My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 127 Part 2

Huo Anding seized the door handle and shook it with all his might. The wooden door let out a series of dull thuds. The considerable racket quickly had its intended effect; it wasn't long before they heard the farmer's approaching footsteps.

"Stop knocking!"

Seeing that someone had come, Huo Anding spoke through the door: "Uncle, why did you even lock the door? There's nothing valuable in this storage room. You surely don't think we'd steal a few pieces of wood from you in the middle of the night, do you?"

"There's nothing valuable inside. I'm not afraid you'll take anything, I'm afraid you'll leave."

Hearing this, Huo Anding raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean by that?"

The farmer cleared his throat awkwardly: "Well, I see you two are fine-looking young men, both at a marrying age. I have four daughters at home, and they've all taken a liking to you. So don't think about leaving; stay here and become my sons-in-law."

"Huh?"

Huo Anding couldn't help but let out a sound of surprise at these words. This old man, really!

He had almost forgotten why his father and little father had driven him off to study in Baojing Prefecture in the first place. Thankfully, the old man had jolted his memory.

He never expected that even looking so disheveled and dusty, someone would still take a liking to him and lock him in a room to prevent him from leaving. Writing about this incident in a letter back to his father and little father would truly be an extraordinary tale.

Huo Anding met Shen Qingyue's deeply troubled gaze before turning back to the door. "What, are you suggesting we each marry two of your daughters then?"

From beyond the door came the farmer's wife's angry voice: "You wish!"

Huo Anding looked at his arm, which was being pinched hard by Shen Qingyue, and responded to the outside with a grimace: "But you said they all fancied us both. If we only marry two, won't they fight over it?"

"We'll draw lots to decide!"

Huo Anding looked at the piece of his flesh that was nearly being twisted off, his eyes welling up with tears, and whispered in surrender: "I was wrong, I was wrong…"

Seeing Shen Qingyue release his arm, he immediately rubbed the sore spot and scurried to the other side.

Shen Qingyue said coldly: "I advise you to open this door."

"If you two don't agree, we absolutely won't let you leave. In a little while, the uncles and clan elders will come over to settle the matter."

Huo Anding put his index finger to his lips, signaling Shen Qingyue to be quiet.

"Uncle, since you have this kind intention, I feel I must be honest with you. The truth is... we two are cut-sleeves."

[断袖 (duànxiù): lit. cut sleeve; fig. euphemism for male homosexuality, derived from an ancient story about an emperor who cut his sleeve rather than disturb his sleeping male lover]

Shen Qingyue's brow twitched. Huo Anding made a series of shushing sounds, then continued speaking to the outside: "I'm just an ordinary family's son, but you can surely tell that the young man with me isn't from an ordinary family. Our affair was discovered by his family. They ordered us to break it off, but we couldn't sever our feelings, so we eloped and ran away together."

"His family are scholarly people, how could they tolerate such deviant behavior from us? Now we can't go home. The young master has never suffered hardship since he was little, and after all this turmoil, he's a bit worn out."

"If Uncle's family can accept the nature of our relationship, then we are willing to accept whatever arrangements you make. What do you think?"

Dead silence fell outside.

After a long while, several exclamations of "What a sin, oh!" were heard from outside the house.

"Never mind how improper their relationship is - if word gets out, it'll ruin our reputation! And one of them comes from a powerful family. What if his relatives track him down here?"

"By then, the marriage would be settled, and there might even be children. His family would have to be grateful to us! If they want him back, they'd have to compensate us handsomely."

"But how can we keep them apart if they live under our roof?"

"After the wedding, we'll divide the household. We'll set them up in separate homes and forbid them from seeing each other."

Huo Anding pressed his ear tightly to a crack in the wall, listening to the couple's decision outside.

"Tsk, this old man and his wife."

Shen Qingyue moved closer: "How is it?"

"Still planning to have us stay and be live-in sons-in-law."

Shen Qingyue's expression was grave. Just as he was at a loss, Huo Anding suddenly straightened up and reached out a hand to him.

"What are you doing?"

Huo Anding said: "Get ready to run."

Seeing Shen Qingyue remain motionless, he slowly withdrew his hand: "Fine. If you want to be their live-in son-in-law, I'll just leave by myself."

The words had barely left his mouth when Huo Anding felt a sudden warmth envelop his hand. He looked down to see Shen Qingyue's fingers tightly interlaced with his own, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes.

Before Shen Qingyue could ask how they would leave, Huo Anding swept his leg sideways. A strong gust of wind seemed to sweep through the room, and immediately the solid wooden door, along with its chain lock, fell outward.

The persistent rain from the day before had finally ceased. The clouds had parted, revealing the pale, rising sun of early third month.

The arguing couple, startled by the falling door, jumped in fright and for a moment seemed to have lost their souls.

Huo Anding grabbed Shen Qingyue's hand and ran, saying as they went: "Thank you for your kind intentions, old man and aunt! It's a shame the young master says he doesn't want to be a live-in son-in-law, and insists I take him to wander the world instead."

"Thanks for your hospitality! We'll be on our way now~"

By the time the two farmers regained their senses, the two young men had already run out of the courtyard. Belatedly, they cried: "Oh, my door!"

Huo Anding, leading Shen Qingyue, rushed out of the courtyard only to run straight into a group of ten-odd people approaching. Among them were four women and fulangs, the rest were adult men.

They were likely the clan relatives the farmer had mentioned earlier.

Shen Qingyue felt that the situation was bad. An infuriated voice came from behind: "Eldest Brother, Third Brother, grab those two little brats for me!"

At the command, the group of people who had been watching the two running young men in confusion quickly swarmed forward.