Chapter 12: By a twist of fate, everything was in vain.
Three days later, at Liufengting on the outskirts of Beijing.
Jiang Yingyun was holding an empty jar in her arms. Looking down through the dark brown glaze of the pottery, she could see a little bit of emerald green wine sloshing around at the bottom of the jar.
Yuan Jingming's silly, bright smile seemed to still be in her mind's eye, drifting around like a cloud and refusing to move aside.
He went to the army camp and started from the lowest rank of cook, determined to endure hardship and sweat, hoping to carve out his own place in the world.
After taking a big gulp of the sweet new wine brought by Jiang Yingyun, Yuan Jingming's lips were red and his teeth were white. The stray hairs at his temples fluttered in the sunlight, and he looked like a little tiger ready to pounce.
"Miss Jiang, the first time we met was also by the water."
He gripped the newly acquired black iron sword at his waist, his fingers tracing the emblem on the hilt. "Once we're in the military camp, it'll be difficult for us to contact each other. If you need anything, consult Shutai; if... you want to see me, find Jiu'an. I'll definitely find a chance to meet you."
He waved vigorously at Jiang Yingyun, "Goodbye!"
Dressed in a sharp and imposing black military uniform, Yuan Jingming walked backwards, facing Jiang Yingyun. Only when her face was no longer clearly visible did he turn his back to her and run towards the military camp on the outskirts of the capital.
The wine reflected Jiang Yingyun's beautiful face. Her heart sank into the wine, rippling with every gentle "goodbye" from Yuan Jingming.
See you again.
We'll meet again in a better way.
"Young man, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Meng Cizhang circled back and forth in front of Jiang Yingyun, giggling and covering his mouth while winking, seemingly savoring the ambiguous moment even more than the person involved.
He said early in the morning that he also wanted to come and see Brother Jingming off, but actually he was just a kid who couldn't resist coming to see him. They were mutually attracted.
"What's up?"
"My title of female teacher is nothing but pretense, I don't like it."
"I want to start my own business, but I haven't decided what to do yet. Once I've decided, I'll leave the Meng family."
"Ah..." Meng Cizhang's face crumpled as he suddenly realized he was about to lose a playmate.
Jiang Yingyun guessed his reaction and patted his head: "What 'ah'? It's not like we'll never see each other again. Besides, everyone has their own path to walk."
Jiang Yingyun recalled Jiu'an under the tree that day.
He's right.
If she's unhappy at home, she'll move. The world is vast; surely it can't accommodate a woman like Jiang Yingyun?
She took Meng Cizhang's hand and walked step by step into the city. The breeze, carrying the warmth of summer, brushed against their faces, making them feel soft and pleasant.
—If you don't encounter a troublemaker.
"Jiang Yingyun! I knew you were incredibly lucky to have gotten into the Meng family, but it turns out you still ended up marrying a man!"
Upon receiving the news, Jiang Xian followed Jiang Yingyun and witnessed her and the Prince of Pingning being intimate in Liufengting.
"Pah! How shameless of you! Trying to climb the social ladder by clinging to the high branch of the Prince of Pingning's mansion!"
"Sending you to Yuyang Nunnery couldn't stop you, and you actually went and made such a shady deal. It turns out that entering the Meng Mansion was also a covert operation!"
Jiang Yingyun was instantly enraged. She shoved the wine jar at Meng Cizhang, rushed forward, and shoved him: "Which eye of yours saw me engaging in illicit relations! You fool, how dare you smear me? Haven't you had enough of the Luo River?"
Startled, Meng Cizhang shrank back, taking a step back before a sudden, sharp pain shot through the back of his head. His vision blurred, and he collapsed, his eyes closed. The wine jar in his arms shattered into pieces with a loud crash.
"Young man!"
When Jiang Yingyun turned around, she saw four or five burly men with dark faces surrounding her, each holding a weapon and ready to attack her.
She knew the one in the lead.
In front of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue at Yuyang Temple, a bandit was caught having an affair with a young nun.
Jiang Yingyun's heart clenched, and she roared at Jiang Xian, "You're all in cahoots!"
Before she could finish speaking, a thick, shiny wooden stick, thicker than an arm, whistled through the air and struck Jiang Yingyun.
——
Luoyang was bustling with activity, teeming with tourists and lined with shops. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares rose and fell as they pushed the distraught Yue Jin toward the Meng residence.
It was like a bolt from the blue early in the morning.
After washing a fragrant pear and taking a bite, Le Jin leisurely leaned against a pillar under the eaves, watching the maids of the Prince's Mansion pick up fallen flowers to make sachets.
When her direct superior joined the army and stopped living at home, she was pleasantly surprised to find that she now had a cushy job where she didn't have to serve anyone, just collect a salary, and wouldn't be fired. She was overjoyed for quite a while.
Just as they were enjoying the crisp sound of eating a pear, a eunuch much older than Jiu'an entered the Pingning Prince's residence with a beaming smile, heading straight for Le Jin.
"You truly deserve our strong recommendation back then! Now that you have rendered meritorious service, the Empress Dowager has decreed that you be summoned to the palace tomorrow for a great reward. Be well prepared!"
Le Jin felt dizzy and disoriented.
To perform meritorious service? What kind of meritorious service?
After transmigrating into the book, she never came into contact with the palace. Why did the Empress Dowager reward her, and what did she do?
Le Jin could already feel the chill of the guillotine blade on her neck.
If you look at the timeline, these past few days have been the critical moment in the original book when Jiang Yingyun was trapped in a bandit's den and the cannon fodder "Jiu'an" died.
Although Jiang Yingyun's matter was resolved, the Empress Dowager's inexplicable imperial decree seemed too much like a premonition that her identity would be exposed.
What if she still can't escape death?
After all, she has already changed the timeline, and the variables can no longer be predicted.
The sweet pear juice instantly lost its flavor. She had already died in the real world; "Jiu'an" was her last life.
Le Jin was very clear-headed. This crisis had nothing to do with the male or female lead; it was just her own crisis... But the clearer she became, the clearer that name in her heart became.
Meng, Shu, Tai.
Finding out what was happening in the palace was a piece of cake for him.
In the past, she felt a sense of security when others asked him for help; but this time she was the main character, and Le Jin suddenly dared not face the fact that she had to ask Meng Shutai for help.
She didn't know what she was struggling with, or what she was being aloof about.
They arrived at the gate of the Meng residence in a daze, but the atmosphere today was quite different from usual. The steward, Uncle Wang, anxiously looked around at the gate, his eyes filled with tears, and his neck was flushed red.
"Uncle Wang, what's wrong?"
Uncle Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and shakily pulled Le Jin to a secluded spot, whispering, "Something's happened!"
"Isn't there a Tiger Head Mountain behind Yu Yang Nunnery? The bandits on that mountain kidnapped Young Master and Madam Jiang!"
"The eldest son has already reported to the authorities and is now on horseback chasing after them. He instructed us not to alert them, fearing the bandits might kill the hostage. The troop deployment order is kept by the master, but the master and mistress are away in another county these days, so we won't be able to get it for a while. What should we do?"
No one expected that someone would dare to make a move against the Meng family of Luojing. Uncle Wang's gray hair was almost burning with anxiety, and he wished he could fly to the sky and drag the master and mistress back.
Le Jin's mind was buzzing, as if everything was rapidly flowing backward, collapsing, and dissipating...
Everything was in vain.
In some mysterious way, the story returned to the original timeline, and even involved Meng Shutai and Meng Cizhang.
Before she could think about why this was happening, Le Jin grabbed Uncle Wang's arm and tried to keep herself from swaying.
"I know the situation at Tiger Head Mountain. Just give me a team of guards, and I'm confident I can rescue them. Also, send someone to urge the Prefect of the Capital to send troops, the more the better. The bandits at Tiger Head Mountain are cunning and have multiple burrows; we need to surround the front and back mountains, including Yu Yang Nunnery."
A note from the author:
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Sigh, this is what happens when you have to cut word count; the plot moves rather slowly. [Please][Please][Please]
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