Chapter 73: the pickup with one scene from the trailer
Context: this is after they just got engaged ... the other girls were jealous of CSS and claimed that she used her femme fatale tricks to get LBY to propose to her. Of course, LBY came to the rescue and squashed all the vicious attacks. He thought that she would thank him ... on the contrary, she wanted to cancel the marriage. On the way home, their conversation shows her fear of losing her independence:
On the carriage, LBY and CSS were silent for a while.
"Why don't you say anything?" LBY said.
CSS said confidently, "Perhaps it was because I talked too much earlier."
"You didn't say anything just now."
CSS was silent.
LBY extended his hand toward the girl. She bowed her head again. His hand stopped in midair, in the dark like a faint orchid blooming. He clenched his fist and pulled back, "What did I do wrong? I just wanted to make you happy.”
Shao Shang stared at the corner as if she was in a trance, not knowing what to think.
“In the past, I didn't understand what power was. But tonight, I have seen it with my own eyes. Tonight we struggled to argue and couldn't win. Then you came! In just a few sentences, you solved the problem. Even then, you didn't have to say anything, as soon as your eyes looked around, everyone will do as you say."
LBY whispered: "You don't like power?"
"If I didn't have the power of my father, I wouldn't even be a servant." The girl shook her head, "Besides, power is just a sharp knife, we can't distinguish between good and bad, we have to see who uses it."
There was doubt in LBY's eyes: "Then why do you..."
“Tonight I relied on the authority in your hands, it didn't belong to me.” The girl widened her black and white eyes, bright and clear, “From now on, I can use your power because, in the future, I will marry you, have your children and raise them for you. I need to make you happy, so I can share in your power.”
Rarely in LBY's life, do doubts arise: "Husband and wife are like birds with wings, isn't that very natural?"
"It's not your fault, but I'm stubborn." CSS smiled sentimentally, “I want to live according to my will, but if I follow you, I have to live according to your will. ... Today, I discover that if I marry you, the most important thing for me in the future is to discover and cater to your preferences so I can make you happy. I need to change my way of life for you. And in the end, I don't know what I will become."
....
LBY seemed to have understood, and coldly said: "For you, marriage is just a matter of whether it is convenient or not."
"If it doesn't fit, why call it predestined, it's cruel." CSS wanted to pull out his hands but tried several times but failed.
...
She tried again, but still couldn't pull her hands back, so she pushed her hands firmly forward, her hands covering his cheek, caressing his cheek.
LBY was startled, he had never allowed anyone to caress him, and could not help but feel bewildered.
Small soft palm pressed against his pale cheek, CSS felt the rough touch and the hard skin under her palm. The two sat facing each other, face to face, almost breathing. The tall young man's body, even though he was sitting, was still as tall as a mountain, making her raise her head, arching her slender neck to be able to see his face.
She had never looked at anyone so closely: the beautiful chin bone, the beautifully curved forehead, the dark brown eyes under the low fluttering butterfly wings, the beautiful precious eyes, there were no eyes so beautiful in the world.
"It's all my fault, I should have told you sooner." The girl said softly, “Maybe I… shouldn't get married. My unruly character is very hateful, I should not cause harm to others. We are really not a match."
He sneered.
She is like a weak butterfly whose wings are wetted by the rain, gently trembling as if no one is protecting her, possibly dying at any moment, but her true nature is very arrogant and domineering. She could look at him with such gentle eyes, but at the same time, she could indifferently utter such cold words. But he understood. Everything she said was from her heart.
"I like to hold things in my hands, but if I am in other people's hands, I don't feel secure." LBY squeezed the girl's hand, pressing hard on his face.
CSS felt his scorching hot breath on her face, the smell of sweet fruit wine mixed with the smell of an adult male.
LBY suddenly let go of her hand, and sat down in the far corner, his magnificent lapis lazuli robe covered his long legs, and a faint light flashed in the darkness. He stretched out his hand and gently opened the window, his eyes looking out, a cold orange beam of light shining through the crack, illuminating his jade-like face.
"How do you know you are not holding me in your hand? " he said.
CSS looked down at her feet and sighed: "No one will be held by others. Unless you let me go, I can't leave you." She really misses the time when she could at least part freely. If she dares to leave LBY, the old emperor will hang her on the city gate as a lantern!
The carriage stopped in front of Cheng Fu's door, Shao Shang resolutely brushed aside LBY's outstretched hand, but his carriage did not have a platform, so she lifted her skirt clumsily and jumped down with difficulty.
She suppressed the pain in her leg, staggered to say goodbye to LBY, then bowed her head and went straight to the door of the mansion, thinking, that perhaps the day after tomorrow the palace people will not come to pick her up again.
The old steward Cheng Shun noticed an unusual atmosphere, looked at his young lady, then looked at LBY, and finally bowed his head silently.
LBY stopped inexplicably, just quietly watching the girl's back disappearing, her slender body like a willow but stubbornly straightened.
Tomorrow she will have to enter the palace. There she will meet many girls who are good at guessing people's hearts. She will know how many girls wish to be able to achieve glory and riches with gentle charm. Then she will know, in the face of power, how many people are willing to twist their spines into bizarre positions to satisfy the pleasure of their superiors.
And finally, she will understand how ridiculous her thinking now is.
...
Watching the girl go further and further away, the torches held high by the servants on both sides of the red flickering, LBY strode forward. In only a dozen steps, he caught up with the girl and hugged her tightly in his arms.
...
CSS felt like she was being hugged by an iron arm, and even her feet were still off the ground for a while. She screamed in fear but was hugged closer to her lap, glued to the boy's chest like heaven and earth, and hot breath kissed her hair.
In a daze, she seemed to hear LBY whispering a sentence: "…You can't be not needing me!"
She suddenly realized that this was an obscure sentence.
scarfie:
