48 Chapter Forty-Eight
◎Pirates.◎
Ci Ying breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she was overthinking it. With Xie Huaijin standing in front of her, it was hard for her to have any thoughts about love.
Ci Ying said softly, "Okay, but don't talk nonsense. You keep talking about life and death all day long. It's okay. There are many precious medicinal herbs in the warehouse. I asked Zhu Guang to get them all. Xie Huaijin offended you so much and you still didn't come to apologize. He deserves it."
Li Sheng looked at Ci Ying, who tried to speak in a relaxed manner, and smiled gently without exposing her.
The May sun had somehow become scorching hot. When it shone in through the window, it looked like a ball of golden fire, its flames scorching the people inside.
As Ciying was about to leave, Li Sheng called her back, turned around, and pulled out a carefully wrapped book. He whispered, "It's not really a birthday gift. Xie Ran and I copied this for you before we printed it at the bookshop. It's our handwriting, your poetry. I hope you can keep it as a souvenir."
Ci Ying took it and felt its heaviness in her hand.
She looked at Mr. Li, and something weighed down her heart, but she still smiled.
"I like it very much." She said it once, and then repeated it in a low voice: "I like it very much, thank you."
"And Xie Ran." Li Sheng said with a smile.
Ci Ying held the book in her arms and said, "I'll see Ah Ran someday and thank her again."
Li Sheng laughed out loud, looking at Ci Ying tenderly. He seemed about to say something, but Ci Ying spoke first: "The court doctor wrote a prescription yesterday. I'll go tell the kitchen."
So Mr. Li stopped talking, just nodded and said "thank you".
Ci Ying walked away, holding the book in her arms. Her steps were normal at first. After reaching her own courtyard, she closed the door and sat down with her back to it. She carefully untied the cloth in her hands and flipped open the tightly wrapped book. Tears suddenly fell, and she buried her face in them.
The birds in the study were chirping again: "Happy, happy."
*
Xiaowan and her husband sat in a small garden in the mansion for a while. When they were about to go back, they ran into someone. Xiaowan was startled for a moment, then turned around and said to her husband, "I met an acquaintance. Can you wait for me for a while?"
The husband nodded and went there himself.
Xiaowan looked at Zhu Er in front of him and said with a smile, "Long time no see."
Zhu Er said nothing, but just glanced in the direction of Xiaowan's husband. Xiaowan also looked over there. When Fulang saw him, he immediately grinned. Zhu Er gripped his sword tightly and looked straight at Xiaowan, but saw that Xiaowan smiled at the man.
Zhu Er swallowed and was speechless.
Xiaowan narrowed her eyes, not knowing what to say.
She had liked the man in front of her. Lingyue said that she had called Zhu Er's name in her dreams. She said, "I used a bowl of wine to knock you and Zhu Yi unconscious on my birthday. I was wrong. I apologize."
Zhu Er clenched his sword: "I don't care about this."
Xiaowan looked into Zhu Er's eyes and said, "I think this is all I care about now."
In fact, there seems to be nothing more to say afterwards. In life, many thoughts are fleeting. Xiaowan has never had a family, so when she realized that there was no possibility with Zhu Er, she completely gave up.
She waved to her husband in the distance and whispered, "I have a home now."
The husband came over and took Xiaowan's hand. Xiaowan said, "Husband, say hello. This is Zhu Er."
The husband smiled and said, "Hello, brother."
Zhu Er left angrily and heard Xiao Wan say to the man behind him, "He has always had a bad temper, don't mind it."
"Nothing..."
The voice faded away, Zhu Er turned around, a look of helplessness on his face.
But fate seems to be like this. Even if some things are completely lost, the people in the situation may not be able to understand it clearly. It will take a long, long time, or even this life will just pass by.
After Ci Ying carefully put the books away, she told the maid to get medicine from the kitchen, and then began to deal with the affairs inside and outside the mansion. She was much more skilled than before, and had almost finished everything by noon.
Whenever I have some free time, Xie Huaijin's words inevitably ring in my mind.
Her body slowly lost strength and she collapsed on the armchair. When her eyes met with the bird across from her, the bird began to chirp again.
The sound of "happy" made Ci Ying feel suffocated, and she fled from the study.
But in such a huge mansion, she had nowhere to go.
Ci Ying returned to the courtyard where she first lived with the young lady. She had not been here for a long time. Servants cleaned the place every day and it looked very clean, but it was not the same as before.
Ci Ying caressed the grass and trees in the yard, and finally sat in front of the window where she and her young lady used to love to sit, looking at the sky outside through the window.
She seemed to have started to forget a lot of things.
When she was young, she had a dream and she would tell it to her young lady the next day. She could remember every detail of the dream clearly, about the few more plum trees in the corner of the west garden, about the ripe fruits on the trees in the east, about the kites in spring and the clouds in summer, and about the four seasons passing through her dream.
In a trance, Ci Ying fell asleep on the windowsill.
She had another very long dream, but she didn't remember anything after waking up.
When she was a child, she and her young lady always loved to talk about growing up. When she woke up, Ci Ying looked at the same scenery as when she was a child, and the clean and empty yard. For the first time, she realized so clearly that she had grown up.
She turned around and looked back, but could not see either the young lady or Ru Zhen.
Gradually, she could no longer see her former self.
*
At the turn of spring and summer, the rain seemed to be about to fall but didn't, and the sky was gloomy.
The strong scent of sandalwood in the study lingered for a long time. Xie Huaijin put down the entire Buddhist scripture he had copied and placed the brush upright on the pen holder.
Outside, a maid reported that Mr. Li wanted to see her.
Xie Huaijin lowered his eyes for a long time and said to the maid who had been kneeling on the ground, "Bring him in."
As soon as Mr. Li came in, he was choked by the strong smell of sandalwood and started coughing. Mo Yu appeared from nowhere and gently opened the window. Xie Huaijin saw it but didn't say anything.
Mo Yu brought another chair and asked Li Sheng to sit down first. Li Sheng did not refuse. He bowed and thanked him, then sat down, coughing softly, "My lord, I am sorry for disturbing you so suddenly."
"It's okay." Xie Huaijin's eyes were indifferent, and his gaze was fixed on the scripture in his hand.
Li Sheng looked over and whispered, "Is the eldest son praying for Lord Xie?" Calling Xie Huaijin the eldest son, the Lord Xie Li Sheng was referring to was naturally the deceased Xie Qingzheng.
"Why pray for the dead?" Xie Huaijin's voice was particularly cold, perhaps because Mr. Li mentioned Xie Qingzheng.
Li Sheng coughed and said, "I was fortunate enough to meet Master Xie before he passed away. Master Xie gave me some things. After much consideration, I feel it is time to return them to their rightful owners."
Xie Huaijin was not very interested in this and just listened to Li Sheng's story.
Mo Yu watched the young master's expression from the side, and after a while he went out and closed the door.
Li Sheng paused and said, "That's it."
Xie Huaijin's expression didn't change at all. He said calmly, "He has a good idea."
Li Sheng coughed and laughed, "Master Xie is just...just concerned about the eldest young master. How can I stop the eldest young master? I just used my mouth to say a few words to him."
"That's not what he said to you," Xie Huaijin said.
Mr. Li didn't say anything, but he had already admitted it.
Li Sheng coughed and said softly, "Young Master, those who are involved in the matter are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see things more clearly. Sometimes, not admitting something is actually a form of admission." He seemed to be talking about Lord Xie, but also seemed not to be. In short, when Mo Yu took Li Sheng out, Xie Huaijin just picked up the pen again.
What Xie Qingzheng really said to Li Sheng was, "Killing the master."
The Li family is the slaves, and the Xie family is the masters.
Li Sheng was a slave and Xie Huaijin was the master.
That stormy day, Li Sheng knelt beside Xie Qingzheng's bed and listened to the sickly head of the family say, "If my worries come true one day, Li Sheng, find a way to kill Xie Huaijin and save the Xie family."
No one took it seriously.
How could a weak and frail boy fight against the powerful eldest son of the Xie family? Xie Qingzheng's last words before his death were like flowers in the mirror, a lie that could be burst by a fish blowing a bubble. And the fact that he couldn't say them was just his last self-consolation because he knew that the Xie family was about to collapse.
Li Sheng originally didn't want to have any contact with Xie Huaijin, so he avoided the Xie family's investigators all the way and wandered around in the south. In order to see the corpse, he returned to Chang'an and met Ci Ying on the road. Li Sheng had met Ci Ying once at the funeral banquet. She was the only person who shed tears sincerely at that banquet.
So in the cabin, Mr. Li recognized him at a glance.
Kind lady.
Soft-hearted Ci Ying.
Li Sheng occasionally thought that Ci Ying was so soft-hearted, if he relied on her a little more, expressed his feelings, coughed a few times and spit out blood, he might really be able to enter the mansion, but looking at Ci Ying, he felt reluctant to leave.
Ciying's withering is like a flower pierced by a rusty silver needle into the screen.
Every moment is in bloom, and every moment is in withering.
He can't be the next Rusty.
*
If Xie Huaijin was not at home, it would almost be a rule for the two of them to dine together.
Every day since returning from Jiangnan was like this, except for the few days when Xie Huaijin was not at home, when Ciying ate alone in the courtyard.
But today was different. When Mo Yu ordered someone to serve the meal, Xie Huaijin glanced at the empty yard.
Ci Ying left angrily in the morning. Xie Huaijin originally thought that Ci Ying would not come again in the evening, and he had no intention of eating. But just when he was about to take the meal away, the maid outside said that the lady was here.
The maid who reported the incident arrived just a little earlier than Ciying. Almost as soon as the maid finished speaking, Ciying pushed the door open and came in.
The maidservant quietly left, leaving only Xie Huaijin and Ci Ying in the inner room.
Neither of them spoke as they ate in silence. When the meal was over, Xie Huaijin finally spoke: "Mr. Li came to see me this afternoon."
Ci Ying paused for a moment and said softly, "Yeah."
After saying this, he actually had no intention of continuing to speak.
The room was quiet for a while, and then Ciying put down her chopsticks and turned to leave.
Xie Huaijin looked at Ci Ying's back indifferently without saying a word.
This went on for several days.
Ci Ying took the initiative to talk to Xie Huaijin again because of Ru Zhen's matter. She looked at Xie Huaijin and said, "In two days, I will send Ru Zhen to Jiangnan. As I said before, I need to stay in Jiangnan for half a month, and then you can send someone to pick me up. I have arranged all the affairs inside and outside the mansion. Xie Huaijin, I will not come to dinner tomorrow."
Ci Ying was gentle and polite, and there was no emotion in her eyes when she looked at Xie Huaijin.
Xie Huaijin rubbed his thumb and just said "OK".
"Yeah." Ci Ying stopped talking and turned away.
Chang'an had arrived in June. It was a hot year, with plenty of rain, but the heat only grew stronger, making the air unbearably hot. Another major incident occurred in the imperial city. Empress Su was riding in a sedan chair when she was suddenly struck by a wild cat. She fell and nearly miscarried, bleeding profusely. The imperial physician spent three days in Empress Su's palace before saving her.
When accountability was later sought, it was said that a palace maid had secretly raised the wild cat. For some reason, the cat went mad that day, and the palace maid, fearing punishment, committed suicide by jumping into a well.
When Ci Ying heard this, she was already on her way to Jiangnan.
Ru Zhen had never been on a boat, so she chose the water route. Also on the boat were Li Sheng, Xie Ran and Xie Huaijin.
Xie Ran was originally going to return to Jiangnan, Li Sheng was persuaded to go back by Ci Ying, and as for Xie Huaijin...
Ci Ying looked at the closed door and said to Ru Zhen, Xie Ran, and Li Sheng, "Let's eat. There's no need to wait for him."
Xie Ran and Li Sheng looked at each other. Ru Zhen had obviously heard it. She had recalled a lot in the past few days and naturally did not have a good impression of Xie Huaijin. She could not help but eat a little more than usual, just to leave Xie Huaijin with nothing to eat.
Ci Ying knew Ru Zhen well, so she naturally saw what she was thinking. She smiled and said, "Even people who don't get seasick will feel a little dizzy when the wind and waves are strong. Ru Zhen, eat less, or you'll get dizzy and vomit."
Ru Zhen stuck out her tongue and put down what she was holding: "Then I'm full."
Li Sheng and Xie Ran both laughed. Apart from the quiet spot on the boat, the atmosphere was indeed peaceful.
The one who vomited was someone else.
Inside the room, Xie Huaijin's face was pale as he rinsed his mouth again. Outside, he could hear the laughter of the crowd. In the dim room, he lowered his head to look at the handkerchief in his hand, his eyes drooping.
Mo Yu did not come with him. Zhu Yi knelt beside him and whispered, "Sir, the leader asked us to bring some medicine to suppress seasickness. It's a prescription from the Imperial Hospital. You should try it."
A bottle of medicine was handed to Xie Huaijin, but the young man just held it in his hand without opening it, lowering his eyes and letting Zhu Yi go out first. Zhu Yi didn't dare to say anything more and stood up and left.
At night, just as Ciying had said, huge waves arose.
Even Ciying and Xieran felt a little dizzy. Ruzhen, who had never been on a boat before, was the least dizzy. Ruzhen supported Ciying and said, "Let's go by land next time. Ciying, eat something to calm down."
Ru Zhen put a slice of orange into Ci Ying's mouth. When the sour taste came, Ci Ying felt that her dizziness was really better.
In another room, Xie Ran knocked on Li Sheng's door.
Mr. Li was a little surprised, but he still made a gesture with his hands: "Miss Xie, please come in."
Xie Ran walked in and looked at the medicine stove beside her. The charcoal fire had gone out, but she could still smell the faint scent of medicine in the air. She touched her nose, sat down, and said straight to the point: "Mr. Li, do you think Ci Ying doesn't want us to stay in Chang'an?"
Actually, it’s not Chang’an either.
Li Sheng silently added: "She just doesn't want us to stay with her."
Xie Ran's eyes dropped. "Do you feel the same way? She told me privately that she hoped I could take better care of Ru Zhen in the future. I said there was no need to be so polite. Since we were all in Jiangnan, I would naturally take good care of her friends. She looked at me without saying a word. When she finally hugged me, she held me tightly, but then she let go just as quickly."
Mr. Li didn't say anything, just looked in the direction of Ciying's room.
Xie Ran said softly, "Actually, Jiangnan and Chang'an don't make much difference to me. I figured it out when I went back this time. My face is so badly injured, my father and the others can't do anything to me. That marriage is also off. With this face, no other marriage will fall through for me in the future. If possible, I want to stay with Ci Ying."
Mr. Li was silent for a long time before he said, "She won't agree."
Xie Ran looked at Li Sheng and suddenly burst into tears. The peace and tranquility of the day was broken by the huge waves in the middle of the night. In the silent room, Xie Ran, who had always been open-minded, could not stop crying. She cried and said, "She is so unhappy, Li Sheng, what should I do about Ci Ying? She looks so tired, but I don't know what I can do. I can do anything to make her feel less tired. Why..."
Mr. Li patted Xie Ran's back comfortingly. He looked at Xie Ran speechless.
How can I make Ciying less tired?
Li Sheng looked towards the easternmost part of the cabin. He hesitated and said softly, "There's no way."
He saw things more deeply than Xie Ran, and he understood that there was no way.
They are just outsiders.
Li Sheng thought of his father's enthusiasm for power. He could never understand why his honest father had become a knife in the hands of the Xie family. Now he understood a little.
What's even more tragic is that the slender figure of the young man slowly emerged in Li Sheng's mind, his fingers stiffened, and he began to cough softly.
What stands between Ci Ying and that person is not just power.
The moon is bright on the sea. The wind gets stronger and stronger, blowing away the fog, and the moon is covered bit by bit.
The ship was surrounded without them realizing it, and by the time the guards reacted, it was too late. In the dim moonlight, Ci Ying suddenly looked outside. As the firelight passed through the window, she pulled a dagger from her sleeve and protected Ru Zhen with one hand.
Ru Zhen was already sleepy, but was startled awake by Ci Ying's movements. She hugged Ci Ying's clothes tightly and whispered, "Ci Ying, what's wrong?"
Ci Ying made a silent gesture, lifted the quilt, and signaled Ru Zhen to hide in it first. Ru Zhen looked at Ci Ying fearfully, and Ci Ying lifted the quilt again, and Ru Zhen hid in it obediently.
Ci Ying observed the light and shadow outside and exchanged glances with Zhu Guang on the beam.
In a moment, the candlelight in the room suddenly went out.
Zhu Guang opened the door like a ghost, and instantly stabbed the two men down with the dagger in his hand. He knelt down and began to search. Ci Ying stepped forward and looked into the distance.
They were on a large ship, and there were other guests besides them. They brought some guards, but because Zhu Guang was there and Xie Huaijin would also be coming, Ci Ying did not bring many people.
And outside her room, there were two guards whose necks were cut by pirates.
Ci Ying's expression turned grim, and so did Zhu Guang's. They both looked toward the distant fire. Ci Ying softly said, "Thank you, Mr. Li."
Zhu Guang shook his head and frowned, "Ciying, I can't leave your side."
Ci Ying wanted to suggest that she and Ru Zhen could go together, but Zhu Guang shook his head. "It's too chaotic out there. I'm not sure I can protect you. Li Sheng and Xie Ran also have secret guards. Don't worry, Ci Ying, let's see what's going on."
While the two people were talking urgently, fire was heard in the distance, and amid the screams of many people, the boat suddenly broke.
Ci Ying entered the room, pulled Ru Zhen up, and looked at Zhu Guang: "We need to go meet He."
Zhu Guang looked at the sea below, then at the fire outside, and said softly, "Then follow me, hold on to my clothes, and don't get separated."
After finding corpses one after another, the three men arrived at Xie Ran's room and found it empty. Zhu Guang looked at Ci Ying, whose face had turned grim. Ru Zhen was trembling with fear. Ci Ying said, "Go find Li Sheng."
As for Xie Huaijin, no one could think of Xie Huaijin.
No one would think that Mr. Xie would not have secret guards around him.
Zhu Guang led the way, killing three or four pirates along the way and stepping over the corpses of dozens of guards before he arrived in front of Li Sheng's room.
Zhu Guang and Ci Ying exchanged a glance, and Zhu Guang said softly, "There are people inside, more than one."
The screams in the distance continued. Ci Ying recognized Zhu Guang's lip movements. Zhu Guang signaled Ci Ying to step back. Ci Ying took out a dagger, protected Ru Zhen and stepped aside.
Zhu Guang kicked the door open, and in an instant, two pirates rushed out. Zhu Guang took out the soft sword in his hand and fought with them. Ci Ying asked Ru Zhen to hide aside and observe the inside of the house.
The two pirates, masked, were much more skilled than those seen outside. Ci Ying felt a surge of unease. The smell of medicine in the room was completely overwhelmed by the stench of blood. Ci Ying watched as Zhu Guang subdued the two pirates with ten strikes. He slashed the neck of one and then demanded, "Tell me, who sent you?"
The pirate looked at Ci Ying in the distance, and suddenly rushed towards the sword, but was grabbed by Zhu Guang's head: "If you want to die, it's not that easy. Tell me, who sent you here!"
Zhu Guang lifted the pirate's head with the sword in his hand, and the deathly aura all over his body was chilling.
The pirate remained silent, and Zhu Guang knew she couldn't get anything out of him. The two pirates in the room looked more like dead men than the others. She drew her sword and moved it up and down, and the last pirate in the room fell down.
Three people stepped forward, and Ci Ying picked up the note on the table: "Meet in Room 3, Tianzi."
Ci Ying and Zhu Guang exchanged a glance. Zhu Guang knocked on the door inside the room, raised a door, and said to Ci Ying, "This should be safe. Let Ru Zhen hide in there first, and we'll go together."
Ciying turned around and talked to Ruzhen. Ruzhen was very scared but obedient.
After covering up the matter, Ru Zhen took Ci Ying to Room No. 3 in Tianzi.
When Zhu Guang saw the pirate guarding the gate, he tried to approach him, but the pirate dodged him and said, "Our master wants to see Miss Ciying."
Zhu Guang stood in front of Ci Ying and looked at the two pirates coldly.
The two pirates said, "This lady can also come in with us."
Zhu Guang's eyes darkened. He raised his hand and knocked the two men unconscious. He looked at Ci Ying, who clenched her fists and trembled, "Go in."
Ciying could not imagine...
Who did she offend to do such a big thing?
Who in the world would dare to attack Mrs. Xie in such a high-profile manner? She frowned and went in with Zhu Guang. The scene before them stunned both Zhu Guang and her.
There was chaos and war outside, and the sky was treacherous, but inside the candlelight was as bright as day.
In the inner room, a masked man looked at Zhu Guang and Ci Ying who broke in. Beside him were three assassins who were also wearing masks. One of them held a blade across the necks of the three men.
Ci Ying's hands suddenly clenched, and Zhu Guang's breathing trembled for a moment.
Among the three people, the one on the far right is Xie Ran, the one in the middle is Li Sheng, and the one on the far left is...
It turned out to be Xie Huaijin.
The young man had a pale face, with bloodstains on his neck. His plain clothes were stained with blood, some of which were still flowing. His tall body was slightly curled up, and there seemed to be a serious wound on his waist. He was so weak and miserable that Ci Ying was a little dazed for a moment.
【Author’s words】
Tell a hell joke——
Gouzi was vomiting all over because of seasickness. When the pirates came to arrest them, they found two sickly people. Gouzi's face was even paler than Li Sheng's*
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