one
Shang Rui is in the palace of ancient Shun.
He just received news that Qi An was on the move.
"Have you found him?" Shang Rui asked.
"It is said that there are people coming in and out of his academy in Jinluo." Ming Lian reported back, but in his heart he was blaming these people for passing the news to the emperor before it was confirmed.
Shang Rui nodded: "Okay, let's explore again."
Ming Lian had just agreed to leave when he heard Shang Rui calling out, "Come back, come back. Jinluo is so close, it would be better for me to go and take a look myself." After that, he summoned Hongwu to set off immediately.
It was almost two o'clock in the morning when he and Hongwu, along with a few guards, rode to Qi'an's door.
Hongwu first went into the courtyard to explore for a while, then came back and reported, "There are only two people in total."
Shang Rui nodded and jumped over the wall.
In order to facilitate entry and exit, he wore a purple robe with narrow sleeves and jumped to the front of the main house. He saw that the lights in the house were still on, but there was no movement.
He held his breath and listened for a while under the eaves, then looked at Hongwu: "Are you asleep?"
Hongwu replied: "It should be." And his breathing is so light, very much like a woman's. Otherwise he must be weak.
"Then take a look." Shang Rui raised his chin and pointed to Hongwu.
Hongwu had no choice but to poke the window paper with his fingers. But he only took a glance inside and quickly withdrew.
"how?"
"It's definitely a woman."
"A female?" Shang Rui was puzzled.
"Your Majesty..." Hongwu felt something was wrong, "It's late at night, and there are differences between men and women."
"I know, so you stay here and I'll go in alone."
"Your Majesty..." This was not the result he wanted.
However, before he could finish his words, Shang Rui had already opened the window and jumped in quietly.
There was a light on in the room.
The woman was indeed asleep, but she was lying on the table. She was a very young woman, no more than 20 years old.
Shang Rui saw that it was really a woman, and he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave, but suddenly he felt a little night breeze blowing in from the crack of the door, and at the same time he smelled a very faint fragrance, like the scent of chrysanthemum or pear blossom. He was not sure whether the scent came from the woods outside the house or from the woman in front of him.
He couldn't help but turn around and look at her.
This time, he avoided the shadow of the lamp and could see her features clearly. The woman was resting her head on her arm, sleeping unsteadily and even moving.
A gust of night wind blew in again, causing the flame in the lamp to move a little. He saw the deep tear marks on her face, and the tears were still flowing.
A round teardrop fell from the corner of the left eye, flowed across the bridge of the nose to the other side of the face, rolled over the eyelashes of the right eye, slid across the arm, and finally dripped onto the table.
One by one...
Like the pearls that abound in the Weilu Sea in the capital, each grain falls in the same place and moistens the entire area.
He couldn't help but take a few steps closer and take another look at her.
A bird chirped outside the door, which was Hongwu's signal. He got up and left without delay.
two
He Xiang came over from the side room with the light on and knocked on the door of the main room: "Miss, are you asleep? Why didn't you turn off the lights?"
The sound woke Xia Yue up. She raised her head from the table, hurriedly wiped the tears from her face, and replied in a muffled voice, "I went to bed." Then she turned off the lights.
She sat at the table, quietly listening to He Xiang's footsteps gradually fading away in the darkness, but she was no longer sleepy.
She turned around and looked around suspiciously in the moonlight.
It seems like there's a strange smell in the room.
A few days later, Chang Mama's grandson turned one month old, and everyone said they wanted to go and see the little guy.
The Qin family is in the east of Jinluo City. The chubby baby has a soft and delicate body. When Zijin holds him, he is quiet and does not cry or make a fuss. After the full moon banquet, Xia Yue said she wanted to leave first. Zijin stood up and wanted to go with her, but she refused and just asked Chuqin to watch him and not let him drink.
After coming out of Qin's house with He Xiang, a man waving a gold-rimmed paper fan came towards them. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Wang Gan.
Xia Yue stood there for a long while without moving.
Wang Gan had already seen her and walked towards her with a smile: "Miss Min." He deliberately dragged out the voice and then blocked her way.
That day, he crawled back home, and no one chased him. Even the servant who was knocked unconscious ran back by himself. He was worried that the other party would come to seek revenge, but he didn't expect that everything would be peaceful after several days. He guessed that they were afraid of the power of the Wang family and became even more fearless.
He looked Xia Yue up and down, and frivolously picked up the ribbon tied around Xia Yue's waist with his fan: "Miss Min is one of the most beautiful women in our Jinluo, but who knows how wonderful it feels underneath her clothes." After saying this, he laughed wildly.
He Xiang didn't understand what was going on and was completely frightened.
Xia Yue was extremely angry. She was a strong person, and it was even harder for her to show weakness in front of such a person. If she had a knife in her hand at this moment, and if everyone in the world could take responsibility for their own actions, she would swear to cut him into pieces on the spot.
But the affairs of this world are not as simple as one life for another...
Wang Gan leaned closer and said with a smile, "It seems that not only did I keep silent, but Miss Min was also reluctant to tell others. We have such a tacit understanding, why not be kind and marry you as a concubine, it will be your good fortune."
Xia Yue sneered and thought of it as a dog bite, so she decided to take a detour.
When she turned around, she saw Zijin behind her. Zijin had chased out of Chang's house at some point and was standing frozen in the distance.
"Zi Jin..." She was suddenly at a loss.
He walked closer step by step, staring into Xia Yue's eyes, then moved his eyes to Wang Gan's face: "Wang Gan, is that you?" His face was twisted in pain.
He has been looking for the culprit of that incident, but he didn't dare to ask Xia Yue, so he has been doing it in secret.
But he didn't expect that he also knew that person, who was Wang Kui's adopted son Wang Gan.
The veins on his fist bulged, and he suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Wang Gan's collar, and punched him in the face. This punch was the heaviest he had ever punched in his life, and it contained his pain, regret, and sadness.
The action came too suddenly. The two servants beside Wang Gan wanted to stop it but were restrained by Chu Qin and Chu Zhong. Another smart person saw from a distance that something was wrong and ran back to Wang's house to find help and report the news.
"Master, there are too many people on the street. Let's find a quiet place." Chu Qin gestured to Zi Jin and looked around. This is not a prosperous place in Jinluo, but there is a constant flow of people coming and going. Wang Gan has always been a person who walks sideways in the city. When he was beaten like this, it naturally attracted the attention of several passers-by.
Xia Yue said: "Zijin, calm down, he didn't do anything to me."
But he turned his head to look at her, and his gaze went straight into Xia Yue's heart, captivating her.
This was the first time anyone saw him angry, and his expression was filled with complex emotions.
"He deserves to die if he touches you even once." Zi Jin said as he pushed Wang Gan to the most hidden corner of the city wall.
Wang Gan leaned his back against the wall, thinking that someone had gone back to report the news, so he forced himself to smile and said, "I wanted to grab you and play with you at that time, but I didn't expect your sister to be reluctant to let you go..." Before he could finish, Zi Jin swung his angry fist and hit him in the abdomen again.
He didn't dare to listen further, although he understood when he met Wang Gan.
Wang Gan was in great pain. Seeing Zi Jin's anger, he threatened with a trembling voice: "If my father... comes, no one in your family will survive. If you dare to touch a hair of the Wang family, the emperor and the empress will definitely destroy you... destroy your entire family, and the emperor..."
As he spoke, Zi Jin turned around, pulled out the sword from Chu Qin's waist, and put his hand on Wang Gan's neck.
Wang Gan took a deep breath, and the rest of his words were choked back by the sword on his neck.
"Young Master!" Chu Qin held the hilt of the sword, not wanting him to do anything wrong in his anger.
"Zi Jin, it's not worth it," Xia Yue stood in front of him, "It's not worth it for you to risk your life for such a person."
"If you kill him, I will pay with my life on the spot!" he said angrily.
"What about me? And what about Chu Qin and Chu Zhong who worked so hard to watch you grow up? What about He Xiang, Mother Chang, and Min Rong?"
"No matter what, I can't let him go."
Xia Yue smiled bitterly and said, "On the day you pay for his life, should we go to the execution ground or collect your body? Wang Kui is all-powerful in Jinluo. What should we do if he wants our whole family to die as well? Their Wang family is more powerful than David. You also know who is behind it. How can we escape
"You just saw Mama Chang's grandson. He was so small and cute, so soft and tender. He has only been in this world for a few dozen days. Do you want to make him pay with your life?"
She grabbed his arm that was holding the sword and pulled it down bit by bit: "Your mother used her last breath to dig you out of the pile of dead bodies, just for you to despise yourself like this? It's not worth it. Your life is so precious, it's not worth it to lose it to such a villain."
Finally, he put down the sword dejectedly.
Wang Gan broke free, not caring about the two servants who were beaten, and fled a dozen feet away. Seeing that Zi Jin did not move, he suddenly regained some courage, and turned back tremblingly and said, "I tell you, today's matter will not... just let it go. You guys better go back... and pray to the Buddha every day to bless me with a long life, otherwise... if I get a headache due to wind and heat, your family will have to pay with dozens of lives." After saying that, he ran away.
After Wang Gan walked away, Xia Yue patted his arm gently and said, "Forget it, I don't mind at all." Then she left alone.
Zi Jin originally thought that Xia Yue didn't mention the beast because she didn't know him or didn't want to recall the pain, so he had to investigate secretly. But until now, he suddenly realized that it was not because she didn't know, but because she was protecting him and afraid that he would do something stupid.
When he saw her slender figure, he felt extremely sad and miserable.
It's all for him.
For him, she had to leave the capital with her father and disappear without a trace.
Because of him, she missed a good match.
For him, she was insulted, but she didn't dare to ask for help even though he was right in front of her.
For him, she even refused to mention who the real murderer was.
He suddenly wanted to catch up with her and ask her, "Why do you always treat me as the child I used to be? You always think I still need your protection. What should I do to make you see me as a man? What else do I need besides growing up?"
At that moment, the person he hated the most was not Wang Gan, but himself.
He remained silent as he looked in the direction Xia Yue left. After a long moment, he turned to look at Chu Qin and said, "Chu Qin, I want to see the King of Huai."
three
In the middle of the night, Chu Qin suddenly came and knocked on the door of the academy.
Xia Yue put on her clothes and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Chu Qin said with a bitter face: "Miss, please go and have a look. We can't persuade the young master."
When I returned to the Min residence, I saw Zijin in the pavilion beside the pond. He was leaning against the pillar of the pavilion, holding a jar of wine in his hand.
That's aged sake from the family's wine cellar.
When Xia Yue's mother was alive, she had prepared the daughter's red wine, which had been stored for many years. Ten jars were buried in the soil of the yard, saying that they would be dug out when Xia Yue got married. The remaining ten jars were reserved for Zi Jin's wedding.
Xia Yue walked over and snatched the wine jar from his hand.
He turned to look at her.
She said angrily: "What did I tell you? No drinking, no drinking!"
He remained silent.
"Who did you learn this from?"
He still didn't speak. The moonlight fell on his face, and he just stared at her. He was usually a person who blushed easily, but after drinking, his face became paler and paler. Xia Yue didn't know how much he drank, but seeing that his expression was still clear, she continued to scold him.
"Chu Qin can't control you anymore, right? They worked so hard to watch you grow up..."
"Have I grown up?" he suddenly interrupted her and asked.
The old sake on his lips had not yet dried, stained with the moonlight, making the corners of his mouth sparkle, but his eyes were staring straight at her. Those eyes were like the lake water in Jinluo on a spring day, clear and pure.
Xia Yue suddenly remembered his thoughts and felt embarrassed. She avoided the question and said, "I'm too lazy to pay attention to you." After she finished speaking, she took the jar of wine beside him and was about to leave.
Just as I turned around, he stretched out his arms and hugged me.
He sat, she stood, and he put his arms around her waist.
Xia Yue was anxious: "Zi Jin, they will see it."
But he buried his face, pressed his lips against her waist through her clothes and said, "I can't hear anything you say. I don't want to hear it."
Even though he said such unreasonable words, his tone was still extremely bitter.
He paused, then continued, "I won't let you go either. If you call them here, it would be better to just explain what you mean. That way it will be better."
He and she were in a stalemate for a while. When he saw that she had no intention of breaking free, the tension in his heart finally relaxed.
He was afraid that she would push him away, he was afraid that she would cry.
He was even afraid that she would say something decisive to scare him like she did last time, so he would rather choose not to listen to anything.
He said, "Don't ever threaten me with becoming a nun again. I'll be scared and heartbroken. Even if you don't like me or hate me, don't threaten me with yourself. So do whatever you want. I'll obey you.
"Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't been rude to you that day, would we still be the same as before. So, I should have kept it hidden, rotted in my heart, and never let you know until I died. And, if it weren't for me... If it weren't for me... If it weren't for me..."
Because of his ear disease, he rarely spoke such long words in front of others. It was difficult for him to speak in such a long way, and he was drunk. But at this moment, when he talked about this, he could no longer control his emotions. He almost choked up and couldn't continue the last sentence. The regret was constantly devouring his mind and almost drove him crazy.
Xia Yue understood exactly what he was going to say. She quickly put the things in her hands on the stone table and reached out to lift his head, but he clung to her waist tightly, refusing to let her touch his face.
She knew he was crying.
Then, she felt his tears gradually soaking the piece of clothes around her waist that was touching his eyes.
Xia Yue hesitated for a moment, and finally her hands fell on his head, her ten fingers inserted into his black hair, and her own tears burst out.
That night, Zi Jin finally fell asleep with his head resting on her legs.
Under the influence of alcohol, he acted willfully for the last time in his life.
He swore that he would become a man strong enough to protect her and make sure she would never suffer any injustice in her life.
On the second day, Zi Jin, Chu Qin and Chu Zhong went to the Southern Region, while Xia Yue took He Xiang to her mother's hometown in the Imperial Capital.