Chapter 23: Some Things Should Not Be Said That touch was like a feather scratching...
The touch was like the scratching of a feather, floating all the way into my heart and lingering for a long time.
When Ji Yunchan returned home, she kept thinking about it.
The corners of her lips curled up unconsciously. When she realized this, she paused and rubbed her eyes with her hands, but didn't feel anything.
But why did she feel so affectionate when it was Yan Heng who did this?
Ji Yunchan laughed and shook her head. Just as she was about to start again, a person rushed over from the alley.
She was about to move aside to make way, but was shocked when she saw the other person clearly.
"Aunt Zheng?"
Zheng's mother was in a dishevel, her hair looked as if it had not been taken care of for a long time, and she looked haggard.
When Zheng's mother saw Ji Yunchan, it was as if she had seen a savior.
She took two steps forward, held Ji Yunchan's arm, and choked with sobs, "Miss Ji, please, please save my Yong'er."
As she spoke, she suddenly knelt down in front of Ji Yunchan.
Ji Yunchan was shocked and hurriedly helped Zheng's mother up.
"Aunt Zheng," she called, "Aunt Zheng, don't be anxious, get up first, what happened to Brother Zheng?"
Mother Zheng couldn't get up. She looked at Ji Yunchan pleadingly, repeating over and over again: "Save my Yong'er, please, save my Yong'er."
Such a clean person was like a beggar on the street at this moment, holding Ji Yunchan's arm with great strength, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.
Ji Yunchan couldn't help but be moved when she saw her heartbroken look.
After a long period of gentle comfort, Zheng's mother finally calmed down and told the whole story in a fragmented manner.
It turned out that the imperial examination was approaching, and the students were offering gifts to the prefect in the hope of a better future. However, Zheng Yong came from a poor family and was a decent person, so he refused to make the gift, which offended the prefect.
The prefect fabricated the accusation of buying the test paper and put the man in jail without any investigation.
"God has mercy on us. My family has no money to manage it, so how can we spend a lot of money to buy questions?"
Mother Zheng finished her angry words, trembling, and once again grasped Ji Yunchan's arm, not letting go. "Please, my girl, the only one who can suppress the prefect now is the general. I know you have a close relationship with the general, because it was he who saved you from the prefect."
"Please, ask the general to help Yong'er. You know Yong'er's character. He is really wronged."
Hearing this, Ji Yunchan's heart, which had just been ironed, felt as if a hole had been poked in it.
She knew very well that she had let Yan Heng down a lot and could not stand any more torture.
What's more, the reason for hurting him was fabricated by a person who looked like Zheng Xiucai.
But... She instinctively looked at Mother Zheng, seeing her helpless and heartbroken expression. She couldn't let Ji Yunchan betray her.
So she spoke with difficulty: "Aunt Zheng, we have other ways. I will think of a solution for you."
Hearing Ji Yunchan's polite refusal, Mother Zheng became anxious. Tears streamed down her face, and she almost collapsed: "What else can I do?"
"There are only a few days left before the imperial examination. What else can we do?"
She sat down dejectedly on the ground, complaining in a low voice about the unfairness of fate, her poor family background, and the fact that the prefect deserved to be killed. Her words were inevitably full of innuendos towards Ji Yunchan.
Ji Yunchan was extremely sad, and finally understood Yiwei's mother's collapse when she was on the verge of despair.
She whispered to comfort him, saying what she could think of at the moment: "There is no small matter in the imperial examination. There will definitely be an inspector to visit. I will write a petition for my aunt..."
"Miss Ji, please don't push me." Zheng's mother obviously didn't want to hear her words. Hatred filled her eyes, and she threw the jar in the wind. "If you don't help me, I'll go knock on the door of the general's mansion and tell him that you're having an affair with my Yong'er."
Ji Yunchan was a little surprised when she heard the voice.
She looked at the person in front of her, feeling almost unfamiliar. Was this still the kind and strong-willed Aunt Zheng?
Pursing her lips and holding back, she continued, "I'm writing a petition for my aunt. The prefect is terrible, but the deputy prefect is good. Can I go with my aunt?"
Mother Zheng refused to listen and yelled, "How can you be so cruel!"
Ji Yunchan pulled away and stood up.
She has always been soft-hearted and would not tolerate harshness. Now that things have come to this, there is no possibility of a peaceful resolution.
Ji Yunchan looked down at Mother Zheng, her voice as gentle as ever: "You can give it a try."
She had a perfect smile on her face, just like she had done thousands of times when she was young.
The person who is politely rejected will be reluctant to leave and feel lost, but this situation is obviously not a polite rejection.
Ji Yunchan calmly cut open the inside.
"I don't know if he'll get tired of me because of this." She said to her calmly, almost without any emotion, "But I know that Brother Zheng will definitely not have a good ending, let alone the imperial examination."
Zheng's mother sat down on the ground dejectedly.
All the emotions in her eyes disappeared, as if she had lost her last chip, leaving only endless regret and numbness.
The evening breeze blows and the sunset is magnificent.
Ji Yunchan looked at this scene and felt it was ironic.
Her heart had already sunk lower and lower, immersed in the biting snow water.
It's all just a lie to scare people. Although it's annoying to take advantage of a favor and demand repayment, it's not a big mistake. She was going to help from the beginning.
But now that the situation has become so alienated, it is no longer possible to proceed slowly.
...How can I escape?
It happens again and again, it's so shameless.
Ji Yunchan took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and was left with only endless fatigue.
She said to Zheng's despairing mother, "I promise you, I will make sure that Brother Zheng returns home safely and has a successful imperial examination. You can go back now."
Then he slowly left towards home, like a wandering soul.
Mother Zheng sat on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at Ji Yunchan's back as she walked away, feeling mixed emotions.
She naturally knew there were other ways, but the future was uncertain, and her only child was suffering humiliation in prison, which made her heart break.
This is the fastest way, Ji's mother thought, how can a mother not be selfish.
Mother Zheng stood up, thinking about the true and false rumors between Miss Ji and the general, and worried for her for a moment, but she also knew a little.
From now on, the two families are completely clear of each other.
......
Ji Yunchan almost didn't sleep all night.
At noon, as usual, I went to the kitchen to serve food. This time, the fat cook insisted on adding honey to the medicinal food.
Ji Yunchan stopped trying to stop him.
Even a fool could see that Yan Heng had specially prepared this medicinal food for her, and he tried to cover up the fact by saying that she didn't want to drink it but tricked her into drinking it.
Thinking of this, her heart ached.
The medicinal food was brought into the house along with the ordinary meals. Yan Heng had eaten half of it when he said he didn't want to drink it anymore, so she was told to drink it.
Ji Yunchan lowered her eyes and picked up the medicinal food: "General, if you really don't want to drink it, don't ask the kitchen to make it."
Don't be so nice to me, so that I will feel less guilty when I take advantage of you.
Yan Heng hadn't expected her to say that. He looked up with interest, but his voice was questioning: "Dare you talk back to me, Ji Yunchan?"
Ji Yunchan lowered her head and said, "I dare not."
Yan Heng was not amused and said, "Drink it."
Ji Yunchan agreed, holding the bowl, and took a sip of the medicinal food. It was completely different from the previous two days. It seemed that it was not just as simple as adding honey.
The hot air was so thick that Ji Yunchan felt her eyes were wet.
She drank very slowly, numbly deprecating herself so that her heart would be as cold and hard as iron.
When he put down the bowl, his expression was no different from usual.
Yan Heng lifted his eyelids and smiled at her, saying, "Today is quite new. You haven't been so fearless as you were a few days ago."
"I heard the doctor changed the prescription. You look like you're eating better." He lowered his head to pick up the food, not looking at her anymore. "You'll have to drink a few more bowls for me in the future."
Ji Yunchan's lips trembled and she said "hmm" without any emotion.
Yan Heng was pleased with himself, so he put down his chopsticks and drank his tea: "Tell someone to take it away and play two games of chess with me."
......
This time, the sleeping aids in the medicinal food failed to make her drowsy.
Ji Yunchan's chess skills were inferior to others, and coupled with her restlessness, it didn't take long for her to lose completely, both games being the same.
Yan Heng motioned her to come again.
Ji Yunchan dropped a chess piece from the board, but Yan Heng did not follow suit. Instead, he twisted the chess piece and looked at her silently.
I saw obvious dark marks under her eyes, as if she didn't sleep well.
......
While waiting for Yan Heng to make his move, Ji Yunchan stared at the chessboard in a daze. She seemed to be concentrating, but in fact her mind was wandering. She didn't even notice that Yan Heng was slow to make his move and was looking at her with an inquiring gaze.
"What are you thinking about?" Yan Heng asked suddenly.
Ji Yunchan raised her head hastily and saw his eyes fixed on the chessboard. He placed a piece on the chessboard and asked, "Didn't you sleep well?"
Her eyelashes trembled and she uttered a vague "hmm".
Then he picked up a chess piece and placed it down according to the old rules.
......
As expected, the game was lost again.
Yan Heng didn't insist anymore. He put down one black piece and one white piece and said casually, "If you're tired, take a nap."
There was an unconscious intimacy in his words, almost an invitation to get closer.
Ji Yunchan shook her head.
Yan Heng paused for a moment, then felt relieved, "You can go home and sleep."
Don't indulge me, it will become a knife stabbing you.
Ji Yunchan pinched her palms hard with her nails, using the physical pain to ease the pain in her heart, and whispered, "General, don't worry so much. I can't sleep."
"You're so worried." Yan Heng sneered, put down the chess piece, glanced out the window, then turned back to look at her with a hint of regret: "The snow hasn't melted yet, I really can't wait."
Can't wait to hear what secrets she has to reveal.
Ji Yunchan's heart was shaking, her mind was trembling, and she raised her eyes, her eyes were filled with tears and a little bit of hope.
Yan Heng mistook this for tenderness, and his heart softened. He coaxed her, "Ji Yunchan, when you defeat me, how about I agree to one of your requests?"
I promised you that we could continue our old relationship, Yan Heng thought with satisfaction.
When Ji Yunchan heard the sound, it was like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood.
With hope growing stronger, he tentatively spoke to the person who gave him the confidence, "General, I have a humble request..."
"Ji Yunchan, you've learned how to bargain with me." Yan Heng sneered, quite pleased.
He raised his chin and gestured, "Tell me about it. I'm in a good mood today, so I might agree."
Ji Yunchan unconsciously tightened her handkerchief around her fingertips: "When we lived in the west of the city, there was a neighbor who often helped us. Now he's in trouble..."
The smile on Yan Heng's face disappeared.
He looked at her expressionlessly for a long moment, his gaze falling on her hand wrapped in a handkerchief. "You also know there are some things you shouldn't say."
Ji Yunchan retracted her hand.
Courage is like the tentacles of a snail, it disappears at the touch of a finger.
She hesitated and stopped talking, feeling a little lucky that at least Yan Heng had made a promise to her.
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