Chapter 38 I was the only one who didn't feel sorry for what happened.
In the tense atmosphere, it was Xie Xuanlan who spoke first: "You can explain."
Congying's lips moved.
She suspected that Xie Xuanlan had learned something from the Prince of Jin and had come to her for confirmation. Of course, she could have put all the blame on the Prince of Jin; after all, there was no actual innocence between them.
But she knew in her heart that she had treated Prince Jin with inappropriate pity and closeness, which had already made her feel guilty towards Xie Xuanlan. Now she was asked to lie about this matter and deceive his true feelings. Cong Ying wanted to say something several times but stopped herself from saying such shameless words.
After a long silence, she said, "I'm sorry for you."
At this point, she no longer dared to expect Xie Xuanlan to help her. She hurriedly said, "I have something urgent to do right now. I'll apologize to you later."
Then he turned and left.
However, before he could take a step, he was violently pulled back.
Xie Xuanlan's knuckles locked her upper arm like an iron shackle. Although he managed to control the force, Cong Ying still frowned and took a breath.
She heard Xie Xuanlan's subdued, almost sinister voice as he questioned her, "What do you mean by urgent need? You'd rather go to Prince Jin's mansion to find him than explain things to me?"
Cong Ying said, "It's a pity that I couldn't explain it clearly. If you knew the inside story, you wouldn't help me."
This was almost an acknowledgement of the entanglement between her and Prince Jin. Another string in Xie Xuanlan's heart broke, and his heavy worries were tied to a thin line, which made him feel pain in his heart.
Reason told him not to delve into it any further, but he still hoped to get an unexpected and bright answer.
Xie Xuanlan said, "I only ask you two questions. No matter how you answer, I will help you."
Cong Ying nodded gently: "Ask."
Xie Xuanlan: "The sweet osmanthus and black plum in the Prince of Jin's room, but he took them away from you by force?"
This question contained some kind of inducement, and Cong Ying seemed to understand his hint. As long as she said yes, he would not make things difficult for her anymore and would even help her cover it up.
But she didn't want to deceive him with ulterior motives anymore.
So she shook her head and said, "This wasn't taken by trickery or force. These two flowers were picked for Prince Jin from the very beginning."
Xie Xuanlan was silent for a moment, then asked her, "Have you ever had any improper thoughts about the King of Jin?"
Cong Ying gently closed her eyes: "...I dare not claim to be innocent."
As soon as these words came out, Xie Xuanlan felt as if his aura had frozen to ice. He sneered repeatedly, not knowing whether to admire her frankness or resent her undisguised indifference.
He let go of Ying and slowly took two steps back.
Cong Ying thought that he would abandon her in a rage, but after a few breaths of calm, Xie Xuanlan said to her: "Go to Xiqiao Peng Market."
Cong Ying was stunned, but after coming to his senses, he quickly turned around, went down the city gate and got on the car.
With the Fengchen Guards clearing the way, the return trip was smoother than the outward journey. However, after the argument just now, Cong Ying felt quite uneasy as the two of them sat opposite each other in the carriage.
Xie Xuanlan stared at her silently. His pupils were pitch black, like the bottomless abyss on a rainy night, reflecting no light. It also made it difficult for Cong Ying to guess his current mood. Was he so angry that he wanted to chop her to pieces, or was he disgusted by feeling that he had been fooled?
Although it was her own fault, Cong Ying still felt bad. Her eyes dropped to the hem of Xie Xuanlan's robe, and she said in a very low voice, "I'm sorry."
Perhaps he didn't hear it, Xie Xuanlan didn't react at all.
Cong Ying took a deep breath and began to talk about the West Bridge shantytown. "There's no famine right now, but many families in the West Bridge shantytown are selling their daughters. I suspect there's something fishy going on. I just saw a girl I've met once before, and I want to buy her, but the buyer I met is too aggressive, so I'm going to ask the Third Young Master for help."
Xie Xuanlan sneered lightly: "You have a good heart."
Cong Ying's heart was slightly stagnant when she was stabbed by him.
However, his next words were: "You pity that girl, and you pity the King of Jin, but you don't pity me."
Cong Ying was stunned: "I..."
"We're here." Xie Xuanlan didn't want to listen to what she said anymore, so he lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage.
After all, this back and forth took some time, and Lianjun and his daughter and the buyer with slanted eyes were nowhere to be seen.
Cong Ying asked several passers-by, but they all shook their heads and said they had never seen him. As she was anxiously wandering around, she caught a glimpse of the old woman who had bought the news from the shed and was secretly looking at her.
Cong Ying ran over in two or three steps and held the old woman's hand affectionately: "Grandma, you know where these girls were sold to, right? Please have pity on them. I am willing to pay to find out their whereabouts."
The old woman shook her off: "I don't know, stop pestering me!"
A man with a naked, dark upper body was squatting in the low shed behind the old woman. Perhaps he was the old woman's son. He cast an unfriendly and turbid gaze on Congying and slowly stood up.
Cong Ying, who was still unconscious, was still trying to persuade the old woman kindly, but Xie Xuanlan suddenly walked in with a knife in his hand, kicked the man who was bending over to stand up, stepped on his neck, and casually stabbed the long knife in his hand downwards, just glancing at his vital point and piercing into the ground.
He exuded murderous and cold aura, which even frightened Cong Ying.
But he heard him say to the old woman: "If you leak the news, someone will kill you, right? If you don't tell me now, I will send you to death."
The old woman was so frightened by this devil that she nearly fainted. Seeing him draw his knife and about to poke the man's eyeball, the old woman hurriedly said, "It's the one-eyed man. The customer who bought the man was introduced by the one-eyed man!"
From Hotaru: "He sounds like a local tyrant."
The old woman shrank back and nodded. "This area of West Bridge is under the jurisdiction of Master One-Eyed Dragon. We...we have to pay taxes to him too."
Cong Ying knew she was powerless and couldn't rashly wade into this mess, but she remembered Lian Jun's desperate expression and couldn't bear to just sit back and do nothing. Just as she was considering asking Ji Caibing to contact the one-eyed man and spend some money to redeem him, she heard Xie Xuanlan sneer beside her.
He said, "Prince Jin is seriously ill and unconscious. If you rely on him, the girl's body will probably rot."
Cong Ying raised her eyes and looked at him.
Xie Xuanlan: "But I know the One-Eyed Dragon."
From Hotaru: “……!”
She chased Xie Xuanlan out of the shed, grabbed his sleeve in a hurry, and then let go of his hand awkwardly when he stopped and looked at her.
She tried her best to show her sincerity in asking for help, and tactfully laid the groundwork, "I know that I was already marrying up to the Xie family in the past, and now I have failed the Third Young Master's affections. He will certainly not forgive me for being unfaithful to his feelings. I owe him a lot, and words cannot resolve it. If you want to divorce me or let me go, I will let him do whatever he wants, without hesitation."
Xie Xuanlan: "You've been preparing this speech all this time, and it's all just this nonsense?"
From Ying: "..."
Seeing him about to leave, Cong Ying quickly revealed her true intentions: "Lian Jun's matter is a matter of life and death. Please, Third Young Master, please help me deal with the One-Eyed Dragon. I will repay you for saving my life separately. I am deeply grateful!"
Xie Xuanlan turned over and mounted his horse, glancing at Cong Ying, and said slowly: "I can go find the One-Eyed Dragon, but you are not allowed to go see the King of Jin. If I find out, you will never see Lianjun again."
Cong Ying nodded quickly: "I understand."
After watching Xie Xuanlan leave, Cong Ying thought about it and decided to go find Ji Caibing.
She thought that Ji Caibing had a wide network of contacts among all kinds of people, and might have heard of the One-Eyed Dragon. She couldn't just rely on Xie Xuanlan, so it would be helpful if she knew more about the One-Eyed Dragon.
Unexpectedly, Ji Caibing was also troubled by a troublesome matter. Before her stood several shop assistants, their faces bruised and swollen, in splints and bandages. After careful questioning, Ying discovered that Ji Caibing's husband had made money trading in several southern states and was transporting valuables and new-style fabrics back to Yunjing. Unexpectedly, they ran into bandits at Guikuzhang. Not only was their goods robbed, but several of their escorts were killed or injured.
Ji Caibing sighed and said, "Although I feel bad about the money, it can be repaid if I spend it. My fellow soldiers are so pitiful; their families are eagerly awaiting their return. Who would have thought that such a desolate mountaintop of Guikuizhang could produce so many bandits?"
Cong Ying comforted her: "Fortunately, my brother-in-law is not on this trip. We must quickly send him a letter and ask him to take another route to the capital."
Ji Caibing: "If we don't get rid of the bandits on Ghost Crying Peak, business in the south will be difficult. This damn one-eyed dragon, I will make him pay for his life and money sooner or later!"
"There's a long way to go—wait, who are you talking about?" Zong Ying's heart skipped a beat, suspecting she had misheard.
Ji Caibing said angrily, "Of course it's the bandit who broke out from Guikuizhang and introduced himself as the One-Eyed Dragon. I don't know when the court will bring these arrogant desperadoes to justice!"
Cong Ying clenched her sleeves, her expression gradually becoming serious.
After Ji Caibing had settled his men, he took the time to ask Cong Ying, "You rushed over to me in such a hurry, but what trouble did you encounter?"
"Sister Caibing," Cong Ying felt a chill in her palm as she held Ji Caibing's hand, "this matter is too strange."
She recounted to Ji Caibing what she had seen and experienced today at the West Bridge Market, omitting the unpleasantness she had experienced with Xie Xuanlan. She also expressed her doubts, "The One-Eyed Dragon forced young girls into marriages within the city and engaged in rampant looting outside. His actions were so arrogant and cruel that he should have been notorious long ago. Yet, today is the first time I've heard of him."
Ji Caibing said, "I've been doing business for so long, and this is the first time I've heard of such a person."
Cong Ying: "He should have gathered his strength in secret, doing his evil deeds quietly, in order to survive long-term. However, not only did he reveal his name to the robbed caravan, even the old women in Xiqiao Peng Market feared his notoriety. It seems... he is not afraid of the imperial court knowing of his existence."
Ji Caibing frowned and asked, "Could it be that he has a powerful backer behind him?"
Cong Ying shook her head gently. "Not likely. The current emperor is not a laissez-faire ruler. If he really has a backer, he should be more discreet. Otherwise, not only will he not last long, but he will also implicate his backer. I think the one-eyed dragon looks like a target."
"target?"
"They're deliberately flaunting their evil deeds, standing tall and conspicuous... But I can't understand who benefits from the rampant banditry."
Ji Caibing's approach was to make money through harmony, but when it came to plotting and calculating, she was a complete idiot. Cong Ying stared at her for a long time, then, seeing her train of thought had reached a dead end, she had no choice but to leave.
She said, "I will consult another gentleman about matters concerning state affairs."
Ji Caibing blinked: "Could it be the King of Jin?"
Cong Ying gestured for her to be silent: "Keep your voice down, this is shameful... The Third Young Master has sent people to follow me. I have to go around the Prince of Jin's Mansion. How can I dare to meet the Prince of Jin?"
Ji Caibing gasped, "Could it be that your affair was exposed and he caught you red-handed?"
Cong Ying: "...Good sister, please read less storybooks."
She sighed, revealing an indescribable expression. She waved goodbye to Ji Caibing and, after getting on the carriage, told the driver the name of the place: "Mingkefang, Du's Residence."
Xie Xuanlan only said that she was not allowed to see Prince Jin, but he did not say that she was not allowed to see Du Rupan.
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