Perfect Match – CH 105

Chapter 105 [Extra WHAT IF Chapter] The Young Man (5)

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun did not delay and followed Xiuniang back to the backyard.

Sure enough, her father did not give her a good look as soon as she got home.

“How old are you? You’re never home. People who know you would think you’ve been married into the Teng family,” her father said sternly. “Where can you find a girl like you?”

Deng Ruyun was not angry. She just tilted her head and looked at her father, saying, “Father, do you not know who has one?”

“Who has one? I do not believe it.”

Deng Ruyun smiled, “Your family!”

She saw that her father was so angry he did not want to talk to her anymore, and turned directly to call for her mother.

“Look at her, look at her!”

Her mother, who always wanted her to be carefree, rubbed her eyes and said.

“My eyes are not feeling well today; I cannot see.”

Her father almost choked, sighing repeatedly, “Just let her be.”

Just then, the shopkeeper came looking for him, and he grumbled and left.

Mother and daughter both laughed. After a while, seeing that it was getting late, her mother took her out of the city.

Since giving birth to Linglang, her sister-in-law’s health had been damaged, and she developed intermittent bleeding. Her brother had prepared several kinds of medicine for her, but the effects were minimal. He consulted a renowned physician and believed that if two rare medicinal herbs from beyond the Great Wall could be added, it would likely cure her bleeding.

These two medicinal herbs were extremely expensive within the Great Wall and were only available in the medicinal market of Xi’an. After some deliberation, my brother decided to personally venture beyond the Great Wall, firstly to find the herbs, and secondly to meet with several familiar medicine makers to purchase medicinal materials and start a business.

Her brother left two months ago, and according to him, he should return in about two or three months.

As for her sister-in-law, her illness required rest, so her mother had Aunt Juan take her and Linglang back to her hometown in the countryside. She thought they would stay until her brother returned from beyond the Great Wall, so why were they back today?

Now, she saw her sister-in-law’s expression change upon seeing her mother, and tears streamed down her face. Little Linglang, held in Aunt Juan’s arms, also seemed uneasy.

Her mother quickly asked, “What happened?”

Her sister-in-law said nothing was wrong. “Mother, I dreamt that Husband… he could not find anyone beyond the Great Wall.”

She spoke as if it were true, but it was just a dream. Her mother breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you not too worried about Heng’er? A group of more than ten of them went out of the pass; how could they not find their way back?”

But her sister-in-law just shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

“But Mother, I’ve had the exact same dream for three days in a row! Every day I dream that Husband and the others were perfectly fine, but suddenly they were swept into a sandstorm, and then the sandstorm turned blood red, and everyone inside disappeared!”

Upon hearing this, even her mother fell silent.

Little Linglang started crying, and Aunt Juan quickly patted her to comfort her.

Deng Ruyun felt a sudden chill run down her spine, goosebumps rising on her skin.

Even with so many people traveling together, they were still beyond the pass…

Her mother hugged her sister-in-law, and Deng Ruyun took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

“Take care of yourself and Linglang first,” said her mother. “Your father and I will find someone to go beyond the Great Wall to look for Heng’er.”

“Even if you dream of him for three more days, it’s still just a dream. It might not actually happen. Let’s find someone to look for him now. Heng’er will definitely come back.”

…

That evening, her father went out to contact the neighbors, but had not returned.

Her mother and Aunt Juan went to comfort her sister-in-law again, while she went to check on little Linglang.

The baby was still in her swaddling clothes. Deng Ruyun thought she was asleep, but she was wide awake, playing with her hands.

Deng Ruyun reached out to tease her, but she suddenly grabbed her aunt’s finger and would not let go.

Deng Ruyun had been smiling as she looked at the little girl, but a sudden realization struck her. A wave of sorrow washed over her, as if soon, in this vast house, only she and her little niece would be left to depend on each other…

The young lady was startled by this thought. She quickly shook her head, banishing the ominous idea.

However, the next morning, she almost overslept, then rushed to the mountain to practice archery with Teng Yue as usual. But she kept making mistakes; the arrows never even flew, landing at her feet.

“Yunniang, you do not look well.”

At his words, Deng Ruyun’s head drooped.

“I am sorry; things at home have disturbed my peace of mind.”

After she finished speaking, he put down his bow and arrows.

He walked up to her. “What happened? Tell me.”

Deng Ruyun didn’t dare to say it at home, but when he asked, she couldn’t help but tell him.

She first recounted her sister-in-law’s three consecutive dreams of her brother disappearing beyond the Great Wall, her voice lowering slightly.

“I do not know if it’s because of what Sister-in-law said yesterday, but I… I had the same dream last night! I dreamt that my brother disappeared beyond the Great Wall!”

The young girl spoke hesitantly, her voice thick with emotion. Teng Yue was taken aback.

He did not really believe in dreams, but lately he’d been experiencing strange, disorienting feelings at certain times, as if he were living in another world, leading a life he could not possibly predict.

Thinking of these disorientations and then of the recurring dreams Yunniang and her sister-in-law had, Teng Yue frowned.

“My father has served in the army for many years and has many old friends at the western pass. I will try to find someone to go beyond the Great Wall and inquire about him for you.”

These words immediately put Deng Ruyun’s mind at ease. She could not explain why she trusted him so much; it was as if his words guaranteed her brother’s safety. The two then calmed themselves and practiced archery for a while before descending the mountain.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the city gate, Teng Yue noticed that Yunniang seemed to have spotted someone. She suddenly hid behind him, and not content with that, she turned and quickly ran to a roadside tea stall, grabbing the stall’s flag to cover her face.

Teng Yue had always known she was very secretive about him; why was she hiding from someone else now?

Could it be that she had someone else she liked…?

This thought flashed through his mind, and he could not help but purse his lips and look around.

There were not many young people nearby, but Teng Yue saw a middle-aged man who resembled her somewhat—her father.

However, Old Master Deng seemed to have other business to attend to and quickly turned and headed down another road.

As soon as he left, she indeed emerged from behind the tea stall flag, and after he was gone, she patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you hiding from your father? Does he not know you’ve come out?”

Deng Ruyun’s voice was low. “My family knows, and Father knows too, but it’s precisely because he knows that…”

Father knew she was infatuated with Teng Yue, and he knew she went up the mountain every day to watch him practice archery. Just that alone displeased him. If he also knew she and Teng Yue were already acquainted, even practicing and eating together, would he not be furious and drag her away in the street?

That was not so bad, though. But what if Teng Yue found out that his father didn’t really have high hopes for his future? What would he think then?

She stammered, stopping herself from continuing, only saying, “I am going straight home today. Father’s not at the shop; I can help Mother a bit.”

Teng Yue nodded, seeing her off on the road south of the city. But he vaguely understood what she had not said.

He was currently only a minor officer in the Jinzhou Guard. Although the old Baihu Commander would promote him to a sixth-rank Baihu Commander in a couple of years, the Teng family had nearly been ruined because they had offended Shi Zeyou. How easy would it be for him to rise through the ranks in the army?

How could Yunniang’s father bear to let his daughter suffer with him?

The young man fell silent, barely speaking for the entire morning. Fortunately, there was nothing much happening at the garrison camp today, and he returned to the city early in the afternoon. However, he stopped as he passed the mimosa tree by the river south of the city.

Many people in Jinzhou believed that a spirit resided in this mimosa tree, and people often came to worship and make wishes. Teng Yue did not really believe in such things, but he remembered that the day he found Yunniang, she was under this very mimosa tree.

At that moment, a green leaf had drifted down onto his hair ornament and then landed on his shoulder, as if someone had patted him. He had turned his head and saw Yunniang behind the tree…

The young man walked to the mimosa tree.

Under the tree, old people fanned themselves in the shade, and children ran and played. Teng Yue felt the freshness of the grass and trees in the breeze, and he slowly closed his eyes.

…

That afternoon, after finishing his work at home, he thought he would take a nap, but he slept until nightfall and the night drum sounded.

Teng Yue had a very long dream. He dreamt that he truly became the “general” Yunniang spoke of. Not only did Yunniang call him that, but everyone else did too. He was transferred north from Jinzhou to Ningxia, a key border town, rising from an ordinary general to a guerrilla general, commanding the Yuquan Battalion, fighting against the Tartars beyond the Great Wall!

In that dream, Yunniang also married him. Technically, she was his lawfully wedded wife; however, she entered the Teng family through a contract.

In that dream, she was merely a contract wife, vulnerable to being driven away at any moment…

Teng Yue suddenly awoke from his dream, finding himself still in his home in Jinzhou, not the Teng Mansion in Xi’an. No one called him General; only the sky outside was already completely dark, and the sound of the night watchman’s drum grew louder as it approached.

He sat on the edge of the bed, stunned. He did not know how he had managed to sleep so long after a short nap. The dream had been so vivid. He immediately thought of that day in the south of the city, when he stood under the acacia tree with his eyes closed and asked—

“Does the Tree Goddess have any instructions to give Teng Yue?”

The deity in the tree had not responded then, but this long dream had unsettled him.

He could foresee everything about himself, but Yunniang had become his contract wife, and in the dream, Yunniang’s brother seemed to have never returned since leaving the pass this year. Teng Yue could not sit still any longer and got up to leave.

Old Madam Lin had not paid much attention to her son’s situation, only remembering that her husband’s death anniversary was approaching. She had spent some time at his tomb, but then a servant told her that Teng Yue had taken a nap that afternoon and had not woken up yet, nor had he eaten dinner.

She could not help but lead her people towards Teng Yue’s courtyard. However, just as they reached the corner of the path in front of the gate, she saw him step out of the gate.

His steps were hurried; he did not even hear her calling him as he quickly walked out. He seemed as if he were about to leave.

Old Madam Lin was surprised. Before she could call him, she could only point to a servant, “Go and follow Second Young Master. He seems to be in such a hurry; what is he going to do?”

*

Teng Yue walked quickly to the Deng family’s gate.

The pharmacy facing the street was already closed, but there were still some voices coming from the courtyard in the alley, as though people had just finished eating and had not yet rested.

Teng Yue could not just knock on the door at this hour, so he walked a few steps along the courtyard wall, and just then, he heard Yunniang’s voice.

The young man’s eyes lit up. He heard her talking to her sister-in-law through the wall.

“Sister-in-law, have you fed little Linglang yet? Why is she not asleep? Is she staring at the stars with her big eyes open?”

She chatted with her sister-in-law while teasing her little niece, making the baby giggle twice. The baby’s voice was clear and crisp, like the clinking of jade stones—it was Linglang’s name.

But her sister-in-law did not reply immediately. Only after the child stopped laughing did she suddenly speak, calling out to Yunniang.

“Yunniang, if… if your brother does not come back, I will definitely go to the border to find him. Then, I will entrust Linglang to your parents, to Aunt Juan, and to you, alright?”