give up
Two servants dragged Jingwan into the courtyard. The steward handed over a whip, and Gao Yun lashed it down, but it struck Bo Jun, who had rushed to protect Jingwan.
Jingwan suddenly remembered when she first came to Pingdu, she was almost kicked by a horse in the street, and Bojun protected her in the same way. Later, because he saved her, he was punished by the Duchess. Now, he has been whipped again for her sake. It turns out that she has implicated Bojun many times.
The Duchess pulled her son up, weeping bitterly: "For an outsider, you're going to drive your mother to her death! You don't even care about the honor and disgrace of the Gao family?"
Despite the pain, Jingwan slowly got up and was able to smile at Bojun, saying, "Cousin, I'm fine. It's just twenty lashes."
She straightened up and said, "I'll let you give me these twenty lashes. After you've done it, I'm no longer a member of the Gao family, and I'm no longer your daughter. I'm going back to the Northwest, and from now on, I'll have nothing to do with you anymore."
"Good, good! You've got guts now!" He raised his whip and struck Jingwan hard. With just one lash, Jingwan fell to the ground.
After five lashes, Jingwan's clothes on her back were torn to shreds, and blood slowly seeped out and stuck to her clothes, leaving clear whip marks.
She had already fainted and lay motionless on the ground. If this continued, let alone twenty lashes, ten lashes would be enough to kill her.
Seeing that Gao Yun had no intention of stopping and was about to hit Jing Wan even harder, Bo Jun cried out, "Second Uncle, stop!" He pushed the Duchess away, knelt down in front of Jing Wan, and tried to help her up.
Gao Yun continued to raise his whip, but before he could make a move, he was stopped by someone. Wu Xia stood in front of him and grabbed his raised hand.
Wuxia was tall and imposing; standing in front of Gao Yun, he instantly suppressed the aura of this half-head of the family.
The hand tightened its grip, and Gao Yun felt as if her bones were about to crack. The whip fell to the ground, and Wu Xia shook off the hand, gently helping Jing Wan into her arms. She checked Jing Wan's breath, and Jing Wan opened her eyes, her breath barely audible. She said to Wu Xia with a wronged expression, "Dong Xia, I want to go back to Yong Ye."
Wuxia nodded repeatedly: "Okay! Okay! I'll take you to the Northwest." She picked up Jingwan, who was exceptionally light and obedient. At this moment, she was like a newborn kitten nestled in her arms.
Before leaving, Wuxia said, "My lord, remember what you have done today; one day you will pay the price!"
She left with Jingwan, and Bojun chased after them. Behind them, the hall was brightly lit. Wang Shi was cursing the servants, Gao Yun was angrily scolding, and Shijun was fanning the flames. All the voices mingled together. Bojun shed a tear and ran faster and faster.
The carriage was the one Bo Jun usually rode in; he left it with Jing Wan. Because he wasn't used to carrying money, the only valuable thing he had on him was a jade pendant, which he took off and placed in Jing Wan's hand.
“Pawn this jade pendant, get the money and go stay at Zuixianlou. Then go to the clinic and ask a doctor to come and take a look at you. I will come to Zuixianlou to see you tomorrow.”
Jingwan lay in the carriage, accepted the jade pendant, and smiled weakly, "Thank you, cousin."
Wuxia drove the carriage away with Jingwan. She dared not drive too fast, for fear of aggravating Jingwan's wounds. After leaving Yuquefang, she was going to take her to the clinic, but Jingwan asked her to stop.
Her face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, indicating she was in excruciating pain, yet she didn't utter a single cry. She only said, "Wuxia, I want to see him."
Wuxia didn't know who the person she was talking about was. She scolded her, trying to bring her to her senses: "He has already hurt you so badly, and you still want to see him?!"
In Wuxia's opinion, she should drag the culprit out of the house tonight and give him a good beating, so that when her master comes to question her, he will be less harsh.
Jingwan smiled, her eyes showing no blame towards Qin Ziyou, but her lips were also white. Wuxia knew she was putting on a brave face. Such a delicate person should have fainted long ago. She was only holding on until now because she wanted to see that boy.
“He never breaks a promise without a reason. Even if things change, he will always tell me. I... I just want to hear him tell me why he didn’t come tonight.”
Wuxia gave in: "You wait, I'll bring him right away!"
Jingwan grabbed her hand: "Don't let his family know that I'm the one who wants to see him."
Wu Xia patted her hand: "Don't worry."
Wuxia didn't intend to ask a servant to announce her arrival at the Qin family's gate. She was skilled in light-footed martial arts, and scaling walls and roof tiles was a trivial skill for her. Following the path inside the Qin family's residence, she found Qin Ziyou, who was in a daze.
His formal attire was magnificent, and he wore a golden crown. It was a look of wealth and luxury that Wuxia had never seen before, and he must have just returned from a banquet at the palace.
Since I'm attending a banquet at the palace tonight, how can I have time to leave with you?
Jingwan, look, haven't you been deceived by him?
She landed with a twirl, and most people wouldn't notice her arrival, but Qin Ziyou did. He quickly rolled up the scroll on the table, ran out, and saw that it was someone he knew—the maid who was with Jing Wan.
Wuxia didn't want to waste words with him, and simply said, "My lady wants to talk to you." After saying that, she was about to grab Qin Ziyou by the shoulder and lead him away, but she didn't expect that this guy was also a martial arts expert. He easily broke free from Wuxia's restraint and used his lightness skill to leave the mansion.
Qin Ziyou had no time to think about why this unassuming servant knew martial arts; his mind was preoccupied with the fact that Jingwan had come to find him.
A carriage was parked in a small alley not far from the gate, and the closer he got, the less he dared to go forward.
The person inside the carriage heard the voice and asked, "Ziyou?"
Upon hearing her voice, Qin Ziyou could not suppress his grief: "Jingwan, it's me."
Jingwan said, "I won't get off the carriage. I'll just say it like this. Ziyou, why didn't you come tonight?"
Her voice was weaker than usual. Qin Ziyou didn't think much of it. He just lowered his head and apologized to his parents like a child who had done something wrong: "I'm sorry, Jingwan, I'm sorry, I, I can't go to the Northwest with you anymore!"
There was a moment of silence in the carriage: "Why?"
Qin Ziyou opened his mouth but couldn't speak. His heart was filled with bitterness, as if a huge boulder was pressing on his chest. He remembered the promises he had made to her, and now they all turned into slaps to his face.
In her eyes, he was already a treacherous person.
"Why? At least give me a reason!" the person inside said softly.
Qin Ziyou closed his eyes, gripping the wooden beam of the carriage, his voice even softer than Jing Wan's: "His Majesty has decreed a marriage for me, ordering me to marry Princess Boping after the New Year."
The marriage between the two families was decided long ago, but they needed a suitable time to announce it to the public, and tonight's banquet in the palace is that perfect opportunity.
The Prince of Runan will be leaving Pingdu after the New Year, and before he leaves, he wants to finalize this marriage.
“Princess Boping…” Jingwan closed her eyes, letting the tears flow uncontrollably. All the tears she had shed in the first sixteen years of her life were gone tonight.
"In February, the Northwest is often windy and dusty. If you go there now, you'll only get sand and dust in your eyes."
"Qin Ziyou, take good care of yourself."
Wuxia pushed him away and drove the carriage away with Jingwan.
Qin Ziyou did not return to the mansion. He sat at the gate all night. When the servant came to call him, he was ignored. When he returned to the mansion and told his master, the master of the Qin family only said, "If he wants to sit, let him sit!"
Wuxia was worried about Jingwan, so she stopped the carriage and saw that Jingwan had already fainted. She could only go to the inn to book a room and let Jingwan lie on her back.
Late at night, the pharmacy owner was still in bed when Wuxia suddenly woke him up with a sharp blade at his neck. Luckily, she was just there to steal his medicine. Trembling, the owner opened the shop and let her choose what she wanted. As she left, Wuxia didn't forget to throw some loose silver on the counter.
With the wound on her back and no female doctor to be found, Wuxia had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. She was used to being whipped several times for failing missions, but this injury was treatable. After wiping away the blood and applying ointment, she asked the innkeeper's servant to prepare the medicine.
When she finished her work, she saw that Jingwan's face was soaked with tears. She had fainted from the pain, but Jingwan was still crying.
The next day, Jingwan woke up and opened her eyes to see Wuxia sitting at a small table with her eyes closed, resting. She looked around and saw that the furnishings were unfamiliar; it must be an inn.
My back hurts whenever I move, and when I glance to the side, I see that my clothes have been changed to new ones.
She saved her own life again.
Wuxia was very sensitive; she could sense if someone glanced at her too much. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jingwan was awake. Seeing that Jingwan was trying to get up while holding onto the bed, Wuxia held Jingwan's arms and made her sit obediently on the bed, afraid that she would aggravate her wounds.
My back is injured, so I can't even lean on it.
Jingwan sipped her porridge spoonful by spoonful, wondering what to do next. She couldn't go back to the Gao family, nor could she continue to drag Bojun down. Right now, she really had nothing left.
After finishing the last mouthful of porridge, Jingwan licked her lips and asked Wuxia to help her find a messenger in the market to deliver a letter to the Northwest.
“I have a friend in Yongye named Azhiqi. After he receives the letter, he will come to Pingdu to pick me up and take me back to the Northwest.”
Wu Xia let the medicine cool down before bringing it to Jing Wan and making her drink it. To be honest, she did send a letter to the north yesterday, but it was for Lu Chang.
The master has always valued this girl, and with such a big thing happening, she can no longer hide it.
But Jingwan was determined to go back, which put Wuxia in a difficult position. It would take some time for the carrier pigeon to return, and she didn't know what her master would do next. She decided to appease Jingwan first and said that she would deliver the letter to the messenger today.
"You should focus on healing your injury first. Otherwise, if it gets infected and takes a long time to heal, it might delay your return."
Five days later, Wuxia realized for the first time that she had the potential to be a jinx.
For some reason, the wound was slow to heal, showing no signs of forming a scab. In the deeper areas, the bloodstains even began to fester and ooze pus, a sight that was truly terrifying.
Her once fair and tender back is now completely rotten and unrecognizable.
They called a doctor, who said that the continuous rainy weather made it difficult for the wound to heal, and he could only give her some medicine to apply and told her to rest well.
That wasn't all; Jingwan started having a fever again, a high fever that lasted all night, so high that her lips were peeling. There was no time to help her up to drink water, but she heard Jingwan muttering something under her breath. She leaned closer to listen and realized that she was saying she wanted to go back to the Northwest.
"Then get well soon!"
But before Jingwan could recover, Wuxia was greeted by her master, Lu Chang.
At that moment, thunder rumbled, causing widespread panic. Looking at Lu Chang standing at the door, his raincoat still dripping wet, Wuxia finally understood what it meant to feel guilty.
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