Lü Zheng said she remembered that when they arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, Wei Qinglou received a message from a servant and came out of the mansion to see them.
He nodded slightly to Song Jiangmei in greeting, then looked at Lüzheng and asked, "Why are you here? Did your young lady have something to discuss and send you to find me?"
Lüzheng smiled and curtsied to him, saying, "In reply to Lord Wei, that is indeed the case. My young lady left Yujing by boat early this morning. Because she did not have time to say goodbye to Lord Wei, she asked me to explain the situation to you. After seeing you, I will also leave the capital to find my young lady. She said that her return date is uncertain, but she will write to you whenever she has time, so please do not worry."
Wei Qinglou looked down at her: "So eager?"
His tone was calm, but his aura was intimidating. Green Kite lowered her head under his gaze and stammered in agreement.
Song Jiangmei smiled and said, "Ayu has always been a person with her own ideas. Whether she is in a hurry or not is entirely up to her. Besides, Lord Wei, you should be content. Our Ayu cares about you, which is why she said she would write to you. Unlike me, she hasn't said anything at all."
"If you have anything else to say, you might as well tell it to Lüzheng so that she can take it to Ayu. But you have to be careful about the time. Ayu has been gone for a long time. I'm afraid that if we don't send Lüzheng there soon, she won't be able to catch up with her."
Wei Qinglou looked at her scrutinizingly, and after a while, he slowly shook his head: "It's alright, you can go now."
...
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the bare treetops and fell upon the tiled roofs on the mountain ridge. Tao Yao tiptoed out of the kitchen and brought out some thin porridge and steamed buns, then pushed open the door to Zhu Jiayu's room, which was closed.
Zhu Jiayu slightly opened her eyes, and after seeing the petite figure of the girl in front of her, she closed her eyes again with relief.
She was too tired and hadn't slept all night. Even though she couldn't sleep now, it would be good to close her eyes and rest.
Tao Yao carried the food to her and said sweetly, "Sister, I know you're awake. None of the sisters who come here can sleep. Don't you want to chat with me? Look, I've prepared breakfast for you."
Zhu Jiayu glanced at her lazily, her face expressionless.
A hint of displeasure flashed in Tao Yao's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it, pulled the coarse cloth out of Zhu Jiayu's mouth, and said in a very pitying tone:
"I forgot, sister's mouth was gagged with a cloth and she couldn't speak. How uncomfortable is that? But it's okay, I can secretly help sister pull the cloth out."
"Okay, now you can ask me anything you want to know. I'm so grateful to you for helping me on the street. I cried for so long, my voice is almost hoarse, and no one stopped to ask me what happened."
Her voice lowered, sounding genuinely sad, but beyond sadness lay gratitude towards Zhu Jiayu.
That's pretty good.
Zhu Jiayu thought to herself.
If she hadn't been pushed when she got off the carriage, she might have almost believed it.
Seeing that she still didn't speak, Tao Yao threw out another bait: "Don't you want to know where all the sisters who were invited here before you went?"
Zhu Jiayu certainly wanted to know. But she was almost certain that the girl in front of her wouldn't tell her so easily.
After all, she looked really awful, not like someone with any good intentions.
Rather than wasting her breath, she decided to save her energy.
As Zhu Jiayu thought this, she slightly lifted her eyelids and looked at the little girl in front of her. She had a pair of clear and bright eyes, and was quite beautiful.
But at the same time, she also has the most wicked heart.
She and the scarred man each had their own roles. She was responsible for feigning pitifulness, a trap set by the hunter, with a sweet and fragrant appearance, solely to lure the prey. The scarred man was the hunter waiting nearby, just waiting for the right moment to pounce and snatch away his prey.
It's hard to believe she's only eight or nine years old, given how well they work together.
Zhu Jiayu's heart stirred, and he asked her in a calm voice, "What's your name?"
Tao Yao was stunned.
After a long while, she answered coldly, "Tao Yao."
The resistance on her face was so obvious that it was only then that Zhu Jiayu realized, for once, that she was indeed far too young. Even though she was wicked, she hadn't grown up yet and didn't know how to hide her emotions.
Zhu Jiayu nodded: "The peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms are bright and beautiful? This maiden is going to her husband's home, she will be a good wife and mother. It's a good name, your father gave it to you?"
Upon hearing her recite the poem, Tao Yao suddenly became somewhat dazed.
But she quickly exclaimed in disgust, "It's not him!"
She lowered her head and looked at the straw at her feet: "My father... died a long time ago."
Zhu Jiayu looked at her apologetically.
Sensing her pity, Tao Yao raised her head. Perhaps stung by that gaze, she couldn't help but say, "Don't look at me like that. I'm so happy he's dead!"
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head again: "Because I am a girl, he has never really liked me. Later, when I had two younger brothers, his attitude towards me became even worse. He often beat and scolded me. One winter, he fell seriously ill. He heard the story of lying on the ice to catch carp, so he also wanted me to go into the frozen river barefoot and wear only a single layer of clothing to catch fish for him to cure his illness."
"At that time, I secretly wished that he would just die from his illness."
"And what about your younger brother?" Zhu Jiayu asked her.
“My brother? With my father as a role model, they never treated me like an older sister when I was young, they didn’t even treat me like a human being.”
These things had been buried in Tao Yao's heart for a long time. She had never told anyone about them because she knew from a very young age that no one would be interested in these things, nor would anyone feel sorry for her because of them.
Back then, among so many neighbors in the village, who didn't turn a blind eye to her plight?
But perhaps because they had been holding it in for too long, once they had a chance to vent, these old stories, like a flood bursting its banks, rushed out and couldn't be stopped.
“They would push me into the well when I wasn’t looking while I was drawing water, and they would deliberately spill the pig feed and make me kneel on the ground to eat it… All of this, just because they thought it was fun.”
“Sister,” she looked up and stared straight at Zhu Jiayu, “do you know how desperate you would feel when the icy well water overflows your mouth, your nose, and up to the top of your head?”
"I know."
"But at that time, I had no will to live at all, and I just thought, it would be better to just die like this."
"But I was eventually rescued. My dad was waiting for me to grow up so he could sell me for a good price."
"Fortunately, they all died later," she said easily. "A fire burned down our house and took their lives with it."
A look of fascination and longing flashed in her eyes: "That towering flame was infinitely more beautiful than any fireworks or lights I have ever seen since."
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