Chapter 74: We are now even
The moment he was submerged in the icy water, Zhao Quesheng suddenly woke up from his coma.
She instinctively took a quick breath, but the icy water went straight into her lungs and choked her.
She struggled desperately, but the water tank was small, and she soon bumped into the walls. She opened her eyes, only to see pitch black.
In an instant, Zhao Quesheng was completely enveloped by fear.
...Stay calm! The teacher said, even if the sky falls, stay calm! Don't panic! Don't panic!
Whenever he thought of Jiang Tong, Zhao Quesheng almost instinctively forced himself to calm down quickly.
She quickly realized that she was in a water tank, and with a kick of her legs, she successfully stood up headfirst, leaning over the edge of the tank and coughing uncontrollably.
After finally recovering from the shock, she was shivering from the cold and was about to climb out of the tub.
The auspicious tank itself was a little taller than her, but the water inside was not full, just above her neck, so she could still breathe while standing inside. But when she wanted to climb out, she was horrified to find that she could no longer control her body!
She struggled to raise her arms, but her fingers were so cold that she couldn't even hold onto the edge of the tub! She had no strength left.
Her dexterous hands, which she used to restore calligraphy and paintings, curled up uncontrollably and became very stiff, as if they were no longer hers!
"Help...myself..." Xiao Quesheng opened her mouth wide, wanting to call for help, but she was horrified to find that her voice had also changed, becoming so hoarse that only the sound of a breath remained.
Su Guanqing had just laid down when he heard a little noise again, like the sound of water, which was a bit noisy.
Su Guanqing frowned. Could it be that a weasel fell into the water tank?
Thinking about it, he shook his head again. It was already this cold, how could there still be weasels running around?
He turned over, intending to ignore it.
However, as dawn was approaching, he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, his mind constantly thinking about what Jiang Tong had done during the day.
Tongtong looks really strange today.
They had clearly talked a lot in the study, but after sending him back in the evening, she still kept talking to him and was very affectionate.
Although Tongtong refused to tell him the time, his room was next to the outer wall after all. He heard the sound of the night watchman knocking on the gong and knew that it was almost dawn when Tongtong left.
...What happened to Tongtong?
Su Guanqing was puzzled.
Just as he was tossing and turning in his thoughts, the sound of water outside stopped, and then the knocking sound was heard again.
He sighed. The weasel was deliberately not letting him sleep.
However, the next moment, his movement of turning over froze, and he suddenly realized that the sound was wrong!
That's not a sound a weasel could make!
Zhao Quesheng was almost in despair. She couldn't climb out of the water tank, nor could she shout. While struggling anxiously, she suddenly saw the key hanging around her neck.
The key hit the water tank with a loud noise, which surprised her for a moment, but the knocking did not attract anyone.
Her whole body was getting colder and stiffer. She could no longer even feel her body below the water surface, and her consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred.
I don’t know how long I soaked in it, but perhaps because I had adapted to the ice water, Zhao Quesheng gradually began to feel his body warming up.
At this moment, Su Guanqing's door was opened again.
He walked tentatively towards the water tank and asked cautiously, "Is anyone there?"
"Master! Save me!" Hearing Su Guanqing's voice, Zhao Quesheng regained consciousness for a moment, and she shouted again at the top of her voice.
She used almost all her strength, but all she could make was a gasp.
But for Su Guanqing, whose hearing is already more acute than that of ordinary people, it is enough.
"Queso?! Where are you?"
"Water tank, I'm in the water tank, Master, save me..." Zhao Quesheng's tongue seemed to be frozen, and her words were unclear. She was extremely anxious, fearing that the master might not understand, so she banged the keys in her hand even harder.
She didn't know that the key had long since slipped from her unconscious hand, and she was constantly hitting the wall of the tank with her stiff hand.
As she swung her arms, Su Guanqing heard the sound of water again.
After realizing that Zhao Quesheng was in the water tank, Su Guanqing was shocked and ran quickly towards the direction of the sound. His knee hit the water tank, making a "bang" sound.
He didn't care about the severe pain in his knee, stretched out his hand and fumbled around in the water tank, and soon he touched Zhao Quesheng who was frozen stiff.
His fingers were too weak to catch her, but fortunately Zhao Quesheng's arms were still on the edge of the water tank. He clamped Zhao Quesheng's armpits with his arms and dragged him out.
The moment he was dragged out of the water tank, Zhao Quesheng could no longer hold on, his eyes went dark, and he fainted.
…
When Zhao Quesheng woke up again, it was already dawn. She found herself lying on a warm couch and her wet clothes had been changed.
She sat up suddenly, everything went dark before her eyes, her head and hands hurt, and her chest hurt every time she breathed.
"Hey, why are you getting up? Why don't you lie down?" The old woman who was guarding her was doing menial work. When she saw that she was about to get up, she wanted to force her to lie down.
"I'm looking for the teacher!" Zhao Quesheng shouted anxiously. Her voice returned, but it was still very hoarse.
"Oh, the eldest lady is not at home. She went out early in the morning as soon as the curfew ended." said the old woman.
Zhao Quesheng was stunned: "Then, then where is my master?"
"Your master is also busy. The eldest lady said that she wants to take the two elders to the suburbs to relax. Young Master Su is instructing people to pack up. Aren't you just going out to play for two days? Is it necessary to bring so many things? Even calligraphy and paintings have to be brought..." The old woman chattered non-stop.
But Zhao Quesheng didn't listen at all. He put on his shoes and ran to find Su Guanqing.
She didn't know where Su Guanqing was, so she could only look for him all over the house. However, as soon as she ran, her lungs felt like they were being cut by a knife, but she didn't care about that.
The entire Jiang residence looked extremely busy. Everyone was packing up, and no one noticed the little girl who had just escaped death.
Zhao Quesheng finally found Su Guanqing in the gatehouse stables.
He was coaxing Jiang Huaishan and Zhong Wanci into the carriage.
The weather was getting colder, and Zhong Wanci was reluctant to go out, but she couldn't resist the persuasion of her whole family, so she could only put on a gloomy face and help Jiang Huaishan get into the carriage.
"Master!" Zhao Quesheng hurriedly ran to Su Guanqing in two or three steps.
"Quesheng? Are you awake? How do you feel?" Su Guanqing asked a series of questions as soon as he heard Zhao Quesheng's voice.
"I'm fine." Zhao Quesheng looked around and saw servants coming and going nearby, so he pulled Su Guanqing's sleeve and said, "Master, come here."
She took Su Guanqing to a secluded place and told him what happened last night.
Su Guanqing's face grew paler as he listened. Finally, he squeezed his eyes shut and said in a deep voice, "The teacher already knows about the leak of the secret letter. She's gone out to inform A-Qiao and told us to leave the city first. I wanted to let you return to the Zhao family, but if it was Fu Liu who did it..."
He paused, a trace of pain in his expression: "...If Fu Liu is a member of the Jinyiwei, and we escape, the Jinyiwei will definitely chase us to the Zhao family to look for you. So, you should come with us."
As he spoke, he and Zhao Quesheng walked to the carriage together: "Quesheng, you get in first."
However, Zhao Quesheng supported him and did not move. Su Guanqing could even feel that Zhao Quesheng's movements were stiff and even trembling.
He thought Zhao Quesheng was afraid, so he comforted him, "Don't be afraid. Follow Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Zhong out of the city first. When Master comes back, he will catch up with us."
Before he finished speaking, Feng Fuliu's voice rang out from not far away: "Such a big event, where are you planning to go?"
Su Guanqing's body stiffened: "Fu Liu, you're back?"
"I said I would hurry back to take care of you getting up and washing up, why didn't you wait for me?" Feng Fuliu didn't even look at Zhao Quesheng. He walked up and supported Su Guanqing, his voice as usual.
“Master…”
Zhao Quesheng stared at Feng Fuliu nervously, his voice as soft as a mosquito, even with a hint of crying in it.
"Don't be afraid, get on the carriage first." Su Guanqing patted the back of her hand gently.
Zhao Quesheng had no choice but to obey and climbed onto the carriage. When she looked out of the window, Su Guanqing had already been supported by Feng Fuliu and entered the Chuihua Gate.
"Aren't you going to ask me?" Feng Fuliu stopped and looked at Su Guanqing with a complicated expression.
"I should have thought of it earlier," Su Guanqing laughed self-deprecatingly. "Emperor Zhengtong placed me in the music troupe in the capital. How could he not send someone to keep an eye on me?"
After rescuing Zhao Quesheng, the Jiang residence was in turmoil. First, he called out many times but failed to call out Feng Fuliu from next door. Then, Jiang Tong discovered that the secret letter in the study had been leaked.
At that time he guessed that Feng Fuliu was the spy.
Before Zhao Quesheng woke up and accused the murderer, he didn't want to think in that direction. However, the more he restrained himself, the more he couldn't help but think about the various details since they met.
"When the dock caught fire that day, you didn't follow me and Tongtong because you saw us running wildly on the street, right? You were already at the dock. No wonder you kept asking me afterwards if I knew the person who was rescued." Su Guanqing said.
Feng Fuliu nodded: "Not bad."
"Even after I was kidnapped, you were still hinting at me. I thought you were concerned about me... Uncle Jiang was captured just a few days after I came back... And your return this time wasn't because you were desperate, but because you wanted to go back to the Jiang family to monitor us, right?"
“…Yes.” Feng Fuliu said.
Su Guanqing's tone was filled with melancholy: "I thought you were my only friend in this world."
Feng Fuliu sneered, "Your only friend? I've been by your side for so long, and I haven't been able to get any useful information out of you. Is this how you treat your friends?"
"I just don't want to involve you in these things," Su Guanqing said with a sad look on his face. "But no matter what, I have to thank you for taking care of me these days. Without you, I'm afraid I really couldn't get through this. Thank you for showing mercy and sparing Quesheng's life."
"Why be polite? It's just my job." Feng Fuliu shrugged.
"Fu Liu," Su Guanqing said suddenly, his face serious, "Let the two elders of the Jiang family and Quesheng go. They know nothing. If you want to report to the envoy, take me with you."
"The secret letter was written by Jiang Tong, and the calligraphy and painting were sealed by Jiang Tong. What use would I have to you? Speaking of which, you probably don't know the inside story of what Jiang Tong did, right?"
"I know! I know everything! I am the focus of Emperor Zhengtong's attention! Tongtong knows nothing. She is just a craftsman. She only knows how to restore calligraphy and paintings. She doesn't know anything else!" Su Guanqing was anxious and grabbed Feng Fuliu's arm.
Feng Fuliu shook and broke free from his hand. He rolled his eyes at Su Guanqing and said, "Su Guanqing, I just can't stand your useless appearance. Jiang Tong is more important than your life, right? Okay, take Jiang Tong's parents and apprentice and leave. I won't take you with me."
"No, I won't leave. If you want to catch Tongtong, you have to catch me too... Um... Cough cough..." Su Guanqing was still trying to pull with him, but someone stuffed something into his mouth. It was small and round, like a pill. He was not paying attention and swallowed it directly. Before he could react what he had eaten, he felt a pain at the back of his head, his legs went weak, and he knew nothing.
Feng Fuliu caught the unconscious Su Guanqing with a complicated expression on her face: "I have returned the money the Jiang family gave you. Whether you can get better after taking this medicine depends on your life."
He sighed: "That's it, from now on we're even."
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The author has something to say: Zhao Quesheng fell into icy water and was unable to call for help. The cold shock reaction caused spasms in the throat muscles, leading to his loss of voice.
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