True feelings moved
The two looked at each other in silence. A breeze blew a leaf by, and Zhao Youyi reached out and picked it up. "There's a water source here, and there should be an outlet."
Zhao Youyi's gaze fell on the cold pool not far away, and he looked up at the blazing sun overhead. "Cousin, do you know there's a pool here?"
Chu Chanyin nodded slightly, "I found it by accident when I was passing by this place before, otherwise I wouldn't have dared to take you jumping."
Zhao Youyi noticed the wound on his arm, tore off a large piece of fabric from her dress, and used it to bandage his right arm. Looking at the dark bloodstains, she frowned deeply: "This sword is probably poisoned."
Chu Chanyin had obviously noticed it as well. He remained calm, took out an antidote pill from his sleeve and swallowed it. Then he smiled at Zhao Youyi and said, "I took the medicine. I'm fine now."
Zhao Youyi looked at him suspiciously, remembering that he had just mentioned that his elder brother would send him a letter mentioning his illness. "How much does your brother know about the Heart-Piercing Poison? He trusts you so much that he even told you about this."
Chu Chanyin paused, looked up at her, and said, "Brother Nianling doesn't know much, but he was very worried about you and only wrote to me when he had nowhere else to turn."
At that time, their maternal grandmother, who was also Chu Chanyin's master, had passed away. The royal family was eyeing the Zhao family covetously, and Zhao Youli dared not invite the imperial physician or doctor, for fear that others would find out that Zhao Youyi was not weak but poisoned.
Therefore, he could only write a letter to Chu Chanyin, who he had grown up with. Although the two had different ambitions, their past friendship could not be faked. Zhao Youli knew how Chu Chanyin treated Zhao Youyi, otherwise he would not have written a letter to entrust Zhao Youyi to him when he was on his deathbed.
When Zhao Youli was mentioned, Zhao Youyi's expression revealed a hint of sadness. She had always thought she had kept it a secret well and that she had not caused her brother any trouble or worry, but how could he not be worried?
"Don't worry," Chu Chanyin reached out and smoothed her furrowed brows. "Whether it's me or Brother Nianling, we both hope that you can live a carefree and peaceful life. As your older brother, we always want to protect you from the wind and rain, but we forgot to ask you what you want."
Zhao Youyi chuckled softly and grabbed his hand. "What do I want... does my cousin really not know what I want?"
Their eyes met, as if they were silently conveying something.
“You can’t say you don’t know,” Chu Chanyin laughed along. In this situation, the two of them finally revealed their true feelings. “You want to overthrow this dynasty to avenge Brother Nianling. You want peace and tranquility in the world. You’ve said all of these things. But I think there must be some things I don’t know.”
Zhao Youyi slowly released his hand, smiled and nodded: "That's right, that's part of what I want."
She admitted that she was ambitious and would use anything she could to get what she wanted. Logically speaking, once someone or something was used, it should have disappeared from her world. However, for some reason, she always felt soft-hearted towards Chu Chanyin, as if all the compassion she had ever shown in her life had been used on one person.
This is illogical and wrong, and wrong feelings should be completely eliminated. She should return to the position of cousin and never overstep the bounds again, instead of being entangled in an unclear and ambiguous relationship, with both of them sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire, unable to extricate themselves.
Zhao Youyi suddenly felt exhausted. They were all trapped in the maze and couldn't escape, so why make things difficult for each other?
Chu Chanyin had obviously observed her thoughts from her expression, but he didn't know that she had been having a brainstorming session in an instant. He just felt that the person in front of him had lost all her energy.
“My cousin said back then that you helped me because he would give you something in return. What was that return?” Zhao Youyi asked, looking at him.
Chu Chanyin lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, "That's between me and Brother Nianling."
Hearing Chu Chanyin speak so coldly for the first time, Zhao Youyi was momentarily stunned and subconsciously asked, "Then what can I give you?"
"I want you to be safe," Chu Chanyin said calmly.
"I don't ask for much, I don't want much. Mu Qing and you are both important people to me. One is entrusted by my brother, and the other is the last wish of my best friend. I, Chu Chanyin, will protect you both for the rest of my life." Chu Chanyin reached out and gently touched the top of her head, his movements very gentle.
Hearing this, Zhao Youyi felt strange. Why would he compare Chu Muqing to her? She wasn't a child.
She finally realized the problem: Chu Chanyin had always looked down on her from the perspective of an elder, and had not treated her as an equal, so he regarded her anger and annoyance as a child throwing a tantrum.
“I am not an ignorant child.” Zhao Youyi said with a stern face, “Chu Huaicong, if you continue to treat me like a child similar to Mu Qing, then there is no need for us to continue cooperating.”
“Cousin, you’ve misunderstood,” Chu Chanyin hurriedly pulled on her sleeve to explain. “What I meant was that you and Mu Qing are both my family. Please forgive me, cousin, for I was raised without proper upbringing and spoke without thinking.”
His eyes reddened as he spoke, and against his fair skin, he looked exceptionally charming, captivating anyone who saw him.
Unfortunately, Zhao Youyi's heart was as hard as iron. He just looked at him indifferently and said, "Why do you have to say such pitiful things, cousin? How am I any different from you?"
Chu Chan suddenly understood the meaning behind her words. They were the same kind of people, having grown up together since childhood. Without their parents, and having lost their loving older brothers, they were the closest people in the world. They should not hide things from each other, nor should they speak ill of each other. Sticking together for warmth was what they should do.
Having figured this out, Chu Chanyin tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, gradually increasing the force and tightening his grip. "Cousin... A-Wan, I was wrong. I was only thinking about protecting you and didn't consider your true feelings. I won't do that again. Please forgive your brother."
Zhao Youyi turned her head and looked him over carefully, asking each word clearly, "Are you really sure about this?"
Chu Chanyin nodded eagerly, "I've thought it through. I will never do it again. You're right, we are the same, the closest and dearest people in this world."
Zhao Youyi smiled with satisfaction, raised her hand and patted his head, like rewarding a puppy: "Good, it's good that you understand, cousin."
After rambling on about a bunch of random things, the two finally started looking for a way out. They searched for the source of the pool and found a river, not knowing where it flowed, but they could sense a faint light in the distance. Following the direction of the river, the passage was extremely narrow at first, but after a while it gradually opened up and became bright, until they saw a beautiful village with clear water and lush mountains. Only then did they realize that the bottom of the cliff led to such a paradise.
A woman was washing clothes by the river. Zhao Youyi tidied his appearance in front of the water, and then turned back to wipe his face with his sleeve. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw that his face was clean. He stepped forward and asked the woman in a low voice, "Sister, my husband and I are on our way to visit relatives in Jiangzhou. We accidentally lost our horse on the way. Where are we?"
Zhao Youyi was beautiful, and her current attire was even more ethereal, with her hair neatly styled and a smiling face as she looked at the woman. Anyone would be captivated by her pitiful and serene appearance.
Seeing that she was young and beautiful, and that the woman spoke in a gentle and kind tone, the woman no longer suspected her and told her, "Sister, this is Qianjiazhuang, which is also part of Jiangzhou. If you are going to Jiangzhou and don't have any horses, I can lend you my donkey."
Upon hearing the name Qianjiazhuang, Zhao Youyi turned around and exchanged a glance with Chu Chanyin. It was all so easy; the wealthy merchant, Master Qian, whom they had been wanting to meet, was right here.
"Thank you for your kindness, sister. So this is Qianjia Village. This is the place my husband and I were heading to. It's quite a coincidence that we ended up here by chance," Zhao Youyi said with a slight smile.
Upon hearing this, the woman quickly stood up, wiped her wet hands casually on her apron, and asked eagerly, "Which family are you looking for? I'll take you there."
Chu Chanyin stepped forward and said, "We are going to visit Master Qian. Please lead the way, young lady."
Upon seeing Chu Chanyin's face, the woman became even more enthusiastic, glancing at him from time to time. She then said to Zhao Youyi, "Sister, you are so lucky! Your husband is so handsome!"
Zhao Youyi blushed with embarrassment at the obvious teasing in her words, but the words had already been spoken, and changing her mind now to say that Chu Chanyin was her cousin would only make things worse, so she could only continue with the mistake.
As the woman enthusiastically led the two into the village, she praised Master Qian: "Master Qian is such a good man. He has made our village rich, and the crops are growing better and better."
Zhao Youyi was somewhat surprised that the woman held Qian Yuanwai in such high regard. After all, the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was rigid, and it was rare to see a farmer showing such respect and love for a wealthy merchant.
The woman waved her hand dismissively, as if she knew what she was thinking: "Sister, I know what you're thinking. We're all just ordinary people. In these chaotic times, filling our stomachs is the most important thing. Master Qian is a great person to us, allowing us to farm his land and only taking half the harvest."
Mentioning the chaotic times, the woman couldn't help but say, "Now the tyrannical emperor is acting recklessly, and General Zhao has also been unjustly killed. I used to see General Zhao; he was such a young man."
Upon hearing the woman mention Zhao Youli, Chu Chanyin looked at Zhao Youyi with concern. Seeing that she remained calm, he could only gently squeeze her fingers through his wide sleeve.
Zhao Youyi turned her head slightly and smiled back at him, mouthing, "I'm fine."
Chu Chanyin felt a little relieved. Soon the two arrived at the Qian residence. Although Master Qian was extremely wealthy, he was a low-key person. Even the stone lions in front of his mansion were not as imposing as those of ordinary wealthy merchants.
Upon seeing the Qian family, the woman turned to leave, but Zhao Youyi quickly grabbed her, took off the silver bracelet from her wrist, and stuffed it into the woman's arms: "I've taken up your time, sister. This silver bracelet isn't worth much, but it's small and exquisite. Your skin is fair, so it suits you perfectly."
The woman couldn't refuse and had no choice but to accept it.
The servant guarding the gate saw the two and asked, "Do you two need anything?"
Zhao Youyi nodded slightly: "We need to find Master Qian."
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