Chapter 165 Reunion

The girl in front of him looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. She stood there blankly, staring at him with obvious fear and doubt in her eyes.

The age match was correct, but it was inappropriate to look at such things, so he quickly glanced at it and turned his gaze away.

Perhaps the candlelight in the room was too dim, and she didn't seem quite the same as the fiancée in my memory. Could it be that my memory had become hazy after so many years?

The old woman just now made it very clear that they were women from the Ningyuan General's Mansion, yet this woman was called the Young Madam.

The only person in the Ningyuan General's Mansion who can be called the young mistress is Lu Yunqi's wife.

In other words, even after news of his "death" reached the capital, his fiancée, Yu Qingyan, still married him according to their marriage agreement?

If the old members of the General's Mansion were standing before them, they would surely recognize the man before them as none other than their young general, Lu Yunqi, who had been dead for a year.

Yu Qingci was also staring blankly at the other person. She couldn't explain why she had helped this person just now. She just intuitively felt that he didn't seem like a bad person. Most importantly, he had just mentioned Yu Qingyan's name.

She needs to figure out what's going on.

"Who are you……"

"Who are you……"

The two asked the question at the same time, then immediately shut up.

Lu Yunqi realized that this place was not safe to stay any longer, so he took a step back and bowed.

"Thank you for saving me, young mistress. I hope we will meet again someday. Take care."

After saying that, he gave Yu Qingci a deep look, then turned and left through the window.

Yu Qingci stared blankly for a moment before she came to her senses. She hurriedly closed the window, then leaned weakly against the bed, clutching her chest as she slowly sat down.

Only then did she realize how dangerous it had been; one wrong step and she might have lost her life.

However, the person had just blurted out Yu Qingyan's name, which clearly meant that he knew Yu Qingyan or was aware of her identity.

Who exactly is that person?

Disturbed by this matter at night, Yu Qingyan was unable to fall asleep for a long time until the sound of the gong at dawn rang out outside, finally drifting off to sleep.

It seemed like she had only slept for a short while when she was woken up by Granny Pei.

"Young Madam, it's time to get up. The abbot of the temple is here today to chant sutras and preside over the ceremony. We can't be late."

Yu Qingci had no choice but to sit up and, with the help of several people, finish washing up.

After having a simple breakfast, we went to the main hall.

As soon as I stepped out of the hospital, I saw soldiers still stationed not far away.

Yu Qingci frowned. Pei Mama whispered to her, "Last night these soldiers were busy trying to catch some assassin, but they haven't caught him yet. I heard there are soldiers everywhere in and around the mountain, including the temple."

The old lady of the Wang family, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, lives in the courtyard next to ours. I heard that she was very unhappy because her peace and quiet was disturbed last night. This morning, I saw that her servants were already packing their things to go back to their mansion.

Several other courtyards nearby also had pilgrims checking out; it seems the situation will remain tense for several more days until the assassin is caught. Sigh! Unfortunately, our religious ceremony is urgent and we can't leave early, otherwise I would have also tried to persuade the young mistress to leave.”

Yu Qingci couldn't help but frown; things were really not going well.

After that person left last night, I don't know where he hid. If he escaped into the deep mountains, that would be fine, but otherwise he will be caught sooner or later.

Granny Pei sighed to herself, and seeing that she remained silent for a while, she spoke up again to comfort her:

"Young mistress, don't worry. Tonight I'll have our guards come in and stand watch in the courtyard. There are also so many soldiers guarding outside. I doubt that assassin would dare to linger in the temple and would have already fled into the deep mountains."

The group walked along, whispering to each other, and soon arrived at the main hall.

The eminent monk who came today is indeed the abbot of the temple.

“Amitabha, the sudden incident last night disturbed you, and I apologize to you here.”

Seeing the abbot's politeness, Yu Qingci hurriedly returned the greeting.

The two exchanged a few words and then entered the main hall together.

The main hall was already prepared. Yu Qingci knelt respectfully before the Buddha and began to worship.

That night, Granny Pei insisted that Tong'er and Lian Qiao stay with Yu Qingci. The two maids, afraid of disturbing their mistress's sleep, obediently squeezed onto the couch next to her, intending to make do for the night.

Even with someone watching over her, Yu Qingci still couldn't sleep.

There was nothing she could do; she never liked having someone keep watch in her room at night. Even in Guanlan Courtyard, the maids on night watch slept on the soft couch in the outer room, so they couldn't disturb her.

But the temple is different; the rooms are only so big and there is no distinction between inner and outer rooms.

Tong'er and Lianqiao didn't have Yu Qingci's troubles. The two of them squeezed together and chatted and laughed for a while. Soon, they could be heard snoring softly. Yu Qingci lay alone on the bed, glanced at them with some envy, and then lowered the bed curtains, intending to go to sleep.

I don't know why, but I found myself secretly hoping to see that person again.

Although that person is very likely to be involved with Yu Qingyan.

The three-day ritual was completed quickly, and we can go back today.

To Yu Qingci's displeasure, Old Master Li and his younger brother Qingbai disappeared without a trace. In short, they did not return until the end of the ritual, much to the dismay of Granny Pei and Tong'er.

They donated a large sum of money to the temple for incense offerings, left behind several ever-burning lamps, gave a few instructions to the monks in charge of daily offerings, and then headed home.

There were still many worshippers in the temple at this hour, and Yu Qingci would definitely run into them if she went out the front door, so she chose to leave through the back door.

Granny Pei had already arranged for a carriage and guards to wait at the back gate.

As they exited through the back gate, they saw their own carriage waiting there. Yu Qingci walked to the carriage, and the driver took a footstool from the carriage shaft and placed it at Yu Qingci's feet. Granny Pei asked the driver:

"Were any soldiers searching this area just now?"

The coachman respectfully replied, "Yes, a group of soldiers just passed by, but there seemed to be fewer officers and soldiers searching than the previous two days. They knew we were from the Ningyuan General's Mansion and told us to be careful."

Granny Pei nodded: "It's good that you're alright, Amitabha."

Granny Pei helped Yu Qingci into the carriage.

As soon as Yu Qingci bent down to enter, she sensed something was wrong. Looking up, she saw that there was already someone in the carriage.

At that moment, the man put his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. His gaze was as cold as ice, making her dare not make any unnecessary movements.

Lu Yunqi didn't give her time to think and reached out to pull her inside.

After instructing the coachman outside, Granny Pei boarded the carriage. Once she was settled, she looked up and a chill instantly ran through her body.

When did this person come up?

She wanted to shout, but seeing the cold dagger placed on the young mistress's slender, fair neck, as if it would sever if she moved even slightly, Granny Pei felt as if someone had grabbed her by the neck, unable to utter a single word, and sat there motionless like a puppet.

Yu Qingci calmed down at this moment. She looked at Granny Pei with reassuring eyes and said to the outside:

"Let's go."

The carriage slowly began to move.