Chapter 68 How could Xiao Qiyu from southern Jiangxi deceive both sides!

"Let go! I already said I know... wait?"

Cui Ying's struggling movements suddenly stopped, and the sleepiness in her eyes completely disappeared, replaced by intense astonishment and confusion.

"What? You're leaving? Where are you going?" she asked in a series of questions, her eyes flashing with an alarming light.

Xiao Qiyu did not immediately release the hand that was pinching her cheek. His fingertips even unconsciously caressed her delicate and warm skin. His voice sounded particularly deep in the dim tent as he uttered two simple words: "Suppress the bandits."

The crab roe was awakened by the two people's voices. Thinking that its master was being bullied, it meowed and pounced over, biting Xiao Qiyu's hand.

Xiao Qiyu didn't even frown. He grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, and placed it on the carpet under the bed.

Crab Roe got even angrier and climbed back onto the bed, meowing loudly.

Xiao Qiyu carried it down again, tirelessly.

"Hey, don't bully it!" Cui Ying frowned and stopped him, pulling his hand off his face.

Xiao Qiyu leaned towards her unconsciously, his gaze meeting hers, and casually said, "Not bullying it, but bullying you?"

The space inside the tent seemed to suddenly become cramped.

The boy's rough clothes did not diminish his noble air; on the contrary, they added to his wildness.

When a pair of dark eyes gazes at someone, it's like a bottomless vortex, easily drawing the person's soul into it.

Cui Ying's heart suddenly raced, pounding against her eardrums.

In the dim moonlight, she gazed silently at Xiao Qiyu.

Just as the two unconsciously moved closer to each other, about to touch noses, Cui Ying suddenly said, "Why is your face so dark?"

She had thought it was just because of the deep night, but now she realized how ridiculously dark it was. When had Xiao Qiyu ever been this dark?

"It was applied with a mixture of herbal juice and charcoal ash."

Xiao Qiyu said in a calm tone: "Dressed like this, if you run into someone you know on the street, you might be able to disguise yourself and not be easily recognized."

Cui Ying blurted out, "But I still recognized you at a glance."

As soon as she finished speaking, she realized that her words seemed a bit strange. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her eyes flickered.

Xiao Qiyu was silent for a moment, then said, "You are different from them."

The night wind rustled through the treetops outside the window, and a leaf fell with the wind. The world was so quiet that it seemed as if only the two of them remained.

"It's so hot, don't get so close to me." Cui Ying pushed Xiao Qiyu away, creating distance between them, as if trying to hide the inexplicable flutter in her heart.

She tried to keep her voice calm and said casually, "Stand up, let me see what you're wearing."

Xiao Qiyu stood up as instructed, his tall figure standing in front of the couch, almost completely covering Cui Ying.

Cui Ying looked him up and down, unconsciously gesturing with her fingers: "Your back is slightly hunched."

"Yes, relax your shoulders a bit, don't be so tense, like everyone owes you eight hundred taels of silver."

Xiao Qiyu silently adjusted his posture, gradually suppressing the refined demeanor of a young nobleman and trying to imitate the posture of an ordinary person.

Cui Ying examined it for a moment and nodded: "Yes, that's much better."

She said in a relaxed tone, "You've been a rich young master for so many years, but you're still far from being good at pretending to be an ordinary person. On your way there, pay close attention to how real peddlers and laborers behave and sit, and learn from them."

Xiao Qiyu nodded, gradually straightened his back, regained his original posture, and quietly looked at Cui Ying.

Silence spread between the two, the night deepened and the dew grew heavy outside the window, only their soft breathing mingled.

"I'm leaving," Xiao Qiyu said.

Cui Ying's breath hitched for a moment, and she subconsciously hummed in agreement.

Xiao Qiyu stepped out of the curtain, strode towards the window, braced himself against the windowsill with one hand, and leaped out.

Looking at the empty window, Cui Ying muttered to herself, "If you don't use the front door but the window, people who don't know better will think you're here to have an affair with me."

After speaking, Cui Ying paused for a moment, then suddenly threw off the covers, stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, walked quickly to the window, and leaned out to look.

The courtyard was deserted, the moonlight was cold and thin, and the night wind blew through the branches of the flowering trees. There was not a single person in sight.

Cui Ying leaned against the window, inhaling the cool autumn night air, as if waking from a dream, and murmured, "It really is gone, just like that."

...

After Xiao Qiyu left, Cui Ying prepared to deal with everyone, and came up with no fewer than twenty different excuses.

However, ten days passed without anyone in the mansion specifically inquiring about Xiao Qiyu's whereabouts.

At first, Cui Ying felt lucky, but later he began to feel strange and even uneasy.

That morning, she ran into Xiao Heng on her way to the Bodhi Hall.

However, after only half a month apart, Xiao Heng seemed somewhat different. His everyday clothes were even neater than usual, and there wasn't a single wrinkle on them. The lingering melancholy between his brows had somehow faded considerably.

Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat, and she deliberately probed him: "Third Brother, have you noticed that Xiao Qiyu is missing?"

Xiao Heng smiled without saying a word, walking under the shade of the tree.

Cui Ying followed, tilting her head and probing, "Third Brother, aren't you concerned about where Xiao Qiyu went?"

Xiao Heng then asked, "Where did he go?"

Cui Ying immediately adopted a spoiled and arrogant demeanor, raising her snow-white face and saying confidently, "I sent him to Shu to buy me oranges. The oranges from Shu are the sweetest!"

Xiao Heng said "Oh" and calmly replied, "If I remember correctly, doesn't the kitchen receive fresh fruit from all over the country every day?"

"How can they be the same?" Cui Ying raised his chin, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight, unable to hide his arrogance. "The oranges readily available in the kitchen are incomparable to the oranges that your beloved painstakingly picked for you. Third Brother, you just don't understand, do you?"

As she spoke, she shook her head, feigning maturity.

Xiao Heng finally couldn't help but chuckle, his tone becoming increasingly gentle, as if coaxing his little sister: "Stop fooling around, Third Sister, I already know."

Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat, her expression froze instantly, and she asked without blinking, "What do you know?"

Do you know that Xiao Qiyu went to suppress bandits?

No, if he knew, he definitely wouldn't be laughing.

Xiao Heng said, "The Wang family's ancestral home is Huizhou. When the seventh son was young, his fifth aunt took him back and stayed there for a short time. He left behind some things. The seventh son told me the other day that he was going to Huizhou to sort out his fifth aunt's old things and would be back in a month or so. He also told me not to bother my grandmother, as he knew what he was doing."

Upon hearing this, Cui Ying's eyes widened.

What Huizhou? What antiques? Didn't we agree that she would help cover for us?

How could Xiao Qiyu deceive both sides!

Although she was extremely shocked inside, Cui Ying did not show much surprise on the surface. She chuckled twice and followed Xiao Heng's words, squeezing out a dry sentence: "I see. I thought he was really kind enough to buy me oranges."

Xiao Heng didn't notice her unusual behavior, offered her a few words of comfort, and then walked away.

Cui Ying stood there, lost in thought for a long time.

Although she was angry that Xiao Qiyu had deceived her, a more serious question arose in her mind—Xiao Qiyu couldn't have gone to such lengths to deceive both sides just for fun.

Was he worried that if something happened to him, she would be implicated if she covered for him beforehand?

It was only at this moment that Cui Ying realized that Xiao Qiyu's departure was actually a preparation that he "would not come back".

A sudden gust of wind swept through the courtyard without warning, swirling up a few golden leaves that brushed against her skirt.

Cui Ying staggered slightly.

Cui Jin quickly helped her up, and seeing that her face had suddenly turned pale, she asked worriedly, "What's wrong, Miss?"

Cui Ying shook his head and said, "It's alright."

His eyes were unfocused and vacant, staring blankly at the fallen leaves that rolled to his feet.

...

One month later.

The noodle shop was bustling with people—merchants, passersby, people of all classes, peddlers and laborers—all gathered together. The aroma of hot oil poured over the noodles and the cacophony of voices filled the small noodle shop.

A young man dressed as a boy sat in a corner, engrossed in eating a bowl of noodles with lots of chili powder. Although his eating movements were rough, his slender figure and overly delicate chin still occasionally drew sidelong glances from the people sitting next to him.

This "young master" was none other than Cui Ying, who had disguised herself as a man and sneaked out to satisfy her cravings.

She ate until her nose was sweating and her whole body felt hot. She picked up the ice-cold honeysuckle drink and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

After finishing her drink, Cui Ying was about to continue eating her noodles when the loud conversation of several merchants at the next table drifted clearly into her ears.

"Have you heard? It seems the bandit suppression efforts in southern Jiangxi aren't going very well."

A burly man took a sip of his drink and clicked his tongue in admiration.

"It's more than just bad luck!"

Another person immediately chimed in, excitedly discussing, "I have a cousin who works in the Ministry of War. I heard that the soldiers suffered a loss as soon as they entered. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, and they couldn't find the main force of the bandits at all. They were ambushed all the way in!"

Then a third person joined in, slapping his thigh: "Right, right, right! I also heard that a few days ago a young soldier who was alone was caught by that group of damned bandits, and guess what?"

He paused deliberately, whetting the appetites of those around him, before saying with a hint of horror, "They've been set on fire! How horrible!"

With a loud "smack!", a pale white hand slammed onto the table, silencing the entire room.

Cui Ying suddenly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes, which always held a smile, now stared coldly at the people at the table, and said without any mercy, "What nonsense are you all spouting?"

"How long have the officers and soldiers been in southern Jiangxi? How could you possibly know the battle reports so easily? Lighting sky lanterns? I think you look like a sky lantern! If you keep spreading rumors here, be careful the government doesn't arrest you!"

The man who was interrupted was taken aback at first, but when he saw that it was a thin, fair-skinned young man, he felt embarrassed and angrily slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "You pretty boy! Who gave you the right to interrupt a man's speech? Are you looking for a beating!"

Without thinking, Cui Ying casually slammed the chopsticks in her hand into the man's head and face. The force was quite heavy, and the man cried out and squatted down, clutching his nose.

Cui Ying then took out a piece of silver, slapped it on the table, and got up to leave.

...

That night, all was quiet.

Cui Ying lay on the couch, her brows furrowed, her long eyelashes trembling, not sleeping soundly.

In my dream, there were towering flames, and within the flames stood countless fierce and ruthless bandits, wielding broadswords, cheering and screaming, surrounding the center of the burning fire.

Cui Ying walked past one bandit after another, and involuntarily walked towards the fire. When he got closer, he realized that what was burning was actually a living person.

Blurred figures writhed in agony in the fire, howling in pain, their cries mingling with the shouts of the ruthless bandits.

For some reason, she desperately wanted to know who that person was. When she finally managed to squeeze under the fire, the face that was being swallowed by the flames suddenly turned into Xiao Qiyu's face!

"ah!"

Cui Ying sat up abruptly, her nightgown soaked with cold sweat, clinging to her icy back.

Cui Jin pushed open the door and entered, asking in a panic, "Don't be afraid, Miss! What happened?"

The moonlight outside the window was bleak, with only the occasional lonely chirping of insects.

Cui Ying huddled up, recalling the scene in her dream. Her whole body trembled involuntarily. She opened her mouth with difficulty and said intermittently, "I...I dreamed of Xiao Qiyu. He was being...burned."

Cui Jin spat and comforted her, saying, "Dreams are always the opposite of reality. Your son-in-law will definitely have a smooth and healthy life."

Cui Ying was too frightened to care about when Cui Jin's address for Xiao Qiyu changed from "Young Master Xiao" to "son-in-law".

She hugged her knees tightly, buried her face in them, and didn't say a word, but she seemed to be shrouded in a huge dark cloud.

Cui Jin gently stroked her back and said with a smile, "I understand. Miss must be used to being with the young master and is feeling uneasy about being separated from him."

"Don't worry, young lady. The official road from the capital to Huizhou is smooth, and there are towns along the way. Your son-in-law will definitely return safely."

Cui Ying had not told anyone about Xiao Qiyu's trip to southern Jiangxi, and Cui Jin was unaware of it either.

Everyone assumed that Xiao Qiyu had gone to Huizhou.

A belated, immense regret clung to Cui Ying's heart like vines, tightening more and more until it almost suffocated her.

She shouldn't have...

She shouldn't have enthusiastically given him those bad ideas in the first place, shouldn't have praised him, and even more so, shouldn't have not only failed to dissuade him when he made his decision, but instead encouraged him with those "manly" and "meaningful" words.

At the time, he only felt excited and thought it was amazing, but he never really thought that "lighting the sky lantern" was not a distant legend, but a real tragedy that could happen to him.

When Cui Ying thought of what she had heard during the day and the dream she had just had, and realized that Xiao Qiyu might really have been captured and fallen into the hands of bandits, her heart ached uncontrollably.

If he were to meet with misfortune because of her initial, somewhat dismissive, support...

The moment this thought crossed Cui Ying's mind, she felt breathless and on the verge of suffocating.

For the first time in her life, Cui San Niang, who had always been fearless and had been a troublemaker since childhood, tasted the bitterness of regret.

I really regret it.

If she could go back in time, she would never have said those mindless things to Xiao Qiyu.

If she could get to southern Jiangxi, she would definitely do everything she could to bring Xiao Qiyu back...

The noisy chirping of insects outside the window suddenly disappeared.

A startling idea suddenly popped into Cui Ying's mind.

She composed herself, as if she had made up her mind in a short moment, and then looked up at Cuijin and said, "I miss my parents and want to go home for a few days. Tomorrow you take the crab roe back first and let it get used to the house. I'll spend another half a day with my grandmother and we'll be home in the afternoon."

Cui Jin already felt sorry for her in her current state, so upon hearing this, she naturally responded without hesitation, softly replying, "Alright, whatever you say, Miss."

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Author's Note: There are still 2,000 words left. I'll add an extra chapter tonight to make up for it.