Chapter 22 Chapter 22 "Since you can't love me——"...
Su Yu frowned, her eyes looking as if she had heard something strange: "Lou Qi, when did you become interested in women?"
Lou Qi shook his head, but a rare seriousness flashed in his eyes: "I have never been interested in women."
He paused and said softly, "But tonight... I seemed to have seen the girl from the Jiang family that Ji Yang married."
Su Yu frowned upon hearing this and quickly chased after her: "Jiang's daughter? Are you talking about the daughter of Jiang Huaice, the governor of Liangzhou? Don't mess around, she's someone else's wife."
Lou Qi chuckled lightly, his voice lazy and a bit contemptuous: "So what if she's a married woman?"
He looked into the distance, the moonlight illuminating his handsome and flamboyant face, and a frivolous smile curved up the corners of his lips:
"When I conquer Liangzhou and pacify Tingzhou, won't they offer me a beautiful woman?"
He smiled slightly, his eyes suddenly losing their previous gentleness, and his tone was as calm as if he was talking about an ordinary little thing:
"Since ancient times, heroes have been paired with beauties. Do you think I'm lusting after her face? No, beauty is a symbol of power. Only the most powerful man in the world can possess the most stunning beauty."
"Also, you are disrespectful. You are the one who called me by my name." After saying that, he knocked on Su Yu's head.
Su Yu touched the place where Lou Qi had hit her, rolled her eyes, and the two of them disappeared into the night together.
Jiang Ci bent down and threw the last bloody strip of cloth into the brazier. The flames crackled and the air was filled with the smell of burnt blood.
She took out the blood-stained map, paused in front of the flame, her eyes darkened, and with a flick of her wrist, she threw it into the fire.
The silk paper curled up when it came into contact with the fire and was quickly burned to ashes.
Seeing this, the old doctor couldn't help but say, "Madam, why did you burn this picture?"
Jiang Ci stood in front of the brazier, her plain clothes stained with soot. Her eyes were calm, but her tone revealed clear rationality:
"Let's not even talk about whether he's from Liangzhou or not. The two of us are powerless to stop someone holding a knife to your neck. If we resist, our lives will be in danger."
She paused, looked at the burnt ashes in the brazier, and continued:
"But if this map is left in the clinic, even if the matter is exposed in the future and the authorities investigate, they will find that the map was found in your room. You will be guilty of concealing military secrets and will be punished."
Jiang Ci turned around and looked at him with a determined look.
"Now that it's burned, there's no trace left. What happened today never happened."
After hearing this, the old doctor felt cold sweat on his back, but he also understood that what she said made sense. He was silent for a moment and nodded heavily.
"Thank you, Madam, for your consideration."
Jiang Ci suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit down slowly with the help of the table.
She stared at the swirling embers in the brazier before her, a sense of fatigue rising in her heart. The map was originally drawn by her own hands; it didn't matter if it was destroyed; she could just draw another one another day.
In the northern border of Qingzhou, the camps were solemn.
For several days, the Hanbei Army had repeatedly dispatched cavalry to prowl the border, hiding during the day and emerging at night to explore the terrain or intercept scouts. Initially, the Dongyang Army ignored them, sending only light cavalry to patrol the route. On the fifth day, a detachment of 300 men attacked Yuntai Pass at night.
The scouts returned at full speed, bringing back an urgent order. Ji Yang stood in the military tent, tapping the table with his knuckles, and said in a cold voice:
"The attack on the camp in the middle of the night is just to test our strength."
He ordered his troops to form ambushes on the southeastern flanks, avoiding direct engagement and employing guerrilla warfare with hooked spurs. The ambushers swept through the forest like the wind, crushing and dislocating 300 Hanbei cavalrymen overnight. Dozens were beheaded, and the remainder fled to the Hanbei border, never daring to advance again.
Although the battle was small, Ji Yang did not order a pursuit. He stood on the high platform in front of the camp with his hands behind his back, looking solemnly towards the border, muttering:
"Hanbei...Louqi."
Lu Linchuan stood aside, his eyes thoughtful: "My lord, you suspect that he deliberately sent someone to test us?"
Ji Yang sneered, "Three hundred rangers, never fighting, only exploring the terrain, bypassing waterways, not entering villages, and not killing scouts. How could they act like this if they didn't have orders? This army isn't trying to attack me, it's trying to memorize my terrain."
Lu Linchuan nodded: "It seems that the King of Yan is still not giving up."
"He doesn't want to fight, he just wants to cause chaos."
Ji Yang turned and entered the camp, waving his sleeves and giving the order: "Pass on my military order. Add three more secret outposts on the border to prevent him from reconnaissance. Also, transfer 20% of the troops on the eastern front of Qingzhou to Beilingkou. If he dares to try again, he will be unable to come back or return."
He slapped his palm on the sand table, his eyes cold and stern:
"We will return to Fengdu soon. Just leave Cao Siming here to take charge."
The next morning, the sun was rising and the sky was just beginning to brighten, but the Dongyang Marquis Mansion was still shrouded in silence.
Ji Xu lay on the couch and coughed a few times. Just as he was about to get up, Bai Yang's voice came from outside: "Master, Ji Qiu has been found and brought back. He is in the backyard."
Ji Xu cheered up, immediately put on his clothes and stood up, without even tying his hair. He just called out "Take me there" and walked out quickly.
In the small backyard pavilion, Ji Qiu was tied up and kneeling on the ground. Her face was pale and her temples were covered in dust. She looked terrified and her lips trembled slightly, clearly a frightened bird.
Not long after, Shen Ru'an came over after hearing the news. With a bit of worry and intimacy, he quickly stepped inside, calling out, "Ji Qiu, why are you like this? Who dares to do this to you?"
Ji Xu glanced at her with a serious look and said calmly, "Why are you here?"
Shen Ru'an smiled and said, "I heard that Ji Qiu was found, and I was worried about her. After all, she is also my good friend. She came to Fengdu with me, and I was worried that something happened to her."
Ji Xu did not answer, but only ordered: "Bring here the guard who was guarding the gate of the Military Governor's Office that day."
Not long after, the guard who received the food box that day was also brought into the backyard. He recognized Ji Qiu at a glance and said in a deep voice, "It's her. She was wearing the clothes of a maid in the mansion that day and even showed the token of the Dongyang Marquis Mansion, saying that she was ordered to deliver breakfast to the Second Madam."
Shen Ru'an's face suddenly changed when he heard this, but he forced himself to calm down and said with a smile: "Did you admit it wrongly? How could Ji Qiu use the token of the palace without permission? How could she, a girl from the boudoir, run to the military governor's office?"
Ji Qiu suddenly raised his head and shouted in a hoarse but trembling voice: "I didn't harm Jiang Ci! I... I was just following Shen Ru'an's orders! It was her, she asked me to deliver that bowl of porridge, she was the one who said that as long as Jiang Ci died, no one would be able to overturn the case!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly became tense.
Shen Ru'an's face turned pale, his pupils shrank slightly, and he opened his mouth to argue, but was speechless for a moment.
Ji Xu's eyes were like swords, staring at her without blinking, his tone so cold it was almost freezing: "Overturn the verdict? Overturn what verdict? What do you have to say?"
Ji Qiu looked at Shen Ru'an and said, "It was Shen Ru'an who wanted to frame Jiang Ci for collaborating with the enemy and made me steal the map..."
Shen Ru'an interrupted hurriedly: "Cousin, Ji Qiu is crazy. She ran away for a few days. I'm afraid she was coerced by someone. Now she comes back and talks nonsense..."
"She framed me, clearly trying to drag me down. I have no grudge against my second cousin's wife, so how could she frame her? Speaking of motives, Ji Qiu, you're the one who wants to marry my second cousin, aren't you? Don't make random accusations. Considering we've known each other for so long, I won't bother with you."
Ji Qiu kowtowed profusely, "I'm not talking nonsense! She said that if we don't kill Jiang Ci, we'll both be finished when the governor returns! She even...she personally gave me the poison!"
There was an oppressive gloom in the air.
Ji Xu's eyes were as deep as the abyss. After a moment, he ordered in a cold voice:
"Search every room where Shen Ru'an and Ji Qiu lived, leaving no corner untouched. Especially secret compartments, floorboards, and under dresser drawers."
"Yes!" Bai Yang took the order and led his men away quickly.
Not long after, a noise came from the side courtyard where Ji Qiu used to live.
"Found it!" A servant came running in breathlessly to report, "Master, we found this map and several stacks of calligraphy practice paper in the secret compartment under the bed in Jiqiu's room."
Ji Xu was shocked when he heard this and walked over quickly.
Spread out before him was a yellowed, coarse silk map, and beside it lay several neatly arranged pages of paper, all written in a handwriting imitating Jiang Ci's. Upon closer inspection, the writing seemed somewhat crude.
Ji Xu leaned forward slowly, his fingertips brushing over the map. This was the map Jiang Ci had drawn himself, a guide for dealing with the floods in Tingzhou. His eyes darkened.
But when he saw the words on the paper, he felt his heart chilled. He was a little bit unbelievable and looked up at Shen Ru'an.
After a moment, he slowly spoke: "No word of this matter shall be spread again. Everyone in the palace must keep silent. Ji Qiu will be imprisoned in the private prison first and guarded well. When the governor returns, the matter will be decided."
"Yes." Bai Yang responded.
Ji Xu turned around and said in a cold voice: "Take my cousin back to rest."
Shen Ru'an stood there, his fingertips trembling slightly, the smile on his face almost gone, he could only nod and whispered: "Brother Zixu, I really didn't. I must have overstepped my bounds and disturbed you."
The moment she turned around, a fierce look flashed in her eyes.
Before being dragged away, Ji Qiu uttered a trembling voice, "Everything I said is true... Young Master, you must believe me..."
Ji Xu returned to the house and sat down for a while, but his mind was in a mess and it was difficult to find peace.
He recalled the time when he was young, when Shen Ru'an was first taken into the Dongyang Marquis's Mansion. At that year, she was just a little girl with two buns, smiling eyes and an innocent face. She followed him and Ji Yang all day long, calling him "cousin Zixu" sweetly and softly.
Back then, the three of them studied and wrote together, listened to their teacher's lectures, buried themselves in copying scriptures in their study, and secretly picked green apricots in the orchard. Although their lives were hard, they were also clear and worry-free. He believed that their friendship would last a lifetime.
Thinking of this, Ji Xu suddenly felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows and clenched the teacup in his hand.
He dared not believe it, did not want to believe it—
The girl who was once as pure as paper is now the culprit who framed Jiang Ci and blamed him for collaborating with the enemy.
He had taught her handwriting, stroke by stroke. He was all too familiar with how she started and ended her strokes, the habits and rhythms between the strokes and pauses.
At this moment, he felt a breath stuck in his chest, difficult to swallow.
The night is deep and the dew is heavy, all is quiet.
Shen Ru'an, wearing a thin silk cloak, quietly walked through the backyard of Dongyang Marquis's Mansion. His footsteps were silent, and no lights were lit. He walked only by the moonlight.
The private prison was built in a remote corner. There were few people in the mansion, and there were few servants passing by here on weekdays. At this moment, it was even more silent.
She walked in with ease. A small oil lamp lit the cell, its flickering light casting a mottled shadow on the damp walls. Ji Qiu was locked in the innermost cell. When she heard the door open, she immediately turned to look.
"Chen Ru'an?" Her voice was filled with surprise and joy, her eyes full of hope. "Please let me out. I... I don't want to stay here. I want to go home..."
Shen Ru'an approached slowly. Under the light, she smiled gently, but her tone was so cold that it made people tremble: "Go home?"
She lowered her head and shook the handkerchief in her hand, as if she was casually dusting off the dust, but with a suffocating calmness.
"Ji Qiu, you really don't learn from your mistakes. You're a concubine, your mother is just an unfavored concubine, and you have a dying brother. What qualifications do you think you have to bargain with me?"
Ji Qiu's face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly: "You...why are you saying this?"
"I say this," Shen Ru'an put the handkerchief back into his sleeve, slowly squatted down, and looked at her levelly, "I want to remind you that your brother was the one I paid for the doctor. I sent him medicine, people, and money. He can live until now, all thanks to my words."
"If you admit this matter obediently and insist that it was your own decision to swear that Jiang Ci was collaborating with the enemy, and it was me who taught you calligraphy, I will ensure that your mother lives a peaceful life and your brother... continues to live. Otherwise—" The corners of her lips curved up, but the smile did not reach her eyes.
"Second cousin...you don't understand him. If he decides you're the root of trouble, not only you, but even your eldest brother's grave will be uprooted."
Ji Qiu stared blankly at the good sister in front of her who had played and slept with her for many years, her eyes shattering bit by bit: "You...you are so vicious."
Shen Ru'an chuckled, stood up and straightened his clothes: "Vicious? I'm just thinking about you."
She turned to leave, but paused, as if she suddenly remembered something: "You can say I'm jealous of Jiang Ci or that I'm trying to hurt her."
"After all, it's a family matter. Between cousins, it's okay to plead for mercy and cry. What's more, my second cousin already hated the Jiang family. Her death will be a burden for him. But you are an outsider, so if you take the initiative to plead for mercy, there is still a chance for you to survive."
The lights in the cell were still flickering. Ji Qiu sat with his knees hugged, his body trembling slightly like a sieve.
Ji Qiu suddenly looked up, smiled at Shen Ru'an and said, "Shen Ru'an, I can admit my crime, but don't forget what you promised me."
"It's just that Jiang Ci is not someone who can be fooled. She is not dead. She was rescued by Ji Xu himself, who took her from the prison to the clinic. That was the day you found a doctor for her."
Shen Ru'an suddenly stopped moving and looked at Ji Qiu in disbelief: "What did you say? She's not dead?"
"Yes, it was Ji Xu who stayed by her side and rescued her. He was very nervous as they were alone in the same room."
Shen Ru'an came out of the private prison courtyard. It was still dark, the branches and leaves of the osmanthus trees in the courtyard were quiet, the breeze passed through the hall, and the moonlight fell coldly on her, casting a lonely shadow like a thin frost on the ground.
She walked slowly, but there was no trace of fatigue between her brows. However, the look Ji Qiu had given her and the look Ji Xu had given Jiang Ci kept echoing in her mind.
That glance, hidden with worry, hidden with care, hidden with a tenderness she had never seen before. Like a ray of warm winter sunshine, it belonged exclusively to Jiang Ci, never to her.
Shen Ru'an slowly stopped and looked at the familiar path ahead, his fingertips clenching the corner of his handkerchief.
"Cousin Zixu..."
She murmured softly, her voice so soft as if she was afraid to disturb the oncoming wind.
"I've waited for you for so many years, and never uttered a single word of complaint. I knew you were in poor health, lonely and helpless, and that you didn't want to be forced. So I withdrew again and again, waited and waited, and even turned down several proposals from others."
"I thought that if I waited long enough, you would always look at me...even if it was just for a moment."
As she spoke, she suddenly smiled, but there was a little red in her eyes that almost broke.
"But you... you smile and speak softly for your sister-in-law..."
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging emotions in her chest. She continued walking forward, unknowingly arriving at the gate of the courtyard where Ji Xu and Ji Yunfan lived.
Shen Ru'an stood there and watched for a long, long time.
The corners of her lips suddenly curled up slowly, revealing a smile that could almost be called gentle.
"Since you can't love me—"
She murmured to herself, but her eyes grew colder and colder, like the frosted surface of leaves in the night wind, thin and sharp.
"Then you're of no use."
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