Chapter 20 Reunion [Remember, to live your own life again, first become "...]
The painted carriage moved slowly along the verdant mountain road.
Le Jin looked up from the storybook that Le Zhao had found to amuse her and saw that outside the fluttering carriage curtain was a vast plain beyond the mountains, with thousands of prosperous households.
Luoyang.
Luojing, four years after Jiu'an's death.
All the absurd things from the past surfaced in her mind. Le Jin frowned and bumped her head against the carriage window.
She was still unconvinced.
When she was working as "Jiu'an," everything she did was genuine, but her sincerity was mocked and trampled upon.
Now, as "Le Jin," everything about her is fake, yet she uses this fake to enter into a colossal lie. Meng Shutai, don't blame me for being unreasonable; this is what you owe me.
"What's wrong?"
Le Zhao's concerned voice came from behind her. Le Jin came back to her senses, looked at him on horseback, and smiled slightly. "It's nothing, just enjoying the scenery."
"Are you feeling uncomfortable in the car? Do you want to stop and rest for a while? Anyway, Luojing is just around the corner, and we'll be able to enter the city today, so it won't hurt to rest for a bit."
The carriage drew closer to Luoyang, and the tiny houses became clearer and clearer.
A surge of emotion welled up within Yue Jin, and she suddenly felt a pang of fear. She feared both the eerie past and the uncertain future.
"good."
She was led down from the carriage by Le Zhao, and the group found a shady spot under a tree to set up a curtain.
Seeing her younger sister looking worried, Le Zhao pointed to the distance to pique her interest.
"Look, that mountain has sharp peaks on both sides and a gentle slope in the middle. What does it look like?"
“Like…” Le Jin looked at the lush green trees over there, their leaves soft and fluffy like a blanket. Gradually, it overlapped with her memories, causing Le Jin to smile unconsciously.
Oh, I see.
"It looks like a tiger's head."
Tiger Head Mountain gets its name from its shape, which resembles a tiger's head. From this vantage point, gazing into the distance, she finally saw its true form.
How did you know?
Le Zhao was pleasantly surprised; she hadn't expected her sister to know.
Le Jin's lips twitched, her expression suddenly turning dejected. "I guessed."
"Jiu'an's" body should still be there, right? She wants to find him and give him a proper burial sometime.
Le Zhao pulled her arm close to his chest and said gently, "Why are you unhappy again? Tell your brother."
Just as Le Jin was about to open her mouth, the fear and pain of having been stabbed in the heart several times suddenly came back to life, and tears welled up uncontrollably. The words that were about to come out of her mouth turned into a long exhale.
"I'm just feeling a little unwell." Le Jin's breathing was uneven as she turned her head away, secretly wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Suddenly, the strength in her arm increased; it was Le Zhao gripping her tightly: "Your asthma has flared up again?"
He turned around and anxiously instructed, "Baoyin, bring my wife's medicine."
Le Zhao quickly helped Le Jin sit down, squatted down beside her, and gently patted her back.
He thought his sister's old illness had relapsed, and he was so frightened that he kept his lips tightly closed and his wrist holding Le Jin trembled slightly.
Le Jin had long realized that Le Zhao was only serious and upright on the surface, but he loved his younger sister very much in his heart.
She placed her hand on Le Zhao's and comforted him, "I'm just a little uneasy. I'm about to meet the young master of the Meng family, and I'm a little nervous."
Le Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening.
"Worried that he doesn't like you? How could that be? Our little Jin'er is so beautiful, what young man wouldn't like her?"
He pinched the soft flesh on Le Jin's cheeks to make her laugh.
“If you two don’t get along, don’t be afraid—” Le Zhao turned around and pointed to the caravan that had accompanied them to the capital this time.
"These are all prepared for you by your brother. If you are not satisfied with his character, we will immediately break off the engagement. We will pay whatever it takes, and after that, we will each be free."
Le Jin's heart skipped a beat, and her gaze toward the convoy was filled with disbelief.
She thought the convoy was Le Zhao's way of expanding his business in Beijing, but she never imagined they all belonged to her.
In her three lifetimes, this was the first time she had such a powerful love as her support.
Le Zhao, tall and imposing, crouched beside Le Jin, like a guardian deity.
She hugged Le Zhao and softly called him from the bottom of her heart, "Brother."
“Brother is here.”
She stayed obediently on his neck, her eyes fixed on Tiger Head Mountain.
As her fears gradually subsided, Yue Jin stopped running away and began talking to Yue Zhao.
"I heard that the bandits on Tiger Head Mountain are the same ones who kidnapped Meng Shutai four years ago. How are they now?"
“They’re dead. Four years ago, the Luoyang government was furious about this heinous crime and almost slaughtered Tiger Head Mountain. Even the Yuyang Nunnery on the neighboring mountain had no survivors.”
"What!"
Le Jin pulled Le Zhao away, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What did you say?"
"The Meng family joined forces with the government to eradicate the bandit stronghold. At that time, someone happened to point out that Yuyang Temple was also a bandit's den. The Meng family was guarding there, and upon receiving the news, they also destroyed Yuyang Temple..."
No.
That's not what she meant.
Le Jin's expression changed drastically.
She didn't intend to harm Yuyang Nunnery. She had the Meng family surround it because she feared the bandits might use it as a refuge to escape.
Just stopping them would have been enough, how could this be...
Le Jin's limbs were ice-cold, and she shivered in the warm sun. Two lines of tears blurred her rouge, turning her pink tears into blood.
She hugged Le Zhao tightly, not wanting him to see her crying.
She actually caused the deaths of all the girls in Yuyang Nunnery.
"sorry……"
Le Jin sobbed, managing to squeeze out this belated apology that no one could hear.
Bang--
A thud was heard as something heavy fell to the ground, and the crowd cried out in panic, "Someone's dead!"
"Bandits are here to steal our things!"
The convoy was thrown into chaos. More than a dozen burly men in black attacked the Le family members indiscriminately, scattering boxes of gold and silver jewelry and land deeds all over the ground.
Le Zhao turned around and stood up, drawing his long sword from his waist to block Le Jin.
"Baoyin, protect your wife and hide!"
He pierced through the two bandits who lunged at Le Jin with his sword, kicked them away, and turned to slash at the villain who was about to launch a sneak attack.
A relentless stream of wicked bandits swarmed towards them like ants drawn to food, trampling over the vast wealth beneath their feet without even glancing at it.
"No! Jin'er, run! They're coming for us!"
Upon hearing this, Le Jin was startled and grabbed Bao Yin, taking off running.
【Riding a horse into the city】
The system suddenly appeared and instructed Le Jin on the course of action.
She frantically searched around and saw Le Zhao's black horse standing under a tree, unnoticed by anyone.
"But there's only one horse! Even Baoyin can't take it with her!"
Focus on crafting your story.
You can only act freely within the mission's scope; the consequences of disrupting the original story's direction will be severe.
[After arranging a minor matter on his own initiative, Yu Yang Nunnery ceased to exist. Isn't this lesson enough?]
Le Jin stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
"Wife, run! Why did you stop?" Baoyin was about the same age as her, with a round face, and was covered in cold sweat from fear.
Le Jin stared straight at her, her heart filled with conflicting emotions.
In the original book, Bao Yin was always by Le Jin's side. Even after Le Jin got married, she would help Le Jin convey her feelings and seduce other men. She was Le Jin's loyal lackey.
Leaving her now won't affect the subsequent plot, and it will also prevent her from being killed off by the storyline.
But now things are in complete chaos, how can Baoyin, a girl, cope?
The system's urging voice beeped, unusually jarring.
A wave of sadness washed over her like a cold fog, and suddenly Le Jin understood.
In fact, she had no choice after being assigned a new task.
Le Jin released her grip, pushed Bao Yin away, and ran towards the black horse alone.
Amid Bao Yin's piercing cries, Le Jin mounted her horse, trembling as she tied the reins, and fled for her life alone.
"drive--"
A long wind howled as she fought her way through the bandits' encirclement and raced down the mountain towards Luoyang.
Le Jin heard herself screaming.
She had left something very important behind, but she dared not think about it.
Remember, to truly live your own life, first become "Le Jin".
The system's mechanical voice paused for a moment, then disappeared, leaving behind a final sentence.
【Good luck】
The black horse galloped on all fours; its name was "Ruyunfu," and it truly resembled a cloud, carrying Lejin into the bustling, golden world.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! I can't control the horse!"
The original owner knew how to ride a horse, and Le Jin could still control it by following her subconscious movements. However, riding and reining in a horse requires strength and skill, which Le Jin had no ability to do. She could only let Ru Yunfu run around aimlessly in Luojing City.
It knocked over many of the street vendors' stalls, spilled tea, and smashed wine jars.
As Ru Yunfu ran, she somehow lost her balance and crashed into a closed door of a house. Le Jin was so frightened that she closed her eyes tightly and hugged Ru Yunfu tightly, afraid that she would fall.
It stopped.
Le Jin slowly opened her eyes amidst the clamor of voices and saw that Ru Yunfu was surrounded by broken wine jars.
Someone smashed it with a wine jar, stopping its rampage.
Le Jin gasped for breath and survived.
"Are you alright, madam?"
A slender young woman, wearing a light blue headscarf, with two long braids hanging down in front of her shoulders, and a pair of wildflowers, the most common flowers in the fields, in pale yellow, pinned to her temples.
She stood with her hands on her hips in front of Ru Yunfu, sizing up Le Jin.
"Are you scared? Should we call a doctor to take a look?"
The horse jolted her so badly that her pearls and jade ornaments fell off, and the crimson silk flower in her hair drooped down her cheek. Le Jin was truly disheveled at this moment, but her heart was beating crisply like a pearl falling to the ground.
She thought that this person was more efficient, more capable, and more composed than he had been four years ago.
Le Jin smiled, as if she had been reborn.
She met Jiang Yingyun.
A note from the author:
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Le Jin: Honest people who do evil are like...
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