Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Unexpected events happen, the author secretly...
At night, Jiang Ci returned to his room, but couldn't fall asleep.
She rolled around on the bed, sometimes burying her face in the pillow, too embarrassed to speak; sometimes she covered her eyes with a silly smile, and whispered to herself.
It was late at night, the moon was cold, and the wind blew into the tent, and she fell asleep unknowingly.
The next morning.
Jiang Ci woke up early and personally fixed Yin Shuang's clothes and hairband, admonishing her, "Remember, don't be late. Today is your first day in the military camp, so you must show your abilities."
Yin Shuang nodded solemnly, her eyes full of determination: "Don't worry, young lady."
After watching her leave, Jiang Ci turned back to his room. Looking at himself in the bronze mirror, he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes and eyebrows.
She pursed her lips and smiled softly, her fingers lightly touching the jade hairpin Ji Yang gave her, as if the kiss was still lingering on the corner of her lips, and her heart shook softly.
At the same time, in Ji Yang's house.
He stood in front of the clothes rack and called out, "Yue Bai, change your clothes."
The door was half-open, but no one answered from behind.
He frowned slightly and was about to turn around to check when he suddenly felt a pair of hands quietly reaching up to his neck.
Ji Yang's expression turned cold instantly. He moved his feet, dodged suddenly, and turned around to draw his sword.
"who?"
The room was filled with fragrance, and the person who came in had a shy look on her face. It was Chu Yao.
Her eyes were red and wet, her clothes were half undone, and she said pitifully, "Slave...slave has admired the governor for a long time, and all she wants is to change his clothes, sleep with him... and be with him..."
Before she could finish her words, the cold sword was already on her neck.
Ji Yang's face was cold and there was no mercy in his eyes: "Do you know what crime it is to try to seduce the master?"
Chu Yao bit her lip and said nothing, tears in her eyes, still looking unable to control her emotions.
"Since you are my wife's maid, I will spare your life today, but don't let me see you again. You'd better stay away from me."
Ji Yang's tone was cold, and every word was stern. "Get out."
Chu Yao retreated angrily.
When she reached the door, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure walking slowly towards her among the flowers and trees in the courtyard. It was Jiang Ci.
She paused, a calculation flashing in her eyes.
The next moment, she raised her hand to tear her hair and rip her collar, and scratched her collarbone twice with her fingernails, causing it to turn slightly red. When she raised her eyes again, she was already tearful, looking weak and helpless.
She suddenly pushed open Ji Yang's door, staggered out, and bumped into Jiang Ci at the corner of the corridor.
"Chu Yao? What happened?" Jiang Ci frowned, his eyes fell on her embarrassed appearance, and he couldn't help but frown.
She glanced to the side and saw that the door of Ji Yang's house not far away was half-open and not yet closed, and the scene inside the house was blurry.
Chu Yao raised her tear-stained face, biting her lip, looking humiliated yet forcing herself forward, and sobbed as she shook her head, "Madam...it's okay...I just...just..."
Before she could finish her words, she turned and ran away like a frightened bird, her steps unsteady.
Jiang Ci stood where he was, his eyes subconsciously directed towards the half-open door.
Ji Yang just walked out of the house at this time, frowning as he lowered his head to tie his belt.
As soon as he looked up, he met Jiang Ci's eyes.
"Jiang Ci?" His tone was unconsciously filled with joy as he smiled at her. Before he could say anything, he saw her expression suddenly change, the corners of her lips turned cold, her eyes were heavy, and she suddenly turned and left.
"Jiang Ci--" He just called out, but she didn't even turn her head, and walked away with a brisk pace and a coldness she had never had before.
Ji Yang was completely confused and bewildered. He wanted to chase after him but it was inconvenient, so he had to suppress his thoughts temporarily, put on his outer robe, and went to the governor's office.
In the Military Governor's Office.
Lu Linchuan entered the general's tent, carrying a military report. His expression was solemn. "My Lord, urgent news has arrived from the Qingzhou border. The Hanbei tribe has raided our stronghold, severely wounding our sentries. The Qingzhou garrison is now dislocated. I'm afraid they'll be able to reach the border of the three counties in less than three days."
Ji Yang's eyes glared, and he said in a deep voice, "Immediately tell Qingzhou's commander, Du Zihan, to defend the pass. I will set off at noon tomorrow to see what Lou Qi is planning."
Lu Linchuan responded: "Yes."
The atmosphere in the commander's tent was solemn and the battle situation was becoming increasingly tense, but the sudden uneasiness in his heart could not be shaken off.
He didn't understand why Jiang Ci suddenly turned cold towards him, which made him a little annoyed.
The window in the room was slightly ajar, and the wind blew in from under the eaves, lifting a few thin sheets of paper on the desk. Jiang Ci sat in front of the couch, pen in hand, but his mind was already focused and unfocused.
She leaned over the desk, frowning slightly, looking at the words on the plain paper for a long time. Finally, she sighed, put the pen aside, and raised her hand to rub her forehead.
She tried to calm herself down and forced herself to continue writing a reply, but her thoughts were already in a mess.
"Don't think too much, maybe... it's just a coincidence." She whispered to herself.
But Chu Yao's tearful face, messy hair, torn clothes, and the vague words "It's okay" appeared in front of her eyes again... The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart became.
If it was really a misunderstanding, why was Chu Yao like that? If there was nothing wrong, why did she rush out of the house in such a panic?
She bit her lip, remembering how cold and hard Ji Yang was when faced with temptation. That man shouldn't be that kind of person.
But a wave of confused thoughts surfaced again. She suddenly remembered something Yin Shuang had said a few days ago. She had not paid attention to it at the time, but now it was like a crack quietly tearing open.
"Miss, I find that Chu Yao is dressing more and more like you..."
Then she recalled the day when he had read to her and said, "Then marry her."
Jiang Ci was lost in thought. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Now that she and he had a mutual understanding, she was willing to have sex. Why did he want to...
She suddenly raised her hand, grabbed the unfinished letter on the desk, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it to the ground.
Then came the second and the third.
The ground was soon littered with crumpled paper balls, like a messy mind that was impossible to sort out.
Wanniang lifted the curtain and came in. Just as she was about to call her, her eyes were fixed on the waste paper on the floor in the room.
"Girl..." She hesitated and said with worry in her eyes, "How come... your writing has become like this?"
Jiang Ci didn't say anything, just lowered his eyes, but his rationality was ultimately no match for that bit of sad doubt. As expected, once a person gets emotional, his emotions will be affected, and all previous rationality will be thrown out of the window.
She closed her eyes and whispered, "I... just can't calm down."
Jiang Ci spoke lightly, but he still couldn't swallow it. He whispered the whole story to Wan Niang.
After hearing this, Wanniang was so angry that her eyebrows and eyes twitched: "I'm going to find Chu Yao to settle the score!"
Jiang Ci grabbed her hand, his tone calm, yet it seemed to be filled with an inexplicable emotion: "Looking at her expression... I'm afraid she didn't do it voluntarily. How can you blame her for this?"
Wanniang looked at her, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart. She finally sighed helplessly, her eyes full of heartache.
The autumn wind blew past the window, causing the remaining papers on the desk to flutter and make a rustling sound, which was very much like her turbulent heart at the moment.
It was late at night, but the lights in the Dongyang Marquis Mansion were still on.
Ji Yang returned from the military governor's office, hurried into the mansion in the night breeze, his steps lighter than usual. He had deliberately left early today, intending to have dinner with Jiang Ci and then inform her about the expedition tomorrow.
He walked to the inner courtyard and called out from afar, "Wan Niang."
Wanniang was just coming out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of hot soup in her hand. Seeing him dressed in dust, she hurried forward to greet him.
"Where is Jiang Ci?" Ji Yang asked.
Wanniang sighed upon hearing this, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "Young lady... she just recovered not long ago. She caught a cold today and just took medicine. She has already rested."
Ji Yang frowned slightly, but his tone remained steady: "I will leave from the north gate at noon tomorrow. Please tell her...if she feels better, she can come and see me off."
He spoke calmly, paused at the end, as if he wanted to say more, but in the end he just turned and left.
Wanniang looked at his back and sighed softly with some resentment: "You two...ah."
Only after he left did Wanniang return to Jiang Ci's room.
The candlelight in the room flickered slightly. Jiang Ci was still sitting on the couch, wrapped in a quilt and leaning against the headboard, but his eyes were particularly cold.
Wanniang repeated the words verbatim.
"Miss, he said he will leave for battle at noon tomorrow at the north gate. If you feel better, you can go and see him off."
After hearing this, Jiang Ci hugged his knees and sneered, his tone full of obvious sarcasm: "I'm not going."
She sneered: "When I think about that, I feel sick-"
"If he really wanted to favor someone, he could have just told me openly. Why would he have to put on such an act and pretend that he had deep feelings for me?"
Her tone was very calm, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
Wanniang was startled: "Miss..."
"Wan Niang, just pretend I didn't say anything." Jiang Ci interrupted coldly, turned his head away, unwilling to say anything more.
A gust of wind blew in from outside the window, ruffling the curtains and making her heart feel cold.
She tightly grasped the corner of the quilt in her hand, her eyes fixed on the cup of tea that had long since gone cold, a wry smile rising from the corner of her lips.
"Since he doesn't treat me wholeheartedly, why should I go and see him off?"
The next morning, just as the sky was turning light, there was already a lot of movement in the Dongyang Marquis Mansion.
Ji Yang rose early and changed into his military uniform. Yue Bai tightened his armor and asked him in a low voice if he wanted to go to the inner courtyard again. Ji Yang paused, but ultimately just shook his head. With the expedition imminent, it was best to wait until he returned to discuss anything.
As the sun rose, the Dongyang army lined up and waited for orders. Lu Linchuan was already fully equipped and sitting on his horse. He saw Ji Yang riding towards him from a distance and called out, "It's almost time, Commander-in-Chief."
Ji Yang nodded and looked up. Crowds had gathered on both sides of the street, people lining the streets to see him off, cheering loudly. His expression was stern, but his eyes kept scanning the crowd, taking in unfamiliar faces and eyes.
But her figure never appeared.
His gaze swept across the high platform at the city gate, then fell to the end of the long street, and finally fell into silence. A slight chill ran through his chest, as if pierced by the wind.
Seeing his expression slightly strange, Lu Linchuan reminded him in a low voice: "Commander-in-Chief, it's time to set off."
Ji Yang lowered his eyes, gripped the reins tightly, and after a long while, he slowly exhaled, saying in a low voice, "Let's go."
The military flags were unfurled, drums beat, and the Dongyang cavalry marched out of the north gate in a mighty force.
Not far away, on a high platform, Jiang Ci, wearing a thin cloak, sat quietly on the edge of the stone steps.
She had already arrived.
She didn't want to stand in the crowd to greet him and see him off, she just wanted to hide in this inconspicuous corner and take a last look at him.
The wind blew from afar, making her eyes slightly sore. She just raised her hand to block it without saying a word.
Until the last rider of the Dongyang Army stepped out of the city gate, the long street fell silent.
She then spoke in a low voice, as if speaking to herself, but also as if explaining to Wan Niang behind her: "Let's go, go back."
Wanniang responded and reached out to hold her arm.
Jiang Ci stood up, lowered his eyelashes, and did not look back.
It was afternoon by the well in the backyard of the Dongyang Marquis Mansion. The sunlight shone through the branches and leaves. Chu Yao was bending over to wash clothes when she suddenly felt a wave of nausea rising in her throat. Her face suddenly changed. She covered her chest and took a step back, with thin beads of cold sweat appearing between her brows.
The maidservant beside her, Lin Chun, looked up at her and asked with concern, "Sister Chu, what's wrong with you? You look so unhappy."
Chu Yao forced herself to suppress the surge of emotion in her chest, forced a smile on the corner of her lips, and said, "It's okay. Maybe what I ate this morning wasn't to my liking. I've had a bad stomach since I was a child. I'll be fine after a rest."
Lin Chun nodded and said with concern: "Why don't you go and rest first, I'll wash this bucket of clothes. If Sister Chu really gets sick from eating too much, don't force yourself to stay."
Chu Yao looked at her, his eyes turned, and he suddenly asked softly, "How long have you been in the mansion?"
Lin Chun was stunned and answered truthfully: "Half a month."
Chu Yao lowered her eyes, nodded nonchalantly, and said softly, "Well, thank you for your help."
After saying this, she held onto the stone railing by the well and slowly walked deeper into the backyard. After turning around the flower wall and coming to a sweet-scented osmanthus tree, she finally stopped, bent down slightly and sat down, the smile on her face gradually fading.
She looked down at her belly, which had not yet bulged, and gently stroked it with her fingertips, with a hint of an ambiguous smile on her lips.
"Be good, bear with it for a while... wait for your mother to find you a good father."
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