A Good Country Wife-Chapter 654 - 647_1

Lin Yue smiled and nodded her head, yet her heart didn’t relax at all. No joke, she would never assume that a bandit leader would be easy to get along with. Otherwise, why would he lead a group of bandits to rule over the mountains? The so-called friendliness was probably only toward his own people, but unlikely toward others. Lin Yue thought it would be wise to stay alert, lest the bandit leader show his ruthless side; in this bandit’s den, she was helpless and at the mercy of others.

Chang Dabao led Lin Yue to a room exquisitely and elegantly furnished. It looked like a study, with a desk, many books, and a sleeping couch. The room’s furnishings made it seem not like those of a bandit leader, but rather like those belonging to a young master of an aristocratic family. This made her quite surprised, and she wondered just who this bandit leader was and what kind of bearing he had.

"Madam Lin, please wait a moment. Our leader might be outside practicing his swordsmanship. It should be about time for him to return," Chang Dabao said, but he merely let Lin Yue sit in the room, surprisingly not offering her a seat. Chang Dabao himself stood stiffly, as well, not touching anything in the room.

Lin Yue thought that Chang Dabao’s behavior indicated either that the owner of the room had an imposing mane, or that the owner had a cleanliness fetish—why else would they avoid even touching the room’s objects? However, Chang Dabao had already mentioned the leader was approachable, so the most probable explanation was that the room’s owner had a cleanliness fetish. Moreover, seeing the room’s spotless condition, Lin Yue felt more certain about her guess. Therefore, she refrained from touching anything in the room to avoid annoying this important person over such a trivial matter.

About fifteen minutes had passed, and Lin Yue had been waiting in the room. The so-called leader had yet to arrive, which seemed quite arrogant. Lin Yue recalled that someone had already gone to report her arrival. Even if he was practicing swordsmanship, couldn’t he pause it to meet a guest? This suggested that the man was quite prideful. Lin Yue didn’t really care about waiting, it was just that standing for so long was very tiring. She had been pressing on, having traveled throughout the night, and was already exhausted. Just this short period of waiting was becoming too much to bear.

Chang Dabao seemed to realize that it was inappropriate to make her stand for so long. After hesitating, he still didn’t invite Lin Yue to sit down. After all, it was the leader’s room, and even he had to abide by the ruler’s rules. The leader was okay in other aspects, but when it came to cleanliness, he was almost obsessive-compulsive. Normally, without his permission, no one was allowed to enter his room casually, which was always cleaned by his personal maidservants. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Madam Lin, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Our leader is generally reasonable, but he has many rules. As for his sword practice, no interruptions are allowed. He only receives reports once he has finished, which is why you’ve had to wait for a while. Please don’t be anxious, I’m looking at the time and it should be almost over," Chang Dabao explained.

"Hehe, no trouble at all, I can wait," Lin Yue said with a forced smile, thinking to herself that it was almost unbearable to keep standing much longer.

Finally, after a little while longer, that tardy leader sauntered in. From a distance, his face wasn’t yet clear, but what struck Lin Yue the most was his attire—a robe as white as snow. Although he was returning from sword practice, not a speck of dust sullied his clothes, presenting an air of a divine, handsome young noble. The first thought that came to Lin Yue’s mind was that he really was a cleanliness aficionado; otherwise, why would he wear such pristine white without a single stain?

As the white-robed young man approached, Lin Yue managed to get a clear view of his features and stood there dumbfounded, staring unblinkingly with an almost foolish look on her face.

In fact, Lin Yue was enormously shocked. The young man’s face bore a striking resemblance to the Emperor she had seen back in the Imperial Palace. She said "striking resemblance," but that was only because of the difference in attire and demeanor which made it so distinct. Without those, the similarity would be no less than ninety percent. If it weren’t for the sure knowledge that the Emperor was still in the Imperial Palace without any word of him leaving, and the implausibility of a monarch turning into a bandit in the wilderness, Lin Yue might have suspected he was the Emperor himself. No wonder she was so flabbergasted; anyone who had seen the Emperor would probably have had the same reaction.

Chang Dabao naturally didn’t know the reason behind her reaction. He was just an ordinary second-in-command among the bandits; how could he possibly have seen the Emperor within the Imperial Palace? He only thought Lin Yue was captivated by their leader’s handsome features, which was why she acted so impolitely. After all, their leader’s good looks were well acknowledged, and many women in the fortress secretly mooned over him. Of course, they all did so covertly, never daring to openly stare at the leader like Lin Yue. The leader might seem amiable most of the time, but he could also be terrifyingly stern and cold, making it risky to offend him.

"Ahem, Madam Lin, please come to your senses. Even if our leader is handsome, you shouldn’t stare at him like that. The last thing he likes is women fawning over him. There have been women who dared to swoon over him, and he threw them out of the fortress. Moreover, Brother Erhu is not bad-looking either. Although he may not have the dashing looks of our leader, he is quite presentable. Your behavior might not be very appropriate," said Chang Dabao, actually wanting to remark that as a married woman, it wasn’t quite seemly for her to be gazing at another man like this. Might that be a little disrespectful? However, he didn’t say it so bluntly and expressed it more tactfully.

Lin Yue was somewhat speechless upon hearing Chang Dabao’s words and rolled her eyes inwardly. Was she such a superficial and lecherous person? She was just too astonished by the leader’s appearance and hadn’t snapped out of it yet. Seeing Chang Dabao’s look that seemed to accuse her of impropriety, Lin Yue was at a loss for words and also felt somewhat annoyed, thinking to herself, "you bandits care about these things too?"

However, she couldn’t dare to openly express her thoughts that the leader looked a lot like the Emperor. Who knew what stories or complications might lie behind that resemblance? Lin Yue was not about to touch on such delicate and secret matters; otherwise, who knew if she might be silenced. It was best to know as little as possible about the private affairs and deep secrets of noble families, especially the royal family.

The strong resemblance between the leader and the Emperor led Lin Yue to make a bold guess that the leader was almost certainly related to the Emperor. It was rare to find people who resembled each other to such an extent in this world. The leader also wore a jade pendant at his waist, which stood out prominently against his all-white garb. The jade was clearly of the sort that only the royal family could use, branded with a dragon motif, and he wore it quite conspicuously. Combined with the secrecy of the royal family and the taboo around twins, Lin Yue harbored a bold speculation.