Chapter 37: Just one step "That's right...
"That's right," Zheng Yong said confidently. He spoke quickly, "There was a group of Shuo people outside the city, hiding on the main road leading into the city. Seeing the small group carrying the 'goose' flag was outnumbered, they were waiting for revenge. Fortunately, they were not far from the city gate, and the soldiers guarding the city heard the unusual noise and gave chase. That's when the situation was resolved, but..."
He hesitated for a moment and looked at Ji Yunchan.
"You say, Brother Zheng." Ji Yunchan's hands were almost trembling, but she looked at him and said firmly.
"But your brother doesn't know martial arts. He was injured during the fight and fell off his horse. I heard he broke his leg and is covered in blood. He's in a bad condition."
Ji Yunchan's legs went limp when she heard that. She gritted her teeth and asked, "Where is he now?"
Zheng Yong observed Ji Yunchan's expression and saw that she did not look helpless at all, but was just filled with deep worry and had a resolute look. He knew that she could hold on.
So he said, "Still outside the city gate."
"I'll go take a look," she said. She looked around and saw Zheng Yong riding a green donkey while her own horse was pulling the cart. She turned to Yuye and asked, "Do you know how to unload the cart?"
Yuye was shocked for a moment, then shook her head in shame, "I don't know how."
"Miss Ji can ride a horse?" Zheng Yong was surprised and pointed at the small green donkey behind him. "How about you ride my donkey for a while?"
"The donkey is too slow." Ji Yunchan shook her head and just as she refused, she heard a cautious voice from the side: "Madam... I can unload the cart."
Ji Yunchan turned around and saw the sugar painting vendor standing aside, not even knowing where to put his hands.
He had listened to a lot of words from important people and was worried that something might go wrong when he heard that this lady who remained calm in the face of danger had encountered some trouble, which was a piece of cake for him.
He hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.
Seeing Ji Yunchan looking at him, he seemed to be afraid that she would not believe him, and added: "I drove a chariot for the officials for a few years, and later I came out to do this business."
Zheng Yong was still a little hesitant and suggested: "How about a donkey..."
"Thank you, big brother." Ji Yunchan said without hesitation.
The peddler nodded, found his tool and went forward, unloading the cart from the horse in no time.
Ji Yunchan took the reins and turned around and said, "When you go to the prefectural government in the future, tell the gatekeeper what you did today, and I will reward you handsomely."
"I dare not, I dare not." The vendor bowed.
Ji Yunchan ordered Yuye, who looked worried, "Go home and report the news."
She climbed onto the horse with a graceful and elegant posture, and turned to look at Zheng Yong: "Brother Zheng, thank you for letting me know. I will ask Qin Nian to come and thank you in person later."
"You're welcome." Zheng Yong lowered his eyes, suppressing the surprise and disappointment in his eyes.
Ji Yunchan galloped on her horse, her body pressed tightly against the horse's back. The hawking sounds around her flowed by like the wind. Her cloak rose and fell with the wind, and the oncoming wind condensed into cold icicles that hit her face. She rushed to the foot of the city wall without stopping.
The one guarding the city gate was Yan Heng's confidant, who had risen through the ranks as a personal guard. Naturally, he knew Ji Yunchan. Seeing her galloping towards him with a worried look on her face, he naturally thought of the ambush outside the city. He let her go without saying anything and even showed her the way.
I was just a little worried, so I assigned two people to follow.
Ji Yunchan led the horse and walked into the city gate.
The thick corridor of the city wall was cold and gloomy. Ji Yunchan looked at the dazzling white sky and earth outside, and suddenly remembered Yan Heng's request for her not to go out as it was not safe outside.
Now there was no time to worry about so many things, Ji Yunchan took a deep breath.
After leaving the city gate, she jumped on her horse and headed in the direction pointed by the guards. Outside the city, unlike inside, the snow on the road hadn't been cleared, leaving it a mess, and even more so, ice, making it difficult to walk.
Ji Yunchan had no choice but to hide the truth quickly, feeling anxious.
After riding for only four or five miles, she saw a large group of people walking towards her in the distance. She reined in her horse, but could not see who they were.
Due to years of hard work, Ji Yunchan's eyesight wasn't that good, so she asked the guard beside her, "Who are those people walking towards us from a distance?"
The guards watched from a distance and said, "It seems to be our general's men..."
Upon hearing this, Ji Yunchan unconsciously tightened her grip on the reins.
......
On the other side, Yan Heng watched from afar as three people on horseback were walking towards him on the only way back to the city, and the thought flashed through his mind: "There are still people leaving the city at this time."
After asking his brother-in-law about the attack, he turned around and looked forward, and saw that the three people in the distance had stopped moving.
"What's wrong with you? Are you standing there blocking the way? Or are you looking at this person to see if he's a good person?" Yan Heng thought to himself, but he didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, he turned his attention to Ji Qinnian: "Is your injury really not serious? Let Uncle Li take a look at you later."
"Nothing, just fell down and broke a few pieces of skin." Ji Qinnian shook his head, and after a pause, he asked, "Brother-in-law, I want to learn martial arts from you later."
"That's fine." Yan Heng agreed immediately, saying, "It's just for self-defense. Don't put too much thought into it. You can read the books of the sages freely. It's better to study literature in the future."
Ji Qinnian was disheartened when he heard this. "With my family like this, how can I have a career in politics?"
"Not necessarily." Yan Heng said lightly. He sat on his horse and looked straight ahead. Seeing three people in the distance still looking over here, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Just by looking at it, his originally leisurely body suddenly froze.
"Qin Nian." He called out to his brother-in-law, who was still trying to figure out a way out, his voice filled with deep suspicion: "Look at those three people. The woman sitting on the horse in the front, does she look like your eldest sister?"
The convoy was still moving forward. Ji Qinnian looked up when he heard the sound and took a closer look. It was indeed it.
It's freezing cold, why is my sister going out of town?
He didn't dare to make a conclusion, so he just nodded and said, "Looks like it."
Yan Heng fell silent, his expression visibly darkening.
......
As the convoy gradually approached, Ji Yunchan's appearance became clearer and clearer, and Yan Heng's lips became tighter and tighter.
Until right in front of me.
Ji Yunchan was shocked to see Ji Qinnian sitting on the horse intact.
"Husband." She called Yan Heng first, but didn't dare to look at him out of guilt. Instead, she looked at her brother carefully and anxiously. She saw that his clothes were dirty and his hair was a little messy, but there was no other sign of a fight.
"Eldest sister, what's wrong?" Ji Qinnian asked curiously after seeing his sister looking him up from head to toe. "It's so uneasy outside, why are you here?"
"Are you injured?" Ji Yunchan asked in doubt.
"No." Ji Qinnian was confused.
Ji Yunchan closed her eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and her heart finally settled down.
She turned to look at Yan Heng's expression, but saw that he was as sullen as water. He didn't even look at her. He threw down the reins and said in a deep voice, "Go back to the city."
......
Ji Yunchan followed Yan Heng all the way. He walked in front of her, not glancing sideways, not even giving her a glance. After entering the city, he went in the direction of the military camp. Chang Sui stayed behind, looking at Ji Yunchan's sad expression, and carefully advised: "Husband..."
He paused abruptly after saying a word, almost biting his tongue, and quickly changed the subject: "Auntie, the general still has things to take care of. Can I take you back to the mansion first?"
He was sweating profusely as he stole a glance at Ji Yunchan's expression, his mind filled with the thought, 'It's over, it's over, it'. If the general knew that he had let the cat out of the bag and if his wife knew about it, he would definitely chop him to pieces.
But Ji Yunchan seemed to be completely unaware and just stared at the general's departing back.
After a while, he whispered, "Okay."
We waited from dawn to dusk, and dinner was delayed for half an hour, but no one came back.
Ji Yunchan sat at the table with a dull look on her face, and instructed Yuye who was standing beside her: "Send someone to ask the general if he will be back for dinner."
On a rainy night, I saw that my aunt had been in a low mood since she came back. She didn't say a word and I couldn't get any information from her, so I had to feel uneasy too.
Yuye was a little surprised when he suddenly heard this, but then he understood, fearing that the two had quarreled again.
After finally finding out the truth, the aunt finally spoke again. Yuye responded hurriedly and sent someone to ask.
Another half hour passed, and the person who came to inquire about the news still had not returned.
Ji Yunchan seemed to have sat for a long time and turned from facing the door to the dining table: "No need to wait, bring it up."
She ate as usual. Due to her own persistence, her appetite was a little bigger than before. Although she still had something on her mind, she was able to eat some.
Just as the bowl of rice was finished, there was a sound of someone pushing the door.
Ji Yunchan turned around and saw Yan Heng standing inside the door.
"Husband..." She stood up, hesitant and not daring to step forward.
Yan Heng didn't respond, but looked at Yu Ye: "You get out."
Yuye bowed and took his leave, leaving only the couple in the room.
The candle flame burned steadily, leaving behind gurgling candle tears. When their eyes met, Ji Yunchan was almost a little timid, while Yan Heng's expression remained unchanged, waiting for her to walk towards him.
Wait for her to come over and surrender to him, wait for her to pull at his clothes and say she was wrong, or just hug him.
Yuanyuan, if you come towards me, then what happened today will be over, he thought.
This is not a big deal. I am just angry that you didn't believe me. If you just take one step towards me, just one step, it will be enough to tell me that you are one with me.
......
Even if they are not one, it would be fine as long as they are on my side.
......
Yan Heng could hardly hold on any longer and was backing down in his heart. He thought: Even if he doesn't speak, just take a step towards me.
......
Just one step.
......
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
Time seemed to stretch infinitely as they stared at each other, but Ji Yunchan just stared at him without any intention of walking towards him.
Not only that, Yan Heng saw her increasingly timid expression as time went on.
It was almost a step backward.
His Yuanyuan, the Yuanyuan who was so close to him and accompanied him day and night.
His childhood sweetheart, the wife he had chosen since childhood.
His blood and sweat.
He stood there, looking at her frail figure, feeling as if his heart had been kicked into the freezing cold water of the lake.
Yan Heng felt cold from head to toe, his hopes dashed, leaving only disappointment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
