Perfect Match – CH 015

Chapter 15

In the northern mountains. Deng Ruyun and Linglang had walked in the mountains for an unknown amount of time, but the aunt and niece discovered a shallow, narrow cave. Although shallow, the cave was perfect for hiding; rather than risk traversing the mountains, it was better to hide there.

A few days earlier, she had vaguely sensed something was wrong, so while preparing medicine, she made a sleeping potion. Xiuniang was extremely surprised at the time. “Why is the young lady making poison? If she sells this and gets caught by the authorities, she will be imprisoned!”

Deng Ruyun said she’d only used it for self-defense, but Xiuniang was even more surprised.

“The general is a high-ranking general with troops under his command, and the Teng family’s servants and guards are all soldiers selected from the army. The young lady is also the general’s ‘wife.’ Why does she need to use a sleeping potion for self-defense?”

Deng Ruyun had only casually replied, “Things are unpredictable,” never expecting that this self-defense sleeping potion would actually come in handy.

However, after using the sleeping potion to incapacitate the bandits in the stronghold, she unexpectedly encountered guards from Prince Enhua’s Mansion.

The guard was far more troublesome than the bandits. Although she eventually succumbed to his drug, she was still knocked to the ground, her hand cut and bleeding profusely.

But worse still, as she fell, something pierced her waist deeply.

Deng Ruyun did not have time to figure it out; she could only take Linglang and run out of the mountain stronghold…

They spent a terrifying night hiding in a cave. The wound on Deng Ruyun’s hand, which she had treated with herbs, stopped bleeding, but the deep stab wound in her waist continued to throb with pain.

As dawn broke, Deng Ruyun woke Linglang, and they continued down the mountain.

This time, she found a small patch of water hyacinth by the roadside.

This herb thrives in damp conditions and mostly grows in the south. The presence of such a patch here indicated a water source nearby.

The aunt and niece were parched. Deng Ruyun, supporting her injured waist, struggled to lead the child to the source and, sure enough, found a small pool of running water nearby.

The pool was clear and clean. Deng Ruyun first scooped up a handful to moisten their mouths, then used it to wash Linglang’s face.

Little Linglang was much more awake after washing her face. “Auntie, where are we going?”

Deng Ruyun thought for a moment. “We will head north. There’s a county town to the north. Auntie can take Linglang there and find a carriage, alright?”

To the south, there was a bandit stronghold. Teng Yue was still fighting with those bandits; even if they went, he might not be able to help them. It was better to rely on themselves.

Fortunately, she still had some money. Once they reached the county town to the north, they would be safe.

As she spoke, she squatted down and washed her own face.

Just then, there was a sudden noise from the woods ahead.

Footsteps fell, snapping dry branches in the forest. Deng Ruyun was startled and quickly pulled Linglang behind her.

… …

Teng Yue searched the mountains all night.

However, the mountains were connected, and his personal guards were divided into six teams, going back and forth repeatedly, but they found no trace of the aunt and niece.

He simply could not imagine where a lone woman with a four-year-old child could have ended up in the night.

There were no traces anywhere. As dawn broke, he noticed that the rocks in this area might contain a cave. He immediately ordered his men to search, and he himself went with a lantern.

Before he even reached the cave entrance, he heard the groggy voice of a little girl.

“Auntie, where are we going?”

Auntie… where are we going?!

Teng Yue’s heart pounded.

It was his wife and her niece!

He quickly stepped forward but then heard a voice, half-familiar, half-unfamiliar, drift through the treetops.

“We will head north. There’s a county town to the north. Auntie can take Linglang there and find a carriage, alright?”

It was her speaking.

From their marriage until now, they had spent very few days together.

He had not paid much attention to her voice before, but in the dim light of the mountain forest, through the lingering morning mist, her voice was like a dewdrop, its clear sound falling crisply from the leaves into a still pond.

But she said to go to the county town to the north.

They were not even outside the northernmost border of Xi’an Prefecture yet. Even if they took the official road, they would not arrive until late afternoon.

A bittersweet feeling welled up inside Teng Yue.

She truly had not expected anything from him, her husband…

Teng Yue pursed his lips, then took two quick steps forward. Through the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches, he saw the two figures by the pond.

The little girl’s hair was slightly disheveled, her head drooping, not fully awake, but she was relatively clean.

However, the person squatting by the pond, washing her face, had her clothes torn by the branches, the hem stained with mud. She was now splashing water, washing two long, bloody welts on the backs of her hands.

Teng Yue’s foot faltered slightly, but he stepped on a broken branch with a soft thud.

The moment the sound rang out, she jumped to her feet, pulling the child behind her.

“It’s me.” Teng Yue, seeing her startled expression, quickly spoke.

Through the morning mist over the pond, he saw her gaze flicker for a moment beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows.

Water dripped from Deng Ruyun’s face, splashing into the pool below.

The pool was quiet and still.

“General?”

She looked at the man who had suddenly appeared, startled, and did not move for a moment.

His expression seemed a little stiff. His gaze swept over her and Linglang, then he asked her softly.

“You are injured, aren’t you? How badly?”

Deng Ruyun had never heard such a tone before and felt quite uncomfortable.

She did not answer but instead looked around, vaguely recognizing the men he had brought.

“General, you… have you finished clearing out the bandits on Baifeng Mountain?”

“Yes.”

Teng Yue answered truthfully.

He had wiped out the bandits with almost no effort, not because his men were brave, but because the sleeping potion she had put in the water vat had incapacitated half of them.

As for why she carried sleeping pills…

Teng Yue lowered his eyelids and saw that, besides the bloodstains on the back of her hand, there were also a few bloodstains on her skirt.

He could not help but take two steps forward.

“Are you badly hurt? I will carry you down the mountain.”

The man said, taking a step forward to stand in front of her, but as he did, she took a half-step back.

A gentle breeze rustled through the trees, causing leaves to fall.

Deng Ruyun then noticed that his clothes were soaked with the night dew from the forest, and his handsome eyes were faintly bluish.

He wanted to carry her.

But she took a half-step back, saying she was fine.

“Did the General search for us all night? I did not expect your men to search for us for so long…”

She had thought he might send people to look for them, but she had not expected him to have them search for half the night.

But she said, “I’m fine; I can go down the mountain myself.”

After Deng Ruyun finished speaking, the forest pond was quiet, with only a gentle breeze rippling the water.

Teng Yue saw that she would not let him carry her and even took a half-step to the side, creating some distance between them, speaking to him politely.

Since the day he questioned her at Liumingxuan and then drove her away, he had never imagined that their next meeting would be like this.

Her politeness showed neither fear nor resentment, as if they were not husband and wife but merely unfamiliar strangers.

Teng Yue was momentarily at a loss.

He looked at her but could not meet her gaze, so he could only look at the little girl half-hidden behind her.

The little girl had two loose little buns and big eyes, and when she looked at him, her little mouth was tightly pursed in displeasure.

Teng Yue saw her clearly and suddenly recognized her.

She was the little girl he’d bumped into in his own home that day.

Back then, he’d asked her whose child she was, and she’d pursed her lips unhappily and run away after only saying one sentence.

She’d said she was “someone else’s child!”

Teng Yue’s ears rang.

It turned out to be her little niece.

But as he looked closer, the little girl hid even further behind her aunt, refusing to show him her face.

Someone else’s child… he truly knew nothing about her.

But she nodded gently to him, saying, “Let’s go down the mountain then,” and took her niece’s hand, walking down the mountain from the other side of the pond.

Regarding the bandits, the child, and him, she said nothing more.

The still waters of the pond reflected the quiet figures of the aunt and niece.

Teng Yue’s gaze followed the wound on the back of her hand upwards. The wound had stopped bleeding, but her face was pale, and there were probably other wounds on her body that he could not see. Teng Yue immediately followed behind her, seeing that she seemed about to pick up the child from the steep slope.

He quickly said, “I will carry the child.”

Deng Ruyun turned around at the sound of his voice.

On the narrow forest path, his tall figure followed closely behind her. He looked down at her, and seeing that she did not speak, he turned to Linglang.

“Would it be alright for your uncle to carry you?”

He squatted down and reached out to the child.

Deng Ruyun paused slightly, but little Linglang shook her head and refused.

“No.”

Her voice was not loud, but her meaning was straightforward.

Seeing this, Deng Ruyun said it was not necessary.

“General, you’re too kind. She can walk by herself.”

Saying he was being too polite, she patted Linglang’s little head, encouraging the child to try walking on her own.

Teng Yue never heard her speak to him like that again.

The wife he remembered as lazy, indolent, and scheming—at this moment, she was nothing more than a delusional illusion.

He could not explain why he had formed that impression of her, but the woman he had imagined before and the woman before him, the one who had escaped from the bandits’ den on her own, seemed to be the real her…

The wind in the woods tightened.

“You are too kind. We are husband and wife; these things are what I should do.”

The man’s voice was inexplicably low. Deng Ruyun looked at him, and he looked at Linglang.

“Uncle found your little rabbit lantern last night. It’s down the mountain. Uncle will carry you to find it, alright?”

He gently coaxed the child.

Linglang loved the little rabbit lantern her aunt had given her on Mid-Autumn Festival. Hearing this, she hesitated, her big eyes looking at him.

He reached out his hand to her again. “Auntie’s injured; let Uncle carry her.”

Linglang did not refuse.

Deng Ruyun saw him pick up the child, then he bent down and reached out his hand to her.

“Let me help you down the mountain.”

Deng Ruyun could walk without difficulty and did not need his help. She thanked him and walked down the mountain by herself, holding onto a tree.

The man’s outstretched hand fell short, leaving her to walk ahead while he followed closely behind, carrying the child.

Deputy General Tong led a shortcut and had the carriage pulled to a flatter area, soon descending the mountain.

The carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain. Teng Yue had some food and water brought, along with a box of medicine.

Her face was pale; he felt it was not just a simple cut on the back of her hand.

“Besides the back of your hand, is there any other injury?” he asked.

Deng Ruyun glanced at him upon hearing this. She felt her waist injury was probably worsening; the pain was making her consciousness increasingly blurred.

But before she could reply, a messenger arrived from outside.

“General, our men have captured the leader, but they also encountered another group.”

“Who are they?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The guards outside brought the person directly in; it was Yang Youling’s head maid, Dongxun.

Dongxun knelt and kowtowed upon seeing Teng Yue.

“It’s so good that Second Master is here! Those bandits rammed the young lady’s carriage and killed our servants. The young lady is terrified, and her condition is quite bad. I beg you, Second Master, to go and see our young lady!”

Dongxun kowtowed. Teng Yue could not help but ask, “Is Second Cousin injured?”

But Dongxun could not explain clearly, only saying, “The young lady is not well right now. Perhaps with Second Master here, she can calm down!”

These words sounded strange, as if there was some unspeakable secret behind them.

Teng Yue hesitated, glancing at his wife, whose lips were pale.

Seeing this, Deng Ruyun, who had originally intended to reply, did not speak again.

“General, go ahead. Do not delay the young lady’s affairs.”

Dongxun was still pleading outside. Teng Yue, however, remembered what had happened between her and his second cousin at the Huang Mansion. That incident had ended with the maid jumping into the river, and he had initially thought it was because of her.

Now it seemed that everything he had previously thought about her might have been a mistake. But she clearly did not want to talk to him anymore. Since that was the case, it would be better to ask his second cousin.

However, Teng Yue still asked her opinion first.

“Then I will go for a bit and come back shortly; is that alright?”

He asked, and she softly hummed in agreement. “General, please go quickly.”

Somehow, he vaguely felt that her carefully maintained spirit was slipping away like sand tightly held in her hand.

He instructed Tong Meng to “take good care of Madam” and rode off quickly at Dongxun’s pleading.

… …

Dongxun said that last night, when the bandit leader rushed down the mountain, he happened to encounter the Yang family’s carriage passing by.

The bandits tried to rob the Yang family’s carriage and fought with the Yang family’s guards. The bandits were fierce, and every strike drew blood. Yang Youling had never seen such a scene before.

Just as the coachman was helping her escape, he was suddenly shot through by an arrow from a bandit and fell straight down in front of Yang Youling, his blood splattering all over her face.

“…Miss is terrified, she’s almost delirious, she’s paralyzed on the ground and cannot get up, and I do not know what to do!”

Before Dongxun could speak, the young lady continued to cry out, “Ai Liu is coming to kill me! Ai Liu’s ghost is coming to kill me!”

She thought that perhaps seeing the Second Master would ease the young lady’s fear, and Teng Yue could send someone to escort her back safely.

However, as soon as the two arrived at the mountain stronghold, they saw Yang Youling pulling on the Teng family guards, talking to each of them.

Teng Yue could not hear what she was saying, but Dongxun was extremely anxious and quickly stepped forward to pull her away.

“Miss, do not say anything; the Second Master is here. He will protect you!”

Dongxun comforted her while trying to lead her out to see Teng Yue.

Perhaps seeing her cousin would calm her down a bit.

However, Yang Youling did not recognize Teng Yue at first glance. She only sensed the blood on him and became frightened.

“Do not kill me! Do not kill me! I did not mean to force Ai Liu to her death!”

Her voice was shrill and terrified as she shrank behind Dongxun.

“That maid broke the Huang family’s things. To protect my reputation, I had to punish her! I only had her dragged out and married off; I did not mean to force her to her death…”

Her words became increasingly incoherent.

“I’m an unmarried young lady; my reputation is the most important thing. Mother told me to pin everything on that country bumpkin surnamed Deng! It’s not my fault, Ai Liu; do not kill me. It’s all that country bumpkin surnamed Deng’s fault. She refused to take the blame for you. Go kill her; go find her…”

She blurted out everything in one breath, without even waiting for Teng Yue to ask a question.

Teng Yue felt a sudden ringing in his ears.

“Say that again?”

Yang Youling was even more frightened, her whole body trembling.

Dongxun almost cried as she begged her, “Miss, please stop saying that! This is Second Master Teng, your cousin from the Teng family! Please, wake up!”

This briefly brought Yang Youling back to her senses.

Teng Yue’s ears were still ringing with her words when she suddenly lunged forward, grabbing his arm.

“Second cousin, cousin! Quickly, have someone protect me! This is not my fault; it’s all that country bumpkin Deng’s fault! She refused to take the blame for Ai Liu… You must send her away; send her to the countryside!”

She repeatedly said she wanted Deng Ruyun gone, feeling it was not enough.

“She was not good enough for you, cousin. Why do you not divorce her? That way, no one will suspect me, and her life or death does not matter!”

But after saying this, Yang Youling became confused again, running out of the house to pull at the soldiers in the courtyard to explain.

“You have to believe me, Ai Liu has come to kill me as a ghost! She hates me for marrying her off, but I had no choice; my reputation is the most important thing…”

She went around telling everyone, and Dongxun could not stop her even if she tried. She listened as she personally revealed all the unknown truths.

Teng Yue, however, was completely stunned.

Sure enough, everything he had assumed before was a mistake.

But because of these mistakes, he had personally delivered her to the bandits’ blades…