Chapter 75: In vain. She saw herself in his eyes. ...
Chuqi obviously didn't expect Lin Meiju to start planning so early. He also understood her attitude from her foresight, and the uneasiness in his heart gradually subsided.
In three months, or at most four months, he would settle everything and then come back to her.
Long before he journeyed south to Zhejiang, he had already proposed to the emperor his resignation and return home. However, if he wanted to uncover the truth of the past, he would be unable to do so without the protection of his official position. Furthermore, after the Li family fell from power, it was his grandmother, Zhao Renqiu, who valiantly saved the family and supported it. Widowed at an early age and losing three sons in middle age, she endured many hardships, spending decades raising her young family. Now that she had finally achieved her goal, it was understandable that she desired to have her long-lost grandson by her side.
It is a dilemma, but when Lin Meizhu is on the other side of the scale, the old lady will probably be disappointed.
But Chuqi couldn't just let go of the past. He needed some time to settle his affairs, hand over his official duties, and then petition his grandmother for forgiveness. Zhao Renqiu had experienced many vicissitudes of life, yet her heart remained as clear as a pond. He believed she was not unreasonable.
Three months, less than a hundred days, would be around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Perhaps he could still spend his first Mid-Autumn Festival in his new home with Lin Meizhu. This thought slightly lessened the sadness of the separation, replacing it with a faint sense of joy.
However, when Chuqi set out on the journey to Beijing, neither Lin Meiju expected that so many big things would happen in just three months. This is a story for later.
Lin Meiju had just seen Chuqi off when she heard the door open again. When she opened the door, she saw a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and no beard.
Lin Meiju found him familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before and thought he was looking for Chen Huisheng.
The middle-aged man was a little reserved at first, but when he saw Lin Meizhu's gentle manner and even invited him to the front hall to talk, he felt flattered and said, "Actually, I came here today to ask Doctor Lin for a favor."
"Doctor Lin, have you seen my horse? It's as black as charcoal and ugly. You'll definitely remember it if you see it."
As soon as Maer was mentioned, Lin Meizhu remembered him. He was a night-seller in the nearby area.
"A few days ago, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, it was stolen..." The porter took out a purse from his pocket and added, "It wasn't really stolen. I later discovered that the man had left me some silver... Oh my God! So much money! It's more than enough to buy a hundred ugly cats!"
Lin Meizhu glanced at the banknotes and small change spread out on the table—about two hundred and fifty taels. There was also a signed receipt stating that the money was to compensate for the lost horse, and that the harassment and injury would be dropped. The grudge was now settled. Unsurprisingly, Lin Meizhu saw a familiar name in the compensation column.
The porter remembered something and asked, "Is the young man okay?"
Lin Meizhu paused while sipping her tea: "What?"
The porter said, "I saw that he looked very bad, as if he was enduring some severe pain. I don't know how long he had been squatting in front of the door. I advised him to go to the neighboring county to see a doctor if he felt unwell, but when he heard that you were in Xiangyang, he untied my horse and ran away..."
Before he finished speaking, a crisp clanging sound came from the front yard. A young girl was holding a lantern and teasing a tabby cat. The girl and the cat were running on the corridor.
The porter said, "Yes! Yes! This is also that young man's. It can even spin. It's so beautiful. No wonder he holds it like a treasure."
Lin Meizhu politely refused the idea of contacting Shen Changfeng on behalf of the porter, but the porter saw that the money for the contract came from the gambling house and did not dare to take the money back. He only took out the money used to buy Ah Chou and asked Lin Meizhu to pass on the rest. After that, he hurried away.
The little girl with twin spiral buns came running over, carrying the revolving lantern. She offered it like a treasure, "Isn't it beautiful? I found it at the Lantern Festival. One of them was broken and won't turn anymore, but this one is still working!" Xiaoman held up the lantern for Lin Meizhu to see, excitedly saying, "Eleventh Lady, look, doesn't the goddess on it look like you? I told you it was you, and you didn't believe me!"
This was an octagonal revolving lantern, its jujube wood handle polished to a smooth finish. Its surface was covered in red lacquer and gold. When the candlelight was lit, the intertwined lotus branches shimmered in the warm sunlight, like a flowing galaxy. As steam rose, the impeller at the top of the lamp gently rotated, and the twelve silk flowers inside also slowly rotated, casting a graceful silhouette on the silk.
Xiaoman's eyes lit up and he called out to Lin Meiju to look quickly. However, unexpectedly, Lin Meiju gradually straightened up and drooped her eyelids for some reason. Xiaoman felt that her whole body seemed to have suddenly darkened.
The lanterns were still turning, and the woman in the painting was sometimes holding the jade rabbit and smiling affectionately, sometimes leaning against the flower pavilion with a look of displeasure, or standing at the desk with her red sleeves adding fragrance... She knew that there was another person beside the silhouette of the woman who had not been painted.
She saw herself in his eyes.
He was right. There was more to the relationship between him and her than just unbearable things. They had cuddled and laughed, and shared sweet memories. He had painted her eyebrows, drawn pictures for her, held her hand, recounted the joys of the past, whispered comfort to her when she couldn't sleep, and kissed away her tears...
Xiaoman tilted her head to look at the person on the lantern twice, then suddenly clapped her hands and said, "It doesn't look like it again."
Lin Meizhu raised her face, smiled and asked, "What do you think is different?"
Xiaoman glanced at the figure in the lantern and said, "There's no thread on Eleventh Lady."
Lin Meizhu's heart trembled slightly. She rubbed her head and said, "You are right. She and I are very different."
Lin Meizhu sighed softly: a truth even a child could understand, yet it took this long for someone who was once her closest friend to grasp it. He had come to realize it too late, so late that nothing he could do would help.
Xiaoman held up the lantern and said, "Eleventh Lady, where do you think I should hang these two lanterns?"
Lin Meizhu smiled and said, "Isn't the house still short of two lamps?"
Xiaoman asked: "Where?"
Lin Meizhu glanced at the back room. Xiaoman thought of her two friends and said with a smile, "Great! I'll go right away!"
Everything at Huishengtang has been going on as normal these days. But because it's so normal, the staff at the pharmacy are feeling a little unaccustomed to it. They're all wondering: Where's Shen Changfeng? Has he backed out?
Only Lin Meizhu knew that Shen Changfeng could hardly protect himself, so how could he have the time to bother her?
Luo Shanchang was very scared because Shen Changfeng had offended Chuqi and the King of Chu. In addition to rewarding Shen Changfeng with a military staff, he also revoked his military status as a favor to Chuqi.
Shen Changfeng did not leave immediately. At first, Luo Shanchang thought he was recuperating from his injuries, but when he was able to walk, he showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he continued patrolling and training as usual. Only then did Luo Shanchang realize that he was staying here!
Luo Shanchang observed carefully for a few days and found that his superiors had no intention of holding him accountable, so he gradually let him go. After all, he had done what he should have done and what he shouldn't have done. The most important thing was that Shen Changfeng did the most work without taking any money. It would be a waste not to take advantage of this opportunity!
That night, the garrison sent out sentries for patrol as usual, divided into two routes, east and west, each route was divided into land patrol and water patrol, with small flags or general flags, each team had ten people, and every two people were responsible for patrolling the corresponding city walls.
The sky was gloomy, and raindrops fell rapidly. The two men with swords hurried to the eaves to take shelter. After waiting for a long time, the rain became heavier and heavier. The two men couldn't help but feel annoyed. At this moment, one of the tall men suddenly sniffed the tip of his nose, smelling the rich aroma of alcohol. He nudged his companion and said, "It's still early, why don't you go have a couple of drinks before leaving?"
The companion replied: "Drinking alcohol while on patrol is a serious crime..."
The tall man replied, "Isn't it time to hand over the shift yet?"
The two smiled at each other and went into the small tavern behind them.
When they came out again, the rain was still falling. The two of them were worried about patrolling and did not dare to drink too much. They wiped the red marks on their faces and felt happy. Just as they were about to take a step forward, they heard the sound of the night watchman beating a gong on the street and said to themselves, "Oh no!"
Jingzhou was a major commercial center, and while its night market was bustling, bandits and robbers were not uncommon at night. Therefore, the garrisons were divided into sections for patrol, with a clear mandate that every shift be replaced, with no vacant posts, and this cycle continued. However, the garrisons were lax in their administration, and the soldiers assumed the next person on duty was already at the station, so they would leave at the appointed time. They all clung to the hope that even if they were a little late, they wouldn't be so unlucky as to encounter the enemy.
But now, the two of them are already too late.
The tall man tied his belt and walked quickly, his lips pale as he said, "It's okay. Isn't Mr. Shen the kind-hearted man also on patrol? There won't be anyone left."
The companion's expression worsened when he heard this. "He's on the water patrol line today!"
Now the two could no longer pretend to be calm. They could only pray to God in their hearts that nothing would go wrong and rushed towards the northern patrol line.
At three o'clock in the morning, the rain was pouring down like ink. The turbid waves collided with the low-hanging rain clouds, leaving only surging chaos between the water and the sky. The rain and fog were thick, and only vague black shadows remained on the reeds on both sides. The lanterns on the bow were blown by the wind and rain, and the dim candlelight was unusually lonely.
Several soldiers stepped across the side planks in the pouring rain, making a creaking sound. The splashing water seeped into the cabin through the cracks in the planks. Suddenly, one of the lean soldiers stopped, stared at a dark shadow in the reeds, and said, "There's something in the water!"
Several soldiers on the ship were alert. They ran to the bow with spears and torches in hand. They took a look in the dim light and said, "General Jiang, it's a boat!"
The others drew their bows and arrows and ordered the boat to stop.
The boat was bobbing on the water, moving left and right, as if the people on board had lost their composure.
The sentry, as usual, fetched his hook and prepared to tow the boat to shore when someone suddenly rushed up from behind, yanking the two soldiers about to disembark backward and pinning them to the ground. A resounding boom followed, and the boat was blown apart, sending countless wood chips and a scorching wave of air soaring into the air. The entire patrol boat was knocked off balance by the black waves, and the soldiers on board, unable to stand, tumbled to the side. Still recovering from their shock, they heard a rustling sound from the reeds on both sides. It didn't sound like wind or rain, but more like the violent clatter of hundreds of reeds being broken and crushed.
The lean sentry who had given the warning earlier cursed inwardly, "Send the signal arrow! Enemy! Please send reinforcements!"
At this moment, a large hand pushed his face aside. The owner of the hand looked out at the night scene on both sides of the river, as if trying to identify something, and muttered, "No!"
"Something's wrong, don't let go yet!"
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