Chapter 104
Ying Yuan had just groped his way in, and still unaware of it.
Almost as soon as he entered, Ying Yuan began looking around for someone. However, due to his drunken state, his sense of direction was quite poor. He bumped into things several times before finally finding what he was looking for, then immediately flopped down onto it, curling up in Li Jin's arms.
"A-Yuan?"
Li Jin abruptly opened his eyes, looking at Ying Yuan in his embrace, and was stunned.
Li Jin had woken the moment someone entered, but to avoid startling the intruder, he hadn't moved, instead waiting for the other's next action. He hadn't expected the person who slipped in to be a drunken Ying Yuan.
"A-Jin…"
Although drunk, Ying Yuan could still recognize Li Jin's voice. Unconsciously, he immediately grabbed Li Jin's hand and placed it against his own face, nuzzling it.
Li Jin hadn't expected Ying Yuan to suddenly do this, and his heart gave a thump.
However, before Li Jin could make a further move, Ying Yuan grabbed Li Jin's lapels, feeling uncomfortable. "A-Jin, I feel awful… hic… I just feel really uncomfortable all over…"
"A-Yuan, you're drunk." Li Jin shook his head helplessly. "Wait a moment, I'll go make some sobering soup."
It was no wonder Ying Yuan was this drunk.
Earlier, while drinking with Dashu and the others, Ying Yuan, afraid that Li Jin would get drunk and hurt himself, not only drank his own share but also took Li Jin's wine and drank it for him, which led to this state.
"No."
Ying Yuan threw a drunken tantrum, grabbing Li Jin's clothes and refusing to let go, determined to stay by Li Jin's side.
"Be good, you're drunk. You'll feel terrible tomorrow if this continues."
"I don't want to be good, I just want you, A-Jin."
Having said this, Ying Yuan pounced on Li Jin, tightly hugging his waist and not letting go, no different from a little wolf guarding its food.
"……"
Li Jin was speechless.
Ying Yuan mumbled to himself, "A-Jin, see how happy Dongzi and Dashu were today. If in the future… in the future I… hic…" If only you and I could be like Dongzi and Dashu.
Li Jin patted Ying Yuan's head. "Mm, A-Yuan, you'll also get married like Dongzi and Dashu in the future."
Get married?
For some reason, as soon as Li Jin said these words, he felt the term 'get married' was somewhat jarring.
Li Jin shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off this inexplicable thought.
"Mmm… A-Jin… it's settled then…"
Ying Yuan snuggled against Li Jin coquettishly, completely unaware of what he had said.
...
Ying Yuan slowly woke up, instinctively rubbing his eyes. But when he inadvertently saw Li Jin wearing wedding robes, he froze completely. "A-Jin, why are you wearing wedding robes? Are you getting married? No, you can't get married."
Li Jin looked at Ying Yuan with a smile. "A-Yuan, do you really not intend to marry me?"
Us? Get married? Wait… I'm getting married to A-Jin??
Realizing this, Ying Yuan was utterly dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long time.
Both he and Li Jin weren't shuang'er; how could they marry each other? Besides, the Da Xia legal code clearly stipulated that two men were not allowed to marry.
"A-Yuan?"
"Of course not."
Ying Yuan denied it without a second thought.
Li Jin immediately breathed a sigh of relief, instantly pulling Ying Yuan into an embrace. "A-Yuan, today is our auspicious day. We can't say inauspicious things, understand?"
Li Jin seemed deeply fixated on Ying Yuan's earlier statement about not being able to marry.
"Mm."
Ying Yuan nodded.
"Alright." Li Jin released Ying Yuan, smiling. "Let's go out quickly. The auspicious time is almost here."
"Okay."
Ying Yuan nodded dazedly and followed Li Jin out.
A-Jin and I… are we really getting married?
This sentence involuntarily surfaced in Ying Yuan's mind all along the way.
Soon, the two arrived at a magnificent palace hall. Seated in the position of presiding over the wedding ceremony was Gu Rushuang.
"First bow to heaven and earth…"
Just like Dongzi and Dashu, Li Jin and Ying Yuan began performing the grand ceremonial bows.
"Husband and wife bow to each other… Ceremony complete…"
It happened in an instant.
Just as Li Jin and Ying Yuan were about to complete the ceremony, a woman, also wearing wedding robes but with an indistinct face, rushed in, shouting, "No! Seventh Prince, you cannot marry Li Jin! Li Jin is mine. The only one who can marry him is me!"
Cannot? Why cannot? Who are you?
Boom.
Ying Yuan abruptly opened his eyes.
"A-Yuan, you're awake. Do you have a headache?" Li Jin reached out to touch Ying Yuan's forehead, his eyes filled with concern.
Last night, Ying Yuan's alternating laughter and tears had really frightened Li Jin.
At the same time, Li Jin also decided not to let Ying Yuan get drunk again.
"A-Jin…" Ying Yuan stared blankly at Li Jin, who wasn't wearing wedding robes, and there was no woman in wedding attire coming to disrupt the ceremony. Only then did he understand he had just been dreaming.
"A-Yuan, here, have a sip of sobering soup first." Thinking Ying Yuan was just embarrassed to say, Li Jin immediately walked to the table, picked up the sobering soup he had prepared earlier, and personally fed it to Ying Yuan.
Perhaps the dream just now felt too real, so much so that Ying Yuan, not yet fully conscious, drank the sobering soup following Li Jin's feeding motions.
"Alright, rest a bit more. I'll stay here with you."
"Mm."
Li Jin's words instantly brought a moment of relaxation to Ying Yuan's tightly wound nerves.
A-Jin, if only you could never marry, and stay with me forever… No… Why do I have such strange thought? A-Jin and I are both men, it's simply impossible for us to marry…
In an instant, Ying Yuan was shocked by the thought that emerged from the depths of his heart.
…
Due to the increasingly imminent threat from Qianluo, once Ying Yuan felt better, Li Jin and the others immediately set off to return to Zhuzhou for deployment.
Before leaving, Li Jin and the others didn't forget to instruct Dongzi and the others to be cautious. Moreover, if strangers came to Liujia Village, they must not be allowed to enter.
"Your Highness, Seventh Prince, you're finally back."
Lan Mingzhou, who had been anxiously waiting at the city gate, saw Li Jin and the others return, and his hanging heart finally settled.
Li Jin noticed Lan Mingzhou's expression seemed somewhat off. "Mingzhou, has something happened?"
"Yes." Lan Mingzhou nodded emphatically, lowering his voice. "Just now, the scout soldiers sent by Magistrate Tao reported that not far from Zhuzhou City, two troops are approaching Zhuzhou City from different directions. Moreover, the soldiers of both troops are wearing Da Xia military uniforms."
If it were just one troop, Lan Mingzhou could still assume they were reinforcements sent from the capital. But now there were two, and from their marching directions, it was clear they didn't know each other; otherwise, they would have merged forces before reaching Zhuzhou City.
Could it be…
One of these two troops is actually Qianluo people in disguise?
The more Lan Mingzhou thought about it, the greater his anxiety grew.
If his guess was correct, it would be terrible. Although Zhuzhou City was already on high alert, the city was severely short of soldiers. If two forces clashed at Zhuzhou City, it would be a disaster for the city.
"Don't panic." Li Jin shook his head. "Let's first go up the city wall to get a clear view of the situation."
The act of disguising as reinforcements didn't happen in his previous life, so Li Jin didn't think it was the enemy in disguise. However, he also didn't know who led the extra troop.
"Yes."
Everyone immediately ascended the city wall, awaiting the approach of the two troops.
After quite some time.
The two troops finally arrived and halted outside Zhuzhou City's gates.
The Dingbei Army?
The Eldest Prince?
Upon meeting, both sides recognized the other's identity simultaneously and were equally stunned, seemingly not expecting the other to inexplicably appear at Zhuzhou.
And those on the city wall, including Li Jin and the others, also recognized them.
Li Jin looked at Lan Mingzhou. "Mingzhou."
"Yes, this official will immediately go open the city gates."
Earlier, fearing a trick, Lan Mingzhou had specifically ordered the guarding soldiers to lock the city gates securely. So, reopening them now took the guards some time before they could open the gates and allow both troops to enter Zhuzhou City.
At the same time, the commanders of both sides also tacitly agreed to discuss matters first at the Zhuzhou government office.
Upon arriving at the office, Bai Yifei preemptively clasped his hands and said, "This humble general received the Prince's order to come here and assist the Heir. May I ask what the Eldest Prince's purpose is in coming here?"
"I came because I heard there were rebels in Zhuzhou. I planned to suppress them before returning to the capital." Ying Zihui also stated his purpose, then looked at Li Jin with confusion. "But, Heir Li, has something critical happened in Zhuzhou?"
The Dingbei Army was always stationed at the northern border and could not leave lightly. Therefore, for the Prince of Dingbei Li Shiyun to make such a decision now, Zhuzhou must be facing a serious impending battle.
"It's Qianluo…"
Li Jin didn't hide the matter of Qianluo and promptly explained it.
"Qianluo dares to invade again!"
Ying Zihui slammed the table heavily, extremely angered by Qianluo's invasion.
Ying Zihui was no stranger to Qianluo; in fact, he was very familiar, having fought against them several times with both victories and defeats. So, news of Qianluo's invasion always angered him more than others.
Li Jin seized the opportunity to invite, "I wonder if the Eldest Prince is willing to stay in Zhuzhou and join us in dealing with the Qianluo army?"
In his previous life.
Qianluo used eighty thousand troops to attack Zhuzhou. Now, Bai Yifei brought fifty thousand troops, and Ying Zihui brought twenty thousand. If integrated, holding Zhuzhou City shouldn't be a big problem.
"Of course I'm willing." Ying Zihui agreed without a second thought.
"I'll toast you both with tea instead of wine."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
As the battle to defend Zhuzhou City was imminent, the three of them tacitly avoided alcohol.
Zhuzhou Border.
A Qianluo scout reported, "General, it's bad. Many troops have arrived in Zhuzhou. It seems they already know our plan. Should we retreat first?"
"No retreat." The Qianluo general said with a cold face. "We've planned this for so long; we absolutely cannot let it fall through now. This time we must seize Zhuzhou. Later, I will write another letter to the King, asking him to send more men. I don't believe we can't take a mere Zhuzhou with that."
Seeing the general's determination, the scout didn't dare advise further. "Yes, General."
"Zhuzhou will definitely be annexed into Qianluo's territory."
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