Perfect Match – CH 075

Chapter 75

If things were to go according to Wang Fuxiang’s plan, a victory celebration should have been held that very night—a good night’s drinking.

But could the generals of this important border town all be as reckless as he was? Perhaps the Tatar prince had received some benefits from Prince Enhua and had been wandering outside the pass, which led the Ningxia general to disperse the town’s troops.

Then, with the Ningxia Town rebellion and chaos, the Tatar prince naturally became restless.

On the first night of the Ningxia garrison change, with all the generals in the town drunk, was that not giving the Tatars an opportunity?

The celebration banquet was postponed to three days later. Wang Fuxiang had some complaints, but the banquet was unavoidable, so he could tolerate it. However, he could not recall something he had forgotten earlier and could only discuss it after the drinks.

Teng Yue and Kong Hui, on the other hand, used these two or three days to finalize their previously discussed plan to secretly distribute Prince Enhua’s proclamation against the traitor.

They secretly dispatched men to spread Prince Enhua’s proclamation targeting the Chief Eunuch. They could not allow the Chief Eunuch to cause a rebellion in Ningxia without any impact, continuing to wield power and control the court.

Once the proclamation spread, the high-ranking officials and generals who had come to redress the injustice were all aware of it. They all turned a blind eye. They dared not directly report it to the Emperor, but that did not mean they could completely tolerate the Chief Eunuch’s arrogance.

Prince Enhua was defeated, but his proclamation denouncing the traitors gradually spread among the soldiers and civilians.

Deng Ruyun’s mind, however, was elsewhere. She then discovered that the previously reported fever had spread rapidly, with more and more soldiers in the army contracting the disease, including those temporarily transferred from various parts of Shaanxi to quell the rebellion. Many already showed obvious symptoms, and the illness continued to spread.

This was no longer a simple fever but an epidemic.

Fortunately, the incomplete prescription Deng Ruyun had previously contributed still had some effect. She summoned Zhu Huang and questioned him twice, asking how Master Bai was dealing with the disease in Xi’an.

However, when Bai Chunfu arrived in Xi’an, he had just drafted a new prescription, and its effectiveness was still unknown. Fortunately, the young apprentice Zhu Huang was quite competent and recited Bai Chunfu’s prescription from memory.

Deng Ruyun immediately recognized that Bai Chunfu’s prescription was identical in principle to her Lingqiao Detoxifying Pill.

These past two days, she had again asked Meng Zhao to help gather physicians and pharmacists from Ningxia Town. Referring to Bai Chunfu’s prescription, she adjusted the dosage and administration of the medicines.

After she finished her work and distributed a new batch of Lingqiao Detoxifying Pills to the various pharmacies, Wang Fuxiang’s long-awaited victory celebration finally arrived.

Apart from those still stationed at the border camps, the generals all went to the General’s Office for the celebration. The women, at Meng Zhao’s invitation, all went to the Wang Mansion for a joyous occasion.

Deng Ruyun, of course, had arrived at the Wang Mansion early with Meng Zhao to help out.

The Wang family’s banquet was held a little late, not because of any delay, but because they were waiting for Wang Fuxiang and Teng Yue to return from the military banquet, where they could drink until the day after tomorrow without anyone interfering.

The military victory banquet was usually a night of drinking, but at Wang Fuxiang’s own home, they could drink until the day after tomorrow without anyone bothering them.

Meng Zhao was very familiar with the matter, and the timing was perfect. Just then, the women and relatives began to take their seats, and the dishes for the banquet were being served, their names announced. Meanwhile, a lively commotion arose in the outer courtyard; Wang Fuxiang had summoned all his trusted Ningxia generals to his home.

The Wang family garden was quite large, divided into two by a small river in the middle. The women sat on the west side of the river, and the men on the east.

In a short while, the garden was full, and the banquet began.

Amidst the starry night breeze, fine wine, and delicious food, Deng Ruyun saw Teng Yue and his entourage, already reeking of alcohol, striding in from outside. Before they even sat down, they had already raised their wine cups.

Teng Yue was the hero of this rebellion. Single-handedly, he restrained Prince Enhua, coordinating with Wang Fuxiang outside the town and the government troops across the river. He persuaded Prince Enhua to draw out his troops, allowing them to launch a surprise attack, seize control of the town’s defenses, and personally capture the prince!

Everyone raised their wine cups in front of him. Deng Ruyun watched from across the stream as he was almost overwhelmed by the offered wine, and then he looked at her.

The man’s face flushed slightly, revealing a helpless expression. He smiled and drank all the offered wine with her.

Deng Ruyun was utterly astonished to see him drink cup after cup, still able to maintain his composure and chat with Kong Hui and the others.

But even the best drinker could not withstand such a drinking spree, could he?

Deng Ruyun watched as he was ushered to a seat, surrounded by people who kept coming to drink with him. He accepted every offer and quickly downed several more cups.

Deng Ruyun could not help but ask Meng Zhao, “Sister, do you have any hangover pills? They’ve drunk too much…”

Meng Zhao laughed heartily. “Are you worried about General Teng, little sister?”

Deng Ruyun quickly shook her head. Meng Zhao laughed even harder. “It’s normal for you to be worried, little sister. General Teng has drunk more than the others, but these men have a high tolerance for alcohol. This little bit is nothing. No need for hangover pills. He can just go to the tree root to throw up for a while and then come back and continue drinking.”

Deng Ruyun: “…”

Is this how they all drank?

Meng Zhao pulled her aside. “Who cares what they do? Let’s drink.”

Deng Ruyun could only ignore him for now, as Meng Zhao handed her a glass of fruit wine. The fruit wine was mild, and Meng Zhao was being considerate, so she drank a few glasses with her.

After she finished a few drinks, things finally quieted down on the other side of the river. She peeked and saw that Teng Yue was finally free of the crowd of people toasting him and was talking to Shen Yanxing and the others.

She looked over, and coincidentally, he looked over too.

He noticed her looking at him and, across the tables and crowds on both sides of the river, smiled at her.

Deng Ruyun did not know what he was smiling about, assuming he must have drunk too much. But then she saw him call a servant over, rummage through his pocket for a while, and pull something out, handing it to the servant.

Deng Ruyun was puzzled, but then she saw the servant walk around the bamboo bridge over the stream and quickly approach her.

“Madam, General Teng has something for you.”

“What is it?”

Deng Ruyun raised an eyebrow, wondering why he would give her something at a banquet.

She saw the servant take out something shimmering and place it in her hand.

The lanterns on the trees reflected the wine, and the gentle ripples of the wine illuminated the object, making it shimmer and glow.

It was a large pearl.

Deng Ruyun froze. The servant said, “The General said it’s for you; please keep it safe.”

The servant then ran off.

Deng Ruyun did not know where he got this thing from. Through the noisy crowd, she looked at him.

The smell of wine wafted through the treetops and grass of the Wang family garden, and a gust of wind blew, making it seem like butterflies flitting among the faces of the drunken people.

Deng Ruyun looked at him questioningly, asking where the large pearl came from.

He understood her question and smiled, pointing to the crown on his head.

He had worn a silver crown that day, one with only patterns, no pearls, let alone such a large pearl.

But the man’s eyes narrowed with laughter.

In a flash, Deng Ruyun suddenly realized something.

She looked at the large pearl he had handed her. Could it be…could it be the pearl from the golden crown of the rebellious Prince Enhua?

She stared wide-eyed as the man pointed to the crown again, his long index finger twitching in a “clasping” motion.

Deng Ruyun: “…”

He had previously fought the Tartars and taken the bracelet from the Tartar general’s wrist.

Now, after quelling the rebellion of Prince Enhua, he had even taken the pearl from Prince Enhua’s crown?

Across the stream and the crowd, he asked her in a language spoken from afar.

“Do you like it?”

The man was clearly six or seven tenths drunk; his handsome eyes reeked of alcohol, and his face was flushed. Seeing that she did not answer, he asked again.

“Do you not like it?”

Deng Ruyun still did not answer, but she laughed; even though she tried hard to purse her lips, she could not help but laugh.

What kind of quirk was this? Collecting these strange trophies?!

She did not remember him having this hobby before. Could it be that he always did it secretly, and only now did she find out?

She laughed incessantly, imagining him seriously fiddling with someone’s bracelet and setting their crown beads. The man on the other side of the stream, however, was momentarily captivated by her trembling laughter.

Deng Ruyun did not notice until Meng Zhao nudged her. “Oh, your General Teng is watching you; he’s really staring.”

Deng Ruyun turned her head and realized his gaze had pierced through everyone except her.

The fruit wine she’d just drunk seemed to be stirring up trouble, and Deng Ruyun’s cheeks suddenly flushed.

Before she even realized it, Meng Zhao had already pointed at her face.

“Oh dear, sister, why are you so red?” she said, looking at her and then at Teng Yue on the other side of the river.

“No wonder you are a newlywed couple; your affection is different from ours!”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun quickly tried to cover her mouth. “I only have feelings for you, sister,” she said, pouring her a glass of wine and handing it to her. “Do not say anything more, Sister Meng; I will toast you!”

Meng Zhao would not refuse her drink, so Deng Ruyun poured three glasses and brought them to her lips. She drank them all before forgetting what had just happened. Deng Ruyun turned around and saw Teng Yue being toasted as well, finally turning her gaze away from that side of the river.

The small river in the garden reflected the Milky Way in the sky, its starlight shimmering like rippling waves.

Amidst the lively sounds of clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, Deng Ruyun’s gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on the Milky Way reflected in her wine glass.

She lowered her head and took a small sip of the celestial water.

In her tipsy state, everything before her seemed like a mesmerizing dream.

She wondered if, now so drunk, she could ever wake up from this dream.

… …

After drinking for over an hour, the moon had risen high in the sky. Gradually, some people began to fall asleep drunk in the grass, while others danced and sang around a bonfire.

Deng Ruyun saw that Teng Yue seemed drowsy from drinking, leaned back in his armchair, his hands idly resting on either side, listening to Kong Hui swaying and talking to him, occasionally responding with a sound of agreement.

Wang Fuxiang, on the other hand, was talking incessantly, pulling on Shen Yanxing’s arm, while Shen Yanxing just smiled with his head down.

Meng Zhao glanced back and said casually, “That brute is like that when he’s drunk; he wants to spill everything from his heart and tell it all to everyone.”

Not content with just saying it once, she continued to Deng Ruyun, “Once, he talked to me all night long, telling me about how he peed in his father’s wine sack when he was a child and then used that sack to fill his father’s wine bottle. Basically, everything he could and could not say, he just blurted it all out after drinking.”

As soon as Meng Zhao finished speaking, Deng Ruyun jumped to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Zhao raised an eyebrow, seeing her startled expression.

Deng Ruyun said directly, “I am going to find some hangover pills for General Wang!”

She finished speaking and ran out of the garden.

But Deng Ruyun’s running immediately caused Teng Yue, who had been half-closing his eyes, to open them and turn his head to look.

Wang Fuxiang was walking towards him. Seeing him turn to look in the other direction, he also looked over.

“Huh? Why did my sister-in-law run away?”

Teng Yue did not know either. He was thinking of sending a servant to follow and ask when he heard Wang Fuxiang sit down beside him, drunkenly sighing, “Sister-in-law is really good to you. Teng Yue, you are a lucky boy.”

Teng Yue was a little confused by these words.

Just recently, she wanted a divorce from him. No matter what he said or how he begged her, she insisted on leaving.

She insisted on going to find the person she loved so deeply.

If he had not forcibly brought her to Ningxia, and if this whole ordeal had not happened, she would not have given him a kind look.

He sat up and asked Wang Fuxiang, “How did you figure that out?”

Wang Fuxiang, his vision blurred with drink, looked at Teng Yue through the glare and felt as if Teng Yue had returned to Jinzhou a few years ago, still a promising young general.

He said, “Do I need to see? My sister-in-law has been by your side for many years. What kind of treatment do we get?”

His words confused Teng Yue even more. Teng Yue slapped his shoulder hard.

“You’ve had quite a bit to drink, have you not? Yunniang and I never met in Jinzhou, so how could she be by your side?”

Or rather, Yunniang said she only saw him returning victorious on horseback in the street, but he had never actually seen her.

However, Wang Fuxiang raised his hand and pointed at him.

Suddenly, he smiled, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Hey, my sister-in-law was lying to you! I remember now; she was following you around in your camp. I thought she was a spy who had infiltrated, and I even tried to capture her… But at that age, a young girl like her is just experiencing the stirrings of first love. She just wanted to see the person she liked.”

As he spoke, seeing Teng Yue freeze in place, he drunkenly stepped forward and shook Teng Yue’s shoulder.

But Teng Yue suddenly stood up and grabbed his arm.

His strength was astonishing; even a tough guy like Wang Fuxiang felt some pain.

He gripped Wang Fuxiang’s arm tightly, startling Kong Hui and Shen Yanxing, who thought the two were about to fight.

But he only asked, “You brute, is what you said true?!”

Wang Fuxiang was a little annoyed by his grip.

“Though I am reckless, everything I say is the truth. If I’ve uttered even a single lie, may I die at the hands of the Tartars!”

He swore a solemn oath, and Kong Hui quickly stepped forward to slap his mouth, telling him to stop talking nonsense.

But the three of them saw Teng Yue’s eyes flicker; his drunkenness seemed to vanish instantly, and he was like a mountain leopard suddenly awakened.

He abruptly released Wang Fuxiang and turned to stride quickly across the stream.

Kong Hui and Shen Yanxing exchanged a surprised glance, both looking at Wang Fuxiang.

“What did you say to him?”

But the alcohol was back in his head, and Wang Fuxiang scratched his head in a daze.

“What did I… say?”

… …

Deng Ruyun went to great lengths to find two hangover pills from a servant.

Holding the hangover pills, she headed towards the garden. No matter what, she needed to get General Wang sober first.

Otherwise, she feared he might spill all her “secrets”!

Deng Ruyun grew impatient; quick steps were not enough, so she lifted her skirt and started running.

But before she even reached the garden, she suddenly saw someone appear at the gate.

The man’s tall, imposing figure was particularly striking. Even in the darkness, under the dim light, his imposing presence, capable of stopping a thousand armies, would not leave Deng Ruyun with a moment’s confusion.

At that instant, he strode in through the gate.

On the quiet, deserted path, the moment he saw Deng Ruyun, his eyes lit up, as if he had shot two swift arrows at her feet, pinning her to the spot.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in Deng Ruyun’s heart. Her already racing heart pounded with anxiety, now feeling like a thousand galloping horses.

She saw the man stride towards her, seemingly about to reach her face in a single step, when she stopped abruptly and instinctively retreated.

But after only two steps, he called out sharply to her.

“Deng Ruyun! Where are you going?”

Deng Ruyun gasped, startled by his shout. For a moment, she wanted to run away.

But before she could pull her feet out of the mire of fear, the man had already lunged at her.

Deng Ruyun’s back was pressed against the wall, and he grabbed her wrist.

Her slender wrist was easily seized in his grasp. Deng Ruyun felt as if he was about to snap her wrist, and all he asked was…

“Do you know what Wang Fuxiang just said to me?”

Upon hearing the name “Wang Fuxiang” from his mouth, Deng Ruyun’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, sank significantly.

Her face was filled with panic, and the dim light from the flickering lamp against the wall made her lips appear even paler.

Seeing her like this, Teng Yue pressed on.

“So, you know what he said to me?!”

Deng Ruyun shook her head repeatedly. “I…I do not know. I do not know anything.”

She vehemently denied it, but the more she concealed and denied it, the more Teng Yue realized that everything she said was ironic.

He held her tightly in his hand, watching her restless, willow-leaf eyebrows furrow in panic, and beneath those eyebrows, her eyes trembled.

In her expression, Teng Yue almost saw the answer.

Just then, someone suddenly ran towards the doorway leading to the alley—it was Wang Fuxiang.

He had been stunned by Kong Hui and Shen Yanxing’s questions, but in an instant, he remembered.

He remembered everything, but the moment he did, he slapped himself in the face.

Seeing Teng Yue rush out, he quickly followed. Turning the corner, he saw Deng Ruyun and said directly,

“I am sorry, sister-in-law; I was drunk and talked nonsense. I revealed the secret you asked me to keep!”

He wailed, utterly distressed.

Deng Ruyun, already unsure how to deal with Teng Yue, felt her heart sink completely upon hearing Wang Fuxiang’s words.

This brute not only revealed her “secret” but also mentioned in front of Teng Yue that she had asked him to keep it.

Deng Ruyun saw a flame burning in the man’s eyes, a flame that seemed to engulf her.

Deng Ruyun simply closed her eyes.

Kong Hui and Shen Yanxing also arrived. Teng Yue gritted his teeth and only said, “I am taking her home,” before dragging the swindler he was holding towards his own mansion.

The liveliness of the Wang Mansion faded away with the sound of galloping hooves. The Teng Mansion was still under renovation, and due to the victory celebration, there were few people present.

In the quiet main room.

Deng Ruyun was put down by him, her legs weak, unable to even stand.

At this moment, he suppressed his initial shock and confusion, patiently lighting all the lamps in the room, one by one, until the entire room was brightly lit. Under the high candlelight he had lit, even Deng Ruyun’s shadow disappeared.

Only then did he carry a lamp to her side.

The lamplight dispelled the last bit of darkness between them. Teng Yue saw that the light illuminated the face of the person waiting before him, and he slowly spoke.

“Yunniang, tell me the truth, what is the name of the person you were talking about? Which unit and which battalion are they in?”

He stared intently at her.

“Who…who is he?”

The bright firelight made it almost impossible for Deng Ruyun to open her eyes. She dared not lie; she did not even dare to speak, not utter a single word.

She pressed her lips tightly together, determined not to utter a single word about “that person.”

Seeing that she would not speak and would not say anything, Teng Yue slowly nodded.

“Fine, you will not tell me, then I will.”

Deng Ruyun looked at him in surprise, seeing that he had found another candle, lit it with the small lamp in his hand, and the room became even brighter.

He said, “Wang Fuxiang said he saw you around me. I do not know why I have not seen you, but Yunniang, explain to me why you were secretly in my camp.”

He asked, and Deng Ruyun could not explain, so he spoke again.

“You said that person was there for you as you grew up; that’s why you cannot forget him. But I calculated those years, and they are exactly the same years I spent in Jinzhou.”

“And when I asked you who that person was, what his name was, and which battalion he belonged to, you would not tell me, and you shut me down.”

He stared into her eyes under the bright lamplight.

“Is it that you refuse to tell, or that you are simply too afraid to tell?!”

Teng Yue had heard her say that she and that person grew up together, that she practiced archery with him, that they knew each other intimately, and that their love was deep and profound and their hearts were in perfect harmony.

He thought that since he had never met her, he had never doubted the truth of her words.

But why did someone with such deep affection simply leave, leaving her behind, never even returning when she was in trouble, and never contacting her again for so many years?

He asked her, “…Was that person never aware of your feelings? Did he have no way of knowing, much less responding?”

Deng Ruyun pressed her lips tightly together, unable to speak. She already regretted that day and why she had told the lie so convincingly, saying so many things she should not have said to him.

She forced herself not to make any statement but could not help lowering her eyes, concealing the glint in them.

Meanwhile, Teng Yue remembered that night when he heard her say she liked someone else and how he had gone to Aunt Juan, heartbroken.

He asked Aunt Juan if there really was such a person; he still suspected she had lied to him again.

Aunt Juan’s expression did not lie, but that day, her gaze remained fixed on him…

He looked at the person before him, seeing her trying to keep her mouth closed like a clam, but in the half-exposed eye, tears welled up. She seemed to want to hold back those tears, but he stepped forward, his footsteps falling on her face, causing the tears to tremble and trickle down her cheeks.

Teng Yue raised his hand to wipe away her tears and asked her.

“Tell me the truth, only the truth. The person you were talking about, is it… me?”

Unbeknownst to him, unnoticed by him, while he was focused on training himself and earning military merit to avenge his father and brothers, a young girl had silently accompanied him through countless days and nights.

He pulled her into his arms, looking down into her eyes.

“It’s me, is it not?”

Deng Ruyun shook her head repeatedly, “No, no…”

Teng Yue then remembered the basket of arrows he had seen in Jinzhou. He had thought they all belonged to “that person.”

But today, he suddenly said…

“Whether it’s true or not, it’s not up to you to decide. Why do I not have someone go back to Jinzhou and bring that basket of arrows over so we can see whose name is engraved on them? Alright?”

Deng Ruyun had already forgotten about the arrows. His sudden mention of them made her tremble.

Teng Yue saw all her expressions. At this moment, her panicked trembling caught his eye. He picked her up and carried her straight to the high table.

“It’s me; that person is me…”

He pressed his nose against hers, wanting to bite but reluctantly pressing his lips to hers.

“Deng Ruyun, how could you be such a liar? You just watched me being played like a fool. Are you happy about it?”

He asked her angrily, “Are you happy?!”

How could there be such a liar in this world?

One lie after another—if Wang Fuxiang had not revealed the truth while drunk today, how long would she have kept deceiving him?!

He could not tell whether he was more pleased or angry; he only felt that she had worn him down to the point of almost losing his reason.

He saw that she was still stubbornly refusing to speak, and he could not help but bite her ear.

“Why… why did you lie? Are you used to lying and cannot stand not telling a story for a day?! Or do you feel better if you torture me, or…”

He suddenly realized something. He looked up and saw her reddened eyes, which she was trying to hide.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Was it… Mother who made her do this?!