Chapter 96 Oath
Grandma Zheng was a fat woman who slept in a spread-eagle position, taking up a huge amount of space.
Therefore, the bed that Granny Zheng and Imperial Censor Zheng slept in was a custom-made one, which was a foot wider than the beds in ordinary households.
Li Qu hid in the gap between the bed curtains, which were a foot or so wide.
From the outside, you can't tell that there's a curtain between the bed and the canopy bed.
When Xiao Zuo entered the room to search, Imperial Censor Zheng was lying on the bed cursing.
Xiao Zuo only looked under the bed and checked the cabinets and corners.
The faint breathing sounds inside the bed curtains were drowned out by the sound of rain outside the window and disturbed by the cursing of Imperial Censor Zheng.
Xiao Zuo was unaware.
The human-shaped quilt in Li Qu's room was brought there by Granny Zheng, who carried an umbrella over it, after lunch.
The large umbrella obscured the inappropriate parts of the human-shaped bedding.
Those guarding or monitoring in the rain did not suspect this ordinary scene.
In addition, since Imperial Censor Zheng was injured and bedridden, his wife, Granny Zheng, personally took care of him, bringing him meals, hot water, and other necessities to his room, including Li Qu's share.
No one noticed that she was in Granny Zheng's and Imperial Censor Zheng's room.
*
The bedroom of Granny Zheng and Imperial Censor Zheng was not large, and Imperial Censor Zheng was confined to a cramped space in the west corner by a screen.
He expressed his grievance: "I'm an injured person!"
"You can't move this old man under the window!"
“The room is only so big, you old man only deserve to stay in the corner behind the door!” Whatever Granny Zheng says goes.
Imperial Censor Zheng: ﹏
To avoid suspicion, Li Qu lowered the curtain and only moved around inside the canopy bed.
The Zheng family's bed was a foot wider than that of ordinary people, a fact that Li Qu only learned when Zheng Po told it to her as a joke.
God helped her.
She is currently working day and night to embroider insoles.
The Zheng family is no longer a place to stay.
That day, successfully fooling Wu Xubai and Xiao Cong was a stroke of luck.
Now, if anyone were to search the Zheng family again, she wouldn't be able to hide.
When Zhou Jin arrives, he will definitely search again for any clues.
It took Li Qu three days, from sunrise to sunset, to finish embroidering two pairs of insoles.
A simple longevity character pattern.
Imperial Censor Zheng was already getting impatient.
When Granny Zheng came to deliver lunch, he finally couldn't help but grumble.
"I'm helping you because I'm waiting for that brat to come and take you away in person."
"So that if you are kidnapped by someone else, they won't blame me later."
"It's been three days already, why hasn't anyone come yet!"
Old Mrs. Zheng hit him: "Even food can't shut you up! If you're not going to eat, I'll take it away!"
Imperial Censor Zheng then gave up.
After finishing her meal, Li Qu bid farewell to Granny Zheng.
Granny Zheng advised, "The old man may have a sharp tongue, but he has a kind heart. Don't take it to heart."
"It has nothing to do with Lord Zheng."
She wanted to stay far away from Zhou Jin.
She wants to leave, whatever the outcome, rather than wait for her fate to be pronounced.
"I'll also need to trouble Grandma to help me distract the spies outside the house."
Imperial Censor Zheng refused: "If you want to leave, then leave. Don't expect this old woman to help you with anything."
"Once you leave, that brat of yours won't be able to find you!"
What if my wife gets involved?
Li Qu smiled and said, "The Zheng family has been kind to the younger generation and children, so he will not implicate them."
Imperial Censor Zheng sneered, "That won't do either. This old woman won't help you with anything. If you want to leave, leave on your own!"
Grandma Zheng didn't care: "It's just attracting people's attention, I'll just set a fire!"
"That won't do either, you can't take the risk!" Imperial Censor Zheng said sternly.
Granny Zheng slapped his wound: "There's no danger, what's wrong with helping out!"
Censor Zheng, who let out a scream, was in tears.
I have ultimately misplaced my trust!
*
While tidying up Li Qu's room, Granny Zheng helped Li Qu pack the luggage she wanted.
Li Qu had disguised himself and finished everything by evening.
She felt inexplicably uneasy, thinking it was unsafe to walk at night.
But her intuition told her she couldn't delay.
*
Thick smoke billowed from the kitchen, and at Grandma Zheng's shouts, the neighbors came to help put out the fire.
The fire was extinguished.
Grandma Zheng warmly served sweet soup to her neighbors in front of her house.
After finishing the sweet soup, Li Qu mingled with the crowd and left the Zheng family's house.
Granny Zheng closed the door and returned to her room.
Imperial Censor Zheng had moved out of his cramped corner and was carefully walking around the room, leaning on the table for support.
He exclaimed, "This place is so spacious and bright!"
Granny Zheng rolled her eyes: "Alright, the person's gone, that's what you wanted!"
"That's exactly what I wanted! She should have waited for that brat to come and get her!"
When Granny Zheng went to change the bedding, she found a letter, a bag of loose silver, and two pairs of insoles on the bedside table.
She presented the items to Imperial Censor Zheng.
Imperial Censor Zheng took out the letter, unfolded it, and wrote:
I kneel down to express my deepest gratitude to my grandparents. Please keep quiet about the matters concerning household registration and residence. I am deeply grateful.
Respectfully submitted by Aqu.
Old Mrs. Zheng was illiterate, so she asked him, "What are you saying?"
Imperial Censor Zheng held the letter up to the candlelight, waiting until the flames completely swallowed the writing before saying, "I kneel to thank you for your great kindness, and send you insoles as a token of my gratitude."
Grandma Zheng felt a pang of heartache: "Oh dear, imagine what she'd embroider for us while she's pregnant..."
Duke Zheng glanced at the finely embroidered insoles.
The pattern is not complicated.
It's clear that it was rushed out of production in the last couple of days.
She had planned to leave long ago, probably waiting for these two pairs of insoles to be embroidered.
I felt a little uneasy.
You brat!
*
Li Qu stuffed clothes into her shoulders and chest to alter her figure.
She dressed up as an ordinary, overweight old woman.
Because she was not wearing a veil or a shield, her head was slightly lowered.
The specially made concealer covered her fair skin, making her appear darker than an average elderly woman.
He walked as usual, without any panic.
After leaving Xieliu Hutong, she strolled around the night market, bought a veil, and put it on her head before daring to look up.
Before curfew, she chose an inn near the south gate to stay at.
The waiter gave her a room number, and she went straight up to the second floor.
Just as I found the room and was about to push the door open, the door to the next room suddenly opened.
Wu Xubai's voice rang out: "Your sixth grandfather doesn't like it here! Hurry up, hurry up!"
"Where do you like, little brother? I'll take you there!"
The door next door slammed shut again.
Li Qu quickly pushed open the door, entered, turned around and closed it, all in one smooth motion.
Her former master, Comrade Wu Xubai.
Good at male homosexuality.
True homosexuality.
The room was dark as the lights were off.
She took out the tinderbox the waiter had given her, opened it, and took a step back to turn around.
Then……
A wall of people pressed against her back.
The spark briefly illuminated my vision before slipping through my fingers.
His pupils dilated instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
In a state of extreme fear, her body stiffened and she was unable to move.
Blackness obscures vision and amplifies hearing and smell countless times.
She could hear the strong, rhythmic beating of the other person's heart.
And the familiar scent of her body, a light, pleasant fragrance mixed with a hint of steady musk.
It took her a long time to find her voice: "Your Highness!"
"Hmm," the person behind him responded softly.
He didn't move.
She breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't bad people.
She gradually adjusted her breathing, and once she could move her limbs, she immediately moved away from the wall of people behind her and bent down to touch the tinderbox on the ground.
The other person picked up the tinderbox before she could.
A dim, hazy light appeared between the two.
They can only illuminate each other.
The surroundings became even darker.
She looked up and met his emotionless eyes.
He spoke first: "This time, obediently, are you ready to get out of here?"
She asked, "When will Your Highness arrive?"
"Just arrived a step earlier than Guai Guai."
"Does Your Highness know that Aqu is at the Zheng residence?"
"The guards at the city gate did not find any suspicious figures."
He turned around, took the tinderbox, and went to light the candles in the room.
"The prince's men and his followers in the city also searched without success."
"You're a heavily pregnant woman... the safest thing to do is to create a false impression and stay put."
The candles in the room were lit one by one. He covered the tinderbox and turned to look at her.
"I've been too busy lately to pick you up."
"Even if you don't go out tonight, I, the young master, still intend to come and pick you up."
The waiter knocked on the door, saying he was bringing hot water.
He sat down on the tatami mat: "Go, wash up and come back to finish what you didn't finish last time."
He didn't like the way she made herself look ugly and strange.
When Li Qu finished washing up and came out, Xiao Cong was working on documents on the couch.
The candlelight made his profile look soft and warm.
Li Qu sat down opposite him. On the low table in front of her was the article she had written last time, with pen, ink, paper and inkstone already prepared.
Without looking up, he said, "Don't speak."
"I've been fooled too many times."
"Either write, or serve me in bed. It's your choice."
Li Qu glanced at the man opposite her who was working diligently, then picked up her brush and dipped it in ink.
Half an hour later.
Xiao Cong frowned as he looked at what Li Qu had written.
Yet, a subtle, almost imperceptible smile flickered in his eyes.
He knew she wouldn't behave.
"...embracing distant mountains, swallowing the Yangtze River, vast and mighty..."
Li Qu sat respectfully opposite him.
"Is Aqu's writing good?"
Xiao Cong's gaze fell on the phrase, "Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures."
He looked up at the petite woman sitting in front of him.
"good."
She met his gaze: "Your Highness and Aqu are the same kind of people, they both love themselves the most."
"Your Highness wants the thoughts in A-Qu's mind. What will Your Highness offer in exchange?"
"threaten?"
“Aqu will not be bound by innocence.”
"Your Highness is not such a despicable person."
Xiao Cong put down the article he was holding.
"Just tell them you can't speak."
Men often find it hard to back down when faced with a beautiful woman they admire.
What do you want?
"If the world is divided in two, no matter where Aqu is, Your Highness must not do evil to Aqu's family."
Xiao Cong studied her for a moment: "Can't you stay?"
"If you stay, when I ascend the throne, I will entrust the power of the harem to you, and we will never betray each other."
Li Qu laughed. She had drawn so many pie in the sky, and today it was someone else's turn to draw a pie for her to eat.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I am unworthy of it."
After a long pause, Xiao Cong finally spoke: "Alright, I'll switch with you."
“Aqu wants Your Highness to swear an oath that if you break the oath, you will be childless and have no descendants.”
The ancients valued oaths.
Those in high positions should be wary of having no successors.
Xiao Cong was so angry he laughed.
Looking at her earnest little face, he recalled how disheveled she looked when he first met her.
And then day and night, he watched her grow up, transforming herself little by little.
He kissed her, hugged her, taught her to write, and taught her to draw.
He took her horseback riding and rode sky lanterns with her.
They used to hold hands and stroll through the spring, boating on the lake...
If he was destined not to keep her today, he was willing to spoil her one more time.
He raised his hand, his index, middle, and ring fingers together, pointing to the sky.
Xiao Cong swore to the heavens that he would never threaten Li Qu with Li Qu's family in this lifetime.
"If I break this oath, may I be childless and have no descendants, and may I die a terrible death."
Li Qu stared at him for a long time before lowering her head to grind ink and pick up her brush.
The room fell silent.
The sound of weapons clashing outside the window was particularly jarring.
Huai Chuan was glad that he had found the lady's whereabouts before the master arrived.
No more being chopped up and fed to the dogs.
Xiao Cong's gaze lingered on her.
I carefully memorized her appearance, from her hair to her fingertips.
He couldn't help but ask, "Wow, is it really only half a day?"
Li Qu paused for a moment while writing, then continued.
She was writing diligently.
He only had eyes for her.
Time seemed to have pulled the two of them back into their memories.
But the carefree smile in his eyes was gone when he looked at her.
A sense of unfulfilled longing and silence settled in.
We can never go back to the past.
Xiao Cong got off his bed and walked to the window, looking at Huai Xia and the others who were perched on the eaves of the houses near and far in the night.
He calculated the time and instructed Xiao Zuo, "Prepare the horses."
Xiao Zuo, who was fighting Huai Chuan on the rooftop, wiped his curved sword on his sleeve and sheathed it.
"yes!"
After saying that, he stepped back and jumped off the roof to prepare the horse.
Xiao Cong turned around and went to the bedside.
Seeing that he had been standing beside her, Li Qu slowly put down her pen.
She looked up at him and said, "Your Highness, please go ahead with your business."
As she looked up, he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
He gave her a deep look, took two steps back, and walked outside.
The door opened, and a draft suddenly blew up the papers on the couch.
Her turquoise gauze dress and hair swayed and billowed in the wind.
As the door closed, everything returned to calm.
Li Qu silently tidied up the papers that had been blown about by the wind.
Xiao You took Xiao Cong's letter and said to Li Qu, "Third Miss, you may leave once you have finished writing."
It was as if he had suddenly let go.
It was as if he was using his last bit of tenderness to win her back.
Li Qu picked up his pen again.
A blot of ink had somehow fallen onto the paper.
She picked up a new sheet of paper, copied the previous content, and continued with the next section.
She thought of the rubbing of Wang Xizhi's cursive script "Seventeen Letters".
His love is precious yet elusive; you can feel it, but you can't grasp it.
*
Curfew has been imposed.
Imperial guards patrolled the streets.
Li Qu got off at the window.
The darkness of night could not conceal the noble air of the man in the moon-colored robe.
He mounted his horse, and as if sensing something, turned his head and looked up.
Their eyes met.
He first looked away, then led his men and horses toward the south gate.
A troop of imperial guards walked past him as if he didn't see them.
Li Qu gripped the window frame tightly.
Has Xiao Cong become so brazen as to break curfew so openly in the capital?
*
Li Qu turned back to the couch, held his breath and concentrated, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote quickly.
Xiao Cong's willingness to let her go means that she has one more chance to escape before Zhou Jin arrives.
His handwriting became increasingly illegible.
In the end, even simplified Chinese characters with missing parts appeared.
My wrist ached from writing, and I don't even know how long it took to put down my pen.
Taking a deep breath, she quickly got off the couch.
My legs went numb without me even realizing it.
Once her legs had recovered from the numbness, she was about to get up when she suddenly heard Huaixia exclaim from outside the window: "Master, Madam's room is on the second floor, number C!"
Li Qu grabbed her bundle and rushed out the door. As she passed the house next door, she was suddenly grabbed by a hand and pulled into the room.
Wu Xubai covered Li Qu's mouth: "Li San, listen to what I have to say quietly!"
"I have only ever done one thing in my life that I regret."
"I regret trying to curry favor with His Highness back then."
"After today's parting, I fear we may never meet again."
He hung a jade pendant around her neck: "This is my private account at Tongbao Money Exchange, a gift for your unborn child."
“Li San!” he said earnestly, “His Highness always puts profit above all else.”
"If I had to choose between someone surnamed Zhou and Your Highness."
"Choose Wednesday when someone is willing to give up their gains for you."
"His Highness will only use you to the fullest extent."
"Don't be fooled by his appearance."
He looked at her intently: "Did you hear me!"
Li Qu did not respond.
She had long seen through Xiao Cong's true nature.
She couldn't accept Zhou Jin's awfulness.
She doesn't want either of them.
He released his hand from her mouth and flicked her forehead.
Stop dreaming!
"Just live a peaceful life!"
"What are you, a weak woman, fighting for your life for!"
"With Master Zhou protecting you, with your intelligence, you can live a peaceful life in the South."
Li Qu raised his hand and rubbed his head: "Young Master is deliberately taking up my time."
He sighed.
"No matter what, remember that living well is the most important thing."
"You must live well."
The door was pushed open.
*
Wu Xubai took two steps back, widening the distance between himself and Li Qu, his fox-like eyes glancing teasingly towards the doorway.
Zhou Jin's worldly air was impossible to conceal.
Tired, red eyes, bluish stubble.
The smell of spoilage...
His eyes caught her position in an instant.
She didn't look at him.
His gaze shifted to her lower abdomen.
The fatigue vanished in an instant.
I was even a little excited.
Only then did he raise his eyes to look at the stranger.
"Wu Liu, I have long admired your name."
"Tsk, the smell of vinegar." Wu Xubai opened his fan to cover his nose. "I deeply regret that I couldn't attend your wedding."
"The only way to express our blessings is to prepare a generous gift."
"The generous gifts should have already been delivered to Hezhou by now."
Zhou Jin's eyes were not friendly: "Thank you."
He stepped aside, gesturing for the bystanders to get lost.
Wu Xubai strode out, stopping as he passed Zhou Jin.
“Uncle Zhou, as long as I, Wu Liu, am alive, Li San will always have a family to rely on.”
"If you don't love her, let her go."
"If you love her, protect her!"
Zhou Jin found this person extremely noisy.
Huaiqiu, who was following behind, quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Sixth Young Master Wu, for informing me of Madam's location. This way, please."
After Wu Xubai left.
Zhou Jin slammed the door shut.
This prompted Wu Xubai to yell from outside the door, "Li San, you have terrible taste in men!"
"Not only is she sloppy, but she also has a bad temper!"
Zhou Jin ignored the bystanders, turned around, and looked at the woman who was driving him crazy.
Li Qu dropped the bundle in her hand and walked towards the couch in the room.
He chased after her, calling out, "A-Qu."
Li Qu was about to sit on the couch when she saw the small leather whip on it, and she silently turned around.
Having missed Zhou Jin, he picked up his bundle, opened the door, went out, and entered his own room next door.
Zhou Jin followed her inside.
Li Qu reached the edge of the couch, hung her bundle on the railing, and sat down.
What she had written on the low table had been taken away.
She said, "Mr. Zhou, why don't you wash yourself first?"
Zhou Jin's gaze fell on her aloof expression.
The initial excitement turned into a slight disappointment.
Just then, the water that the thoughtful Wu Xubai had sent by the waiter arrived.
Zhou Jin then went to wash up.
Zhou Jin washed himself thoroughly from head to toe, making sure there was no trace of sweat or odor on his body, before leaving the bathroom.
Li Qu stood by the window, gazing at the night sky.
He was wearing an undergarment, and his half-dry long hair was hastily gathered behind his head with a jade hairpin.
He found himself moving closer to her without even realizing it.
He went to her side, raised his hand, and wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her.
She raised her hand to brush away his arm as he tried to hug her, and moved aside, rejecting his advances.
She looked away and asked, "Mr. Zhou, could you do me a favor?"
He stared at her without saying a word.
She finally fixed her gaze on his face.
After seeing the undisguised predatory desire in his eyes, she looked away and turned to get away from him.
As if he had expected this, he blocked her path with his long arm, stepped forward, and used his other hand to hold the back of her head.
The moment he kissed her lips, his long arm, which had been blocking her path, caught her lower back.
She struggled, but he forced her step by step to the window.
The large hand supporting her lower back became a protective shield, preventing her from being hurt.
He came on strong, leaving her no room to refuse.
"A-Qu, why are you hiding?"
Don't you miss me?
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