Chapter 27

Liu Jun had never expected that before coming to the Lu family, his original intention was to stop Zhou the Lame from abducting a bride, but in the end, he ended up abducting the bride himself. To be fair, it couldn't really be considered abduction, as Miss Lu had jumped over the wall and left home to follow him voluntarily.

At the Yue Lai Inn on the crossroads of Xibayang Town, Liu Jun booked a separate small courtyard for Miss Lu. This inn was a branch of his sworn brother Zhang Shan's family business in Xibayang.

Miss Lu had left home with him, but he couldn't take her directly back to the Liu family. Bringing a girl back without a clear reason would be problematic, and he was also worried that the Liu family wouldn't accept this fact. After much consideration, he decided to book a courtyard at Zhang Shan's inn and temporarily settle her there.

Miss Lu was indeed very beautiful. Her given name was Xueqi, and she was eighteen years old, two years younger than Liu Jun. She was half a head shorter than him, with long black hair, arched eyebrows, and large eyes. Her face was oval-shaped, and her figure was slender and graceful. Liu Jun had secretly glanced at her feet several times on the way, and as he remembered, this well-bred young lady indeed had natural feet.

"Everything is here, you have everything you need. Rest well for now. If you need anything, just call Yaoyao to let me know." Although he had brought her here, Liu Jun didn't know what to say to her. Despite her beauty, the current Liu Jun wasn't the same as the one from before, and they were essentially familiar strangers.

Lu Xueqi nodded.

As Liu Jun turned to leave, she suddenly said, "Are you still angry with me, angry that I didn't go with you back then, angry that I changed my mind at the last moment?"

Liu Jun shook his head. He wasn't that Liu Jun and didn't feel the same deep sense of betrayal. Instead, he understood her. After all, it wasn't easy for a young lady to elope, leave her family, and abandon her parents to go far away.

"Let bygones be bygones."

"I deeply regret it, regretting my weakness at that time, and wavering at the last moment. For the past two years, I have been living in constant regret. I wish time could be reversed, and I would have definitely eloped with you without hesitation. Fortunately, although it took two years, you finally came back. This time, my resolve is firm, and I will not waver or hesitate."

"Um." Liu Jun didn't know what to say to her and could only nod.

"Er Lang, will you still accept me? Do you still want me?" Lu Xueqi said, suddenly throwing herself at him from behind and tightly hugging Liu Jun. "Er Lang, don't abandon me."

Feeling the trembling body on his back, Liu Jun was somewhat moved. In his previous life, he had never been married and had never experienced deep, passionate love, only fleeting romances and mutual satisfaction.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Liu Jun raised his hand and caught the two delicate hands that were clasped around his chest. As he touched them, he could feel Lu Xueqi trembling slightly.

Although she was trembling, her grip on him only tightened, unwilling to let go, fearing that if she did, Liu Jun would leave and disappear.

Two years of regret and torment had made her repeatedly examine their relationship, ultimately deepening her feelings. The two years had not only failed to diminish her feelings but had made them even stronger and more intense.

After a long while, she finally released her grip, somewhat embarrassed. Liu Jun gently comforted her for a while before turning to leave the room.

As he stepped out of the courtyard and returned to the inn's front hall, he was immediately greeted by the knowing laughter of his brothers, Zhang Shan and Wang Qian, and the others. They laughed as if Liu Jun had done something mischievous inside.

"Second Brother, when will we get to drink to your wedding?" Wang Qian laughed.

Liu Jun smiled and shook his head, not answering. This matter wasn't so simple.

"Thanks to all of you for helping today. Come, waiter, bring the wine, the best wine. We thirteen brothers haven't gathered for over two years, let's drink to our heart's content today."

The wine was brought, and Liu Jun stood up to open it, then personally poured a large bowl for each of his brothers.

"I'll drink first as a sign of respect." Liu Jun lifted the bowl and drank the three ounces of wine in one go.

"Good, Second Brother is still as straightforward as ever." Zhang Shan laughed and also picked up his bowl to drink.

They were all young men full of passion. After two bowls of wine, any trace of formality was gone, and they seemed to instantly return to their teenage years.

Liu Jun drank and chatted with them, learning about their current situations. For example, the second brother, Zhang Shan, no longer idled around in the academy. His family had paid for him to become a supervisor and now helped manage a business. The third brother, Wang Qian, was also similar, helping manage some family businesses. The others were roughly the same. After all, their families were all well-off, and they didn't need to worry too much about their livelihoods.

However, they all missed the days of studying in the academy. When they talked about the Thirteen Protectors, each of them was filled with nostalgia. The current life was too mundane and boring.

"Second Brother, I heard you are studying at the military academy in the capital. Are you going back this time?"

Liu Jun shook his head, "No, I don't plan to go back for now. The military academy is similar to the Confucian academy, just a nominal position. I just need to report to someone."

"What are you planning to do next, Second Brother?"

"I plan to join the local militia."

"The local militia?" All the brothers were extremely surprised.

Liu Jun smiled and explained, "It's like this. You know Jieyuan Gong Chunjiang, right? He plans to join the local militia for training and to build a cavalry unit. He invited me to be his deputy. I thought it was a good idea, at least it won't be boring. With bandits rising in various places, even if we don't join the army to defend the country, we can at least protect our hometown."

This news surprised everyone.

There was a moment of silence.

"Second Brother, count me in, Zhang Shan." Zhang Shan suddenly slapped the table and shouted, "Damn, every day at home, looking at account books, collecting debts, and managing inventory, it's so boring. I'll go with Second Brother to the local militia for training."

"Count me in, Wang Qian." The third brother also chimed in.

With the first few leading the way, the Thirteen Protectors one by one slapped the table and pounded their chests, shouting that they would join as well.

"Our Thirteen Protectors are reuniting, and we can all go to the local militia together. Who knows, we might even achieve something significant." Zhang Shan laughed heartily.

Liu Jun, seeing everyone's excitement, suddenly felt a bit moved. Li Chunjiang was just playing around with the cavalry, but after several days of thinking, Liu Jun had decided to use this opportunity to take his first step.

If these old brothers joined the cavalry with him, he wouldn't be a lone deputy but would have a group of trusted and loyal brothers. This would definitely be better than going alone.

"That's good, but can your families agree to this?"

"Why wouldn't they agree? As long as they know we are joining Li Chunjiang's cavalry, there's no reason they wouldn't agree." Wang Qian laughed.

Liu Jun thought about it, and it was indeed true. After all, they were only joining the local militia, not the real army. Moreover, Li Chunjiang's cavalry was very convincing to their families. After all, who was Li Chunjiang? A promising Jieyuan Gong, with the backing of the Li family, the Four Ministries.

Liu Jun and his brothers' families were all gentry, but they were at the lowest level, far from the likes of the Li family. If their sons had the chance to connect with the Li family and Li Chunjiang, which family would oppose it?

After all, even if Liu Jun and his brothers helped at home, they were still in the learning stage and couldn't really be of much help.

"Are you all really going?" Liu Jun asked.

"Of course, why not? I'll pack my things and go tomorrow."

"Exactly, let's go together!"

"Great, then it's settled." Liu Jun was overjoyed, stood up, and raised his wine glass, "Let's drink to it!"

"Cheers!"

(Another week, I need your votes to climb the rankings. Last week, I was only in the twenties, and I'm still far from the top twelve to make the front page. Please help me.)

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