Chapter 62 Reunion - Nowhere to Escape, No Elsewhere
When Xie Ciyan returned to the capital and learned of the imperial decree, he was shamelessly asking Lin Yanshu for a meal in a small town.
This spring, there was too much rain, mixed with the melting snow, which caused several river embankments to collapse and flood crops. Not only were the farmlands flooded, but many houses and farmland were also submerged, leading to a large influx of displaced people into the outskirts of Beijing.
Xie Ciyan was dispatched to calm the disaster victims. This task was neither particularly difficult nor entirely simple. While comforting the victims, Xie Ciyan was verbally abused by some of them, resulting in abrasions on his arm.
He used this scratch to cling to Lin Yanshu. Lin Yanshu bent down and washed the grit off his arm with clean water, then began to treat it. Her movements were swift and efficient. Xie Ciyan was a civil official, a frail scholar, grinning broadly and making a snarling sound.
Lin Yanshu glanced at him and asked, "Are there many disaster victims in the surrounding small towns?"
She saw that many new faces had come to her place, people who had fled from war.
"There are indeed quite a few people, but the imperial court is sending people to handle it. You should be careful while you're here these next few days. I'll stay in the vicinity; if anything happens, just call me."
Lin Yanshu bent down to treat her wound, sprinkling the wound medicine on it and neatly bandaging it. Then, she looked up blankly at Xie Ciyan and hummed in response.
She wondered if Li Chengyi would come to suppress the growing number of disaster victims around her if there were any riots.
Lin Yanshu invited Xie Ciyan to stay for a meal, but she wasn't staying for nothing; Xie Ciyan was going to do hard labor for her!
Lin Yanshu lay on the rocking chair, squinting as she watched Xie Ciyan conscientiously clear away the dishes. Xie Ciyan's lips curled into a smile as he watched Lin Yanshu lazily basking in the sun.
He tidied up the dishes, shook the water off his hands, walked over to Lin Yanshu, and said goodbye to her.
Lin Yanshu looked up at him, then stood up. She took out the prepared ointment from her sleeve and handed it to him:
"Here, use this to change your dressing; it won't leave a scar."
Xie Ciyan looked at the pristine white medicine bottle, smiled slightly, and accepted it.
Lin Yanshu felt that Xie Ciyan's gaze was a little strange, but she didn't care to investigate it. She planned to go out and see if she could help with the resettlement of the disaster victims. That way, perhaps Li Chengyi would have less to worry about.
After Xie Ciyan left, she went out for a walk. Suddenly, a child dressed in tattered clothes hugged her leg and tugged at her trouser leg, looking pitiful.
"Sister, I'm so hungry."
Lin Yanshu looked down at him, bent down and smoothed his messy hair. The child's skin was dry and patchy, and his fingers were frostbitten in patches.
Lin Yanshu knew that in this situation, he couldn't just give the child food directly, as it would bring trouble. Lin Yanshu knelt down, opened the ointment, gently applied it to the child's knuckles, patted his head, and softly comforted him.
"The government will distribute grain to you tomorrow. Take this ointment and apply it when it hurts."
The child didn't speak, but stared at Lin Yanshu with his big, dark eyes.
The next day, Lin Yanshu helped the government settle the refugees in the small town. He treated the sick among them one by one.
Lin Yanshu had thought that with the government's involvement, the number of refugees would decrease in a few days, but instead, it increased. Lin Yanshu guessed that something had happened.
Xie Ciyan rushed to her house in the middle of the night. Lin Yanshu had become a lighter sleeper since leaving the capital, perhaps because there was no one by her side. Lin Yanshu was woken up by the noise.
She put on an outer garment and went out. Xie Ciyan raised an eyebrow anxiously when he saw Lin Yanshu, and said succinctly:
"Something's happened. A peasant uprising has broken out in Jingzhou. It's not peaceful. The palace has sent the Crown Prince to suppress it. I don't know if the peasant uprising will spread here. I'm here to take you away."
Lin Yanshu, still half-asleep, received the news: A-Zhao would be coming…
"Is the riot serious?"
Xie Ciyan didn't know how to answer her. After picking up Lin Yanshu, he also had to go back to suppress the refugees with Li Chengyi.
"I'm not sure yet, but I'm worried about you being alone here. I'll take you away first, and then we'll deal with the disaster victims when I get back."
Lin Yanshu quickly packed his bags, slung his medicine chest over his shoulder, and said to Xie Ciyan:
"Take me there, there must be wounded people there who need to be treated."
Xie Ciyan looked back at Lin Yanshu, grabbed her wrist as she walked forward, and sternly woke her up:
"Lin Yanshu! Do you know where you're going? You might run into His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Lin Yanshu knew, she knew. She just... wanted to see him, wanted to help him...
They're far away, they won't be discovered.
"I know."
Xie Ciyan frowned and looked at Lin Yanshu. She rarely showed any signs of sorrow. He sighed and asked, "Do you like His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Lin Yanshu hummed in agreement, finally letting out her pent-up emotions: "I like him, I like him, but... I'm not good enough for him."
"I'll just go see Xie Ciyan, just from a distance. It won't do any harm."
Lin Yanshu's tone was almost pleading, or perhaps she was trying to convince herself. Her eyes were brimming with tears, like a spring, and she couldn't stop crying.
Xie Ciyan raised his hand. He had no right to stop Lin Yanshu; he was just an outsider. He took a bold step and pulled Lin Yanshu into his arms. Lin Yanshu buried her face in Xie Ciyan's shoulder and began to sob uncontrollably.
After a long while, Xie Ciyan finally let go of her hand and said, "I'll take you there. Don't cry anymore."
Xie Ciyan's face was half-hidden in the shadows, and Lin Yanshu couldn't see his face clearly. She followed Xie Ciyan to the riot area.
The officers and soldiers have already suppressed a group of people, but it is uncertain whether the rest will come.
Lin Yanshu cleaned the wounds of the more seriously injured refugees and soldiers. There were many healers here, and no one would notice her.
After Xie Ciyan saw that she had settled in, he went to see Li Chengyi and gave him a general account of the situation.
Li Chengyi looked much thinner than before. He asked coldly, "Have you caught the ringleader?"
The incident happened suddenly, and his men only managed to suppress the riot; they have yet to find the ringleader.
Xie Ciyan replied, "Your Highness, not yet."
Li Chengyi roughly understood the situation. He thought that this kind of thing would happen again tomorrow. Simply being lenient would only be false compassion. He needed to combine firmness with gentleness.
He took some time to inspect the area, and sure enough, there was some activity the following night.
The leader of the displaced people who were stirring up trouble shouted angrily at the government officials: "These corrupt officials, they're putting on an act now, but they'll abandon us later! Brothers, everyone has to look out for themselves!"
"There's plenty of food here. If you don't want to starve, come along!"
Lin Yanshu was startled awake by the shouts outside. She hadn't been asleep; she was taking care of the wounded, needing to feed water to specific individuals every hour, brew medicine, and change dressings…
She went outside following the sound. Outside, there was the clash of swords and the strife of a group of refugees. Some went to rob things, while others were stopped by soldiers. The scene was chaotic. Some men even tried to grab Lin Yanshu. Lin Yanshu was frightened and hid, then ran away.
If she were really taken away, who knows what kind of torture she would suffer! Lin Yanshu wanted to go find Xie Ciyan; this was all too chaotic.
Before she could even figure out what was going on, the situation changed. A group of soldiers suddenly appeared and surrounded the rioting refugees. The leader tried to run away, but he had already been spotted by Li Chengyi.
Li Chengyi signaled to his men to stop the man; he couldn't escape.
Lin Yanshu was disoriented by the sudden change in wind direction and dared not move, fearing she would be drawn into the conflict between the two groups. Nevertheless, she still managed to attract attention.
There was no other reason than that she was too conspicuous as a woman in this chaos. She stood timidly to the side, her hair ribbon stained with mud and even blood.
Li Chengyi squinted and looked at the figure. He felt that the back was somewhat familiar, until Lin Yanshu turned his head slightly and looked around with a look of horror.
Li Chengyi recognized her at a glance. So she had run here to hide. At this moment, Lin Yanshu was like a little white rabbit that had wandered into a wolf's den, her white fur stained with blood, timidly hiding elsewhere, but she was always locked on by the eyes of the evil wolf.
Li Chengyi stared at Lin Yanshu's slightly trembling body. Was she afraid? Then why did she come here?
Li Chengyi wanted to end this farce quickly, so he stepped forward. The leader of the thieves, sensing danger, instinctively tried to drag others down with him. He chose Lin Yanshu from among the group.
After all, a weak woman is much easier to manipulate than those men. Li Chengyi naturally realized this. He took a bow and arrow from his subordinate's back, aimed at the troublemaker, drew the bow, and shot.
The other party was completely focused on taking Lin Yanshu hostage and did not notice the cold arrow behind him. Just as he reached out to Lin Yanshu, a bloody hole was shot through the chest of the troublemaker. His fingertips had just touched Lin Yanshu.
Lin Yanshu felt the touch behind her and turned around. The other person's eyes were wide open, staring intently at her. The cold arrow had pierced his chest, and the man had coughed up a mouthful of blood. Lin Yanshu was terrified.
Black blood splattered on her body, mixed with the dust and mud from before. Lin Yanshu shrugged and stepped back.
The other person fell in front of her, and only then did Lin Yanshu react. She tried to run to a corner to hide, but when she took a step back, her path was blocked.
She turned her head and saw Li Chengyi staring down at her, his eyes narrowed as if he wanted to devour Lin Yanshu.
Looking at Li Chengyi up close like this, Lin Yanshu felt that he had lost weight.
Lin Yanshu didn't even have time to escape before Li Chengyi dragged her into the room.
The mess was left to his subordinates to handle; Li Chengyi had no interest in dealing with it. All he could see now was Lin Yanshu, the woman he had lost and then regained.
He threw Lin Yanshu into the room, closed the door, blocked the entrance, and stared at her coldly with his eyes downcast.
Li Chengyi's jawline was taut, and he stared intently at Lin Yanshu like a demon. The room was poorly lit at night, so Lin Yanshu couldn't see Li Chengyi clearly.
She swallowed nervously and backed away.
After a long separation, the two remained silent. Lin Yanshu didn't know what to say, but Li Chengyi was waiting for her to speak.
She opened her mouth to explain why she had left without saying goodbye, and apologized to him.
But it was clear that Lin Yanshu had no intention of speaking. Li Chengyi's burning anger was almost uncontrollable. Didn't Lin Yanshu have anything to say to him? He had so many questions for her. He wanted answers, he wanted her honest opinion.
"Why did you leave without saying goodbye, Yanshu?"
Li Chengyi called her name. In the past, when Li Chengyi called her, it was always with tender affection. But now it made Lin Yanshu feel cold, as if she would be punished if she answered incorrectly.
Lin Yanshu tried to escape; she instinctively avoided danger and retreated.
Li Cheng refused to give her the plan, and he could no longer tolerate Lin Yanshu's evasiveness. He strode forward, closing the distance between him and Lin Yanshu, and grabbed her waist with his large hand, completely restraining her, leaving her nowhere to escape.
The tone was dangerous yet captivating:
"Yan Shu, why..."
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