Chapter 47 Chapter 47 I have only ever had one man, the governor...
Yin Shuang stared at the token in a daze, speechless for a long time.
Ji Yang stepped into the room, his eyes cold and with a calmness that was almost scrutinizing.
"How did this token appear in Jiang Ci's hands?"
He paused, his eyes fixed on her, and said in a low voice, "I'll ask again, are you here looking for this?"
Yin Shuang opened her mouth, but didn't know how to respond. Her fingertips twisted the corner of her sleeve tightly, and sweat broke out on her forehead.
Ji Yang looked at Yin Shuang with a stern expression, still playing with the ebony token in his hand, and said in a deep voice:
"I won't embarrass her in front of everyone."
He paused, his gaze fixed on Yin Shuang's face, and he spoke word by word, "Go call her back. I want to hear what she has to say."
Yin Shuang did not dare to hesitate and quickly stepped out.
At this time, in the epidemic area, Jiang Ci had just handed the last basket of pancakes to the people. After whispering a few words of advice, he went to check on several patients who had not yet recovered. Seeing that their conditions were stable, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The curtain was suddenly lifted, and Yinshuang ran in with a panicked look on her face.
Jiang Ci turned around and looked at her: "What's wrong?"
Yin Shuang approached her and lowered her voice, "Miss, that token... was found by the governor first."
Jiang Ci's heart sank, and his expression changed slightly: "Where are the others?"
Yin Shuang whispered back, "I'm waiting for you inside. I want to hear your explanation."
Jiang Ci was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, and finally nodded.
The atmosphere in the house was solemn. The wind chimes under the porch at the door made a soft sound, and cicadas chirped outside the window.
When Jiang Ci entered the room, Ji Yang was standing at the table, his back to her, his figure as cold and hard as a mountain. He heard the noise and turned around, his expression as calm as ever, but with a hint of suppressed displeasure.
The two of them sat at the table separately, and neither of them spoke first.
After a while, Ji Yang finally spoke first. His voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it was oppressive: "This token is a pass to Hanbei. How did it appear in your room?"
Jiang Ci looked at him quietly, his expression calm, and asked, "Commander-in-Chief, are you willing to listen to me patiently now?"
Ji Yang didn't respond, just stared at her and agreed.
Jiang Ci took a breath, his tone calm but sharp:
"That man called himself Yan Du. Initially, he was on par with the Su Yu siblings. His identity was unknown, but he showed me a lot of attention. I always felt he was trying to get close to me. After the people were poisoned, I became suspicious and set up a trap to test him. He broke into my room at night, and I took advantage of his unpreparedness and pulled this token from his arms."
Ji Yang listened, his eyes moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Jiang Ci paused, then continued, "I wanted to find out his background before telling you in detail, but then we went to Liangzhou—"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ji Yang suddenly spoke, interrupting her in a low voice.
Jiang Ci's lips twitched slightly, his smile faint, yet concealing a hint of sarcasm: "The governor has never trusted me. If I had spoken up in advance, I'm afraid today's interrogation would have come even sooner."
"In your heart," Ji Yang stared at her, "am I such an unreasonable person who can't distinguish right from wrong?"
Jiang Ci looked up at him, his expression unyielding. "When we were in Fengdu, you threw a letter in front of me. Without even investigating, you believed I was collaborating with the enemy and sentenced me to death. I didn't even have the chance to defend myself. You ask me why I didn't speak up, but how should I answer?"
Her tone was not anxious, but she was unyielding in every word, carrying with her the grievance and stubbornness that she had endured for a long time.
"I originally wanted to wait until I found out the man's identity before telling you. I didn't want you to misunderstand... but in the end, you still misunderstood."
Ji Yang was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice: "How do you know that I won't listen to your explanation this time?"
"The incident hasn't even happened yet, and you've already made a judgment about me. You keep saying that I don't want to give you a chance to explain yourself, but have you ever given me a chance to listen to your explanation?"
He stared at her, speaking a little slower, his eyes brimming with uncontrollable anger. "If I were truly such a heartless and unreasonable person, I should have dealt with you right there in front of the tent last night, starting with ten blows with a military stick."
Jiang Ci lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment. Suddenly he raised his eyes with a calm expression: "It seems that the governor did intend to capture me yesterday."
Ji Yang's breathing paused slightly, as if his chest felt tight because of her words, but he didn't refute her in the end. He only whispered: "That's not what I meant... I can't argue with you."
He paused, as if suppressing all his emotions, before speaking in a deep voice: "But in the future, if you encounter something like this again, can you tell me first?"
"Don't leave me completely unaware, without even having time to prepare. What will my subordinates think if they see that letter? You are my wife, Ji Yang, who was married to me through a formal matchmaker, yet Lou Qi got involved in this. How can I not be furious?"
Jiang Ci looked at him, the coldness in his eyes gradually faded, his expression relaxed, and a hint of seriousness appeared between his brows.
She looked directly at Ji Yang, her tone firm and calm:
"Since I'm married to you, no matter if I'm from Liangzhou, Youzhou, or Beiting, I will never betray you."
"What's more, my life and the lives of the people of Liangzhou are still in your hands."
She paused slightly, her voice softening gradually, yet retaining its measured tone and weight.
"I promise you, from now on, no matter what happens, I will tell you first."
Ji Yang was silent for a moment and nodded.
He stood up, walked to the table, and put away the ebony token: "I'll take this token."
Before he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the door.
Just as I reached the door, Jiang Ci's low and clear voice suddenly came from behind me:
"I have only ever had one man, the Dudu."
Her tone was very light, but every word was clear, "And please, Governor, stop speculating about me and others."
Ji Yang paused, his back slightly moving, but he didn't turn around in the end. He just replied calmly:
"I see."
-
At the north city gate, the sky grew darker.
A whole day passed, and Su Yu on the city wall never made a sound, she was hanging in the wind.
Dark clouds gathered, thick and heavy, as if they were about to fall. The air was filled with the unique smell of earth before rain, and even the guards shivered unconsciously.
Su Yu slowly opened her eyes, the blood from her eyelashes long dried up stuck to her eyelids, and her back was pressed against the cold wall.
She twitched the corners of her cracked mouth, swallowed a mouthful of blood, and looked up at the darkening sky, as if she had finally waited for something. A smile slowly formed on her lips.
"The time... is coming." As she said this, she gritted her teeth, grabbed the base of her left thumb with her right hand, endured the severe pain and twisted it suddenly - there was a slight click, and the bone broke.
The pain made her sweat all over, but her eyes did not move at all.
Her finger bones were dislocated, and she slightly contracted her left hand, struggling to free herself from the slippery hemp rope that had been wet before the rain. Her flesh was almost skinned, but she didn't even frown.
After a moment, she finally freed her left hand and quickly untied the rope on her right wrist. She curled up silently and, taking advantage of the night, quietly clung to the wall in the wind.
She rolled over and climbed onto the platform, her movements smooth and swift, unlike someone who had been hanging all day. In the corner, a patrolling guard dozed against a stone pillar. Before he could react, she crushed his throat.
The guard fell down silently.
Su Yu leaned over, took off his outer robe and put it on, then pulled out the water bottle from his waist, tilted his head back and took a few big gulps, and his eyes regained some of their coldness.
The wind blew up the hem of her armor, and in the distance, the lights of Ningling City flickered.
She looked at the city and spoke softly, as if talking to herself:
"Lou Qi, don't even think about abandoning me."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and her figure quickly disappeared into the night.
It was late at night.
The sky above Ningling seemed to be covered with a curtain, without a single star, and it was dark and depressing.
The wind blew through the night, neither howling nor violent, but with a dampness that chilled the bones. It brushed past the tents layer by layer, causing the lights to flicker.
The army was so quiet at this moment that it was almost unnatural. Patrolling soldiers gathered in groups of three or four to chat, and the whistles sounded intermittently. A dog in the distance suddenly whimpered softly a few times, and then fell silent again as if suppressed by something.
In the watchtower on the east city wall, the brazier was burning very small, and the soldiers on guard were yawning.
At this moment, a stone slab that had been loosened by water at the bottom of the embankment in the western suburbs of Ningling collapsed an inch silently.
There was no loud noise, no break, just a little mud slowly seeping out from the cracks in the rocks.
A hare ran past the embankment, sniffed the moisture, and suddenly ran back, leaving a trail of tiny paw prints.
Yin Shuang was dozing off in the room, her hand resting on the copper stove. Jiang Ci was leaning on the couch, having just closed his eyes. Wan Niang was cleaning up the leftovers from the meal on the table.
It was the wind, carrying the smell of rotting soil and damp grass.
Jiang Ci opened his eyes and looked out the window.
The night was dark and she couldn't see anything clearly, but her heart sank inexplicably.
Inside the tent, the lights were dim, with a few unburned incense candles casting a faint glow.
Ji Yang stood in front of the desk, his fingers slowly moving across the map of the embankment outside Ningling. His expression was focused, as if he was considering some detail.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard from outside the camp.
"Governor." Du Mengqiu lifted the curtain and walked in, his body still wet with rain, water droplets dripping from the ends of his hair, and a thin layer of mud on his cloak.
He bowed and spoke in a low voice, "I have just returned from my inspection of the southwest section of the dike. It has begun to rain outside the city. It's not heavy, but... the rain is unsteady."
Ji Yang raised his eyes, frowning slightly: "Speak to the point."
Du Mengqiu nodded. "At the bottom of the West Dam, there's a section of soil that's starting to loosen. It makes a sound when you step on it, and it's not as solid as it looks on the surface."
He paused and added, "It may not be a big deal, but it shouldn't be like this."
There was silence in the tent for a moment.
Ji Yang's fingertips stopped at the section on the drawing, which was the area that Lou Qi and his men had built a few months ago.
His expression remained unchanged as he whispered, "Send the engineers over to check it out. Have them bring rulers and probing stakes. Don't be careless."
"Yes," Du Mengqiu agreed, but hesitated for a moment before asking, "Governor...do we need to ask the county magistrate to come over and take a look? He seems to remember that part most clearly when they were repairing the dam that day."
Ji Yang's eyes moved, and he said in a light tone: "No need."
"Today he is supervising the construction in the south of the city, helping the people repair their houses."
Upon hearing this, Du Mengqiu said no more and bowed and left.
Ji Yang stood quietly, tapping the embankment map on the table with his knuckles. His eyes fell on a mark on the southwest dam section, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He suddenly remembered that Lou Qi had personally participated in the repair of that section of the dike.
He didn't think much about it then, but now when he thinks about it carefully, he feels an indescribable uneasiness that quietly spreads as the night rain is about to come.
He ordered in a deep voice: "Lu Linchuan, go back to the county governor's mansion first."
"I'll take someone there myself."
After saying that, he put on his outer robe, took his sword, walked out of the tent, and quickly followed in the direction of Du Mengqiu.
When Lu Linchuan returned to the county magistrate's mansion, the rain was getting heavier.
Raindrops as big as beans hit the eaves and tiles, and thunder rolled and exploded in the sky, one after another, as if a ferocious beast was turning over and roaring deep in the clouds.
The candlelight in the room flickered, and the curtains rustled in the wind. Jiang Ci stood up and closed the windows one by one, his fingers unconsciously tightening his sleeves.
Her gaze naturally fell on a place outside the yard, which was the side house where Ji Yang was temporarily living.
It was pitch black, not even a lamp was on.
Logically speaking, there was nothing happening on the dike right now, so he should have returned home from the former camp. Even if he was just taking a short rest, the house wouldn't be so dark.
Jiang Ci frowned slightly, turned around and ordered, "Yin Shuang, go and see if Lu Sima is back."
Yinshuang nodded, lifted her skirt and left the house.
For a moment, the only sound in the house was the sound of wind and rain knocking on the window. Jiang Ci walked back to the table, picked up the medical book on the table, but could not read a single word.
She lowered her head, flipped through two pages, then put it down, tapping her fingers lightly on the corner of the book.
The sound of rain was so heavy that it seemed to be crushing the roof tiles. In the distance, a dog from somewhere was whimpering, and the sound was very annoying.
Not long after, Yinshuang hurried back, her skirt was wet with rain, her hair was damp, and her face looked anxious.
"Miss, something terrible has happened!"
Jiang Ci stood up suddenly: "What's wrong?"
Yin Shuang panted and said, "I just went to Sima Lu's courtyard. He had just returned and hadn't even taken off his raincoat when the Dongyang Army came to report that something had happened at the dike!"
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