Chapter 9 Chapter nine

It rained heavily for several days, the stream swelled sharply, and the road surface, which was already in bad condition, turned into a swamp, making the carriage unable to move. As Jemin commanded the wagon to pull it out of the mud, he couldn't help feeling sorry for himself.He had always been an outstanding soldier, how did he end up in this position, responsible for the merchant's carriage and the resolution of disputes?He is obviously an earl and has no family property to inherit.The rain was so heavy that he could hardly see anything; he could hear nothing but the crash of the rushing stream.

He dismounted and managed to get to the wagon, which was again stuck.Of course, even when he stepped in the mud (it felt like his whole body was covered in cold, clammy mud), he knew that his real problem wasn't the rain, but Aya.Sometimes he felt as if he hadn't had any problems before meeting Aya.Compared with the setbacks experienced after meeting Aya, what is the struggle of life and death? Just when he thought they would be good friends, everything changed in an instant.Before he could stop Fulan, she had run back to the camp, announcing loudly that they were about to get married.Jemin thought he'd never forget the look on Aya's face: betrayed, hurt, disbelieving.

Since then, Aya has refused to speak to him.Jamin tried twice to explain to Aya that he was not free, he wanted to tell Aya that marriage was a deal for him, he couldn't do it according to his own mind, because if he followed his own mind, his family…… But Aya didn't want to hear his explanation, and every time she shook his hand away, refusing to talk.Afterwards, when he thought about the responsibility on his shoulders, he thought maybe it would be better if Aya didn't talk to him.But when she told the others two days later that the white cheese had accidentally rolled off the wagon, he felt like crying.

But this morning, Jemin's mood changed again, because Aya gave Les a small pillow stuffed with goose feathers (that she kept for Jemin). Now, in a few hours, they would arrive at the house of his friend in the army, Declan, where there would be dry beds and hot food, and maybe all of them would feel better. In the heavy rain Jemin saw the "Dragon Cart"--as everyone insisted on calling it--going ahead of them.Because that car was lighter and easier to walk over the mud, he ordered Aya and Fulan to ride in that carriage.This one was often stuck in the mud because it was loaded with tents and needed furniture.

Jemin quickly saw that he had to help push the cart, because Les and Tom (those two damned guys!) rode on either side of the dragon cart, leaving only the driver, he, and Todd to try to get the cart to move. At first, Jemin was so busy studying the wheels that he didn't hear Todd shouting beside him, "Stones! Put a stone under the wheel, or use a branch, whatever!" Jemin nodded.His personal problems were so distracting that he did not even think of the simplest solutions.While George sat up front, trying to rein in the lightning-frightened horse, Jemin and Todd looked around for something to put under the right rear wheel.

"Can you push?" Jemin yelled at Todd, seeing him nod as the rain cascaded down his face, forming little ditches across the twisted scar. Jemin leaned his shoulders against the wagon, and Todd did the same, his stubby legs sunk deep in the mud. "Ready?" Jemin called to George, and when George gave a crack of the whip they pushed hard.It was not easy to find an attachment point in the mud, and they kept slipping, but Jemin could see the wagon was about to be pushed up. "Again!" he yelled. "Turn harder!" Just as the carriage was about to be pushed up, Jemin was knocked down on the mud by a fist.

"He can't! He can't!" Aya screamed at Jemin, punching him in the face and chest. Jemin raised his arm to block Aya's fist, but the mud beneath him was like a giant sea monster trying to swallow him.Les grabbed Aya's waist and hugged her away. Jamie was so deep in the mud that he had to grab the wheels to pull himself out. "What's wrong with her again?" Jemin yelled, wiping the mud off his face with his hands. Les shrugged and grabbed Aya's struggling body as best he could. "Let go of me! Let me go!" Aya screamed hard, trying desperately to break free from Rice's grasp.

Jemin nodded to Les, motioning to let go of Aya, ready to accept her attack. But Aya didn't run to Jie Tian, ​​but ran to Todd's side as quickly as possible.He fell against the back of the carriage, his eyes closed tightly, and there seemed to be no signs of life. "Look what you've done!" Aya screamed at Jemin. "You go to hell!" She turned to Les. "Help me get him into the carriage." Both Les and Jamin stepped forward, but Aya blocked Jemin, and her angry eyes made him take a step back. They are lovers, Jemin suddenly thought, that's why she protects Todd so much and keeps other men from getting close to her, because they are lovers!

At this moment, anger gave him strength.When Rice returned to the wagon, Jemin yelled at the driver, and the two of them pushed hard.All of a sudden, Jamin seemed to have gained supernatural power. When the carriage had already been pushed up, Jemin was still pushing. Les puts his hand on Jemin's shoulder, but Jemin ignores it and keeps pushing, so Les struggles to pull him away.But when Jemin turned to Rice, his eyes made Rice take a step back.The two didn't talk, Les jumped on the horse and rode to another carriage. Jemin was too angry to speak or think about why he was angry.He jumped on his horse and rode beside the carriage until they reached Dai's door.

"Jammin!" Deckron warmly embraced Jamin who was younger than him.Karen was a tall man with thick eyebrows, big eyes and messy red hair. His appearance alone could scare many people away in battle. Even so, he never frightened a woman.As a woman said to Jemin: "Who's afraid of a man with a mouth like that?" "Is this you?" Keren asked, wiping the mud off Jemin's face with his large hand. But Jemin was not in the mood for joking, he shook off Karen's hand angrily, and returned to the carriage. "Lock the carriage!" he shouted to the coachman. "And you, boy, take care of those horses, and I'll make you regret it forever if I find out they've been mistreated!"

Karen stood in the rain, looking like an ancient Nordic god, looking at Jemin in puzzlement.He had known Jamin since he was a child, and he had never seen anyone more attractive than Jamin, and he had never seen Jamin so rude. Tom dismounted, wiped the rain from his face, and nodded to Fran who was getting off the car.Although Fulan covered the rain with a large piece of candled cloth, Karen could still see her beautiful face.He looked at Tom and raised his eyebrows as if to ask, "Is Jemin angry because of her?" Tom leaned forward and said, "Two women." That statement made Karen laugh wildly, for he knew that nothing could upset Jemin except a woman.It never occurred to Keren that a man as handsome as Jamin could have trouble with women. "Damn it!" Jemin yelled, as he looked into the carriage to realize that Aya and her...her beau were gone! "Where are they?" he yelled at a boy who was bringing the horses into the stables, who of course had no idea who Jemin was talking about, and scrambled to dodge the muddy and angry monster. Jemin turned to Keren. "Did you see them? A girl and a very short and—" How would he describe Todd? Jemin could see that Karen had no idea what he was talking about. Todd didn't want to be seen, Jemin thought suddenly.He knew where Todd would be because he was so familiar with Clen's house, "Look out for the carriage!" he yelled to Les, then snatched the lantern from the stable boy and ran towards the stables.If a man wanted to hide, that's where he would go. Jamie looked around the stables with a lantern in his hand.He wasn't sure what he'd do once he found them, but he knew Aya was his responsibility, and he had the right to— There was an old barn at the end of the stables, and as Jemin was leaving, he saw a faint light under the door. In a fit of rage, he flung open the door.To his disbelief, he saw Aya undressing Todd! His first reaction was to pull her away and (probably) hold his sword against Todd.But when Aya turned her face away, Jemin saw a panicked face, "Help me, help me..." Her voice was trembling. Jemin's anger disappeared instantly.He put down the lantern and stepped forward, "What can I do? I'll let you tell me." "His legs..." Todd lay on straw and dirty horse blankets, pale and almost dead. "I'm going to get someone to help—" "No!" Aya grabbed Jemin's arm. "Please," she said, tears welling in her eyes.She was wet, and Jemin knew she was cold, tired, and hungry, but she didn't seem to notice. "His self-esteem is very strong, and he doesn't like to be seen by others, can you understand?" Jamin believes that no one understands what self-esteem is better than he does. "What do you want me to do?" "He was in pain, very much pain, helped me take off his wet clothes to keep him dry and warm." "Okay," said Jemin, and started to help Todd take off his breeches, but his sodden trousers were stuck to his skin, and Jemin had to cut them open with the dagger.Witnessing the horrors of many wounded soldiers on the battlefield, Jemin thought he had long been numb, but seeing Todd's legs still made him shudder.His legs seemed to be ripped apart, with scars ranging in size and size, and the bones of his legs seemed to have been broken and twisted on purpose.How does he walk like this?If he does walk, how does he endure the pain of each step? When Jemin looked up at Aya, he saw her holding a vial of dark liquid. "Pour some in your hands and massage his legs, quick!" Jemin felt the liquid warm as Aya poured it over his hand.When he touched Todd's leg, he found that Todd's leg was as cold as a dead man. "Give me some more," Jemin said, taking the bottle from Aya's hand.He knew what it was like to be cold, having spent time in the Scottish Highlands, where the summers were colder than the English winters. "Go to the stables for my horse, there are dry clothes in the saddlebags, go and get them. Go! If anyone sees you, say they were for me. Also, take the bottle of wine from the bag bring here!" Aya nodded slightly, and hurried to the stable.She found Jemin's horse quickly, and took the clothes and the silver bottle out of the bag.Holding them (so as not to get her clothes wet), she was about to run back to the barn, but the voice of the groom outside the wall stopped her. "I heard that she is the heir of the Mei family," a man whispered. "Although it's a secret, everyone knows it." "I really want to capture that woman, think about the gold!" "Are you going to propose to her?" "Ha! I just want to extort ransom from her father!" Hearing those words, Aya ran away.When she returned to the barn, she saw that Jemin had taken off Todd's clothes and was rubbing Todd's chest and arms with her medicine. "Did anyone see you?" Jemin asked, and when Aya shook his head, he said, "Well, I don't want to make them curious, we should have thought of this before." When riding, there were always children around them shouting: "Blind girl! Blind girl!" He couldn't imagine what would happen to Todd if he walked down the street. "While I was dressing him," Jemin said. "I want you to pour the wine into his mouth." Aya looked at him suspiciously. "That's fine malt whiskey, the best in the world. Do as I say!" Aya nodded slightly, rolled up the blanket and put it under Todd's head as a pillow, and slowly poured the whiskey into his mouth.She knew from experience that Todd was sane, but the pain in his leg made him wish he could lose consciousness. Dressing Todd was more difficult than Jemin had imagined. Although his legs were weak, his upper body was large and strong.It was a while before Todd started coughing from the whiskey Aya had forced him to drink. "No," Todd turned away. "Let me sleep." "Yes," Aya said, stroking his hair, and some color seemed to return to his cheeks. "Sleep, I will be here with you, I will not leave you," she put Todd's big hand in her palm, and then held it close to her body.She didn't know how long she sat there, and when Jemin tried to pull her away, she began to fight back.Jamie grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I've had enough of being your enemy, you're wet and cold, and—" "I won't leave him." Aya shook off Jemin's hand. "It's all because of you that he became like this!" Jemin took a step back and rubbed his eyes, every movement of his made the half-dried mud clods fall one after another.Hadn't he learned not to argue with her long ago?He could force her into the house and change into clean clothes, but he knew very well that unless she was tied up, she would find a way to escape. Without saying a word, he took down the horse blanket hanging on the wall, wrapped it around her body, and picked her up.Aya struggled. "Be quiet, or you'll wake him up." "let me go!" Jamin sat down on the straw, his back against the cold stone wall, and put Aya on his lap, her back against his chest.While she was still struggling, Jemin whispered in her ear, "Please don't hurt me anymore, I've been covered in bruises and scars since I met you. Now just seeing you makes me bleed gone." If he had said anything else, Aya would likely have continued to struggle with rage, but simple humor drove her anger away.Aya leaned against his chest in embarrassment and began to cry. Jemin held her as if she were a baby, her head resting on his neck, her body in the thick blanket, her tears making his clothes even wetter. She didn't cry for long. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I never cry, no one can make me cry." "Except for me. Yeah, I've always had that ability." "Liar," Aya sniffed. "Perhaps you never made a woman cry." He didn't want to answer that question, but he was pretty sure he loved holding Aya. "Tell me about Todd," he said softly. "How did he become like this?" Aya felt warm for the first time in days of rain, which kept them from building fires.Fran had asked to stay in an inn, but Jemin said that was too "dangerous".However, others don't know who they are, so how can they be in danger? Aya nestled in his arms, feeling warm and safe.Suddenly she felt something tickle her, she waved her hand, and as a result, a large piece of half-dried mud was torn off his face, including his hair. "Ouch!" he yelled, looking at her accusingly as if to say, "You're hurting me again," and Aya leaned her head back on him, smiling. "Did you know that mud is good for the skin?" Aya said. "I once experimented with mud from a pond—" "Mud?" "Well, applying mud to the skin can beautify the skin." "No wonder Fulan's skin is almost perfect." "Ha! Fulan is a coward. She never dared to let me do experiments on her, but Todd—" She glanced at the sleeping Todd worriedly. "Tell me about Todd." But Jemin felt that Aya didn't want to say it. She began to want to leave Jemin. "You must be cold, I'll get you a blanket from the stables, or you can go back to the house. You must be hungry, and your friends will be looking for you." It was difficult for her because her arms were tucked in the blanket. Move your body.When she moved away slightly, Jemin pulled her back and hugged her tightly. "You can't do whatever you want this time! I know you plan to stay here with him, but I want to stay here with you, understand? I want to win this time!" "Don't you always win? Everything goes your way." "Oh? I didn't want you to come with us. I wanted you to redraw that horrible carriage. I—" "You want to marry the heir of the Mei family." "Want is not the right word. My family lives off of me and I can't marry my own way. Maybe you don't understand that a man of my class doesn't have freedom. If I had the freedom to choose, I might marry a cleaner woman--" "Or a girl with pockmarks all over her face?" "Yes." Jemin didn't want to discuss the subject. "Now, tell me about Todd, we've got all night, you gotta tell me!" Aya took a deep breath. "That's what his father did!" Jemin had long suspected that Todd's deformity was not an accident. "Turning him into a beggar?" He had heard of people begging with this knife. "Turn him into a showpiece," Aya said softly. "Put it in the carriage and show it around, and then ask anyone who wants to see him for a fee." "But he was given to the heir." It was for me, Aya wanted to say, but she didn't.If Meng Jieming knew that she—Meiya—was the heir, would he propose to her? "Yes, Mayboken saw him and bought him to give—to the heir." "Even you as a gift to the heir?" "Oh, yes," Aya said, as if joking. "Maboken seems to like weirdos." "You're not a weirdo, you're—" "What am I?" Aya felt herself holding her breath, waiting for his answer. "You are unique and different." "Ah, yes, I am unique, while Fu Lan is ordinary." "Fulan," he said heavily, "is very beautiful." Aya suddenly moved away so that she could look directly at Jemin. "Fulan is not beautiful." "Oh?" Jemin raised his eyebrows. "Then what is she?" "Just laugh at me! But I tell you, you don't know what beauty is." "Beauty is what you draw. Since you often draw Fulan, you must think she is beautiful." "No, beauty can inspire love, it's..." She leaned back on Jemin. "When a woman is old and fat, her husband still thinks she is bright and attractive. That is beauty. If you want to be truly beautiful, you must think of others, not just yourself." "So, are you beautiful?" "You're laughing at me again! Oh, I'm not beautiful because I only think of myself, but Todd is beautiful. You may not know that Todd manages the May estate. He knows everyone on the estate , knew all their problems. If someone was sick, Todd would take care of him—or her, Todd didn't make a distinction. He cared especially for children, because they didn't look at him in the wrong way," Aya smiled. "They saw the kindness in Todd's heart, and Todd was a great man." "But he doesn't like Fulan." "Nobody likes Fran," Aya said in disgust. "Except for you, because you only see her money." "Doesn't Fulan take care of the people in the manor?" Jieming remembered that Pei Ling said that he was responsible for those villagers. "That piece of land has been owned by the Meng family for hundreds of years, so how can your responsibility stop in just two years?" is his sister's outlook on life. "Fulan doesn't know their names, she just wants to—" "What does she want?" "Are you asking me how to pursue again? Should I tell you to send her more daisies? Maybe you should lock her up in a room full of daisies." "No, I'm not asking how you want to pursue, I'm..." Yeah, what did he want to ask? "What do you want most?" "Freedom," Aya said quickly. "You don't have to be locked up to live in secret, you can go wherever you want." She looked up at Jemin. "Have you ever been to France?" "Been there several times," he looked at Aya with a smile.His body was wet and cold, his face had many dried mud clods, and he was holding a girl wrapped in a smelly blanket.None of it was romantic, but he felt like— Aya broke away from his embrace in disgust. "Are you trying to seduce me?" she asked fearfully. "First poor Diana, then mindless Fran, now my turn?" "No, of course not," said Jemin wearily. "What else can I think? When I'm with you, I should be wearing armor!" He pulled Aya back into her lap. "I can stay here alone," Aya said stubbornly. "You don't need to be with me. I'm sure Todd is fine. He's had a few leg injuries, and I've been with him every time. Todd and I don't need help." Jemin suddenly hugged Aya tightly. "Are you lovers?" Aya struggled for a while, but he gripped so hard she gave up with a heavy sigh. "No, we're just friends. Why do you have love in everything? Is it because you love Fulan too much to think of anything else?" "I don't love Fulan, you clearly know that I don't love Fulan." "But you intend to marry her." "Like you said before, I plan to marry her fortune, and we'll be a good match." "For her, maybe! But you'll be very unhappy, and Fran is stupid, you know." "So does my horse, but I still love it." Aya sighed. "Whoever you want to marry is none of my business." Jemin thought that Mayboken would never say yes—or did he hope that Mayboken would say no?He took a deep breath. "I heard that Bougquig's father paid a lot of money to buy her inheritance." "Where did you hear that?" Aya asked immediately. "Every move of the May heir is of interest to the whole of England. But, on the other hand, her father may not accept me as his son-in-law." "I'm sure he would love to see his daughter at court," Aya said. "If Mayboken had to be paid to marry his daughter, how could he let his only daughter marry a penniless earl like me?" "Maybe he loves his daughter very much and is willing to give her anything." Aya said softly. "He never went to see his daughter specifically, so it's impossible to love her very much." "That's not true! Maybe he loves her very much, but you don't know!" "Maybe!" Jemin said, bewildered by Aya's excitement. "Maybe he locked her up to protect her," Aya insisted. "The queen was not so protected in her childhood, even the prisoners had more freedom than her - what's wrong with you?" Jemin asked, as Aya wanted to stand up. "I have nothing wrong with it, I just don't find it interesting to criticize parents for not loving their children." "Oh," said Jemin understandingly. "Because of what Tod's father did to him?" "Yes." Aya whispered, refusing to think about what Jemin had just said.When she was with Todd or Fran, she often mentioned her father.Although they had a regular correspondence, Aya had never met him, never held his hand... no, she didn't like to think about those things. Aya leaned back on Jemin, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "If Fulan and I married secretly, what do you think Mayboken would say?" Aya likes this kind of question because it shows that she knows her father well, and Todd often asks her this kind of question. "If Mayboken could marry his daughter to a nobleman without spending money, I think he would be optimistic." Jaming immediately thought of the leaky roof and the villagers who wanted the Meng family to buy back the land. "You don't need to spend a dime?" Aya smiled. "I mean no great expense. Of course the heir's husband will get what her mother gave her, but the rest of the large fortune will not fall into her husband's hands until Mayboken dies." "As long as there's enough food on the table to eat, and a few plots of land to buy, I'm content." "If that's all you want, why bother coveting the property of the heir of the Mei family? With your appearance, you can fool any rich young woman." Jemin shrugged. "Fulan is one of them, and the situation is a little -- a little urgent." "I understand, it doesn't matter if you sell yourself to anyone." "Shut up!" Jemin ordered. "You don't know what you're talking about. I can't get married on my own. I have a responsibility. You don't understand at all! What about you? Who are you going to marry? How are you going to support yourself?" When Jemin said these words, he felt body stiffened.Who is she going to marry and what does he do? "I know all about responsibility and lack of freedom," Aya said softly. "I know as well as anyone else." For a long moment, Aya leaned silently against Jemin, knowing well that her father would not let his daughter marry a poor knight.If she dared to marry the other party against his will, he would not recognize the marriage. But he wouldn't care about Flan marrying this poor knight.Maybe it's cruel for her to keep playing the game, but if Jaymin secretly marries Fran for money and then finds out she's a pauper, he deserves it!But Aya also knew that she would end the game before they got married.Anyway, it didn't matter what happened now, as long as her father didn't know. Aya smiled smugly, imagining suddenly announcing at the wedding ceremony that Fran was worth less than the clothes she was wearing.Oh, how happy she will be to see Meng Jieming's expression then. As for her marriage, Aya didn't want to think about it.Once she reaches her destination, the game will end and she will have to marry whomever her father chooses. Jemin put his hand on her forehead. "I think you have troubles and secrets," he said softly. "Tell me what's on your mind." "No!" Aya screamed internally, as she began to think of the night she made love to him, and sometimes it seemed so far away, and sometimes it seemed like it just happened yesterday.Jamie hugs her, kisses her, says he loves her... "You!" Aya said. "You make me nauseous! You want to seduce me like you seduced Fran. Are you going to save Fran until the wedding night and use poor girls like Diana and me to satisfy your lust before that?" What if you have impregnated Diana? Who will take care of her?" Jemin let go of Aya abruptly. "You can go." He said coldly, helping her remove the blanket that wrapped her body. Aya felt very angry, but she didn't know why.She went to Todd's side and felt his hand for warmth.When Jemin stood beside her, her lips were pressed together. "You can go, it's better to accompany your heir. I can guarantee that all the men in the hall are now surrounding Fu Lan, since everyone already knows that she is the heir of the Mei family—" "what?" Aya laughed at his reaction, obviously thinking his secret was safe. "I heard it when I went to the stables to get blankets." "And you didn't tell me?" Jemin demanded. "Sorry, but the lives of my friends are more important to me than the protection of gold." "The gold you mean is your cousin!" That woke Aya up. "Yes! Go quickly," she raised her head. "Go, I don't need you here." "Aya, you..." He seemed unable to speak. "What's wrong with me?" For a while, Jemin could only look at her. "It's beautiful" is what he wants to say.If beauty meant consideration for others, then Aya—caring for a wounded friend in this cold room in wet clothes—was not just beautiful, but self-preservation that kept him from saying, she wasn't yours, Meng Jiemin.He has to marry for money.Think of Pei Ling, he reminded himself, think of those villagers who provide clothes for you to pursue an heir, think of... oh, think of anything, just don't think of this muddy, bad-tempered, tolerant, ever since Meet the witch who occupies your every thought. "You are every man's nightmare." Jemin said softly. "Of course," Aya said. "Go find your heir!" After finishing speaking, Aya turned her face away. "Okay," said Jemin, and left the barn. A few hours later, after a bath and a hot meal, Jamie picked up his quill and began writing to his sister. "One, two, three, four," Pei Ling said. "Yeah, I counted, he mentioned Aya four times, right?" "Well," Xiao Qiu said disgustedly. "You're right, and he only mentioned the heir once, I really want to put some reason into his head! Today, a bastard from the Bu family set fire to a piece of land." "That's their land." Pei Ling reminded Xiao Xi. "That's exactly my point: it's not Meng's land anymore. I'd love to write to my relatives and tell them what's going on here." "Jammin will skin you." "It's better than dying of starvation!" "It wasn't your land being burned, how could you starve to death?" Pei Ling asked, but both of them knew the answer: they must not let their rich relatives think they were losers.Pei Ling took a deep breath. "We should write to him and ask him to say more about the heir, like, how does she talk? What's her favorite music? Or what's her favorite flower? We'll think of a lot of questions so he can ask her, Get in touch with her." "If this girl named Aya is willing to let him approach her." Xiao Qiu resentfully tuned. "Don't tell me you hate Aiya already." Pei Ling said hesitantly. Xiao Qiu looked at her sister thoughtfully. "I think you dislike her too. I believe she intends to marry herself to the Earl, and this is her only chance of meeting the nobleman. In what way do you think she seduces Jemin? Wearing revealing clothes?" Pei Ling thought for a while. "No, Jemin likes a woman who is wise enough to talk to him. Do you think she seduces him by discussing Aristotle? Does she read Greek to impress him?" "What shall we do to make Jemin fall in love with the heir?" "Leave them alone, away from Aya, you know Jamin can't resist a weak woman in need." "The girl in distress," Xiao Qiu said. "Yes, let's see what we can arrange."

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