Chapter 50

"Let her go."

Qingyun held a knife in her hand, looking ready to fight to the death. When she chased after them to the fabric shop, she saw them carrying Yinglian onto a horse and walking into the alley. Countless thoughts arose, but she had only one thought: to save her first and deal with the kidnapping and other issues later.

Just as the blade was about to pierce the horse's leg, a jet-black scabbard suddenly appeared, blocking her attack. Seeing this, Qingyun frowned, immediately reacted and looked up. Seeing the man about to draw his sword, she quickly dodged to the side and thrust it towards the horse's hoof.

The horse was startled and was about to throw the rider off, but the man calmly held the reins and gave a glance to the servant beside him. Yinglian tried to jump off the horse, but she felt a large hand pressing down on her shoulder. But that was fine, because it would force the man to spend some of his attention on her.

"Yinglian! Run first!" Qingyun shouted, but his eyes were fixed on the man.

As soon as she finished speaking, Yinglian climbed onto the man's strong, muscular arm with her right hand, then turned around and bit him hard. An ordinary person would have let go in pain, but the man remained calm and didn't even flinch when he was bitten until blood appeared.

The alley was only wide enough for one person and one horse to pass through. Seeing the attendant dismount and approach, Qingyun knew that if he didn't rescue the person quickly, he would definitely have to fight a fierce battle later, and he wasn't even sure if he could handle it, since he was facing two people with martial arts skills.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel irritated. Before she could make another move, she suddenly noticed that Yinglian had fallen off her horse. Before she could even stand up, Qingyun immediately pulled her up and ran outside, practically dragging her along.

"This way." Yinglian suddenly called out, blood still seeping from the corner of her mouth, but she calmly directed Qingyun's direction, as she knew this place very well.

With two pursuers chasing after them, she could only lead Yinglian through the streets and alleys, listening to the relentless hoofbeats of the horses behind them, her mind completely blank.

I've never experienced running for my life before, so I don't know what to do!

[System! System, get out here and help me figure out which way to go to shake off the two behind me.]

System: [Need to scan nearby buildings, please wait a moment.]

[Damn it!] Qingyun cursed under his breath, [Hurry up, you dawdling and I might get chopped into mincemeat in the next second.] Just thinking about the scabbard that blocked his blade, it didn't look like an ordinary item, so how bad could the sword inside be?

Finally, just as Qingyun was about to give up, the system's voice rang in his mind, pointing to the nearest side road that led to the main street of Muyun City. The two of them could then find a place to hide.

"Ah! I'm so tired... I'm exhausted!" Qingyun leaned against the wall, her chest heaving rapidly with her breathing. She was panting heavily, and then carefully looked to the side of the street. After a while, as if she had confirmed that it was safe, she collapsed to the ground.

Yinglian, standing to the side, was also covered in sweat, her face still showing signs of shock. She held Qingyun's hand tightly, preventing the tears welling in her eyes from spilling out. She moved slowly, turning her head absently to look at Qingyun.

Their eyes met, and a surge of indescribable emotion welled up in Qingyun's heart. She suddenly understood, and the next second, she pulled Yinglian into her arms, holding her tightly, as if trying to make her feel safe. She kept stroking Yinglian's back with both hands, murmuring comforting words, "It's okay, it's okay."

Qingyun would never forget that face; it was the man she had seen at the mansion that day. He must have come to capture Yinglian and take her back. She just hadn't expected him to come in person. Although she hadn't fought him much, she could sense that he was no ordinary person; he was someone who had practiced martial arts and wasn't as refined as he appeared.

Judging from Yinglian's reaction, she was probably stressed by this person.

"I'm scared." After a moment, the woman nestled in his arms looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.

"I didn't expect him to find this place," she said, then seemed to remember something and hurriedly added emotionally, "I, I shouldn't have run away. I should have gone back obediently. Now I've dragged you down with me."

Yinglian started biting her nails, ignoring the dirt inside, her mind racing with thoughts of the consequences. She was terrified, but just before her emotions crumbled, she made a decision. She stood up abruptly, her meaning clear: if she went out and went back with someone now, she wouldn't implicate Qingyun.

Seeing that she looked like she was about to go crazy, Qingyun pulled her back and forced her to sit down. With patience and a firm tone, she said, "I'm not afraid, Yinglian. Listen to me carefully, understand?" Her eyes offered comfort and a strange stubbornness. "I'm not afraid."

"I'm only afraid if you're going to be thrown into a pit of fire. I'm just a worthless life anyway. What's better for me now? Unless the emperor dies now and a new emperor ascends the throne, I might not have a chance to be pardoned."

Upon hearing this, Yinglian quickly reached out to stop Qingyun from speaking further, "Miss, such rebellious words cannot be spoken even in private."

Qingyun stared at her, smiled, removed the man's hand, and continued, "Yinglian, as long as you don't back down, I'm not afraid."

The attendant, seated on horseback, turned to the man and asked, "Shall we pursue them again?"

The man gently pulled the reins, and the horse turned around. Then, the man's indifferent voice came, saying only two words: "No rush." ​​His face was expressionless, and one could not even detect any emotional fluctuation. He was a completely different person from the one in the mansion.

"To the command post." He tossed out those words before riding off.

The two waited for a while before going out. They didn't have time to buy anything. Qingyun led the people and hurried home. When she saw Yinglian packing her things, she was stunned and tears that had been welling up in her eyes fell down in large drops. "Miss, please don't send me away."

Upon hearing this, Qingyun was at a loss for words. It seemed all her previous words had been wasted. "I'm not sending you away," Yinglian interrupted before she could finish, "You can't run away! If they find out you've run away, your crime will be even more serious!"

Qingyun: ...

She only wanted to send the person to Song Chaohua's place. She didn't know when the man would come looking for her, so she naturally wanted to settle the person in first. However, Yinglian was not happy about this. She had a strong desire to stay by Qingyun's side, but Qingyun could not agree this time. This concerned her life. What if he took the person back and beat her to death? That was not impossible.

“Girl, if that’s the case, then I won’t stay here any longer. I’ll leave.”

Qingyun understood what she meant, but it was no small matter. If she was out of sight, it would be harder to protect her. Qingyun patiently explained to her and coaxed her for a while before she finally nodded in agreement, but with one condition: she wouldn't leave today.

Qingyun: "Okay, I promise you."

That night, Yinglian held Qingyun in her arms and sobbed softly, as if she were about to experience a death separation. Even so, she didn't say a word about her past situation. Instead, she kept giving instructions on small things in life. Only after Qingyun repeatedly confirmed with her did she feel at ease and fall asleep.

The next day, she sent the person to Song Chaohua's place. Song Chaohua was thoughtful enough to keep the person as a maid. However, it was said that she was a kitchen helper, not a maid; she was clearly a servant. Song Chaohua simply said that as long as she stayed in the kitchen all day and didn't go out on her own, she wouldn't be seen. Moreover, she had instructed the others not to make a fuss about bringing the person in.

This was actually the best protection for her. Song Chaohua wasn't going to treat her like a kept woman. Under someone else's roof, Qingyun was speechless, afraid that Yinglian would suffer.

Yinglian: "It doesn't matter if I suffer, please come and visit me more often, my lady."

Qingyun readily agreed, her face blank and head drooping. She hadn't even noticed Song Chaoli ahead of her. This time, the two wouldn't bump into each other again, because the other person had already distanced himself from her when he saw her from afar.

"Watch where you're going." Qingyun's head bumped against a soft cushion, and he came to his senses. He found a large hand blocking his view. Before he could look closely, the hand withdrew, and a white wall appeared in front of him. It was only a fraction of a second different from the wall. He turned his head and realized that it was Song Junwu.

The man stared at her face for a moment, his eyes scrutinizing her, before saying, "Watch where you're going." With that, he turned around with his hands behind his back, and strode away in one fluid motion.

Seeing this, Qingyun could only say "oh," then composed herself and walked into the vegetable garden.

That's what makes her so remarkable—she can always quickly sort out her emotions. If she spends time being sad, she can't get anything done. Besides, no one has ever comforted Qingyun since she was a child, and she finds it hard to express her feelings; she always processes them on her own.

After a few days, her seedlings grew vigorously, presenting a lush green scene. Song Chaoyun's plot of land was a large open space not far from the command post, so she could still see Yinglian when she came here. Although she had been cooking her own meals for the past few days, Yinglian would still cook extra meals for her when she came here.

He strained his arms, and the muscles on his arms became noticeably prominent. He'd been eating quite well these past few days, Qingyun thought to himself.

The days were monotonous. Qingyun followed almost the same routine every day, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, repeating the same routine as the previous day. However, she didn't feel much about it. Isn't this how it is when you work in the real world?

As the weather gradually warmed up, the peach trees in the command mansion were in full bloom, creating a festive atmosphere. Before the vegetables in the experimental field could mature, Qingyun took the initiative to mention it to Song Junwu. She had originally brought seeds, but the two of them discovered that the soil was still not suitable for growing seedlings.

She tried it herself and found it didn't work, so she discussed it with the system: "Can't you just give me a seed that's suitable for this land?"

The system protested its innocence! "The seeds you requested are unsuitable for the current environment. How could I possibly improve them for you?"

Improvement?! Qingyun, having caught the key word, immediately had a clue. [That's it! Just improve it for me.]

system;【……】