Meeting (repair)
When I opened my eyes, all I could feel was a filthy mess, with a faint stench and an extremely unpleasant smell hitting me.
Liang Zhengyuan coughed a few times and tried to look around. He found himself lying on the ground with his feet in the air, with a pile of dry and moldy hay beneath him. The surrounding light was dim, with only a little light coming in from a small window sealed off by iron bars at a high place.
Behind them was a high wall made of rough gravel, with moldy moss sprouting from the cracks in the stones, making it even more damp and dark.
He squinted, barely able to make out his surroundings by the flickering candlelight in the distance. Before he could see clearly, he heard occasional low moans and cries of pain, the sounds neither too close nor too far, as if they were coming from next door.
Everything was truly desolate and terrifying.
Liang Zhengyuan struggled to sit up, and the iron chains on his ankles and wrists immediately jingled.
My whole body ached.
Where am I...? Where am I in...?
Liang Zhengyuan felt a dull pain in his internal organs. The struggle to get up had almost drained him of all his strength. He opened his mouth, but felt a splitting headache.
He closed his eyes and could hear the sound of his veins on his forehead about to burst, but the instant he closed his eyes, all the sword and shadow images in his mind, mixed with countless blood lights, surged in.
He could almost smell the overwhelming stench of blood that had hit him that night.
The military camp... a bright, flickering campfire... soldiers drinking and laughing... graceful maids carrying food trays in and out of tents... two tall figures in the shadows, the man chuckling softly and maliciously...
He frowned, his headache growing worse, yet he remembered everything...
"Help! Help!"
Ignoring his headache, Liang Zhengyuan struggled to his feet, took a step forward, and frantically shook the rusty railing, shouting loudly in all directions.
"What are you yelling about!"
A thin, scarred jailer in a short jacket came running at the sound, holding a whip as thick as a bowl. He glanced at Liang Zhengyuan, put his hands behind his back, and sneered:
"This is a prison, a place of serious criminality. How dare you, a fugitive, act so recklessly here?"
Liang Zhengyuan gave a bitter smile. He looked down at himself and realized that he had been dressed in prison clothes at some point, and there was no silver left in his possession.
He gripped the railing tightly with both hands and could only plead in a low voice:
"Brother, please have mercy! Where is this? Is this the Yazhou prison? Please be lenient with me. I am a member of the 14th Division that led troops south to quell the bandits. Now I am suddenly imprisoned. There must be some misunderstanding. Please do me a favor and send someone to invite General He... I have something to report to General He..."
The scarred jailer interrupted him before he could finish speaking, scoffing:
"Where did this madman come from? Open your eyes and look around! This is Mujing, and you're being held in the Ministry of Justice's prison!"
Liang Zhengyuan turned to look at the wall and, sure enough, there was a red character for "punishment" written high up. His already bloodless face turned deathly pale instantly.
"...Brother, do you know why I'm being held here...?"
The jailer rolled his eyes. He'd seen all sorts of prisoners, many feigning madness to try and escape. He impatiently pulled away the clothes Liang Zhengyuan was almost holding, and snapped:
"You don't even understand what crime you've committed to be imprisoned here, so how could we possibly know?"
Liang Zhengyuan gripped the bars tightly with both hands, watching the jailer roll his eyes and turn away, feeling his forehead throbbing even more.
Seeing that he was about to fall to the ground, a faint voice came from somewhere.
"Since you're here, make the best of it. Young man, save your energy."
The sound was extremely ethereal, yet it felt as if it were right next to you.
Liang Zhengyuan turned around and saw several rays of light shining through a dark brick wall. It must have been because the brick wall was old and a lot of mud had fallen off, turning it into a small hole that allowed sound and light to pass through.
Judging from the voice of that person, it sounded like an elderly man.
He leaned forward through the small hole and whispered:
"Sir...may I ask what day it is today?"
There was no sound from the other side of the wall for a long time. Liang Zhengyuan waited and waited before he heard the old man sigh softly and say:
"It is now March 17th, and you have been imprisoned for two days."
March 17th...
Liang Zhengyuan murmured the story, but the image of that day with its flashing swords and shadows echoed in his mind; it was clearly still the chilly spring.
Although it was snowing in the south at that time, the area around Huidong was already bitterly cold, and a sword that had just been drawn from its sheath could instantly gleam with a cold light due to the cold air.
That night, it was clearly still the eighth day of the third month.
More than ten days have passed since I lost consciousness!
But how exactly... did he end up being dragged from the Huidong camp to the Ministry of Justice prison in Mujing City? The more he thought about it, the more baffled he became. A violent surge of energy churned within him, and Liang Zhengyuan couldn't help but cough a few times. He wiped his face with his sleeve, only to find a shocking sight: bright red blood. He had vomited up streaks of blood!
He was stunned for a moment, and before he could panic, he inexplicably smelled a faint fragrance coming from not far away.
Is it possible that I am about to die and have started to hallucinate?
Before I could think any further, I heard a woman's voice, clear and melodious as water, softly ring out:
"...Thank you for your leniency, General Duan. This servant thanks you on behalf of my young lady. I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life."
Along with the gentle, spring-like sound, came the clanging of metal clashing against armor. As the unhurried footsteps drew closer, Liang Zhengyuan stared at the two figures approaching him, opening his mouth in a daze, but unable to utter a single word for a long time.
The leading man was dressed in gleaming armor. He was clearly not very old, but he had a clear and upright air about him. His eyes were solemn, and he only glanced at him coldly before looking away.
Before he went south with the army, He Qijiang had gathered the people who were going with the army to have a farewell drink. Since most of the troops were former members of the 14th Division under Prince Mao, many of the generals who were close to Prince Mao also came to see him off. Among them was Duan Jinru, who had a clear face and was a scholar and taciturn man.
At that time, he did not know the true identity of the boy wearing general's armor. He only felt that the boy was too gentle and taciturn, and did not seem like someone who was from a military family who fought and killed all day.
Later, he learned that his guess was correct; this man rarely carried a knife, and his forte was a beautiful and elegant calligraphy style. It was all thanks to his relationship with Prince Mao that he was able to obtain a minor official position in the army, and even be appointed as a fifth-rank cavalry general before he had even reached adulthood.
These people went out and risked their lives. If they were lucky, they might get a minor official position. If they were unlucky, they would have died on the battlefield, leaving no trace of their bodies.
He will never be able to return home again.
As Duan Jinru stepped aside, a pale pink hem of clothing peeked out from behind him, presumably the skirt from which the cold voice had just spoken.
Liang Zhengyuan's breath hitched. Before he could think further, he saw the woman who had just walked in step forward from behind Duan Jinru, and the faint fragrance became even stronger.
The woman was dressed in the proper attire of an ordinary maid, with her hair tied in two buns and carrying a large food box.
She glanced quickly at Liang Zhengyuan, then lowered her head. She turned back and respectfully curtsied to Duan Jinru. Duan Jinru turned his head away, not looking at her, but gripping the knife at his waist, and said coldly, "Put down what your young lady asked you to leave, and leave. You can't stay here any longer."
After saying that, he strode away.
The maid nodded, and after everyone was gone, she gripped the rusty, bloodstained railing tightly, her eyes fixed on Liang Zhengyuan.
"you......"
Just as Liang Zhengyuan was about to speak, he saw the maid slowly curl the corners of her lips, her eyes gleaming with unwavering determination.
She extended her index finger and made a vertical line to her lips.
That was a signal for him to be quiet.
Liang Zhengyuan's words died in his throat before he could speak.
Xu'er...it's been so long...
Why are you dressed like that?!
Lin Xu quickly looked Liang Zhengyuan up and down to make sure he was alright before he could finally relax.
She arrived in a hurry and didn't have time to pack much more. The food box was full, but it was enough to bring Liang Zhengyuan plenty of food.
Lin Xu squatted down, opened the large food box he had brought with him, and lifted the lid. On the first layer were several clean white steamed buns, soft and fluffy, emitting the unique aroma of wheat products. There were also two dishes of pickled vegetables, along with Laba garlic, dried radish, and other side dishes to accompany the rice.
The food box was three stories high. When the second story was opened, two bowls of still-steaming porridge were placed there peacefully. One bowl was plain porridge, and the other was porridge cooked with chicken and bamboo shoots. The steam was fragrant and the aroma of meat filled the air. Next to the two small blue-and-white porcelain bowls, there were three or four boiled eggs and two salted duck eggs.
Opening the third layer reveals a chicken soup medicinal dish filled in a white jade porcelain jar, with several goji berries floating on top and half a ginseng root faintly visible.
Lin Xu smiled and said gently:
"Young master, these are all meals that my young lady specially ordered me to bring because she knows you have been ill for a long time and is concerned about your health. Please eat them while they are hot. In addition, my young lady also instructed that I must watch you finish eating them."
Liang Zhengyuan opened and closed his lips, but could not utter a sound for a long time, not knowing what to say.
He hadn't seen her for months, and his cousin was still as beautiful and ethereal as ever. Even dressed as a maid and in such a filthy place, she remained as lovely as a cloud untouched by the world.
Wasn't she already married Dou Yanxun, the man she had been longing for, and become a daughter-in-law of the Dou family?
In a prison, how did she, a woman confined to her chambers, manage to come here alone and persuade Duan Jinru to come and visit him with food?
All the longing gnawed at his heart, and now that he had finally seen her, he became tongue-tied and speechless.
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