Maybe it was because of the bumpy road, but Yu Jiao didn’t sleep well, her pretty brows were furrowed.
In a trance, she seemed to have returned to the old world. She was surrounded by snow-white cold walls, and her nose was filled with the smell of disinfectant. Fu Chuan was standing beside her, with a doting smile on his handsome face, and he was saying to her, "Jiaojiao, I made your favorite lotus shrimp balls and steamed glutinous rice with pork ribs. If you go back any later, they will be cold."
Yu Jiao wanted to raise her hand to hold his and said to him, "Senior Brother, let's go home for dinner."
But then a cold knife with a chilling glow suddenly chopped over, and shocking blood splashed all over Yu Jiao's face. A hand covered Yu Jiao's eyes, and warm and sticky liquid dripped down Yu Jiao's cheek and wet her collar.
"Jiaojiao..." Fu Chuan's weak and almost inaudible murmur fell into her ears.
Everything around her turned red. Yu Jiao tried desperately to open her eyes and make a sound. She wanted to hug Fu Chuan's body that had fallen to the ground, but she could do nothing.
Yu Qizhe noticed that Yu Jiao was trembling, and reached out a hand to gently stroke her back.
Yu Jiao suddenly grabbed Yu Qizhe's clothes, like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood, and whimpered in pain and helplessness.
Yu Qizhe saw that she seemed to be in a nightmare, so he called out softly, "Yu Jiao, wake up."
"Fu Chuan!" Yu Jiao called out the name in despair and repression, then suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from a nightmare.
The overwhelming blood-red disappeared, Yu Jiao's face was pale, her eyes were covered with tears, her forehead was covered with cold sweat, her back was wet and cold, and she couldn't stop shaking.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Yu Qizhe saw her distraught look and soothed her in a slow voice, "It's okay, it was just a dream."
Yu Fuling was also awakened by Yu Jiao's scream, but she was still a little dazed and sleepy. She mumbled, "What's wrong..." and fell asleep again.
Seeing that Yu Jiao hadn't come back to her senses for a long time, Yu Qizhe wrapped his big palm around Yu Jiao's small hands, and stroked Yu Jiao's head with his other hand. His voice was as gentle as coaxing a child, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Yu Jiao lay in Yu Qizhe's warm arms, not saying a word for a long time. She forced herself to forget the bloody appearance of her senior brother Fu Chuan when he died, and forced herself not to think of those scenes, thinking that this way she could break free from the despair, depression and pain brought to her by her senior brother's death.
I thought that in this way, I could live like a normal person.
But the guilt that penetrated her bones and the hatred that had nowhere to vent, the powerlessness that was engraved deep in her soul, were rooted in every inch of her memory and hidden in every capillary of her body like maggots on her tarsal bones.
A dull, secret pain.
"Call me." Yu Jiao raised her little face, her almond-shaped eyes stained with lingering moisture. She looked at Yu Qizhe eagerly, making an almost inaudible sound, as if asking for help.
"Yu Jiao, Yu Jiao, Yu Jiao..." Yu Qizhe saw that her lips were pale and her usually calm face revealed a panicked and helpless expression. His heart ached and he called her in a gentle voice over and over again without getting tired of it.
Yu Jiao closed her eyes, and a voice in her heart said, No, it should be junior sister.
The person who called her Junior Sister is gone.
Not here anymore.
Yu Jiao felt sad in her heart. Even though she had her eyes tightly closed, tears still seeped out from between her eyes uncontrollably.
She felt wetness on her chest. Yu Qizhe hugged her, rested his chin on her forehead, and called her name gently, full of love and care.
Fu Chuan, Yu Qizhe was thinking about this strange name in his heart. He had never heard of it before, but this person could affect Yu Jiao's mood so much, making him feel a little uneasy, and also a little jealous and resentful.
In all this time, he had never seen Yu Jiao cry.
She has always been strong and calm, never panicking or panicking, and always keeping calm and composed.
When the He family came to her house aggressively, she was pushed out and she did not shed tears out of fear or hesitation.
When the strip of cloth that was embedded in my flesh was torn off with blood all over it, I didn't even cry because of the pain.
But today I just had a dream, but I shed tears.
Yu Qizhe felt very uncomfortable and wanted to find out whether the person Yu Jiao dreamed of was a man. He wanted to know who this Fu Chuan was and what his connection was with Yu Jiao, which made her think about him in her dreams and cry when she woke up.
But for now he could only endure it. He suppressed the anxiety and curiosity that were like weeds growing wildly in his heart.
Yu Qizhe's breath sprayed on Yu Jiao's head. She pulled her hand out of Yu Qizhe's palm and wiped away her tears, refusing to let herself indulge in that kind of desperate and depressed mood for too long, otherwise she would only sink deeper and deeper into the abyss of hopelessness until she collapsed.
All these years have passed, maybe if I force myself to forget it, I can really forget it.
"I... I'm fine, I just had a bad dream." Yu Jiao raised her little face, and her nose was almost touching that of Yu Qizhe. She realized that at this moment she was leaning in Yu Qizhe's arms. Their postures were very close and somewhat intimate. Yu Jiao shyed away a little embarrassedly and got up from Yu Qizhe's arms in a hurry.
Yu Qizhe loosened his arms slightly and let her go. Yu Jiao stood up too quickly and almost bumped into the carriage above her head. Yu Qizhe quickly held her shoulders and said softly, "The carriage is bumpy, don't bump into it."
Yu Jiao thought about how she had just cried in his arms and let Yu Qizhe call her name. Her face turned slightly red. She moved to sit beside him and glanced at Yu Fuling quietly. Seeing that she was still asleep and seemed not to be awakened by the noise she made, she breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, Yu Fuling had already woken up when Yu Qizhe called Yu Jiao's name again and again. But when she opened her eyes and saw Yu Jiao nestling in Qizhe's arms, she didn't dare to say anything. Feeling a little embarrassed, she closed her eyes again and pretended to be still asleep.
The carriage suddenly slowed down and voices were gradually heard. Yu Jiao lifted the curtain and looked outside.
From a distance, one could see many people standing on both sides of the official road, including peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders, women holding children, and scholars carrying book baskets who were also coming to Qingzhou to take the exam.
Qingzhou City was already vaguely visible, and when I woke up I found myself outside Qingzhou City.
The carriage approached the city gate, moving increasingly slowly. The city guards were checking the people entering the city, and no one knew what had happened.
The driver stopped the horse, jumped off the shaft, turned around and said to Yu Jiao and the other two in the carriage, "I'll go ask around in front."
Soon, the driver came back and said, "It seems that a criminal has escaped. The court has asked all government offices to conduct a thorough investigation. Our master said it is not a big deal, so Master Yu and the young ladies should not worry."
Yu Jiao nodded, and Yu Fuling, who had been pretending to be asleep, finally woke up slowly, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "Why did the carriage stop?"
"We're in Qingzhou now." Yu Jiao said.
Yu Fuling leaned over to the car window, looked outside, and said excitedly, "This Qingzhou city gate is really magnificent!"
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