Chapter 97 Strong Like Wine (Part 9) Wei Yuanzhan pulled her onto the table. ...

The streets stretched as far as the eye could see, teeming with people—this was the most bustling area of ​​the capital. Armored soldiers patrolled the streets, and people paraded through the streets with lanterns. Everyone was doing their part; who was following them?

Zhi Rou looked away, puzzled, and gazed at Su Du.

His expression was calm. After speaking to her, he turned away and stared intently at the person opposite him. He had an animalistic intuition that someone had been following them ever since they passed the Crane Tower.

Zhi Rou believed in herself, but Su Du's expression made her hesitate, so she couldn't help but look over again and carefully examine his face.

The bright moon hung in the sky, and silver frost fell, blending with the lights, while the crowd continued to move.

Her gaze slowly settled on several tall men. They were some distance away, and the lighting made the surroundings blurry, so she couldn't see their faces clearly. However, they were all standing still and didn't come over.

Zhi Rou thought for a moment, her gaze falling on that cold, stern profile, and suddenly realized who it was.

Wei Yuanzhan.

He was hostile to Su Du, after all, they had clashed on the battlefield and regarded each other as enemies. Now that he saw him in the capital, and did not know the purpose of his visit, how could he not be worried?

Zhi Rou frowned slightly, not wanting them to meet, so she calmly lied to Su Du, saying, "Don't worry about him, he's my father's man."

"Your father?" Su Du lifted his eyelids, his tone somewhat strange.

Zhi Rou was too lazy to talk to him anymore. She turned around and said in a tone that was not one of discussion, "Let's go."

Su Du clearly didn't believe her, and after some consideration, he still followed her.

Back at the Song residence, it was late at night, and the place was exceptionally quiet compared to the streets outside.

The two stood at the bottom of the steps in front of the mansion. Su looked up at the plaque above and imagined the scenery inside. It should be similar to that of the Chang family, right?

He had remained silent the whole way, but now, looking down at Zhirou, he asked, "Have you told her about me?"

His voice was low, and he stood close to her in a relaxed posture.

Zhi Rou knew who he was asking and wasn't used to him talking to her like that. She gently cupped her palms and said truthfully, "No."

Su paused for a moment, then remained silent.

The night air was chilly. Zhi Rou didn't linger any longer. She said something to Su Du and stepped onto the steps of the mansion.

Light footsteps came from behind. Su Du hadn't gone far from the Song residence. Turning her head, she could see the tall white walls, and a crescent moon, like a curved blade, hung upside down high in the sky.

He chuckled and turned his head to the side: "Haven't you seen enough yet?"

He stopped and turned around. The long night lay before him, and a figure emerged from under the tree, followed by two attendants.

Su Du's gaze slowly swept across their faces, observing them discreetly.

He's an old acquaintance.

"You shouldn't have come here."

Wei Yuanzhan stopped in front of him, his tone calm, without any hint of anger or embarrassment at being discovered. He probably intended to let him know that he was following behind, without any intention of hiding.

Su Du was only in his early twenties, quite young. He had already shown restraint last time, but now when he spoke again, it had a domineering air about him.

"Whether I should come here, and where I should go, is up to me. And what are you?"

Wei Yuanzhan bit his cheek. Tonight, he was not wearing armor or carrying a sword, but only a jade-colored wide-sleeved robe. The bamboo and flower patterns on the robe concealed his fierceness, and he looked like a handsome and dashing young master from an official family.

He suppressed his anger, changed his form of address, and spoke with a strong sense of provocation: "General, you have come to our court from afar. I wonder if it is your lord who intends to expel you, or if you yourself have decided to leave?"

Thinking of the reckless new king of Beili, Su Du smiled contemptuously: "Incompetent and useless, he is no match for my lord."

Wei Yuanzhan understood the implication in his words and raised an eyebrow in confusion: "General, have you come here to surrender?"

Before he finished speaking, he muttered in the Northern Li language, "Surrender... Your emperor is old and senile."

Although I couldn't understand everything he said, I knew from his disdainful look that it wasn't anything nice.

The two stood facing each other, and Su looked into Wei Yuanzhan's extremely bright eyes, unwilling to get entangled with him.

He said calmly, "General Wei, just consider me a traveler. There is no conflict between us."

"Are you kidding me?" Wei Yuanzhan frowned in disgust.

Recalling the scene in front of the Song residence just now, Su Du lowered his chin, his eyes almost glued to her hair and body, such an ambiguous distance... Wei Yuanzhan clenched his fists, his ten fingers pressing hard as if he wanted to crush something.

"Stay away from Song Zhirou," he warned.

Upon hearing this, Su Du was taken aback for a moment, then looked at him with an ambiguous expression, her gaze sweeping down from his eyebrows with a playful attitude. Finally, she smiled and revealed a smug expression: "That depends on whether she is willing or not."

After speaking, his smile widened, as if a victor were showing off something. Wei Yuanzhan became anxious, wishing he could throw a punch at him.

Su Du scrutinized the youthful face before him. This man was too clear-headed; no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, his desires would still burst forth from his eyes. He bore no resemblance to the ruthless General Wei on the battlefield. In Su Du's eyes, this was a completely different person.

A naive yet proud boy.

Su Du's smile gradually faded. He didn't feel intimidated by Wei Yuanzhan. As they passed each other, he even glanced at him lazily before casually walking into the night.

Changhuai and Lanye overheard their conversation.

Chang Huai raised his hand as if to call him, but stopped halfway through, lowering his eyes to stand guard beside Wei Yuanzhan, waiting for his instructions.

A moment later, Wei Yuanzhan said, "Go and find out where he is staying and who he is associating with. Be sure to conceal your whereabouts and do not disturb him."

After saying that, he pinched his forehead, then let go. "Lan Ye, let him come back."

Changhuai nodded, raising his gaze slightly upwards. Even in the dim light, he could still sense his master's cold and aloof aura.

"Master, are you... going back to the manor?" he asked tentatively.

Wei Yuanzhan shook his head, looking at the not-too-high courtyard wall on the left, his voice tinged with annoyance and anger: "I have important things to ask her."

Zhi Rou has been back in the capital for several days. The old people in the mansion recognize her and treat her as indifferently as usual.

The servants who had come in the past three years had never seen the Fourth Miss. She was elusive and always alone, and she was also cold and beautiful. Whenever the servants saw her, they would lower their eyelashes. Because they could not figure out the Fourth Miss's temperament, they were extremely respectful.

"You may all leave," Zhi Rou instructed the maids on duty outside as she stepped into Xixiang Garden.

There weren't many servants at Xixiang Garden; they were all specially chosen by Song Congzhao to take care of Lin He. They were strict in their rules and kept their mouths shut, which showed that Rou had lived in Beili for a long time and couldn't easily trust anyone.

After hesitating for a moment, the maid retreated to the moon gate outside and did not dare to go far.

Zhi Rou had been back in the capital for less than ten days, and Lin He was already very familiar with her footsteps. Hearing the sound, Lin He put down the book she was reading and looked toward the door.

The candlelight inside flickered, casting a long, slender shadow on the door. As the person approached, the shadow shifted downwards, curving to the ground.

"Mother."

"Whom did you go to see? You've only just returned." Lin He's eyes were kind and gentle as she gestured to the person beside her, inviting her to sit down.

“Friends from the grasslands,” Zhi Rou answered casually, but after sitting down, she hesitated again, “Actually, I wouldn’t call them friends.”

Lin He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is it a man?"

Zhi Rou hummed in agreement.

Noticing her absent-mindedness, Lin He pondered for a moment and then reminded her from the side, "Your father is trying to find a good match for you and your sister. If you have someone in your heart, you should tell him as soon as possible."

Lin He didn't want to interfere with who Zhi Rou associated with; as long as a man could please Zhi Rou, she would choose him.

Unexpectedly, her mother misunderstood her. Zhi Rou raised her eyebrows and said, "What are you saying, Mother? I don't want to get married."

She clung tightly to Lin He's arm, still as mischievous as when she was a child, saying, "I never want to leave my mother in this lifetime."

Lin He smiled more deeply, thinking that she was just clinging to him because she hadn't seen him in a long time.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and her daughter has reached marriageable age. Even though Zhi Rou is thin-skinned, Lin He can't help but make plans for her.

"Tell me about your friend."

The last two characters were drawn out slightly, subtly revealing a bright quality. Zhi Rou didn't understand, loosened her arms a little, and lowered her eyes.

Thinking of Su Du, she lightly pressed her fingers on the pattern on the sheath at her waist, her voice low and devoid of any joy for the person she desired.

"His name is Sudu, which means outstanding on the grasslands. He is a person..."

At this point, she paused for a moment, recalling everything between him; in truth, she didn't like him.

Their relationship had been strange ever since Suyuan City. Even if he might have an indelible connection with them, it was hard to change one's impression of another.

Zhi Rou truthfully said, "He does things by any means necessary and without limits. Sometimes he is like a harmless scholar, with a compassionate heart, helping the weak and supporting the vulnerable. He is the most difficult person I have ever met to distinguish between right and wrong."

"Back then, in order to leave Beili, I secretly followed the army to Suyuan. When he found out, he wanted to kill me, but when he saw the jade pendant on my body, he suddenly changed his mind."

Zhi Rou never mentioned any danger, but Lin He could guess that she was naturally active and would never sit idly by and wait to die.

A hint of sadness appeared in Lin He's eyes as she turned to look at Zhi Rou.

She raised her eyes, her usually bright, star-like pupils now tinged with a dark hue: "Once... he called me Xiao Nian."

Lin He's eyelashes twitched, wondering if she had misheard. Zhi Rou continued, "But he got drunk, and after a few days, it was as if nothing had happened. He just showed me the jade pendant, and there was a character under the coiled dragon pattern... it was 'Yu', the 'Yu' in 'meeting'."

Lin He couldn't believe what she was hearing. She pressed her right hand against her knee, and for a moment even the pulse in her palm was pounding wildly.

“Su Du is not his real name. He needed something from me, but I didn’t trust him, so I asked him his name first.”

He said his surname was Chang and his given name was Jinchen.

He also said that his parents cherished him like a precious jewel, which is why they named him that.

The lights in front of him gradually dimmed, and the shadows became vast, like the silent opening of a beast's mouth. Lin He's fingers dug into the flesh between his knees, and his heart burned with pain.

She has experienced too many partings, and has never had the chance to taste the joy of losing something and then getting it back.

She gasped for breath, tears welling in her eyes: "Where is he?"

Lin He grasped Zhi Rou's hand, her face showing pain and panic she had never seen before. "Rou'er, where is he? Where is he? Tell me."

Zhi Rou had anticipated this and was prepared, but when she actually saw her mother's reaction, her eyes instantly burned with tears.

My heart is breaking, and my hands are trembling.

She twitched her thumb and gently touched Lin He's palm, her tongue swirling with many words, but none came out.

Lin He was extremely anxious, and Zhi Rou, unwilling to see her like this, swallowed hard: "Don't be afraid, Mother, he's fine... Can you tell me first, who am I?"

If she had never been to Beili, Su Du would have been a complete stranger, and she would never have known him in her life.

If that's the case, what were Mother's original plans?

Lin He's lips trembled, her heart pounding with panic; she couldn't bear it for even a moment longer. If her daughter hadn't been sitting right in front of her, she would have gone to find him by now.

Zhi Rou looked at Lin He with a sincere gaze, even a hint of pleading: "I am the daughter of the Song family... am I not?"

Lin He did not answer.

Back then, when she left the capital with Xiao Jun, she received a jade pendant that Chang Yu always wore when she was about to board the ship.

He left no words behind, but when he sensed danger, he ordered his confidant to hand the jade pendant to Ling Shu, which eventually ended up in her hands.

Since ancient times, jade rings have been associated with farewells.

Ling Xi stopped crying then. She put the jade pendant into Xiao Jun's swaddling clothes and then resolutely boarded the ship.

The room remained silent for a long time, and Zhi Rou grew increasingly anxious as she waited.

After a long while, she heard Lin He's voice: "...Your father, Chang Yu, was from the Chang family of the capital and the second son of the Duke of Liang. When the emperor first ascended the throne, he was appointed as the General of Yunxi to be in charge of the southwest defense. Later, he was transferred to the position of Governor of Yuyang to guard Yuyang. Your grandfather, Chang Xian, was the General Who Conquers the North. He spent his life on the battlefield and had many military achievements."

"In the seventh year of Shuo De, the emperor summoned your father back to the capital to report on his duties... The Chang family, a family of loyal and righteous men, perished in the cold winter of the twelfth month, their lives lost due to the emperor's suspicion."

“You were born in June, and he hoped that you would live a joyful and carefree life… Xiao Jun was the nickname he gave you.”

As Zhi Rou grew older, her features no longer resembled Lin He's; she looked more like her father.

Upon hearing this, she froze for a long time, tears streaming down her cheeks and staining her clothes. A great fear rose from the bottom of her heart, and she asked Lin He uneasily, "Why... why did you never tell me this?"

She had asked so many times before; if she had known earlier, she wouldn't have come to Yanjing with her mother.

Looking back on these years, Zhi Rou's breathing gradually became labored as her mother spent her days in the capital.

"Since arriving in the capital, you've been confined to your residence all day, never seeing anyone. You claim your status is lowly and you have no interest in making connections, but how could the Ling family of Qinyang be so insignificant? And how could someone skilled in archery and horsemanship imprison themselves..."

As a child, she couldn't understand why her mother's personality had changed so drastically after they arrived in the capital. Back in Luozhou, her mother was a cheerful and outgoing person who could laugh and socialize.

Now, connecting her identity with Chang Yu's and her own background, she suddenly choked up.

Looking at that delicate hand opposite her, it felt as if her heart and lungs were being gripped: "What is Mother's hand for?"

Lin He avoided answering, instead pouring out her heart to her: "...Rou'er, I want you to go home, back to where you belong. Who you are isn't important, what's important is that you can grow up properly, where you should grow..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhi Rou looked up, wiped her eyes, and looked at her again, saying, "But I don't want these things."

She took a deep breath, forcing herself not to let the tears fall, her voice soft and low.

“Mother, I can grow up well whether it’s in the capital or Luoyang, but you are not happy here… It breaks my heart.”

Lin He was slightly taken aback, then tears streamed down her face: "I'm sorry, Rou'er..."

“You’ve never wronged me,” Zhirou interrupted her.

The night breeze was calming down, blowing gently against the window with only occasional soft murmurs.

Lin He stopped asking questions, and a bittersweet feeling flowed from her heart like water, penetrating deep into her flesh and blood.

Zhi Rou needed time to accept it. She straightened up and said, "Please take care of yourself, Mother. I'll take my leave now." She wiped her face and went out the door.

With no stars in the sky, it was difficult to determine the exact time. Judging solely from her frozen fingers and the feeling of waiting, the Fourth Sister had entered the Osmanthus Garden and stayed there for a very long time.

When she came out, the night was so dark that the bottom was invisible.

The maid leaning against the pillar vaguely saw someone approaching and raised the lantern in her hand a little higher. The light shone on her own face and also illuminated the Fourth Miss's face.

Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

Before I could even see clearly, the hem of my dress slid away from my front like a wisp of wind.

The maid was about to catch up with her and give her the lantern when, after taking only two steps, there was no one left in the corridor.

Zhi Rou strode forward, recalling her mother's words, each one like a sharp blade grinding against her heart.

She had tried to test her before, but her mother always scolded her with rules. This time, however, she only told her a name, and she didn't deny it this time.

As a child, she was always curious because she also wanted a father, a complete and happy family. With both parents alive, her mother wouldn't have to work so hard.

Later, when she arrived at the Song family mansion, she was very resentful of her father. But as time went on, she became less angry because the person she cared about most was always her mother.

The appearance of the Ling siblings made her want to investigate her mother's background, but the closer she got, the more heartbroken she became.

Mother shouldn't live such a boring life.

He was confined to the inner quarters year after year, only caring for her; apart from a single osmanthus tree, there was no other bright spot in the courtyard.

All of this is because what we love and belong to have been lost; what we still possess, we must do our utmost to protect.

Zhi Rou was in a state of confusion. In the end, she walked faster and faster, wanting only to find a place to hide and think things through.

Back in her room, the moment the door opened, Zhi Rou immediately smelled a strange fragrance. She had smelled this scent before at Yanxian Tower; it seemed to be from Sheng Xingyun.

Zhi Rou reached for her waist. Without lighting a lamp, she pressed her thumb against the hilt of the knife and pushed it an inch more silently.

In the darkness, she couldn't see the other person's face clearly, but she could roughly make out their height. They were much taller than her, so they must be a man.

Noticing the man approaching, she acted without hesitation. A flash of light and a screech accompanied the blade as the man swiftly grabbed her wrist and pulled her forcefully from the doorway onto the table.

Zhi Rou twisted her foot, her wrist slipping from his grasp. The short knife was caught in his grip, so she didn't try to snatch it, instead pulling a dagger from her boot.

Her moves were fierce, ruthless, and swift. Wei Yuanzhan hadn't expected her to be like this. She didn't give him a chance to open his mouth. If he hesitated for even a moment, blood would have been drawn.

He then refused to give in any further.

Wei Yuanzhan reached out and grabbed her shoulder, twisted her wrist holding the blade with his other hand, and flipped her over with his toes, pinning her down.

Zhi Rou felt dizzy and her back slammed hard against the screen.