After running around without rest for two days and two nights, Qin Mubai lay down and slept until most of the night. The pawns didn't dare to call him. In fact, they were all exhausted, and most of them hid in their rooms to rest.
In fact, Chen Yan was more tired than anyone else. She has not slept peacefully for more than a month and has lost weight. I finally had a good sleep after unloading the heavy burden on my mind. When I woke up, my whole body was sore, but I felt like I had been transformed.
"It's finally over..." She groaned silently, picked up the water from the tub and washed her face. Seeing myself in the reflection, I couldn't help but feel a little sad: "Women age so fast..."
"Tuk-tuk-tuk", there was a knock on the door.
"who?"
"Qin Mubai."
Chen Yan was startled for a moment, wiped her face with a towel, and looked at herself carefully in the bronze mirror, suddenly feeling a little flustered.
"Why am I so bad now, how can I meet people?" Her face turned slightly red, and her heart suddenly felt a little faster.
Since she came to Jishan from her hometown two or three months ago, she has never dressed up carefully, and even forgot that she is a woman. Now, she realized that she was really haggard. Apart from the dark circles under her eyes, even her eyes were a little blurry due to exhaustion.
"You really should have a good rest... otherwise you will become a yellow-faced woman soon." Chen Yan frowned and walked over to open the door. She saw Qin Mubai holding a wooden plate in his hand, with a whole steamed chicken and two pieces on it. Plate of side dishes, and wine and tableware.
"Don't you invite me to come in and sit down?" Qin Mubai smiled slightly and raised his arm to signal.
"A dignified general is here to serve food. How dare you do it?" Chen Yan gave a rare smile, opened the door, and welcomed Qin Mubai into the room.
"I see you've been sleeping without disturbing me. It's already midnight and the inn is about to close. If you don't get up, you'll be hungry." Qin Mubai put the wooden plate on the table and said to her, "Come, let's eat together A little bit. I didn’t eat it either. Thanks to the brothers’ thoughtfulness, I bought these things and put them in the hot water pot in the kitchen while they were still hot.”
"Your subordinates are really loyal to you." Chen Yan glanced at the food on the table, her stomach growled, and she couldn't help but giggle, "I'm really hungry, thank you!"
"Actually, you look pretty when you smile. Why do you keep a straight face all day long, as if everyone owes you ten million dollars?" Qin Mubai poured wine into two glasses with a smile and said, "Here, Cheers! Cheers to each of us for completing our mission! ”
Chen Yan picked up the cup silently, drank the wine in the cup, and remained silent.
"Why don't you say anything?" Qin Mubai continued to pour wine from the jug, asking casually and casually.
"I don't know what to say." Chen Yan sighed softly and said, "I'm sorry for too many people."
"Who are you sorry for?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Zhu Chengwen, the prince, and you." Chen Yan said.
"How have you failed the three of us?"
"More." Chen Yan sighed softly and said leisurely, "Zhu Chengwen, in fact, the two of us could have been together. Back then, I was young and playful, and I just wanted to learn martial arts from my master and travel around the world, so I had no time to think about it. Whoever I wanted to marry and have children with would be a washerwoman for the rest of my life. Zhu Chengwen knew my thoughts and never mentioned it. It was only after he got married that I regretted it. Later, his wife died of illness. I wanted to go back but it was irreversible, which led to today. We are forever strangers. As a young and ignorant person, I ruined a beautiful marriage and failed to live up to his deep love for me. "
"King Jiangxia... Actually, I have some things I feel sorry for him. At first, I thought he was the one who killed Zhu Chengwen. So I went to find him. He is really a great hero! After hearing about Zhu Chengwen, he was filled with grief and anger. He asked me to stab him with a sword to relieve the hatred in my heart and the pain in his heart... I was so impulsive at the time, I really stabbed him!"
Having said this, Chen Yan took a deep breath: "Didn't you notice today that he had difficulty moving his left shoulder when he was dancing with the sword? That was the sore left by my sword. After I stabbed him, he didn't respond. I didn't resent him at all, but he continued to comfort me and comfort me. At that time... it was the first time in my life that I cried bitterly in front of strangers. This man was really broad-minded and upright, and his bearing and demeanor were so impressive. I was convinced. I immediately became my adoptive husband and vowed to treat him like my biological father. He also accepted me very happily and treated me as my biological daughter. If I pierce his shoulder bone with a sword, am I worthy of him?"
Qin Mubai nodded and smiled: "The King of Jiangxia is a great hero, and you are a hero among women. As a father and daughter, you are sympathetic to each other."
"As for you... I won't say anything." Chen Yan turned her head slightly and said softly, "I have lied to you too many times, and even I feel a little embarrassed to face you. In fact, that is not what I think in my heart. I am more than a hundred I told myself again and again that I must believe you and tell you the truth... But I didn't do it in the end. Am I being despicable and insidious? "
"No. If you really told me everything in advance, it would appear that you are frivolous and ignorant. The officialdom is like a battlefield, with murderous traps everywhere. You know people but don't know what they know. Even I sometimes don't believe in myself." Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth and smiled helplessly, "You are right to be cautious. After knowing that I was deceived by you, I was indeed angry. But after calming down and thinking about it, if I were you, I might be more You cheated harder and harder, so it’s not your fault. To use a phrase you can best understand, it’s called ‘people can’t help themselves in the world’.”
"Yes, you can't help yourself when you are in the world..." Chen Yan frowned slightly, and her eyes became a little blurred, as if she was caught in endless memories of the past, and she said leisurely, "I learned martial arts from my master when I was six years old, and my parents died when I was ten years old. From then on, I lived with him, often traveling around the world. I traveled to more places, saw more people, and came into contact with more darkness and ugliness. It was difficult for me to completely trust anyone, except for my master. , Zhu Chengwen is the only one. In front of him, I always maintain the same appearance as when I was a child. No matter how I change, even if I have killed someone, I will always be the little girl next door who has never grown up. . It’s a pity that my master passed away two years ago, and now he is also dead... I really don’t know what else I can do in the future, and where will I go?”
"The King of Jiangxia has adopted you as his adopted daughter, why don't you live with him?" Qin Mubai asked.
"No." Chen Yan shook her head, "After all, he is a noble prince, and he has a daughter. After all, I am just a ranger who travels around the world. It is easy to meet each other. If we really live together for a long time, we may We are very uncomfortable with each other. I think I may be destined to wander around the world for the rest of my life, without a place to go or a home.”
Qin Mubai offered her a glass of wine, and they drank it together.
"Go to Chang'an." Qin Mubai said suddenly.
"What?" Chen Yan was a little surprised, "For no reason, why should I go to Chang'an?"
"In Chang'an, there is a place that is particularly suitable for you." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "There, you will find your relatives and boundless happiness."
"Fellow? Happy?" Chen Yan wondered, "You're not talking about your family, are you? Are you taking advantage of me?!"
"Xia Nu, please don't misunderstand me, let alone draw your sword, I'm afraid!" Qin Mubai laughed hahaly, "Believe me, if you stay there for two or three days, you will be reluctant to leave. Even if others drive you away. , you may not be willing."
"...You're not talking about those sensual and sensual places, are you?"
"You are not a man, why should I introduce such a place to you?" Qin Mubai smiled mysteriously, "No need to ask now, you will know it by then. Anyway, you have no fixed place and no destination now, so why not follow me Chang'an and his party, are you still afraid that I will sell you?"
Chen Yan chuckled: "It's hard to say who will sell to whom!"
"Then it's settled?"
"Just go and go, why bother!"
Early the next morning, Qin Mubai and several others left the inn and hit the road at dawn to Jishan County.
Qin Mubai's horse was fast, so he deliberately slowed down a little to wait for Chen Yan. The two of them rode side by side, and the horse was not running very fast.
"Your Highness must have arrived in Chang'an by now!" Qin Mubai asked.
"Absolutely." Chen Yan said, "We set out yesterday afternoon. The prince is used to galloping on the battlefield, so he went on horseback. His horse is very fast."
"That's good." Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile, "You are very good at lying, and the prince is even better at acting. If I hadn't thought more about it at that time, I would have almost been frightened by him, and even got angry with him and scolded him for not doing so. Know the good and bad.”
"The prince said that you are a smart man, and you will definitely understand what he means! You men who are officials don't say anything clearly to your face. You have to hide it. Isn't it tiring?" Chen Yan said while riding the horse. Said repeatedly.
"There is nothing we can do about it! Those who explain everything clearly will probably become ghosts before they become high officials or princes." Qin Mubai laughed heartily, "There are rivers and lakes. Rules, officialdom has its own rules!”
"In my opinion, they are all the same!" Chen Yan said, "Either you step on others and move forward, or you are stepped on by others and never get up!"
"correct!"
On the way back, everyone felt much more relaxed and no longer in a hurry. On the way, I rested for an hour in a town, and then returned to Juntun in Jishan County in the evening.
Qin Mubai and Chen Yan went to see Li Ke together.
"How did things go?" Li Ke asked immediately, obviously feeling a little anxious after waiting all day.
"Your Highness, everything has been taken care of!" Qin Mubai grinned, "Now, we can finally relax a little and close the nets for fishing!"
"Great!" Li Ke stroked his palm and let out a long sigh of relief, "Now we only need to wait for His Majesty's imperial edict to be issued, and we can close the net to fish as we please and wipe out this group of corrupt officials in Jiangzhou! "