AFMD : Chapter 13

The next day, when he woke up, Huo Du was not by his side, and Song Jin suddenly felt anxious. Huo Du had quietly carried him in last night, and no one knew his identity. They probably thought he was just a warm bed partner Huo Du had found somewhere. Now, how was he supposed to leave here alone?

 

The door suddenly opened, and the glaring light flooded into the room, causing Song Jin to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes. As he did so, the loose sleeve slid down, revealing the bruised and kissed arms, as well as the silver bracelets that had been slipped onto his wrists at some point.

 

Song Jin froze for a moment, his expression becoming somewhat strange.

 

“What’s this?” he asked.

 

Huo Du placed the lunch on the table and sat at the bedside, wrapping his arms around Song Jin and carefully pulling down the sleeve, covering the two shining silver bracelets.

 

“It’s for the future Mrs. Huo” Huo Du said candidly. “We can’t let others see them yet. Be a good boy.”

 

Song Jin pointed to the table, which had somehow managed to stay upright despite the night’s activities. Was that also a family heirloom?

 

Seeing Huo Du nod, he immediately moved to take them off.

 

“What are these for? And they look newly made, not like family heirlooms!” Song Jin protested.

 

“You’re right, Jinjin” Huo Du agreed shamelessly. “The bracelets themselves aren’t, but the patterns on them are.”

 

“Aren’t you afraid of someone seeing them?” Song Jin asked.

 

“We’ll have you wear them when we meet, and you can hide them at other times” Huo Du suggested, contemplating the inconvenience with furrowed brows.

 

As no one else knew the meaning behind the patterns, they represented unwavering loyalty and protection, akin to safeguarding the throne. One day, Huo Du thought, everything he gave to Song Jin would be worn openly and proudly.

 

Song Jin didn’t realize until nearly dinner time that he had forgotten to leave the room earlier. If it weren’t for his insistence, Huo Du might have wanted to stay and have some fun for another night.

 

Stubborn little rabbit, without showing Auntie’s authority, this tiger would treat him like a sick cat!

 

Supporting his waist and with trembling legs, Song Jin had to keep from collapsing the table. Yet, Huo Du, the rascal, insisted on fooling around, making a loss-making deal like promising to fix the table the next morning. It wasn’t until dawn that the savvy businessman Song Jin woke up: who cared about the table? What did it have to do with him and his money?

 

As Song Jin approached the gate of the martial arts arena, he suddenly heard a greeting from the guard.

 

“Master, Madam!”

 

Song Jin was startled, taking a moment to realize that Huo Du’s parents were here.

 

He instantly snapped out of his boneless state, standing up straight and shrinking his hands behind his back.

 

Song Jin used to see General Huo’s stern gaze as omnipotent, and coupled with Huo Du’s address, he almost immediately considered staging a spontaneous death.

 

“This is Jinjin” Huo Du introduced.

 

Song Jin had never seen General Huo before, and under his stern gaze, he felt exposed, especially with Huo Du’s name for him. He almost felt like dropping dead on the spot.

 

“Jinjin” was a silly nickname they used in bed; he never expected Huo Du to use it in front of his parents… Who would care about such a silly nickname? Song Jin gave Huo Du an annoyed look, saying firmly, “Don’t ever call me that again.”

 

Huo Du chuckled lowly, seeming to sense his discomfort, and Song Jin blushed for no reason.

 

General Huo nodded at Song Jin, seemingly not realizing the improper address.

 

Huo Du whispered to Song Jin, “You didn’t know that mothers-in-law also call each other sisters, did you?”

 

What… Song Jin’s mind went blank for a moment.

 

Sorry, he was uncultured.

 

Song Jin glared at Huo Du, feeling a bit annoyed. After all that fuss about calling him “Jinjin” it turned out Huo Du was just calling him “auntie”…

 

Who cared about a broken nickname? Song Jin gave Huo Du a disdainful glance, “Don’t ever call me that again.”

 

Huo Du chuckled softly, seeming to see through his awkwardness, and Song Jin blushed for no reason.

 

While Song Jin was trying to slip away unnoticed, he stumbled upon Huo Du’s mother returning.

 

She had practiced martial arts, and her footsteps were light. When Huo Du was young, she used to appear behind him like a ghost, catching her mischievous son red-handed. Huo Du found his mother’s behavior extremely annoying, so he trained diligently in martial arts. After he improved his skills, his mother never caught him again.

 

She never expected that after more than a decade, she would once again catch her son in the act.

 

She watched as Song Jin, who was crawling on the ground, struggled to leave the martial arts arena, making no sound throughout the entire ordeal.

 

In the martial arts arena, Huo Du paused his movements, blocking his father’s powerful blow with a palm, conceding defeat. “You’re still in your prime, Father. I concede today. I have something else to attend to, so let Mother accompany you in training.”

 

Huo Du simply jumped over the wall of the martial arts arena, not bothering to use the main entrance, and hurried to catch up with Song Jin, intending to escort him back to the villa.

 

General Huo: …Why did he feel like his son was fleeing a marriage proposal?

 

After returning to his villa in the suburbs, Song Jin lived peacefully with Huo Du for a few days, except for the old-fashioned people Huo Du sent to deliver things to him. Unwanted gifts!

 

There were fewer prying eyes in the suburbs than in the capital, and Song Jin felt quite comfortable within his safety zone.

 

Just as he was thinking about whether he should make a run for it.

 

Jiang Nan dealt with the goods to block Huo Du from finding him more and more frequently, Huo Du suddenly told him that he was going to the west.

 

The border was unstable again recently, and the general naturally felt uneasy. However, with Huo Du’s connections to the royal family and his recent return to the capital, no one was forcing him to go on this campaign if he didn’t want to.

 

“So sudden?” Song Jin was taken aback, feeling a bit flustered. Was the situation on the battlefield that urgent? Huo Du had just returned to the capital not long ago.

 

“The Emperor promised that if we achieve a great victory this time, he will grant me one request” Huo Du said confidently, as if he had everything under control. “Jinjin, you know what I’ll ask for.”

 

He looked deeply into Song Jin’s eyes, with a hint of fierceness and an underlying tenderness that he couldn’t conceal.

 

Song Jin opened his mouth but found it hard to speak.

 

The person in front of him was so sincere.

 

So sincere that he was being affected, making him think that maybe they could have a decent future together.

 

The battlefield was merciless, communication was difficult, and risking one’s life for a request that could potentially tarnish it forever—Song Jin, who had lived two lifetimes, couldn’t help but want to advise him to give it up.

 

He gripped the two bracelets, tracing the patterns on them, feeling a mess inside. Before he could speak, Huo Du asked him, “Will you wait for me, Jinjin?”

 

Song Jin suddenly remembered the imposing archway, and a rebellious hope emerged.

 

“Okay.” Song Jin startled himself with his response, but when he saw the smile at the corner of Huo Du’s mouth, he couldn’t help but say it again, “Okay.”

 

Tonight, Huo Du didn’t drag him into any mischief. He left a team of men to guard the villa and told him to take the token and go find General Liu in the west of the city, as they were good friends.

 

Song Jin watched Huo Du, who was about to go to the battlefield, struggling to find the right words.

 

Huo Du thought that Song Jin was finally going to say something nice, but after waiting for a while, all he heard was, “Do you need money?”

 

Song Jin rummaged under the bed and pulled out a box full of silver and banknotes. It was all the money he had earned from trading for over two years since he crossed over.

 

Food, forage, horses—everything needed money, and Song Jin was afraid that Huo Du wouldn’t live well outside.

 

He had money, and a lot of it.

 

“No need” Huo Du said, pinching Song Jin’s cheeks with a smile. There was no reason for him to take money from his wife, “Just wait for me.”

 

“But” Huo Du looked at the box in front of him, surprised at how wealthy his wife was, “you can’t keep money under the bed. Even thieves might target my wife.”

 

Song Jin pushed the box towards Huo Du. “Then take it.”

 

“You’re in such a hurry to marry me, you’re mixing everything together?”

 

“Nonsense!”

 

“Fine, I’ll leave it with General Liu for now. If you need money, ask him” Huo Du said as he mounted his horse to bid farewell. Song Jin inexplicably felt uneasy, as if this was a final farewell.

 

Spit, spit, spit. Song Jin cursed himself silently. What kind of ominous words was he thinking of when Huo Du was going to battle?

 

After Huo Du left for a month, Song Jin promised to wait for him, so he had no interest in trading everywhere. He stayed in the capital eagerly awaiting news. He wasn’t an official family member, and he couldn’t access military information, so he couldn’t get any news. He could only count the days anxiously.

 

He considered going to ask General Liu, but he realized that the fewer people knew about his relationship with Huo Du, the better.

 

After another half month, Song Jin packed his bags and prepared to leave. He realized that instead of worrying in the capital, he might as well find something to do for himself. If Huo Du returned victorious and made that request to the Emperor, what if the Huo family kicked him out? He needed to earn a lot of money to support Huo Du, who wanted to eat four bowls of food.

 

Before he left, the Princess suddenly fell ill again and sent someone to fetch Song Jin back to take care of her.

 

Song Jin was puzzled. He was a man. Last time, when he voluntarily returned, the people at the Princess’s residence were very disdainful of him. Why did the Princess specifically ask for him to return this time?