There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Princess of a Weak Nation in a Peace Marriage X Barbarian General

The bonfires crackled and blazed skyward, and the sounds of tambourines and music drifted through the air. There was no curfew on the night of the Winter Festival. Young men and women stepped to the music and danced, making the entire capital city extraordinarily festive.

The sacrificial carriage had long proceeded toward the Witch God Temple, yet Ruan Jiyun still hadn’t fully recovered her senses. The image of Jiang Peifeng’s dance continued to linger in her mind, gradually coalescing and becoming ever clearer in her heart.

Ashinuo asked softly from the side: “Your Highness, there is a banquet prepared in the building. Will you go and have something to eat first?”

Ruan Jiyun thought for a moment: “How about we return to the residence instead and wait for Peifeng… the General to eat together?”

“The sacrificial carriage for the Grand Ceremony still has to go through prayers at the Witch God Temple. The General won’t be back so early,” Ashinuo smiled and urged her again. “You’ve been busy all day, and the General specifically instructed us to make sure you eat on time.”

This statement made Ruan Jiyun’s face flush, and she eventually followed the maidservants to the banquet hall.

A dinner had already been arranged in the restaurant. People were seated on the floor, enjoying the rich feast. As soon as Ruan Jiyun reached the table, several familiar medical officials eagerly greeted her.

“Your Highness, you’re here too! Come and try the fruit liqueur from Yuxian Tower, the taste is excellent!”

A young medical official enthusiastically handed her a crystal glass. The liquid in the cup carried the sweet fragrance of fruit and looked appealingly clear.

Ruan Jiyun felt uncomfortable refusing his kindness. She lowered her head and took a sip. The fruit liqueur was sweet, sour, and refreshing, and indeed suited her taste. She sipped slowly and unknowingly drank most of it.

“General Peifeng’s ritual dance today was the most spectacular I have ever seen!”

Someone was loudly discussing the ceremony. Hearing Jiang Peifeng’s name, Ruan Jiyun subconsciously strained her ears toward the source of the sound.

“General Peifeng is the most outstanding Royal Daughter in Xiji! Not only is she beautiful, but she is also so capable!”

“I tossed all my fragrant flowers to the General today…” a girl with flushed cheeks, who looked barely fifteen or sixteen, said with shining eyes. “I truly want to marry the General when I grow up!”

The crowd let out a knowing laugh, and someone else responded loudly to the girl: “More than a hundred people tossed flowers to the General today. You’ll be too late by the time you grow up.”

The laughter grew more enthusiastic. Ruan Jiyun listened silently. So Jiang Peifeng was this popular, like a glittering star. She tried to blink her eyes to see more clearly but ultimately lowered her lashes in vain.

“Oh? Your Highness, you really like this fruit liqueur,” the young medical official glanced at Ruan Jiyun’s cup by chance and said in surprise, “It’s quite potent…”

Ruan Jiyun turned her hazy gaze and smiled brightly at him. The lamplight blurred the girl’s dazzling smile, causing the onlookers to catch their breath.

Seeing Ruan Jiyun’s slightly flushed face, he was about to turn to look for her maidservant when he heard a voice say: “I’ll take care of it.”

Jiang Peifeng appeared among the guests at some point. She had changed her clothes and tied her long hair into a simple ponytail, secured with a gold band, which made her look exceptionally neat. She crossed the room, walked to Ruan Jiyun’s side, and supported her: “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. So you were here.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Ruan Jiyun instinctively looked up: “Why were you looking for me?”

“I want to take you somewhere.” Jiang Peifeng politely refused the wine offered by the people beside her. By now, many intoxicated guests recognized her and began standing up to urge her to drink.

Shrieking girls, uncontrollably excited youths, and a forest of raised arms at the end of the long table. Cups clinked with fragrant spirits, instantly plunging the entire restaurant further into a frenzy of revelry.

Jiang Peifeng winked mischievously at Ruan Jiyun: “My little Princess, if we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to.”

With that, she took Ruan Jiyun’s hand, gently pulled her up, and led her through the crowd and out of the building.

Ruan Jiyun was still a little dizzy. Suddenly being pulled up by the hand, she didn’t even have time to ask a question, only vaguely following the person’s steps as they ran.

Going with her, anywhere is fine, right? After all, this person is Jiang Peifeng.

Jiang Peifeng led her to the entrance of the restaurant, where a beautiful black horse was tied up. The horse had a white mark on its forehead. Ruan Jiyun recognized it as Jiang Peifeng’s mount. Before she could react, she felt her body lighten, and she was lifted onto the horse’s back.

The sudden elevation made her inexplicably nervous. Another scent of fragrance swept past her, and Jiang Peifeng also mounted the horse, placing Ruan Jiyun in front of her.

She spurred the horse forward. The route was full of burning bonfires and music, like wine flowing mid-journey, intoxicating the heart and lifting the spirits.

Ruan Jiyun had never ridden a horse before. The galloping warhorse was extremely fast. She only felt the scenery on both sides rushing backward like the wind. She involuntarily closed her eyes tightly, gripping the saddle in front of her firmly, her nails digging in until they were slightly white.

An arm wrapped around her from behind, gently patting her tense hand, loosening her fingers one by one and holding them in her palm.

“We have arrived.”

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Peifeng’s voice sounded in her ear.

Ruan Jiyun nervously opened her eyes and found that they had ridden to a large patch of grassland. The brightly lit capital city was left far behind, only remaining as scattered dots of light.

On the prairie at night, all sounds were hushed. Jiang Peifeng said again: “Little Princess, look up.”

Ruan Jiyun obeyed and looked up, instantly rendered speechless by the sight before her.

The sky was filled with twinkling stars, forming a dazzling Milky Way. She had never seen such a magnificent starry sky. Her eyes instantly felt inadequate, and she gazed, completely entranced.

“This is too beautiful,” she murmured.

“The first time I saw this starry sky, I wanted to bring you to see it,” Jiang Peifeng smiled, found a flat piece of grass, and helped Ruan Jiyun down from the horse’s back so she could slowly admire the view.

The moonlight was like silver, illuminating the starry dome brilliantly. Ruan Jiyun was overwhelmed by the beauty, tilting her head back and watching for a long time until Jiang Peifeng, genuinely worried about her neck strain, gently called her to rest for a while before continuing to watch.

She turned her head, still not having had enough, and suddenly smiled: “Oh? You have something on your head.”

With that, she stood on her tiptoes and plucked a single petal from Jiang Peifeng’s hair.

“I wonder which admirer tossed this fragrant flower. It’s a pity only this one petal is left,” she fiddled with the petal, then remembered the grand shower of petals on the sacrificial carriage just now, and couldn’t help but tease, “Your Highness truly impressed me today.”

“How so?” Jiang Peifeng asked with a smile.

“I always thought General Peifeng was skilled in both literature and martial arts…” Ruan Jiyun covered her lips and laughed. “But I never expected that you are also so skilled at captivating people.”

That breathtaking dance had probably captured the hearts of half the city’s youths.

The captivating person narrowed her eyes, which became even more luminous with starlight. Those phoenix eyes caught Ruan Jiyun’s gaze, locking her in a field of tenderness. Jiang Peifeng smiled and asked: “Then I would like to know one other thing… I wonder, did I manage to captivate you, Princess?”

The abrupt question immediately drove back the next joke Ruan Jiyun had prepared. She stared blankly at Jiang Peifeng: “You… you person…”

It was like a tiny outlet to a secret in her heart had suddenly been uncovered, and the person who uncovered it was smiling, seemingly waiting for her to reveal the mystery herself. Ruan Jiyun felt the heat spread from her ears, burning all the way to the top of her head. She turned to avoid the gaze in an attempt to cover up, but suddenly stumbled, only to be caught by a pair of warm arms.

She heard Jiang Peifeng’s soft, mellow voice, tinged with a hint of playfulness: “What’s wrong? Can’t out-argue me, so you’re trying to fake being drunk?”

She was genuinely a little drunk.

The alcohol from the few cups of fruit liqueur at the banquet had settled in her body, warming her chest. But the true heat came not from the alcohol but from the eyes of the person before her. She didn’t know who started it, but the distance between them closed further.

Ruan Jiyun felt herself swaying, as if she were on a boat, with the vast starry sky seeming to fall around her. Her entire body went soft. An arm was wrapped around her waist, and her head rested on a familiar shoulder, catching a faint clean fragrance in her breath.

“If you act like this, I might misunderstand,” Jiang Peifeng held her close and affectionately stroked her hair.

Ruan Jiyun asked innocently: “Misunderstand what?”

Her fawn-like eyes were dewy and held a startling softness. Jiang Peifeng saw herself reflected in those eyes: a fervent gaze, burning with a long-unsuppressed desire.

Those eyes suddenly curved into a smile. She saw her reflection magnified, and a sweet moisture seeped into her breath.

“Hah…” Ruan Jiyun’s breath was like orchids, and she rubbed against Jiang Peifeng’s lips drunkenly and confusedly.

The moment their softness touched, Jiang Peifeng froze.

Instinct told her that the little white flower must be truly drunk. But the sensation on her lips was truly nostalgic. She unconsciously parted her lips slightly to receive that drop of sweetness, clearly feeling the person in her arms tremble, and then felt a moist, sweet sensation blossom between their lips.

Jiang Peifeng hardened her resolve, blocking those lips and returning the kiss. Such a simple kiss instantly dissolved her proud self-control. All she remembered was tightly embracing the person, kissing those lips softly and tenderly with infinite, deep affection.

Ruan Jiyun had long forgotten whether it was her unsteady feet or her intoxicated heart. Otherwise, why would she take the initiative to kiss Jiang Peifeng? Logic told her that their current actions were utterly presumptuous, far exceeding the feminine instruction she had received for over ten years. She should push her away and end this chaotic moment.

But…

She futilely closed her eyes, letting her arms softly loop around Jiang Peifeng’s waist, clinging to her.

She wanted to kiss her.

More than just kissing her, she just didn’t know how else to express this feeling of wanting closeness. From the first moment in the desert when she lifted the carriage curtain, it was like meeting a person she was meant to meet all along.

They kissed for a long time between heaven and earth, with the countless stars as silent and shy witnesses.

After an unknown period, Jiang Peifeng stroked the hair of the person in her arms and gently kissed her crown: “Princess, although I don’t want this to end, the night wind is too cold. For the sake of your health, I must take you back.”

When she said this, Ruan Jiyun’s face was thoroughly flushed. She buried her head in Jiang Peifeng’s neck, humming discontentedly.

Jiang Peifeng knew how thin-skinned the little white flower was, so she didn’t tease her further. She lifted her onto the horse’s back again and rode back to the General’s residence.

However, she was wrong about one thing: the person who caught a cold from the night wind that evening was surprisingly not the delicate little white flower in her arms.