Chapter 131 Amidst the Clouds (Part 21) A proud and arrogant young man...
The firelight on the wall flickered, the ground was damp, and with each step, a faint sound echoed in my ears.
The sound drew closer, and soon a pair of leather boots came to a stop. Following the sound upwards, the observer saw a man in a plain Taoist robe, broad-shouldered and tall, with a calm and composed demeanor. The man lowered his gaze, quietly observing him.
The man snapped out of his reverie, his eyes gleaming slightly: "Where is she?"
Zhang Fenglin found it amusing that she kept referring to him as "she." He stroked his cheekbone, then lowered his hand, and behind his back, said, "Miss Song is busy and doesn't have time to see you. But I am quite interested in you."
As they were talking, a jailer brought over a wooden chair. Zhang Fenglin sat down, lifting the hem of his robe, and casually placed one leg on his knee: "Tell me, what do you want to see Miss Song for?"
But the man slowly retreated from the iron bars without saying a word.
With two loud bangs, the prison guard slammed his fist on the cell door: "The general is asking you a question, are you deaf?"
The man did not respond.
Zhang Fenglin smiled slightly, his hands resting on the sides of the chair: "No rush, I have plenty of time to waste with you."
The dungeon was dark, with the flickering lights like ghostly shadows. After enduring much torment, Zhang Fenglin calmly sipped his tea and slowly expressed his thoughts.
"How could Miss Song, a mere woman, have provoked your murderous intent? Could it be... that she harbors some secret?"
"...Judging from your appearance, you are not like someone from the capital. Even if Miss Song has enemies, they should not be involved with you in this way."
"Shadow Guard?" He stared at him through the cell door, but the man remained silent, as if his mouth had been sawed off.
Zhang Fenglin shook his head, shook his robe, and stood up: "Your silence has completely dampened my spirits." He lazily waved his sleeves, and immediately someone came in carrying a bunch of keys, with another object in his hand. It was impossible to see what was inside, but the smell of dried blood mixed with other strange odors hit the air.
This familiar scene made the man's throat tighten, his lips twitched a few times, and finally he roared in a broken voice, "Wait!...I'll talk!"
Zhi Rou had been traveling for many days, and the saddle had chafed her inner thighs raw, causing her excruciating pain. After applying medicine in the room, she straightened her clothes, walked down the steps, and stood there for a moment. Her white robe was filled with warm light.
He glanced around, then silently strolled out of the courtyard, following the outer side rooms, turning left and right as he made his way forward.
The dungeon entrance was eerily quiet, as if even insects and snakes wouldn't dare pass through. As Zhang Fenglin emerged, he caught a glimpse of a slender figure entering the dungeon out of the corner of his eye.
Upon closer inspection, he saw Song Zhirou furtively peering in, like a butterfly that had wandered into a maze, and had not yet spotted him.
A slight smile played on his lips as he stepped forward and said, "Miss Song, are you... looking for someone?"
"General Zhang." Caught red-handed, she didn't feel embarrassed at all, and even smiled openly, "I just can't stay still, so I'm just taking a walk."
Upon hearing Zhi Rou's words, Zhang Fenglin casually said, "Perfect timing. I don't have anything urgent to do right now. If you don't mind, why don't we take a stroll around together?"
Zhi Rou glanced at the dungeon casually, and after a long while nodded in agreement.
"Why did you leave the capital, young lady?"
When Zhang Fenglin came out of prison, he had a sachet hanging from his waist. The lingering fragrance reached his nose, and Zhi Rou frowned slightly.
After a short while, Fang said, "My siblings are all worried about my elder brother. They were extremely concerned when they heard that he was in danger. Since I love mountains and rivers and am also a free person in the mansion, this task fell to me. I came here specifically to find my elder brother."
“You two siblings have such a good relationship… It’s a pity, my family is all brothers.” He chuckled and turned to look at her. “Now that we’ve met, when do you plan to return home, young lady? Yuanzhou is quite far from the capital, and it hasn’t been very peaceful lately.”
"Let's do it in the next couple of days."
Zhang Fenglin brought it up suddenly, and they both knew who he was talking about.
Zhi Rou glanced at him, meeting a pair of deep, dark eyes that revealed no emotion whatsoever. She then pouted and pretended to be petulant: "Of course, he injured my horse, and I still have a score to settle with him."
He stopped and said bluntly, "Why don't you give me the man now, General?"
So quick and direct! Zhang Fenglin stared at her in surprise for a moment, said "okay," then lowered his eyes and smiled, raising his sleeve to lead her back, and they walked back to the dungeon one after the other.
The sudden darkness disoriented Zhi Rou for a moment. Zhang Fenglin walked ahead, stopping occasionally to let her catch up before continuing.
After a winding journey, before reaching the secluded chamber, shouts could be heard coming from afar. When they arrived, the jailer fell silent and stepped back to let General Zhang pass.
Two oil lamps were still burning in the room. Under their dim light, the man and several bandits lay on the ground, their upper bodies bare. One of them had a sunken chest, with his ribs seemingly piercing through his flesh, a truly horrifying sight.
Upon seeing this, Zhi Rou felt a burning sensation in her stomach and abdomen. She turned around in a panic and leaned against the stone wall, her throat twitching as if she were about to vomit.
Zhang Fenglin glanced at her, took out a plain handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She accepted it casually but did not use it.
"What's going on?" Zhang Fenglin turned around and asked.
"General, I don't know how... those people suddenly started arguing, first it was a verbal dispute, then it escalated into a physical fight, and we couldn't stop them..."
His voice rose slightly, his usual playful demeanor vanished, and his expression turned cool and authoritative.
The jailer hurriedly knelt down: "General, please forgive me! I really dared not have been negligent! Those guys were fighting like madmen. I tried to stop them and pull them apart, and I even got punched a few times... Please forgive me, General!"
The dead man in the inner room was the northerner that Zhi Rou had captured and who had followed them all the way. His death was so gruesome that there was nothing more to examine. Zhi Rou spoke to Zhang Fenglin and hurriedly returned.
Seeing her leave, he scolded the jailer before catching up with her and saying, "How are you, young lady? It was my oversight that I let you into this filthy place. If anything happens to you, Zhaoyun will probably not forgive me."
Zhi Rou seemed not to have snapped out of her daze. No matter what he was saying in her ear, she just ran away as if fleeing.
Only when the sun rose again could he finally catch his breath. His trembling eyelashes gradually calmed down, and he said to the person beside him, "General Zhang, you're busy. I know the way, I can go back by myself."
"I'll see you off."
"I dare not trouble you, General. Please wait." He bowed and then left the wall, quickly returning to the courtyard.
Chu Lan, the guard who was in charge of serving Zhi Rou, noticed that she looked unwell and quickly put down what he was holding and went over to help her: "What's wrong, Miss?"
Zhi Rou said, "Go find your brother and tell him we're setting off tomorrow."
Chu Lan raised an eyebrow in worry, but urged on by her, he had no choice but to accept the order.
Back inside, Zhi Rou drank water and stared blankly at the table for a while before her mind gradually calmed down.
She couldn't help but recall that her older brother had said this General Zhang was the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue... Lord Zhang, she had never offended him, so why would Zhang Fenglin kill the person she had captured? Could it be that he had pried something out of that person?
In any case, she could no longer stay in Yuanzhou.
Song Qiyu only heard about what happened in the dungeon that night, and went there personally to examine the body. To say that he died in a fight was rather far-fetched.
He thought to himself that the Zhang family and the Song family had no grudges against each other, and Zhang Fenglin was not a bloodthirsty person, so he would not kill him in the dungeon for no reason.
He held the teacup in his hand for a while, then gently dropped it with a "thud." It was only guessed that Zhang Fenglin had learned something from that person but did not want others to know.
At dawn the next day, Zhi Rou left the courtyard and came to an old elm tree outside the gate, where a snow-white horse was already waiting. Song Qi Yu was playing with a riding crop in his hand. The proud and tall man revealed a side of himself that he never showed to others when no one was watching.
Zhi Rou wondered if she had misread it and paused for a moment.
Song Qiyu and Wei Yuanzhan bear some resemblance.
It is often said that a boy's appearance resembles his mother's. When she was little, during the New Year, when lanterns and decorations were hung at night, she would mistake him for someone else under the lanterns a few times, throwing toys at her older brother and calling out Wei Yuanzhan's name.
As her memories faded, Zhi Rou stepped forward, just as Pei Cheng was leading his horse from the other side and walking towards her.
Hearing footsteps, Song Qiyu withdrew his hand and looked at Zhi Rou. His gaze fell on her for a few moments, and then his eyes darkened.
Zhang Fenglin was not far ahead, dressed in a crab-green casual robe, with a jade belt around his waist and black leather boots on his feet, striding up.
Zhi Rou placed the medicine box beside the saddle, and when she saw him coming, she nodded slightly: "General Zhang."
He nodded and smiled, "I've come to see you off. This parting may be the last, and the journey is unpredictable, so please take care."
Because of what happened yesterday, Zhi Rou was still a little listless and didn't really want to talk to him.
Song Qiyu replied, "I will definitely come to talk again when I have some free time in the army."
Zhang Fenglin cupped his hands, his face as warm as a spring breeze: "Zishu awaits your arrival."
After saying goodbye, Zhi Rou mounted her horse.
Yu Yang and Qin Yang are on different paths, but Song Qiyu's intention was to accompany her on her journey. Once they left Yuanzhou and the road became smooth, he would change course and return to his army.
The spring sun was warm, and Zhi Rou felt a bit hot after galloping all the way. She reined in her horse, loosened the reins, and let it trot slowly while she took out her water pouch and drank for a while.
Her group of a dozen or so people, whose horses galloped like a vast army, now scattered and disorganized, looked no different from blocking the road.
Song Qiyu moved closer and rode beside her. They had already traveled thirty li, passing through a post station without stopping. He couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you hire a carriage? Are you planning to go to Qinyang like this?"
The ears would be torn apart by the fierce wind, not to mention the legs and hips. How could one endure this if one were not a seasoned horse rider?
Zhi Rou put away her water pouch, her bright eyes sweeping over him as she glanced at him, then pouted and said, "Big brother, don't you ride a horse too?"
Song Qiyu raised an eyebrow: "You're on your way too?"
He was usually a man of few words, but when he did speak, he was so scathing. Zhi Rou's "yes" stuck in her throat, and for some reason, she felt a little embarrassed.
She pursed her lips, then suddenly smiled: "Is your injury healing well, big brother? Third sister was very worried about you. A few days ago, she almost left home to look for you."
Song Qiyu frowned as she listened and turned to look at Chang Li.
The latter immediately lowered his eyes. He thought to himself, "The fourth young lady looks well-behaved, but she has a sharp tongue and has caused him a lot of trouble."
Zhi Rou smiled and shook the reins.
Upon reaching the next post station, countless rays of light poured down from the sky, illuminating the road like silk and casting a rosy glow on people's faces.
Zhi Rou didn't want to delay Song Qiyu any longer. Seeing that they were already past Yuanzhou and hadn't encountered many people along the way, she simply said, "Big brother, you can leave here. There's no need to see me off any further."
The horse stopped, and Song Qiyu remained silent, his cold, dark eyes fixed on her. In the blink of an eye, he seemed to be transported back three years, and the words he hadn't been able to say then finally escaped from his lips.
"Fourth sister, take care on your journey."
Like a spark leaping into Zhi Rou's heart, her chest heaved slightly, filled with both surprise and doubt. Her elder brother's words seemed to indicate that he knew exactly what she was planning in Qinyang; yesterday, he had also remained silent about it.
It was as if they thought they would never see each other again.
Zhi Rou felt a pang of sadness in her heart and remained silent for a moment.
Before she knew it, she had been thinking a lot. Her brows relaxed and a smile returned to her face: "Next New Year's Eve, I will wait for my brother to bring back peach cakes, just like my third sister."
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qiyu tightened his grip on the reins.
A rosy glow rippled across her face, and she suddenly felt awkward, as she was not used to saying anything intimate with him.
She suppressed her playful expression, thinking of his journey to the border, a place of constant warfare, and Zhi Rou added, "Brother, take care."
Having said that, he lightly squeezed the horse's belly with his legs and galloped away.
...
It is April, and as summer arrives, the air carries the fragrance of locust blossoms from who-knows-where.
Pei Cheng urged his horse on while chatting idly with Chu Lan. Occasionally, a cluster of white flowers fell on his shoulder, their sweet fragrance filling his nostrils. On a whim, he popped one into his mouth and chewed it a couple of times.
Before long, a tall and magnificent city wall came into view. From a distance, it looked like a giant beast lying down, and up close, it towered like the clouds.
Zhi Rou jumped off her horse, took the reins and went forward. When she reached the city gate, she looked up and saw an ancient stone plaque hanging above her. The three characters on it were sharp and pointed, like knives and hooks.
She murmured, "Qinyang City."
The city was bustling with people, and everywhere you looked, you saw carved beams and painted rafters, a scene of extraordinary prosperity.
As they walked, Chu Lan suddenly tossed the reins to Pei Cheng, then went to Zhi Rou's side and took her reins.
"Fourth Miss, Qinyang City looks even more dazzling than the capital. Staying at an inn here would probably be expensive... I wonder if there are any cheaper rooms available."
Zhi Rou remained silent, thinking that perhaps, as her father had said, she would not be able to see Lord Ling again easily.
If she couldn't reach him, how could Su Du possibly get close? He had left a few days earlier than her and was currently in the city; she just didn't know where to look for him.
Zhi Rou pondered for a moment, then stood aside. Amidst the bustling crowd, no one paid them any attention.
"Uncle Pei, please take them to find a house to settle down first. I want to look around and I will definitely be back to meet up with you all before 5 PM."
The fourth young lady was resourceful and capable. Pei Tongliang hesitated for a moment, glanced at the group, and realized they did need to be taken care of, so he nodded in agreement.
The clouds drifted gently, casting layers of golden light that illuminated the streets. Zhi Rou walked and looked around, thinking that teahouses must be places where news gathered. She chose one and stepped inside.
Just as her foot landed, she heard someone say two words.
"fraud."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
