Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 11

Jiang Wanshu’s body was hoisted onto the horse by the man, and she let out a surprised “ah.” Zhou Yan then quickly mounted the horse, gripping the reins, and leaned close to her ear, saying, “Try listening again, and I’ll cut off your ear, okay?”

The time they had spent together in the past few days had given her some understanding of Zhou Yan. Jiang Wanshu knew he was only being verbally menacing, but given Zhou Yan’s perceptiveness, the more she asked others questions related to the capital’s location in front of him, the easier it would be for him to see through her.

She knew she had to take the way out he was offering to bypass this incident. She immediately covered her ears with both hands and shook her head vigorously, indicating “no.”

This sight amused Zhou Yan. Seeing how funny she looked, he stopped tormenting her, urged the horse forward, and galloped off into the distance.

Along the way, they passed a small path where the cold wind intermittently blew their dark hair. Zhou Yan lowered his gaze and saw the young woman looking apprehensive. Beneath her full forehead, her curled eyelashes were as dense and dark as a raven’s wing, presenting a truly breathtaking beauty.

For some reason, Zhou Yan’s mind kept flashing back to the slight ripple she had allowed in her eye when she was speaking to the old man earlier, and her act of concealing their relationship by saying he was just her cousin to an outsider. He had long told her she was his A’jia (wife/beloved), so her introducing him to an outsider as her cousin without any hesitation—did it mean she fundamentally refused to acknowledge him as her Ma’geba (husband) in her heart?

The Princess of the Central Plains was inherently noble and pampered. If the false identity he had given her were compared with his true self by others, he truly was unworthy of her.

So, would she actually look down on him in her heart?

The more Zhou Yan pondered, the more he felt a fire igniting within him again. Even the speed of his riding quickened. However, the surrounding cold wind seemed insufficient to dissipate this flame; instead, it achieved the opposite effect.

When they reached the next section of the road, Zhou Yan sharply pulled the reins, and the horse abruptly halted.

The sudden stop after rapid movement nearly sent Jiang Wanshu’s small frame flying. Startled, she gasped and tensed her body.

The lingering effects of the near-fall prompted Jiang Wanshu to subconsciously look back at the man. She turned to stare into his eyes and, in an instant, saw that the man’s expression had changed completely from when they first mounted the horse.

Recalling Zhou Yan’s temperament and thinking that these things, once they happened, tended to happen again, Jiang Wanshu suppressed her distress and put on a fierce facade. She said to Zhou Yan, “Zhou Yan, what exactly do you want to do!”

Unexpectedly, the man seemed not to hear her, simply skipping over her question. He looked down, staring at her, his voice low and indifferent, “What’s wrong, Wanwan? Aren’t you going to call me ‘cousin’ anymore?”

Suddenly, Jiang Wanshu understood something, and her mind went into turmoil.

She gazed at the man before her, thinking he was truly petty. There had been no parental decree or matchmaker’s words between them; how could she willingly degrade herself?

She was about to retort but swallowed her words the next second.

She didn’t want to argue with Zhou Yan here. She was in a strange land, and what would she do if Zhou Yan got angry and abandoned her?

Jiang Wanshu contemplated how to phrase her words to appease Zhou Yan. Taking a deep breath, she forced a slight curve onto her lips. “We haven’t exchanged marriage vows, so we aren’t true husband and wife. Telling outsiders we are would be deceptive.”

“But isn’t calling me your cousin also deceptive?” Zhou Yan frowned, looking at the girl before him.

Jiang Wanshu quickly covered up her intentions, rambling, “That’s different. My lie is a well-intentioned one. Look, the difference in our build is so great, and you just treated me with that attitude. If I had told the old man you were my husband, your image would have been ruined immediately. Furthermore, cousin is good; a cousin is least pleased when others are interested in his younger sister. Such a reaction would be perfectly normal in the eyes of an outsider.”

“So, I should be grateful to you, even for bringing up the difference in our builds!”

Thinking of how Jiang Wanshu had mentioned the difference in their builds, Zhou Yan subconsciously cast his gaze upon Jiang Wanshu’s delicate body.

It was true. He had always been rash in his nature outside of official duties, and he hadn’t noticed until she mentioned it. The disparity in their physical sizes was indeed significant. Jiang Wanshu was nestled against his chest, and his large hand was currently clamped around her slender waist. He looked down; she was so small, like a rabbit encountered by a wolf, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t jarring.

There was naturally some difference in physique between Central Plains people and grassland people. If this were considered jarring, they wouldn’t belong to the same species. They wouldn’t even count as “human.”

But even if it were jarring, so what?

The person he, Zhuojing Cha’er, had decided upon, he would never abandon, even if it meant defying the world.

Zhou Yan’s large hand, which could cover both of hers, tightly clasped Jiang Wanshu’s waist. He knew that with a little force now, he could easily snap her thin waist.

The air around them spontaneously cooled down because of Jiang Wanshu’s words.

Jiang Wanshu seemed to notice Zhou Yan’s naked gaze and his indescribable emotions, and her eyes, like autumn water, trembled.

Zhou Yan could sense Jiang Wanshu’s fear. His gaze swept over the girl’s dark hair, and the icy emotion suddenly dissipated.

The warm sunlight of autumn passed through the crevices of the old buildings and withered leaves, scattering onto the ground. A spot of light fell precisely below Jiang Wanshu’s shoulder and neck. The girl’s naturally fair and translucent skin made the person before him look even more vibrant and alluring.

His scorching gaze traveled down, seeing her apricot eyes as bright as the autumn moon. A large patch of soft light fell, and the man’s eyes shifted past the girl’s high nose bridge, causing him to involuntarily focus on her rosy little lips. The girl’s lips were rosy with white teeth, and the redness shimmered with moisture, like a tender peach on a branch, full, crisp, and inviting.

In the not-too-narrow path on either side, riders occasionally galloped by. The wind left by the passing riders occasionally lifted the wisps of hair on Jiang Wanshu’s forehead, perfectly embodying the phrase, “blazing in its splendor.”

He had never liked to deny himself. In a flash, Zhou Yan lifted the girl’s delicate chin and, capitalizing on her startled posture, kissed her fiercely.

Jiang Wanshu was completely caught off guard by the kiss, and her round eyes instantly widened. She pushed against the man’s chest, attempting to push him away, but a large hand suddenly clasped the back of her head, immobilizing her.

A girl’s natural strength was no match for a man’s. Jiang Wanshu was kissed so intensely she couldn’t breathe and was utterly ashamed. Muffled sounds of struggle emanated from her lips.

The prolonged kiss caused her body to lose balance, and she went limp in front of the man. The extreme and irresistible kiss from the man turned her face crimson, and she was choked, feeling the urge to cough.

Zhou Yan realized the burning heat on the person in his arms and the sound of her imminent cough. He suddenly understood and immediately pulled her away from his embrace.

Zhou Yan released the hand that had been restricting the girl’s body, quietly watching the person before him cough due to the lack of breath caused by his prolonged kiss. He inwardly reminded himself that the next time he kissed her, he needed to pay more attention to the state of this little delicate flower.

This kissing business was new to him, too, but making her uncomfortable was his fault.

“Cough, cough, cough.” Jiang Wanshu had no time to fuss right now; she just waited until she felt more comfortable.

She slightly lowered her head, placing her palm on her chest to regulate her breathing.

Zhou Yan scrutinized her pitiful appearance—her cheeks flushed like peaches, and her eyes teary—and was almost impulsive enough to kiss her again.

Finally, after what felt like half an hour, Jiang Wanshu felt her breathing normalize. She looked up at the man, her eyes full of grievance. She wanted to spit out a few curses, but she remembered this was a strange place, and she feared he might abandon her here.

While escaping from this point would be good for her, an unprepared escape was absolutely not the way she believed she could safely return to the capital.

She could neither hit nor scold the man before her now. She simply chose to move her body further away from the man and remain silent.

Zhou Yan knew her foul temper was resurfacing and was about to discipline her, but he saw her lips were red. Remembering the softness of Jiang Wanshu’s lips from earlier, his anger subsided considerably.

A girl, as long as she didn’t vehemently resist, would eventually yield after the same method was used a few more times. He had drunk wolf’s milk for many years and spent a long time in the wolf territories. He not only understood the habits of wolves but also had considerable experience in training them.

Training a wolf required a balance of loosening and tightening; one couldn’t rush it.

And wasn’t Jiang Wanshu’s current stubbornness like that of an untamed young wolf—tender yet knowing when to assess the situation?

He had all the time and energy to deal with her. Now that it had happened once, would he still fear it wouldn’t happen again?

Because of this, Zhou Yan’s mood calmed down even more. His eyes shone as he watched the girl’s aggrieved look, secretly enjoying himself, a slight smile on his lips.

After the intense kiss earlier, he saw she was exhausted and wasn’t willing to bother her again for a while. He followed her movements and spurred the horse to continue galloping toward their destination.

If the horse headed straight south, they would reach the town the old man had mentioned earlier.

Due to the time delay earlier, Zhou Yan asked a person for the location of a newly opened clothing store in the small town and galloped toward it, his speed increasing steadily.

The man’s body was scorching hot, and his chest was as hard as a pearl oyster’s shell. Any contact immediately made Jiang Wanshu want to move away.

She had not forgotten the man’s forceful kiss earlier. A Central Plains girl values her chastity, and her lips, which should only be kissed by her husband, had been taken by the man before her, making her so sad her eyes reddened.

Her body was also hard to control due to the horse’s up-and-down motion, forcing her to lean into the man’s arms. Jiang Wanshu constantly felt a burst of heat and wanted to lean forward. The next moment, the man’s hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. Just when she thought Zhou Yan was about to force himself upon her again, she heard the man’s low voice, his words entering her ear in a way she found hard to believe.

“Behave. Zuomasen runs fast. If you move around and get thrown off, I won’t care.”

Zuomasen was the name he had given the horse. The name suited the horse; Zuomasen was excellent at running through forests and grasslands, and its size and speed were several times that of an ordinary horse.

So, he was concerned for her safety.

Once this thought took root, Jiang Wanshu became less resistant. After all, Zhou Yan was concerned for her safety now, not anything else, and she had a sense of propriety regarding that.

After another stretch of road, the horse arrived in front of the clothing store.

The man, tall and imposing, slowly dismounted, his feet touching the ground. In the gentle autumn sun, Zhou Yan raised his long arm and easily lowered Jiang Wanshu to the ground.

Jiang Wanshu had a preference for girls’ clothing and accessories. Throughout the journey, she had seldom stopped her thinking brain from trying to memorize the route. When they finally arrived at a place that was strategically unimportant, she raised her eyebrows, tugged at her skirt, and ran inside.

The girl’s slender figure, dressed in a long skirt of pale white interwoven with light green patterns, scurried into the clothing store. Looking at her from behind, she appeared utterly carefree.

Zhou Yan stood in place, squinting as he followed the running shadow. In the soft sunlight, the man smiled brightly, but just as he prepared to step into the clothing store, his expression instantly turned cold.

He had almost forgotten. His main purpose for coming today was to crush Jiang Wanshu’s intention to escape by catching her when she tried to run away.

The man’s strong, well-proportioned long legs strode into the store, walking directly toward Jiang Wanshu.

Under his stern gaze, Zhou Yan was surprised to witness Jiang Wanshu’s buying spree.

At the checkout counter, Zhou Yan paid the bill. Just when he thought Jiang Wanshu was about to run away, he saw her eyes curving, and she waved at him, her voice sweet, “Let’s go back.”

Jiang Wanshu watched Zhou Yan holding the many dresses she had bought, feeling great.

Sure enough, her friend was right; shopping was the best way to soothe a girl’s resentment.

She glanced at the man before her. A fleeting thought of guilt crossed her mind, but she dismissed it immediately.

He had been bullying her for several days; all she did was make him pay a few dozen wen for some clothes and dresses. What was there to be ashamed of?

He had touched her and forcibly kissed her despite her unwillingness; she still hadn’t settled the score with him.

It was just spending some of his money; she had nothing to regret. Besides, she thought Zhou Yan looked quite willing.

His physique was slightly stronger than that of ordinary people, and when he stood among the crowd, he was particularly noticeable.

Support Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch