Chapter 71: Eloping "Saving you is saving myself." "He...
"Saving you is saving myself."
"They all stay out of it and are afraid of getting into trouble."
"Miss Yun asked Lord Lu to change into thicker clothes and said they looked really good."
Xue Yu lowered his eyebrows, his face blurred in the dim light, and his expression was calm: "What else did you say?"
"That's all I heard Miss Yun say. Her voice was soft, and I didn't dare get too close, so I couldn't hear clearly. I only heard Miss Yun mention some place names to Lord Lu, and that she mentioned going out of Zhengyang Gate and going to Qingshi Post, a hundred miles outside the capital, where you can change horses. She also mentioned the name of the King of Nanzhao and something else to consider carefully."
The jailer reported the situation truthfully, and it sounded like a plot to escape the prison. This was a difficult situation, but fortunately, he had learned about it in advance, so he didn't have to bear the responsibility. Unexpectedly, the adult in front of him reacted calmly. Could he have already come up with a plan?
Xue Yu suddenly raised his eyes and looked towards the deep corridor. His eyes suddenly darkened and his expression became extremely terrifying, almost losing control for a moment.
When the jailer saw that he was about to leave, he hurried over and asked, "Master Xue, are you not going to wait for Miss Yun?"
Xue Yu said, "Let her stay in there as long as she wants."
Yun Yang was still in the cell listening to Lu Jie talking about interesting stories from various places. He had traveled to so many places and knew the customs of each place in detail. Different from the romantic stories that Xue Yu had talked about, Lu Jie was more knowledgeable and could talk about the local people's livelihood in a simple and easy-to-understand way, which was very down-to-earth.
But no matter how interesting his words were, Yun Yang was only worried at this moment. She was distracted by the thought that she must rescue him. Later, she would ask Xue Yu to take her to the palace again to ask the princess how the talk with the King of Nanzhao went.
After she said goodbye to Lu Jie and came out, the place was empty. The jailer said, "Master Xue left a long time ago and told you to stay in there as long as you want. Miss Yun, there's no need to worry."
Yun Yang frowned slightly after hearing this, vaguely feeling that something was wrong. Why didn't these words sound genuine? She looked around and asked, "Did he say anything else before he left?"
"No more," the jailer said. How could he possibly tell her that Master Xue had inquired about her conversation with Master Lu...
Yun Yang muttered to himself, and when he walked out, he didn't pay attention to his feet. With a bang, he bumped into the boxes piled on the ground, fell forward, and was covered in dust. His calves hurt badly, and he felt resentful towards Xue Yu. He limped out angrily, gasping for breath.
As soon as Xue Yu went out, he got on the carriage and asked the driver to set off without telling him where he was going. Seeing that his face was as gloomy as water, the driver did not dare to ask more questions and could only keep on going.
The car passed through the downtown area and out of the city. The lush trees outside the city were broken by the wind and rain, leaving only bare branches. The late autumn wind was biting and kept pouring into the car through the gaps in the curtains, blowing the young man's wide sleeves fluttering.
Xue Yu coughed a few times, staring into the void, motionless.
He should have known long ago that what she did for Lu Jie was more than just a simple act of repaying a favor.
The kindness from many years ago could not be erased, and her obsession with Lu Jie was deeply engraved in her heart. She was so crazy that she wanted to help him escape from prison!
Xue Yu couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. His hands rested weakly on his knees, and his head drooped dejectedly. His chest felt like a huge rock was pressing down on it. Besides shock, pain, jealousy and anger, he was also a little dazed. For the first time, he felt what it meant to be heartbroken.
He was really wrong about her.
Yun Yang walked back to Xue's house by herself. Her legs were sore from walking. The imperial prison was in a remote location. If she had known that Xue Yu would leave without waiting for her, she would definitely wear a pair of comfortable walking shoes and change into a neat outfit, so she wouldn't be in such a mess now!
But if you think about it carefully, Xue Yu has never been so unreliable. Why would he leave her in the imperial prison and leave first?
Is there something urgent?
Walking all the way back to Xue's house, the biting wind made her face red and her embroidered shoes were splashed with mud. When she returned to the house and asked, she found that Xue Yu had not returned yet.
Returning to the yard, Rong'er rolled up her trouser legs, revealing the blue and red wound. She quickly took out some ice to apply.
After eating a few bites of food, Yun Yang took a short rest, but he couldn't rest. He felt inexplicably anxious and uneasy. It was not until dark that the doorman brought him the news that Xue Yu had returned home.
Yun Yang put on his robe and walked towards Fushan Pavilion.
She has figured it out these days. Although a family like the Xue family can be described as "full of talents", in fact, every generation of children cannot do without the support of the family.
The cornerstone that has allowed this family to last for hundreds of years is the "literati". Xue Yu is the carefully trained helmsman, and Old Madam Xue has worked hard to maintain the reputation of the Xue family.
Unable to repay her kindness, she lost her composure and used his love for her to suppress him, causing Xue Yu, who had a bright future, to be caught in a ruthless act, which affected his future career.
Now no one dares to get involved with the Lu family, and she can no longer drag the Xue family into this.
You can't do that.
Since her parents left, she only had her sister as a relative. If it weren't for the Xue family's help, if it weren't for Xue Yu, she didn't know what kind of quagmire she would have fallen into.
Therefore, love is the last thing to her. She cannot allow herself to really have any result with Xue Yu. Even if he can give her a name, it is an immoral act and will not be liked by the aristocratic families.
Although the Xue family wanted to repay the Yun family, this was not the way they wanted to do it.
Siqing was boiling water to make tea, carefully stirring the charcoal fire in the clay stove. In the moonlight, the sword light was reflected into a piece, lonely and dazzling.
There were few girls in Fushan Pavilion, and Siqing had always been the one serving personally. But now, the two young women standing at the foot of the stone steps looked around frequently. When they raised their eyes, their gazes moved and their fair faces turned red.
Si Qing was familiar with the young master's temperament and had seen him practice sword many times. His movements were always as smooth as flowing clouds and water, with a sense of power and beauty, and a calm and elegant demeanor.
Instead of being filled with murderous intent and hostility like it is now.
After retracting his attack, Xue Yu tossed the sword to Si Qing, glanced at the two girls, and asked, "Who are they?"
The two girls lowered their eyebrows and did not dare to look at the handsome young man in front of them.
"She is from the old lady's courtyard and was sent here to serve the young master. The old lady said that the young master can't do it without a girl to serve him carefully." Si Qing replied.
Xue Yu walked towards the clean room with an expressionless face, "Grandma, we don't need any more people in our courtyard."
After running outside for a whole day, I almost reached Jizhou. When I came back, my mind was still a mess, so I had to practice sword dancing again.
Yun Yang repeatedly asked him to lower his bottom line, and as a second best option, he just asked her to be by his side. He also confidently calculated that as long as she was under his control, there would be plenty of time to cultivate feelings.
Who would have thought that she was planning to escape with others, and had no attachment to him at all, not to mention disregarding the reputation of the Xue family.
What about the frank and well-behaved Yun Yang, the Yun Yang who made him so distressed that he would risk his life for her? When did she become like this?
Is it true that girls cannot be kept at home when they grow up?
Tolerance, concessions, all gone to waste. Now my body is exhausted, my whole being finally empty, and after the intense pain in my heart, it has finally become numb, with only a faint twitch.
On the way to Fushan Pavilion, Yunyang met two maids. She recognized them as the maids from the old lady's room, but the silk and satin they wore today, and the pearl and jade hairpins on their heads, were different from before.
After asking, I found out that he was sent to Fushan Pavilion to serve Xue Yu.
She knew that there had never been a maid in Xue Yu's yard, and that someone would come to serve her sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon, and she felt caught off guard.
I walked all the way to Fushan Pavilion, feeling as if my feet had no roots, and the injury on my calf became more and more painful.
Xue Yu had just taken a bath, and his hair was half dry, with a few strands of black hair hanging on his cheeks. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, and his eyes were like glass. He was casually wearing a white silk dress with the collar half open, revealing his strong chest.
Compared with the usual well-dressed style, it has a bit more of the uninhibited and romantic style of scholars.
He looked at her indifferently. Her cheeks were flushed, and she lowered her eyebrows in a hurry. Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly like a small fan, like a fragile and beautiful butterfly.
Yun Yang heard a faint sigh beside his ear.
"What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Why did you suddenly leave today?" Yun Yang asked.
"Something's up." Xue Yu said, not mentioning that his carriage was almost reaching Jizhou. He lowered his head to look at her fair face, "I have something to tell you."
"I also have something to tell you." Yun Yang raised her eyes and said, "Can you arrange for me to enter the palace tomorrow?"
He turned his back to her, looking at the pitch-black Qinghu Lake at night, slowly grinding the ink. It felt like an extremely long time had passed before he finally spoke, "What are you doing in the palace?"
Her dark eyes fixed on his tall figure, and she said calmly, "Go find the princess. I have something to ask her."
Xue Yu turned around and found that she was dressed very simply today, with black hair and a fair face, like a fairy who was not affected by dust.
But what was she thinking? Saving her lover and eloping... but had she ever considered where this would leave him, and where would the princess be?
Yun Yang felt that the look in Xue Yu's eyes made her feel uneasy.
Just as she was thinking, he walked towards her, reached out and touched her shoulder, and said calmly: "I'm here to exonerate Lu Jie. You stay at the Xue family well."
The cold and slightly cool breath was very familiar. Yun Yang was wrapped in his breath, and his uneasy heart felt like he had returned home.
She murmured, "Are you really... willing to save him? But, I don't want to drag down the Xue family."
He stared at her, a helpless smile on his lips, as if mocking himself, "Saving him is the same as saving you. Isn't it? As for being a burden, you're overthinking it. If he is innocent, the Three Courts will not let him suffer injustice."
As if to reassure her, he patiently explained, "Lu Jie's case is less serious. He comes from a poor family. Even if he recognized his parents, Mrs. Lu was only a fourth-rank official. And Lu Jie himself was just a military supervisor. How could he present the letter directly to the emperor?"
"Treason is a serious crime that will implicate the entire clan. There are quite a few Lu family members serving in government. Someone is deliberately facilitating this, intending to disrupt the officialdom. From now on, leave this matter to me. It is my duty as an official to clear his name."
"Even if something terrible happens, I'll take care of it."
Xue Yu said slowly, "I always wanted to keep you by my side. I always felt that if you left the Xue Mansion and me, you would be bullied and displaced. As for whether you were willing or not, and what your feelings were, I kept lying to myself. But now, I don't want to force you to leave. I don't want to... cut off contact with you. I don't want you to end up in a dead end."
Yun Yang was stunned. "Why would I want to commit suicide? He's dead, and I didn't even think about killing myself."
Xue Yu raised his thin lips in a sarcastic arc, but said nothing. He glanced at her slightly wrinkled skirt and asked with a frown, "What's wrong?"
"I bumped into it." Yun Yang said, "It's okay."
"Let me see." He walked over and helped her sit on the chair.
"It hurts a little bit." Yun Yang gestured, "I bumped into it in the cell. I applied ice, and it doesn't hurt that much anymore."
Xue Yu looked at her exposed wounds. There were blue and red spots on her snow-white calf, but fortunately there was no bleeding.
"You left so suddenly, and I was so anxious to catch up with you that I bumped into you." Yun Yang said softly, looking at him with resentment, "What were you so anxious about?"
Xue Yu stood up and said to Si Qing, "Go get some medicinal wine for injuries."
Her eyes were dark and bright, her tone was coquettish, and she raised her cool and charming face, pulling his sleeve with one hand, "Why don't you ask the two new maids to change the medicine for me?"
Xue Yu stood up, his eyes sweeping over her lips, which were like delicate petals. He took the teacup and handed it to her, his expression calm, "Is it not enough for me to serve you alone? Do you want more? Do you really want them to come?"
The atmosphere suddenly became strange. Yun Yang hurriedly covered his legs and stopped talking.
Si Qing brought the medicine, and Yun Yang took it and put it in his sleeve, lowering his brows. "Thank you, brother-in-law, for your help and for the medicine. It's getting late, so I'll take it back and let Rong'er apply it for me."
He turned his back to her and answered softly without looking back.
After Yun Yang left, Xue Yu stood by the window, gazing at the graceful figure disappearing into the night. He turned around and sat down, holding the warm and delicate jade hairpin tightly in his palm, and the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided.
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