Chapter 20: Breaking the Greed "My wife, save me——"...
Recently, a kind of sugar figurine called "Koi Candy" has become popular in Beijing. It is said that the human body and fish tail can move up and down around the sugar stick. It is a novel toy, and Aunt Zhao always mentions it in front of her.
In front of the dressing table, Aunt Zhao, holding a comb, slowly combed Luo Qingling's hair from top to bottom, occasionally tilting her head to glance at her rosy cheeks, as if considering what kind of makeup she would give her. After a moment, Aunt Zhao hesitated and asked, "Madam, are you still going to visit the master's old friends in the capital today?"
"They are called old friends, but in fact they are just my good colleagues back then. After my father was demoted to the frontier, those people have been promoted to higher ranks long ago. Now, I'm afraid they look down on our Luo family." Luo Qingling curled his lips and was unwilling to continue.
She had already sent invitations to various houses in the past few days, but they were all returned without exception. Naturally, the brocade box she had prepared could not be sent out. She thought that since her father had been transferred back to the capital to recuperate, it would not be enough to rely solely on his old friends. She had to think of another way.
"How is the master's condition now?" Aunt Zhao was worried.
Luo Qingling slowly shook his head. Though his expression was subtle, his thoughts were palpable. He believed General Luo was in grave danger. Indeed, the borderlands were cold year-round, and without skilled doctors, illnesses were difficult to cure. He could only hope that the court would show mercy and transfer the long-absent General Luo back to the capital.
"Don't worry, my lady. The master is blessed with good fortune," Aunt Zhao said hurriedly. She pulled out a candy figurine from somewhere and handed it to Luo Qingling with a smile. "I went out early this morning and saw the candy figurine seller passing by, so I bought a bunch. I just said I wanted to give it to you to try, but I forgot about it while I was talking."
It’s the “koi candy” that Aunt Zhao has been talking about these past two days.
Luo Qingling raised her hand to take the candy figure and looked towards the stained glass window. The warm sunlight filtered through the koi-shaped rock candy, reflecting in her eyes. As she moved, the koi slowly slid down the stick. Luo Qingling hurriedly turned the stick sideways to prevent the koi from falling.
"Aunt Zhao, that's thoughtful! I really like this koi candy." Luo Qingling knew that Aunt Zhao must have noticed that she had been feeling down the past few days and had gone out to buy the koi candy. She composed her expression, hiding her sadness in her heart, and then smiled at Aunt Zhao with a serene look on her face.
At night.
The stained glass window in the room was half open, the bedding on the bed was a little messy, and the bed curtain was half fallen to the ground, showing that the owner was a little anxious.
The wooden door creaked open, and Aunt Zhao walked in, holding a teacup. She walked straight to the bed and placed the teacup on the table. "Madam, you haven't been sleeping well lately. I asked the doctor for a calming prescription. Madam, please get up and drink it before going to sleep."
Aunt Zhao was right. Because of her father's matter, she hadn't slept all night for several days. If she continued to endure it, she was afraid that she would fall ill and be bedridden.
Luo Qingling crawled out from under the quilt, reached out to pick up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Soon after, his mind wandered and he fell into a deep sleep.
Save me——
Who is speaking?
Luo Qingling only felt that her feet were soft, as if she was stepping on a ball of cotton. She didn't have time to figure out what was going on, and a cry for help inexplicably appeared in her mind.
Save me——
She hurriedly looked back, only to find herself at the river's edge, the water rippling at her ankles. It was clearly winter, but why did she feel the water wasn't cold at all, but rather warm?
My lady, save me——
There was silence in her ears, but the cries for help were clear in her mind. Luo Qingling didn't care and walked along the river. The fog was thick and white in front of her, and she couldn't see the scene ahead clearly, but she knew clearly in her heart that she was on the riverside on the outskirts of the city.
"Mrs. Luo, can you please save me..."
A woman in white suddenly appeared in front of her. Luo Qingling's heart skipped a beat. She saw the woman's upper body lying on the surface of the river, with her right hand stretched out towards her, as if to pull her into the water.
Who are you? Luo Qingling opened her red lips slightly, but found that she could not speak.
The river water flooded over her ankles, rippling and spreading to her calves. Luo Qingling quickened his pace to get a better look at the woman. His sight shifted, and he saw the woman's tail swaying behind him, and he suddenly stopped.
The fish tail was exactly the same as the one on the koi candy she had eaten during the day!
A chill ran up from her toes to her heart, and Luo Qingling felt her whole body numb. At this moment, she was shocked to find that there was nothing in the woman's eye sockets, and her eyes were completely black - it was a mermaid without eyes!
Not understanding what the mermaid wanted to do, Luo Qingling just wanted to retreat, but she found that she couldn't move her feet at some point. She could only stand straight and stare at the mermaid with black eyes. She struggled hard, but to no avail.
“Save me--” The eyeless mermaid opened her mouth wide, as if a fish was stranded on the shore for too long and unable to breathe, and tried desperately to breathe.
How can she save him?
Luo Qingling clenched his fists, and his right forearm suddenly touched a sharp object.
It’s the Golden Dragon Sword!
Her face lit up with joy, and she wanted to use the Golden Dragon Sword to break free from the controlling force. The moment she looked up, she was surprised to find that the mermaid seemed to smile. Even though her eyes were empty, Luo Qingling could actually sense the mermaid's intention - from the "gaze" that was looking straight at her and the Golden Dragon Sword in her hand.
She had something that the non-human, non-fish creature wanted. This was the only thought in Luo Qingling's mind.
But she couldn't move, she had become a fish on the chopping board, and could only wait to be slaughtered.
"Madam, madam—" someone called out in my ear, the voice was very familiar, "Madam, wake up quickly, are you having a nightmare?"
The fog in front of my eyes dissipated and my thoughts returned to reality.
Luo Qingling struggled to open his eyes, his gaze wandering for a while before focusing on the slightly wrinkled face.
It’s Aunt Zhao.
Aunt Zhao stood by the bed with a worried look on her face. When she saw her wake up, she breathed a sigh of relief: "My wife must have had a nightmare last night and was talking in her sleep. I was worried that she might be unable to breathe, so I..."
"What time is it now?"
"It's just past the hour of Mao. Would you like to sleep a little longer, madam?" Aunt Zhao tucked in the quilt and said softly.
Luo Qingling glanced out the window. Although the sun had just risen, light was already pouring into the room. He had a nightmare last night, and now he was afraid that even if he wanted to sleep, he wouldn't be able to.
She propped herself up and tapped her head with the heel of her hand, trying to wake herself up. "I'd better get up. I have to go to the Taoist temple today, so I have to leave early."
She hadn't seen Qin Yanheng for quite some time since she captured Jia Ci. The Golden Dragon Sword, which had recognized her as its master, still lay quietly beside her pillow. The two of them had yet to find a way to break the Golden Dragon Sword's bond. Yesterday, Qin Yanheng suddenly sent a letter through someone, saying that there was a Taoist method called "Po Xun Curse" in the Taoist temple that might be able to break the bond.
So the two of them agreed to meet at the Taoist temple at noon today to resolve their ties.
Luo Qingling picked up the Golden Dragon Sword and looked around. The sword shone brightly in the sunlight. It was indeed a good sword.
After resolving this bond today, she and Qin Yanheng should have no more contact. She will ask someone else for help with her father's transfer back to the capital. As for Qin Yanheng - Luo Qingling only felt that this young prince did not like her approaching him with a purpose, so naturally he would not help her.
An hour later, outside Beijing.
The wheels of the carriage slowly stopped. Luo Qingling lifted the curtain and looked out. Not far away, there was a crowd of people and a lot of noise. Many people were crowded at the ferry by the river. No one knew what they were looking at. The carriage was also stuck on the road and could not pass.
"Madam, the road ahead is blocked. I'm afraid the carriage won't be able to get through for a while. Can you wait?" Uncle Zhao's voice came from outside.
Luo Qingling glanced at the sky. It should be dusk by now, almost the appointed time. If she delayed any longer, she'd have to keep Qin Yanheng waiting for a long time. The young prince wasn't very patient to begin with, and she'd even made him wait for her in the Taoist temple... Luo Qingling knew she didn't have the nerve to keep him waiting.
"I'll go see what's going on."
After saying that, Luo Qingling put on her veil, got off the carriage, and walked straight towards the crowd.
Several young men came towards them, and one of them passed by Luo Qingling with his mouth covered. She subconsciously looked back and saw that the young man was pale and walked forward with his body half bent, as if he had seen something disgusting.
"This is truly bizarre!" an elderly man in a straw raincoat and hat exclaimed, holding up his fishing rod. "I said I was going to the river this morning to fish, but from afar I saw a golden-red mass huddled at the ferry. I approached and saw, hey! It's koi."
"Old man, you saw it so early?" another person said, his voice sounding younger. "Why don't you cast your nets and catch those koi? You could sell them for a lot of money in the capital!"
"You ignorant boy, these koi are circling around the dead. I won't salvage them. It's unlucky!" The old man retorted harshly.
dead?
Luo Qingling's heart skipped a beat, and he ducked down to squeeze into the crowd. He saw a group of golden-red koi fluttering in the water near the riverbank at the ferry crossing, their white mouths opening and closing towards the sky, as if they were telling about their grievances.
Looking outward, I saw a small boat floating in the river not far away, its sides filled with koi, with schools of golden and red fish swimming around the bow. A closer look revealed a woman lying face down on the deck. Her arms were slender and white, and her right wrist had fallen into the river, where koi were gnawing at her skin. Further back, I saw her legs had been chopped off, and her blood was flowing into the river, attracting fish to her.
Luo Qingling suddenly felt nauseous. She covered her mouth and took a step back, but she didn't know who she stepped on. The latter screamed and pushed her, and Luo Qingling staggered forward.
"Stop pushing--" someone shouted.
There was a lot of noise behind her, people were surging on the shore, and there were dense schools of fish in the river. However, Luo Qingling didn't care about the crowd around her who kept pushing towards her. She stared blankly at the woman on the deck.
The female corpse had no eyes, and her eye sockets were pitch black and empty. Her head was hanging down and half fell into the water. Her long hair was floating in the river like water plants. Her eyes without eyeballs were looking straight at Luo Qingling.
The boat was not far from the shore. A school of koi fish were circling around the female corpse and eating it. The smell of blood drifted into the nose, making people feel sick.
Looking at the severed legs of the female corpse and the dense schools of fish surrounding the boat, Luo Qingling couldn't help but think of the dream she had last night - the person lying dead on the deck in front of her was the woman who asked her for help in the dream!
"Report to the police... Why didn't anyone report to the police?" Luo Qingling turned around and asked. Everyone just wanted to protect themselves and were unwilling to take the initiative to provoke the officers and soldiers, so naturally no one thought of reporting to the police.
"Let me out, I want to report to the police--" Luo Qingling pushed away the crowd in front of him, but he could not move.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard not far away. A young man on a tall horse was wearing a crimson round-necked robe and had a serious face. He was leading the officers and soldiers towards the ferry.
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