Chapter 102: Under the Bed

Wen Zhiheng seemed to have drunk a little too much, and he drank the entire pot of wine.

His cheeks were flushed, his elbows were resting on the round table, his fingers were pressing on his forehead, and he seemed to be in some pain.

"Brother, you are drunk. I will ask the servants to make you some sobering soup."

"No need, I have something else to do, I'll leave first."

After saying this, he stood up, staggered, and walked to the screen.

Wen Zhiyuan was startled and hurried over to help him.

He waved his hand to stop Wen Zhiyuan, and stared blankly at the screen. His eyes were misty and covered with a thin fog, and it was impossible to understand his mood.

For a long time, he stroked the screen with his white fingertips. The crabapple flowers on it were very similar to Yueyingxuan's. He vaguely remembered that Chen Shiyi stood under the weeping crabapple and turned to smile at him.

He lowered his head and saw a piece of green clothing under the screen, and pondered for a long time.

"My Lord, the time has come..."

Outside the door, Qingsong's figure saluted respectfully.

Wen Zhiheng nodded, his voice hoarse.

"good…"

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the dining hall.

After a long time, Chen Shiyi came out from behind the screen, and Wen Zhiyuan sighed.

"Eleven, please forgive me. I didn't know that my brother would come today."

Chen Shiyi smiled and nodded.

"Nothing."

She thought for a while.

"Second Young Master, I'm going to go back first. If there is any progress on Amber's matter, remember to ask someone to let me know."

Wen Zhiyuan was very worried.

"It's getting late, and the journey back is so long. It's not safe for you to go alone. Stay at home tonight. It won't be too late to go back tomorrow."

Chen Shiyi refused.

"No, Xuwen and Yuanxi, they will accompany me..."

The carriage moved slowly along the street. As the sky grew darker, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road, and the sound of the carriage became increasingly hollow.

The snow in the sky was still floating in the air.

Chen Shiyi was closing his eyes and resting when he suddenly heard Xuwen's cautious voice outside.

"Sister, there is a carriage following us."

After hearing this, Chen Shiyi slowly opened his eyes.

"Pull the carriage aside and let the people behind go first."

"yes."

Qingsong, who was driving, asked Wen Zhiheng inside.

"My Lord, their carriage has stopped. Do you want to go see the girl?"

Wen Zhiheng raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Just keep going. She doesn't want to see me."

Qingsong drove the carriage past them and went forward.

"My Lord, you finally managed to come here, but you didn't even see the girl. Isn't that a pity?"

"What's a pity? She has been hiding behind the screen for so long and doesn't want to come out to see me. So what should I say to her when I see her? Say sorry, ask her not to leave me? I am a canary and she is a bird in the sky. It's enough for me to know that she is safe."

"The girl should know that you already know her whereabouts."

"I also told her not to travel around. Even if I knew, I would not disturb her life. I just wanted her to live in Yanzhou peacefully."

Qingsong was a little worried.

"My Lord, if Madam knew where the young lady lived, would it be harmful to her?"

"She can't do it, and she doesn't have the ability to do it. Besides, she can't take care of herself right now."

"My Lord, what do you intend to achieve with the girl?"

"I don't know. Let it be. I can't forget it, and I can't let it go. What can I do?"

He raised his hand and drew aside the heavy curtain, and looked through the flying white snow at the carriage which had become a black dot in the distance.

Let's leave it at that for now. We'll meet when the time comes. If there's no chance for us in this lifetime, that's his fate and we have to accept it.

It was already very late when Chen Shiyi returned to Lingyu Villa.

In fact, she shouldn't have taken such a risk. Traveling in a carriage at night would attract the attention of bad people.

However, she didn't want to stay in the capital.

She understood that Yanzhou Prefecture had resolved such a big issue at Lingyu Villa, and it was so close to Kyoto, how could he not know about it?

Now, all the power in the Marquis's Mansion was taken over by him. He was no longer controlled by his father or deceived by his family. With his plan, how could such a small matter as finding her be difficult for him?

He knew of her existence, but did not expose her. He must have wanted to tell her that he would not bother her anymore.

That's fine!

Let’s go back to being the most familiar strangers we were before, and wish each other well.

She no longer had to hide with a veil on her head, nor did she have to worry about being discovered and arrested by Wen Zhiheng.

On the day of the last lunar year, the old man sent a letter to Chen Shiyi, asking her to go back home to celebrate the New Year.

Chen Shiyi thought that the old man must have no money to spend.

Well, since he gave me the token, I'll just be the one who gets taken advantage of for once!

When I returned home, unexpectedly, my grandfather had a change of heart and had already arranged everything at home.

New Year's goods, lanterns, couplets, and even the windows of Liluoyuan are covered with festive window decorations with exquisite craftsmanship.

He really wanted to go back home to celebrate the New Year.

For some reason, Chen Shiyi's eyes felt a little sad.

Look, she is Chen Shiyi, and someone is calling her to go home for the New Year.

At the New Year’s Eve dinner, a family of six sat at the table and chatted animatedly.

The wine glasses are filled with fresh air, and the bowls and spoons are clinking.

The beef stewing on the small stove was bubbling. I picked up a piece and it was soft and sticky, wrapped in rich sauce and soup. When I put it in my mouth, the tip of my tongue was so hot that I couldn't stop breathing.

The old man rolled his eyes.

"There's plenty of beef, and no one's competing with you for it. Look at how useless you are!"

Chen Shiyi's eyes were filled with tears.

"Yes, yes, I am a complete loser..."

My eyes were misted by tears. In the mist, all I could see were red, yellow, black and blue, all melted into a beautiful painting. In the painting, there were laughter, and colorful candles and fires, like the twinkling stars in the night sky, so lively and boiling in the cold winter.

Chen Shiyi didn't know how many cups he had drunk. He felt dizzy, but also very sober.

Yuanxi and Xuwen were not good at drinking, and before they had even had two drinks, they were sent to their rooms to sleep.

I don't know who vowed to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year.

Late at night, she returned to Liluoyuan drunkenly and walked slowly into the room.

After washing herself with water, she casually closed the wide-open window, sat down in front of the dressing table, took off the jade hairpin on her head, let her hair fall down, and looked at her face in the mirror.

After arriving in Kyoto, she took good care of herself. Her face became rounder and her skin became white and smooth. Compared to the skeleton-like fourteen-year-old, she finally looked like a woman.

With both hands, she took off the azure coat from her shoulders and unbuttoned her white dress, leaving only her undershirt. Even with the warmth of the charcoal fire, she couldn't help shivering, lifted a corner of the quilt, crawled into the quilt and lay down.

Suddenly, she threw back the quilt, jumped up, and looked at her bed vigilantly.

"Who, who's there?"

A low laugh came from the bed.

"Eleven, your bed is too hard and it hurts."

When Chen Shiyi heard the voice, his eyes darkened a little.

"Are you sick? Why are you crawling into someone else's bed on New Year's Eve?"