Chapter 101 I beg you, save her.
On the fourth day after Yue Yining's disappearance, a storm was brewing in Qinghuai City.
Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude only learned of this when they returned to their residence that evening. They were stunned and speechless with shock.
The news had already spread throughout the official residence; everyone knew that the two officials from Yanjing had been lured out of the city and captured by thieves, and that their whereabouts were now unknown.
The substitute driver was so terrified that he knelt outside the hall, trembling and crying, saying it had nothing to do with him and that he didn't know the substitute driver at all.
Since receiving the news of Yue Yining's disappearance, Fu Yao felt as if her spine had been shattered by a heavy hammer. She had no energy to do anything else and was practically a wandering soul.
She was crouching in the room, the fifteen-year-old girl who had lost the person she loved most in the world. Terrified and filled with remorse, she covered her face and cried uncontrollably, "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left Miss. If I had been with her, things wouldn't have turned out like this..."
Qiu Yuebai put her arm around her shoulder, feeling sad herself, and gently comforted her: "Don't cry, how can this be your fault? Nobody expected this to happen, please don't take it to heart, and don't blame yourself."
Shen Liude frowned and said, "Yuebai, write a letter and send it back to the Princess's residence in Yanjing. This is a matter of great importance, and we must inform Her Highness the Princess as soon as possible so that she can prepare. Tell someone to send it by fast horse as quickly as possible."
"I'll go find Che Zilong and Dong Qi and ask them to send their men out of the city to help search for the person."
Qiu Yuebai quickly stood up: "Okay!"
Ye Miheng and Sun Qiong never stayed at the official residence; they lived near the post station in the east of the city, far from the north. Therefore, they only learned about this matter from the guards who were in charge of gathering information at night.
Upon hearing this, Ye Miheng jumped up immediately, "You're saying Yue Yining has disappeared?!"
The guard replied respectfully, "Yes, this very evening, both Yue and Lord Xie were kidnapped by thieves, and now the official residences in the city are in complete chaos."
When the guard came to report the matter, he was in a fairly good mood. Although the power struggles among the leadership were none of his business as a lowly subordinate, he was good at reading people and had excellent connections.
To the Fourth Prince's faction, Xie Qingyu and Yue Yining were key figures under the other two princes and important strategists at the core level. Their existence was an obstacle to the Fourth Prince's grand ambitions.
Now that the ship has capsized, both of his thorns in his side have disappeared, and they may even be dead. It seems like a great joy no matter how you look at it.
However, just as the guard finished recounting this "good news," he keenly noticed the sudden drop in temperature.
The once warm room suddenly turned chilly. One of the leading officials was ashen-faced, and the other had furrowed brows and lowered eyes; neither of them looked happy.
The guard: "..." Why? Did he misread the signal? Isn't this a joyous occasion?
Ye Miheng slammed his fist on the table, nearly making the little guard's heart leap out of his throat.
For the first time, he saw a look that could be described as gloomy in the eyes of this man in the royal blue robe.
He gritted his teeth, yet couldn't hide his anxiety. "Damn it! Doesn't she always say she's a smart person?"
"She should have sensed something was wrong the moment the carriage started heading out of the city! How could she have let him drive out of the city and even onto the mountain road?"
Sun Qiong frowned: "Ye Miheng, aren't you good at fortune telling? Can you predict where Yue Yining is?"
"...Fortune telling isn't a magic bullet, you know?" Ye Miheng let out a deep sigh of frustration. "I can tell where anyone else went, but I can't tell Yue Yining's whereabouts."
"Why?"
“…Because I’m not as good as her.” Ye Miheng lowered his head, utterly dejected. “How come I’m not as good as her!”
Between celestial masters, only one person's fate can be divined at a time.
The weaker party cannot use divination to predict the fate of the stronger party.
When he was young, he tried to calculate his master Hua Siren's fate, but no matter what he did, he couldn't figure it out, which made him very anxious.
When Hua Siren found out, she laughed at him for a long time before finally telling him the truth.
If he were stronger than Yue Yining, he would have figured out where she went by now and been able to save her, instead of just sitting here anxiously and unable to help at all!
Ye Miheng was extremely annoyed.
Sun Qiong did not give up. She changed her approach: "Since you can't predict Yue Yining's fate, you can surely predict Xie Qingyu's, right? As far as I know, he shouldn't be a Taoist master, just an ordinary person."
Ye Miheng's muddled mind was struck, and he snapped out of his daze: "That's right!"
Without a moment's delay, he immediately took out a copper plate and began to divine.
The guard who came to report was stunned.
Sun Qiong was waiting for him beside him. As a result, Ye Miheng looked at the divination result in the bronze plate and his face suddenly changed. His fingers trembled and shook.
Sun Qiong: "What's going on? What did you figure out?"
Ye Miheng opened his mouth: "Xie Qingyu... is already dead."
"What?!"
Sun Qiong also looked shocked.
If Xie Qingyu has already died... then Yue Yining is probably in grave danger as well.
"What should we do...?" Ye Miheng was extremely anxious and completely panicked. "What should we do now...?"
"Don't panic. Don't reveal your calculations. Otherwise, the Seventh Prince's people will at least think Xie Qingyu is still alive and continue the search." At this critical moment, Sun Qiong went through everything and analyzed it for him in detail. "There are already few people searching. If the Seventh Prince's side gives up, the chances of Yue Yining being rescued will be even lower."
Ye Miheng nodded vigorously: "I understand, I definitely won't tell!"
"...Yue Yining, she was most likely detained within the city."
“Otherwise, as you just said, she should have been on guard as soon as the carriage left the city gate.” Sun Qiong’s voice pierced through, carrying a sharp edge. “Yue Yining is cautious. It’s a long way from the city gate to the mountains and forests outside the city. If she were awake, she would have noticed something was wrong.”
Ye Miheng suddenly raised his head: "So, Yue Yining was drugged and taken out of the city?!"
“It’s very possible, but I can’t be sure,” Sun Qiong said.
The guard who delivered the message confirmed Sun Qiong's guess. He nodded and said, "Lord Sun is right. The coachman of the Yue people was a thief in disguise. According to the guard who escaped death and returned to the official residence, the coachman carried the Yue people all the way to a mountain road deep in the forest. After the Yue people woke up halfway and forced him to stop, more than a dozen mountain bandits came and surrounded the Yue people's carriage."
Sun Qiong said solemnly, "Whether they are bandits or private soldiers disguised as bandits, it's hard to say."
Ye Miheng suddenly turned to look at her, his expression one of surprise and uncertainty: "You mean, someone in Qinghuai wants to harm her?"
“I heard that the disaster relief grain they took out recently was all given by Che Zilong.” Sun Qiong sneered. “I’ve dealt with Che Zilong twice. He’s a short-sighted miser, a corrupt official who should be hung on the wall and drowned in spit. Why would he suddenly be willing to give Yue Yining disaster relief grain? It’s probably Yue Yining’s doing, pulling off a trick we don’t know about to deceive Che Zilong.”
But since it's a scam, there's always the possibility of oversights.
The moonlit night was deep, and the torrential rain pounded and shook the world.
Meanwhile, Shen Liude visited Che Zilong at the prefect's residence.
Upon seeing her, Che Zilong immediately understood what was going on and gestured for a servant to lead her to the sandalwood table. "Lord Shen, please have a seat. You've come about Lord Yue's affairs, haven't you?"
Shen Liude maintained a calm expression, but she was secretly anxious. However, her calm nature allowed her to suppress her emotions.
With Yue Yining absent, only she and Qiu Yuebai among the remaining people could take charge. She was also slightly older than Qiu Yuebai, so she should stand up straight and remain calm. Everyone in the mansion could show panic and helplessness, but she had to stay calm and play the role of stabilizing morale.
Seeing Che Zilong's reaction, Shen Liude understood that he had already received the news, and a sense of relief washed over him: "...Yes."
“We only brought one guard team from Yanjing. There are not many people who know martial arts, and even fewer who can be mobilized out of the city. So we have to borrow some manpower from you, Prefect Che.” Shen Liude spoke very sincerely and solemnly. “We are all very worried about the disappearance of the Yue people. If we can start the search sooner, we will have a better chance of finding him.”
Che Zilong stroked his beard as he listened, initially showing no reaction.
After she finished speaking, he suddenly chuckled and said with a kind expression, "Lord Shen, there is no need to worry. As an official of Qinghuai, I will do my best to help you."
"Tomorrow, I will notify the government to issue arrest warrants and missing person notices, and then send people out of the city to search for traces of the person in the mountains and forests." Che Zilong spoke slowly and methodically, pausing slightly at the end, and said meaningfully, "However, I don't have many private soldiers at my disposal, only a few guards kept in my residence. If more manpower is needed, perhaps Lord Shen should ask Supervisor Dong for his opinion."
Shen Liude nodded: "I understand, then I thank Prefect Che in advance."
Throughout the conversation, Che Zilong maintained a smiling, kind, and benevolent expression. However, once he finally saw Shen Liude out and returned inside, Che Zilong's face fell. A dark, misty shadow transformed into a flowing stream, tracing the lines of his face and converging between his brows, revealing a sinister and menacing expression.
Che Zilong spat, grinding his teeth menacingly, and cursed, "Pah! A bunch of lowly bastards, scum, how dare they lie to me!!"
He unleashed a torrent of profanities, using the most vulgar language imaginable, and still wasn't satisfied. He smashed several vases and brush washers before finally plopping down in a grand chair, panting heavily.
Seeing that Che Zilong was in a bad mood, the concubine who was grinding ink for him quickly called for tea and snacks to be served. She then went behind him and massaged his shoulders, her voice soft and sweet: "Husband, please calm down. Why are you so angry?"
Che Zilong leaned back with his eyes closed, letting his concubine massage his shoulders and back, and tried to exhale a sigh of frustration: "Damn it, I got tricked by these women!"
Today, Dong Shan came to my door specifically to explain the whole story to me.
There was absolutely no matter of selecting a city lord! It was all a lie fabricated by Yue Yining. She just took advantage of the conflict between him and Dong Qi and wanted to squeeze money and grain out of him!
Her plan was flawless, and it took advantage of his biggest weakness. It would be hard for him not to be fooled!
Dong Shan didn't say anything offensive, but the mockery in his eyes was obvious! He was using the excuse of clearing up the misunderstanding to laugh at him and mock his stupidity in being manipulated by a young female official in her early twenties!
Che Zilong was immediately furious. His first thought was to report the matter to the court, saying that Yue Yining had arbitrarily issued an imperial decree and that they should severely punish Yue Yining!
But after he calmed down, he immediately realized that this was simply not feasible.
The information he received all came from other people's accounts. The reason he believed it so quickly was twofold: first, Yue Yining and the others had acted very sensibly since arriving in Qinghuai, which made him lower his guard; second, the people she had planted were very effective, and the minor official her informant served happened to be one of the newly promoted officials whom he trusted.
He had no evidence. Even when he later visited Yue Yining in person, there wasn't a single written agreement between them. And all of this was Che Zilong's deliberate act.
During his thirty years in office, he did many such despicable things. He was well aware that the way to manipulate power was to leave no trace and not give anyone a handle to use against him.
He himself never expected that one day he would fall into someone's trap because of this caution, to the point that when he realized what was happening, he couldn't find a weapon to strike back.
Moreover, if he were to report this matter to the imperial court, he would not gain anything in return.
After all, the root cause was his attempt to seize the position of Lord of Qinghuai City through improper means. Yue Yining at most exploited his greed and eagerness for quick success, while he himself was genuinely engaging in corruption during his tenure. If this were to spread, it would be difficult for him to avoid being severely punished.
Che Zilong ultimately reaped what he sowed.
He knew he had no way to deal with Yue Yining, and he was so angry that he spent the whole afternoon smashing things in his room, until a minor official rushed into the mansion in a panic and told him that Yue Yining had disappeared.
Che Zilong listened to the whole story in a daze, then suddenly burst out laughing.
Okay! Okay!
It seems that God is still looking out for Che Zilong! Anyone who opposes him will not have a good ending!
When Shen Liude came to him for help, he pretended to agree, but in reality, he planned to have his men slack off and delay for as long as possible. As long as there was no news of Yue Yining, the hope of her being alive would be even smaller. By the time these female officials realized that he was just putting on a show and hadn't actually ordered a search of the mountain, Yue Yining's body might already be cold.
"Ha, you still want me to help you find someone?" Che Zilong said with a ferocious expression. "Let them dream on! I'll make sure that bitch Yue Yining dies in that mountain and never rises again!"
The concubine glanced at Che Zilong's expression, her eyes darting around, and she made up her mind.
She lowered her body and whispered in a sweet and obedient voice, "My lord, I have a brilliant plan to punish those female officials."
......
Xie Qingyu and Yue Yining have been in the cave for three nights, and today is the fourth day.
Yue Yining is still in a state of high fever.
For the past three days, whenever Xie Qingyu touched her forehead, it was always the same temperature. Burning hot, it always made his heart sink deeper, as if it were an endless abyss.
Yue Yining would occasionally wake up, but she remained confused and unable to converse for long. She could only eat some liquid food and water to maintain her vital signs before falling into a deep sleep again.
At this moment, Yue Yining lay in his arms. The clothes spread on the ground were too thin and could not keep out the cold, hard sand and stones. He couldn't bear to see her wake up because of discomfort, so he let her lie on his lap to sleep. Even though he would be unable to move for several hours at a time, he was happy to do so.
For the past few days, Xie Qingyu has been taking meticulous care of her, hardly closing her eyes or getting a full night's sleep.
Deep in a coma, Yue Yining was thin, pale, and frail, like a flower about to wither and die.
Xie Qingyu knelt on the ground, his eyes lowered as he looked at her face, lost in thought. Yue Yining, who had fallen asleep with her head on his lap, was breathing evenly, her lips pale and her face bloodless.
Outside the cave, Xiao Zhuo was secretly observing the two people inside.
Xiao Zhuo's initial surprise and curiosity towards Xie Qingyu had turned into awe.
For the past three days, Xie Qingyu had been awake no matter when she looked over.
He was awake when she was asleep, and he was still awake when she was awake. She didn't even know when he fell asleep! Could he possibly sleep with his eyes open?
Outside the cave, the rain lingered.
Xie Qingyu's slender fingers slowly brushed against Yue Yining's temples, her breath rising and falling with the slight movement of her chest, filling his thin wrists.
These were the three days he had been closest to Yue Yining since he transmigrated into this book, but he spent them in agony every moment.
At first, he thought her condition would improve over time, but for three days, she had a persistent high fever and was plagued by pain, showing no signs of improvement and instead becoming more and more serious.
He gradually began to have nightmares, in which he would wake up to find Yue Yining's corpse before him.
She was so fragile, as if she might leave him at any moment.
Xie Qingyu was terrified. He wanted to cry, but his eyes were as dry as a desert.
He held her hand, pressing her soft, white fingertips against his brow bone, as if she were reaching out to touch his eyes.
This can't go on.
If we want her to get better quickly... the only way is...
Xiao Zhuo looked away and whispered to Xiao Ying, "Xiao Ying, what did Fei Yan say last night?"
Today is the fourth day; the general should already be on his way back to the mountain. Last night, Xiao Ying went to see Jiang Feiyan, but Xiao Zhuo doesn't know what she said to Jiang Feiyan.
Xiao Ying lowered her eyes and, unusually, gave her a perfunctory reply: "It's nothing."
She went to see Jiang Feiyan last night because Xie Qingyu asked them a lot of questions about the mountain.
She didn't know why Xie Qingyu was asking these questions, and she was afraid that she might accidentally let slip and reveal the camp's location, so she answered very conservatively. But looking at Xie Qingyu's expression, she still felt that he knew something.
After thinking it over, she realized she should report this to Jiang Feiyan, so she went up the mountain to find her.
But Jiang Feiyan didn't seem to care: "Did he ask you what you bought today?"
Xiao Ying was taken aback by her question: "...Just everyday consumables, I didn't buy much."
Ever since the first day, when Xiao Ying said that the supplies couldn't be given to them for free, Xie Qingyu would give her a piece of jewelry as payment every time she asked her for something.
A jade hairpin could be exchanged for a pile of firewood, a carved gold crown for a straw mat, and a purple agate ring for a clean towel... The prices were outrageous, and Xiao Ying felt guilty even as she kept the items.
There was nothing he could do; it was Jiang Feiyan's order.
Now, all the belongings she had collected from Xie Qingyu were piled up in Jiang Feiyan's cave, wrapped in a piece of animal hide, and tossed onto the end of her earthen bed. The animal hide was too stiff to hold these valuables tightly, and the glittering light of gold and jade jewels seeped out from the gaps.
Jiang Feiyan knew that Xie Qingyu had been "buying" supplies from Xiao Ying and the others, so she specifically instructed Xiao Ying to ask for an exorbitant price and take this opportunity to squeeze as much valuable stuff as possible out of Xie Qingyu.
Xiao Ying thought she liked these items, but she kept them in the room and never even glanced at them, which was very strange.
Jiang Feiyan lay sprawled on the earthen bed, seemingly lost in thought, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of the stone cave. She chuckled lightly, "Really, this is a bit boring."
"I'll go down and check on you two tomorrow morning. It's time to give you a change of scenery since you've been keeping watch for so long."
Xiao Ying recalled what Jiang Feiyan had said and wondered when she would arrive today.
Xie Qingyu, who was behind her, put Yue Yining back on the straw mat and then came over.
The faint light of dawn illuminated his face, revealing his snow-white robes, his tall, straight back like a graceful bamboo, and his thin chin. Due to lack of sleep, a thin layer of bluish-gray, like the color of tobacco leaves washed in water, covered his eyes.
He looked haggard, but this haggardness added a touch of desolate and fragile beauty to him, without diminishing his outstanding bone structure.
Xie Qingyu spoke up: "I'd like to buy some medicinal herbs from you."
Xie Qingyu tried to buy medicine from them on the first night, but after Xiao Ying consulted with Jiang Feiyan, she was refused.
At this point, Xiaoying repeated her excuse: "We can't buy this. The mountains are not like the city. We have very few medicinal herbs on hand, so we can't give them to you. If you want to buy medicinal herbs, you have to go down the mountain and walk a long way to the city. Feiyan said that everyone else is very busy and doesn't have time to go all the way to buy medicinal herbs for you."
But this time, Xie Qingyu did not give up.
He stared at the two people in front of him and said softly, "There's no need to go to the city; the medicinal herbs I need are right here on this mountain."
“Ephedra, apricot kernel, licorice, and gypsum. These four herbs are enough.” Xie Qingyu looked at them calmly, her thin lips moving slightly. “This mountain is called Qiming Mountain, isn’t it?”
Seeing the change in Xiaoying and Xiaozhu's expressions, Xie Qingyu knew that she had made the right bet.
He is the gravedigger of Dongyuan's history. He remembers every inch of land, every mountain range, and every river.
In this book, the Dongyuan Dynasty is renamed the Dongxi Dynasty, and many place names are different, so he had to put in some effort to figure out which city Qinghuai was in the history of Dongyuan.
In the past few days, he has been mentally rearranging and putting back the objects on the East Yuan geographical map, and finally deduced their current location.
If he remembered correctly, the wild medicinal herbs that could be found in this mountain included these four.
With these medicinal herbs, we can put together a prescription to treat colds and high fever.
He must save Yue Yining.
Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Ying exchanged glances, neither speaking for a moment. Just as the three remained silent, a burst of laughter broke the silence.
"Wow, that's amazing! How did you figure that out?"
Xie Qingyu looked over and saw Jiang Feiyan hanging upside down from a tree branch in the mountains, dressed in a bright crimson short outfit, laughing ostentatiously and unrestrainedly. If it weren't daytime, one could easily mistake her for a strangely colored bat that had just finished eating.
Seeing that all three of them had spotted her, she simply flipped over and jumped down.
Jiang Feiyan took a few steps forward, stepped aside to block the two girls, and looked at Xie Qingyu with a smile: "I remember you're from Yanjing, right? You know so much about the small hills outside Qinghuai, you're amazing?"
Xie Qingyu opened her mouth, speaking sparingly: "I learned it when I was young."
Jiang Feiyan said "Oh," and then replied, "I see."
Xie Qingyu looked at them and said, "If I can find the medicinal herbs I need in this mountain, then it won't be too much trouble for you, right?"
So, do you agree?
Jiang Feiyan smiled and said, "Sure, but what can you offer me in exchange?"
"You don't seem to have anything valuable left on you, do you?"
Xie Qingyu looked at her: "What do you want?"
Jiang Feiyan stopped smiling.
She didn't speak for a moment, staring at him thoughtfully, her gaze sweeping over him.
Suddenly, her gaze fixed on his waist and remained motionless.
The person, who had no other jewelry on her body, still had a plainly made sachet hanging from her waist, which looked completely inconspicuous.
“Your sachet looks nice,” she suddenly laughed. “How about you trade it for it?”
Xie Qingyu froze on the spot, his hand sliding down his robe to grasp the sachet. For some reason, despite his obvious reluctance, he remained silent for a long while before finally agreeing, "Okay."
Jiang Feiyan: "It's just a sachet, why are you so reluctant to part with it?"
"Because she gave it to me," Xie Qingyu said.
Everyone present knew who the "she" he was referring to was.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the sachet he had taken off, and the look in his eyes miraculously softened.
He lowered his arm and looked at Jiang Feiyan: "This is the first time she has given me a gift that she made herself. I cherish every gift she gives me and don't want to give it to anyone else."
"But if this sachet can save her life, I will not hesitate."
Jiang Feiyan stood there with her arms crossed, looking at him expressionlessly.
She suddenly spoke up: "I don't want it anymore."
"Upon closer inspection, this sachet isn't very good either; it's quite ugly." Jiang Feiyan suddenly smiled and said, "Besides, I'm not one to take what others like."
Xie Qingyu stopped moving.
He stood rooted to the spot, gazing at her with a deep, unfathomable look: "Then what do you want?"
"Tell me, what will it take for you to save her?"
Jiang Feiyan tapped her chin with her fingertip: "Let me think... Ah, I've got it."
"Kneel down before me," she said with a smile. "If you kneel and beg me, I might consider saving you..."
Before she could finish speaking, the elegant man in white before her knelt down with a thud, his knees hitting the stone on the ground with a sound that made one's teeth ache.
The smile on Jiang Feiyan's face vanished like the receding tide.
She finally showed a shocked and bewildered expression, and even took a step back in the face of Xie Qingyu's sudden kneeling. "You..."
"Please," Xie Qingyu looked at her and repeated, "please, save her."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Ningning doesn't know about this when she wakes up. She'll only find out later that Ayu knelt down for her; it's used to advance a more important romantic plot point. [Exaggeration]
I still feel that we owe each other so much that we can't even separate, and that's how love can become an inseparable, deep-seated bond.
They owed each other something, then became entangled, and then fell deeply in love.
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