This Is My Promise To You
As Lu Ping cried, the tears washed away the black rogue completely. The extremely beautiful face was shown, a pear blossom bathed in rain, even if it was Ren Xitao, he could not help but gasp again.
This woman was really too beautiful, in the past, everyone said that the Feng family’s Eldest Miss Chenyu was the most beautiful person in the capital. He had seen Chenyu before, but he felt that in front of Lu Ping, that person was not even 10% of Lu Ping’s beauty. Lu Ping’s beauty was not that voluptuous, but was so beautiful that once a person looked over, they would not bear to tear their gaze away. No matter who looked at her, they might just silently remember her for the rest of their lives. Regardless of whether he had feelings for her or not, this was enough for her to be known as the most beautiful person in the world.
Ren Xitao felt that he would not judge someone by their appearance and definitely would not base his feelings on a person’s appearance, but Lu Ping did give him a deep first impression based on her face, and with the addition of that pungent low quality perfume, curiosity arose in his heart.
Meeting again, Lu Ping took on an older appearance instead of her beautiful appearance, yet he was able to recognise her with one look. Without the smell of the perfume, the scent of a woman spread out faintly, giving him a rush such that his mental state rippled.
At this moment, Lu Ping was hugging him and crying loudly, even if he was injured and the pain was hard to bear, he still reached out and stroked her back lightly, then said in a gentle tone: “Don’t cry, I’m alright, it’s just a flesh wound.”
“Idiot!” Lu Ping shouted loudly, raising her head, “You are an idiot! Such a high cliff, why did you jump down? What if you fell to your death? You still have a father, a mother and a younger sister at home, if you die, how are they supposed to live on?”
Ren Xitao showed a troubled smile, “I did not think that much at that time, I just thought that since you jumped down, I had to follow. As to why I followed, I do not know either. I just know that if I did not jump down after you, I will definitely regret it. But look, it was lucky that I jumped off the cliff. I managed to save you and now, aren’t we alright? It’s good.”
“What is good?” Lu Ping wiped her tears and said: “This is halfway up the mountain, there is no way to go up and no way to go down. There is nothing in the cave, nothing to eat, nothing to drink, and you’re injured as well. We are alive for the time being, but what do you do from now on? Being stuck here, aren’t we just waiting for death? Brother Ren, you really miscalculated this time!”
Ren Xitao shook his head, reaching out to wipe off the tears from Lu Ping’s face, shaking his head and saying: “I did not miscalculate, and it is not as bad as you think. This is not considered halfway up the mountain, it is already very close to the base of the mountain. Do not worry, my younger sister will not abandon me. Currently, she must be thinking of everything to search for me. General Ping Nan’s manor still has some power, she has the manor plaque with her and can mobilise the officials in the closest administrative office to help. If nothing goes wrong, in three days at most, we will definitely be rescued.”
“Really?” Lu Ping’s eyes lit up, and remembered that Ren Xifeng was still up there and felt reassured. However, she frowned quickly, if she was successfully rescued, she would definitely be sent back to Lu Manor, right? Thinking about this, the feeling of resistance rose up again. She looked towards Ren Xitao, forcefully pushing down the emotions in her heart and telling him: “Brother Ren, I do not understand medicine. You have practiced martial arts for many years and should know what is the most effective way to treat these external injuries, right? Tell me, I will help you deal with them.”
Ren Xitao was a meticulous man and moreover, all this thoughts were focused on Lu Ping now, how could he not tell that this woman was troubled? He did not rush to talk about his injuries, only asking her: “Why did the people from the Lu manor chase after you? Why did you disguise yourself and leave the capital?”
Lu Ping jolted. She did not want to speak the truth but thinking about how he selflessly jumped down the cliff to save herself, it would be inappropriate for her to hide anything with regards to this matter. Therefore, she sighed bitterly and said: “What else? In the past, my father focused on currying favour with General Ping Nan’s manor, to be able to…… marry you. Then using the relationship between General Ping Nan’s manor and Yu Palace, he would be able to consolidate Lu family’s status and power. Of course, at that time he thought that the one who would be able to ascend the throne in the end would be the Ninth Prince. But currently, the Emperor does not ask about court politics and appointed the Sixth Prince as regent, my father felt that he had miscalculated, the throne did not belong to the Ninth Prince, so my marriage naturally had to be reconsidered. Currently, the Sixth Prince does not have any wives and does not even have any concubines in his palace, so he thought of the idea of sending me to the Sixth Prince’s side. I do not wish to be manipulated by the Lu family. I had a hidden condition in the past, so I could only use scented herbs all day to cover the foul body odour. After that, Princess Yu cured me, but I did not want to let the Lu family know that I have already covered, so I continued to use the pungent scented herbs. But unexpectedly, even with this, it was not enough for them to give up on the idea. Without any other choice, I could only run away.”
Lu Ping talked about these matters with a lonely expression. Everything which she had experienced since young echoed in a mind again, causing her to feel irritated.
Ren Xitao had always been a positive person and had never thought about this before. Even when he met Lu Ping at Lu Manor, he did not feel that Lu Song had those plans. Hearing Lu Ping say this now, he could not help but say with emotion: “No wonder he can become the Left Prime Minister, the people who become Prime Minister all think in exquisite ways, it’s not something which can be guessed by me, a martial arts practitioner.”
Lu Ping shrugged and smiled: “Does Brother Ren feel that it is especially filthy? I also feel disgusted. But I have no choice, being born in that family, the mark of the Lu family is already branded onto me. Even if my thoughts are not the same, no one will believe that the Lu family can produce a daughter like me. After all, my two younger sisters are of the same heart as the Lu family; after all, no one will reject a prosperous and glorious future.”
“Then how about you?” Ren Xitao suddenly asked: “What are your thoughts? I am asking…… when Prime Minister Lu wanted you to marry me?”
Lu Ping looked at him, speaking honestly: “I did not want to marry. This is unrelated to you, I just did not want to become a pawn of the Lu family, anything arranged by them for me, I do not want it.” As she looked at Ren Xitao, she finally spoke the truth, “That day I specially used the lowest quality scented herbs, and even used a lot, the purpose was to scare you away so you would not be enchanted by my face.”
Ren Xitao jolted, but still could not control himself and looked at her face. Half a beat later, he said: “It’s not to the point of being enchanted, but it is enough to be very memorable.” He really wanted to ask Lu Ping, currently the Lu family wanted to marry her to the Sixth Prince, so the person they liked the most was no longer Ren Xitao, then, if he proposed to her, would she agree?
When these words reached the edge of his mouth, he could not say it out. Ren Xitao as not a very open person, he was honest and his thoughts were direct and simple. On many occasions, he was embarrassed to say certain things. Even if the two of them just experienced life and death together, he still felt awkward to say these words. Therefore he stopped his words and did not continue on, only telling Lu Ping: “I saw a type of grass on the mountain just now, the top is flat and the bottom is narrower than the top, like it is upside down. That grass can be made into a medicine and can stop bleeding. There are some next to the cave, just walk over there carefully and pluck a few.”
Lu Ping nodded, getting up quickly to look. At the same time, she felt fortunate that Ren Xitao did not continue the topic just now. But she had already decided in her heart, if Ren Xitao asked that, she would definitely agree. This person was in her heart, and even if he was not, just for this gratitude, just for this process of falling from the mountain to this place, it was enough for her to place all her feelings onto this person.
She did not know the name of the grass which Ren Xitao described, but there was quite a lot outside the cave. She pulled out two large bunches and returned but saw that Ren Xitao had already took off his shirt. Having trained for many years, the man’s robust physical build appeared in front of her, causing Lu Ping to blush furiously.
She had never seen a man’s naked body, this was the first time, and this was the person she liked. For a while, she stood on the spot, not knowing if she should turn around or approach to help him apply the medicine.
Seeing her falter, Ren Xitao was also a little embarrassed, but in the end, he was a person who practiced martial arts and was not anal on the details, he told Lu Ping: “Sorry, I had no choice as well, I cannot reach the injuries on my back, so I have to ask for your help.”
Lu Ping nodded. Forcefully suppressing the thumping of her heart, she approached and walked behind Ren Xitao, then she asked: “How do I use the medicinal herbs?”
Ren Xitao said in embarrassment: “It should be pounded. After pounding, it should be spread on the injured area, but here……”
“I have a way.” Lu Ping did not allow him to continue talking, grabbing that grass and stuffing them into her mouth. Bearing with the bitterness of the grass, she chewed them carefully, then carefully spread them on Ren Xitao’s back.
At this moment, Ren Xitao did not know what to say, feeling the warmth coming from his back, imagining Lu Ping’s appearance as he chewed on the medicinal herbs, suddenly, what he wanted to ask earlier but had no courage to do so came out of his mouth. He said, “Are you willing to marry into the General’s Manor? This is a request from me and not a request from the Lu family. I, Ren Xitao, am not a refined person, I only know how to practice marital arts since young and do not have much knowledge. But to the person I like, I will treat her well wholeheartedly, and our General Ping Nan manor does not like to take in any secondary wives or concubines. If you are willing, you will be my, Ren Xitao’s, only wife.”
Lu Ping’s hand which was applying medicine for him trembled, her heart focusing on the sentence he said “Our General Ping Nan manor does not like to take in any secondary wives or concubines.”. She had to admit, just this sentence, shattered all the worries she had earlier.
Being able to marry someone who does not accept concubines, how good was that?
“I am willing.” She spoke softly, telling Ren Xitao, “I am willing to marry to a family who does not accept concubines, I am willing to marry someone who is willing to jump down a bottomless cliff for my sake. It’s just that……” She was a little hesitant, “I am someone from the Lu family, and I do not know if the General’s Manor will be able to accept me. Currently, I have fallen out with the Lu family to this point, for the matters between us…… I’m afraid it will be a little bumpy.”
“As long as you are willing, then leave these things to me.” Ren Xitao suppressed the agitation in his heart, telling Lu Ping: “My father had said very early on, even though marriage is decided by the parents and matchmaker, but if both parties were not willing, then the days in the future will not be smooth. Our manor cannot withstand disharmony the most, so my father said very early on, only when we truly like the person can we talk about the next step. Do not worry, I will openly carry you from the Lu manor into General Ping Nan manor on an eight person sedan, this is my promise to you, and this is the only time in my life where I will make this sort of promise to someone.”