Yang Ruo Ning fell asleep without realizing it. When she woke up, there was already a faint light outside. Ah Jing was still sitting by the bed with his sword held, motionless, seemingly asleep.
Yang Ruo Ning carefully climbed out of bed, preparing to sneak out of the tent.
The morning dew had not yet evaporated, and it was still a little chilly. Before leaving, she picked up a long robe and leaned down to gently drape it over him.
His face was so close, Yang Ruo Ning saw the long eyelashes beneath his mask and the old scar on his neck beneath his slightly open collar. They were so easily injured, Yang Ruo Ning thought, preparing to leave.
As she turned, a powerful force suddenly pulled her from behind. Before she could even let out a startled cry, Yang Ruo Ning was pinned to the bed by Ah Jing.
He stared at her, as if trying to see through her. She was not afraid and met his gaze directly. However, she could not decipher the complex emotions in his eyes. Yet, the atmosphere in that moment made her certain he was about to kiss her.
But how would they kiss? Yang Ruo Ning wondered. He was wearing a mask. Was she supposed to kiss his mask? Or... would he take it off? Could she finally see his face?
The next second, Ah Jing reached out and covered her eyes. Immediately, her lips felt his.
Yang Ruo Ning did not resist, nor did she reciprocate, simply letting him act.
Ah Jing sensed her indifferent reaction and stopped.
Yang Ruo Ning, "Ah Jing, before we go any further, I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Do you just want to do this with me, or do you like me?"
"Is there a difference?"
"If you like me, then I can't... because I already have someone I like... I don't want you to get hurt."
"Then what if I just want to do this with you?"
"Then I'd be very happy to do this with you."
"Why?"
"Just to satisfy desires, without involving emotions. Clean and neat."
"Who is it that you like?"
"Luo Yuan."
Ah Jing let out a light laugh, "Ruo Ning, you..."
Yang Ruo Ning immediately interrupted him, "Are you going to say it's just gossip from the marketplace again? What if I can't be with Luo Yuan? Luo Yuan is like an idol to me, an idol. Do you know what an idol is? It's someone you love silently from afar, even if you've never met them."
"Yang Ruo Ning, what am I going to do with you..." Ah Jing gently stroked her face. "Ruo Ning, I actually..."
Thinking he was about to confess, Yang Ruo Ning suddenly got up and pushed Ah Jing away. She jumped off the bed and walked out quickly. "Su Jing Ren, you're leaving soon. This is the last time we'll ever see each other! So..." She stopped abruptly and turned back to him with a hint of anger, yelling, "Don't say anything meaningless!"
Ah Jing stepped forward and grabbed her. "Yang Ruo Ning, we will meet again soon. You stay here obediently and don't get hurt!"
"I won't stay here forever. I'll leave soon." She coldly withdrew her hand and walked out without looking back.
*******************
When Yang Ruo Ning returned to Han Dan Chun's tent, she was met by Han Dan Chun's eyes, which were red. As soon as Han Dan Chun saw Yang Ruo Ning enter, he asked, "Did Su Jing Ren bully you last night?"
"'Bully'? Why would he bully me?" Suddenly, she realized what Han Dan Chun meant and quickly said, "Of course not. Nothing happened between us. We just chatted."
"I'm going to kill that guy!" Han Dan Chun punched the bedboard hard.
"Why do you want to kill Ah Jing? He did nothing wrong."
"I meant Ah Qi!"
"Are you serious, or... are you just saying it?" Yang Ruo Ning raised an eyebrow and asked him.
"I'm serious. I'm going to kill Ah Qi!"
"Ha!" Yang Ruo Ning found it somewhat amusing. She crossed her arms and leaned against a wooden pillar, looking at the angry Han Dan Chun. "But thank you. I'm glad you care about me so much! However, if you want to kill him just because I was wronged, I don't wish for you to do that. I don't want to be the reason you kill Ah Qi."
Han Dan Chun looked at Yang Ruo Ning with surprise, not understanding why she said that.
Yang Ruo Ning smiled slightly at him. "I think you need a more righteous reason, so that your rise to power will be more popular. For example, for all the slaves who have been abused and massacred here, and for all the women who have been insulted and violated."
With that, Yang Ruo Ning walked closer and extended her hand to him. "So, are you ready? If you're ready, then take my hand."
Han Dan Chun hesitated for a moment, then reached out and clasped her hand tightly. Yang Ruo Ning smiled and shook their clasped hands with force. "Then let's join hands and take down that scoundrel!"
Seeking the approval of the lowest-class slaves and building a popular base was extremely difficult. Yang Ruo Ning discovered that these people, who were born as serfs and oppressed their entire lives, were extremely fearful of the idea of rising up and rebelling against the nobles. After listening to Yang Ruo Ning's impassioned speech with terrified and confused faces, they asked Yang Ruo Ning how they could reach their ideal land. Yang Ruo Ning said, "This ideal land is in our hands, it is beneath our feet. As long as we unite, we can create our own ideal land."
"Then what do we need to do?"
"We need a new leader!"
"Ah!" someone exclaimed, but was immediately silenced by the person next to them.
The people in the room cowered in the shadows, looking at each other. They seemed terrified by this treasonous thought. The room fell silent, and then someone made an excuse about having to go back to work and got up to leave, followed by the rest.
"Yang Ruo Ning!" Their secret meeting was interrupted by someone who suddenly barged in.
Yang Ruo Ning turned around at the sound and saw it was Namu, the personal maid of the shaman grandmother.
Namu was furious, hands on her hips, glaring at her.
Yang Ruo Ning looked confused. "Namu..."
"Have you finished gathering the herbs for today?!" Namu even yanked her out of that small dark room by her ear. "You lazy, worthless slave!"
"Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, gently!" Yang Ruo Ning yelled, having no choice but to follow Namu out.
Namu led her to a secluded spot and finally let go of her.
Yang Ruo Ning rubbed her ear, which was hurting from being pulled, and glared at her. "It hurts, Namu!"
"You know it does. What you said in there was extremely dangerous, do you know that? We could all end up with our heads on stakes by the west!"
Yang Ruo Ning felt a little wronged. "But haven't there been many peasant uprisings in history?"
"Find another way!" Namu said sternly.
"Is that Shaman Grandmother's wish? Has she returned?"
"Yes. She is still in spiritual cultivation. She asked me to tell you!"
Fine, I'll try another method, Yang Ruo Ning thought.
So she turned to the women who had suffered the most. While washing clothes with the women, Yang Ruo Ning probed them about their thoughts on being violated at will. To her surprise, they told Yang Ruo Ning, "What's so strange about that? Isn't that a woman's duty?"
This time, Yang Ruo Ning was shocked. "Are you doing this voluntarily?"
"It's not exactly voluntary. It's just that women are born to bear children for men. Some things can be endured."
"Miss Yang, you are from Da Song and have only recently arrived. You will get used to it later."
Suddenly, someone asked, "Hey, Miss Yang, I heard that Su Jing Ren was served by you that day. How was it? Did you get to see Master Su's face?"
"No..." Yang Ruo Ning smiled sheepishly.
The woman suddenly became mysterious and lowered her voice. "I happened to see it that day. Master Su took off his mask and revealed his profile. Guess what? That half of Master Su's face had no scars, and he was quite handsome."
Then everyone started discussing it volubly. The mysterious handsome guy seemed to have more appeal to them. Yang Ruo Ning sighed, picked up the water basin, and quietly left the chattering group of gossiping women.
Thus, Yang Ruo Ning abandoned this path. It seemed that changing mindsets was not something she could achieve in a few months.
She needed to think of another method as soon as possible.