Chapter 74: A Night Together in Jiangnan
Two days ago, Gao family.
The golden house was a scene of decay. Gao Yuyang was lying on the bed, his face pale and dying. Faint breath of foul air floated out of his wide-open mouth. His yellowed eyeballs stared motionlessly at the ceiling of the bed until footsteps were heard at the door.
"Yulang, the owner of the Sun and Moon Restaurant is asking about you." The man gently pushed open the door and walked quickly into the room.
Gao Yu's eyes moved towards the door, and when he saw it was his wife, he breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly to indicate that he had heard it, but his stiff body prevented him from making any obvious movement.
"Did Yulang know this restaurant owner before? Why did he suddenly send people to look for you everywhere?"
Mrs. Gao was worried and hurried. She put down the bowl full of black medicine, hurriedly helped Gao Yu, who was lying on the bed, up, and fed the medicine into his mouth little by little with a spoon.
Gao Yu slowly shook his head and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth with all his strength: "The truth is out."
It's this sentence again.
Mrs. Gao's heart sank. Ever since she married Gao Yu, the Gao family had often said some inexplicable things. Now that they had been married for more than ten years, she finally understood what Yu Lang meant.
"Has someone come to investigate what happened back then?" Mrs. Gao's voice was not loud, and it turned into a whisper towards the end.
Back then, Scout Gao was in charge of delivering wartime military intelligence. Although the letter in his hand had not been touched and the handwriting on it was still General Luo's, he delivered the wrong military intelligence and nearly wiped out his entire army.
No matter how much Gao Chuhou believed in the invincible general of the Luo family, he still developed a rift with him, which eventually forced Gao Chuhou to commit suicide and put an end to the public opinion.
As for the "truth" that the Gao family had been talking about from time to time for more than ten years, Mrs. Gao initially thought that it was a real situation that Scout Gao and General Luo knew very well.
A few years later, Gao Yu took the initiative to confess to her everything his father had said. Just as the two were about to set off for Beijing to report to the emperor, a bag of spices poisoned Gao Yu in bed, and he has been there ever since.
At this point, how could Mrs. Gao not guess that the packet of spices was related to what happened that year? Otherwise, why did she poison Gao Yu at this critical juncture instead of earlier?
Later, Mrs. Gao finally found out after much effort that there was a medicinal herb called "life-seeking ghost" among the spices. It was this medicinal herb that caused the originally strong and healthy Gao Yu to be paralyzed in bed for several years.
Now, the Saint has finally sent someone to investigate the injustice done to Scout Gao...
The night breeze was cool, sweeping a few fallen leaves in the yard, slightly lifting Luo Qingling's skirt. Her golden hairpins fluttered in the wind, making crisp jingling sounds. She looked at Madam Gao who was kneeling in front of her and sobbing, and couldn't help feeling a surge of sympathy.
Luo Qingling quickly glanced at the frolicking in the courtyard. No one was paying attention to the two people in the corner at the moment. She helped Madam Gao up and asked, "Madam, was what you just said true?"
"It's absolutely true. If I had ever lied to Madam Luo, then..."
"Madam Gao, there's no need to be so extreme." Luo Qingling raised his hand to stop Madam Gao from swearing to the heavens. "Then where did the herbs for this life-threatening ghost come from?"
And why there was such a harmful thing in the sachet that Mrs. Guo gave her.
"In Rao City, Life-Taking Ghost is not a rare medicinal ingredient. Doctors in many clinics in the city will use Life-Taking Ghost when the patient is dying, and the patient will be cured within two days." Mrs. Gao said.
There was such a miraculous herb that could restore the dying to normal. Why hadn't it spread to the capital? She hadn't even heard of it. Luo Qingling didn't believe the soul-seeking ghost had such an effect. She was afraid it was using some strange magic to temporarily bring people back to life.
"According to what Madam said, this herb can revive the dead, so why is it called a life-seeking ghost?" Luo Qingling asked.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Madam Gao closed her eyes and slowly shook her head: "No one in Rao City knows where this medicinal ingredient came from. The Soul-Taking Ghost is like a gust of wind. Overnight, all the nobles in the city have adopted the Soul-Taking Ghost trend. The fact that the sachet Madam Guo made for you contains the Soul-Taking Ghost is just a habit."
The more he listened, the more something seemed wrong. Just now, Mrs. Gao said that someone had poisoned Gao Yu with a life-seeking ghost, causing him to lie paralyzed in bed, unable to move. Now she said that everyone in Raocheng was absorbing the life-seeking ghost. Could it be that different dosages have different effects?
As for the ghost, it was only Madam Gao's one-sided account. Luo Qingling still had some doubts in her heart, but she was certain that this ghost was inextricably linked to the incident between her father and Scout Gao. She had to go back and bring it up with Qin Yanheng.
After hurriedly bidding farewell to Madam Gao, Luo Qingling left the mansion under the guidance of the servant of the Guo Mansion.
The carriage drove past the mansion. Lanterns were hung on the eaves of the houses across the road. A young man stood in front of the carriage holding an umbrella. He had a tall figure and a graceful appearance. The shadow of the lantern was reflected on his face. His eyebrows and eyes, painted with thick ink, were looking at her without blinking.
There was a smile in his eyes, twinkling with stars, and he looked at her straight across the street, not hiding the joy in his eyes. Luo Qingling suddenly felt her heart beating fast.
The Guo Mansion was located in a busy city, with many carriages passing by. Not far away, three or two men rode past on horseback, causing a gust of wind that blocked Luo Qingling's sight. She quietly covered her chest and took a deep breath where Qin Yanheng couldn't see.
Ever since she realized that she liked Qin Yanheng, she felt uncomfortable every time she saw him. Her mouth seemed to be mute by someone, and she could only nod and shake her head in response to Qin Yanheng's words.
It’s not that she didn’t want to speak, but she didn’t know how to get along normally with Qin Yanheng, nor did she know how the young ladies in this world faced the young men they liked. In any case, Luo Qingling felt uncomfortable.
"Qingqing, it's time for us to go home."
Qin Yanheng had walked up to her without her noticing, leaning slightly closer, his narrow, long, phoenix eyes smiling. He had been looking at her like this lately, and Luo Qingling couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.
It seemed like Qin Yanheng also liked her, just like her. But that was the little princess from a wealthy family, would he really like her?
"What's wrong?" Qin Yanheng tilted his head slightly, covered her with the umbrella in his hand, and asked with a smile.
Luo Qingling then realized that it had started to drizzle again. She shook her head to indicate that she was fine, then took Qin Yanheng's arm and pulled him towards the carriage.
The young man beside him lowered his head and chuckled, a few strands of hair falling in front of his eyes. He didn't say anything, just let Luo Qingling pull him.
At night, go to Wenxin Inn.
The doors and windows of the wing room at the end of the second floor were closed, and the nobleman in the room seemed to have fallen asleep. The waiter in the inn consciously lowered his footsteps. He walked to the door of the inn, looked around, hung a wooden sign, and closed the door.
The rooms in the inn are full, please move elsewhere.
A pair of black boots stood outside the courtyard. The visitor was wearing a nightgown, his face covered with a black cloth, and his cunning eyes were rolling around. The man saw the wooden sign hanging at the door of the inn, raised an eyebrow and glanced at the darkened room on the second floor, then disappeared into the night.
The candlelight on the table in the room was dim, barely enough to illuminate the person in front of it.
Luo Qingling sat cross-legged on the ground, supporting her chin with one hand and looking at Qin Yanheng, who was now studying the map in his hand with his eyes slightly lowered. There was a note on the table, which was quietly handed to her by Mrs. Gao before she left tonight.
"Mrs. Gao doesn't want us to see Gao Yu. Does she think that our whereabouts will bring fatal disaster to Gao Yu?" Luo Qingling asked.
"According to what Madam Gao said tonight, because the Sage ordered me to come to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate what happened back then, the person behind the scenes poisoned Gao Yu, causing him to be unable to get out of bed or speak to this day..." Qin Yanheng raised his eyes and glanced at her. "Then how did the person behind the scenes get to know the Sage's decree?"
Yes! She overlooked this point. The Saint had not previously publicized Qin Yanheng's trip south. How could that man have poisoned Gao Yu before they arrived in Rao City?
Luo Qingling suddenly felt creepy and looked at Qin Yanheng with wide eyes. The latter narrowed his eyes slightly, with a dark color surging in his eyes.
"It seems like it's time to investigate those good-for-nothings in the court who just idle away their time all day long." Qin Yanheng rolled up the map, stood up with one hand on the ground and left, leaving Luo Qingling sitting alone in the small room behind the screen.
In the past few days, they ate and lived together in front of outsiders, just like a normal couple. Only Luo Qingling knew that Qin Yanheng slept on a low couch every night. The landscape screen in the room separated the two of them. The room was so quiet that only his breathing could be heard. At night, she would always fall asleep with the sound of his breathing, which was sometimes heavy and sometimes light.
Just at this moment, the sound of fabric rubbing against the screen reached his ears, followed by a muffled sound and the creaking of the wooden couch. Without looking, one could guess that Qin Yanheng had already sighed and lay down to prepare for sleep.
Suddenly, with a snap of his fingers, the candlelight on the table suddenly went out. Darkness reigned before him, save for a sliver of moonlight from the window, which reflected on the screen the young man's half-raised hand, its slender fingers. After extinguishing the candle, Qin Yanheng put his hand away and closed his eyes.
Luo Qingling was left sitting there alone, looking at the dark shadow behind the screen, unable to ignore the sound of his breathing in his ears.
Qin Yanheng was just as dignified and a little lazy as when they first met. Even when he turned off the lights, he looked arrogant, which made Luo Qingling think of the rumors in the capital - Qin Yanheng was actually an immortal who came to the mortal world to experience hardships, so he could become the only disciple of the Taoist immortal in the world. He was truly a little prince from a royal family.
And this young prince was currently staying in the same room with her. They had been going in and out together for several days, just like an ordinary couple in the folk, giving her the illusion that she was married to Qin Yanheng.
Luo Qingling couldn't figure out what Qin Yanheng felt towards her. Sometimes she felt that Qin Yanheng's behavior was too ambiguous, and sometimes she felt that he was just getting into the role and wanted to play the role of Heng Yang well in front of others, which made her not know how to start.
She must have wanted to find out what Qin Yanheng was thinking. If he didn't like her, she would return to the border after resolving her father's issue and never bother him again.
But what if he likes her?
Luo Qingling sighed softly and curled her lips. She was now merely the daughter of a convicted official, her father banished to the frontier for several years. No matter how prosperous the Luo family had been before, it was now no match for any other official family in the capital. How could the Empress agree to Qin Yanheng marry her as his principal wife?
Prince Rong'an's legal wife must not be someone with a black spot. No matter how hard she tries, she and Qin Yanheng will never be able to have a happy ending. It would be better for her to hide her thoughts and pretend that nothing happened.
Thinking of this, Luo Qingling forced herself to look away and stood up and returned to her bed. The bedding in this inn was rather light. A few days ago, she had nearly caught a cold after using it overnight. The next day, Qin Yanheng hurriedly had the waiter replace it with a fleece blanket. Now, she was feeling very comfortable in her bed.
Her breathing gradually calmed down, and the curves of the bedding were graceful. Luo Qingling turned over and fell into a sound sleep.
Outside the screen.
Those narrow and long phoenix eyes looked at her for an unknown amount of time, until the beautiful figure on the screen rose and fell slightly with her breathing. After confirming that Luo Qingling had fallen asleep, Qin Yanheng finally took action.
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