Chapter 6 Chapter Six

When the surroundings were quiet again, Aya ran back to her bedroom in the dark. She didn't see Todd standing up from the darkest corner of the wall. He frowned, and slowly returned to his bed, tilting his head in thought. "He's coming!" Fu Lan rushed into Aya's room and opened the bed curtain and shouted.Since the curtains were drawn last night, the sunlight hit Aya's face impartially. "Oh, he's so handsome, thoughtful and kind, courteous as a prince, and the handsomest man in the world." Without asking, Aya knew who "he" was. "My lover..." Aya murmured, barely waking up.

"What? What did my poor cousin say?" "It's nothing, Fulan, why did you get up so early? What are you wearing?" "Yellow silk, isn't it pretty? I prepared this for a special occasion." Aya grimaced.Her father often used this place as a halfway point for goods delivery. Whenever there was silk from France or leather from Italy, Fulan would pick up one or two pieces by herself.Of course, Fu Lan will ask the butler to report that the cloth is for the heir.As for Aya, she found that the stiff silk made it difficult for her to climb a ladder to pick apples, and the satin clothes were not easy to wash off if they were stained with oil paint.To be honest, Aya has never been interested in clothes.

"A special occasion?" Aya asked, yawning. "How many clothes did you 'prepare' for this trip? Is it as much as the Queen's clothes?" They both knew that Aya knew exactly how much Fulan spent or took. Fu Lan looked at herself in the mirror. "You should hear about his plans," Fran said, looking at Aya in the mirror. "I will be his wife." To Fulan's satisfaction, Aya sat up straight from the bed. "His what?" Fran turned around and gave Aya a sly smile. "Oh, my God! It's getting late, I have to go. Cousin, I'm glad you got up late this morning so that Jemin and I had time to be good friends." Then he briskly walked out the door.

Aya looked around to see if there was anything to drop, only to find her shoes, and the banging on the door was unsatisfactorily weak.But Fran must have heard her throw something, because her laughter echoed down the corridor. his wife?Aya fell back under the covers and thought.What is Fu Lan planning?How can one person create so much trouble in such a short period of time? She dressed quickly, looked regretfully at the empty hat rack, and ran out of the room.What a change had been made in her life!First last night, then today!Today she is about to embark on the most amazing journey of her life, and she thinks as she descends the stairs, what will I see on the way?What kind of people will you meet?Is there any food that I haven't eaten?What smell is it that I haven't smelled before?

Opening the door of the reception room, Aya stopped.He was standing by the table, looking intently at the map in his hand, the sun shone on his black hair, and poured down along her neck and shoulders that she had kissed many times last night. At the sight (and thought) of his hand, Aya had to lean against the post to support herself.Would he recognize her?Will his soul know who she is? When she looked away, she found Todd and Fulan were staring at her, Fulan had a titter on her face.Aya forced herself not to look strange, she didn't want anyone to know how she felt. "Good morning." She said softly, Todd nodded to her silently, still looking at her with strange eyes, Fran was still smiling, and Jemin raised his head with a frown.

"You got up late." Jemin said coldly, as if there was now more evidence of her worthlessness. From the look in his eyes, Aya knew he didn't recognize her as Diana. "I rarely do that," Aya defended herself, as he sounded like she was being lazy. "I usually--" "It doesn't matter," he interrupted her, looking down at the map again, as if she was not important. "We'll meet the carriage here—" "What are you doing?" Aya approached Jemin, looked at the map and asked, when Todd had already walked to the other side of Aya.

"Jamie came up with a great plan," Fran said coquettishly. "Oh, please tell her!" Aya laughed unconsciously.Fulan will use various methods to attract men's attention, such as pretending to be ignorant or helpless.Aya had seen her ask shorter men to carry things for her, and she would tell silly jokes, but men seemed to fall for her. Fu Lan blinked her eyelashes at Jemin. "Say it!" Jemin reluctantly turned to Aya. "I wrote to my relatives and asked them to send someone to escort the carriage. Anyone who saw them would think that they were escorting the heir of the Mei family and her dowry, but in fact I hired a person to pretend to be the heir."

"You will never guess who is pretending to be me!" Fu Lan put her hand on Jemin's arm. "Me?" Aya asked tentatively.Was she supposed to play her original role? "Of course not!" Jemin said as if Aya had offended him. "I wouldn't risk a woman's life, any woman traveling with those carriages would be in danger." Aya was glad that Jemin didn't want her to be hurt, but the way Jamin looked at her made her think he hated her. "It's Xiao Shi!" Fu Lan shouted. "It's the boy my father hired to pretend to be me!"

It took Aya a long time to realize that the "father" in Fulan's mouth was actually her father.She forced a smile—she really didn't like the way Jemin was staring at her. "Tell her the rest, too," Fran urged. "What a brilliant plan!" Jemin rolled up the map, looking reluctant to tell Aya. "I and two of my men are driving the other two carriages. We will be disguised as cloth merchants, and Fulan will be my wife, so that I can protect her nearby." Jemin tucked the map under his arm and looked at Aya—almost contemptuously. "Are there any other questions?"

Aya swallowed, why did he look at her with such angry eyes? "Then how do I get there?" Jamie surveyed her whole body. "You can't go, you stay here." For a long while, Aya was speechless, as if her world had collapsed.can not go?stay here? "You're unnecessary," said Jemin. "I was hired to protect the heir of the Mei family, and you are one of the dangers. Your jealousy almost killed Fu Lan." Aya was in shock, as if her spirit had left her body and floated above the room, and she could see everything and everyone.can not go?She was sent here to be locked up only three weeks after she was born, and she didn't sneak out to see the world until last night.She knew that she would be locked up again after arriving at Bao's house, and now this man actually said that she couldn't even have the short-term freedom between them.

She saw Fulan's gloating face, and when she heard that Aya couldn't go, she was happier than anyone else. Maybe Meng Jieming didn't remember last night: but she knew that she had given him the most precious gift and told him she loved him, and today he said that she had no reason to be free for these weeks, and he denied what she wanted most in the world! Aya ignited a fury she had never felt before, and she pounced on Jemin, scratching the skin on his cheek.Her attack was unexpected and shocked everyone in the room.Jemin nearly tripped over his own feet and had to block Aya's attack with his hands while falling backwards. Aya screamed, "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" as she punched and kicked Jemin. Todd recovered first, he was the only person in the room who understood Aya's feelings.He hugged her from behind Aya, pressed her arms, and pulled her away.At this time, Jemin's subordinates also recovered, and quickly stood between him and Aya. "Shh, be quiet," Todd reassured, holding on to Aya as tightly as possible. "Of course you can go, you will never be left behind." Jemin looked up, the backs of his hands and face were scratched and one of his eyes might be bruised.He looked at his bloody hand and said, "She's crazy!" Hearing that sentence, Aya started to struggle again, and Todd shouted: "Fran! Tell him!" Fran sighed heavily, because she knew what Todd wanted her to say. "If Aya doesn't come with me, I won't go either." She said helplessly, obviously she didn't want Aya to go, but she had to say so. Jemin looked at Fulan and Aya who was caught by Todd.what is this?That deadly girl can actually control the heir? "You don't have to do this," Jemin said to Fran, the cut on his face starting to sting. "She is a crazy woman. She once wanted to murder you and me. Do you want me to put her in a cage and take her away?" Aya was still trembling because of the anger just now, she didn't know that she would be so angry, but can't go?can not go? Todd felt Aya calm down and let her go. "Fulan," he said in a warning tone. "If you don't say what you have to say, I'll tell him everything." Fran grimaced, knowing full well that Dodd—the ugly grotesque—would tell Jemin she was not the heir, and that she would be left here as a result.She took a deep breath. "Aya didn't try to murder me yesterday, she just wanted me to sneeze, nobody knew Daisy would..." She waved her hand. "What else?" Todd said, letting Fulan know that he didn't allow any reservations. "Aya is angry because she wants to go." That made Les laugh, and even Tom couldn't help laughing.angry?The scene just now was called anger?The blood that boils when a man fights is far inferior to the anger of this little girl! Les looked at Aya, her waist-length hair was thick and shiny, wrapping her body like a bright red-brown cape, she was more attractive than he had imagined. While Jamin was still hesitating whether to agree or not, Fu Lan saw Todd was about to reveal who was the real heir. "Please," Fulan begged. "She can...pretend to be my maid." "I'd rather—" Aya shouted, but Todd cut her off. "No." He said to Fu Lan. Fulan showed a disgusted expression. "Well, she can pretend to be my cousin or sister!" "I was your cousin!" Aya roared. "Yes, yes!" Fu Lan said, looking at Aya's whole body.Fulan wore yellow silk embroidered with thousands of blue butterflies, while Aya wore durable light brown wool.Fran's eyes seemed to say that she couldn't understand how they could be related, and Les laughed again when he saw Fran's eyes; Tom put his hand over his mouth to hide the smile. "Are you sure Mayboken paid you enough?" Rice whispered to Jamin, who held up his hand in a truce. "If you both have to go, I wish I could send you two times, but I can't." He looked at Aya. "You can pretend to be my sister." He moved closer to Aya, almost up to her nose. "If you dare to cause me trouble again, I will send someone to send you back here, understand?" Aya is not afraid of him, so she will not let Meng Jieming threaten her.She stood on tiptoe and looked into his eyes. "I swear I will do everything in my power to make your life as miserable as possible, and if you dare to retaliate, I will make you regret it forever!" Never before has a woman been so hostile to him, Jamin could only stare at Aya, and Fulan brought him back to reality from a state of trance. "What about him?" Fu Lan asked, pointing at Todd, her voice let Jemin know that she didn't want Todd to go with him. Jemin rubbed his eyes.He was caught in a storm at sea and watched four other ships go down; he, Les and Tom faced the Turks; months long.But, my God!He would rather go back and face those things than face these two women. Jemin took a deep breath. "Todd is coming with us. Mr. Mei specifically mentioned in the letter that Todd must accompany his daughter." He narrowed his eyes and looked at Aya. "As for you—" He didn't know what to say, because he was afraid that he would lose his words. "Go and paint the carriage as a draper's cart, maybe you can make yourself a useful person." After speaking, Jemin strode out of the room, followed by his men. There was only one candle lit in the small and empty room, and Jemin thought that Xiao Qiu would not like to know that although Mei's house was comfortable, it was not as luxurious as he had imagined.To be honest, only Guan Lan was as gorgeous and dazzling as he had imagined, but he had to write to them to reassure them. "That woman named Aya is crazy," Jemin wrote. "But the heir, Fulan—" he put down his pen.What do you want to write about Fulan?Love her crazy cousin?Jemin felt the bruise on his face, flinching when his thumb touched his bruised and swollen eye.No, that girl named Aya can control Fulan, why?What secret could a nineteen-year-old heir have so that he had to be told to keep it from coming out?Also, what's going on between Todd and Aya?Are they lovers? Thinking of this, Jemin broke the quill, so he had to cut another one with the dagger. The relationship between the cousin of the Mei family heir and Todd is none of his business. He returns to his letter. "How?" Xiao Qiu said. "Do you still think he's in love with this girl named Aya?" "He must be in love with someone, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a mess," Pei Ling replied. "Who is this woman named Diana? Why is she so nice to my brother?" "All women are very kind to our handsome brother." Xiao Qiu said pretentiously. Pei Ling stretched out her hand, and when Xiao Qiu put the letter in her hand, Jieming always said that Pei Ling could feel the undisclosed information in the letter. "That's right," Pei Ling said holding the letter. "These things bothered him very much, he..." Pei Ling's face lit up. "He's looking for something!" "He probably lost a dagger." Xiao Qiu looked indifferent, but in fact she really wanted to ask Pei Ling to say more. Her sister would not be fooled. "He was looking for someone, but she was hiding." When Pei Ling stopped talking, Xiao Qiu said, "He should go to the cellar to look for it. What kind of person do you think this Diana is?" "We have to wait for her to find out, right?" Pei Ling replied, knowing that Xiao Qiu would be her eyes.She held the letter and frowned. Something must have bothered her brother so much! It was getting brighter, and everyone in the Mei family had just woken up. When Aya yawned and walked into the house, the butler was walking into the side door. "Did he give you something and asked you to pass it on to a girl named Diana?" Aya asked while looking at the butler. The butler wanted to deny that since Aya was no longer the heir, there was no need to obey her.But when he looked into Aya's eyes, he could see that she was still the daughter of the master.He reached into his vest and took out a letter for her. "Didn't it come with a blue hat?" When he shook his head, Aya said, "Then give me the money he left Diana." He threw the coin into Aya's open hand. Aya looked at the coin, then at the steward. "You'd better put the rest of the money in my hands while I read the letter." As Aya read the letter, she felt the coin fall into her hand.After the housekeeper left, she held the coin in her palm, walked up the stairs with a smile and returned to the dormitory, and fell directly on the bed, not caring about the paint-stained clothes on her body.She figured she'd get at least an hour's sleep before what she'd done was discovered.She smiled and soon fell asleep. About ten minutes later, the roar woke Aya up. "Where is she?" Aya knew it must be Meng Jieming's roar. Aya put the letter and coins into her pocket with a smile, completely ignored Jemin's anger, and continued to sleep on her big head. The sound of the door slamming open woke her up. "Aya!" Todd's stern voice was tinged with irritation. "There! There!" she murmured. "I'm ready." She yawned and got out of bed, walking past Todd. "Why are you doing this?" Todd asked as he followed her downstairs. "Why make him angry? He already thinks you are dangerous and is trying to hurt Fulan, why can't you—" She had reached the ground floor and saw Jemin standing there, his face flushed with rage—at least except for the bruises and scratches. "Does it hurt to shave?" she asked calmly, passing him out the front door. Of course Aya knew he was mad, but she was just doing what she was told, wasn't she?She and the cook's assistant, the two gardeners, and the housekeeper's wife had spent the night painting one of the carriages with lanterns last night.She drew the figures, the housekeeper's wife wrote the letters as she instructed, and the others colored. Now, standing in front of the carriage with the others—including all the servants in the house, the groom sent by her father, and the new guards who had just arrived—Aya thought she had done a great job!And judging by everyone's shocked faces, she knew they loved her work too! On the side of the carriage, Aya depicts the heroic posture of Jemin in armor struggling to slay the dragon, while the girl with her feet shackled to the pillars and her eyes widening in fright is Fulan.If Jemin doesn't save her quickly, she will be bitten to death by the dragon.The dragon's scaly green tail wraps around the body... On the other side of the carriage, it becomes the tail of a lion. This side is also painted with Jamin, but this time the white shirt on his body is torn, revealing his strong muscles, and there is only a short leather skirt on his lower body. .Behind him, Fu Lan, who was tied to a pillar, was desperately trying to break free. "I'm going to kill you, Aya!" Fulan screamed, raising her hand to hit Aya. But Jamin grabbed her arm.Thus, Fulan, who never gave up any chance, turned around and "cried" and fell into his arms.Of course, Fulan never really shed tears, but she fully understood the effect of fake crying. Aya shook back and forth with a smile. It was obvious that Fulan didn't object to being painted on the carriage, what she objected to was the words on the carriage. "Come and see Fulan, the most beautiful woman in the world!" "You can see her if you buy cloth!" "You can't see her without buying it!" "Come and see her! It's in the car! A real beauty!" "Come and see Jemin, The only handsome man in the world worthy of her!" "Watch them eat, watch them breathe." The literate people read the words on the carriage to the illiterate people. Gradually, everyone turned their heads and looked at Jemin and Fulan in surprise. "You turned me into a monster!" Fulan said, staring at Aya. "Should I be put in a cage, and every time someone buys a piece of cloth, they can lift the curtain and look at it?" Aya looked serious. "Fu Lan, you have to buy at least one foot of high-quality linen to see your face." Jemin stops Fulan from attacking Aya again. "Redraw!" Jemin ordered. "Draw all over and repaint!" "No!" Aya said angrily. "This can sell a lot of cloth!" Jemin gritted his teeth and said, "The purpose of this journey is to bring Fulan to her fiancé's house safely, not to be like... like..." Jemin couldn't think of any ugly words. "Sell cloth like a merchant!" "Businessman?" Aya said as if Jemin thought that word was dirty. "Let me remind you, Mr. Meng, my father—" she immediately realized that she had slipped her tongue. "Maboken is a businessman." At this moment, Tom stepped forward. "Excuse me, can I take a step to talk?" Glad to have an excuse to learn from, Jemin throws Fran to Todd. "Protect her," Jie Dao said, and then followed Tom out of the crowd of onlookers. "Maybe I can offer a little advice." "At this juncture, I would gladly accept even the advice offered by the devil, that... woman, that goddamn woman made me unable to think!" Tom cleared his throat.He had always admired Jamin's ability to remain calm, but this girl named Aya seemed to be able to do things that war couldn't. "The carriage is beautifully drawn." "Pretty?" Jemin was taken aback. "Did you see what she drew? It was me!" He forced himself to calm down. "Tom, you wouldn't say that if your face was painted on it." "My face wouldn't sell a bag of dust." "I will not let my face or Fu Lan's face be used to sell things! If the face of a beautiful woman is used to sell goods, the end of the world will come!" "I leave it to God whether the world will end or not," Tom said. "I just know it's going to take weeks, so I beg you, don't further your antagonism with her. Now that you've painted it, keep it that way! She's been painting all night, let alone you You asked her to draw, and you didn't stipulate how to draw." "Do you have to remind me of everything I've said?" Jemin tried to rub his face, but it hurt too much. "I see what you mean, go tell them what to do," he said, waving his hand. "If I get close to her, I may still kill her. Load the goods into the carriage and we'll leave tomorrow." After turning around, he saw the person who came to assist him from his hometown pointing at the painting and bending over with a smile. Knowing that this matter will soon be reported home. "Tom... asked her to draw some clothes for...the man." "The man who fought the lion?" Jemin held up his hands and walked away in disgust. "understand?" Aya pretended to be serious and sat on the chair. "Understood." She replied sarcastically. Jemin stared at Aya.He spent thirty minutes trying to convince her of the importance of the trip.He began to fear that Aya would tell the world that Fulan was the heir to the Mei family. As he loaded the wagon in the morning, he talked to the servants, and he found that this young Aya held the power, and that whatever he asked, from bills to cross-pollination, the answer was always, "Aya was in charge. ’ Almost everything was handled by Aya, as if she had it all in one.No wonder Fulan was afraid of her, her power was so great that no one dared to act without first asking her permission. "You have to ask Aya first." He heard that sentence more than once. Jamin couldn't help wondering how he could have completely misjudged her.When he first met her, he liked the way she looked at him, as if she was saying, "I'm worth your trouble!" But now Jemin thought, no wonder she thinks so highly of herself, because she holds the financial power of the heir of the Mei family! She couldn't control him, Jemin swore to himself. "What do you understand?" "I must not cause trouble along the way, or you will—what did you threaten me with just now? Bind me to the wheels of the carriage?" "No, to tie you to the front of the carriage." "Ah, yes, that's the brutality you're going to do to a woman half your size." Jemin frowned, why is she so ignorant? "It's not me I'm worried about, it's Fulan," he forced himself to be patient. "You don't understand what the world thinks of her." He recalled Xiao Qiu's imitation guiltily. "Her father's wealth has made her less human. I fear for her life if anyone finds out who she is." "The money you plan to marry her, of course her life is important." "Why did I think I could trust you? If I hadn't told you—" "Then Fulan will think that you really like her!" Aya retorted. "At least she's been warned now," Aya stood up, squinting at Jemin. "You said you hate liars, but you are very good at lying. You attacked me on the first day we met, looked at me with lustful eyes and coveted Fulan's gold at the same time, and then took away a pure Maiden chastity—" She stopped in shock.She didn't have Tong Tong to say it, but it was too late, and she buried her clenched fist in her skirt. "How do you know about her?" "She knew you were at Mei's, so she came to me. Poor ugly thing, her face is full of—" Aya took a deep breath. "Silly girl, I thought you loved her, but in fact you only love Mei's gold, right?" Jemin turned away, not wanting Aya to see his face.The image of that night with Diana still haunted him, and he seemed to remember the smell of her hair, the feel of her skin. "How is she? I left the money for her." Jemin said softly. "Did you think I'd send her to your house? I'd send her to—" Where?Aya wanted to remember that she should be Fran's character now. "I sent her to my house and entrusted my father and sister to take care of her." Aya carefully observed Jemin's face.Why couldn't he see that she was Diana?How does he feel about her?Why was he so gentle with Diana but so ruthless with Aya? Aya took a deep breath and gave Jemin the coldest look. "As for what you said to teach me, okay, I will avoid you far away, but as for Fulan, she has been under my care for many years, you should be able to see that she has not suffered any harm. As for you, frankly , nothing makes me happier than forgetting that you are still alive." After saying that, Aya left the room, and Jemin fell into the seat by the window. He has never had a problem with women in his life, really, not at all. No problem either.His little sister, Xiao Qiu, who tortured every man she knew, was his joy, and if she got too far, all he had to do was raise an eyebrow to calm her down.Pei Ling was an angel, and the queen who had caused many troubles to many men also smiled at Jemin and invited him to dance together. It seemed that women all over the world would smile at him, except for this girl. And now she was intervening in his private affairs with Diana. "Damn woman!" Jemin yelled.He just wanted her to promise to play by the rules along the way, why did she have to complicate everything? When the door opened and Les was seen, Jemin knew he couldn't think about it anymore.He had to think only of Fulan, and what his family needed.Other than that, it's superfluous to think about anything. "The goods are packed, waiting for your inspection." "Okay," said Jemin as he stood up.They're leaving early tomorrow morning, and there's still a lot to do.When he got to the door, he stopped. "Les, do you know women?" "Not at all," Rice said cheerfully. "If any man says he knows women, he's lying." "Hmm." That was the only thing Jemin could answer when he walked out of the room.