anything had happened to you, did you think I could just go on living happily?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know, I know. That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you." Zhao Ling stepped forward, trying to pull her into his arms, but Fu Tingyun retreated, glaring at him. He sighed helplessly. "Nannan, going to Huguang was an opportunity, but I didn’t know whether it would bring fortune or disaster. If it succeeded, then all would be well. But if it failed..." He moved closer, lowering his voice. "I’m alone in this world—I could hide anywhere for a few years and then come back to find you in the capital. Knowing you, you’d wait for me, whether I lived or died. We could sell the house in the capital and go to Jiangnan, or beyond the Great Wall... Nannan, since you’ve chosen me, I’d never leave you to suffer alone!" His expression grew solemn, his gaze earnest and unwavering as he looked at her.Fu Tingyun's tears fell like rain, her mind echoing Zhao Ling's words: "With your temperament, whether I live or die, you would surely wait for me."

They had only known each other for three years, yet he was so certain she would remain faithful to him. Meanwhile, she had lived in the Fu family for fifteen years, yet Zuo Junjie's baseless slander had made everyone in the household doubt her.

Was this her fortune or her misfortune?

Fu Tingyun embraced Zhao Ling, resting her head gently against his broad chest.

Zhao Ling held her tightly in return, his fingers lightly stroking her hair to soothe her. "Nannan, I promise I'll never do anything to worry you again," he murmured.

In her ears, she could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat—strong and resolute—gradually calming her emotions.

"Have you been serving as the Emperor's guard all this time?" Fu Tingyun lifted her head to look at him, her voice soft. "Were you injured?"

No wonder he couldn’t come to see her.

The Emperor had just entered the palace and would surely need his own trusted men around him. How could Zhao Ling have time for personal matters? If the Emperor found out, he might think Zhao Ling lacked loyalty.

"Yes!" Zhao Ling chuckled. "I also fought in a few battles under the command of several generals, though none were major. Most of the time, I stayed by the Emperor’s side. How could I have gotten injured?"

Relieved, Fu Tingyun asked about Marquis Yingchuan. "Didn’t he join the Emperor’s campaign?"

"No," Zhao Ling replied with a smile. "He had to remain in Zhangye to defend it. However, he sent his God Crossbow Unit and Wind Chaser Unit to the Emperor’s side. The Emperor’s swift entry into the capital was largely due to the Wind Chaser Unit’s efforts."

If the rumors were true—that Duke Fuguo had helped the Emperor open the capital’s gates, and Marquis Yingchuan had escorted the Emperor back—then the Meng family would likely become the most prominent noble house in the capital.

Fu Tingyun thought of Xiao Shi. "She tested me several times. Could it have been Marquis Yingchuan’s idea? To see if I could keep secrets?"

Zhao Ling pondered. "According to Mo Yi, Xiao Shi was originally a maid under Madame Mei, trained specifically to assist the Marquis with his documents. When the Marquis came to Zhangye, he brought her along. The Marquis never hides anything from her, and she takes his affairs very seriously. If the Marquis wanted to sound you out, he would have asked you directly. All this roundabout probing was likely Xiao Shi’s own doing."

Fu Tingyun recalled the rumors about Madame Mei... If Marquis Yingchuan returned to the capital, there might soon be some interesting stories emerging from his household.

"I’m just an acting chiliarch at Nianbo Garrison. When the time comes, I can tell the people at Nianbo that the court is sending a new chiliarch and that I’ve returned to Zhuanglang Garrison. Meanwhile, I’ll tell those at Zhuanglang that I’m still at Nianbo. Keeping this up for a few months won’t be difficult," Zhao Ling explained. "But for you, it’s different. If I go to Huguang, I won’t even be able to send letters. If you start looking for me, the truth might come out. Since Marquis Yingchuan suspected you were from the Fu family, I didn’t want you entangled with Xiao Shi. I vaguely mentioned sending you back to the capital, and the Marquis probably thought it would be easier to keep an eye on you there, under Duke Fuguo’s watch. So when I asked to borrow his name card, he even sent an escort to take you back to the capital."Fu Tingyun thought back to her own joy at that time and couldn't help but let out a cold "hmph." Then she recalled meeting Yu Wei at the Weinan post station and told Zhao Ling about it: "...Now she serves by my side and has been a great help to me."

"I came straight to the main courtyard when I entered," Zhao Ling said with a smile, "so I didn't really get a good look at how many people are in the household." He sighed emotionally, "I never thought any of your maids would still be alive! But this is good—having someone close to serve you puts my mind at ease."

Fu Tingyun nodded repeatedly. She wanted to ask if he had killed Mother Chen, but then she thought, even if he had, so what? Zhao Ling had never been one to kill indiscriminately. If he had killed Mother Chen, there must have been a reason for it. So she put the matter aside and smiled, "This is also fate bringing us together!"

But such fate had come at too great a cost.

Not wanting Fu Tingyun to dwell on these thoughts, Zhao Ling smiled and said, "However, His Majesty and I almost missed our connection—when he saw me, he actually didn't remember me at first!"

Fu Tingyun was very surprised.

Zhao Ling continued, "His Majesty truly employs those he trusts and distrusts those he doesn't. Since we were introduced by Marquis Yingchuan, he didn't ask any questions and just kept me by his side to serve. It was Liansheng, who attends to His Majesty, who recognized me. His Majesty did remember you, though. He asked about you at the time and, upon learning you were in the capital, jokingly said that both he and I were looking forward to going to the capital to see our long-separated loved ones."

※

Sisters, we're having power outages again here. My laptop can only last two hours on battery, so today I had to move around to several places to write. Finally found an internet cafe to post this. Everyone can read it first—I'll correct any typos later.

Praying for the power to come back tomorrow!

Amen!

(>_