The relationship between you and me
"Who are you...?"
Before Song Zhaozhao's suspicious voice died down, Song Tiaotiao looked at the familiar figure and immediately identified the identity of the visitor.
She smiled and looked in the direction of Chao Yue, lifting her skirt to greet him: "Brother!"
Gu Chengjue followed closely behind Song Tiaotiao, stepped forward and said respectfully, "Brother."
"Brother...?" Song Zhaozhao frowned slightly as she looked at the three people who were happily together not far away.
But Chao Yue seemed oblivious to her doubts. His eyes lingered over Song Tiao Tiao, and he lowered his eyes and sighed softly, "Little sister, I heard that you were going back to the capital... I still can't bear to leave you."
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao's reluctance to leave intensified. She intertwined her fingers, lowered her head, and said, "Brother... Right now, I need to return to the capital. But once everything is settled, I will come back."
Hearing Song Tiaotiao's determination to leave, Chao Yue's eyelashes trembled and he nodded gently: "Tiaotiao, I know it's not easy for you. Have a safe journey, please be safe..."
Song Tiaotiao's eyes were filled with tears. She walked a little closer to Chao Yue and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I will definitely return safely."
He smiled faintly and rubbed the top of Song Tiaotiao's head. Seeing that Song Tiaotiao had stopped crying, he turned around and took off a low-key cloth bag from the horse, and took out a sandalwood incense box that required two palms to hold.
Chao Yue took it into his arms and handed it to Gu Chengjue: "These are what you will need on your journey back. Study them later, and you'd better do it immediately. You don't have to worry about the whereabouts of that child Gu Zhao for now. He should have met his father by now, and he will return in a few days..." At this point, his eyes flashed with a hint of obscurity, "Gu Chengjue, I have done so much for only one thing. Please take good care of my sister along the way."
Gu Chengjue took the sandalwood box with both hands, his eyes fixed, and he responded in a serious voice: "Chengjue will definitely live up to my brother's trust and my own heart."
…
Three days later, the Songbai Village market was a wonder.
Every household had tacitly agreed not to go out to the market today, but the market was still bustling with people. Everyone's face was filled with joy, as if it were a festive occasion.
This scene surprised the passing merchants, not for any other reason, but because Zhao Biaotou of Zhao's Escort Agency and Miss Zhenjiao of Jin's family finally got married and lived happily ever after.
The couple in Songbai Village finally got married, but it was something they had been looking forward to for a long time.
Above the bustling crowds, embroidered red silk, adorned with hydrangea knots, stretched from one end of the market to the other. At first glance, it looked like a red thread tying lovers together, tightly connecting them.
Under the reflection of this red wave, everyone's face has a moist red glow, not to mention the groom who is riding on a painted horse, looking heroic and high-spirited.
Zhao Huaian was dressed neatly in his wedding gown, and his strong and deep facial features, at this moment, because of the joy of his wedding, were gentle like a spring breeze, and his whole face was filled with joy from the heart.
Behind him, a wedding procession stretched as far as the eye could see. Inside, there was a chorus of joy and the crackling of red whips. But this clamor did not in the least drown out the sincere congratulations emanating from both sides of the long street.
The children happily accepted the wedding candies thrown by the wedding procession, saying that their love was stronger than gold and sweeter than honey. The adults, on the other hand, recalled all the things the couple had done for the village and praised them for being a match made in heaven.
The approaching sounds of joy mean that the wedding sedan will soon arrive at the house.
Song Tiaotiao and Jiang Yunying looked at each other with a smile, and started the final process tacitly.
Jiang Yunying held the rouge specially made by Song Tiaotiao and used it to repair the lip rouge that was rubbed off by Jin Zhenjiao when she ate some pastries.
Song Tiaotiao soothed Jin Zhenjiao's slightly anxious mood, pinned her hair with the hairpin she had made for her, lowered her eyes and smiled softly, "Sister Zhenjiao, now, at the banquet outside, all your favorite dishes are ready, just waiting for you to taste them..."
Hearing this, Jin Zhenjiao clasped her hands tightly, tears glistening in her raised eyes. "Tiaotiao... After tomorrow, it will surely be a long time before I see you again. The journey back to the capital will be full of dangers, so you must be extremely careful. After today, I will pray for you every day under the sacred tree, asking it to bless you with everything going well and be safe and successful."
Saying goodbye to someone you find it hard to let go of will inevitably make you sad.
In her original plan, she wanted to keep Jin Zhenjiao company.
But Song Tiaotiao didn't want the sadness of separation to become the background of Jin Zhenjiao's happy day. This was the day she had been looking forward to for a long time, and it should be as beautiful and brilliant as she imagined.
Thinking of this, Song Tiaotiao suppressed the sadness in her eyes and smiled softly, "With the blessings that Sister Zhenjiao has brought us, we will definitely do as Sister Zhenjiao wishes." Having said this, she gently stroked Jin Zhenjiao's shoulder, looked her in the eye, and said, "Sister Zhenjiao, you must take care of yourselves too. You and Brother Huaian have now overcome numerous obstacles and finally got what you wished for. You must be safe and happy. When I come back, we will watch the red maple leaves in Songbai Village turn red together and welcome the harvest of wheat together..."
On the way back to Beijing, there was no longer the wind and snow as on the way here, nor was there any hunger.
But there are still dangers everywhere, making people restless day and night.
The assassins who were sent in one after another were like weeds that survived the wind. Not only could they not be eradicated, but each batch became more and more powerful.
Because of the layers of surveillance from various forces, assassins are often silently eliminated the moment they want to launch an attack, and have no way to penetrate deeper.
But as the group got closer to the capital, the frequency of the assassins' attacks and the precision of their martial arts gradually increased.
There are always a few who slip through the net and break through the encirclement. Because their mission is to save lives, even if they know they are overestimating their own abilities and are being sent by their masters to be consumed, they will still face death with indifference and fight to the death.
As a result, Song Tiaotiao, who was often looked down upon as a breakthrough point in the inner circle, also had the blood of many people on his hands.
The first time was frightening, the second time was calming, the third time...
Song Tiaotiao stared at the blood-stained sleeve, frowned, and muttered, "Why do they always think I'm so weak and can be bullied? They always get my clothes dirty..."
Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes and smiled, holding a soap bar to wipe her stains. "I think, perhaps it's because of our relationship, they only know one side of the story, not the other..." At this point, he smiled slightly and looked up, seeing that Song Tiaotiao was indeed puzzled. He chuckled softly, "They only know that I like you, but never knew that Tiaotiao was brave and good at fighting."
Song Tiaotiao's face flushed red as she gently patted the back of Gu Chengjue's palm, but he grabbed it with his backhand. "Tiaotiao, we are about to leave the Northern Frontier now. The journey ahead will be even more difficult."
Song Tiaotiao let him lead her, lowered her eyes and shook her head: "Some roads, no matter how hard it is, must be taken. Along the way, we have witnessed countless people's unrest. Every three days, we see someone selling themselves to bury their father, and every five days, we see a bloody mess. In such a chaotic world, it always takes people to resolve it."
"General Gu, someone is taking action at the border of Yingzhou." The low voice of the secret guard passed by his ears in an instant.
Upon hearing this, the two looked at each other, then each picked up their swords and proceeded cautiously in the direction indicated by the secret guard.
Hundreds of meters away, in the pitch-black night, there was no other lighting except a few stars.
But the buzzing sound of swords clashing and the shrill screams of those being killed were heard by the crowd over a hundred meters away, making people feel the fierceness of the fight.
"General Gu, this group of deadpools was supposed to be heading this way. But someone intercepted them. The leader, though still young, was ruthless and decisive in his attacks, killing with one blow."
Gu Chengjue's eyes turned slightly, and he raised his hand to the people behind him who were listening to his orders, and ordered: "Follow me and distinguish between friend and foe."
When the last ray of blood dimmed the moonlight, this chaos finally came to an end.
In the woods, two figures, each holding a blood-drinking sword in their hands, walked slowly with the moonlight on their backs and their eyes looking forward.
"General Gu, long time no see."
Gu Chengjue glanced at Qin Xing, who was speaking calmly, and said with a frown, "I would like to thank Lord Qin for his help in recent days."
Qin Xing's cat-like eyes remained fixed on a certain spot in front of him, not moving at all. Only a nonchalant smile rose at the corners of his lips. "General Gu, don't worry about this. This is what I should do, both publicly and privately."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue's eyes darkened slightly, and he looked in the direction he was looking. But when he saw Song Tiaotiao leading the ambush troops, cautiously groping in his direction, he raised the corners of his lips and smiled softly.
In the sparse woods, the sound of horse hooves came from far away and was clear from outside in the quiet and silent night.
Song Tiaotiao stared in the direction of the person coming.
Under the moonlight, Gu Chengjue remained as calm as ever, his expression composed and his eyes smiling. Except for the cold reflection of the moonlight from the long sword in his hand, he looked exactly the same as when he had left.
Seeing this, Song Tiaotiao breathed a sigh of relief, but was still nervous. He turned to look at the figure following closely behind him.
Wherever the eyes could see, the clear iron armor emitted a bright glow, which was now stained with blood, reflecting the smiling face of the person who came, like a red maple leaf in the snow, beautiful and mysterious.
The moment Song Tiaotiao saw the pair of smiling cat eyes, her gaze tightened and she couldn't help but call out, "Brother Yao...?"
When Song Tiaotiao recognized that the person who came to help was Qin Xing, whom she had met again after a long time, she was extremely happy.
But perhaps he had never seen Qin Xing like this before, so there was a hint of hesitation in his voice.
Qin Xing heard this and lowered her bright eyes slightly, but when she raised them again, they were still sparkling: "Tiao Tiao, long time no see."
When Song Tiaotiao came back to her senses from her confusion, the bright and handsome young man was already within reach.
She looked at the two people in front of her with a bit of bewilderment, and nodded: "Yes, it's been a long time since we last met." At this point, her eyes swept over the armor worn by Qin Xing, and she said softly, "We are in Yingzhou now. Brother Yao lives here... Have you ever gone home to visit?"
Hearing this, Qin Xing's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he smiled wistfully. "I've returned, taking them home with me..." At this point, he tapped the ground with his sword. His face was clearly smiling, but bitterness was evident. "Now, the Crown Prince's treason case, which had been fraught with doubts, has finally come to light, thanks to Your Majesty's self-disclosure. The Crown Prince's reputation has been restored, and the Marquis's mansion has been cleared of wrongful charges. Everything seems to have returned to square one, but... who knows?"
Seeing him like this, Song Tiaotiao recalled everything that had happened before, her eyes dim, "My uncle and aunt both like Yingzhou very much. Now, they can be said to have fulfilled a wish..."
Song Tiaotiao was hesitating whether to express her unspoken comfort, when she heard a clear voice like a stream slowly flowing through her ears, which had a calming effect and coincided with her own feelings.
"And their biggest concern should be that you can spend every day from now on safely."
When the unexpected comfort came out of Gu Chengjue's mouth, Qin Xing was stunned for a moment. But he knew in his heart that what Gu Chengjue was thinking and feeling at this moment was not a false comfort that came out of thin air, but a real and sincere sorrow that came from the same painful experience as him.
Qin Xing's eyes flickered with a rare feeling of mutual appreciation, and he murmured, "Yes, so I'm trying to be happy." After a moment, he shifted his gaze to the two people in front of him and chuckled softly, "I'll wait here every day, surrounding and killing assassins, and awaiting your return."
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao's heart was filled with emotion. Just as she was about to express her gratitude, she saw Qin Xing, as if he understood her intention, waved at her and smiled, "Tiaotiao, I promised you that I would protect you." At this point, he turned his eyes to Gu Chengjue, "Of course, anyone you like is naturally within my protection. Not to mention, you are the minister who saved the emperor?"
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