Chapter 51 - 46: You Come to Marry Me, and I Will Marry You

"It’s alright. I can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, so I don’t need to eat."

"Sister..." Xiao Qing sighed.

Ever since Brother Xiao left, it was like her sister’s soul had left with him. She just sat in the courtyard every day, waiting for Brother Xiao to come back.

Last night, she heard a noise and ran outside excitedly, thinking Brother Xiao was back. It just turned out to be a weasel trying to steal chickens from the yard.

In a fit of pique, my sister threw all of them into the river.

"Xiao Qing, do you think Xiao Mo hates me now?" Bai Ruxue asked nervously, clutching her younger sister’s hand.

"Sister..." Xiao Qing said helplessly. "There’s no way Brother Xiao could hate you."

"Then why hasn’t Xiao Mo come back? Could he have run off with another woman?"

"Oh, Sister..." Xiao Qing was mentally exhausted. "Brother Xiao said he was going to get something made and that he’d be back in a couple of days. He should be back today."

"O-oh..."

Bai Ruxue nodded, her gaze still fixed on the small path outside the courtyard.

But despite what Xiao Qing said, Bai Ruxue’s heart was still filled with anxiety.

’Could it have been what I said that night? Did I scare Xiao Mo away?’

’Maybe he doesn’t want to keep his promise anymore?’

’Or maybe he decided Magistrate Sun’s daughter was actually a good match and went to Qingshan County to marry her?’

All sorts of wild guesses kept bubbling up in Bai Ruxue’s mind.

The more she thought, the more worried Bai Ruxue became, and a thin layer of mist gradually veiled her beautiful, peach-blossom eyes.

"Huh? Sister, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?" Xiao Qing asked in alarm.

"Sister, please don’t cry..." Xiao Qing was at a loss, unsure of how to comfort her.

Just as Xiao Qing was panicking, she saw a figure appear on the path in the distance, walking step by step toward their courtyard.

When she could make out the man’s appearance, Xiao Qing’s eyes lit up. "Sister! Brother Xiao is back!"

"Huh?"

Bai Ruxue’s head snapped up, and she looked out past the courtyard.

When Xiao Mo saw Bai Ruxue staring at him with teary eyes, he thought something was wrong and immediately quickened his pace.

"What’s wrong? Did anything happen in the few days I was gone?" Xiao Mo asked the two sisters.

"Nothing’s wrong, Brother Xiao. I told my sister you’d be back in a couple of days, but she..."

Xiao Qing was halfway through her sentence when her sister tugged on her wrist, forcing her to swallow the rest of her words.

Xiao Mo turned his gaze to Bai Ruxue.

Her head was bowed, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were wet. Teardrops still clung to her long, curved lashes.

Xiao Mo had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

’This silly girl probably thought I’d abandoned her and run off.’

’Either that, or she suspected I went to Qingshan County to marry Lord Sun’s daughter.’

"Xiao Qing, take this jug of wine to the village chief. It’s a gift from Lord Sun," Xiao Mo said, handing a small jug to her.

"Okay, Brother Xiao."

Xiao Qing took the wine, glanced at Brother Xiao and her sister, and then hurried out.

She knew Brother Xiao wanted to be alone with her sister and was giving her an excuse to leave.

Xiao Qing had no objection.

In her sister’s current state, only Brother Xiao could calm her down.

In the courtyard, only Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue remained.

Bai Ruxue kept her head bowed, her small hands tightly clutching the hem of her dress. Her little red nose sniffled, creating a look so pitiful it made one’s heart ache, yet was also utterly adorable.

Xiao Mo smiled, reached out, and wiped the tears from the corner of Bai Ruxue’s eyes. "Don’t cry. I’m back now, aren’t I?"

Bai Ruxue kept her head lowered and said nothing.

"I brought back two skewers of tanghulu. They’re in my bag. Do you want one?"

Bai Ruxue still didn’t answer, only biting her lower lip gently.

"What about some osmanthus cake, then? The kind from Fang’s is quite good. I brought some back."

Still, Bai Ruxue did not respond.

Xiao Mo felt at a loss.

’It’s true, though,’ he thought. ’A girl confesses her feelings to you, and not only do you have no reaction, you then disappear for a few days without a word. That was pretty cruel of me...’

Just as Xiao Mo was wondering how to coax her out of her mood...

Bai Ruxue reached out a delicate hand, her slender, jade-like fingers gently tugging on the corner of Xiao Mo’s sleeve.

A summer breeze swept by, playfully lifting the hem of her dress. The loose-fitting fabric clung to her body for a moment, outlining her graceful curves.

A few strands of her hair fluttered in the wind.

The wind carried the scent of the forest—of grass and damp earth—and with it, her own faint, fresh fragrance.

"Xiao Mo... I was wrong..."

Her voice was as soft as a butterfly landing on a flower petal.

"What did you do wrong?" Xiao Mo asked, not understanding why she was apologizing.

"I... I shouldn’t have been secretly angry with you..."

Her voice was choked with sobs.

"I shouldn’t have been so desperate for your answer."

"And I definitely shouldn’t have secretly called you a big rotten egg behind your back, saying you don’t keep your promises..."

"Xiao Mo..."

Bai Ruxue looked up, her beautiful peach-blossom eyes shimmering with crystalline tears, like glazed-glass peach blossoms soaked in a clear spring.

"I’ll be really good from now on..."

"I won’t throw any more little tantrums..."

"I can just love you secretly, in my heart..."

"I can pretend I never heard what you said before."

"You don’t have to marry me anymore."

"But Xiao Mo, just... please don’t leave me again, okay...?"

As her voice trailed off, a crystalline tear slid slowly down her fair cheek. It fell unhindered to the ground, shattering into droplets that caught the late-summer light before seeping into the soil.

Xiao Mo reached out, gently caressed her cheek, and wiped away the tear from the corner of her eye.

"Silly girl, you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not going to leave you. Besides, you’re already very well-behaved. And what’s more..."

Xiao Mo chuckled. "Who says I’m not going to keep my word?"

"Huh?" Bai Ruxue froze.

"I went to Qingshan Town this time to have something made for you. It takes two or three days to make, and since it’s a long journey, I decided to just wait there. As soon as it was finished, I rushed right back."

Xiao Mo took a brocade box from his robes, took Bai Ruxue’s small hand, opened her palm, and placed the box in it. "Go on, open it."

Bai Ruxue stared at the brocade box in her palm and dazedly opened it.

A golden ring met her eyes.

The ring was engraved with an exquisite floral pattern.

Upon closer inspection, it looked a bit like Purple Sun Grass and Cyan Dragon Flowers.

"This ring..." Bai Ruxue stared blankly at Xiao Mo.

"Where I’m from, we have a custom. When a man and a woman have feelings for each other, the man proposes with a ring. If the woman accepts, he places the ring on the ring finger of her right hand. There’s a saying: ’The nameless finger, for a heart that now belongs to someone.’

My trip to Qingshan Town this time was to have this very ring made.

So...

Ruxue, are you willing to wear this ring... and marry me?"

"I..."

Bai Ruxue looked at the ring as tears once again slid from the corners of her eyes.

"I am not willing..."

she said, lifting her head.

"Hm?"

"I’m not willing... right now."

Bai Ruxue stared, mesmerized, at the man before her.

"Aunt Chen said that getting married is a huge bother. You have to hold a banquet, invite guests, and go through all sorts of formalities.

But it’s already the end of summer, and next March, you have to go to the Capital City for the metropolitan examination.

You said when you were little that you wanted to be an official.

This is a critical time for your studies. How can I let you be distracted?"

"Next year..."

Bai Ruxue clutched the ring tightly to her chest.

"Next spring, when you come back from the examination.

Come and marry me then.

And I will marry you."