22

When Yang Chen and his group returned to Yucheng again, the Yang family had already departed, and Yang Zheng and his siblings had gone to Aron Kingdom. Only Butler Yang and his family remained in the villa. As soon as Yang Zaihua saw his son, Yang Yong, he seemed to have forgotten everything. Butler Yang shook his head, reminding him not to forget to serve the Young Marshal. Yang Chen said:

"Let him be. It's been almost two months since he last saw Yang Yong. I know he missed him a lot. Oh, Uncle Yang, is the room next to mine clean? Zhou Di will be staying here for two days. I'll also stay here for two more days before returning to Qudu. By the way, let Zaihua inform Xie Yuan and his team who are stationed here."

"Yes, sir. The room has been cleaned since Grand Marshal left."

"Great! Uncle Yang, you can go and take a rest."

"Thanks, Young Marshal. By the way, General Chen sent you some stones which I put in your office."

As soon as Yang Chen and Zhou Di returned to Yang Chen's bedroom, Yang Chen hastily pulled Zhou Di onto the bed until both of them were sweating profusely and panting. Zhou Di asked:

"Will Uncle Yang come up or not?"

"It's only now that you think of asking this question. No, only Zaihua will come here. Uncle Yang has never come to my room. Don't worry! The main building will be sealed after I leave, but a team of my people will be stationed here, in the two rows of cottage outside. Dizi, this time I want you to stay here too so you can carve our pornographic jade and do whatever you want. Can you drive? I will arrange a car for you to use."

"No, you spoil me too much. It is unnecessary for you to arrange this for me. How can I go to work if I stay here? You're giving me a car. Actually my chief doesn't even have a car, and here I am, just a normal employee, driving in and out every day. What do you think what our workmates think about me? It's absurd."

"Why do you need to work? I've opened an account in your name with enough money for you to spend."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Di became agitated and shouted:

"Yang Chen, what do you mean by this? What do you take me for? Your pet?"

Yang Chen also became agitated and said:

"What? My pet? Damn it, I just want you to live better and more freely if you stay here. If you're here, at least I'll have time to come and spend time with you here. I will be disappointed when I come and you're not here. After all, you're getting married in a few days. You'll probably be with your wife and might not have time to meet me. I'd be so disappointed."

Zhou Di held Yang Chen's face in his hands and said:

"I'm sorry. I didn't consider your feelings. It's my fault. Chen Ge, you don't need to do this, just let me be like before. As long as you tell me in advance that you're coming, I'll definitely be here waiting for you, never breaking my promise. But you can leave me the room I used to stay in here. I want to come over when I have time to carve our jade. I don't want others to see it."

"Never break your promise?"

Zhou Di said firmly:

"I promise you, never break my promise."

Yang Chen hugged him tightly and said with a choked voice:

"Dizi, when I think about us living in this kind of separation times, I always feel uneasy and tangled in my heart. Frankly speaking I have never felt like this before. I have always been very confidence, but now it is completely difference because of you. My heart is hanging."

"Don't worry, Chen Ge. My love is always with you, not only now but also forever. My heart belongs to you."

Yang Chen said with some pleading:

"Don't ignore me, okay? Even if you like your wife in the future, please don't ignore me."

Zhou Di shook his head quickly and said:

"It wouldn't happen like this. The person I love is always Yang Chen. I know it is unfair to that girl, my fiancée, but I have no choice because my love can't be divided. Yes, I will treat her well and give her everything except my love."

When Yang Chen left, Zhou Di didn't invite him to his wedding, and Yang Chen didn't offer to attend either. Yang Chen knew the wedding date, but he knew Zhou Di would understand whether he came or not.

Zhou Di didn't expect Yang Chen to have made arrangements with Chief Zheng at the bureau. This allowed him to take leave anytime to do whatever he wanted. Zhou Di didn't want to be too indulgent either. He only took a few days off to go home and prepare for the wedding, following the normal rule for every employee. With the assistance of his family clan, a traditional wedding was arranged meticulously. However, upon his return home on horseback with his bride in the palanquin, Zhou Di suddenly noticed a familiar car parked in the distance. Standing beside the car, it was Yang Chen in military uniform. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears welled up in Zhou Di's eyes as he gazed at Yang Chen's tall figure. He knew Yang Chen was also looking at him, unable to divert his tear-filled gaze. The two of them exchanged looks from afar, and finally, Zhou Di saw Yang Chen seeming to make a big decision. Yang Chen quickly got into the car, and the car drove away. Zhou Di, sitting on horseback, almost cried out loud. He tried hard to control his tears, but the tears streaming down his face were uncontrollable. So, pretending to adjust his hat as he quickly wiped away the tears from his face with his sleeve. He felt depressed on the way to home, perhaps being the only groom who cried more sadly than the bride on his wedding day. His heart felt pain, leaving him unsure of what to do. So at the wedding banquet, he accepted all the alcohol without exception until he was completely drunk and was helped into the bridal chamber, where he fell asleep, forgetting the presence of his bride.

As for the bride, Ding Chunhua sat shyly on the bed, watching her groom, who had fallen asleep on the bed. This was the first time she had seen him, of average height, with a childish face that made him look younger, although she knew he was two or three years older than herself. She knew she was engaged since she was old enough to understand, coming from an ancient family that had existed for thousands of years. As she grew older, she learned that her future husband was a knowledgeable man, an official in some bureau. She felt fortunate, and because of this, she was full of dreams and hopes for her future life in her mind.

She stood up and gently took off his shoes, carefully undressed him from his outer robe. Just then, she heard Zhou Di muttering something unclear. She couldn't catch what he said, something like "ge" perhaps. Thinking he might wake up soon, she turned around and stood shyly, waiting there. But after a moment passed without any response, She turned back and gently nudged Zhou Di, but the groom didn't respond at all. Sighing, she had to cover him with the quilt, tuck him in and lay down on the edge of the bed herself, covering herself with another quilt. And so, their wedding night passed like this.

The next day Zhou Di woke up with a splitting headache. Glancing at the bright red quilt on him, he suddenly realized that yesterday was his wedding night and that he had escaped from that night while drunk. Just then, a gentle voice said:

"You are awake. Should we toast our grandparents with tea?"

He replied in confusion:

"Yes. Yesterday I was sorry. I couldn't hold my liquor so..."

Ding Chunhua said shyly:

"It's okay. Could you freshen up first?"

Zhou Di nodded slightly and then glanced at Ding Chunhua. It was the first time for him to look at his wife. She wasn't very beautiful but very delicate, with a petite stature and a quiet demeanour. In his heart, he said to himself: I must treat her well. 

However, after fulfilling his husband's duty as a husband that night and seeing Ding Chunhua already asleep from exhaustion, Zhou Di put on his clothes and rushed out of the room. Sitting in the garden, he cried softly while murmuring:

"Chen Ge, sorry! Chen Ge, I miss you so much. Please forgive me. Sorry!"

In his mind, Yang Chen's handsome and fair face appeared, his hand touching the jade pendant around his neck. Zhou Di's longing intensified, and the more his longed, the more he felt sorry for Yang Chen and missed him a lot. He felt like he wasn't even human, considering how good Yang Chen had been to him, spoiling him to the extreme, yet he had gotten married and made love with a woman he didn't love. He felt sorry for Yang Chen and also for his wife, Ding Chunhua.

"Zhou Chuyu, my ancestor, do you look down on me? Do you find my actions disgraceful? Will you scold me, your unworthy descendant, and feel ashamed of me? I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do. I love Chen Ge just like Nie Huanzhang loves you. But I can't hurt my Grandpa and Grandma. Perhaps you think I'm just making excuses to escape facing our special love. Maybe I'm just a coward, an unfilial grandchild, deceiving Grandpa and Grandma, betraying Chen Ge, and hurting Ding Chunhua. My ancestor, please tell me whether I've done something wrong. What should I do?"

Finishing his words, he slapped himself in the face and continued to cry silently, holding his head in his hands.