Biting the corner of the blanket, trapped in the arms behind me, I felt increasingly confused about this creature called man. Why was I “handled” when I made him angry, and also “handled” when I made him happy?!
Could this be the only way men express their feelings…
That night I was thoroughly exhausted, and the next day was my big brother’s competition, forcing me to wake up early, bearing obvious dark circles from lack of sleep, accompanying the refreshed An Jin to the machine arts competition site at Baiheyuan.
On White Crane Plain, twelve small square-topped wooden houses were built with pine, arranged in a row, with three sides open and supported by one wall and two pillars as the competition venue, one for each participant. Across from the houses, a three-tiered marble platform was constructed, where nobles and high-ranking officials from the Three Kingdoms sat stably. Below the platform, a circle of iron-clad guards stood with spears.
My parents arrived at White Crane Plain earlier than us, and my elder brother had already entered the competition area. According to the competition rules, all participants were required to wear uniform attire and head coverings, identifiable only by their identification badges, making it difficult even for us to recognize which one was my brother.
Just before the competition was about to begin, my younger sister, who had been delayed by dressing up at home, rushed in hurriedly, lifting her skirt.
The author has something to say: The two of them were deadlocked for a year due to the knot in An Jin’s heart…
My younger sister’s face was full of grief, her hair slightly askew. “I was so scared… It was hard to shake him off!”
It turned out she had hired a sedan chair near White Crane Plain but discovered a tall man following her, step by step. Panicked, she quickened her pace and took several detours, but the man remained consistently behind her, maintaining the same distance.
She then ran in terror into White Crane Plain, finally finding her group.
I asked curiously, “Besides following you, did he do anything else unusual?”
My sister thought for a moment. “Seemingly not.”
I asked her gently, “How do you know he’s definitely a lewd man?”
My sister raised her head and put her hands on her hips. She said indignantly, “Sneaking behind a young, beautiful, and graceful lady like me, he must have bad intentions!”
“Well—” I took a difficult breath.
An Jin turned away, his mouth twitching, clearly trying hard not to laugh.
I laughed awkwardly, “Perhaps it’s a misunderstanding.”
“He looks like a bad person!”
There’s even a strange bird perched on his shoulder… exactly like the rumored creepy uncle!” My sister was very certain.
An Jin coughed several times. I was speechless. “A bird on the shoulder doesn’t mean anything—a bird? On the shoulder?”
I suddenly startled, instinctively looking at An Jin. An Jin raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin towards my sister’s back, whispering, “Xiao Ya, could the strange man you’re talking about be—him?”
Princess Jiang Yunqiao of Southern Rui was walking towards us with a smile, and one step behind her was General Shen, tall and imposing, with a parrot on his shoulder.
My sister just glanced back and immediately jumped behind me, shrieking, “It’s him, it’s him! I can’t believe he followed me here…”
Jiang Yunqiao looked confused. I was about to explain when my sister, feeling safe with her family around, jumped out from behind me and glared at General Shen. “What are you trying to do by following me?”
General Shen’s eyebrows moved, a rare occurrence. The yellow parrot on his shoulder spread its wings and called out, “What? What?”
My sister was aggressive, but General Shen remained expressionless and ignored her.
She became even more furious, taking a big step forward. “What, dare to do but not dare to speak?”
General Shen coldly looked at her. “Self-flattering.”
The yellow parrot enthusiastically nodded. “Self-flattering! Self-flattering!” Its sharp, strange voice drew everyone’s attention.
My sister’s face turned red, and she wanted to teach him a lesson, but I hastily pulled her back.
Jiang Yunqiao was stunned. “Who is this…”
“My sister,” I sighed internally, knowing we’d lost face… “I’m truly sorry, Your Highness, General Shen.”
My sister turned back to look at me in disbelief. I nodded solemnly and resolutely. She lost her confidence but still muttered, “Can’t a general be a lewd man…”
An Jin and I mourned our lost dignity for a quarter of an hour. Jiang Yunqiao seemed to suddenly understand and turned to General Shen: “No wonder you were late… were you following a young lady?”
General Shen maintained his statue-like expression and just moved his lips. “Didn’t know the way.”
“Lost again?” Jiang Yunqiao shook her head. “Danding, when will you fix this habit?”
It turned out that the seemingly tall and cold General was actually directionally challenged, having genuinely gotten lost on the streets of Yanfeng City. Hear my sister tell the sedan chair driver about going to White Crane Plain, he knew she was also coming to watch the competition, so he followed her.
This fact left me stunned for a long time. My sister, embarrassed and angry, shrank behind us, mumbling: “Such a big man and can’t even find his way, useless…”
General Shen glanced at my sister behind me. “Unreasonable.”
The yellow parrot enthusiastically nodded: “Unreasonable! Unreasonable! Ugly girl causing trouble!
Thus, this mouthy parrot successfully offended my sister again.
An Jin and I finally managed to calm the furious sister down. General Shen had already turned and gone to Southern Rui’s seating area. Jiang Yunqiao pulled me aside, apologizing for the parrot’s usual lack of propriety and praising my sister as beautiful and straightforward.
I apologized for my sister wrongly accusing General Shen, but Jiang Yunqiao didn’t mind, saying, “This is the first time I’ve seen Danding so angry. Your sister is indeed extraordinary.”
“The general was angry?” I couldn’t tell. That sculptural face clearly showed no expression at all.
Jiang Yunqiao glanced at the back of General Shen and said mysteriously: “He actually spoke to a strange girl, using idioms, and twice at that! I bet he definitely has a good impression of your sister.”
I felt my eyebrow twitch. Well, “overestimating oneself” and “making a fuss over nothing” were indeed idioms, but how did that relate to having a good impression…
My little sister angrily tugged at her handkerchief: “Stupid bird! Stupid blind man!
“An Jin and I looked at each other blankly until the competition’s signal drum was struck, and we hurriedly returned to our seats to reunite with our parents.
Twelve wooden houses were already occupied by machine technique practitioners wearing white gauze caps and blue-green robes. Among the twelve contestants, Xiliang, Nanrui, and Qi Country each had four representatives, yet it was impossible to distinguish which four belonged to which country.
The machine technique competition had three rounds, involving unlocking three increasingly difficult mechanisms and retrieving hidden items. The first round would eliminate six contestants, the second round three, and the final round would determine the top three. Two judges stood before each wooden house, carefully monitoring the contestants’ movements. Once a contestant finished, one judge would immediately record the time on a red-silk-covered wooden plaque, while another would strike a bronze gong.
The Crown Prince stood on the high platform, raising the gilded dragon hammer to strike the peace drum, instantly silencing White Crane Plain.”
