However, before she could finish speaking, Shen Qinghe had already mounted his horse. With a flick of the reins, the horse, in pain, shot off like an arrow.
He chose some less crowded streets and galloped all the way to the city gate. He suddenly tightened the reins, the horse neighed, and reared up. Before the horse had come to a complete stop, he jumped off and rushed to the soldiers guarding the city. "Excuse me, did a carriage leave the city just now? There were four women in the carriage, two of whom were quite tall."
"Yes, they've already left the city." Huang Cuiyin's stature was striking, and the soldiers guarding the city remembered her well, so they answered immediately.
A hint of surprise flashed in Shen Qinghe's eyes, and she quickly asked, "Do you remember which direction they went?"
The officers shook their heads: "So many people come and go from the city gates every day, who can remember them all?"
The light in Shen Qinghe's eyes vanished instantly. The city gates led in all directions, and they didn't know their destination, so how could they find it?
He straightened up, gazing in the direction of the city gate, and muttered to himself, "Do you really not want to see me?"
To avoid him, she deliberately chose a time when he wasn't home. To avoid him, she only sat for a short while before leaving in a hurry, not even caring about Qingze and Qingyu.
He stood there motionless for a long time until it gradually got dark, then he slowly turned around, dragging his heavy body, and led his horse toward home.
When Shen Qinghe returned home dejectedly, even Madam Gu was shocked. She had guessed that her son would be upset, but she did not expect such a strong reaction. "Qinghe, Zhaozhao really had things to do. She did not mean to leave you waiting. She said that she would come to see us again when she has free time."
Shen Qinghe forced a smile. "Mother, I'm fine. Don't worry."
After he finished speaking, he went straight into his room, closed the door, and leaned against the door panel, as if all his strength had been drained at that moment. His gaze unconsciously swept across the room, and he suddenly noticed something strange on the bed. He didn't care about the water stains and tea leaves, and abruptly threw off the pillow.
Sure enough, she took the things away, not even leaving him the last bit of hope.
In the past, he could have used the excuse that she might be worried about their relationship and therefore dared not take it any further, but now, how could he continue to deceive himself?
She doesn't like herself, not at all.
The moment he understood, Shen Qinghe instantly lost all his strength, knelt on one knee, leaned over the headboard, and his shoulders trembled slightly.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Qinghe slowly got up, preparing to clean up the mess in front of him. Looking at the water stains and tea leaves on the bed, he suddenly laughed out loud. She was still the same, so soft-hearted to everyone. If he were her, he would definitely smash that hairpin and put it on the bedside table so that he would remember this scene every day.
***
After leaving the capital, Meng Zhao and her party did not linger and headed straight for Quyang. The reason she was in such a hurry was not entirely to avoid Shen Qinghe, but also because she was worried about Wei Jinglan.
As soon as the carriage entered Quyang City, Meng Zhao lifted the curtain, thinking of finding a place to settle down first before inquiring about Wei Jinglan. However, before she could find an inn, she heard the voices of several people talking along the street.
"Have you heard? The eldest daughter of the Wei family returned home the other day!"
"What? Didn't she die two years ago? I heard she had an accident on her way to visit relatives. I even went to her funeral to join in the fun."
"Your news is too slow! Miss Wei didn't die at all. She was kidnapped to a bandit's den and was only rescued by the officials a few days ago."
"Stop talking. I don't even know when you got that news. It was clearly Miss Wei who ran away on her own and then led the officials to suppress the bandits. I heard that the bandits were remnants from the previous dynasty. The government had no way to deal with them before, but now they've finally been wiped out. Haven't you heard? When Miss Wei went home, a whole group of officials escorted her back. If she didn't have some merit, would she have received such a fuss?"
Hearing these discussions, Meng Zhao frowned even more deeply. Had this matter spread so widely already? If so, then Wei Jinglan's situation here was quite predictable.
As they approached the inn and were about to go inside, they saw two men walking out with their arms around each other's shoulders. They reeked of alcohol in broad daylight and were speaking in foul language.
"You think the eldest daughter of the Wei family, who is so beautiful, can still be clean after entering a bandit's den?" one of the men grinned, his tone lewd.
"Hehe, whether it's clean or not, why don't you try it and see?" Another man chuckled, his tone full of flippancy and malice.
Shen Yun blushed with anger upon hearing these words and immediately grabbed Meng Zhao's sleeve, "How could these people... say such things?"
Wei Niangzi is such a gentle person. She usually teaches the villagers to read and write. Everyone speaks highly of her. Why do these two good-for-nothings say such things?
Meng Zhao paused, her face instantly darkening. But she knew that arguing with these two in the street wouldn't help Wei Jinglan, and she hesitated.
Huang Cui, who had been following behind, quickly took two steps forward and subtly extended one leg, blocking the foot of one of the drunkards. The man, already unsteady on his feet, was completely unaware of the change in his footing. With a "thump," he and another man stumbled forward, even landing directly on Yin Chun's skirt.
Yin Chun reacted quickly, kicking him: "You filthy scoundrel, you've only had a little bit of horse piss on you, why are you pouncing on everyone you see? You've gotten my skirt all dirty."
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