It is simply unimaginable for ordinary people to cross this waterway by swimming without a ferry, especially in winter.
Xie Changgeng was just relying on his excellent swimming ability acquired from walking on waterways since he was a teenager, and on impulse, he jumped into the water and crossed the river.
Even though he was young and strong, and floated several times along the way to replenish his energy, when he finally finished this long journey in the water and his feet touched the hard ground, he was already exhausted and almost collapsed.
He lay prone on a patch of grass on the shore, with water flowing from head to toe. He closed his eyes and rested for a while. When his strength recovered, he climbed up with difficulty, rubbed his hands and feet, which had been frozen almost stiff by the lake water, and headed towards the medicine house based on his memory from many years ago.
Guards were also posted at the entrance of the mountain path leading to the medicine house.
He went around it, climbed up from the back mountain, and approached the medicine house.
Not far ahead, a guard on duty blocked his way.
He pulled out the dagger from his waist and quietly approached the guard's back.
The guard seemed to sense something was wrong, but before he could turn around, someone grabbed his throat from behind.
Xie Changgeng was about to cut the guard's throat, but his hand stopped.
He raised his eyes and looked at the house in front of him. After a slight hesitation, he hit the man hard on the back of the neck, knocked him unconscious, and dragged him into the bushes.
It's already late at night.
That night, for the first time in his life, he took such a risky move without considering the consequences.
He recognized the figure standing behind the window at a glance. It was the person he had to see tonight no matter what.
He finally got what he wanted and came close to the woman. Just as he was about to show up, he saw Mother Mu coming over, seemingly persuading her to go and rest.
Her figure disappeared from behind the window and the window was closed.
Xie Changgeng held his breath and stopped by the dim wall outside the window, waiting for Mother Mu to leave.
The footsteps gradually faded away, and the talkative and loyal maid finally left.
But outside the wall, the figure in the night was frozen.
Xie Changgeng's heart was beating wildly, like a drum that was about to be broken.
His clothes were damp and cold, tightly covering his skin. His back was wet, and it was hard to tell whether it was the water from the lake or the layers of cold sweat that had just poured out.
From the moment he jumped into the water and headed here desperately, he wished he could grow wings and see her immediately.
All along, he had so many doubts in his heart. He had been holding back, telling himself that he didn't need to care. Until a few days ago, he recalled his first meeting with her. He could no longer tolerate it. He knew that he had to get her answer, without hiding anything, to end the trouble and torture that had been inflicted on him for so long.
It was this kind of ambition that drove him to come here at this moment.
He didn't expect that he would be greeted by such an unexpected scene.
Every word she said about him was piercing. He couldn't refute it. He even felt ashamed as if he had been stripped naked and exposed.
That would have been fine, he was not a good person, and he never considered himself a good person. Then, what he heard was a real shock to him.
He knew she had always hated herself.
But if he hadn't happened to hear it tonight, he would probably never have known that her feelings towards him went beyond disgust, and she actually hated him.
How much hatred must a woman have to have for her to be so cruel to herself, with the sole purpose of drawing a line between herself and him
Once, he thought that being betrayed by his wife would be the biggest setback in his life.
During those days that have passed and cannot be forgiven, every time he thought of this, he would feel angry, jealous, unwilling, and perhaps, a little painful.
However, compared with her willingness to destroy her own innocence and bear the stigma in order to distance herself from him, all his previous anger, jealousy, resentment, and pain seemed so ridiculous.
Tonight he finally realized how heart-wrenching it was.
He could no longer move forward, nor could he take the first step to leave.
The cold wind blew past him in gusts.
He seemed to be frozen in this winter night. In the dark night, he faced the window in front of him which was tightly closed to him, without moving, until he heard a commotion behind him.
"There's an assassin! Protect the princess!"
The sound of hurried footsteps came one after another.
A sharp pain came from his back, as if he was bitten fiercely by a vicious beast with sharp teeth.
He slowly turned his head and saw a light of torches behind him, and a dozen guards rushed into the yard.
Several guards drew their bows and shot the same row of arrows at him.
Mu Fulan got up, put on her clothes and opened the door.
The yard was lit with torches and filled with nervous-looking guards.
She looked at the surrounded assassin and was stunned.
She actually saw Xie Changgeng.
He stood stiffly in a strange posture, wet from head to toe, as if he had crawled out of water, and his face was so pale that not a single color was left.
As if he heard the noise of her coming out, he turned his head with difficulty, looked over, and his eyes were fixed on her face.
He looked at her for a moment, then raised his foot with difficulty, as if he was going to walk towards her. However, as soon as his shoulder moved, a look of pain appeared on his face, and his body swayed and he fell down.
Only then did Mu Fulan see clearly that several sharp arrows were deeply inserted into his back.
The bright red blood slowly flowed out from his wet clothes and onto the ground.
"I failed to provide adequate protection, and the assassin took advantage of the opportunity, causing the princess to be frightened! I deserve to die!"
The chief guard tonight had never seen Xie Changgeng before, so he naturally didn't recognize him. Seeing that the assassin was controlled, he hurriedly knelt down to Mu Fulan.
After a long while, there was no response from her. He raised his eyes and saw her staring at the assassin who had fainted on the ground with a strange expression. He thought she was too frightened and hurriedly ordered his men to move the assassin away immediately.
Mu Fulan closed her eyes and said, "Bring him in."
Everyone was stunned and stopped.
"Carry it in!"
Mu Fulan raised her voice and repeated her order.
…
It was as if he had slept for an extremely long time. When Xie Changgeng woke up from his coma, for such a brief moment, he had no idea where he was or what had happened.
But soon, the scenes before he lost consciousness quickly returned to his mind.
He quickly opened his eyes and saw that he was lying in a small square room. The furnishings were simple and there was a faint herbal fragrance in the air.
He understood.
This is also a medicine house.
He endured the pain in his back and struggled to sit up. Just as he was about to get up, he saw the door open and a young man with an honest face walked in.
He recognized that the young man should be Ah Da, the little boy in the medicine house whom he had met when he visited Medicine Master Yao that year.
Seeing that he woke up, Ada was very happy. He put down the things in his hands, went forward to help him, let him lie back, and said that he would change his bandages first and then let him eat something.
"My lord, you have been unconscious for so long, you must be hungry, right? I made some porridge for you."
Xie Changgeng smiled, nodded, followed his instructions, slowly lay down, and asked, "How long have I slept?"
He opened his mouth and heard his voice was hoarse, like the sound of a broken gong, extremely harsh.
Ah Da Dao: "My lord, the arrow wound on your back is not light, and you have a fever. You have been in a coma for three days."
Xie Changgeng closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, turned his head, looked in the direction of the door behind him, and whispered, "Was it the princess who saved me? Where is she?"
Ah Da Dao: "The princess left last night, taking everyone with her. Today, only you and I are left in the medicine house. The princess ordered me to serve you. Before she left, she told me that with your foundation, you should be able to wake up today, and as long as you wake up, you will be fine. The princess also asked me to tell you that you can leave on your own after a few more days of rest. The princess has already ordered someone to leave a boat for you at the ferry at the foot of the mountain, so you can use it at any time."
Xie Changgeng fell silent and stopped talking, allowing Ah Da to change the medicine. After the medicine was changed, he ate a bowl of porridge in silence, then put on his clothes and got off the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt dizzy and his body swayed slightly.
Ada hurriedly supported him.
"Where are you going, sir? You just woke up and you are very sick. You should lie down again. I will prepare some food for you..."
Xie Changgeng closed his eyes, calmed himself down, waited for the dizziness to pass, walked out of the house, stood for a moment, then took a step and went outside.
He wanted to go out, how could Ah Da dare to stop him by force. But seeing that he looked exhausted and his steps were weak, he remembered the princess's instructions to him before she left, asking him to take good care of others, how could he dare to let him walk around alone, so he had to follow closely.
The mountain was empty, and apart from the two of them, there was no sign of human life.
He went out from the back door, broke off a branch from the roadside and used it as a walking stick, then followed the mountain path and walked slowly down. His figure was silent, and he didn't say a word along the way. Finally, he came to the thousand-year-old cypress tree rooted on the edge of the cliff and stopped.
The old cypress tree has twisted branches and is as tall as a canopy. On the branches, there are more than ten bird nests of various sizes.
It was daytime and the big bird was out looking for food and disappeared. Only a few little birds were left in the nest, making tender and crisp chirping sounds.
He stood there, looking up at the baby birds in the nest, as if in a trance. After a long time, he slowly walked over, sat down under the tree, leaned against the trunk, and closed his eyes.
The sun shone through the gaps between the treetops and fell on his pale face. He was motionless, with his head slightly tilted, as if he had fallen asleep.
Ah Da didn't dare to make a sound, and quietly accompanied him. After a long time, he saw his eyelashes move slightly, opened his eyes, turned his face, and whispered to himself: "Go and tell her that if she doesn't plan to come here to see me, I will go into the city and go to the palace to see her myself."