Chapter 44 continued....
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The sky would be light soon.
Inside that curtain, things had just quieted down. Another long while passed and then Guo DaLu’s voice could be heard as it said quietly, “Do you know what I’m thinking about right now?”
Yan Qi: “Mm.” Her voice was like the twittering of a sparrow. No one would be able to hear very clearly what she was saying.
Guo DaLu: “I have been thinking about a lot of very strange matters, but what I am actually thinking the most about is a nice pork shank, roasted until it’s red and tender.”
A “pfft” slipped from Yan Qi and she giggled, “Can’t you say that you are thinking about me?”
Guo DaLu: “Nope. Cannot.”
Yan Qi: “You cannot?”
“Because I’m scared I’ll swallow you in one gulp.” He heaved a sigh. “You, this wife of mine, were not easy to get at all. If I was to gulp you down, then I’d have nothing left.”
Yan Qi: “Well, if this one is gone, isn’t it the perfect opportunity to go find another?”
Guo DaLu: “Find who?”
Yan Qi: “For example… Sour Plum Soup.”
Guo DaLu answered slowly, “Won’t work. She is too sour, and plus, the one she fancies is you.” He suddenly chuckled. “I finally know now, that day, when you would not have her, why she was not the slightest bit angry… That day, you must have told her that you are just like her, you are a girl.”
Yan Qi: “If I was a man, I would take her.”
Guo DaLu: “Why is it that all along, you were not willing to tell me that you are a girl?”
Yan Qi: “Who told you to be a blind man? Other people could tell; it’s just you who couldn’t.”
Guo DaLu: “The secret you wanted to tell me was this one?”
Yan Qi: “Mm.”
Guo DaLu: “Why did you have to wait until I was near death before you were willing to tell me?”
“Because… because I was scared you would not want me…” Before she had finished her sentence, it sounded as if something had suddenly covered her lips. After a long time, gasping lightly, she scolded, “Let’s chat properly. You are not allowed to move about anymore.”
Guo DaLu: “Alright. I won’t move. But why would you be afraid that I would not want you? Don’t you know that, even if I could have everyone else in the world in exchange for you, I still would not trade?”
Yan Qi: “Honest?”
Guo DaLu: “Of course it’s true.”
Yan Qi: “What if you could trade for Shui RouQing?”
With a sigh, Guo DaLu answered, “Shui RouQing truly is a very good woman, and on top of that, she is very pitiable. Unfortunately, my heart was already fully occupied by you alone a long time ago and has no room for any other person.”
A squeak could be heard from Yan Qi. Inside that embroidered curtain, it suddenly grew silent for another long while. It seemed like something was obstructing both their mouths now. After quite some time again, Guo DaLu exhaled another sigh and said, “I know you did that to test whether I am loyal to you.”
Chewing on her lip, Yan Qi confirmed, “If you had been willing to stay there in that place, then you could have given up on any hope of seeing me again in this lifetime.”
Guo DaLu: “But, after I arrived here, why did you not let me see you?”
Yan Qi: “Because there were other people who wanted to test you, to see whether you are smart enough and brave enough, to see whether your heart is kind enough and whether you are worthy enough to be my Papa’s son-in-law.”
Guo DaLu: “So they wanted to see whether I was smart enough to find the secret of this house and whether I had enough courage to go to the Dragon King Temple.”
Yan Qi: “At Dragon King Temple, if you had even dared to have the bad idea of touching my little cousin [orig. biao mei; younger (female) cousin] or if you had not been willing to take her home first, even if you found this place, you still would not have seen me.”
Exhaling, Guo DaLu said, “Luckily, I am a smart, brave, good person…”
Yan Qi giggled and interrupted, “Otherwise, how could you marry me, such a good wife?”
“Only now have I realized that we really are a match made in heaven,” Guo DaLu sighed.
Yan Qi: “You only realized now?”
Guo DaLu grinned, “Because I only just realized that the skin on our faces are both thick.”
Only now did this room really feel like a newlyweds’ room, and, in fact, was sweeter and more beautiful than the newlyweds’ room of your imagination.
They deserved to enjoy it. Because their love could withstand testing. It really had not been easy for them to reach this day.
A diamond must go through polishing before it can give off its brilliance.
Love and friendship are also the same.
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Love and friendship that are unable to withstand testing are like a flower made of paper, which neither has the brilliant color and fragrance of a flower nor will ever bear fruit.
The trees had borne fruit. Although spring had left and was far away by now, the season of harvest was quickly approaching.
Yan Qi sat beneath a tree. Taking the large straw hat off her head and using it as a fan, she mumbled, “Such hot weather. I bet Wang Laoda must be even less inclined to move.”
Guo DaLu was gazing off at some distant place. “I wonder what he and Xiao Lin were doing during this time.”
Yan Qi: “Don’t worry. They definitely are not lonely. Especially Xiao Lin.”
Guo DaLu: “Why?”
Yan Qi giggled sweetly. “Have you forgotten about that flower vendor-girl?”
Guo DaLu starting laughing as well, and then immediately, he heard that clear sound of singing:
"Little young miss daybreak arises,
Carrying a flower basket to the market.
Passing through the main street, walking through the alleyway,
‘Flowers for sale, flowers for sale,’ her voice a-crying…”
Of course, that singing was not coming from that young girl. The one singing was Yan Qi. She waved the straw hat lightly and sang in drawn out tones, causing the people who were walking along the road to turn their heads and stare wide-eyed at her.
Grinning, Guo DaLu reminded her, “Don’t forget what clothes you are wearing right now.”
She was still dressed up as a man, but the sound of her singing was clear like that of an oriole leaving the valley. Laughing in response, she told him, “Doesn’t matter. In any case, even if I don’t sing, people can still tell that I am a woman. For a woman to actually be able to disguise herself so that she looks like a man is not an easy thing to do.”
Guo DaLu: “What about you before?”
Yan Qi: “It was different before.”
Guo DaLu: “What was different?”
Yan Qi laughed, “Before, I was relatively dirty… awfully dirty. Everyone thinks that women should always be cleaner than men.”
Guo Dalu: “And in reality?”
With a glare at him, Yan Qi answered, “In reality, women have always been cleaner than men.”