Chapter 41 First Watch

leaving behind only images of battlefields brimming with bloodshed and destruction. It seemed as though vast landscapes had crumbled into darkness and crimson.Every trace of warmth, springtime romanc...Volume 1: Smiling at the Splendor Chapter 41 (First Update)

After Yun Muhuan left, Cai Lian, Aunt Zhao, Ting Yu, and Ting Xue entered one after another. They looked at Yun Qianyue with worried expressions.

Yun Qianyue rolled her eyes at the four of them before listlessly waving her hand, "I want to sleep."

The four people tactfully withdrew. Thinking that Miss was learning to write characters now and it really was too tiring for her. From tomorrow onwards, they must stew chicken soup and bird's nest for Miss in order to nourish her; otherwise, she would surely lose weight.

Yun Qianyue stared at the ceiling as the sky gradually darkened. White moonlight flowed through the window, and a wave of floral fragrance filled her nose. She wanted to go out to admire the moonlight, but when she moved, her arms ached, and she really didn't have any strength left. She couldn’t help but think angrily that she must find a way tomorrow, no matter what, not to be tormented by Yun Muhuan again. After thinking for quite some time without coming up with a good plan, she was exhausted and gradually fell asleep.

The next day, before dawn broke, Yun Qianyue was still deep in sleep when familiar footsteps entered the courtyard. She fluttered her eyelids and reached out to pull the blanket over her head. Come on, why does Cloud Muhuan have to come so early

As expected, within a short moment, Cai Lian's voice came from outside. First she greeted Yun Muhuan and exchanged a few words before knocking at the door, "Miss, Young Master is here."

"Tell him I'm not done sleeping yet!" Yun Qianyue said in an ill-humored tone.

Cai Lian was instantly speechless and turned to look at Yun Muh寒.

"When I used to study, I would get up at the third watch. Now it's already the fifth watch; you should wake up too. Grandpa said that these days you don't need to pay your respects, so just focus on learning to read and write. I'll give you an incense stick's worth of time to get up. If you don't, then I will come in." Yun Muh寒 sounded as indifferent as he did yesterday.

Cloud Shallow Moon suddenly threw off the covers and her face darkened immediately. What if he came in Although he was her brother... she wasn't really his sister! Frustrated, she sat up angrily and pulled on her clothes to get dressed.

"Miss, your servant is coming in to help you dress." Cai Lian saw that Yun Muh寒 had turned around to look at the orchids in the courtyard. She pushed open the door and entered the room to find Cloud Shallow Moon struggling with her clothes. She thought how pitiful Miss was.

After getting dressed and washed up, Yun Muh寒 walked in. Cloud Shallow Moon looked gloomily at him; he ignored her and picked up the ledger, saying to her, "Continue tracing the characters from yesterday's calligraphy sheets." After speaking, he didn't look at her again.

Cloud Shallow Moon stood still with dark clouds gathering on her tired face.

Yun Muh寒 glanced at her. "Can't you even persevere for one day Last night I reported your progress in learning to read and write to Grandpa, who scolded me as stupid and said that if Rong Jing were teaching you, you would learn quickly within a few days. I also want to see whether what Grandpa says is true or not. Or..."

"I'll write, I'll write! Is that okay then" Cloud Shallow Moon immediately raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright then, write!" Yun Muh寒收回視線。

Yun Qianyue picked up her pen and gritted her teeth. She treated each character as if she were practicing them for Rong Jing. She wondered if she had a grudge against him No, she didn’t! He even saved her life, yet why did she feel like she had a grudge against him now. Could it be that it was obvious on her face that she feared Rong Jing, which led to Yun Muh寒 repeatedly threatening her However, she could not deny the effectiveness of his threats. She naturally became more sensitive around dangerous people. That poisonous weed Rong Jing and Night Qingran’s wolf in sheep's clothing — besides her knowing about their treacherous nature, even Old Prince and Yun Muh寒 knew as well. She thought despairingly that it was better for her not to interact with him. For now, she would just endure it! Yun Muh寒 was still much better than Rong Jing.

Such a day passed by in Yun Qianyue's practice of calligraphy.

In the evening when Yun Muh寒 left, he threw another sentence at her, this time with three more words: "There’s improvement; continue tomorrow."

Yun Qianyue shot him a glare but didn’t say anything in response.

The third day, just after the fourth watch (4 AM), Yun Qianyue woke up. She pulled back her blanket and sat up, determined that today she would not be tormented by this person again. She decided to resist by sneaking out of the mansion secretly so he couldn’t find her. With this thought in mind, she wasn't sleepy anymore; she immediately perked up, didn't call for Cai Lian, dressed herself and pushed open the door. Looking left and right, she saw that Cai Lian and others were still sound asleep. Her heart rejoiced at this sight, and she walked as quietly as possible toward the courtyard exit.

As soon as she reached the entrance of Qianyue Hall, Yun Muh寒 was coming in from outside, holding a book. He bumped into her unexpectedly. He glanced at her indifferently and said, "I knew you would work hard today, so I came early to wait for you."

Yun Qianyue was startled, immediately feeling speechless with sorrow. Who is this guy!

This day, unable to escape in the morning, Yun Qianyue was listless and practiced calligraphy all day at the Shanyue Pavilion. In the evening, when Yun Muhán left, he threw out a sentence, "You've made progress compared to yesterday; I hope you can wake up as early tomorrow as you did today"

Yun Qianyue nearly lunged at him with her brush.

After Yun Muhán left, Yun Qianyue was so angry that she stared at the Shanyue Pavilion's entrance for a long time. Suddenly, she started charging out. If she couldn’t escape in the morning, perhaps she could do it tonight With this thought, her spirits lifted.

"Young Miss, where are you going" Cai Lian quickly put down what she was doing and followed Yun Qianyue.

"All of you stay inside the courtyard. No one is allowed to follow me or inform anyone about this. If anyone disobeys, they won’t be my followers anymore." Yun Qianyue turned around and warned Cai Lian and Zhao Mama who followed her.

The four were taken aback; Cai Lian timidly asked, "Young Miss, where are you going"

"Mind your own business!" Yun Qianyue threw the words over her shoulder as she strode out.

“Sister, where are you going” Unexpectedly, Yun Muhán was still standing at the door and asked Yun Qianyue coolly when he saw her come out.

Yun Qianyue's face darkened immediately. Was this person related to Zhuge Liang Could he predict things like a deity She said angrily, "Go find Ye Qingran for horse racing!"

"It seems you're not too tired then. In that case, let’s continue practicing calligraphy!" Yun Muhuan stated.

"You... Do you even have any humanity left" Yun Qianyue was irritated. Was she being treated like a sick cat because this tiger hadn’t roared yet Could there be such an older brother She glared at Yun Muhuan, "I’m not practicing calligraphy anymore! I said that I want to find Ye Qingran for horse racing. Did you understand what I meant"

"Grandfather said recently you should focus solely on learning the characters and aren’t allowed to go anywhere else. Furthermore, His Majesty has arranged a position for Prince Xiao Wang Ran; he started working at the Ministry of War today. The Ministry of War is located in Western Mountain Military Headquarters Camp—you wouldn’t even be able to find him at Duke De’s residence." Yun Muhuan ignored Yun Qianyue's anger.

"Then can I go and ride a horse myself" Yun Qianyue clenched her teeth. Dead Ye Qingran, if you couldn't take up your post one day later, then why didn’t you come and save me from this hell first before taking the position Out of fury, she even started to hate Ye Qingran.

"No, it’s already dark today; a young lady like you wouldn’t be safe alone," Yun Muhuan shook his head and stopped her.

"You..." Yun Qianyue took a deep breath and gritted her teeth as she said, "Can I ride a horse within the estate"

Yun Muhuan seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "Alright then! Since you want to go riding, let me accompany you!"

"Are you pestering me" Yun Qianyue felt like her lungs were about to explode from anger. Her eyes bulged as she repeated his words, "I said I want to ride the horse myself!"

"For these two months, Grandfather has entrusted you to my care, and the Emperor also issued an edict. I can't let Grandfather and the Emperor be disappointed. You look restless now; how could you possibly ride a horse by yourself It seems that focusing on practicing calligraphy for a few days hasn’t helped to rein in your temper. If this continues, I’ll have no choice but to go ask Rong Jing’s help. He is the first marvel of Tian Sheng, and he must have ways to make you concentrate on learning characters." Cloud Muhan looked at Yun Qianyue with a frown, somewhat helplessly.

"You..."

Yun Qianyue was speechless. She glared at Cloud Muhan and ground her teeth; she now wanted to rush back home to write beautiful calligraphy for him to see and recite the doggone account book backwards. But thinking aside, she still hadn’t lost her mind. Fuming with anger, she lowered her head, her expression drooping. She thought about waiting until Cloud Muhan owed her one; if he got engaged, she would sabotage it, and if not, she’d find ways to prevent him from getting engaged, hoping he remains single for life.

With this in mind, she felt somewhat better. Not looking at him, she said, "I’m not riding the horse anymore; I’ll go back to sleep."

"Alright, go then!" Cloud Muhan nodded his head and added as he watched her leave, “I’ve already stationed a hundred covert guards in Qianyue Pavilion and another hundred at each of the four gates of the estate. You won’t be able to sneak out by yourself anymore; I doubt you can even leave with your current skills.” With that, he turned around and left leisurely.

－－－－－－Author's Note－－－－－－

Thank you to dear Grandma Lu (1 diamond), kiss-kiss, O（∩_∩）O~ly turned quiet as everyone looked pale with fear. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion had become a murder scene right before their eyes. However, instead of dispersing, they waited to see how C...