Chapter 92: Run away, Ying, come to me.
Xie Xuanlan was wearing shackles and chains and was escorted out by the guards. Someone ran out from Yingzishu Pavilion and blocked his way.
"Sanlang, where are you going?"
Xie Xuanlan looked at her. She had never seen such a sad look on his face.
After not seeing him for a while, he looked as if he had been seriously ill. His face was as pale as snow, almost transparent, with only a pair of dark eyes left. They no longer had the pure jade radiance of last night, but were faintly scarlet. His spirit had completely disappeared, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
He said, "The military and criminal departments have sent their inspection documents, and I am about to leave for the northwest."
"Now?" Cong Ying was surprised, "But my mother-in-law..."
Xie Xuanlan shook his head slightly.
Zong Ying suppressed her chaotic thoughts and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go pack my things and it will be over soon."
Xie Xuanlan said, "No, you don't have to clean it up."
Cong Ying was stunned, and a bad premonition arose in his heart.
Behind Xie Xuanlan, the Prince of Jin slowly approached, stopping three steps away. He extended a hand toward her, his slender knuckles gleaming like a cold jade-white in the sunlight. His voice was cool and gentle, "Aying, come here."
Cong Ying clutched Xie Xuanlan's sleeve tightly, her voice trembling slightly. "It's okay if you don't pack. There's nothing to take with you. We can arrange everything when we get to the northwest... Let's go, let's go now."
The King of Jin said, "Aying, you can't go to the northwest with me."
Cong Ying seemed to be pricked and suddenly raised her voice: "I am his wife, why can't I go with him?!"
Her eyes were red and misty with tears. She looked at King Jin with vigilance and grievance, like a hedgehog with spikes all over its body.
Prince Jin didn't like the way she stood in front of Xie Xuanlan.
Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, she opens her softest arms and waits for others to hurt her.
His expression suddenly became gloomy. He raised his hand slightly, and the guards on both sides roared in unison, holding their swords at their waists and stepped forward, ready to attack.
Upon seeing this, Congying's attitude softened immediately, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pleaded, "Your Highness, Prince Jin, I lost control in the past, betrayed Your Highness's kindness, and hurt Your Highness's heart. This is all Congying's fault. However, I married Sanlang yesterday. I beg Your Highness, for the sake of our past friendship, to let me go with my husband... I beg Your Highness to grant me this..."
Xie Xuanlan said, "Aying, don't beg him for my sake."
The King of Jin had Xie Xuanlan's shackles and ropes removed, and said coldly, "I'll give you one stick of incense to say goodbye."
Xie Xuanlan took Cong Ying to Liubei Pavilion to talk.
King Jin watched the two of them from afar. Xie Xuanlan lowered his head and whispered to himself, while Cong Ying just shook his head and cried.
The two seemed to be arguing about something. Xie Xuanlan wanted to raise his hand to wipe Cong Ying's tears, but she slapped him away. Xie Xuanlan was stunned for a moment, turned around and was about to leave silently, but Cong Ying chased after him and hugged him tightly from behind.
Xie Xuanlan turned around and kissed her, and Prince Jin lowered his eyes.
The guards naturally did not dare to listen or watch too much. His confidant Chen Zhang just pretended to be deaf, dumb and blind today, and did not dare to express any opinion on the fact that the first thing Prince Jin did after getting up from his sickbed was to forcibly seize someone else's wife.
No one saw the deep silence in King Jin's eyes, and the sneer on his face turned into a silent sigh.
He also had a heart, but his heart had been torn into pieces by that man's tears. She had so many tears, but not a single one was shed for him.
She would not be as tender and compassionate to Xie Xuanlan as she was last night.
She resented him, feared him, and hated him in her heart.
…
Some felt this quarter of an hour was as brief as a moment, while others felt it was as unbearable as an eternity. Finally, the last bit of incense ash fell into the copper censer. The King of Jin raised his hand, and the guards put the shackles back on Xie Xuanlan.
Cong Ying seemed to know that the situation was irreversible, so she turned her back to a sweet osmanthus tree in the corner, silently shedding tears without saying a word.
On the way to send Xie Xuanlan out of the city, King Jin invited him to ride in the carriage.
The King of Jin asked Xie Xuanlan, "It's rare that you were able to persuade her. What did you say to her?"
Xie Xuanlan stared at him gravely. "I told Ah Ying that although we're parting ways today, we're still husband and wife. If anyone in Yunjing bullies her, as long as I'm still alive, I'll come back and take care of her."
King Jin chuckled softly and wrote down a few names on the paper.
Wang Chuping, Xu Dezheng...
He said to Xie Xuanlan, "Remember these names in your heart. Don't leave any traces. When you get to the northwest, find an opportunity to kill them."
Then he lit the wick, took another piece of paper, and wrote a few more people: "Can be used in life and death situations."
Xie Xuanlan looked at the Prince of Jin and asked, "Who exactly is His Highness? Did he gain divine eyes because he died once before, allowing him to foresee the future? Or is he an immortal from the outer world who has incarnated as a human to avert danger?"
Of course, there is another possibility, that is, he is simply a liar who is deliberately mysterious.
For Xie Xuanlan, who never believed in gods or Buddhas, these two things were the limit of his imagination.
Prince Jin took out a wooden box and pushed it in front of Xie Xuanlan. When he opened it, he found half of an old bronze mirror inside with the words "照" (zhao) and "宝" (treasure) written on the back. It was the treasure that Taoist Taixiao had once given to him.
The King of Jin said, "The property has been returned to its original owner. How much you know depends entirely on your luck. In fact, it is better not to know. It will save you and me a lot of trouble."
＊
Congying is sick.
She stood in the Liubei Pavilion until nightfall. Then it began to rain, and the wind and dew penetrated her muscles and bones, chilling her to the core, and she fell ill.
The King of Jin sent guards to guard Jisu Garden and invited Zhang Yizheng to come. He also sent medicinal herbs, but Cong Ying turned them all away. Unable to leave, she was accompanied only by Zisu. While drowsy, she vaguely heard a commotion. When she woke up, she asked Zisu, who replied, "Madam Xie came."
Madam Xie wanted to take her away, but she couldn't persuade Prince Jin.
Cong Ying lay on the pillow and sighed, "After Sanlang left, the Xie family was like losing an arm. I'm afraid that in the future..."
Before she could finish her words, she fell asleep again. After an unknown amount of time, she woke up to the smell of a bitter medicine.
In front of her was the mandarin duck pillow from her wedding night. The cool breeze of early autumn blew open the wedding curtains, and she saw the dragon and phoenix wedding candles still on the desk, bright oranges in the vase, and the double happiness paper-cut that she and Xie Xuanlan had cut out together was still pasted on the screen.
A tall and graceful figure was dimly reflected on the screen.
Cong Ying was startled and said, "Sanlang..."
The man turned around when he heard the voice. It was Prince Jin. The brilliance in his eyes dimmed and he didn't know what to say. He closed his eyes and turned to the inside of the bed.
As he approached, the smell of the medicine became stronger and he could hear the sound of a spoon stirring and colliding.
Her voice was cold and gentle, just like his own. "I know you don't want to see me, but since you're sick and refuse to take medicine, you have no choice but to see me. Come, drink the medicine before you go to sleep, otherwise Zi Su's two hours of hard work will be in vain."
He knew how to control her too well. Congying felt uncomfortable and frowned, closing her eyes tighter.
I heard the King of Jin say, "During the two days you were unconscious, Xie San has arrived in Xuanzhou and delivered a letter to you."
Cong Ying's heart moved slightly, and she opened her eyes. She saw King Jin holding a porcelain bowl in his right hand and an envelope in his left hand. There was a faint smile on his face, but he handed the medicine bowl to her first.
"Drink the medicine first. It's bitter, so I won't feed you, or you'll feel even more sick."
Zong Ying took the medicine bowl and drank it all, his eyes fell on the letter in his left hand. However, the King of Jin became more demanding: "After you finish the medicine, come down and eat something."
Cong Ying got out of bed, dressed, washed briefly, and walked out of the gauze cabinet, sitting down at the round table where porridge and salt were spread. The food was perfectly warm. Cong Ying was indeed hungry, but she didn't want the King of Jin to see it, so she picked up the rice in the porridge with chopsticks and ate it grain by grain.
Seeing her reluctance, the King of Jin sighed and opened the letter: "I'll read a sentence and you use a spoonful, okay?"
Since Ying didn't object, she assumed it was her acquiescence.
"My wife Aying personally approves."
Cong Ying Kuaizi paused and thought, can this also be considered a sentence?
Without waiting for further words, she slowly picked up the spoon and took a big mouthful of porridge.
After she swallowed, the King of Jin continued reading: "The journey was smooth, and we have now arrived in Xuanzhou."
Taking another spoonful from Ying, King Jin picked up a few slices of green vegetables for her.
"I only think of your health and well-being, and I am deeply concerned."
“…”
"I hope to see you again, and wish you a happy and healthy life."
The letter was written in an elegant, lingering, and caring manner, like a lover whispering in his ear. But Cong Ying suddenly threw the porridge spoon back into the bowl and said coldly, "Sanlang took two days to get to Xuanzhou. Did this letter grow wings and fly back to you?"
The trick was exposed, and the King of Jin just smiled and said: "Fortunately, I am not sick or confused."
Cong Ying was choked with anger, so he stood up and went back to lie down. He heard Prince Jin giving some instructions outside. After a while, he walked into the bedroom and stopped outside the screen.
Cong Ying stared blankly at his shadow cast on the screen, but she was thinking of another person.
Prince Jin said through the screen, "I won't come to disturb your peace for the next two days. Once you recover and Xie San arrives in Xizhou, I will no longer detain you."
After saying this, the shadow on the screen gradually faded away.
＊
It was the beginning of autumn, and that night there was a heavy storm with lightning and thunder, and the branches were scratching against the windows.
Cong Ying, however, woke up from her dream in a cold sweat, and staggered barefoot down to the ground, holding a candle, and shouted, "San Lang, San Lang!"
The noise woke up Zi Su who was resting in the outer room. She pushed the door open and hurriedly snatched the trembling candle from Ying's hand, but she saw that she looked frightened and her pale face was full of tears.
Zi Su patted her face gently: "Aying, wake up, what's wrong with you?"
Cong Ying stared at her for a long time before gradually coming to his senses. He slowly exhaled and said, "I think... I had a nightmare."
She dreamed that on such a stormy night, Xie Xuanlan led his men to launch a night attack on the Western Tatar garrison camp.
But the enemy seemed to have been alerted. Just as Xie Xuanlan rushed out on his horse, he suddenly saw flames in front and behind him, shouts shook the sky, and a force ten times their size surrounded him.
Xie Xuanlan's subordinates trembled as they said, "General Wang issued the order just this morning to intercept the enemy's food supplies. Why do the Western Tartars seem to have been prepared for this?"
Xie Xuanlan swung his sword and knocked down an enemy soldier, gritting his teeth and saying, "It's come to this, let's kill them first!"
He led his three hundred elite cavalrymen around the enemy camp, like a fish on floating ice, stirring up the waves and splashing blood and mud. He kept drawing his bow and arrows, shooting at the pursuing enemy troops. When his arrows missed, he swung his sword on horseback, forcibly cutting a gap in the surrounding enemy troops.
But he was also hit by an arrow in the leg and nearly fell off his horse. He instructed his subordinates who were following closely beside him: "One of General Wang and Deputy General Xu must be a spy. When we return, we would rather kill the innocent than let him go!"
"Where are you going, Captain Xie?"
Xie Xuanlan swung his sword to cut off the tail of the arrow and said, "I can't let so many brothers die in vain. I'm going to kill their leader." After saying that, he turned his horse around and silently disappeared into the darkness of the enemy camp.
…
Cong Ying calmed down after looking at Zi Su's face, realizing that Xie Xuanlan had only been away for a few days and had not yet arrived in Xizhou, let alone leading his troops to attack the enemy camp at night.
But the scene was too real. She could still remember the blood flowing from his arrow wound, soaking through his armor.
Turning from the firefly, he looked towards the half of the Mirror of the World placed beside the table. In the moonless and starless night, it was still reflecting the green light that came from nowhere, as if foreshadowing or guiding something.
Maybe that's exactly what's going to happen in the future.
Military Supervisor Wang, Deputy General Xu... She had to go and remind Sanlang.
Thinking of this, Cong Ying held Zi Su's hand. Her eyes, washed by tears, were dark and clear. She whispered, "Zi Su, I'm going to find a way to escape and find San Lang. You must leave Ji Su Garden with me and don't fall into the hands of King Jin."
Zi Su was surprised for a moment, but seeing that she had made up her mind, she said, "If you are determined to go, I will escort you."
Over the next few days, Cong Ying recuperated according to the routine, lying in bed in the house most of the time. She would only stroll around the yard at dawn and cut a few osmanthus flowers to put in a vase.
Then she would send her maid out to buy things, sometimes candied fruits and snacks, sometimes various small items. After a few days, the guards at the door had figured out her living habits and gradually got used to it.
That day, after Ying strolled around the yard, she returned to her room and immediately changed into a maid's clothes, disguising herself and darkening her complexion.
She followed Zisu out the door. Zisu deliberately stumbled at the door to draw the guard's attention to herself. The guard politely greeted Zisu and asked, "Madam Zisu, are you going out to buy something again?"
Shisu smiled and said, "I'll bring you two some Sanzi from Xingfu Temple in the south of the city to go with your wine when I get back."
The guard thanked her repeatedly and indeed did not notice the other maidservant with her head lowered behind her.
Cong Ying put the change and banknotes in his arms, left Jisu Garden, and ran quickly towards Hejin Wharf.
The Yanqi Guards patrolling the city gates had been replaced by their commanders. Cong Ying, fearing recognition, decided to leave on a cargo ship bound for Yunjing. Since she wasn't traveling by sea from Yunjing to Xizhou, even if the Prince of Jin wanted to pursue her, he wouldn't be tracking her in the direction of the docks. This would buy her time, allowing her to rent a horse and carriage after leaving Yunjing and head towards Xizhou.
When passing by a pawnshop, he bought two old pawned clothes from Ying and pretended to be merchants coming to Yunjing to look at goods with Zisu.
Then he negotiated a price with a cargo passenger ship at the dock and prepared to take their ship south, disembarking at the Jingnanjin Ferry, eighty miles away, to change his route.
Cong Ying chose a seat by the porthole and sat down, looking at the people coming and going on the dock outside the window. Although his face showed no emotion, he was very anxious in his heart. He wished he could grow wings, abandon the ship and fly to Xie Xuanlan.
"The ship owner said that the ship would depart at 9:00 PM, but it's almost noon now. What's going on?" Cong Ying frowned.
Zi Su went to ask on her behalf, and came back with the message: "There are many official ships setting sail today, and the ship owner said we have to wait a while."
Cong Ying pondered in silence, still looking out the window. After a while, she found that there were fewer people coming and going on the dock, but there was still no sign of the cargo ship setting sail.
Cong Ying had a bad feeling in her heart, so she immediately pulled Shisu up and said, "Let's go. We're not going to take this boat anymore."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped off the boat, he saw that the dock was surrounded by guards in black armor. A spacious and gorgeous copper-gilded carriage slowly approached and stopped in the open space opposite the cargo ship.
Cong Ying recognized this carriage. Her first contact with King Jin was in this carriage.
My heart sank.
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