That year, the shawl
Sui Zhixu lowered his eyes and remained silent, looking at the surroundings of the house and the patterns on the beams. This was a village in the mountains.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Xi Yushao took out the soft blue shawl as if presenting a treasure.
“Ah Ling, look, I’ve kept your shawl all this time.”
He held the soft blue shawl in his hand and presented it to her, but Sui Zhixu never expected it to be this shawl.
When did she ever lose her shawl, the soft blue one...?
As her eyes darted around, she suddenly remembered the trap on the back mountain of the Prime Minister's mansion at the coming-of-age banquet; she had indeed lost a shawl when she jumped into the lake.
A mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. She wore a soft blue shawl because when she first deceived Little Hibiscus, he was wearing a soft blue round-necked brocade robe.
She hadn't worn this shawl for long, but the thought of how long it had been in his hands made Sui Zhixu feel nauseous.
She turned her head and leaned to the other side. The muscle relaxant was very effective; she felt weak and listless after moving around for a while.
"It's okay, we still have plenty of time." Xi Yushao tried to hug Sui Zhixu, who was lying silently with her eyes closed. She leaned weakly against the bed railing, trying to think of a way to leave.
"What are you thinking? Ah Ling, you think I didn't notice anything you were doing behind my back? How is that possible? I noticed you the first time you showed up."
Xi Yushao gently stroked her hair, his laughter full of affection, "Why did you dress up like that? It must have been so hard for you."
Sui Zhixu chuckled but still ignored him. Xi Yushao, having made a fool of himself, laid Sui Zhixu flat on the bed after a while.
"You should rest well, but I also advise you not to try to use your internal energy. You can experience the consequences for yourself."
A malicious smile curled at the corner of his lips as he turned and left under Sui Zhixu's indifferent gaze.
With sharp eyes, Xu spotted Chu Jiu outside the door. A hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes. Finally, he closed the door and lingered outside for a moment. The footsteps outside faded into the distance, and Chu Jiu's figure disappeared completely at the end of the corridor.
Sui Zhixu closed her eyes and breathed very lightly, as if she were asleep, but her fingertips quietly gripped the bed sheet beneath her.
The effects of the muscle-softening powder were still coursing through her body, making her limbs feel like they were filled with lead, and even lifting a finger was difficult. She tried to circulate some internal energy, but found that the medicine was circulating in her body even faster. If she had used too much internal energy at the beginning, she probably would have been completely unable to move.
She decided to give up struggling for the time being and ponder Xi Yushao's words.
He discovered her early on and chose to remain inactive, which must have meant he was secretly monitoring her. He probably knew about Shania's little schemes, but it didn't matter. Shania was just playing an intermediary role. Her real target was Shanyan's first subordinate, Afa.
As is typical of Shania, her eloquence will surely attract Afa's attention. With just a little investigation, he will know that she has been to Jiang Yun's residence, and he may even be able to get information out of Shania.
When he learned that Jiang Yun and she were there, he should have thought things through. At this moment, Shania's crying and Shan Yan's past would have made him more likely to make a decision.
As for the Yue tribe, Sui Zhixu trusted Jiang Yun's abilities. She guessed that Sima Xian and Xi Yushao were also waiting, waiting for Jiang Li to emerge from seclusion and end all of this. She was also waiting; she needed to get everything sorted out before Jiang Li emerged from seclusion.
That left her and Sima Xian.
Her immediate priority was to get out; Little Hibiscus was still waiting for her.
She turned her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over the furnishings of the room. They were simple and elegant, showing no signs of human habitation, except for the desk, which was decorated with large amounts of paint and scrolls.
Moreover, there were no sharp objects.
Outside the window, one could faintly hear the people of the mountain tribe chatting. After listening for a while, realizing it was pointless, one stopped paying attention. Every now and then, footsteps would pass by the door.
Sui Zhixu closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down.
As night deepened, the village gradually quieted down.
She slightly adjusted her posture, pretending to be asleep. About half an hour later, she heard a slight creaking sound from the door hinge.
The door was pushed open.
The visitor did not light a lamp; in the darkness, only a tall, slender shadow silently approached the bed. Sui Zhixu squinted, and through the hazy moonlight, he could vaguely make out the figure.
He carried a bowl of medicine in his hand and walked very lightly, as if afraid of disturbing someone's dream.
"Ah Ling," he called softly, his tone gentle to the point of being tender, "it's time to take your medicine."
Sui Zhixu kept her eyes closed, her breathing even, and remained motionless.
Xi Yushao stood by the bed, remained silent for a while, then suddenly chuckled softly: "Still pretending to be asleep?"
Instead of exposing him, he bent down, placed the medicine bowl on a wooden table beside him, and then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.
He gently brushed aside the stray hairs on her forehead, paused for a moment by her cheek, and sighed with a hint of pleasure in his voice: "You're always like this... never giving me a moment's peace."
Xu Xin felt a chill run down her spine, but her face remained impassive.
Xi Yushao didn't speak again, but just sat quietly, as if admiring her "sleep" or waiting for something.
Gradually, he smelled a metallic scent. He hurriedly searched for the source of the blood smell and touched the sticky liquid on Sui Zhixu's arm.
"Ah Ling!" Xi Yushao called out anxiously, lit the lamp in the room, and shouted loudly outside, "Chu Jiu! Quickly call the doctor!"
"The ninth day! The ninth day!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Chu Jiu rushed in and saw the blood on Sui Zhixu's wrist. Not far from the ground was a blood-stained knife. He quickly went out to find a doctor.
Xi Yushao held Sui Zhixu tightly, urging the people outside from time to time, unaware that Sui Zhixu had already fallen asleep.
The wounds only looked scary; they weren't actually that serious. First, Sui Zhixu had been given a muscle-relaxing drug and was weak. Second, she cherished her body.
In half an hour, Sui Zhixu successfully achieved her goal. This time, the tree before her was no longer a withered tree covered with strange red berries. Instead, a sturdy tree with lush foliage and fresh greenery covered the entire mountainside. A verdant python was resting on the tree, awakening with the sound of her footsteps.
Hiss—
The snake's waist was supple, and it seemed pleased to see Sui Zhixu. It nudged her with its massive head, and when it noticed the wound on her wrist, its vertical pupils flashed with surprise.
Before it could make a move, Sui Zhixu hugged its head and said softly, "Aniang, they bullied me!"
"Hiss!"
...
As soon as Xu Youyou woke up, she silently looked away from Xi Yushao's anxious gaze.
"You're awake?"
Her gaze fell on a bowl of brown soup beside her. It looked like medicine. That damned Xi Yushao, it wasn't enough to drug her, he had to feed her medicine too.
"Here, have some water."
With his help, Sui Zhixu got up. Her body was still limp, but the ropes binding her wrists and ankles had been untied. Her lips were dry and chapped, and her throat felt rusty and bitter. This time, she was obedient and drank it down from his hand.
The lips were moistened, and the parched land of the throat was as if it had been irrigated, becoming fertile soil once again.
"You're really tough on yourself."
Sui Zhixu raised an eyebrow slightly. The room was clean, except for a dull paper cutter on the desk. He used his internal energy to retrieve objects remotely and then focused on cutting blood.
She really wanted to know where Xi Yushao had gotten the sleeping potion, which had such a profound effect on her internal energy. After doing all that, she collapsed onto the bed, her eyelids feeling as heavy as lead, and she couldn't help but close her eyes.
Her original intention was simply to bring Xiao Xiaoqing here. Xiao Xiaoqing was born from the Gu King. In order for Xiao Xiaoqing to protect her, Jiang Li used her blood to nurture the soon-to-hatch-birth Xiao Xiaoqing. From then on, Xiao Xiaoqing was extremely sensitive to her blood after birth.
She never expected to see Jiang Li after fainting. What else could she do but complain? She had gone to so much trouble to summon Xiao Xiao Qing, so of course she deserved some reward.
Xi Yushao had already applied medicine to her wounds. He didn't force Sui Zhixu to drink the medicine anymore. She thought that perhaps the doctor had said something to him, since she was completely unable to move now.
While Xi Yushao wasn't paying attention, Xiao Xiaoqing squeezed in through the window and hid under Sui Zhixu's blanket, slowly climbing up to her chest.
Knowing her physical condition, Xi Yushao stood up and looked down at her indifferently. He remained silent for a long time before turning his sleeves and leaving.
The slamming of the door echoed through the night. Sui Zhixu was too lazy to pay attention to him. If she had the strength, she would have rolled her eyes.
"Hiss?"
How did you get hurt?
As Xu gestured for it to call for help, the snake nudged her chin.
"Hiss~"
Should I go and call someone?
Sui Zhixu nodded.
"Hiss~"
Okay, Master, be careful. Little Green will definitely find someone to rescue you.
It crawled away from the window along its original path, and Xu followed its trail to peek at the long strip of sky outside the window.
She hadn't been imprisoned in a long time. Even when she was confined to the courtyard by the Princess of Runan when she was young and was monitored on the eve of her wedding, she had never been in such a sorry state. She sighed silently in her heart, wondering how Xiao Furong was doing.
Fan Lingzhang is going crazy. He clearly said he would be back that night, but in reality, Sui Zhixu has been missing for several days.
Jiang Yun pushed the door open and came in. Fan Lingzhang immediately walked up to him and asked, "Is there any news about A-Ling?"
“A-Ling left a few days ago before noon. I sent people to ask her on the street if she had stopped in front of a flower-selling child. I have already sent people to look for that child.”
Fan Lingzhang slumped into a chair, rubbing his forehead and giving a bitter smile. "I shouldn't have let her leave alone."
Seeing Jiang Yun frown, Wu Shanyue took his hand and comforted them, "A Ling is highly skilled in martial arts, she will definitely turn danger into safety."
"It's because she's good at martial arts that I suspect they might have used special methods, otherwise Ah Ling wouldn't have taken so long to come back."
Jiang Yun rubbed his temples with one hand. He suddenly remembered those three years. After Thirteen Niang passed away, Jiang Li often went into seclusion and had no time to take care of her. He wanted to keep an eye on her, but she took advantage of her light body and always sneaked away in the middle of the night, going alone and returning with injuries.
The worst part was that she said she wanted to avenge Thirteen Sister and another woman, and when she returned, she was covered in wounds and blood. She risked her life to return and collapsed at the entrance of Jiang's village. Jiang Yun didn't know how to help her and carried her back to heal her wounds.
Therefore, Jiang Yun firmly believed that someone must have sabotaged her.
Fan Lingzhang already had a guess in his heart: in this world, there was no one else who could have such abilities besides that person.
The past is like shattered glass, each piece forming a memory of what once was.
In the first year after Lu Kou's "death," Fan Lingzhang's business was robbed, and he lost half of his fortune. The loss of his wife and the setbacks in business led him to numb himself with alcohol.
That day's banquet was a special event for businessmen who disliked Fan Lingzhang or were suppressed by him, but Fan Lingzhang didn't care. He just drank at the banquet, treating all the sarcasm and ridicule as jokes.
Businessmen are usually careful with their words, but at the drinking party, someone, after having too much to drink, blurted out the truth: "Weren't you so arrogant yesterday? Hahaha, look at you now, so pathetic! Your wife is gone, and you've lost half your business. Let's see how arrogant you'll be in the future!"
"I thought he was a reincarnation of the Sage of Commerce, but it turns out he's just a pitiful widow!"
Fan Lingzhang lowered his head and mocked himself, leaning against the deck to drink while enjoying the breeze. Bottle after bottle of wine spilled on the ground. In his dazed state, he heard a noisy shouting around him.
His body seemed to be drawn by fate. In that instant, he looked up and met someone's eyes. His cloudy gaze cleared in a flash. Countless doubts and questions swirled in his mind like a mystery. He had no time to care about them. The only thing he was sure of was that this person was the one he had been thinking about day and night.
The spring chill lingered, and a raindrop suddenly fell from his eyelid, creating tiny splashes similar to ripples on a lake. Instantly, his ears became clear and silent.
He thought he heard her speak, but unfortunately he couldn't make out anything.
In the darkness, raindrops fell from the sky and mingled with the bloodstains on her body in the lake, the blood and rain spreading in the lake.
The opposite pleasure boat was heavily guarded, and all the surrounding lakes were sealed off. Fan Lingzhang could only send Alu and Afu to investigate and search on their own!
He even went to Sima Xian, hoping to continue the search through his men, only to be met with your crazed gaze.
How could he admit his mistake?
He still pleaded for Sima Xian's help, but Sima Xian seemed helpless towards him. In the end, he still sent people to search and found information about the person who jumped off the boat that night. It turned out to be a courtesan from a pleasure boat named Nan Menghao. Her figure did indeed resemble Lu Kou somewhat. It was said that she had committed a crime on the pleasure boat and jumped off to commit suicide.
Not long after, a few days later, Fan Lingzhang's men found only a bloated corpse, whose original appearance was no longer recognizable.
He witnessed her death once again.
Fan Lingzhang looked out the window at the Miao region; he didn't want to wait any longer.
Cong Lan told him that "Nan Menghao" had killed someone and was a spy for Sima Xian. He then realized that it was no wonder Sima Xian would send someone to help him.
Nan Menghao, Menghao. Cong Lan's account differs from Sima Xian's. In Cong Lan's words, Nan Menghao is a dancer who suddenly appears.
Is it better to dream or to indulge in dreams?
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