Chapter 60: Thank you Congying and Ahe.
Cong Ying asked Yiyun for help to arrange Wei Yiner's admission list to Taiyi Girls' School, so that she could get rid of the entanglement of Prince Huai. Wei Yiner told her brother Wei Ji the good news. Wei Ji was also very happy. When he was thinking about how to express his gratitude to Jiang Si Niangzi, an uninvited guest came to the side house he rented - Xie Liu Niangzi Xie Miaozhu.
Xie Miaozhu was holding a piece of paper in his hand. It was the certificate of ordination that Wei Ji had forged for Wei Yiner to study at Congshan Academy. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, this was a crime punishable by deprivation of official position and exile at the very least, and beheading at the worst. Wei Ji's face changed involuntarily.
Xie Miaozhu sneered as he scanned the courtyard Wei Ji rented. He sneered, "You're so poor and lowly, yet you dare to pretend to be from the Hedong Wei family. Now you're even coveting the position of Princess of Huai County. You two siblings are truly ambitious."
Wei Ji rebuked her sternly, "It's obvious that the Prince of Huai is ungrateful and was tempted by her beauty first. How can you slander and insult my sister's reputation?"
"Can a liar have a good reputation?" Xie Miaozhu waved the evidence in his hand. "If I hand it over to the Ministry of Justice, you and your sister will both go to jail."
Wei Ji was furious, but since he had been caught, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and explain, "Please rest assured, Madam Xie Liu, even if my sister were to marry a peddler, she would never get involved with the Prince of Huai."
Xie Miaozhu raised his eyebrows lazily: "Oh, you mean, the Prince of Huai County was a piece of junk that you didn't want, so you gave it to me."
Wei Ji: “You…!”
Seeing him gritting his teeth yet feeling helpless, Xie Miaozhu felt very happy. He laughed heartily twice and said to Wei Ji, "Can't you see? I don't care who wants to marry me. I just want to make you unhappy."
Wei Ji was a proud and arrogant man, his words, actions, and writings straight and unyielding, never afraid of offending the powerful. But now he could hardly regret it. He should never have offended Xie Liuniang, who was even more ruthless and unscrupulous than he was.
Xie Miaozhu said, "When your sister was abducted by bandits, you made a big fuss at my Congshan Academy, saying that the Xie family was bullying others and was plotting to murder your sister. And when you were socializing with your colleagues, you said that the noble families of Yunjing were all pests of the country, especially the Wang and Xie clans. You said that the children of my Xie family were forming cliques in the court, preventing truly talented people like you from serving the country. Is this true?"
Wei Ji looked at her coldly but did not deny it.
Xie Miaozhu sneered, "I hate you self-important lowly ants the most."
Wei Ji asked: "What do you want from me?"
Xie Miaozhu didn't immediately report the forged certificate to the Ministry of Justice, but instead showed off her prowess here, suggesting she had other plans. As expected, Xie Miaozhu said, "The founding emperor of this dynasty was a military man and is said to be very skilled in raising military horses. Since you boast about your unappreciated talent, why don't you serve as my groom for six months and let me see how your abilities compare to those of the founding emperor?"
Wei Ji suspected for a moment that he had misheard. He had not expected that Xie Miaozhu could come up with such a torturous idea. This was even more painful than killing him.
Xie Miaozhu said: "Become a groom, or take your sister with you as a prisoner, it's your choice."
Wei Ji thought of the cold stares from his former colleagues who had been angry with him, and then he thought of his sister's excitement when she was about to enter Taiyi Girls' School. His heart turned cold and hot, hot and cold, and finally he sank into despair with a heart full of humiliation.
His voice was filled with hatred and trembling, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I promise you, and I hope you will do what you say."
＊
Wei Ji did not tell Wei Yiner about this. Wei Yiner was recuperating at the Jiang family while looking forward to the day when she would go to Taiyi Girls' School.
In early April, at the turn of spring and summer, the weather was clear and Yiyun finally came to the house to pick up Wei Yiner.
Ah He and Wei Yin'er were reluctant to part, hugging each other and crying, exhorting each other and looking forward to the day they would meet again. Cong Ying, watching from the side, couldn't help but feel sad and her eyes reddened. She sighed quietly to Yiyun, "It's a pity that Yin'er isn't my sister. My mother would only give me a brother who's a debt collector."
Yiyun also heard about her brother Jiang Congqian stealing property from home to gamble, and asked her with concern whether she had been on guard in the future.
Cong Ying said: "There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days. You can never guard against them."
Yiyun suggested: "I am a monk, so it is not convenient for me to chop off one of his hands, but I can still help you cut him off secretly."
Cong Ying shook her head gently: "Beating him up will only make my mother feel distressed, it won't make her feel cold... Senior Sister, don't worry, this matter is almost certain."
Yiyun said, "You tend to be soft-hearted and lenient when doing things. I'm afraid you'll suffer more."
After Yiyun and Wei Yiner left, Ah He was still unhappy and could not muster the energy to study at Congshan Academy every day. When Cong Ying went to the academy to pick her up, Master Zheng said that she was absent-minded and often stared out the window in a daze.
Master Zheng said to Congying in a serious tone, "Although the Third Young Master is taking good care of her, who in this hall isn't a descendant of a wealthy noble? Even if they are members of the Xie family, they shouldn't behave like her. I teach people to judge only by their character. You must know that studying can be dull, but it must be focused!"
Congying listened attentively with a humble attitude. When she turned around, she found Ah He hiding by the window and looking at her. His dark eyes were full of unhappiness and guilt.
On the carriage on the way home, Cong Ying tentatively asked Ah He what was on his mind.
In fact, it is easy to guess. The atmosphere of admiring the powerful is very prevalent in Congshan Academy, and Ah He is a little clumsy than others. Except for Wei Yiner who knows that she has a good character and is willing to make friends with her, Ah He can't play together with other classmates.
Ah He said, "Yin'er wrote to me saying that she has settled well in the Taiyi Girls' School. Although the food and clothing are not as good as those in Congshan School, the other girls are very kind to her. She even met the princess!"
Cong Ying touched her head. Ah He raised her head and said with a somewhat nervous look, "Sister, can I..."
She didn't dare to ask, but Cong Ying knew what she wanted to say and remained silent without answering.
There were many reasons why she couldn't, but she couldn't bring herself to say any of them. Cong Ying had given up on herself because of these reasons before, and despite sleepless nights, she could slowly work through the regrets and find her own peace. But this same feeling of regret couldn't befall Ah He. She was so innocent, so full of hope for the future. The feud between the Jiang and Xie families and the princess shouldn't involve her small world.
Cong Ying was in a state of confusion. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "Please let me think of a solution."
Unexpectedly, Ah He was depressed and scolded by the teacher. He fell ill that night with a fever. He did not want to make his sister worry, so he stayed under the quilt and stayed up secretly.
Cong Ying was proofreading a manuscript and stopped writing late. When she passed by Ah He's room, she saw that she had forgotten to turn off the light, so she quietly pushed the door open and walked in. She picked up the copper spoon to extinguish the flame, and tucked the corner of the quilt for her in the bright moonlight. At this time, she found that Ah He's face was covered with tear marks, and she was so feverish that she was unconscious.
"Ah He? Ah He!"
Cong Ying was anxious and quickly called the maid to fetch some cold water and summon a doctor. Recalling the method taught by Jiangxia Guan, she massaged Ah He's head, but with little success. The doctors also shook their heads, helpless.
Cong Ying had no choice but to wrap Ah He in the quilt, and while ordering someone to harness the carriage, she carried Ah He out.
At this time, the city gate had already been locked. Cong Ying originally planned to go to Xie Mansion first and ask Xie Xuanlan for help in leaving the city. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out of the house, he ran into King Jin's secret guard. Seeing that he was dressed in black and had a familiar demeanor, he must have been sent by King Jin and had been stalking near Jiang Mansion.
The secret guard had just seen several doctors enter the house, and now saw Madam Jiang carrying a half-grown girl with a worried look on her face. He knew that she was going out of the city to seek medical treatment. He advised with great tact, "Please wait a moment, Madam Jiang. I'll be back soon."
The secret guard returned to the Prince of Jin's mansion to ask for permission to leave the city. Meanwhile, Cong Ying dispatched a messenger to the Xie residence. The Jiang family servant's speed was no match for the guard's swiftness. Within two incense sticks of time, the guard returned with the Prince of Jin's seal and decree: "His Highness has ordered us to escort the lady out of the city to Xuandu Monastery. He will follow shortly."
Cong Ying nodded, and got into the carriage holding Ah He. The secret guard took over the coachman's job. They sped along the way, but the carriage tried to remain as stable as possible. When they arrived at Xuandu Temple, it was not yet midnight.
It just so happened that the Master of the Crimson Cloud Crown had been meditating all night, so there was no need to waste time getting up. He took Ah He from Ying's arms, closed the door, fed her talisman water, and gave her acupuncture.
Cong Ying was waiting outside the door, his heart hanging in the air, hesitating anxiously.
The night dew soaked the hem of her skirt, and the cold wind was biting her bones. She was shivering when suddenly she felt a warm weight on her shoulders, and a cloak fell down.
Turning around from Ying, he saw Xie Xuanlan.
He had already gone to bed but was woken up again. Before he could tie his hair up or put on a crown, his black hair fell on his shoulders, a little messy in the night wind, but it also made his eyebrows and eyes look more elegant and his appearance more dignified. His pair of eyes as deep as lacquer looked at Cong Ying, full of concern and pity.
When Cong Ying saw him, it seemed as if all the worries in her heart were relieved. Suddenly, her eyes became tearful and she leaned silently into his arms.
Her tears fell silently, quickly soaking through Xie Xuanlan's thin scarlet dress and flowing deep into his heart. He hugged Cong Ying, wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to begin. After a long while, he sighed softly, "I'm sorry, I'm late."
The King of Jin arrived later than him.
He was in poor health and could not ride a horse, so he took a carriage to the mountain gate and then changed to a sedan chair. When he arrived after asking for directions along the way, it was already getting light.
Amid the clear cries of the cuckoo, he saw from afar the figures of the two people hugging each other tightly. Zeng Ying had his back to him and was unaware of it, but Xie Xuanlan had already noticed him. He raised his eyes and looked at him, but without saying anything, he lowered his eyes again, as if he had not seen anything.
The King of Jin raised his hand to stop the sedan chair and did not go forward to disturb it.
At dawn, the Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown finally pushed the door open and walked out.
She looked quite exhausted, and although she spoke only a few words, each one was filled with fear and terror: "Luckily, we made it in time. If the fever had continued, he wouldn't have woken up."
Congying broke out in a cold sweat when she heard this, and Xie Xuanlan helped her stand steadily.
The Crimson Cloud Crown Master said, "Let Ah He sleep peacefully for a while. You can also go to the monastery to rest and come back to pick her up in the afternoon."
Congying nodded.
She finally had the energy to look around. Seeing Prince Jin, she lowered her head to wipe away her tears, straightened her clothes, and then slowly walked up to him, bowed, and thanked him: "Last night... fortunately, I met your Highness's guards on the road. I borrowed your seal and was able to rush to Xuandu Temple in time. Thank you for saving my life."
In front of Xie Xuanlan, she lied and didn't mention the secret guards sent by King Jin to monitor her. Their eyes met like a feather touching water, then naturally looked away in an instant, as if they had some kind of tacit understanding.
King Jin lowered his eyes, and the depression in his heart was swept away. He actually felt secretly happy.
Xie Xuanlan, for once, stopped barking and joined Ah Ying in expressing his gratitude politely: "Thank you, Your Highness, the Prince of Jin, for coming to our aid and saving my wife's sister's life. I am deeply grateful."
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