60 Chapter 60
◎Run.◎
In late April, the busy man Xie Ran found Ciying and asked her to teach a few classes for the female teacher in the academy. Ciying naturally agreed.
In the middle of the night, she was flipping through the book in her hand when the light in the room was suddenly blown out by the wind. She stood up and relit the oil lamp, then sat down again, but she no longer had the desire to review her lessons.
The book was compiled bit by bit by her in the past. She was familiar with it and knew it better than anyone else. She closed the book, took out the letter Zhu Guang sent her two days ago, and wrote a reply to Zhu Guang.
It was early May when Zhu Guang received the letter. Sitting on the long corridor in front of the young master's courtyard, she opened the letter from Ciying. Ciying said, "It's almost the anniversary of the young lady's death, and in two months it's the anniversary of the lady's death. I won't be able to come back. Please, Zhu Guang, burn some paper money for me."
Zhu Guang burned a lot of paper money, so much that he couldn't hold it in his hands. In the end, it turned into a big ball of ash, and scattered when the wind blew.
While burning, Zhu Guang only asked for two things.
One is to be filled with peace and joy.
Second, the young master is alive.
When she returned, she saw that the young master had already started to deal with official business. The accumulated affairs for a month had caused the light in the young master's room to be on from day to night and from night to day.
When Zhu Guang knocked on the door and went in, he brought a bowl of medicine.
Xie Huaijin just put her aside. Seeing that Zhu Guang was reluctant to leave, the young man raised his eyes and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhu Guang said no and walked out.
Xie Huaijin looked at the medicine for a long time, picked it up and drank it in one gulp. Then the people outside heard the sound of vomiting coming from inside. Zhu Guang leaned against the wall. Zhu Yi and Zhu Er were no longer in the mansion. In fact, the young master also said that she could leave, but Zhu Guang felt that there seemed to be nowhere to go.
Now the miscellaneous matters in the mansion are temporarily handed over to Chunhua, the maid that Ciying took away from the old lady's yard.
Now people in the mansion respectfully call Chunhua Ma. Zhu Guang felt that they called Chunhua old, but Chunhua seemed very happy. Zhu Guang sat down with his sword in his arms, propped his legs against the wall on one side, and fell asleep leaning against the pillar.
......
After teaching at the academy for a few days, Ci Ying stopped going there after the former female teacher returned. Standing on the podium and looking at the young faces below, she would always think of her past with the young lady.
Xie Ran asked her to help her manage the academy, but Ci Ying refused, saying that she would just pay the money.
Xie Ran asked why, and Ci Ying thought for a long time, then said softly, "It doesn't feel right."
She didn't think of Xie Huaijin specifically, but she thought of this person at this moment. She had to admit that some of the things he said in the past were right. She was always accustomed to bearing the fate of too many people.
She looked at Xie Ran's somewhat lost face and said softly, "Xie Ran, you did a great job. I've heard of the academy's reputation in Chang'an before."
Xie Ran looked at Ci Ying seriously. She stepped forward and hugged Ci Ying, saying softly, "It's not me, it's all ours. The academy's reputation was spread through your poems and essays, the books were compiled by you, and the money needed for the academy's daily expenses was also provided by you. Ci Ying, this is also due to your hard work."
Ci Ying's voice became softer: "I didn't say..."
Xie Ran held Ciying's hand tightly. "You have it, Ciying. The fact is that the academy cannot be established without you. Li Sheng and I are just standing on your shoulders. Ciying, you don't even know how powerful you are."
Xie Ran looked at Ci Ying with a burning gaze. After a long moment, Ci Ying said softly, "I just feel it's not appropriate for me to appear before others for the time being. I've also been working on the next textbook recently. Thank you, Xie Jijiu, for your regard for me."
Xie Ran burst into laughter: "Why are you fooling around with those kids?"
The two of them strolled in the academy, and from time to time, female students passing by greeted them. Xie Ran said the names of those students one by one, and Ci Ying matched the names with the faces of the female students one by one. In the sunlight, the figures of the two were infinitely elongated by the sunset.
For the next two weeks, Ciying spent most of her time editing the book. During this time, Li Sheng came to visit her twice. Seeing that Xiaowan had her own room, he jokingly said, "Isn't there a room for me?"
Ci Ying didn't say anything. After the last incident, she didn't know how to face Mr. Li.
Li Sheng was still coughing, but his complexion was much better than before. He called her softly, "Ci Ying."
Ci Ying came back to her senses and looked at Li Sheng, with hesitation in her eyes.
Li Sheng smiled and sat across from Ci Ying, asking softly, "Aren't we friends?"
Ci Ying nodded, her voice low: "I just feel sorry."
Mr. Li coughed twice more and said with a smile, "I've already told Ciying that I volunteered in the beginning. Even if I take a step back, this was never Ciying's fault. Why should I blame myself for someone else's behavior?"
After saying that, Mr. Li started coughing again. Ci Ying quickly poured him some warm tea and handed it to him: "Didn't the doctor say you were feeling better? Why are you still coughing?"
Li Sheng said gently, "It's gotten much better, but it's a disease I was born with. I'll get used to it. I'm much better now. The herbs Ciying sent are all top-quality. The doctor said they can keep me alive for another twenty years."
Ci Ying laughed softly: "Then I'll ask Ling Shuang to send some more and hang them for forty years."
Mr. Li nodded: "Thank you for your help, Ciying."
They both laughed, and without bringing up the topic of reserving a room in advance, Ci Ying showed Li Sheng the half-edited book she had written: "I have a few hesitations here, take a look..."
It was not until the evening, when Lingyue brought the meal, that the two stopped talking.
They naturally had dinner together. Halfway through, Li Sheng suddenly asked, "How many months will Ciying stay in Jiangnan this time?"
Ci Ying shook her head and said, "I don't know."
Once she finishes her work at the academy, she might look somewhere else.
For example, Mobei.
She was not prepared to meet Yuwen Fu and Yuwen Shu, but she wanted to go and see her deceased mother. The letter from Su Xueruo outlined a strange and soft outline, and she wanted to go and see it.
"Isn't Mr. Xie going with you?" Li Sheng asked again.
Ci Ying paused while eating, then casually said, "No, I broke up with him."
Mr. Li was a little surprised, but still didn't ask anything.
When Ciying saw Li Sheng off, the moonlight was gentle. Li Sheng stood beside Ciying and whispered, "Ciying, it's nothing but a mountain."
Ci Ying didn't say anything, but just walked with Li Sheng in the moonlight.
After a long time, she said "thank you" to Mr. Li as he walked away.
She didn't feel that the boat had passed through thousands of mountains, but thank you Ruzhen, thank you Xie Ran, thank you Li Sheng, at least at this moment, she has many sincere friends.
Before she could set off for Mobei, someone had already come to find her.
Late at night, the sound of swords clashing came from Ciying's yard.
Ci Ying was not asleep yet. She had already reached the last part of the book she was compiling. She closed the book. Ling Yue and Ling Shuang hurried in. Ling Yue said anxiously, "Master, hide."
Ci Ying hurriedly put away the manuscript, walked quickly to Lingyue Lingshuang, and asked with her eyes what was going on outside.
Ling Shuang frowned and explained, "A group of people suddenly came into the yard, and then many more people came down from the house, and the two groups started fighting."
Suddenly, someone climbed in through the side window. After seeing the figure clearly, Ci Ying squeezed Ling Yue's hand and stepped back. The hidden guard on the beam also jumped down and blocked Ci Ying's way.
The masked man pinched his mask with his hand and said with a smile: "Miss, long time no see."
Ci Ying's face looked uglier than ever before. She said nothing, but only used her eyes to order the secret guards to come forward.
Soon, a fight broke out inside the house. The masked man fought four people at once and was not at a disadvantage at all. He even had enough energy to talk to Ci Ying: "Last time, for the sake of the young lady, I didn't kill that pretty boy in the end. It's a pity that the young lady didn't seem to appreciate it."
Ci Ying already knew that the masked man was the King of Mobei's man, and also knew that the King of Mobei was her biological father. How could she not understand why this man called her "Miss" from the beginning.
While she was thinking, the masked man had already defeated the four secret guards. He held a dagger across Ci Ying's neck and said coldly, "Miss, tell those people outside to stop. All my brothers are almost dead."
Ci Ying felt something was wrong when she heard the words. She had dozens of secret guards, four inside the room and six outside. The masked man could easily defeat four of them, so how could the six outside resist him?
As they were talking, the door was opened from the outside, and Ci Ying looked outside.
The courtyard was full of corpses. She couldn't tell whose were whose, but there were definitely more than just her secret guards.
The masked man shouted, "Stop. I won't kill you. Just go back and report to your master."
The figures were silent, staring in the direction of Ciying.
The people brought by the masked man also stopped, but as the masked man said, some were dead and some were injured.
The cold wind blew on Ci Ying's face. Quietly, the dagger in Ci Ying's sleeve turned up, but was knocked away by the masked man the next moment. Even though the masked man reacted quickly, he was still left with a wound under his neck because he was not prepared for Ci Ying.
The moment Ci Ying took action, the secret guards below also moved instantly, and the two groups started fighting again.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the masked man gritted his teeth and said coldly: "Miss, be quiet!" As he spoke, the dagger was approaching.
Ci Ying looked at the masked man coldly. Under the large and funny mask were a pair of brown-black eyes that had the wildness of a primitive animal.
A pair of broad hands hugged Ci Ying's waist. When Ci Ying suddenly felt something was wrong, a thick smoke spread from under the masked man's feet. She was lifted into the air by one hand. After a few times, the masked man shook off the people behind him.
During this time, Ci Ying struggled, but before she could make a sound, she was knocked unconscious by the masked man's knife.
In the cave, the masked man took off the strange and funny mask on his head, his face looked ugly. It was too easy to catch Xie Huaijin last time, so he thought that the secret guards of Xie Mansion were nothing special. Who would have thought that this time it would be so difficult.
So many people died, I will be scolded when I go back.
Yan Ji looked at Ci Ying who was "sleeping peacefully" on the straw. The weather in May was still a little cold. After thinking about it, Yan Ji lit a fire.
When I went out again, I found that several secret guards had found me.
He said coldly, "I poisoned her. If you don't want her to die, go back to Chang'an and tell that person." Seeing that the secret guards were about to attack, and the signal in their hands was about to be sent, Yan Ji smiled and said, "Think about it, if you take back a corpse, will you become a corpse?"
Yan Ji had a smile on his face, but he wasn't really confident.
After all, the people of Mobei never use poison.
As long as the secret guards entered the cave and fired the flares, he would be doomed. He hadn't brought Ciying back with him by surprise, so it would be difficult to bring her back next time. He stared at the four secret guards in front of him, his hidden weapons ready.
Fortunately, the secret guards looked at each other and finally left.
A smile fell from Yan Ji's face, and he took off the mask on his face after entering the cave. The fire was sparking, and he looked at Ci Ying's sleeping face and fanned the fire a little more.
The next day, when Ci Ying woke up, she found herself tied to a carriage, with a masked man sitting opposite her. He smiled at her and said, "Miss, you're awake."
Ci Ying couldn't break free from the rope and looked at the masked man with cold eyes.
"Who are you and why did you kidnap me?"
The masked man looked at Ci Ying pretending to be so serious. He didn't believe that Ci Ying couldn't guess who he was last time after even touching Yu Wenfu. After all, the young lady wasn't that fool as Yu Wenfu. He smiled and said, "The young lady will know later."
Ci Ying struggled with the rope, her hands soon bleeding. She whispered, "I've already divorced him. You can't use me to threaten him. Your hatred for him has nothing to do with me. Let me go."
The masked man grabbed Ci Ying's hand and said with a smile, "Miss, don't struggle. Whether you are confined or not is not determined by a single word. I really don't care why there are so many secret guards from the Xie Mansion outside. Miss, be obedient. I don't want you to suffer."
Ci Ying's eyes were filled with anger. The masked man's words only proved one thing: they indeed captured her for Xie Huaijin.
She shouted, "I've already said that he and I have nothing to do with each other. If you want to arrest him, go ahead and arrest him. It's none of my business."
The masked man was a little frightened and his voice became softer: "Save your energy, the carriage will take more than ten days."
Ci Ying turned her face to the side to hide her emotions. As the carriage swayed, she saw the scenery outside the window. It was a very deserted road. She listened carefully to the sounds and thought that there should be only the masked man and the coachman. Ci Ying looked at the rope in her hand and analyzed how to run.
There was no way she could really go to Mobei like this. Yuwen Shu was clearly using her to threaten Xie Huaijin. Regardless of whether Xie Huaijin would come or not, Ciying couldn't put herself in such a passive situation. She leaned her head against the carriage, and the masked man beside her asked with concern, "Would you like some tea?"
Ci Ying continued to act like an angry person whose anger had brought disaster upon her. She threw the masked man's teacup away and said coldly, "I don't want it. Let me go. I said it's none of my business."
As she spoke, she twisted the rope hard, and the piece on her hand broke directly.
The masked man grabbed Ci Ying's hand and his voice turned cold: "You are really not afraid of death."
Ci Ying kicked him and said, "Get out! You caught me and asked me if I was afraid of death. If I was afraid of death, would you let me go?" With a sharp tone and messy hair, Ci Ying kicked and beat the masked man like a madman.
The masked man could only control Ciying completely. After looking at Ciying, he was stunned by the anger in Ciying's eyes.
"...Why did you break up?" the masked man asked suddenly.
Ci Ying realized that the first step of her plan had succeeded. She piqued the masked man's curiosity and said coldly, "What's it to you?"
After saying that, Ci Ying leaned against the car wall and closed her eyes.
The masked man snorted, thinking that love turned people into lunatics. He wondered what his once calm and intelligent lady had become. He looked at the wound on his waist from being kicked and cursed inwardly.
Ci Ying didn't say much for the next two days. Ever since she talked to the masked man about Xie Huaijin last time, she always had a cold face. Every time she got angry at the rope, her hands were rubbed beyond recognition. Even the masked man couldn't bear it and untied Ci Ying with a frown.
Ciying never ran until it rained one day.
The rain was so heavy that the masked man and the groom stayed at the inn, and she was locked in a separate room. The masked man thought about it and tied Ciying up with a rope, but it was much looser than before. He met Ciying's angry eyes and hit her in the neck, and she fainted immediately.
For the next quarter of an hour, the masked man just stared at Ci Ying. After making sure that Ci Ying showed no signs of waking up, he left to arrange the rest of the matter. Xie Huaijin's men had already caught up with him. He looked at the map and chose another small path.
Inside the room, Ci Ying slowly opened her eyes, a trail of blood trickling down from her legs. She twisted her hands, enduring the pain, and slowly moved her legs away. She grasped the splinter stuck in her leg with both hands, gritted her teeth, and pulled it out. Then, she used the splinter to loosen the ropes around her hands.
She didn't move immediately, but waited until the rainstorm started before jumping from the second floor.
Running all the way towards the forest, she recalled the map she had seen in her mind. Today, she saw locust trees on the side of the road where the carriage passed. As far as she could remember, locust trees were only planted on the side of the road in Liuan. Liuan was not too far from Dingyang. The masked man was probably afraid of being exposed if he passed through Dingyang and Huai'an, so he wanted to go directly to Mobei through Liuan.
Ci Ying was thinking about the direction. The wound on her leg was still hurting, but she didn't dare to stop.
If she is caught, she will never have a chance to escape.
Xie Huaijin is not a good person, and Yuwen Shu is even less so.
He knew from the beginning that she was his daughter, but he attacked Xie Huaijin and even used the people around her as a threat. He called her "Miss" all the time without any respect. Ci Ying could not imagine what would happen to her if she was really caught in Mobei. What Yuwen Shu didn't get the last time he caught Xie Huaijin, he must get it this time through her.
Ci Ying didn't think she could threaten Xie Huaijin, but if she had to break up, she should do it cleanly. She held onto a tree, looked at the leaves to determine the direction, and walked towards Dingyang step by step.
When Yan Ji found that Ci Ying was missing, his eyes were fixed on the pool of blood on the mattress. He raised his hand to wipe it, but only touched the cold mask. Amidst lightning and thunder, Yan Ji spat out a mouthful of saliva, which contained blood from his bitten lip.
Yan Ji looked forward bit by bit along the bloodstain, and the open window clearly indicated that Ci Ying had jumped down.
Yan Ji frowned, jumped down from the second floor, and started searching nearby.
Yan Ji sent out the secret guards who had just gathered around one by one. Finally, Yan Ji looked towards the mountains and forests in the north and went there himself.
Ci Ying had been running for a long time and was exhausted. The wound on her leg had been soaked by the rain and had become numb, but the skin on her hands had been swollen by the rain and the pain was particularly obvious. She gritted her teeth and walked away little by little.
A day later, Ci Ying could no longer run and she barely found a cave.
Fortunately, there were some dry food left by the hunters. Ci Ying swallowed some of it and felt as if her throat was blocked, but she had no choice but to swallow it. She leaned against the wall and lowered her eyes in despair when she heard footsteps outside.
The wounds on her hands and legs began to itch. Ci Ying shrank back into the cave, hating herself for not being able to run farther. She also hated Xie Huaijin. If he hadn't stopped her from attacking Yuwen Shu, this situation wouldn't have happened today. How could Xie Huaijin not understand the principle of cutting the grass at its roots? Why should she suffer after being attacked by Yuwen Shu twice?
Ci Ying's consciousness was actually very weak. She had not slept or eaten for a day and a night. The injuries on her hands and legs had greatly reduced her energy. In a trance, someone half-knelt down, coughed lightly twice, covered her with a piece of clothing, and then picked her up.
A strong smell of medicine made Ci Ying frown. She wanted to open her eyes but found it was pitch black. In a trance, she hated herself for not running far enough and being found so easily, and she also hated Xie Huaijin.
I also hate some things.
She hated the heavy rain and hated that her biological father didn't love her either.
The young man's face was pale, but he still held the person in his arms tightly. After placing her on the bed, he took Ci Ying's hand with trembling fingers, treated the wound bit by bit, and left coughing. He whispered to the farmer couple and said softly, "Sorry for the trouble."
Where had the two peasants ever seen such a nobleman? Zhu Yi handed over a purse of silver and the couple thanked him tearfully. Xie Huaijin left with an umbrella, whispering to the secret guard beside him, "Go find Yuwen Fu."
The rain silently hit the umbrella held by the young man. The young man coughed and didn't even look back.
It was evening when Ciying woke up.
The rain has stopped.
When she was subconsciously on guard, she saw the simple faces of the farmer and his wife. Seeing that she was awake, the woman came up and asked with concern: "How are you feeling, young lady?"
Ci Ying just realized that the injuries on her hands and legs had been treated. She felt a little doubtful, but still said softly, "Thank you."
As she was speaking, the woman came closer and Ci Ying smelled a strong smell of medicine.
She looked into the distance, where medicine was simmering on a crude medicine stove. The woman saw her expression and hurriedly explained, "I'm doing this for you, young lady. My daughter has been ill for a long time, so the smell of medicine in this room is a bit strong. I hope you don't mind."
How could Ci Ying dislike it? She quickly said, "No."
Everything seemed to be right. She smelled a strong smell of medicine on the person who rescued her. She looked at the two farmers and thanked them again: "Thank you for saving me and applying medicine to me. I..."
As Ci Ying spoke, she found that the only thing left on her body was the silver bracelet that Ru Zhen had given her.
She said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I only have gifts from my friends. When I get back, I will definitely repay you."
But... Ci Ying still had some doubts. It wasn't that she didn't believe the two people in front of her would be kind enough to help her, but their words to her were a little too nice. As if... she was their savior. Ci Ying kept these doubts to herself, her guard still lingering, but she naturally didn't show it on her face.
The farmer and his wife looked at each other and knelt down together. The woman's eyes were red. "To be honest, young lady, we did save you for a reason. The clothes you're wearing look expensive. They're made of fine material that we country folk have never seen before. We do have selfish motives, and we don't ask for anything in return. We just hope that you can find a better doctor for our daughter when you return."
Ci Ying lowered her guard a little as she listened to the peasant woman crying, "I worked too hard when I was pregnant with this child. This child was born in poor health. This child is also so precious. How could he have been born into my belly? We can't bear to let him go. But the harvest has been poor in recent years. We can only make ends meet. We make medicine by picking herbs from the mountains. Please be kind, young lady."
Ci Ying hurriedly tried to get up and lie down, but she had no strength left. She whispered, "You saved me, so it's only natural for me to do this. Don't worry, I'll definitely get her the best doctor when I get back."
The couple cried and laughed, and brought their child to see Ciying.
The girl was about eight or nine years old, very well-behaved, with a small pale face and thin limbs, as if she had been ill for a long time. She was sitting in a homemade wheelchair. Ci Ying softened after taking a look at the letter, her eyes a little red. She touched the little girl's head, her eyes a little blurry.
She really looked a bit like the young lady. The young lady was like that when she first met her.
But this girl was thinner and paler, and she had the timidity of someone who had been ill for a long time and had never been seen.
Ciying smiled for the first time in these days with tears in her eyes.
【Author’s words】
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