After the couple had left, Dong Fang Hai Yao closed the door again and then she suddenly thought of an important matter.
"Third Brother, there are a lot of girls still trapped in that brothel, Bai Hua Luo where Tian Er was kept earlier. I have decided to contact Shi-Xiong (Senior Brother - Cheng Gang.) to check on this matter and if there is a need......."
"Younger Sister, if you are going to intervene in this matter, you can join forces with Cheng Gang to solve the case but you must not involve Xiang Yin."
Dong Fang Hai Yao's speech was interrupted halfway and it was rare to see Dong Fang Tang pulled his face taut, giving her a strict warning. Once was enough, he could no longer bear to see Xiang Yin do anything to hurt herself while saving other people.
He knew very well that she was not as cold and heartless as she appeared to be. If she knew about this matter, she would definitely help. Younger Sister and Cheng Gang would have to resort to using any other means to force the culprit to give the antidote but they were not allowed to even think of asking Xiang Yin.
Dong Fang Hai Yao looked in surprise at her Third Brother's changed expression. It seems that this future Third Sister-in-Law holds an important place in her Third Brother's heart. Talking about this, it seems that as long as it involves her Elder Brothers' women, these three brothers will forget about their Younger Sister who they had always loved. Eldest Brother is like this and now even Third Brother is like this!
Ai! She must be tactful a bit and take her leave first.
"I know. I'll leave first and not hinder you."
Dong Fang Hai Yao touched her nose and did not dare to say anything more. Tactfully, she went off and left the two of them alone.
"Xiang Yin......."
While his big hands stroked her delicate little face, softly and gently he called her name. When he thought of her waking up and upon seeing him, he did not know what her reaction would be. However, he believed it would not be a happy moment.
In any case, even if he was afraid to face her cold expression, he still did not want to be separated from her again.
When Ruan Xiang Yin regained consciousness, she found a man guarding her beside her bed. It seems it was not much of a surprise. Perhaps, as early as the time when she accidentally saved his Second Sister-in-Law, she had already guessed that this day would arrive soon.
"Dong Fang Tang, why are you here?"
Even though she had guessed what had happened but she still wanted a confirmation.
All this while, Dong Fang Tang had been watching her and saw she had woke up. He also noticed that when she saw him, a flash of annoyance crossed her face. Almost immediately, her face resumed her cold indifferent expression without joy or anger. Her indifferent attitude was the same as treating any other strangers.
Her reaction made him secretly scared. He would have preferred her to be angry with him which was way better than her indifference now. Controlling his excitement on seeing her, he said gently. "Xiang Yin, thank you for saving my Second Sister-in-Law."
"Sure enough, as I had expected. It was Dong Fang Ao who had discovered my identity. Then who is the girl in the yellow skirt?" After confirming her own guess, she thought of another suspicious person. If she did not guess wrong, that girl in the yellow skirt was connected to him.
"She is my Younger Sister, Dong Fang Hai Yao who is the present Jing Wang-Fei."
Dong Fang Tang told her frankly. He knew this time, she would even be more dissatisfied with him.
"That's good." She lifted up the quilt from her body and ignored his restraining hands. She got down from the bed and with her back facing him, she coldly said. "Dong Fang Tang, I hope we will stop here, right now. You have looked for me for a whole year and I have hidden from you for a whole year. We shall make it clear, here and now. In future, I hope you will not do anything to harass me and between us, from now onwards, we have nothing to do with each other."
Her cutting words were like a sharp blade piercing into his heart which made his face suddenly turned pale. He looked at her cold figure that refused to look at him directly and asked bitterly.
"Do you really hate me so much?"
With her back towards him, a trace of sadness flashed in her bright eyes. His painful question caused her body to shiver and felt angry with herself for still having feelings for him.
"Dong Fang Tang, as early as the moment when you stretched out your hand to save Miss Liu, the mutual affection between us was already broken. You may be a good doctor admired by everyone but it is not what I want. I want someone unique, one and the only one, who only have feelings for me......but your heart is so big that it can accommodate the whole world. If all the people in the world have difficulties, the first person you will give up.....will be me. So instead of saying I hate you, it would be better to say that I have seen clearly through this. Since nothing will bear fruit between us, so please don't get entangled with me anymore."
During this past year, she had thought very thoroughly. If this matter with Liu Cai Lian is repeated in the future, she would rather die than be the one left behind. To love a man like him is very tiring and this extremely painful experience.....once is enough. To think of it, to live a simple and carefree life in the mountains is most suitable for her.
"No! ! !"
Dong Fang Tang shouted loudly and in a flash, came to stand in front of her. His hands grabbed her fine shoulders tightly, his black eyes reflected his deep pain and looked at the elegant little face that made him feel remorseful and worry for her. Feeling agitated, he opened up his heart.
"You're wrong! For the past year, you will not know how much I regretted making the wrong judgment and caused you to fall into the sea without knowing whether you were dead or alive. So what if I am a doctor respected by everyone? If the price for carrying this halo is the cost of losing the one I love, then I would rather give up all of it. The one I want the most is you!"
Nearing the end of his words, he had emotionally whispered into her ear.
For him, if he lost her, even if he received the Emperor and all the people's love, it will not hold any meaning for him.
Does she not know that she is extremely important to him?
Ruan Xiang Yin looked at the face in front of her that was full of grief and pain. He had always given her the image of him with a gentle and smiling face. Now with this appearance, is something she had never seen before. He is like a beast who had lost his partner, feeling so painful that he roared. Suddenly, there was a hesitation in her heart but she was still........
"I don't believe."
Silently, she pushed away his hands that were holding her shoulders. Ignoring the shocked look on his ashen face, her elegant little face had an indifferent expression. She did not give him another look and pushed the door opened to leave. After taking a few steps, she turned her head around and her complex bright eyes glanced back Dong Fang Tang who was left alone in the bedchamber. A sigh left her lips.
Goodbye........Dong Fang Tang.......
"Miss Ruan, please hold your steps."
After she had left the bedchamber and was looking for the way out of the Inn, a voice called out from around the corner.
Ruan Xiang Yin stopped and turned around to face the girl in the yellow skirt. Correction.......it should be the Younger Sister of Dong Fang Tang. Icily she asked.
"Is anything the matter?"
Dong Fang Hai Yao's hands were folded behind her back and she stood steadily in front of her. On her exquisitely beautiful face was an unpredictable smile and she looked intensely at the elegant, indifferent face.
Her face was exactly like it was in the portraits, but this was more real and also with more icy coldness that drove people away. She had looked at the portraits for a year or it should be said, the four siblings had looked forward to seeing her, looking for her for a full year.
"I haven't introduced myself to you properly yet. My name is Dong Fang Hai Yao, the youngest of the Dong Fang siblings."
The tone of Dong Fang Hai Yao's voice was not considered as warm and could be said it contained a trace of anger.
"I know." Ruan Xiang Yin replied coldly.
"Oh, Third Brother must have told you." Dong Fang Hai Yao gave a low laugh.
"In the broken-down temple, if I had offended you, please forgive me. It is because I was really curious, so I could not help but wanted to test you."
Ruan Xiang Yin did not answer and just watched her silently. She knew that Dong Fang Hai Yao's purpose in stopping her was not to greet her.
Her response was within Dong Fang Hai Yao's expectation. Facing her, Dong Fang Hai Yao was already accustomed to talking to herself and at the moment, she did not practice courtesy and continued to say.
"After a year of exhausting search by everyone, finally we found your whereabouts. Of course, I would like to know......what kind of a woman could make my Third Brother, who is only interested in practicing medicine for salvation, be worried for a year and also declared to everyone that she is his one and only wife in this life. I believe it is not only me but also my two other elder brothers. If there is an opportunity, they would also like to meet you personally."
Her response was only silence.
"I'm sorry. Just now I overhead your conversation with my Third Brother at the door of the bedchamber and I can't refrain from speaking on behalf of my Third Brother. What happened a year ago, although I was not there but after listening to my Third Brother, I also know how perilous the situation was, at that time. I believed that when Third Brother chose to save Miss Liu first, his heart must be struggling and if he could choose, he would be willing to be the one to fall into the sea."
She paused for a while and looked at the appearance of Ruan Xiang Yin who had her head bowed. That aloof expression.....really was so discouraging.
"For the past year, although Third Brother still had that gentle, smiling face but when he thought no one was paying attention, his appearance of remorse and sadness is indeed unbearable. You said that in Third Brother's heart there are only the people in the world and I also used to think that too but during this past year, I saw a different Third Brother. Now he has only you in his heart and I believe if you request him to live in seclusion with you in the mountains, he will give up his grand ambition to save the world. If you don't believe me, you can try."
Dong Fang Hai Yao looked at her still unchanged indifferent expression, did a sharp turn and said.
"But then again, if Third Brother really chooses to live in seclusion with you in the mountains, giving up the most important wish in his life, that is to save the world........not only will it be a great loss to the Imperial Court and the ordinary people but that person who made him give up his wish, that is you......is not worthy of him."
The last sentence stressed out by Dong Fang Hai Yao finally made Ruan Xiang Yin lift her head and met the anger that lurked in Dong Fang Hai Yao's eyes.
This Dong Fang Hai Yao did really have eloquence but she still did not have the right to teach her a lesson.
"Are you done? Then it's my turn to speak." Her indifferent bright eyes stared at Dong Fang Hai Yao. "First of all, what I want to say is that I am not his wife. Please convey to your Third Brother not to ruin my reputation. Also, whatever he chooses to do will have nothing to do with me, as long as he doesn't bother me again."
"You......."
After hearing her words, Dong Fang Hai Yao sucked in her breath, stared at her and was speechless. After saying so much, Ruan Xiang Yin still had that appearance of indifference. Why does Third Brother have feelings for this woman?
"Since you have finished speaking, then I will take my leave."
As her voice quieten down, she threw a glance at Dong Fang Hai Yao's face that was full of anger and shook her sleeves slightly before turning away to leave.
After her figure had walked a far distance away, light footsteps sounded behind Dong Fang Hai Yao and without turning her head around, she could not help but complain sulkily to the person behind her.
"Third Brother, didn't you say you already have a husband and wife relationship with her? How can referring her as your wife, ruin her reputation? And, after I have said all those good things, she is still indifferent which really makes me mad! It is easier to interrogate criminals than to persuade her. Third Brother, are you sure you only want her? This future Third Sister-in-Law is really difficult to get along with......ai....."
She thought of her playful and warm-hearted Eldest Sister-in-Law and her gentle and kind Second Sister-in-Law. Now looking at her future Third Sister-in-Law's cold and arrogant temperament, she already had a headache.
Dong Fang Tang laughed lightly and rubbed her head lovingly while looking gently in the direction which Ruan Xiang Yin had left. He said in a soft voice.
"Yes. I only want her in this life. No matter how difficult it is to get along with this Third Sister-in-Law, you still have to accept it. Also, it is not difficult to get along with Xiang Yin and if you don't believe me, you can ask the two brothers, Zhang Zhen and Zhang Sheng. It is because you have used the wrong approach that made her unhappy."
Although his Xiang Yin has a cold and arrogant temperament, her heart is warm and kind.
Otherwise, how could the people of Gang Ling City like her and the rest of the people in Long Feng Restaurant miss her?
He had always understood her.
So he understood that the knot in her heart is not easy to undo.
However, no matter how long it takes him, he will work hard at it.
She must not even harbor the thought of getting rid of him.
***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***
The moon shone brightly in the sky and there was complete silence. In this midsummer's night, the breeze blew lightly, eliminating a lot of the summer heat. The serene melody of a flute reverberated in the night. Instead of disturbing people's sleep, on the contrary, it made people's mind relax and have good dreams.
After finishing a melody, the delicate figure sitting on the tree branch playing the green jade flute frowned lightly. Her slightly annoyed bright eyes stared at the slender figure sitting under the tree, looking up and admiring the bright moon in the sky.
"How long do you intend to follow me around?"
When she was at the Inn, she had clearly told him off. This man really had thick-skin and ignoring her icy cold face, he had followed her. When she stayed in the Inn, he had followed. Even when she was eating alone, he had also followed her and sat down at the same table. He completely ignored her cold attitude and always maintained his usual gentle smile. When did this man become so shameless?
"The rest of my life."
Dong Fang Tang's handsome face was smiling and his black eyes stared at the irritation on her face. He was secretly delighted that his daily quests had made the cold appearance of her face gradually fade. At least now she would get angry with him and it was better than the indifferent facial expression she gave him at that time when they were first reunited.
"You, why don't you go and practice medicine for salvation?! Why are you following me?!" She gritted her teeth angrily and glared at him.
She plans to return to Le Mountain, live in seclusion and never want to know about the matters of the outside world.
This Dong Fang Tang was still following her around and she was unable to shake him off no matter how much she tried. He could not be intending to follow her back to Le Mountain, was he?
"I have already told you. Those things are not important to me anymore if I don't have you."
The more she wanted to escape from his feelings, the more he wanted to force her to face it. Since he cannot live without her, he can only follow her.
"Don't talk about this again. Since this had happened, it is impossible to change and the both of us can never return to what it was like in the past. At least, I can't do it. I believe as long as you are willing, there are many ladies waiting for you."
Her elegant little face darkened as she spoke.
No matter how good is Dong Fang Hai Yao's persuasion, she is still unable to wipe out the matter of her falling into the sea a year ago from her heart. The disappointment in her heart, the onslaught of her heartbreak and every night when the dreams return. The scene will always be repeated in her dreams and that kind of pain is too deep, too vivid which she is unable to forget.
"Have you forgotten what I had said?......'Three thousand weak waters, I will only take one scoop.'"
The expression on Dong Fang Tang's face was full of sorrow and regret as he looked at the little face that had instantly sunk. He had decided that no matter how much time it takes, he must personally erase the scar in her heart because it was what he owed her.
"Enough! I told you to stop talking!" Ruan Xiang Yin shouted in a low voice.
In the past, it was this sentence that had made her heart fall for him so quickly and now when she thought of it, her heart hurt even more.
Dong Fang Tang looked at her agitated expression with sadness, he did not say a word and only watched her in silence. How much pain she felt in her heart, was how much his heart was hurting.
She was so furious that she refused to meet his eyes and look at his painful expression which could make her soften and fall for him once again. Even if she had repeatedly denied this man in her heart but in fact, she still could not help but be attracted to him.
This is hateful!
"Since you like to follow me, then it is up to you. But if your younger sister is to come and talk to me about deep righteousness again, I will not spare you!" As her voice died down, she leaped down from the tree branch, ignored him and walked towards the Inn, a short distance away.
"As long as you are willing to accept that you are the wife of Dong Fang Tang and as her Third Sister-in-Law, my Younger Sister will never dare to cross the line."
He knew she had compromised and a warm smile appeared on his gentle face. Immediately he continued to follow behind her like a shadow.
"I'm not! ! We are still not married yet! Don't talk nonsense!"
She halted her footsteps, turned around to face him and angrily warned him.
This man had ruined her reputation everywhere and she had not dealt with him yet. Now he even dare to mention this in front of her!
Dong Fang Tang laughed lightly, caressed her delicate cheeks with his big gentle hands and said softly.
"But we already have the relationship of husband and wife. Have you forgotten? As long as you are willing, we can get married any time."