Fu Yueli never thought about staying in the carriage. He had no improper thoughts about Shi Mingyue.
They had met in the misty forests of Yunzhou when they were young, and he had been keeping a close eye on her ever since. He knew she liked Yipintang dim sum, that she liked Caidiexuan rouge and powder, and that she often went to the study with her friends to buy books... Although he knew it was wrong to spy on her life like this, he couldn't stop. He wouldn't bother her, because the feelings he harbored couldn't be explained by simple love.
He felt as if she had become a part of his life. Although he had only witnessed her growth, he felt like a participant. So even when she ran away from their engagement, he wasn't angry, nor did he want to blame her. He knew that she and Qin Zheng were childhood sweethearts and understood the connection between them. He had no desire to possess her, only to wish her happiness.
Fu Yueli covered her with a blanket, then left quietly, lowered the car curtain, and sat outside.
During the day, when Master Mingyue was around, Lu Lingyan had some things he couldn't say. He wasn't one to keep things to himself, so he said bluntly, "No matter what happened between her and the man surnamed Qin, it's a matter between husband and wife. Let's be good people and send her back. You don't have to think about her anymore."
Fu Yueli closed her eyes for a long time, then whispered, "I understand."
Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Lu Lingyan thought he was asleep. When he heard his answer, he said helplessly: "You'd better really know."
At dawn, Shi Mingyue slowly awoke. The sight of the carriage roof filled her heart with an indescribable sense of disappointment and loss. She hadn't been able to return. Beside her lay a pot of water and a dry biscuit wrapped in cloth, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
The carriage had been traveling all day, and as darkness fell, it was time to rest. The two men had barely spoken to her that day. She knew that in their eyes, she was still Qin Zheng's wife, so this was normal.
The next day, the carriage was already moving. Shi Mingyue woke up and found herself alone in the carriage. Suddenly, she heard Lu Lingyan say, "We're about to cross the Jinsha River. We need to be alert."
Fu Yueli said "hmm", and the two of them stopped talking.
Shi Mingyue knew that the Jinsha River was a troubled place. It wasn't actually a river; it lay at the border of Qingzhou and Xinzhou, a small desert, but it was always infested with bandits. The bandits often robbed passersby, but fortunately, they didn't kill anyone. Although the authorities of both states had sent troops to suppress the bandits, they had always returned without success. The bandits were quite cunning and knew the Jinsha River's terrain well. Whenever the troops came to suppress them, they were either led into quicksand pits or met with a cloud of yellow sand, returning empty-handed.
Because the bandits' goal was only to rob and not harm anyone, the government didn't bother to intervene. They simply spread the word that anyone traveling between Xinzhou and Qingzhou must travel with a companion and not alone. If you were unfortunate enough to encounter bandits, don't be stingy with money; be sure to sacrifice your wealth to save your life.
Shi Mingyue remembered that when she and Qin Zheng crossed the Jinsha River, they went with a large group, so they did not encounter bandits, but she did often hear about people being robbed by bandits.
It was quiet outside, the only sound being the carriage's rustle of sand. Shi Mingyue lifted the curtain on the side of the carriage and saw that they had indeed reached the Jinsha River. It would take about half an hour to reach the border of Xinzhou. The road they were walking on was marked by wooden planks every ten meters, serving as road signs. Outside, the desert stretched as far as the eye could see. In the sunlight, the sand reflected a golden glow, hence the name Jinsha River.
After walking for a quarter of an hour, he only saw an old man in tattered clothes. Even if he ran into bandits, they would not rob him.
Fu Yueli and Lu Lingyan remained vigilant, each looking to the side until they reached a sandy slope. As they passed it, seven or eight bandits suddenly rushed out from behind it. Two of them coordinated to pull a thick hemp rope across the road. Lu Lingyan could only drive his horse to a stop, thinking that their carriage was indeed very conspicuous.
"Take out all the money you have! And take out any good stuff in the carriage!" a bandit shouted in a thick New Jersey accent.
Lu Lingyan took out a gold ingot from the pouch on his waist and shook it in front of the bandits. The gold ingot reflected a light more dazzling than sand under the sunlight. Several bandits couldn't help swallowing. No one could resist the light of gold.
"I have plenty of gold here." Lu Lingyan said to the bandits with a smile, then changed the subject, "I just won't give it to you."
The bandits were all furious, and the one who had been there earlier yelled, "I think you don't want to live anymore!"
Lu Lingyan hadn't exercised for a long time. He jumped off the carriage, stretched, and threw the gold ingot in his hand away.
The gold happened to fall in front of the bandits. One of them picked it up immediately, bit it with his teeth and found it was real. He excitedly said to his friends, "It's real gold!"
The eyes of the others were filled with greed, and they all looked at Lu Lingyan as if he were a fat sheep.
Lu Lingyan smiled lazily and said, "This ingot of gold is the money I paid to buy your lives. Come to think of it, I think I'm losing money. After all, your lives are worthless!"
As soon as he said this, the bandits were furious and rushed towards him with machetes raised.
Shi Mingyue heard the noise outside and was about to pull open the curtain in front of the car to check what was going on, but Fu Yueli pressed the curtain and stopped her: "Just rest well inside, don't worry about it."
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