Beijing Seven
Time passed slowly, the setting sun was like a rainbow, the red light spread between the sky and the mountains, and gradually the light faded. Everything around gradually darkened, and the shadows of the trees began to hide in the darkness.
There was a hurried, chaotic sound of footsteps, and the people walking were quite panicked. A dark figure was sticking to the tree trunk, looking around cautiously. Suddenly, a hand rested on the shadow's shoulder.
"Ah--ah!" The woman's sharp scream was covered as soon as it began.
"It's me." A familiar voice sounded from behind, and Aruo's tense nerves relaxed instantly.
"Su Feng, you scared me to death!" Aruo pulled his hand away and cursed angrily.
The slap almost broke Aruo's already flustered mood. He glared at the man in front of him, whose face he couldn't see clearly. Didn't he know not to pat people on the shoulder in the dark? It wasn't that kind of thing!
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of ghosts?" Su Zirui looked at her calmly, and felt relieved when he saw no signs of injury.
"No, I'm afraid of people," Aruo said. Ghosts weren't scary, but sometimes people's hearts were. She'd been out for four years, often walking at night. She hadn't encountered a ghost, but she had encountered many vicious people. The fact that she and Caixin were still alive wasn't just because they were cautious, but also because they always visited temples.
Putting aside her sigh, she looked at him carefully, a little hesitant, "You... haven't left yet?"
Su Zirui was silent for a moment, "Do you really think I would leave you here?"
Aruo chuckled, then tactfully kept silent. She hadn't expected him to stay and wait for her to find her. The man before her was still as dead as ever, and the fact that he couldn't see his face clearly made him seem more distant, making her feel strangely more attuned to him than before.
A refreshing night breeze blew in my face. With a living person beside me, it seemed as if all worries and fatigue were put aside, and every tense nerve in my body gradually relaxed.
Aruo is not afraid of ghosts, but she is afraid of the dark, especially being alone in the dark.
"Where are those people?" Su Zirui asked about the men in black, noticing that she wasn't panicking anymore. He had been waiting here for quite a while, and he still felt uneasy until he saw her safe.
"I don't know. I led them to the other side of the mountain, and then took a small path in this direction, detouring to the Miscanthus, and then turning back." Aruo thought back and felt that she was extremely lucky. She relaxed and was in the mood to ask him about his condition. "How is your injury?"
"fine."
Since he didn't say anything, Aruo didn't dwell on it. "Then let's go back quickly."
Su Zirui looked down at her hand that was pulling his sleeve automatically, and after thinking for a moment, he didn't pull away. "Do you know the way back to the city?"
"Isn't it..." Aruo looked up. It was pitch black all around, with no trace of moonlight in the sky. Although there were many stars, they weren't bright enough. And she had just been so focused on finding the tall birch trees that she hadn't really been able to find any direction... She hesitantly pointed to her left. "This way?"
Sighing slightly, Su Zirui said pragmatically, "It's getting dark. It looks like we have to spend the night in these woods."
"Oh? No, don't you know everything about astronomy and geography? Or you can study it first?" Aruo pointed to the stars above his head and said expectantly.
There were often rumors about these famous young men in the capital. Compared to the King of Zhao who was famous for his beauty, the others were more or less known for their genius and special abilities, and were praised and flattered as young talents.
"That's just someone else's polite words, do you still believe it?" Su Zirui glanced at her and said calmly, "Let's go, pick up some dry branches, and find a place to make a fire later. It's quite cool in the mountains."
Do we really need to survive in the wild? Aruo pulled at his sleeve and dragged him away. "No, haven't you selected officials studied hard for many years, are well-versed in ancient and modern times, and have a deep understanding of astronomy and geography?"
As far as she knew, there were people who were very good at reading military books at a young age, and were so familiar with the terrain of the northwest that they could walk with their eyes closed. Since the Four Sons of the Capital were so famous, it would be unreasonable for Su Zirui not to have some special features.
"Don't you know that I became an official because of my father?" Su Zirui said.
Feeling guilty, Aruo coughed and struggled, "Are you really not going to consider the way home? It's a disgrace for a man and a woman to be alone together."
"I don't mind. As for you, with your looks..." Su Zirui turned around, sneered, and said with contempt, "Don't worry."
He also has his own requirements, and he wouldn't be so hungry as to eat anything.
"Su Feng, what you said is not right. What's wrong with my looks? Sister Ruxian, the top girl in Furong Tower, said that I am lovely. Have you ever heard a saying that a beautiful woman is really beautiful only when she says she is beautiful." Aruo was so angry with him that she forgot the hope of going home. She kept chattering and followed him closely.
He had never heard of such a twisted logic. Su Zirui shook his head and was too lazy to pay attention to her. He was also generous and ignored her repeated rude names, as a way of repaying her for her reckless life-saving grace just now.
"No, Su Feng, this is a desolate mountain area, there might be ferocious beasts." Feeling embarrassed to brag anymore, Aruo brought the subject back, still determined to dissuade him from the idea.
"This place is not far from the capital. The emperor's feet have driven away all the big insects and ferocious beasts." Su Zirui paused and added casually, "As for the snakes, insects, rats and ants, it's hard to say."
"What?" Aruo was sensitive to the rustling of the grass nearby, which frightened her greatly at night. "Ah, there's a snake!"
The terrified person rushed forward and hugged the only two humans here. Su Zirui was startled by her and put his arm around her shoulders. He hooked his toes and kicked, sending the branch flying into the grass.
"Is he dead? Is he dead?" Aruo hugged him tightly, not daring to raise her face, and asked repeatedly with her eyes closed.
A wild frog croaked twice and jumped out from the bushes. Su Zirui's expression relaxed. Seeing her timid look, he couldn't help but push her. "It's just a frog, what's the big deal?"
"Yes, it's a frog?" Aruo cautiously opened one eye and saw nothing strange. "It's so scary."
"What's the matter? You've been to the Ministry of Justice's prison. I thought you were fearless, but you're actually afraid of snakes, insects, rats and ants?" Seeing her frightened look, Su Zirui rarely made a teasing remark.
"Yes, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of snakes, insects, rats, ants, mosquitoes, frogs, and everything. It doesn't matter where I've been to or not." This person's logic is really weird. Aruo is still a little scared. When he thinks of those same creatures from ancient times to the present, his heart trembles.
"Miss Qi, have you hugged me enough? I don't want to ruin the little bit of reputation that Su has left in your hands." Seeing that she had no intention of letting go, Su Zirui glanced at her with a suggestive look.
"Uh," Aruo suddenly let go and took a step back. The darkness around her made her feel insecure. She quickly patted his shoulder and grabbed his sleeve, looking at him innocently, "Don't worry, I won't be responsible for you."
"You're talking nonsense. Why are you still standing there? Pick up those dry branches." Su Zirui didn't want to argue with a girl, and pointed at the leaves and twigs on the roadside with some impatience.
"Just pick it up, really. I'm not your subordinate. I'm your savior. Please be polite to me." Aruo muttered to himself as he walked over, looking back every step of the way. He picked up the things randomly and walked back quickly with his arms in his arms.
Su Zirui said nothing more. He took a thicker one, lit it with a tinder and leaves, and handed it to her. "Take it and go."
"Oh...thank you." Aruo took it. It didn't seem so scary with the firelight, but the hand holding his sleeve tightened, hesitating whether to let go.
"Let's go." Su Zirui didn't wait for her to finish her thoughts. He took a step forward, exerted a little force with his sleeves, and pulled her along.
Aruo held a torch to light the way ahead and followed behind him, her eyes fixed on his sleeves. She didn't dare close her eyes or look at the surroundings, for fear of seeing anything she was afraid of.
Soon, the two found a relatively dry place to rest and light a fire. Aruo found the medicine Su Zirui had given him earlier in his waist bag, with half a bottle left, and sprinkled it on the wound on his back.
Su Zirui didn't pay too much attention to the difference between men and women and accepted her kindness. Fortunately, the wound was not deep and there was no poison. He could take care of the rest by himself.
After finishing, Aruo silently warmed his hands by the fire. His nerves, tense for so long, were slowly relaxed by the warmth. Hunger set in, and his stomach growled. It was already late, and he had been running for a long time. The little food he had eaten before leaving was already digested.
After stealing a glance at the person who was resting with his eyes closed less than two feet away from her, Aruo pouted and took out two glutinous rice cakes from his waist bag and handed them over. "Here, Su Feng, these are for you."
"What is this?" Su Zirui opened his eyes and saw her reluctant look.
"Xiao Caixin made me a dessert, glutinous rice cakes," A Ruo cut the love so hard that it hurt, and added, "This one has red bean paste filling."
"Sweet?" Su Zirui raised his eyebrows and spoke with disgust.
"Sweet ones are better." He stuffed one into his mouth while Aruo took small bites of his own. "Besides, sweet ones are more filling."
Seeing her greedy look, Su Zirui shook his head, but didn't return it to her. He took two bites and it tasted quite good, just a little sweet. There was a slight sound behind him, like something sliding across fallen leaves. Su Zirui glanced at it sharply and paused.
Glancing at the man staring blankly at the fire, Su Zirui calmly picked up a few branches and threw them hard, pinning the green snake that was heading towards them to the roots. Finally, her face was less pale and her eyes were no longer panicked. Su Zirui didn't want to waste time comforting a panicked woman.
A dessert was nothing. Aruo touched his stomach and struggled for a long time. He took a breath and turned his head pitifully, looking at the person adding branches to the fire, his fingers tapping on his knees.
Her eyes were so bright that it was hard for Su Zirui to pretend not to see them. "Are you hungry?"
Aruo nodded honestly, staring at him with hopeful eyes, almost wagging her tail, "Master Su, it is said that people from the Jianghu who are stranded in the wild will hunt pheasants, pigeons and other things to fill their stomachs."
"You've read too many storybooks. I've never been in the underworld." Su Zirui sneered at her arrogant and humble attitude. Finally, he stood up, listened attentively, and instantly took the sword as a dart, threw it out, and then turned around and winked at her.
A Ruo was amazed and excitedly ran over with a torch. Sure enough, he saw the sword piercing a plump pigeon stuck in the tree trunk. Pulling the sword out with all his might, A Ruo picked up the pigeon and found something tied to its feet. "Xi Gui... Zai, what's that word?"
The light was insufficient and the words were half blurred by the pigeon blood, so Aruo could only barely see a few words.
"Master Su, look, is this the legendary carrier pigeon?" Aruo ran back and handed him the pigeon and the note. With the food, Aruo's attitude towards him also became more servile.
Su Zirui glanced at it twice, his eyebrows raised slightly, and he was surprised. After a moment of hesitation, he suddenly laughed, "It's really... such news was intercepted by you."
"What? Is it something important?" Aruo was bewildered. She hadn't expected that she could capture someone else's carrier pigeon with just one throw. If it was an urgent message, it would be troublesome. "Should we release it?"
Su Zirui shook his head and said nothing. He put the note in his arms, took out a thin blade to block the hidden weapon, picked up the pigeon and dealt with it neatly.
Aruo wasn't interested in these things either. She shamelessly moved a stone and sat next to him, covering her eyes to avoid watching the rough processing process. Finally, she got to experience the taste of hunting wild game. "Master Su, remember to cook it well. Wild game has a lot of dirt in it."
"Shut up."
The cooked pigeon was smaller than she had imagined, and the plumpness she had just experienced seemed like a distorted memory. Almost all the pigeon meat had gone into her stomach, and Aruo felt rather embarrassed. "Master Su, are you really not hungry?"
"You eat, I'm not hungry." Su Zirui didn't even look at her. He stirred the fire to make it burn more vigorously and stretched out his hand to warm himself by the fire.
Aruo uttered an "oh" and rested his chin on his knees. He began to feel a little bored and a little awkward. They had never been able to spend time together face to face in a peaceful manner since they first met, and now he didn't know what to say to break the silence.
She tilted her head to look at the people around her. Although she had seen many handsome young men, Aruo had to admit that this man was indeed good-looking. Not too beautiful, but very handsome. If his personality was a little better, he would indeed be the focus of the noble ladies in the capital. However, she later heard from the actor Zhang that among the four princes in the capital, he was the only one who was not very popular with the noble ladies. There was even a rumor that anyone who wanted to marry him would rather become a nun...
It can be seen that those ladies are still knowledgeable and can still distinguish between what is beautiful and what is practical... Well, it seems a little wrong.
As time passed, he was lost in thought. Not even the sound of small animals could be heard around him. Only the crackling sound of burning firewood could be heard. A strange feeling of awkwardness continued to spread between the two of them.
Aruo looked at the fire, and many strange thoughts popped up in his mind at inappropriate times. Suddenly he laughed, which attracted his puzzled glance.
"I remember going camping with...my dad, staying overnight in the wild. At that time, I thought we would have a big dinner in the evening, and I didn't eat much for lunch. But my parents actually wanted to grill things themselves. They don't know how to cook, so most of the food was burnt, and my mom almost burned all her clothes. The people who were staying with us thought there was a fire, so they brought buckets of water and poured them on us..." Aruo couldn't help laughing when she thought of the past. "You know what? My dad is a typical strict father. No matter how well I did on exams, he would find fault with me. But that time, he was so guilty that he couldn't even lift his head, hahahaha. Every time he wanted to find fault with me after that, my mom would use this incident to stop him."
Maybe it was because what she said was funny, or maybe it was because her eyes were brighter than sparks when she said it. Even though she didn't hear some of the words clearly, Su Zirui couldn't help but soften his eyes and smiled as she spoke.
"I haven't thought about my parents for a long time." After laughing, Aruo hugged her knees and suddenly sighed. Even if she wanted to say it, she didn't know who to tell. For some reason tonight, she suddenly remembered the past. She even remembered the time when she was a child and got beaten by her mother, and then her father took her to confront that boy. "Now that I think about it, my father is pretty good to me. I used to be angry with him all the time."
While your parents are still alive, do not travel far away.
He heard from Beili that the two girls had walked all the way from the south to the capital, and presumably their parents were no longer around. Su Zirui lowered his eyes and smiled, "Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. I think all parents are like that."
He was not an easy person to get along with, but the girl in front of him was calm and generous. The previous resentment had dissipated after she was put in jail. Now that she was friendly, there was no need for Su Zirui to be ungrateful. After all, they were sharing the same hardships.
"Will your parents scold you too?" Aruo said in surprise. Su Zirui is definitely the elite of other people's families. If she can give birth to such a great son in the future, she will definitely show off all over the streets.
"Haven't you heard of my father?" Su Zirui said lazily, leaning on his knees. "The storyteller at Fengyun Teahouse has specifically talked about the love, hate, and vengeance between us father and son."
Aruo chuckled and refused to admit that the script was written by her and Actor Zhang.
"You know, I don't have the money to go to a teahouse and watch opera... But I heard from Beili that your father is very capable and has made his way in the court, well, like a fish in water, and holds a high position."
"He is powerful." Su Zirui said in a light tone, his expression complicated and difficult to discern.
This was a difficult thing to respond to. Aruo pursed her lips and changed the subject, "I once saw your father passing by from a distance. He was indeed very majestic, but very elegant. He didn't look much like you. But do you... look like your mother?"
To be honest, Mr. Su's appearance wasn't particularly outstanding; he had a refined and elegant temperament, a refined scholar. It seemed that Su Zirui's appearance resembled his mother's, but his sharp eyebrows and eyes, along with his father's fierce gaze, were likely his style.
"My mother is gone," Su Zirui said softly after a pause. They weren't close friends, but she spoke so openly and freely about her family, without even a hint of probing into his background, as if it were just a casual mention. He didn't resist the topic, but he didn't want to dwell on it either.
"Oh...it's okay, my parents are not in this world either." Aruo reached out and patted his back comfortingly. Even though the force was not strong enough, it made him frown in pain. She was stunned for a moment, "I'm sorry, I forgot you were injured!"
She broke the sentimental atmosphere. Su Zirui sighed helplessly and grabbed her hand that was hurriedly touching his wound. "It's okay, don't move... Why are your hands so cold?"
Aruo raised her eyes and happened to meet his gaze. She was inexplicably panicked and suddenly pulled her hand back. She smiled awkwardly, "Maybe it's late at night and a little cold. Oh, by the way, what happened to the baby case?"
Su Zirui also felt that something was wrong just now. He turned his head and looked at the firelight. "This is a government secret. I cannot disclose it."
"Tsk, that's rare. Are those people you just offended also related to this case?"
"I've already said no comment."
"Then why did you come here?" Aruo asked more and more courageously. Anyway, she was bored now and didn't dare to step on any landmine.
This time, he didn't speak in a businesslike tone. After a brief silence, he said calmly, "I said I would give Liang Shuxian justice."
He... still remembers?
Aruo was stunned. The man before her didn't even glance at her, but simply gazed at the fire and whispered this promise. His eyes, etched with determination in the dancing flames, were moving. She herself didn't know what was going through her mind at that moment, but she felt strangely moved.
"So what did you find out? Is it related to this place?" She paused and continued.
"..." Su Zirui glanced at her sideways, "They all said they had no comment."
Aruo curled her lips, thinking of another thing, "So, have you really been to the Northwest battlefield? When was it? I was also in the Northwest a few years ago, but I haven't heard about it..."
"You're noisy."
"Come on, come on, open your eyes and tell me something. Maybe we've met before in the northwest."
"Shut up."
In the flickering firelight, the woman's cheerful laughter and the man's occasional responses rang out one after another, and the two chatted casually.
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